Southern Christian University

Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John

Class Session 13

James A. Turner

 

Hello, students.  Please turn to the eighth chapter of the gospel of John.  When our Class Session was up the last time, we completed reading Matthew's gospel, and we turned and read nearly all the parallels in Mark and Luke and some in John.  And I believe we said then that we would now pick up with the gospel of John and continue reading from it what we have not read.  Chapter seven of John closed with the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin court criticizing Nicodemus, the one that went to Jesus by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God for  no man can do the things that thou doest except God be with him.”  Evidently Nicodemus was not a full believer on Christ at this time, but he knew that they were doing wrong.  They had sent officers of the court to take Jesus, but they came back without him.  And they said, “never a man so spake.  And they were afraid to try to take him.  And then Nicodemus calls attention that they were doing things unlawful.  "Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to him before, being one of them, one of the court.  Doth our law judge a man except it first hear from himself, and know what he doeth.  They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee.  Search, and see that out of Galilee arises no prophet.  And they went every man unto his own house."  Jesus had gone to the feast of the tabernacles, which was the last of the three annual feasts that the Jews, according to the law, were to keep, and they were to go first at the place where the tabernacle was, and that first place was at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1).  And Shiloh was a place of worship, for a little more than three hundred years.  But in the days of David, he had carried the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.  So since that time, Jerusalem had been the place of worship.  John 7:5, the brothers of Jesus did not believe on him at this time, and he did not go up to the feast at first but went there during the midst of the feast and went into the temple and started teaching.  And the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to take him, but they went back without him.  And notice verse thirty‑seven of chapter seven, "On the last day, the great day of the feast."  The feast of the tabernacles was for a whole week, and they were to live in booths during that feast in memory of the time when they were in the wilderness and did not have houses to live in.  And then they were to have a public assembly on that last day of the feast (Leviticus 23:39-40; Deuteronomy 16:13). 

 

John 6:37, "Now it was on the last day, of the feast, that Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."  So at least twice in the book of John, John emphasizes that Jesus is the water of life and the bread of life.  John begins his gospel with, “In the beginning was in the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and then in John 1:14and the word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  And he is the lamb of God, John 1:29 and 1:35, and then in chapter four he talked to the Samaritan woman about he is the water of life.  One of the characteristics of the gospel of John is that it describes Jesus in so many different ways that the other gospels do not describe him, and nearly everything in the gospel of John is peculiar to his gospel.  It looks like he intentionally put in some things that he thought that ought to be there, John wrote a number of years later than Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 

 

Chapter Eight of John

So picking up with verse one.  "Jesus went out into the mount of Olives.  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them.  And the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act.  Now the law of Moses commanded us, to stone such:  What then sayest thou of her?"  If she was taken in the act of adultery, don’t you think it was a little strange that they did not bring the man.  They are bringing the woman as though the law just applied to the woman, but the law applied to the man as well as the woman.  Turn to Leviticus chapter twenty.  Leviticus chapter 20:10, "And the man that commiteth adultery with another man's wife, even he that commiteth  adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness:  Both of them shall surely be put to death.  Their blood is upon them."  There are a number of crimes listed in chapter twenty of Leviticus that required the death penalty, and so it was a strange that they did not bring the man.  I guess they had become so hard‑hearted and the men having such authority over the women that they would be ready to stone a woman when they would not think about stoning a man, much like the ruling authorities in Afghanistan in recent days.  But they bring the woman, and evidently they think they have Jesus in big trouble.  The Pharisees try many times to find some basis on which they can condemn him, but Jesus always comes with a good response that puts them to shame. 

 

So verse three again, "And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act.  Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such."  Actually it was not Moses’ law, it was God’s through Moses.  We know that the law was God's law, but given through Moses.  Please remember to give the same illustration in regard to David’s throne that the throne was God's throne, I Chronicles 29:23  David never actually had a throne, and it is spoken of as the throne of David in the same sense that the law is spoken of as Moses' law.  "Now in the law Moses commanded us, to stone such: What then sayest thou of her?  And this they said, trying him, that they might have whereof to accuse him.  But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground."  Now, some few preachers can tell you all about what he wrote on the ground, but I have to confess I do not know, because John does not tell us what he wrote on the ground.  But evidently they must have paid some attention to what he was writing.  "But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."  Notice that he did not ask them why they did not bring the man but he puts a sobering test to them.  Let the man among you that is without sin cast the first stone.  Of course, the law as we turned and read, commanded that both the man and the woman were to be stoned to death.  "And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.  And when they heard it, they went out, one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last:  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman where she was in the midst.  And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they?  Did no man condemn thee?  And she said, No man, Lord.  And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: Go thy way from henceforth, and sin no more."  Under the New Testament law, people are not stoned to death for committing adultery.  Our population would not be nearly as many if there were such a law in our land.  It might be a little hard for some communities to carry on a small business, but, anyway, it is still wrong!  The Old Testament nearly closes with the prophet telling about the people crying and weeping because God would not accept their offerings and inquiring why.  And God told them because you have not been “faithful to the wife of your youth, and concluding by saying I hate divorce.”  That is in chapter two of Malachi and God still hates  divorce today like he hated divorce then. 

 

John 8:12, "Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world:  He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  So Jesus is the light of the world, and as we follow him we are to be lights to the world.  Do you remember how Jesus said to his disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount, chapter five, ye are the light of the world a city that set on a hill that cannot be hid.  And neither men lighteth a candle and put it under the bushel,  but on the stand so that it giveth light to all them that are in the house, even so let your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven.  So we need to be careful and follow the Lord closely, and we will be a light to those around us.  Paul said to the brethren at Philippi that they were to do everything that the Lord had commanded, and  work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.  By doing everything that the Lord had instructed them to do, without murmuring and questioning, that “ye may shine his lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.  Our generation evidently is not very different from  that generation that those Philippian brethren lived in.  And we are to do that which the Lord has instructed us to do.  Whether we understand the why or not, we need to understand that God is a kind and benevolent God, and that whatever he has said to us, he said it for our benefit.  And so if the Lord has said it, then that should end the matter with us and we should just rise up and do what the Lord has commanded.  And when we do, we will shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. 

 

John 8:13, "The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true."  It took two or more witnesses under the law to put a person to death.  And so they are accusing Jesus of you're the only one that's a witness in what you say.  "Jesus answered and said unto them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true:  For I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go.  Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.  And if I judge, my judgment is true:  For I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me."  So Jesus is saying that the Father is always with him in judging and in witnessing.  "Yea, and in your law, it is written that the witness of two is true.  I am he that beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.  Then they said therefore unto him, Where is thy Father?  Jesus answered, Ye know neither me, nor my Father:  If ye knew me, ye would know my Father also.  These words spake he in the Treasury, as he taught in the temple:  And no man took him; because his hour was not yet come."  You see everything had been planned even before God made man, that Jesus would be the sin offering for man upon the cross of Calvary.  And no man took him until it was time for Judas Iscariot and that multitude sent from the chief priests and elders to take him.  And so they attempted on a number of occasions to try to take him prior to that time.  But each time they were not successful.  Let us read the verse again.  "These words spake he in the Treasury, as he taught in the temple:  And no man took him; because his hour was not yet come."  And that has to do not only with his death but even the time that they would be able to take him. 

 

John 8:21, "He said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall seek me.  And shall die in your sins:  Whither I go, ye cannot come."  Of course, he is talking to hard‑hearted, unbelieving Jews.  "The Jews therefore said."  And John usually uses Jews to refer to members of the Sanhedrin court, to the ruling authorities of the day.  "The Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself?  Then he saith, whither I go, ye cannot come.  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above:  Ye are of this world; I am not of this world.  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:  For except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."  John 8:24 is a good verse to call attention to the fact that people must believe in the Lord in order to be saved.  I usually use verse twenty‑four, the latter part, pressing the point that there are conditions of salvation. The first is that a man must believe.  And so Jesus says here, “except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.  And Hebrews 11:6 is also a very good reference for that.  "They said therefore unto him, Who art thou?  And Jesus said unto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning.  I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you:  Howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him.  These speak I unto you.  They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father.  Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, that I do nothing of myself; but as the Father taught me, I speak these things." John 8: 28 is the second time that Jesus talks about his being lifted up on the cross of Calvary.  The first time is John 3:14, when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus. After Jesus talked to him about the new birth, he talked to him about his coming death on the cross. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.  And then in John 12:31, we will read again about his being lifted up on the cross.  Remember chapter twenty of Matthew, how he detailed to his apostles when he was going to Jerusalem for the triumphant entry, he took them aside and told them that the chief priests and the elders would condemn him and deliver him to the Gentiles and they would mock and crucify him.  "And he that sent me is with me:  He hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him.  And as he spake these things, many believed on him. 

 

John 8:31, Jesus therefore said unto those Jews that believed on him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples:  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  All of us need to be very thankful that God is a God of truth.  And if we follow his instruction, then we will be going the way of truth in every area of everyday living.  "They answered unto him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man:  How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?"  They are lying there in verse thirty‑three when they say we have never been in bondage to any man.  The ten tribes were carried into Assyrian captivity in 722 B.C.  I believe that was the six‑year of the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah.  They were carried into captivity because of their sins and primarily the sins of idolatry, and especially the matter of their burning their children as sacrifices to their idol gods, to Baal.  If you will turn to the 106 Psalms and begin reading about ‑‑ I think it is around verse thirty‑six or thirty‑seven, you will see that in that psalm, the psalmists calls attention to the fact that they had done that.  And because of their shedding of so much blood in the offering of their children in sacrifices, that the land was polluted with blood.  And we need to think about how that our land, is it not being polluted by blood, not only by such things as the ride by shootings and all of the other forms of great violence in the land but also by abortion.  The land became so polluted with blood, and God carried the ten tribes into Assyrian captivity in 722 B.C.(II Kings 17:1-24).  And then the final carrying away of Judah, the southern kingdom, was some hundred and thirty‑six years later in 586  B.C.  They were carried into Babylonian captivity essentially for the same reasons that the northern kingdom had been carried into captivity, and now they are under Roman authority. 

 

They had not been actually free from the time that they were carried into Babylonian captivity.  When they returned, they were under the authority of the Persian government, and now they are under authority of the Roman government.  They were looking for an earthly king who would deliver them from the authority of the Roman government and bring the people of Israel back to that state of great prominence that it had during the days of David and his son Solomon.  So they're lying here in verse thirty‑three.  "They answered unto him, We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man:  How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?"  He had told them if you will continue in my word, you will know the truth and the truth shall make you free.  "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Everyone that commiteth sin is the bondservant of sin."  Now, remember there is pleasure in sin. When Moses made the choice that he would suffer ill treatment with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.  Sin can evidently be very pleasant for a short season, but it is not long until man starts reaping what he has sown.  He becomes the slave of his wrongdoing.  Everyone that commiteth sin is the bondservant of sin.  Think of the people today that have AIDS because of wrongdoing.  Now, not every person that has AIDS is guilty.  Children are being born with AIDS because of the sins of their mother or their father, but people just cannot continue in sin over a long period of time without becoming the slaves of their wrongdoing. God’s law of sowing and reaping is never cancelled, and it works both ways (Galatians 6:6-10).

 

John 8:36, "And the bondservant abideth not in the house forever.  His Son abideth forever.  If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."  Of course, Christ is talking about himself as the Son.  He is going to be in God's house forever.  And if I make you free, you will really be free.  Jesus is especially speaking of being free from sin (John 5:24-25).  "I know that ye are Abraham's seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course in you.  I speak the things which I have seen with my Father:  And ye also do the things which ye heard from your father.  And they answered and said unto him, our father is Abraham.  Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham."  Now, of course, Jesus knew that they were the fleshly descendants of Abraham, as he has already stated.  But they are not the kind of people that Abraham was.  Abraham was a man who had great faith and trusted in God and did the will of God.  And so Jesus said if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God:  This did not Abraham.  Ye do the works of your father, They said to him, We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.  Jesus saith unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me:  For I came forth and have come from God: For neither have I come from myself, but he sent me.  Why do ye not understand my speech?  Even because ye cannot hear my word.  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do.  He is a murderer from the beginning.  And standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him."  What is the real meaning of verse forty‑four, that your father is the devil and the lust of your father, it is your will to do "He was a murderer from the beginning and standeth not in truth because there was no truth in him."  This refers us back to Genesis chapter three when Satan, through the medium of the servant, appeared to our mother Eve and the first lie was recorded. 

 

Reading from chapter three of Genesis, "Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?"  Going back to chapter two, God had told them that they could eat of every tree of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  But if they ate of that tree, that in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.  That's chapter two, verses sixteen and seventeen.  "And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.  For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  And so the tempter comes to mother Eve probably with  the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in his hand eating it.  "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden.  And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat:  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food."  Lust of the flesh. "And that it was a delight to the eyes."  That would be the lust of the eyes.  "And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,  the vein glory of life.  She took of the fruit thereof, and   did eat, and she gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."  So the serpent appealed to mother Eve through all of the three avenues of temptation as given in I John chapter 2:15‑16, where John says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, For  any one that loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  He is not talking about the creation but the lustful things of the world.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of the life is not of the Father but of the world.  And the world passes away. And the glory thereof, but he that doeth the will of the Lord abideth forever.”  And it is at the time of the fall of man that the first promise of a Saviour is given, in verse fifteen, that the seed of woman would bruise the head of a serpent.  And Jesus came for that very purpose, Hebrews 2:14 and I John 3:8 to put to naught the power of the devil and  the works of the devil, which things he did. 

 

Some would be ready to say that the devil is right, that the man did not die that day.  Yes, but the sentence of death was given, and Adam and Eve were driven from the garden and the tree of life (Genesis 3:17-24)! Would that not be  what he is referring to, that Satan was a murderer from the beginning and a liar.  We see very clearly that he was a liar.  But the sentence of physical death is given, verse seventeen.  "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:  cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shaltthou eat of it all the days of thy life."  Now while Adam was in the garden, God had given him a little work to do that evidently he had enjoyed doing.  Genesis 2:15, "And Jehovah took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."  The garden was a very beautiful garden, and Adam must have enjoyed that work of dressing and keeping it.  Like some of us, he must have wanted one plant to grow this way and he trimmed that plant to make it grow the way he wanted to, and did the kind of things that he enjoyed, but now he is going to have to work for a living.  "Cursed is the ground for thy sake.  In toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken:  For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." 

 

Even though Adam lived to be nine hundred and thirty years of age, the sentence of death was given then.  And God took animal skins and made clothes for them and clothed them.”  Prior to that time, they were naked and not ashamed.  But now they have that knowledge of good and evil, and they need clothing.  And God made coats of skin and clothed them, verse twenty‑one, and he drove them from the garden.  Verse twenty‑two, "And Jehovah God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil:  And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."  So God would not allow them to eat of that tree of life in that state of rebellion.  "Therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubims, and the flame of the sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."  Would that not be what Jesus is talking about here in verse forty‑four when he says, ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father is your will to do?  He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth because there is no truth in him.  "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar.  But because I say to the truth, ye believe me not.  Which of you convicteth me of sine?  If I say the  truth, why did ye not believe me?"  The idea that some few have that if we just do our work properly as Christians that we will finally convert the whole world, is not Bible. If the Lord himself could not convince people that he was the Christ, surely we recognize there are going to be those we are not able to convince that he is the Christ and that they should obey him.  Further you remember how Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “give not that which is holy unto the dogs.  Neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they turn again and rend you.”  The Lord well knew that there are those who have no regard for God's truth and for spiritual things and that we should not waste our time with such people.

 

John 8:46, "Which of you convicteth me of sin?  If I say truth, why do ye not believe me?  He that is of God heareth the words of God:  Ye hear them not, because ye are not of God.  The Jews answered, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon?"  There was great enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans.  So these Jews say, You are a Samaritan and hast a demon.  And you might want to remember that statement in regard to this point.  Sometimes you have people to say, well, if it is in the Bible, it is true.  Well, it is true that the statements were made, but there are many statements in the Bible that are made by the devil's camp that are not true.    "Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honor my  Father, and ye dishonor me.  But I seek not mine own glory: There is one that seeketh and judgeth.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death.  The Jews said unto him, Now we know that thou hast a demon.  Abraham died, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my word, he shall never taste of death.  Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who died, and the prophets died.  Whom makest thou thyself?  Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing:  It is my Father that glorifieth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God."  The Father had already glorified him twice with the voice from heaven when he was baptized of  John, and when he was transfigured before Peter, James and John, Matthew17:1-9, and God is going to glorify him again. “And if I should say, I know him not, I should be like unto you a liar:  But I know him, and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day:  And he saw it, and was glad.  The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am."  Notice that, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” 

 

When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush that person must have been the Lord Jesus Christ back there.  (A brief recess was taken.) 

 

When God wanted Moses to go to Egypt to lead them out Moses said, and they ask me, What is his name?  What shall I say to them?  God said to Moses, I am  who I am:  And he said, say this to the people of Israel, I am hath sent me to you." 

 

Chapter Nine

Chapter nine is about Jesus healing a blind man, and this account is also peculiar to John's gospel.  .  "And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.  And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?"  It looks like the people of that day had the idea that any time a person had a physical defect, that it was because of the person's sins or the sins of his parents, and in many cases that is true.  Just like we mentioned, there are a lot of babies being born with the AIDS disease because of the sins of their parents.  Many people that are afflicted have brought the affliction upon themselves, but that is not the case with every person.  There are some people that come down with terrible diseases, and they are the Lord's people, but not because of their sins or the sins of their parents.  But I guess we could say that either directly or indirectly that all such things have come as a result of sin.    "Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents:  But that the works of God should be made manifest in him.  We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day.  The night cometh, when no man can work."  The Lord knew that the night of his work was coming soon, and so he's emphasizing to his apostles that we need to make the most of it.  We must work the works of him that sent me while it was day.  The night cometh when no man can work.  We need to reflect on that statement that Jesus made.  We need to be serving the Lord well every day.  We do not know when that night is coming for us.  Tomorrow, with all of us, is but a promissory note.  We have no promise that we are going to be able to do tomorrow.  We may be even taken by reason of death, and when you get to be an ancient like I am, you do not know what day you may come down with a stroke or some terrible affliction, of mind or body and may not be able to serve the Lord very much any more, and so we need to be busy while it is day.  The night cometh when no man can work.” 

 

John 9:5, "When I am in the world, I am the light of the world.  When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of his spittle, and anointed his eyes of the clay."  We wonder why Jesus anointed his eyes with that spittle and clay..  We know he could have just told the man, if you believe you will see, and he would have been healed.  But on this occasion, he made clay spittle and put it on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  "And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is my interpretation, Sent.) He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing."  Now, notice what the people say about him.  "The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind said, Is not this he that sat and begged?" It looks like they are not fully convinced that he was the same person, but they said it is not this he that sat and begged.  This man not only was born blind, but the people had been seeing him, probably sitting at the same place begging for a long time.  "Others said, It is he."  So some were convinced that he had been made to see.  "Others said, No, but he is like him:  He said, I am he.  They said therefore unto him, How then were thine eyes opened?  He answered, A man that is called Jesus  Now, this man did not know that Jesus is the Christ at this time of his healing and he referred to him as a man called Jesus. made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam, and wash:  And I went away and washed, and I received my sight.  And they said unto him, Where is he?  He saith, I know not."  Notice that they bring the man to the Pharisees to let them put him to the test as to whether or not such a miracle had actually taken place. 

 

John 9:13, "They bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.  And it was the Sabbath on that day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes."  The Pharisees had already accused his disciples of breaking the Sabbath day by going through the grain fields and plucking the ears of grain and eating them.  "Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.  And he said unto them, He put clay on mine eyes, and I washed, and I see.  And some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath."  According to them it was a violation of the law to do good things on the Sabbath day.  Do you remember how Jesus on one occasion was healing on the Sabbath that he said to them when a sheep falls in a ditch you get him out on the Sabbath day, and the priest did their work on the Sabbath day.  "This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath."  And so that is another lie, but it is true what they said.  "But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such things?"  Now, isn’t that a good question?  "And there was a division among them.  And they say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, in that he opened thine eyes!  And he said, He is a prophet."  He first he referred to him as a man named Jesus, but now he speaks of him as a prophet. He dtll does not know that he is Christ, but by his healing he judges him to be a prophet.  "The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.  And asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind?  How then doth he now see?  His parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:  But how he now seeth we know not; or who opened his eyes, we know not."  They were lying because they did not want to be put out of the synagogue.  "Ask him:  He is of age:  He shall speak for himself.  These things said his parents. These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews:  For the Jews had agreed already (the ruling authorities) that if any man should confess him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.  Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.  So they called a second time the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God:  We know that this man is a sinner.  And he therefore answered, Whether he is a sinner, I know not:  One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.  They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee?  How opened he thine eyes?  He answered them, I told you even now, and ye did not hear:  Wherefore would ye hear it again?  Would ye also become disciples?"  This fellow that was born blind had a much greater sense of understanding than those Pharisees had.  And so he is saying now, I have told you, but if I tell you again are you going to believe?  Are you going to become one of his disciples?  "And they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses.  We know that God hath spoken unto Moses:  But as for this man, we know not whence he is.  The man answered and said unto them, Herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he opened mine eyes.  We know that God heareth not sinners:  But if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth."  The man is saying if he was a sinner, God would not perform through him.  He has the same kind of reasoning that Nicodemus had back there, that no man can do the things that thou does except God be with him.  But let me call attention to the fact that back yonder, say, especially forty to sixty years ago, some of our brethren went to a wrong, bad extreme, that God does not hear an alien sinner's prayer.  And they used this reference.  Actually it is good reasoning on the part of the blind man, but he is still an uninspired man.  We have already read tonight a number of lies told by uninspired people, but, they used John 9:31 and Ephesians 3:3, and I Peter 3:12.  Now, we will not take as much time as I would like to take in talking about this.  But this was a matter of our brethren going from one extreme to the other.  Back in that day the mourners bench was a very popular thing.  Alien sinners would go to the mourners bench to be prayed for that they might receive, according to that doctrine, receive salvation.  They would be saved by prayer only as it appeared according to what they say about it.  This was so very popular back then, and our brethren knew that that was wrong, that men were not saved by prayer only, but they went to the other extreme.  I think they had good intentions and were sincere, but they did not give enough attention to what the Bible teaches on the subject.  

 

Now, the Bible teaches plainly that God will not hear the prayer of the man who turns away his ears from hearing the law of God.  If you will, turn to Proverbs 28:9.  There are two good references that you need to mark.  28:9, "He that turned away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is a abomination to the Lord."  And I suggest that you write down there by verse nine Psalms 32:5 and 66:18 and then also highlight like Proverbs 28:13.  "He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper:  But whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall  obtain mercy."  Those are two good references, and  whether a man is an alien sinner or a child of God, if he turns away his ears from hearing the law, his prayer, is a abomination to the Lord.  If a man wants to hold onto his wrong doing as though he has not done wrong, “he that covereth his transgression shall not prosper.  But whosoever confesses and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.”  And in the thirty‑second Psalms, God's hand was heavy upon David until he confessed that he had sinned and then the Lord forgave him of his sins.  And Psalms 66:18 reads, “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.”  So if a Christian wants to continue in sin the Lord will not hear him. 

 

Now, the Bible teaches very plainly that God did hear the prayers of some alien sinners, but he did not save a single alien sinner by prayer only.  In Acts 10:31, Cornelius is rehearsing to Peter what had happened to him and said that the angel told him “thy prayer is heard and thine ohms have gone up for a memorial before God.  So God heard the prayer of Cornelius, and he assisted Cornelius in the way of salvation by having him to send for Peter, who told all those people gathered at his house words by which they were saved (Acts 11:12-14).  In Acts the sixteenth chapter, you remember when Paul along with Silas and Timothy, wanted to go to Mysia, and they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go there.  They came to Troas, and there was a man standing over in Macedonia saying, come over and help us, and Luke joined the company, and they went over to Macedonia.  Where did they do their first teaching?  Down by the riverside, where a prayer services was held, and their first converts were made at that place of prayer.  Would not that mean that the Lord, appearing to him in a vision in the night, in answer to their prayers?  Again, they were not saved by prayer only, but the teachers went there, and the Lord opened the heart of Lydia and her household by hearing the word of God, and they were obedient to the teaching..  And, again, think of Saul of Tarsus.  After the Lord appeared to him and told him to go on into the city to Damascus and there it shall be told thee all things that are appointed for thee to do.  God sent Ananias to him and said, “behold he prayeth.”  But neither the Lord nor Ananias rebuked Saul of Tarsus for praying.  I ask you a question, think about it, “Do you suppose that most saved people did some praying before they obeyed the Lord?  So those sincere brethren came with a wrong doctrine.  There is always the danger when you see one extreme to let the pendulum swing to another extreme.  Let us try to guard against that.  It is much better, if you have not studied enough to really know the right answer, to say I need to study this subject more.  I really do not know what the Bible teaches on this subject..  If you come with one false doctrine to answer another false doctrine, it might be that that false doctrine may turn out to be bad or worse than the one that you are trying to show as a false doctrine.  We just need to be good students and especially preachers and leaders in the church and know the word of God well enough that we can with a straight course tell the people what the Bible teaches on any major subject of the Bible!  Back to verse thirty‑one, "We knoweth that God heareth not sinners:  But if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.  Since the world began, it was never heard that anyone opened the eyes of the man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."  This man had a lot more spiritual insight than these proud Pharisees and elders had.  They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?  And they cast him out."  So they cast him out of their synagogue.  His parents were afraid that they would be cast out, so they refused tell who had made him be able to see.  So he is cast out of the synagogue, and that was counted by the Jewish people as a terrible thing, for man to be cast out of the synagogue. 

 

John 9:35, "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?  He answered and said, Who is he, Lord."  Remember he spoke of him first as a man called Jesus, and then he decided that this man that made me see is a prophet.  And now Jesus comes to him and wants to know “Dost thou believe on the Son of God.?  And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?  And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he is that speaketh with thee.  And he said, Lord, I believe.  And he worshipped him."  So he is cast out of the synagogue, but he has the Lord instead.  "And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and that they see may become blind.  Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said unto him, Are we also blind?"  I guess they were expecting Jesus to respond.  "Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin:  But now ye say, We see; your sin remaineth."  So they were not willing to confess that Jesus had performed the miracle.  The response of Jesus may mean if you had confessed that you are blind and walking in darkness, then you would be freed from your sins. 

 

Chapter Ten

Chapter ten is about the sheepfold and the good shepherd, and all of chapter ten is peculiar to the gospel of John.  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: And he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out."  The teaching is based on what was true of that day.  They had sheepfolds for the sheep, and there might be a number of shepherds that put their sheep in that one big sheepfold that had a fence of some kind around it to keep the wolves and other devouring animals that would devour the sheep.  It was a place of protection,   and I believe they had some shelter for them too.  But at least they were fenced in, so they would not be devoured by wolves and like animals.  And so Jesus is using what they understood very well.  "But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."  By the door to the sheepfold.  "To him the porter openeth."  And that would be the one at the door of the sheepfold keeping the sheepfold, and, of course, he would let the shepherds with their sheep in.  "And to him the porter openeth."  To the shepherd of the sheep.  "And the sheep hear his voice:  And he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out."  And it is said that that was really the case that the shepherds gave names to their sheep.  And when they called that sheep by name, and that sheep would go to them, like we call a dog by name and he comes.  "When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him:  For they know his voice.  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him:  For they know not the voice of strangers."  I read the story about a traveler saying to the shepherd, why it is not your voice that makes the difference, it is what you are wearing.  They know that you are the shepherd from what you wear.  The shepherd said, if you think that is the case, let us just change garments and see, and they changed garments.  And the man cried for the sheep, but they did not follow him.  But the shepherd clothed in the traveler's garments called the sheep and they started going to him.  They knew the voice of their shepherd.  A stranger will they not follow.  "But will flee from him:  For they know not the voice of strangers.  This parable spake Jesus unto them:  But they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.  Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." 

 

John 14:6 reads, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the light,  no man cometh unto the Father except by me.”  So no man comes to God and has salvation in Christ and in his church unless they go through Christ.  He is the door to the sheepfold.  Christ and his church is the sheepfold, even though it says, “shall go in and out” "All that came before me are thieves and robbers:  But the sheep did not hear them."  Jesus said in Matthew twenty‑four that many false Christ would arise before the destruction of Jerusalem.  "But the sheep did not hear them."  Well, he surely is not talking about faithful Old Testament prophets or John the Baptist.  They were not robbers.  "All that came in before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door:  By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture."  Some have reasoned the sheep fold could not represent the church, because it talks about going in and going out.  Well, remember Christ is the living bread.  He is the living water, and he gives spiritual food to his people, and so it can be described here in that figurative sense, going in and out and finding pastures.  His word is sufficient to give us that spiritual life and that spiritual strength.  "The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and to destroy:  I came that ye might have life, and have it abundantly."  There cannot be any more abundant and meaningful life than to just be a simple New Testament Christian following the Lord closely.  There is where the abundant life is.  Jesus said, “I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.

 

John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd:  The good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep.  He that is a hireling, and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, beholdeth the wolf cometh, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth:  And the wolf snatcheth them, and scattereth them.  He fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep."  Now, a hireling is not necessarily a man who receives pay for his work, because every laborer is worthy of his hire, as plainly taught in I Corinthians the ninth chapter and other references like I Timothy chapter five in verses seventeen and eighteen.  But a hireling would represent one who is just working for pay only and he has no regard for the sheep.  But because he was paid, he will claim to be a shepherd.  But when there is danger, when the wolf is coming, he is afraid the wolf will get him, so he leaveth the sheep and fleeth.  And so the wolf snatcheth them and scattereth them.  He fleeth because he is a hireling and careth not for the sheep.”  And that relationship would represent any leaders today that are in the church that are just working for the pay that they get, but really do not care for their brethren or for the chief shepherd who is Jesus (I Peter 5:1-5).  "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine own, and my own know me.  Even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father:  And I lay down my life for the sheep."  So we need to thank God through Christ that not only was God willing to send his Son to die for us, but his Son was willing to die for us.  He did not have to die that death on the cross.  Remember as given in Matthew chapter twenty‑six, when Peter drew his sword and cut off the servant of the high priest's ear and Jesus restored his ear and told Peter to put up the sword and that he that takes the sword shall perish with the sword.  And he said thinkest thou not, that “I could even now call upon my heavenly Father and he would give me twelve legions of angels.”  But he said, “how then would the scriptures be fulfilled?”  Jesus came to fulfill all those Old Testament scriptures about he would be the one that would lay down his life for the sheep.  And so here my Father loves me because  I lay down my life for the sheep. 

 

John 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:  Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd."  Well, who are those other sheep?  Those would be the Gentile people that would be brought in later.  The gospel was to be preached first to the Jewish people and then to the Samaritans, and then to the Gentiles (Acts 1:8).  It is usually estimated that it was about seven years before the gospel was formally carried by the apostle Peter to those assembled at the house of Cornelius, and so Jesus is talking about the future event of the bringing in of the Gentile.  He was to be a light to the Gentiles as given in (Isaiah 42:1, 49:6, 49:8, 49:19-22, 51:4, 54:1-3, 54:13; John 6:45-46; Hebrews 8:11)..  And so they were going to be brought in.  "And other sheep have I, which are not of this fold.  Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd."  Do you remember from Ephesians chapter two how that Jesus broke down the middle wall of partition, the Old Testament law, taking it out of the way and made Jew and Gentile one in him, having made peace by the blood of the cross, and came and preached peace to them that were afar off, to the Gentile people and peace to them that are nigh? 

 

John 10:17, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself.  I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again.  This commandment received I from my Father.  There arose a division again among the Jews because of these words.  And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?  Others said, These are not the  sayings of one possessed with a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  At least a few of them were doing some good thinking, were they not?  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?  "And it was the feast of dedication at Jerusalem."  Now, the feast of dedication was not a God‑given feast.  We have talked about the three annual feasts.  But the feast of dedication came into existence during the inter-testament period in the days of the Maccabees.  The Gentiles had gone into the sanctuary and had offered a sow upon the altar, a swine on the altar.  Of course, a swine was an unclean animal under the law.  And so when they got back in power again, they cleansed the temple, and had a dedication having to do with the cleansing of the temple.  And so it is that feast that they are attending, but it was not a God‑given feast.  And I believe I read that that feast came in December.  And that would surely fit with verse twenty‑three.  "It was winter and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's porch.  The Jews therefore came round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou hold us in suspense?  If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly."  Well, go back to chapter eight, how could he have told them in any plainer way that  he had told them over and over.  "Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: The works which I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me."  So the Lord is saying my works prove that I am the Christ.  "But ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep.  My sheep hear my voice."  Now, notice the qualifications of the Lord's sheep.  One, they “hear my voice.”  "And I know them."  Christ knows every child of God by name just like the good shepherd knew his sheep by name, and he knows  the motive of each one's heart.  "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.  And my Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand."  In days gone by, when some people had enough religion to at least try to stand up for the doctrine that they had embraced in regard to that old false doctrine, once in grace always in grace, once a child of God always a child of God.  In public discussion one of those fellows might draw two circles on the board and use this passage and say, now this shows the impossibility of a child of God being plucked out of God's hand. In order to get a child of God, you would have  to tear down the power of God and the power of Christ.  Well, that is true except for one little detail.  And that goes back to verse twenty‑seven, “my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me”.  Just as long as the Lord's sheep, Christian people, hear and follow him the devil does not have the power to take a child of God out of God's hand or out of Christ's hand.  And we need to keep that before us, that there is real conditional security in Christ.  But it is conditional security as the rest of the New Testament plainly teaches.  Remember that Paul said to those Galatians that had followed those false teachers and had gone back under the law, Galatians five and I think verse four, ye are severed from Christ.  Ye who would be justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace.  (A brief recess was taken.)

 

Coupled with the security of John 10:27-29, we have the wonderful promise of I Corinthians 10:13, and many other references for that matter.  But I Corinthians 10:13 is one that every child of God should learn by memory.  "There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common unto man.  God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that which ye are able to bear; but will with the temptation give a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  So there is real security in Christ.  But it still depends on that free moral agency of man.  Just as long as a child of God hears and follows Christ, the devil cannot reach him.  And remember from Romans the fourteenth chapter and around verse four, where Paul was talking about those who were weak not having understanding that all meats had been cleansed and ate vegetables instead.  And he is telling those that were stronger and knew that meats had been cleansed to receive them but “not for a decision of their scruples.  And he said, “who art thou that judgest the servant of another, to his own master he standeth or falleth.”  And he said, speaking of the weak brethren, “he shall stand, for the Lord hath the power to make him stand.”  So just as long as a child of God wants to do right, the Lord has the power to make him stand, and he will stand. 

 

John 10:30, , "I and my Father are one.  And the Jews took up stones again to stone him."  When John says, the Jews, he is usually speaking of the  ruling group, especially those of the Sanhedrin.  "Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?  The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy."  Because he said he and the Father were one.  "Because thou, being a man, makest thyself God.  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?"  The quotation is from Psalms 82:6, where God said back there of the rulers that ye are gods.  "If he called them gods, unto whom the word of the Lord came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Lord sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not."  If my works are not evidence that I am from my Father and that I am the Son of God, then do not believe on me, but I am doing those works.  "But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works:  That ye may know, and understand, that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.  They sought again to take him:  And he went forth out of their hand.  And he went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at the first baptizing."  On the east side of the Jordan.  So he leaves Judaea and goes to the east side of the Jordan.  "And many came unto him, and they said, John indeed did no sign:  But all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true.  And many believed on him there. 

 

Chapter Eleven

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus, of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha."  All  three of the synoptic gospel writers recorded about Mary taking the precious ointment and anointing Jesus for his burial, but neither tells about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Some have suggested that had they mentioned the name of Lazarus, that might have caused them to put forth more effort to put Lazarus to death.  Remember they wanted to put Lazarus to death because Jesus had raised him from the dead.  John wrote a long time after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple had been completely destroyed, and that Jewish system of religion, as it had been practiced, went by the wayside, John gives us the name of Martha and Mary's brother.   

 

John 11:2, “And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  The sisters therefore sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick."  Jesus was very close to this family, Lazarus and these two sisters, Martha and Mary.  And so Lazarus is sick, and so they send the word to Jesus. “he whom thou lovest is sick. “ And, of course, they were expecting him to come immediately.  They had enough confidence if Jesus was present he would heal him.  "But when Jesus heard it, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified thereby.  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.  When therefore he heard that he was sick, he abode at that time two days in the place where he was."    So he did not go immediately, he wanted to give time that there would be no doubt that Lazarus had been raised from the dead.  "Then after this he saith to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again."  Note what the disciples say.  "The disciples say unto him, Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone thee, and goest thou thither again?"  It is too dangerous for you go back to Judaea.  "Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth light of this world.  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth."  And, of course, he is talking about the night meaning the way of darkness and sin.  "He stumbleth, because the light is not in him.  These things spake he:  And after this he said unto them, Our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.  The disciples therefore said unto him, Lord if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Sleep in many cases can be the very best thing for a person when he is coming down with some kind of ailment or disease. The body has power to help fight against that disease during good sleep.  And so the disciples reason if he is sleeping, he will recover from the sick bed.  They had not recognized yet that Lazarus is dead.  "Now, Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spake of taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus therefore said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent that ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.  Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him."  So these disciples are showing great faith.  He is going back to Judaea and they will kill him.  But he who had been doubting Thomas said, let us go with him.  We will die with him.  "So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already."  It must have been that the news was carried to Jesus at least five days before he got there.  He had been buried for four days.  "Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs."  The New American Standard and The New Revised Standard Version read, “about two miles off” "And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 

 

John 11:20, Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming went and met him:  But Mary still sat in the house.  Martha therefore said unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died."  She was very confident that if Jesus had been there before his death that Jesus would have healed her brother..  And she said, "That even now, whatsoever thou shall ask of God, God will give thee."  But she was not expecting him to raise her brother from the dead as shown by what she says later.  "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day." Notice that statement, “the resurrection of the last day.”  There is a last great day coming.  And when that day comes, Jesus said, “Marvel not at this the hour cometh when all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good to the resurrection of life and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation,” as we have read from this book, John chapter five verses twenty‑eight and twenty‑nine.  "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:  He that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die."  So whoever believes on Christ is going to have that spiritual life in Christ that he talked about as recorded in John 5:24‑25, that those who are dead and hear his voice will have spiritual life.  "And so whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die believest thou this?  She said unto him, yea, Lord:  I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, even he that cometh into the world.  And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister  secretly, saying, The Teacher is here, and calleth thee.  And when she heard it, she arose quickly, and went unto him.  Now Jesus was not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him."  Mary had evidently learned that he was coming.  "The Jews then who were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing, that she was going unto the tomb to weep there.  Mary therefore when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, and fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him?  They say unto him, Lord, come and see.  Jesus wept."  So Jesus wept with compassion because they were mourning over the death of their brother Lazarus and other Jews, weeping with them.  

 

John 11:46, "The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him.  But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man should not die?"  Wasn’t that pretty good reasoning?  If he could make a blind man see, who had never seen before, he could have kept Lazarus alive.  "Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb.  There was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone.  Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time the body decayeth:  For he hath been dead four days."  That body is decaying.  He is stinking.  And if you take away the stone, there will be that stinking smell.  "Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, if thou  believest, thou shouldest see the glory of God?  So they took away the stone.  And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father I think thee that thou heardest me.  And I knew that thou heardest me always:  But because of the multitude that standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me."  And so Jesus is going to give them real proof that he is the Son of God by raising Lazarus from the dead.  He is calling upon God because of the multitude that standeth around and said that they may believe that thou didst send me.  So Jesus is giving them every opportunity that could be given for them to believe on him. 

 

John 11:43, "And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth."  Some have suggested it is a good thing that he called Lazarus by name or all of these in the cemetery may have come forth.  Well, at least the day is coming when by the voice of the Christ all will hear his voice and shall come forth.  And so he raised that decaying and stinking Lazarus from the dead.  "He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes:  And his face was bound about with a napkin.  Jesus saith unto them, loose him, and let him go.  Then many of the Jews who came to Mary, and beheld that which he did, believed on him."  And that is wonderful!  Jesus wanted them to have everything, every good reason to believe on him.  "But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.  The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a counsel.  And said, What do we?  For this man doeth many signs."  So they gathered their counsel and said what are we going to do, for this man doeth many signs. "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: And the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.  But a certain one of them, Caiaphas."  Caiaphas is at this time reckoned as high priest by the Romans. 

 

John 11:49, "But certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor do ye take account that it is expedient for you, that one man should die for the people."  He is talking about Christ.  We are going to put him to death.  Instead of all the people suffering, we are going to put him to death.  "That the whole nation perish not.  Now this he said not of himself:  But being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together in to him the children of God that are scattered abroad.  So from that day forth they took counsel that they might put him to death.  Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but departed thence into the country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there he tarried with the disciples.  Now the Passover of the Jews' was at hand:  And many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover, to purify themselves.  They sought therefore for Jesus, and spake one with another, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?  Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given commandment, that, if any man knew where he was, he should show them, that they might take him. 

 

Chapter Twelve

Jesus therefore six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead."  And can you see at least the possibility that that may be the reason why the other three did not mention it?  Remember they wrote before the destruction of Jerusalem.  "So they made him a supper there; and Martha served: But Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat."  And remember the other writers talk about it being at Simon the leper's house, where they made the feast for him.  "But Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him.  Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair:  And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.  But Judas Iscariot."  And John is the only one that tells us that Judas Iscariot was the first one that brought the criticism, and he did it not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief.  "But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples that should betray him saith, why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings and given to the poor?"  There are still evil men that are ready to put false motives on what they are doing.  He made out like he was concerned about the poor, but he was a thief and took what was put in the bag. 

 

John 12:6, "Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief and having the bag, and took away what was put therein.  Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying."  I have emphasized already, that we need to be careful and guard against wrong peer pressure, and if a person is being criticized for doing something that is good and right, that we ought to stand up for that person like Jesus stood up for Mary.  "For the poor you have always with you; but me ye have not always."  And the poor have always been around.  And according to the words of Jesus, we can depend on them always be around.  "The common people therefore of the Jews learned that he was there:  And they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead."  Now, notice what the chief priests want to do with Lazarus.  "But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.  On the morrow a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and crying out." I believe we have read the rest of chapter twelve.  I am very confident we did when we read the parallels. 

 

Come now to chapter thirteen.  Remember that Jesus is going to die as the Passover lamb.  And we have already called attention to how that John 18:28 shows that Christ kept the Passover before the actual time to keep the Passover, and he died at the very time they would be killing the Passover lambs.  John's book is the only one that makes it plain that Jesus kept that supper with his disciples before the actual time for the Passover. 

 

Chapter thirteen

I believe we all remember about how that Jesus after the supper girded himself with a towel and started washing the disciples' feet.  When he came to Peter, and Peter said, you are not going to wash my feet?  And Jesus said to him, you do not have part nor lot with me unless I wash your feet.  And then Peter wanted him to wash not only his feet but his hands and his head.  I guess he is saying, if that be the case, wash me all over.  Well, Jesus was not instituting a ceremony of washing of feet.  Some have come with foot washing as a religious ceremony.  I can remember not far ‑‑ I guess about five miles from our house, there was a church building in days' past where they had big foot washings.  The people of that church counted Jesus as instituting it as a a religious ordinance, but Jesus did not institute  it as a religious ordinance.  It was the pattern of the day for the host of the house to at least furnish water for people to wash their feet.  They wore sandals, and their feet would be dusty. There are places like that in a number of places in the east, and so Jesus just showing the disciples that they ought to serve, and that was the purpose of him girding himself with the towel and washing their feet. 

 

John 12:12, "When he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?  Ye call me Teacher and Lord:  And ye say well; for so I am.  If I then, the Lord and the Teacher have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.  For I have given you an example that ye also should do as I have done to you."  And, of course, the point is that you are to serve others(Matthew 20:28), not only from the standpoint of such common courtesy as washing the feet of those who come to your house.  "Verily, I say unto you, a servant is not greater than his Lord; neither one that is sent greater than he that sent him."  And, of course, they were his servants, so they were not greater than he was, and he washed their feet.  And they were to serve others like he served others.  "And if ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them."  If ye do as I have done and minister to the needs of other people you will be happy.  "And I speak not of you all.  Judas Iscariot was not among that number.  I know whom I have chosen:  But that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth my bread lifted up his heel against me."  That reference is from one of the psalms of David, and evidently it was first against one of David's chief advisors. When his son tried to take the kingdom away from David, David’s chief adviser, Ahithophel was for Absalom (II Samuel 15:12-15, 15:30-31, 17:23). The statement first referred to Ahithophel, but the second reference is that Judas would betray Jesus. Ahithophel hanged himself (II Samuel 17:23) and so did Judas Iscariot. “From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me."  The Lord is going to send his apostles, and those who would receive Jesus would receive them. The same thing holds true today.  When faithful men go out teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ, those that would have received Christ will receive them, those men who would have rejected Christ reject faithful teachers today.  "And he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.  When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in the spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.  The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.  There was the table reclining in Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved."  And, of course, that one is John the writer of this book.  "Simon saith therefore beckoning to him, and saith unto him, tell us who it is of whom he speaketh.  He leaning back as he was on Jesus' breast, saith unto him, Lord, who is it?  And Jesus therefore answereth, He it is, for whom I have shall dip the sop, and give it to him."  The other  writers identified Judas as the one that would betray him.  "So when he had dipped the sop, he taketh  it and giveth  it to Judas the son of Simon Iscariot.  And after the sop then entered Satan into him.  Jesus therefore saith unto him, What thou doest, do quickly."  Jesus knows exactly what he is going to do, so he says unto Judas, you do your work quickly.  Get it over with.  "Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.  For some thought because Judas had the bag, that Jesus said unto him, Buy what things that we have need of for the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.  He then having received the sop went out straightway:  And it was night."  And it was the night of sin and despair for Judas Iscariot because of his wrong work.  "When therefore, he was gone out, Jesus saith, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.  And God shall glorify him in himself, and straightway shall he glorify him.  Little children, yet a little while I am with you.  Ye shall seek me:  And as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say unto you. 

 

John 13:34, A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; even as I have loved you."  And remember as he stated in John the tenth chapter, my Father loves me because I lay down my life for the sheep.  And no person had ever loved like that before. Jesus laid down his life for all sinners, laid down his life for all.  "Even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."  So if members of the church love one another as they ought, the world about them will see that they are Christian people.  They do not need to go out with the name Christian written on them or carry a cross around their neck.  But they can tell by the way that they love one another, “by this shall all men know me that ye are my disciple!”.  "That ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another.  Simon Peter said unto him."  You know Peter is that fellow that has got to speak.  "Lord, whither goest thou?  Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.  Peter saith unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee even now?  I will lay down my life for thee."  And so Peter was very confident that he was ready to die for the Lord, as we called attention to in Mark's account.  Mark said, “But he spake exceedingly vehemently (Mark 14:31). So Peter got real mad when Jesus told him that he would deny him. "Jesus answered, Wilt thou lay down thy life for me?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." 

 

Chapter Fourteen. 

In this chapter Jesus tells them again that I am going to go away, and  where I go, you cannot follow me now.  You can imagine that the apostles must have been sorrowful, because he had told them that he was going to go away and you cannot follow him now.  So the first part of chapter fourteen, he is trying to soothe their sorrow some.  "Let not your heart be troubled:  Believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you.  For I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."  Where does the Bible say that Christ is now?  Of course, the answer is at the right‑hand of God, and that he stay there until he puts all his enemies are made the footstool of his feet (Hebrews 1:13; I Corinthians 15:21-26).  "And whither I go ye know the way.  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way?  Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: No one cometh unto the Father, but by me."  So Jesus is the way of spiritual life.  No man can enter into heaven who does not go through Christ.  And remember those who had died under the patriarchal dispensation and Jewish dispensation, they were not cleansed completely until Christ died on the cross. Hebrews 9:15, “for death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions of those that were under the first.”  So no one can come to God except they go through Christ.  "No one cometh unto the Father but by me.  If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also:  From henceforth ye know him, and have seen him."  So Jesus came in person to demonstrate his Father.  And as stated in verse two or three in the first chapter of Hebrews, “he is the effulgence of his glory and the very image of his person.  

 

John 14:8, "Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip?  He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the father in me?  The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:  But the Father abideth in me doeth the works.  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the father in me: Or else believe me for the very works sake.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye ask anything in my name, that will I do.  If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments."  Again, a person can know whether he loves the Lord or not.  If he is keeping the commandments of the Lord, then he loves him.  But if he is not keeping the commandments, then he does not love the Lord.  "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter."  He is talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles which came upon them on that first Pentecost.  "That he may abide with you forever; even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, for it beholdeth it not; neither knoweth him:  Ye know him:  For he abideth with you, and shall be in you.  I will not leave you desolate:  I come unto you."  So Jesus is saying, I am not going to leave you alone, I am going to send the Holy Spirit to you.  I am going to send you a Comforter.  "Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye beholdeth me, because I live, ye shall live also.  In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.  And he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me."  And I see that our time is just a few seconds away from being up.  Let us count John 14:21 our beginning place for the next Class Session.  We will plan on finishing the reading here from John, and then we will begin and start dealing with the parables in the gospel of Luke in our next Class Session, if the Lord willing.  Thank you for your good attention.