The Miracles of Christ - John Chapter 5

[0:00] And we are going to return to John's Gospel chapter 5 this morning as we continue our exposition of the miracles of our Lord. Actually, we had intended to move on to the next miracle because we had just dealt with this one in John chapter 5, which has to do with the healing of the impotent man who lay at the pool of Bethesda, the fellow who was taken with the tradition or the suspicion, actually we think it was probably more a superstition, that an angel came down and troubled the waters and whoever was into the pool first after the angel troubled the waters would be healed of whatever disease he had.

[0:43] There is good reason to believe that there was natural means that caused the troubling of the water and it wasn't an actual angel and no one ever reported having seen an angel, but that was just a superstition probably that was part of the tradition and if you know anything about the power of traditions, they die very slowly if at all.

[1:04] Sometimes people have more confidence in traditions than they do in truth and that's too bad, but that's the kind of thing that goes on. So Jesus miraculously healed a man in John chapter 5 and as we were preparing to move on to the next miracle, which is actually what we're studying, the question or the suggestion was made, actually it was a request that we perhaps would be benefited to continue on with John chapter 5 because of the content that is there, and I can't see any valid reason for not doing that because we have no schedule to follow, we're not on any particular program, so we can do that, and as you turn to John's Gospel chapter 5, we will take up with the continuation of this content, and it is quite remarkable.

[2:02] We're going to move, if we may, into verse 19 of chapter 5 because the miracle, the healing of the impotent man at the pool is now behind us.

[2:15] It was in an earlier portion of this same chapter, and we read in verse 19, well let me just back up a little bit and remind you that so much of our Lord's ministry and miracles was involved with the Jewish celebration of the weekly Sabbath.

[2:37] And the weekly Sabbath was that which was established by God for the benefit of His creation, and when the scriptures tell us in Genesis 1 that God rested on the seventh day, we pointed out to you earlier, it wasn't because He had had a hard week's work and He needed to recoup, but the word rested simply means that He ceased.

[3:03] He ceased or stopped His work of creation and established this new day, and that has been burned into our psyche and into humanity ever since, and there is still a seven-day week that we honor based on that creation week.

[3:21] The Jews, however, took the Sabbath that God had created and extended it in nitpicking, detailed ways that were never intended.

[3:33] And long story short, Jesus made quite clear two things. One, He is the Lord of the Sabbath, which is a statement that is so incredible for Him to make, indicating, implying, stating that He precedes and established the Sabbath.

[3:57] But this is Jesus talking, and yet He's talking as the Son of God. He's also talking as Creator, because He is the one who created all things, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

[4:12] So He is very much involved in creation Himself, as was His Father, as was the Holy Spirit. And if you look at the creation account carefully, you will see that all three members were involved in the creation account.

[4:26] God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit was there, because the Spirit of God brooded over the waters, etc. So we've got a trinity involved in creation, and I'm going to resist the temptation to expound anything on the Trinity, because we've covered that a little bit in the past, except to say that, please don't try to understand and gauge the Trinitarian nature of God, and Jesus being the Son of God, based on human relationships of Father and Son, because it's totally different.

[4:57] Yet it is what is used as an example in an effort to give us some breadth of understanding of what was involved. But there is co-equality between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a way that we cannot imagine.

[5:10] Yet the Trinity exists because in the Scriptures, God is pointed out as deity, the Son is pointed out as deity, the Holy Spirit is pointed out as deity, yet the Scriptures affirm repeatedly that there are not three gods.

[5:25] There is one God subsisting in three persons. You can't understand that, and neither can I. And if you could, you have a handle on the being and nature of God, and nobody has that but God Himself.

[5:39] So that's the best we can do for that. And so far as this Sabbath is concerned, it became a bone of contention on an ongoing way during the earthly ministry of Christ.

[5:51] The scribes and Pharisees interpreted the Sabbath in such a way as to make it not a blessing for man, but a kind of crippling. And they took it to ridiculous extremes.

[6:04] Jesus continually violated the Pharisees' interpretation of the Sabbath. But He never violated God's intention for the Sabbath over which He intended man to be blessed by it, not confined by it.

[6:22] So it was established early on as a benefit and a blessing, and they had turned it into something ridiculous. And this is what Jesus means when He says, You laid burdens upon men that they were not able to bear with their nitpicking details.

[6:37] And this Sabbath thing is going to surface again and again. And you need to understand, by way of modern-day Christians, we are not Sabbath keepers.

[6:48] The Sabbath has not been changed to Sunday. A lot of Christians mistakenly believe that. They think, well, the Jews had Saturday as their Sabbath, but Christians adopted Sunday as the Sabbath, and of course it ties in with the resurrection on the first day of the week and so on.

[7:04] But we never were under the Sabbath, and we still are not. This is confusing to a lot of people because tradition, once again, is a very difficult thing to overcome, especially when people are ingrained in it as deeply as they are.

[7:23] So we are not Sabbath keepers. We keep the first day of the week. If you want some further commentary on this, you can go to Romans chapter 14, and we won't do that now.

[7:34] But Jesus talks about the doubtful things, and He talks about eating meat and the Sabbath and so on. So, this Sabbath thing will surface again and again, and we will see it being a real bone of contention.

[7:46] But for now, we are moving on, and in verse 19 of John 5, Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do...

[7:58] And when He speaks of the Son, He, of course, is speaking in third person. He could as well be saying, I, meaning Himself. But He insists on using that third person, and the most famous appellation that He will give regarding Himself is in referring to Himself as the Son of Man.

[8:20] He uses that term over and over again, more often than anything else. He's talking to His disciples, and He says, the Son of Man, and He means Himself.

[8:31] He's speaking in the third person, and He does that repeatedly. It's a very interesting kind of thing, and you need to keep that in mind. And when He uses the term, the Son here, He means I, referencing Himself, can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father doing, for what things soever He doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner.

[8:54] For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that Himself doeth, and greater works than these will He show Him that you may marvel.

[9:06] This relationship, repeatedly established by Jesus as you move through the Gospels between His Father and His Son, shows again and again the intimate connection between Himself and the Father.

[9:20] He is here taking the position of a servant. He is the Father's servant. And as you move through John's Gospel, and by the way, if you want a very revealing study, move through John's Gospel, beginning with chapter 1, through chapter 21, and every time you see the phrase, Him whom He sent, or He who sent me, or I came from Him, make a note of that, and you will be astounded, in John's 21 chapters, you will find over 35 references made like that where Jesus is speaking in that frame.

[10:03] It is remarkable. It's very revealing. Only in John's Gospel is it found this often. So here He is establishing the intimate connection between Himself and the Father, and in His role as the Son who came not to be served, but to serve others, but to seek and to save those who were lost, He repeatedly puts Himself in a position of the servant of the Father who sent Him.

[10:32] And when He cries out in the night He is betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prays and He says, what shall I pray? What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?

[10:45] But for this hour, meaning of course the cross, came I into the world. And He asked if there is any way, let this cup pass from me.

[10:57] The cup He was talking of was the cup of sorrow and death that He was sent to drink for the sins of humanity.

[11:09] This is the most, fellas, understand, and I'm sure, I think you do, what Jesus is talking about. His upcoming death for the sins of the world will become and remain the centerpiece of the universe.

[11:31] It was when God was made flesh, dwelt among us, became one of us, went to that cross, paid the ultimate penalty for the sins of the world, that is the stellar event of the universe for all time.

[11:46] That's everything. It isn't most, it's everything. This is why Paul said when he wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 15, I delivered unto you that which is of first importance, get that, first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that He was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

[12:17] He said, I gave that message to you of first importance. That means this comes before everything. This is your ticket to eternal life and it's the only one that God ever fashioned and it is found in the Son.

[12:36] So in this chapter we find a subservient position that the Son willingly takes of the Father who sent Him to accomplish the work that could be done only in a human body able to suffer and die like the body of Christ.

[12:54] So, he says, the Father loves the Son, shows Him all things that Himself doeth, and greater works than these will He show Him that you may marvel. For the Father raiseth the dead and quickens them, that word quicken is an old English word, it simply means to make alive, quickens them, even so, the Son, referring again to Himself, also quickeneth whom He will.

[13:23] And who is He going to spend that on a little later? Lazarus, absolutely. For neither doth the Father judge any man, but He has given all judgment unto the Son.

[13:37] This, again, is part of the reason that He is sent. And by the way, it is this one who is going to be the final judge in the Revelation.

[13:48] That all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which sent Him. That is a tremendous statement.

[14:00] And that's a tip-off as to what the problem was between the ruling class and John the Baptist and Jesus. Let me posit this, if I may, because it's very, very key.

[14:12] Before Jesus ever came on the scene, before He was born in Bethlehem, in what we call the Old Testament or the interim period between the Testaments, which was about 400 years, from the time the Old Testament was completed till the time the New Testament was beginning to take place and the birth of Christ was about four centuries.

[14:44] And during that time, during those 400 years, the rulership of Israel had once again sunk to depths of immorality and profligacy and every kind of vice that you could imagine, adopting more and more traditions and more from the Mishnah and the Gamera and the commentaries on the law.

[15:08] And Israel was in a sad state of affairs. Just as they had been when the Babylonians invaded, just as they had been in the north when the Assyrians invaded, during these 400 years, it was a really religious, Jesus told them, you honor God with your lips, but your heart is far from him.

[15:33] They were into externalism, nitpicking, rule keeping, corruption of every kind, violation of the law in the spirit repeatedly, and the place was in a mess.

[15:46] And, those who were constituting the ruling class, and by the ruling class I mean primarily the Sanhedrin, which is referred to as the council sometimes, and the council was made up of 70 of the most respected, highly positioned individuals, males of course, all males, in Israel.

[16:08] They were the Sanhedrin, and the body was chaired by the high priest. He was the head of it. And the whole outfit was just thoroughly corrupt in every way.

[16:20] And they were far, far from God. And the problem that John the Baptist had was, when he came on the scene to announce the coming of the Messiah, this was the crowd he had to deal with.

[16:32] The common people came out to hear John gladly, and he was announcing, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent, and believe the gospel. And when the scribes and the Pharisees and those of that religious crowd confronted John, they said, who is this guy?

[16:50] We didn't send him. He didn't come from one of our rabbinical schools. He doesn't know anything. They rejected John and John's baptism. The text tells us that they received not the baptism of John, rejecting the counsel of God against themselves.

[17:08] And these are the same crowd that John said, you brood of vipers, which is translated, that means you sons of snakes, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

[17:21] They rejected John and they rejected John's message. What was John's message? John's message was, repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And when Jesus came on the scene, John said, pointing to him who was his second cousin, John said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

[17:44] What a statement. He's speaking of Jesus. And when he came on the scene, what would be the response of that ruling class that rejected John?

[17:58] They're going to reject Jesus too. John was the one who announced Jesus. They are going to reject him and they will remain in a mode of rejection throughout his entire ministry.

[18:11] Hold it, Joe. And then, what's going to take place? is that in connection with all of this, Jesus is going to remind them that if you had received John and his message, you would have received me.

[18:28] Why didn't they receive John? Because they were part of that group that had formed during the interim, the Old Testament and the New, and they already had their bailiwick covered and they were not interested in any externals at all and John the Baptist would have been considered an external and so was Jesus.

[18:49] And they did not fit their narrative so they rejected them. And this is a very important thing to point, a point to keep in mind that because they are in that rejection mode, when Jesus does and says what he does regarding the Sabbath, that's just going to pour gasoline on the fire because, and that will surface later on.

[19:11] So let's move on through this. In verse 23, He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which sent him. In other words, if you, if you in this ruling class had been rightly related to God when John came on the scene, you would have accepted him and received his message and you would have accepted me and received my message too.

[19:37] But because you were already in a negative mode before John ever came on the scene, you were primed to reject him because he had a message that did not fit your narrative.

[19:48] And by the way, probably the greatest single reason why so many in the ruling class would not accept Jesus as the Messiah was because he wasn't doing the things they thought the Messiah would do when he came.

[20:08] and that would be dispense with the conquerors of Israel, chase them out of the country, set up his kingdom and rule and reign in righteousness there.

[20:21] What is it, Joe? And a second big reason was that you mentioned corruption, but you didn't kind of say what kind of corruption they were doing. They were making money. They were getting themselves rich off of the general people.

[20:34] That was part of it. And that was going to ruin their chance. And it's the same thing today. If you look at our leaders, corruption, the special interests and everything, put them in office and so they don't do the best for the people.

[20:47] It's corruption. They get money, they're going to get reelected. It's the same with these leaders. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. Because Paul said that thing. He says, I was one of the worst of those.

[20:57] He was. I was one of the richest guys because I did more to get myself rich than the other bad guys around there. And in connection with the corruption thing, this is why Jesus, this is why Jesus cleansed the temple.

[21:11] Yeah. When he went in there and overthrew the money changers, the money changers were just a bunch of thieves. People came from all over the world to keep the Jewish feast, whichever one it was.

[21:23] And the money changers were set there because you couldn't give foreign money into the temple treasury. That was not acceptable. It had to be Jewish money. It had to be the coin, the Jewish money.

[21:33] So the money changers were there and these people that came from all over the Mediterranean world to keep the Jewish feast brought their own currency with them but you couldn't spend it in the temple.

[21:44] So you had to get your money exchanged and the money changers were ripping them off. And when they sold the animals for sacrifice, they would boost the price two or three times of what you would pay for the same animal outside the temple.

[21:57] So it was a corruption, money making thing. And this is what Jesus meant when he said, my house, speaking of the father's house, the temple, is to be called a temple of prayer.

[22:09] You have made it a temple of thieves. And he overturned and then he did that at the beginning of his ministry. He did it again when he came into town on Palm Sunday, went to the temple, cleansed it again at the end of his ministry by chasing them out.

[22:25] And of course, how do you think that sat with the hoi polloi and the ruling class, most of whom had vested interest in the money exchanging and the selling of the animals, all the rest of it.

[22:36] The corruption was just rampant. And nothing is new. The greatest problem in Washington, D.C. today, is corruption. And it's the greatest problem that's in London and it's the greatest problem that's in Paris and it's the greatest problem that's in Berlin.

[22:53] It's all corruption and it's all man-made. So, this is, the beat goes on. Let's get back to John 5. He that hears my word, this is a tremendous verse that I know many of you have committed to memory.

[23:06] He that hears my word, Jesus said, and believes him that sent me has eternal life and comes not into judgment but has passed out of death into life.

[23:20] And again, he is speaking of an accomplished fact of something that is already a done deal. Jesus is going to do this repeatedly and the Father does it repeatedly through the scriptures.

[23:32] It is speaking in terms of the future while he is talking about and speaking about it in the present. And it is always spoken of as if it is already accomplished.

[23:46] And that's exactly what Jesus is doing. He's speaking from God's viewpoint and this is the only way that we can take this. And he says, as the Father has given life in himself, even so he gave to the Son to have life in himself.

[24:02] He gave him authority to execute judgment because he, there again, third person singular, he is the Son of Man. And using that expression over and over again, you need to bear in mind that the reason Jesus refers to himself not only as the Son of God but as the Son of Man is because he is the last Adam.

[24:28] The first Adam was our original man. Jesus came and is identified in 1 Corinthians 15 as not the second Adam but the last Adam.

[24:42] As Adam, our Father, was representative of the entire human race. Even so, Jesus is the last Adam who is also representative of the entire human race and he came for the express purpose of undoing the damage done by the first Adam.

[25:08] And he did that by balancing the moral scales of the universe that Adam had plunged into what shall we say being out of kilter.

[25:22] Lopsided scales. And when Jesus paid that ultimate price for the sins of the world, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

[25:33] He balanced the moral scales of the universe and he threw the way of access to God wide open so that all can come to God the Father through the Son.

[25:45] That was the whole purpose of the Son coming. And when he prayed that prayer, Father, what shall I say? Save me from this hour but for this hour came I into the world.

[26:00] And he was talking about his impending death. So let's move on. Marvel not at this, verse 28. For the hour comes in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, these are the dead, and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done ill unto the resurrection of judgment.

[26:26] The Old Testament reference from which this is taken is Daniel chapter 12 and I'm going to see if I can turn to that very quickly. Just as a reference to Butrasadalo, Daniel Daniel 12 Now at that time Michael the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, this is a prophetic passage, will arise and there will be a time of distress, this is tribulation content, such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time and at that time your people, and that is referring to Daniel's people which means the Jew, the nation of Israel, your people, everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued and many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground and I take it that's synonymous also with the tombs referenced in John 5, will awake these to everlasting life but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

[27:46] There are those two classes and that's sustained throughout the Old and the New Testament. So let's get back to John 5 and he says in verse 30 I can of myself do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment is righteous because I seek not mine own will but the will here's that phrase again the will of him that sent me.

[28:11] If I bear witness of myself my witness is not true. What in the world does he mean by that? Well just this. He is speaking from an Old Testament Mosaic perspective and the law of Moses specified that it is only in the mouth of two or more witnesses that a thing shall be established.

[28:37] We picked up on that and it is born into our system of law as well and what that means is you cannot convict a man on the basis of the testimony of one person because it is one person's word against another person.

[28:56] You've got to have a minimum of two or more witnesses in order to establish a thing and verify it as true and that is a maxim that was set by Moses way back.

[29:09] That's to prevent one man from having the power to condemn another man simply by his testimony and you see in numerous places for instance when the crowd the Sanhedrin that we were talking about the rulers and shakers actually go to the extent you talk about corruption this is the ruling body of Israel and they were so corrupt that they went to the extent of recruiting a couple of men who were willing to lie to the Sanhedrin in a set up mock trial that they had heard Stephen blaspheme God the penalty of which is death now you talk about corruption here are the authorities the legal religious authorities of Israel going and recruiting known liars to bear false testimony against Stephen so that they could do away with him that's the kind of corruption that was going on and when Jesus uses this example about his if he speaks of himself his word is not accepted why because he's just one individual and he isn't saying what

[30:26] I've been telling you isn't true that's not what he's saying at all he is saying what I have been telling you and bearing witness to is under the law of Moses not acceptable if it only comes from me solely and that's why he goes on to say what he does then in verse 31 if I bear witness of myself my witness is not true that means my witness is not acceptable as truth it is another that bears witness of me and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true you have sent unto John and he has borne witness unto the truth what did John say about Jesus he's the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and John says it was for the purpose of introducing Jesus to Israel that I have come baptizing and while John is baptizing what happens a voice is heard from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him that's another voice that's another witness so John bear witness the voice from heaven of God the Father bear witness and Jesus himself bears witness to his identity as the son of God there is the threefold and as the Jewish expression goes a threefold strand is not easily broken so you've got the testimony of all three what Joe and as long as Jesus hadn't actually come yet they believed

[32:01] John and they were for John because they thought the king was coming they still at that time thought John was talking about Jesus coming as the king of the kingdom so they were okay for it John then John was a fine guy then doing what he was saying they let him alone in other words the Jews the Jews were looking for anticipated and really wanted a Messiah who would come in a militant way and dispense with all the enemies of Israel chase out the Romans run out the Romans he would be a conquering king and that is a picture of the Messiah when he comes but it's the second coming not the first coming the first coming how does he come he's a man of sorrows acquainted with grief we hid our faces from him he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him he was coming not as a conquering hero but as a suffering servant sacrifice both comings are repeated throughout the

[33:13] Old Testament and the scriptures do in the Old Testament say far more about the second coming than they do the first both are there clearly there but they focused on the second coming because that's the one with power and great glory and pomp and circumstance and militarism and rallying the Romans and all the rest the first is as a lowly suffering servant he described himself as the son of man came not to minister not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give himself as a ransom that was the Messiah they overlooked and wanted nothing to do with so when Jesus came making the sounds and the noises of the first coming they rejected him because he did not fit their mode of expectation that would be realized in the second coming and this is exactly what Jesus meant when he confronted the two on the road to

[34:20] Emmaus in Luke chapter 24 when he says oh foolish ones foolish ones slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had written and then he said he said ought not ought not the son of man speaking of himself to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory this was after the crucifixion after the resurrection they didn't even know it was Jesus that was talking to them and he said your problem is you didn't believe all that the prophets have written and that's going to be the problem you know that's still the problem for our Jewish friends today they don't believe all that the prophets have written and that's going to come out later in this so let's move on you have sent unto John and he has borne witness unto the truth but the witness which I receive is not from man how be it I say these things that you may be saved he that is John was the lamp that burns and shines and you were willing to rejoice for a season in his life but the witness which I have is greater than that of

[35:35] John for the works which the father has given me to accomplish the very works that I do bear witness of me that the father has sent me so there's got a threefold testimony not two testimonies but three regarding the person of Christ and the father which sent me he has borne witness of me not only did he do it at the baptism of John or Jesus but he's going to do it in the transfiguration when Peter James and John are taken by Jesus up to the mount of transfiguration and he is transfigured before them then there is the voice again from heaven bearing witness to the identity of the son of God and it is fellas it is those kind of events that is going to put spine in the backbone of Peter and James and John when the going gets tough they are going to get going and it is it's just a remarkable scenario in fact what we're talking about is everything that's all I can call it it's everything

[36:44] John was the lamb but the witness which I have is greater than that of John the works which the father has given me to accomplish the very works that I do bear witness of me that the father has sent me and the father which sent me has borne witness of me and we told about talked about that earlier you have neither heard his voice at any time he's talking to this crowd of critics and nor seen his form and you that's this ruling class you have not his word what would his word be it would be the old testament that's all that existed at that time the new testament had never been written yet when he talks about God's word he's talking exclusively about the old testament you have not his word abiding in you for him whom he sent him you believe not you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and these these scriptures are they which bear witness of me and you will not come to me that you might have life and of course he's talking about spiritual life not physical life they already have that I need to digress here just a little bit and give you an idea of how the Jewish people even to this day regard the scriptures there is there is a conclave of Jews that dwell in a certain location in

[38:18] Jerusalem that is called Mia Shurim M E it's two words M E A Mia Shurim S H A R I M Mia Shurim and it is a highly isolated place that is occupied strictly by the Hasidim this is the extreme faction of Jews they are the ultra-Orthodox they are the ones that let their hair go long and had the curls and wear the black hats and all of this and the and the Yarmulke and so on and they occupy themselves there in Mia Shurim solely for the study of the scriptures these men and families do not do anything else they do no regular work they have no regular income they study the scriptures all day long and their belief and here again is the power of superstition the power of tradition they believe that when there are enough Jews studying the scriptures the

[39:20] Messiah will return this is the Mia Shurim and they have no source of income other than begging which is honorable among them because begging we consider here in the United States we consider it pretty much kind of illegitimate some places it's even illegal but over there it goes back thousands of years and begging is perfectly acceptable and and there are people who do it and this is how the those in Mia Shurim are supported they have no means of income and who supports them but fellow Jews who are also well they're called Lubavitchers because they were proponents of Monachem Schneerson who was a Lubavitch and and these people reside in Brooklyn New York which is a heavy concentration of Jewish people and they have the garment industry and they have the jewelry industry and they are very very profitable at it and they send money to Israel to

[40:27] Mia Shurim to support and underwrite those Jews who are studying the scriptures and they believe that when enough Jews are doing that the Messiah will come and by the way I just need to inject this because Rabbi Schneerson was was an elderly rabbi in Brooklyn and in the 1990s this man was believed by the Hasidim to be the Messiah and the fascinating thing about him is he never denied it he did not say he was the Messiah but he would not deny it when they asked him and told him that they thought he was the Messiah he wouldn't say no no I'm not he he just let them think what they wanted to think but he wouldn't deny it and and in his 90s I think he was 91 and this you can you can you can google this and his name was Schneerson s-c-h-n-e-e-r-s-o-n monocom shearson and he he passed away I think in the 1990s of some kind of an infection and he died and there were actually some of his followers who went to his grave site and held a vigil for a few days because they expected him to come back to life and of course he did not but this gives you the power of tradition and we're talking about what's going on today this was in the 1990s when

[42:05] Schneerson died and this this whole concept is this is all tied together and it's got Judaism written all over let's move on where am I here you search the scripture yes what Joe what would they people over there mazarin or whatever what would they consider the totality of the scriptures oh it's the Old Testament only yeah absolutely they completely reject the New Testament they they take the Old Testament only and they really focus on the Torah which is the five books of Moses the Pentateuch Genesis through Deuteronomy that's their main focus and they spend all kinds of time just going over that and over it and over it and they it's just it's just amazing that it's it's a spiritual kind of blindness to be sure there's a lot more that could be said about that but we we need to move on when he said you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life that is just spending the time in search of the scripture and and we search the scriptures for truth for information that God has been pleased to reveal and that's that's the that's the most legitimate reason to find out what

[43:23] God has said so that we can learn what we are supposed to do on the basis of it he says in verse 41 I receive not glory from men but I know you he's talking of this crowd that is opposing him I know you that you have not the love of God in yourselves I am come in my father's name and you receive me not why didn't they because they had never received the father they are not about to receive the son they are already in a rejection mood the die was cast when Jesus came on the scene that they were not going to be accepting of him if another shall come in his own name him you will receive and that's going to happen it's going to happen a number of times when there will be false messiahs show up and probably one of the most famous ones is a guy by the name of

[44:24] Bar Kokhba Bar Kokhba the son of the son of Kokhba he came on the scene you see in in in the first in the second century it was the year 141 AD Bar Kokhba man who was the son of Kokhba came on the scene I don't know what he did to demonstrate it if he had some kind of scam going but he announced himself to be the Messiah and many people signed up with him and came on board under his Messiah ship the guy was as phony as all get out and he succeeded in recruiting a number of Jews to oppose the Romans who were still there occupying their country and it was called the Bar Kokhba revolt revolt or rebellion and it went on from 141 I think to 143 and this time Rome came back with the vengeance they'd already destroyed the temple under Titus the Roman general in 70 AD this is 70 years later after the temple was destroyed and leveled the Jews had rebuilt not rebuilt the temple but rebuilt much of

[45:41] Jerusalem and under the revolt of Bar Kokhba they were determined they were going to drive the Romans out because they were they're occupying them of course and they were infidels as far as they were concerned and Bar Kokhba was going to lead the revolt Rome said this time we're going to do an even more thorough job and they brought the troops in and it was mass mayhem the body count was incredible they reduced Jerusalem to rubble they even changed the name of it and gave it a Roman name and called it Capalatina and they put signs up that any Jew entering this area is subject to death and that was something that was in force for a long time and of course the Romans put down the Bar Kokhba revolt and there was a great great massacre as a result of it and the Jews then were scattered even further all over the Mediterranean world and from the

[46:46] Mediterranean world they scattered throughout the rest of the world and we have Jews in virtually every country in the world today was there another comment or question what Roger yes Jesus refers to himself repeatedly as the I am and yeah oh yeah and John chapter chapter 7 I think it's 50 verse 58 Jesus makes a statement absolutely a statement that on the surface is completely nonsensical he says before Abraham was I am what and the Jews said what are you talking about you about you aren't even 50 years old and Abraham has been dead and buried for hundreds of years what are you talking about before Abraham was I am and he used that I am that's the Tetragrammaton from the old testament where God told Moses you tell them that the I am have sent you and Moses said when I go to tell them that you're that our God wants you to let us go they're going to say who is your God what's his name you tell them the I am and he said to you believe he said to him.

[48:07] tell him the I am. And he, the I am is an appellation that refers to the ever existent one. He is the one who from and in eternity past dwells. He is the one who inhabits eternity.

[48:28] And he is saying, before Abraham even existed, I already was. And this is borne out again in the first chapter of John, when he is identified as the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

[48:46] And the Word was with God and the Word was God. Without him, without him, without the Word, the Logos, the Logos, the essence of communication before the world was Jesus says I am. Absolutely stunning stuff. And it just boggles our mind because it goes beyond human comprehension and yet it is issued with such great clarity. Okay, let's see if we can, you need it, verse 42. I am come in my Father's name, from the other who comes in his own name you will receive.

[49:26] How can you believe which receive glory one of another or credit or recognition from one another? And the glory that comes from the only God you seek not. You're looking for glory but in all the wrong places. Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. When Jesus confronts those two disciples on the road to Emmaus right after his resurrection, he tells them that their fallacy is in the fact that they had not believed all that the scriptures had written. Ought not the Son of Man to have suffered these things and entered into his glory? And then the text says, and this is incredible stuff. This is a Bible class of us. Jesus sat down with these two disciples and he revealed all things concerning himself from the scriptures. What does that mean? That means Jesus recounted to them incidents in the Old Testament where prophecy was referencing himself and he pointed to those and they started connecting the dots. Oh my goodness, what a Bible class that must have been. And Paul is going to do the same thing when he goes on that first missionary trip and even we're told that right after his conversion, still there in Damascus, that he goes into the synagogue where there's also, where there's a bunch of Jews. This is the same crowd that he came there to arrest. And he preaches Jesus as the Messiah and he takes them to the scriptures. The only scriptures that existed was the Old Testament was the Old Testament. But Jesus is found throughout it. He's the key to the

[51:31] Old Testament and he has prophesied in it for two comings. One is a babe. Unto us a son is born. Unto us a child is born.

[51:44] That speaks of Jesus' humanity. A child is born. Unto us a son is given. That's his deity. He was both the son of man and the son of God. Theanthropic person in one individual. Nobody like this has ever existed.

[52:02] He is Emmanuel, which means God with us. He is in flesh. He is deity encased in humanity as the God-man. Utterly, utterly amazing.

[52:21] One of a kind. Uniqueness, to be sure. If you want a more thorough explanation of the person of Christ and all of his work, you can get Christianity Clarified Volume 6 and there are 20 different treatments in it regarding the person and work of Christ.

[52:38] And each treatment is just three and a half minutes long and it's Volume 6 in Christianity Clarified. Alright, let's move on. We are in verse 46.

[52:52] For if you believed Moses, you would believe me. For he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? Remember in Luke 16, the rich man in Hades and the dialogue that takes place between him and Abraham and he's there, he's tormented in his flames and scholars are divided whether this was real or whether it was a parable, but it's a pretty nasty thing either way you look at it.

[53:20] And Lazarus, or the guy who's given the name Dives, tells Abraham, he says, Abraham, would you send someone, would you send someone to my brothers and warn them about this so that they will not come to this place?

[53:40] And Jesus said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And the guy came back and said, no, no, but if someone went to them from the dead, then they would believe.

[53:56] And Abraham said, though one would go to them from the dead, if they believed not Moses' words, they would not believe him either. The problem is not an inability to believe. The problem is a lack of the will to believe.

[54:13] You would not come to me. Jesus said, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings? And you would not. There is the human volition thing.

[54:27] Well, we have not treated John 5 as thoroughly as we might, but I trust that we've covered the main up. Yes, Joe. Quick question. In verse 29, those who have done what is good will rise to live.

[54:39] What is the definition of good in that verse? Those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. So is that referring to our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior as the Lord?

[54:53] Well, I think that's part and parcel of it, but that good there has to be interpreted in an Old Testament context. And they had an entirely different impression.

[55:05] We see our goodness, what goodness we have that God will accept is because of Christ. We are in the righteousness of Christ, not our righteousness.

[55:17] That's what makes us acceptable to God. We have that righteousness imputed to us. And God sees us as he sees his Son, which is an amazing thing, but that's the way he sees it.

[55:28] That was different from back in the Old Testament. Like our works are as commands before we accept Christ, but after that, then there was something. There was a reward. Our works after accepting Christ versus our works before.

[55:42] Right, right. Works of the flesh, which is all the unregenerate can offer. That's all we got. Works of the flesh, not acceptable to God. It has to be that which is of the Spirit.

[55:54] That's acceptable to God. And that's only for believers. Fascinating, fascinating content. Hey, guys, thanks for being here this morning. Enjoy the rest of the day.