Month: June 2012

Study Notes 7-1-12

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

6:1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

  • Commentators note that there is a special emphasis on this event (the feeding of the 5000) in the gospels.  Carson says, “This is the only miracle during Jesus’ ministry that is recorded in all four Gospels.”  This is the fourth major sign recorded for us in John’s gospel.
  • Some say this was not an actual miracle of Christ multiplying/creating new fish and bread.  I dismiss this, as do most serious scholars.  Leon Morris says that, “there are three principle ways of understanding what happened.”  Those include Christ working a “miracle in people’s hearts”, thus having them share all their packed lunches with each other. This is more a miracle of ethics, rather than creation from nothing, and its strain upon the text cannot stand.  A second way to look at this would be that Christ divided out the small amount of food into tiny samplings, and a kind of sacramental communion was held – of course this doesn’t square well with verse 12 which indicates that they were all “filled.”  The last way in which this could be seen is the way it actually happened, which is how I believe it to be.
  • Sproul points out that theological liberals state that Jesus and His disciples hid food in a cave ahead of time in a sort of clandestine attempt to show a false miracle. This liberal viewpoint runs contrary to the obvious thrust and text of Scripture.
  • When it says “after this” the text seems to indicate some time between Jesus’ talking in chapter 5 and the event we’re about to read of.  The ESV study notes say that as much as a year could have been indicated – and several other commentators indicate something similar.  It all depends on whether or not the undisclosed “feast” in 5:1 was the Passover Feast.  As Carson notes, “The expression is vague: it establishes sequence, but not tight chronology.”
  • The Sea of Tiberias was the same, as we see here, as the Sea of Galilee.  It was named after Tiberias Caesar, and was a more common name among gentiles and those living several years after Christ.  Tiberias was also a city on the seaside that Herrod Antipas had built (about A.D. 20).
  • Calvin tells us that, “the whole lake did not bear that name, but only that part of it which lay contiguous to the bank on which Tiberias was situated.”

6:2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

  • It is not insignificant that John notes the motivation for the following Jesus was producing.  Ryle comments, “There seems to reason to suppose that this multitude followed our Lord for any but low motives.”

6:3-4 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. [4] Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

  • These verses serve to give us the context of where we are, and that it was again a time of an annual feast.  And as to the location, Carson notes, “The Greek to oros does not necessarily refer to a particular mountain or hillside, but may simply mean ‘the hill country’ or ‘the high ground’, referring to the area east of the lake and well known today as the Golan Heights.”
  • Calvin notes (and there is agreement among others on this point) that Jesus was undoubtedly looking to sit down and rest here.  But the crowds were not going to allow this to happen.  Calvin says we ought to take a lesson from this, “We are therefore taught by this example to form our plans in conformity to the course of events, but in such a manner that, if the result be different from what we expected, we may not be displeased that God is above us, and regulates everything according to his pleasure.”  He talks about how Christ submitted to God’s will in everything, and that here, despite wanting to rest, Christ submits to the Father’s plan for him in that moment.

6:5-6 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” [6] He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

  • John adds the editorial disclaimer in verse six so that we understand the deity and vast knowledge of Jesus.  It is almost as if to say, “Jesus had a plan already, but He was using this as a teaching moment for Philip.”
  • Carson notes that the word “test” here is peirazo and is “commonly used by the Evangelists in the bad sense of ‘tempt’, to solicit to do evil. The word itself, however, is neutral, and is entirely appropriate here.”
  • Mark’s gospel makes it clear that Jesus had already begun teaching them and had perhaps taken a break to consider or begin to deal with feeding them.

6:7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

  • So here is Philip’s response to the “testing” of our Lord.  Does he pass the test?  How do you think Christ would have had him respond?  I wonder if some faith would have been appropriate in the circumstances, given the number of amazing things Christ had already done.  In other words, instead of just giving a mere accounting of their financial situation, it would have been better if Philip had said, “Lord, we only have 200 denarii, but with you all things are possible, what would you have us do?”  Instead Philip answers by giving the accounting, and adds to it a negative inflection that what they have in money won’t be enough to satisfy the needs of all of these people.  What was predominant in his words are what can’t be done, rather than what can be done.  So, in my estimation, Philip failed to give a faith-filled answer (Sproul agrees with me and says he “flunked” the test).

6:8-9 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, [9] “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

  • Similar to the response of Philip, Andrew says “what are they for so many?”  What is at the heart of this?  Unbelief.  They were not quick in prayer and supplication, but were quick to doubt what could be done for these people.
  • John’s gospel is the only one to tell us that this bread was “barley.”  Barley was really inexpensive bread.  D.A. Carson provides more detail, “The ‘small fish’ were probably pickled fish to be eaten as a side dish with the small cakes of barley bread. Andrew’s point of course, was that this tiny meal was ludicrously inadequate to the need. John mentions it to heighten the miracle.”

6:10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

  • First, we see that the grass is still green (from Mark’s account) and this tells us that it is likely the spring time (Passover connection grows stronger), before the sun had burnt the grass.
  • Secondly, it’s evident this number is only a count of the men.  The ESV study notes say, “The men numbered about five thousand, plus women and children, totaling perhaps as many as 20,000 people.”  Carson says it could have even well exceeded this number.
  • MacArthur brought something to my mind about what this organization must have been like – when he says “can you imagine twelve men serving 15,000 people!?”  What an amazing spectacle.  It also brought to mind the fact that it would have taken a long time to get everyone food.  The people would have to wait on the Lord, and be patient for His provision – how much do we need to take that lesson to heart!

6:11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

  • Note that the first thing Christ does is “give thanks.”  Unlike the disciples, His first action is to prayer.  Carson notes something that I never would have thought of before, and it’s really got me thinking about our own prayers before meals.  He says, “If Jesus used the common forth of Jewish thanksgiving, He said something like this: ‘Blessed are though, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth.’ Jesus ‘blesses’ God, i.e. He thanks God; He does not ‘bless’ the food.”
  • I can’t help but think about how much sense that makes.  When we pray prior to a meal, are we asking God to somehow do something miraculous to the food by “blessing” it?  I’ve often thought about what we are actually asking of God here.  Are we asking Him to make sure that the food does its job?  Are we so small in faith that we need to ask God that He look out for the digestive work to be done while also ensuring that all the necessary protein and vitamins get properly distributed to our bodies???  Are we not better off blessing/thanking the Lord God for His provision for us, in order that we may give glory and worship to Him for taking care of our needs?  I think this may seem a small thing, but it is important that when we pray to the Lord God Almighty, that we are cognizant of our words.  We must not allow ritual to replace reverence.
  • Note secondly that He distributed “as much as they wanted.”  This is similar to the way He operated at Cana when He filled 180 gallons of wine for the wedding.
  • I always think of how abundant His blessings are to us.  We cannot comprehend the how good Heaven is going to be – and how horrible Hell is going to be. But everything Jesus did and said was a “sign” of something even more full that was to come, I think.  When He feeds 20,000 people here, and then goes on to say later that He is “the bread of life”, our thoughts immediately ought to run to what we know about Jesus and His actions here on earth.  Everything points to Him going above and beyond our expectations.  It reminds me of my dad growing up.  There were so many times when I would ask for something, or desire something – maybe I just wanted to make a trip with Dad to the store, or go with him golfing – but what would normally happen would be his going above and beyond my expectations.  It was his modus operandi to bless me beyond my limited expectations.  He would always make those times just wonderful.  There would always be something he’d do to go above and beyond.
  • That is how Jesus acted.  And His actions mirror His teaching about how the Father acts toward us in comparison to our earthly fathers.  Matthew 7:11 tells us that Jesus said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”  Calvin says, “But as flesh solicits us to attend to its conveniences, we ought likewise to observe that Christ, of his own accord, takes care of those who neglect themselves in order to follow him.”
  • But not only is Jesus the great giver of good gifts, but secondly, He is also the creator of all things, and the fact that He could make something from nothing is not lost of J.C. Ryle who says, “he can call into being that which was not before, and call it out of nothing.”  To Ryle this has a specific application for the gospel, and follows up by adding, “We must never despair of anyone being saved.”
  • Thirdly, Calvin points out that this miracle shows not only the specific power of the gospel to certain men, but in another way, it shows God’s earthly provision of food for all mankind – in theology we call this “common grace.”  He notes, “we shall be compelled to discern the blessing of God in all the creatures which serve for our bodily support; but use and frequency lead us to undervalue the miracles of nature.”
  • Fourthly, I think this section of scripture, and this miracle in particular, show us that Christ identifies with us in our humanity, and feeds His children.  He knows that they have needs, He knows that we have needs (Matt. 6:8), and He moves to fulfill them, while pointing to His even greater fulfilling power – that of the bread of life.
  • This leads to my fifth point, which Ryle called “the sufficiency of the Gospel for the wants of all mankind.”  And what I think he is getting at is what I just mentioned above, namely that Jesus Himself is the “bread of life” (6:35) and that those who come to Him will no longer hunger.  His gospel will satisfy that vacuum in your life, that longing for something better – what R.C. Sproul calls “The soul’s quest for God.”  As noted above, the abundance of Christ’s blessings in salvation are evident in the blessings He showed here to these people.  As Ryle puts it, “There can be no doubt that this was meant to teach the adequacy of Christ’s Gospel to supply the necessities of the whole world. Weak, and feeble, and foolish as it may seem to man, the simple story of the Cross is enough for all the children of Adam in every part of the globe. The tidings of Christ’s death for sinners, and the atonement made by that death, is able to meet the hearts and satisfy the consciences of all nations, and peoples, and kindreds, and tongues. Carried by faithful messengers, it feeds and supplies all ranks and classes.”

6:12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”

  • It occurs to me that John left this part of the even in the gospel account for a reason.  And it is an unusual thing to remark upon, but let me try to explain why it is significant (for all scripture is significant and we can learn from each verse 2 Tim. 3:16).  This verse is about stewardship.  But it does beyond what we might normally apply it to.  Specifically, there are two things that I think must be noted here.
  • First, He is reminding us by this instruction to his disciples, that we ought to always be thankful for what He has provided us, and to be good and careful stewards of His blessings so as to not seem unthankful and capriciously waste our blessings, and in a manner, show a distain for His provision and an arrogance toward God for what He has given, as if we will certainly be blessed again (this is an attitude of self-righteousness).
  • The second thing, and probably the most significant, is that He is showing His disciples that they are to be stewards of the men and women who He entrusts to their care here on earth.  J.C. Ryle says that this is one of the main themes of this section of Scripture, in fact.  He says this section shows “The role and office of a minister – to distribute the bread of Christ with no power in himself, but all from Christ.”  At the heart of this role, the minister is Christ’s hands and feet to carry out His purposes and spread His gospel here on earth, “That none may be lost.”  The fact that Jesus uses this phrase “none may be lost” is significant because it sets the stage for the teaching He is about to lay before them about His role as the Good Shepherd.  We will see in the following verses that in this role, He loses none of His sheep.
  • Note also here that they were gathering “fragments” of what remained – this is significant because as part of the picture of this great miracle, Jesus is not only concerned with the whole pieces, but also the fragments which represent the sick, the needy, the sinful, those in need of salvation (Matt. 9:12).  He came into this world to seek and save the lost so that no one of His children, His elect, would be lost (Luke 19:10).  If this isn’t comforting to you, then you must have no feelings at all. For this is the most wonderful thing to me.  Jesus Christ cares about me.  He cares about the least of His children.  No detail is left to chance, no small thing beyond His notice, no weak soul will be unaccounted for when the Book of Life is opened.
  • Now you might be thinking, “I am not a leader in the church, so this doesn’t apply to me.”  But there you would be wrong.  For every parent, every father, every mother is a leader in their home.  We are all stewards of God’s gracious gift.  We ought to always bear that in mind and act with care so that “nothing is lost.”  That is our charge as careful stewards of the gifts we have been given (1 Pet. 4:10) – especially the most important gift of salvation, which we are stewards of (1 Cor. 4:1).

6:13-15 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. [14] When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” [15] Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

  • The reaction of the people here was perhaps different than what we ought to take from it.  In fact, at first I thought about taking verses 14 and 15 separately because they both seem to have plenty to say on their own, however, I think its vital to put them together, and this is why: when the people react to the miracle in verse 14 by calling Jesus “the prophet”, it is tempting to think that they have finally got it right.  They finally see Him as the Son of God and the Messiah in the full spiritual sense for which He wanted them to see Him.  But our hopes are dashed by verse 15 which tells us that they wanted to make Him “king” – evidently their hearts and minds were still set on a political ruler being the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies.  In other words, they still didn’t “get it.”
  • Calvin deftly points out that, “…they erred egregiously in taking upon themselves the liberty of making a king; for Scripture ascribes this as peculiar to God alone, as it is said, I have appointed my king on my holy hill of Zion (Ps. 2:6), again what sort of kingdom do they contrive for him? An earthly one, which is utterly inconsistent with his person.”  He goes on to say that we need to learn an important lesson here, “Hence let us learn how dangerous it is, in the things of God, to neglect His word, and to contrive anything of our own opinion; for there is nothing which the foolish subtlety of our understanding does not corrupt.”
  • What precipitated their desire for Him to be “king”?  I think it was probably a combination of what has been mentioned above, along with an understanding of the role of the Passover feast and how that would have been drumming up nationalistic fervor among them.  Carson notes that, “It was a rallying point for intense, nationalistic zeal. This goes some way to explaining the fervor that tried to force Jesus to become king.”  Carson goes further and explains that, “The juxtaposition of vs. 14 and vs. 15 presupposes that the people who think Jesus may well be the eschatological Prophet understand this Prophet’s role to be simultaneously kingly. If the first prophet, Moses, had led the people out of slavery to Egypt, surely the second would help them escape servitude to Rome.”
  • Sproul also says something similar about the nature of the Passover being like our 4th of July, “it was the supreme celebration of national pride,” he says.  “So while this frenzy was going on, stoking the people’s hopes for someone to deliver them from the yoke of Roman tyranny, the perfect political candidate appeared on the scene. He even provided that which wins political votes everywhere – a chicken in every pot, or a loaf and a fish in every lunch. It doesn’t get any better than that. The people said, ‘This is the kind of king we want – one that will care for us from the cradle to the grave.’ But Jesus read their hearts, and He knew that the kind of king they were looking for had nothing to do with the kind of kingdom He had come to inaugurate. They were looking for the kingdom of man; He came to bring the kingdom of God. It was His mission to provide His people with so much more than bread and fishes.”
  • The next thing we need to note here, and perhaps it seems a small thing in comparison with the large political and spiritual issues at hand in the verses prior, is that Jesus had times of solitude.  This is something we often neglect in our own lives, and something we ought to keep in mind as we seek to model the behavior of Christ.
  • Now, you should ask, “to what end?”  The end for Christ was to spend more time with the Father. In Luke 5:16 we’re told that, “…he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”  We too ought to withdraw for times of solitude for the purpose of prayer.  We need to free ourselves from the distractions of this world, and spend some time in prayer with our Father.

Grace/Gospel-Based Parenting

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

One thing that we’ve touched on in class and in other activities, is how the gospel changes the way we interact with our spouses and our children.  Paul Tripp and Elyse Fitzpatrick are two rock stars of helping explain this perspective, and below is an interview they’ve done where they talk a little about what it means to interact with our children in this way.  I HIGHLY recommend you watch this video, discuss with your spouse, and pray that God gives you the clarity and patience to implement the principles here.

Study Notes 6-24-12

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

Well – not to be lazy here, but instead of bullet pointing the entire note section of my lesson, I have just given you all my notes in full form here.  Of course this may mean that there’s extra bonus material that I didn’t have time to bring up in class!  Feel free to skim and enjoy!

5:31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.

I think there are two things He could be saying here.  At first, I thought of this purely as a legal qualification Jesus was pointing out to from Deuteronomy (Deut. 19:15).  Not only that, but we know it makes common sense as well, because if someone says something extraordinary about himself or herself and there is no witness to verify their claims, then we have to simply believe what they said or not believe it.  The veracity of their statement is wholly based on whether they can be trusted.  Jesus is not surrendering to the idea that He is not trustworthy (as MacArthur also points out), rather He is surrendering the right to be His own witness for the time being.  As Calvin puts it, “Now we know that what any man asserts about himself is not reckoned to be true and authentic, although in other respects he speak truth, because no man is a competent witness in his own cause. Though it would be unjust to reduce the Son of God to this rank, yet he prefers to surrender his right, that he may convince his enemies by the authority of God.”

But, there is also a secondary thing that I think Jesus is saying here, and I picked it up from something MacArthur seems to see in the text.  He seems to almost be saying sarcastically, “you don’t seem to want to believe my word, so if I bear witness about myself I doubt you’ll believe what I have to say.”  In light of that, He offers them several other witnesses that can verify His claims to deity.  

5:32-34 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

Jesus is saying that they went and asked John what he thought of Jesus and John verified His claims and testified about who Jesus was/is.  Now, Jesus clarifies His statement by saying that John’s role was as a witness to Him (John 1:29-34), but it wasn’t as though Jesus needed any witness at all, but for the sake of the weakness of the flesh He is providing that in John the Baptist.  Obviously these men had already checked out John the Baptist, and many seemed to believe that he was a prophet from God, even if they didn’t like or listen to the essence of his message (John 1:19-27).

Because He spoke these words in the past tense about John, many commentators seem to think this indicated that John was either already in prison or had died.  Noting the honor that Christ bestows on His faithful servants, Ryle says of the Baptist, “…this murdered disciple was not forgotten by his Divine Master. If no one else remembered him, Jesus did.  He had honored Christ, and Christ honored him.”  I find this personally significant because it has always been my desire to leave a legacy for those around me that signaled my love of Christ.  I want so badly for those at my funeral to note how I was faithful to God, and what I did for Him and for others on His behalf.  However, Ryle’s points struck a chord with me because in death there will be only one voice whose words of commendation I will care about: those of Jesus Christ.  This being the case, shouldn’t I ought to act as though this were the case now?

Lastly, turning to the end of the verse we see that He nurtures our small seed of faith until we are strong in faith.  This is why He says it was “so that you may be saved.”  This mission statement matches John’s mission statement near the end of the gospel as well (John 20:31).

5:35-36 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

I love the use of the light vs. dark here.  It is a common theme in Christ’s teachings, and one that John loves to highlight.  And in this verse there is a neat thing that MacArthur points out in a sermon on this passage.  He mentioned that John here is the lamp – not the light itself.  The word for lamp here is luchnos, which is a small portable oil lamp.  The word for light that is used to describe Christ and is used in at the end of verse 35 is phos, and is used to describe the essence of what John shown (Christ to the world).

Jesus rebukes them by speaking of their temporary and fading zeal (for a while).  John MacArthur uses some Aristotelian thought when he says he thinks of these people like “moths to a flame” and that flame was John the Baptist.  When the fire got too hot though, they faded away from the light and went on their way.  They didn’t want to repent and change their lives, after all.  All they wanted was to see something novel.

Jesus goes on to put together a logical argument of progression “if x then y” – if you rejoiced in the light of John, then you should rejoice all the more in the light that I am bringing into the world.

Jesus sets Himself apart from John by claiming superiority of  (1) works, and superiority of (2) testimony as well as a (3) better witness of His work (from the Father).  Those are the three ways in which I see Christ as being superior to John here.

5:36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

Jesus is giving us the second witness – his works.  His works were greater than John’s works.  I can’t image anyone disputing that the man who calmed the seas and healed so many people, did not have a superior witness in this way!

Surely no one could have done the works that Jesus did if they weren’t from God.  Nicodemus said in John 3:2 that, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

I don’t think that anyone who was around Jesus could have denied the amazing nature of the works He was doing during His ministry.

Sproul has a great reminder to us about the nature of miracles in the witness of Christ:

Many people today look at the biblical miracles and say, “The miracles in the Bible prove the existence of God.” No, they don’t. The existence of God is established before a single miracle takes place. For a miracle to be recognized as a miracle presupposes the existence of God, because a miracle, technically and correctly defined, is a work that only God can do, such as bringing something out of nothing or bringing life our of death. For this reason, I please with you to fall into thinking that Satan can do actual miracles. He can perform tricks, but he can’t do what God can do.

5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,

It is tempting to take 37 and 38 together, but I want to point out that 38 says some distinctly deep things separate from 37.  In 37 we see that Jesus is putting the finally cap on the fact that it is the Father that is His witness.  This is the third witness that Christ gives as proof that what He is saying is right.  It doesn’t matter that no one as ever “seen” the Father, or even “heard” the Father up until this point in history; for no man can see Him in His full radiant splendor and live (Ex. 33:11).  But for our sake, He provided times (recorded in the gospels) where He was heard audibly to witness about His beloved Son (Matt. 3:17, 17:5 – 2 Peter 1:17).

Then Jesus goes on to say something even more difficult…

5:38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

Wow – so this is the judgment here.  They don’t have the word of God abiding in them, for they don’t love God.  We’ll see more of this reiterated in Jesus’ discourse with the Pharisees in the temple in chapter 8.  But we’ve already heard Christ talk about this in those crucial verses in 3:19-21.  This would have been such a stern rebuke that from here onward the conversation must have been highly uncomfortable for the listeners.

This is a good reminder that in our flesh we don’t love God, and we don’t receive the testimony of His son because we don’t have the ability to (we’re dead – Eph. 2:1), and because we’re dead we don’t have His word abiding in us prior to quickening.  We really don’t want to love Christ prior to what God does supernaturally in our hearts.  Christ is telling these people that they don’t get it.  They aren’t receiving Him because they are not from God (John 8) and don’t have His word abiding in them.  These are harsh, but important words; I’m sure they were swallowed with difficulty.

Incidentally, this is one way that we know Christians are Christians – they have the word of the Lord abiding in them and they show a love for Jesus Christ and for one another (1 John 3:10-11,17, 23-24, 4:8, 12, 15-16 etc.).

5:39-40 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

This is very clearly the problem the Jews had then and many of them have now.  They look through Scriptures but don’t want to recognize that the entirety of the Bible in the OT points forward to Christ.  This is also the fourth witness Christ calls against them in this passage.  The Son of God, the fulfillment of all they had ever known or been taught was standing before them, yet they were too daft to realize this.  They were too dead to come forward and receive eternal life.

And what is probably most interesting for me in this passage is the words “you think” – Jesus is basically catching fools in their folly.  He’s saying “you’re zeal for knowledge has left you spiritually bankrupt.  You search for eternal life in vain unless you come to me.”  MacArthur notes, “The Bible cannot be properly understood apart from the Holy Spirit’s illumination or a transformed mind.”

Herein Christ demonstrates that they needed help, they needed to be saved by the power of God.  Despite their great learning, despite His presence, many still refused to “come to him” to have life.  This ought to refute the notion that some have that “if we had only been there to see Christ in person, we would believe.”  These people were students of the scriptures and they walked and talked with the Son of God and still didn’t come to believe!

5:41 I do not receive glory from people.

Christ never desired to receive praise or glory from humans during His ministry on earth. He only sought to glorify His Father.  We are to imitate Him in this and seek only to glorify God.  Too often we get caught up in worrying about pleasing people instead of pleasing God.  We think too much about what others might think about us.

5:42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

This is His most powerful statement yet.  Again, Christ is very straightforward about the condition of these people’s souls.  He is confrontational with them, and doesn’t let them off the hook easily.

The same is true today.  You may want to think that Jesus is all loving (and indeed He is), but He is more than that.  He doesn’t accept your idolatry, and won’t accept anyone who thinks they can reject Him and still somehow make it to heaven.  That simply isn’t the case.

The specific accusation here mirrors what He said in vs. 38 – I’m assuming that “love” and “word” are different but have the same end (the acceptance of Christ’s claims).  The love of God in our hearts is not something we can manufacture.  Christ isn’t saying here “you just haven’t tried hard at all.  You need to do better at having the love of God!”  No.  He’s pointing out that they have a deficiency.  They thought they had salvation squared away because they were Jews.  In America we have a similar problem.  Many Americans think they are Christians simply because they are Americans.  Jesus is abolishing that idea.  He’s saying that they have a deficiency of love, and that He is the only one who can give it to them.

Romans 5:5 says, “…hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  It is God who pours His love into us.  It isn’t self-manufactured.

5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

This pointed accusation is connected to the fact that these people are not spiritual but are sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:1-2).  The reason they will reject Christ is because He is spiritual and they are dead spiritually, and the reason they will accept another (the implication is a false prophet) is because they are fleshly and that false prophet would be fleshly as well and would make his appeal to the flesh.  MacArthur and Morris both point out that, to their best historical reckoning, there have been some 64 false messianic claims since Christ came.

5:44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Now, as proof that they are not spiritual, Jesus says that their actions are fleshly in that they seek their own glory.  This is the antithesis of faith and of true spirituality.

John Piper says this; “Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why? Because faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus; and if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of others’ acclaim, you will turn away from Jesus.”

5:45-47 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. [46] For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. [47] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

He goes brings the argument full circle now and says that not only are they not truly spiritual, not only are they not accepting Him, not only do they not have the love of God in their hearts, but they also do not truly understand what Moses said about Him (cf. 39).

MacArthur tries to show just how shocking this statement would have been: “The Lord stunned them by identifying that accuser as Moses – the very one in whom they had set their hope.  It is difficult to imagine how profoundly shocked and outraged the Jewish leaders must have been by Jesus’ statement. In their minds, it was utterly incomprehensible to think that Moses – whom they proudly affirmed as their leader and teacher (Matt. 23:3) – would one day accuse them before God.”

Christ points out that they have a misunderstanding of what/who Moses was pointing forward to.  They didn’t fully understand Deut. 18:15-18 which states:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

And this is just once prophecy.  Ryle is right to say, “every part of our Bibles is meant to teach us about Christ. Christ is not merely in the gospels and epistles. Christ is to be found directly and indirectly in the Law, the Psalms, and the prophets. In the promises to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David, in the types and emblems of the ceremonial law, in the predictions of Isaiah and the other prophets, Jesus the messiah, is everywhere to be found in the Old Testament.”

The last thing that really came to my mind when studying this passage is the parallel to Luke 16 where Abraham says to the rich man in torment who has begged Abraham to send messengers to his family of what awaits them, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”  I want to take this seriously and remember the plight of those who are not saved, and who will one day deal forever with this torment and anguish.  I want to remember that just because someone claims to “know what Christianity is all about” doesn’t mean they are saved.  I need to keep the Gospel foremost on my lips so that God might use me – even if unwittingly – to save someone who hadn’t heard the truth and repented before the throne of Jesus Christ.

 

Study Notes 6-17-12

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

This section of Scripture focuses on the delegation of judgment to the second person of the trinity, as well as the two different kinds of resurrection (spiritual and physical).

5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

  • Who is it that hears His word?  Does everyone hear?  Certainly many hear it outwardly.  But who has eternal life?  Those who believe the word.  Those who the Holy Spirit inwardly calls and gives faith to.
  • James Boice says this, “The first point of these verses, then, is that the possession of divine life begins with God’s action rather than man’s.  In other words, life is not a reward for believing. It is the other was around. Life comes first; a person believes afterward. He believe because God has first placed His life within him.”
  • We hear something similar from Jesus in His high priestly prayer.  Kate and I were reading this before bed the other night because it is so comforting to hear the Son of God praying for us, His sheep.  Here’s what He says, “…I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me” (John 17:8).
  • This is the good news – this is the gospel.  There is an opportunity for life and it is found in Christ’s actions toward us.  “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
  • What a relief it is that as Christians we aren’t responsible to the quickening of other men’s souls.  We are simply called to preach the word (the gospel) and let the Holy Spirit do the amazing work of spiritual regeneration.  This frees our minds and hearts to share the gospel with everyone, from every tribe and tongue and nation, and let the increase of this work be in God’s hands to His glory – this is what He wants.  He doesn’t allow us to have control of the regenerating process.  He doesn’t allow us to know the secrets of the mystery of salvation because He knows that if it were up to us alone to save mankind, that we would certainly boast (Eph. 2:9).

5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

  • In this passage Jesus makes the differentiation between spiritual death and physical death, and here He touches on spiritual resurrection and physical resurrection. We know He is talking specifically about spiritual resurrection here because He says the hour of this “is now here.”  This is part of the tension of Christian eschatology as Carson points out, and is a really good point to remember.
  • Last Thursday night, I hit on the fact that David and Saul are Old Testament pictures of New Testament eschatology.  David’s anointing as king didn’t change the fact that Saul continued to reign.  He was promised and anointed, but the full consummation had not yet arrived.  In the negative, Saul had been “stripped” of the kingdom, but yet he had not fully lost the kingdom outwardly.  Likewise, here we see Christ talk about a spiritual resurrection (that’s the “already”) and a physical resurrection (the “not yet”).  Christ came to inaugurate the new age and usher in the Kingdom of God; though that kingdom has not yet been fully consummated and will not be so until Jesus Christ returns (vs. 28-29).
  • So how does Jesus say that He will raise people from spiritual death?  By what means?  By His voice – He says the dead will hear the “voice of the Son of God.”  As a side note, its worth thinking about how many times the voice of God is used in giving life (think Gen.1).  So this voice of the Son of God is what dead men’s souls respond to.  Now in theology we call this the “call” of God (Romans. 8:28-30).
  • But is Jesus calling merely outwardly for our ears to hear?  Or is this an inward call of the Holy Spirit to our souls?  It is both.  The preaching of the Gospel is what we call the “outward call” and the quickening of the Holy Spirit is what we term the “inward call.”  Christ’s voice rings out to the dead soul’s men in the power of the Holy Spirit and brings them alive from the dead (Eph. 2:1).
  • My favorite Old Testament example of this is in Ezekiel 37:1-6 when the Lord tells Ezekiel to preach to the dead dry bones of Israel.  The preaching brings them alive by the power of the Lord.
  • We ought to also note, as Carson does, that “the one who belongs to God hears what God says (John 8:47).  Hearing Jesus’ word is identical to hearing God’s word, since the Son speaks only what the Father given him to say. Hearing in this context, as often elsewhere, includes belief and obedience.”
  • Carson is citing John 8:47, which says, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

  • (See verse 21) As Ryle says, “Dead bodies and dead souls are both alike under His dominion. He has the keys of death and hell.  In Him is life. He is the life. (John 1:4; Rev. 1:18).   Having the keys of death and hell means having the keys of both physical death, and spiritual death (hell).
  • I also like what John says in his first epistle, “and this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).

5:27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

  • (See verse 22) Note that in verse 22 Jesus is referring to His title of “Son” as in the Son of the Father (God).  Here He uses the title “Son of Man” to mean the equivalent.  That means that Jesus is giving a logical equation for us – namely, that the ‘Son of God’ and the ‘Son of Man’ are one in the same person (Jesus).
  • For many commentators there is a definite connection between Jesus’ being delegated judgment, and His humiliation on earth (see Philippians).  Here it seems to strengthen that argument by using the word “because” as a connector between His role as God in flesh, and His being given all judgment.

5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

  • This is a physical resurrection – compared to a spiritual resurrection mentioned earlier in verse 25.  I love the Daniel reference that the ESV gives as well.  In Daniel 12:2 it says, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
  • Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28:   [20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. [24] Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [25] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death. [27] For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. [28] When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

 

How to Get a Wife…

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

This is a humorous posting from Westminster Seminary.  Thought you all would enjoy!

1) Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she’s yours. (Deut. 21:11-13)

2) “Lay hold on” a virgin who is not betrothed to another man, and “know” her, but afterwards pay her father a sum of money. Then she’s yours. (Deut. 22:28-29)

3) Find a prostitute and marry her. (Hosea 1:1-3)

4) Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock.–Moses (Ex. 2:16-21)

5) Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal.–Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)

6) Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife.–Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)

7) Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. Note: this will cost you a rib.–Adam (Gen. 2:19-24)

8) Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman’s hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That’s right. Fourteen years of toil for a wife.–Jacob (Gen. 29:15-30)

9) Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter for a wife.–David (1 Sam. 18:27)

10) Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you’ll definitely find someone.–Cain (Gen. 4:16-17)

11) Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest.–Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)

12) When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, “I have seen a woman; now get her for me.” If your parents question your decision, simply say, “Get her for me. She’s the one for me.”–Samson (Judges 14:1-3)

13) Kill any husband and take HIS wife. (Prepare to lose four sons though.)–David (2 Sam. 11)

14) Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!)–Onan and Boaz (Deut. or Lev., example in Ruth)

15) Don’t be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity.–Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)

16) A wife?–Paul (1st Corinthians, chapter 7

Obviously, this list was written with humor in mind, and some of these “ways,” are not prescriptive but descriptive of the sinful ways that God’s people have conducted themselves in the past–they are in no way exemplary. But this does demonstrate an important point–people often want the Bible to say certain things, such as how to find a spouse and marry, but they ignore portions of Scripture that don’t fit their paradigm. The Bible has more to say about arranged marriages, for example, than it does “courtship” or dating. So then, how do we proceed?

We have to realize that the Bible does not speak to every issue we will face in life. Just ask Solomon, who had to use wisdom when the two prostitutes came to him claiming to both be the mother of one child. We must follow those things that God has given us. In all of our relationships we have the obligation to exercise the fruit of the Spirit and not mistreat anyone, that is especially true for a prospective spouse. We also have the clear biblical command that a Christian is free to marry whomever he or she chooses, so long as the prospective mate is “in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7.39). But in the end, choosing a spouse calls for wisdom.

The Bible does not give us a specific means by which we can find spouses. Some might be introduced by family or friends. Some might cultivate a letter-writing relationship (or as we might more commonly find it, e-mail, or some form of social media). In some cultures the thought of dating or courting is out of the question. I once walked in on one of my office mates in grad school–he was a Christian training for the ministry in Japan. He was intently reading a file; it looked like a personnel file. Out of curiousity I asked him what he was reading. He told me it was a file on a young woman that his father had sent him. His family, sight unseen (except for a few photos in the file) was arranging his marriage. I was stunned, but nevetheless made aware that godly Christians don’t all do things the same way. I.e., just because it’s American and Christians do it doesn’t mean its biblical or the only way.

The greater doctrinal point here is that in the pursuit of finding a spouse, we must be mindful two things: (1) that we are mindful of God’s revealed will in the moral law–we should not violate it in word, thought, or deed; and (2) Christian liberty–where God has spoken, we are bound, but where he has not spoken we are free. We are not bound by the commandments of men. This means that godly Christians may differ in how they live their lives, but it doesn’t mean that one is holier than another because she dates and doesn’t court.

We should also note that in its collective history, the church has never addressed the issue in its creeds or confessions about how to find a spouse. Perhaps this should tell us that it is a matter of Christian liberty and that in the end, we should rely on God’s grace, wisdom, prayer, and godly counsel rather than make claims that the Bible has never made.

 

Study Notes 6-10-12

~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

NOTE: I haven’t bulleted these points.  These are my raw notes for the lesson just FYI.  I apologize if they are a little longer than usual for that reason.

 

5:16-17 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

This fifth chapter shows us a little glimpse into the waves Christ was making (or beginning to make) in and amongst the religious establishment.  The story highlights one of their biggest frustrations with Jesus – His work of healing on the Sabbath.

Obviously there are no words recorded from the Pharisees that Jesus is “answering” here, but we must suppose that He is replying to their beef that He “worked” on the Sabbath.

Carson notes that four of the leading Rabbis (including Gamaliel II) had concluded that God always works, indeed He never rests from His upholding the universe.  “Whether he breaks the Sabbath or not, God works continuously: all were agreed on that point. Assuming it, Jesus applies it to himself.”  He goes on to say that Jesus didn’t argue here that the Jews were misinterpreting the nature of the command not to work on the Sabbath, but instead “Jesus insists that whatever factors justify God’s continuous work from creation on also justify his (making himself equal with God).”

This also shows us the second reason why the Pharisees would have hated and persecuted Jesus – namely that He made Himself out to be equal with God.

Calvin expands on this thought and explains how (given that Jesus was equal with God) the Sabbath work would not have constituted work in the way we think of it – or at least how we think we ought to “keep” the Sabbath.  He says:

“…keeping of the Sabbath is so far from interrupting or hindering the works of God, that, on the contrary, it gives way to them alone. For why does the Law enjoin men to abstain from their own works, but in order to keep all their senses free and occupied for considering the works of God? Consequently, he who does not, on the Sabbath, allow a free course and reign to the works of God, is not only a false expounder of the Law, but wickedly overturns it.

“If it be objected, that the example of God is held out to men, that they may rest on the seventh day, the answer is easy. Men are not conformed to God in this respect, that He ceased to work, but by abstaining from the troublesome actions of this world and aspiring to the heavenly rest. The Sabbath or rest of God, 101 therefore, is not idleness, but true perfection, which brings along with it a calm state of peace. Nor is this inconsistent with what Moses says, that God put an end to his works, (Genesis 2:2;) for he means that, after having completed the formation of the world, God consecrated that day, that men might employ it in meditating on his works. Yet He did not cease to sustain by this power the world which he had made, to govern it by his wisdom, to support it by his goodness, and to regulate all things according to his pleasure, both in heaven and on earth. In six days, therefore, the creation of the world was completed, but the administration of it is still continued, and God incessantly worketh in maintaining and preserving the order of it; as Paul informs us, that in him we live, and move, and are, (Acts 17:28;) and David informs us, that all things stand so long as the Spirit of God upholds them, and that they fail as soon as he withdraws his support, (Psalm 104:29.) Nor is it only by a general Providence that the Lord maintains the world which He has created, but He arranges and regulates every part of it, and more especially, by his protection, he keeps and guards believers whom he has received under his care and guardianship.”

The Jews definitely would have been aware of what Jesus was saying.  They would have understood Him to have been claiming that God was His Father.  Kostenberger says that this probably (incorrectly) violated their sense of strict monotheism because they probably thought of what Jesus was saying here at to some kind of dualism – like both the father and son were gods, and not simply once essence.

5:18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

This claim of deity enraged the Pharisees, and their reaction was fierce.  They wanted to put Jesus to death.

I heard a theologian/pastor (I think on the Case for Faith) once say that he was listening to a friend talk about why Jesus could possibly have had such a short ministry.  The reaction of this theologian was surprise, and he said, in affect, “I can’t believe He lasted 3 years!”  And this is because Jesus was claiming something that no other man had claimed among the Jews prior to Him.  Was He mad?  Was He out of His mind?  What do you say?  If He was, then there’s no use studying the words of a madman.

5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

This tells us something of the mystery of how the Trinity works.  We can hardly grasp what it means.  We try to scratch the surface and come up woefully short.  But we know that Christ isn’t saying that He is merely a robot just doing whatever the Father says. As Boice says, “…the mind of the Father and the mind of the Son are united. We must not think that when Jesus claimed to be able to do nothing, except what He saw the Father doing, He was saying He was something like a Robot, a zombi, who carried out the directives of the Father without thinking.  This is not at all what He was saying. Christ is a person. He has a personality, including an intellect and feelings. He faced temptations, real temptations.  There were discouragements. Nevertheless, in nothing did He ever disobey His Father. He obeyed Him, and obeyed Him willingly.”

So the Lord Jesus Christ had the same mind as the Father, they were united in their thinking.  But He was also fully human, and He bent His human will to match His divine will.  There was no sin in Him – He obeyed flawlessly and He calls us to obedience as well.  Boice continues, “This is what He wants you to do, in one sense, or rather what He enables you to do when He saves you. The trouble with us is that we are the opposite of Jesus Christ at this point. We are not interested in obeying God. We are interested in doing our own thing.  We want to run our own lives. We want to be “god” to ourselves.  Jesus was not like that, for everything He did He did out of love for God and out of obedience to Him.”

It is hard to add much to that!  But I know that this verse holds a great depth that cannot be plumed by the human mind.  How shall we ever know the mystery of the Trinity?  It is a wondrous thing to ponder that mind and work and love of Christ.

5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

Marveling has to do with worship.  When we marvel, we are basically giving glory or a sort to the man who did the great deed.  Such is the result of miracles in the ministry of Christ.  But the greatest miracle of all is that which Christ describes in the next few verses – He gives us life out of death. No man can do this.  Only God the creator of the universe can do it.  So this verse is a setup for verse 21.

5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

In the first part of this verse we learn that Jesus has life giving power in Him – no other creature has this.  That’s why we say He was “begotten” because He wasn’t created.  A critical part of Christology is understanding the significance of His equality with God the Father, as well as the way in which He came into the world – He was begotten by the Holy Spirit.

I was talking with Kate last night, and one of the things that hit me in our conversation was how men of religion often leave out the work of the Spirit in the course of things.  They see a man who was a rebel or a vile sinner and then they a change when he becomes a Christian.  We ask: what can account for the change?  We should ask: WHO can account for the change.  That “who” is the Holy Spirit, and that same life giving power we find in the Spirit who quickens men was also found in Jesus Christ when He walked upon the earth.

In the second part of the verse we read that the Son gives life to “whom he will.”  The verse necessitates two things.  1. That He gives life to certain people and not others.  2. He discriminates based on His will.  This means that he necessarily doesn’t give life to some and does give life to others.  It also means that those who get life get it because He willed that you get it.  This presents us with a problem for some in the church because it seems to indicate that He chooses – and their argument is normally that “God doesn’t choose arbitrarily who will get life and who won’t.”  But that’s not what this verse seems to indicate is it.  There’s nothing arbitrary about it – the choice is based on His “will.”  His will is whatever pleases Him.

As Ryle says, “life is the highest and greatest gift that can be bestowed.  It is precisely the thing that man, with all his cleverness, can neither give to the work of his hands, nor restore when taken away.  But life, we are told, is in the lands of the Lord Jesus, to bestow and give at His discretion.”

5:22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

Ryle says, “All power and authority over the world is committed to Christ’s hands.  He is the King and Judge of mankind.  Before Him every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord. He that was once despised and rejected of men, condemned and crucified as a malefactor, shall one day hold a great assize, and judge the world (Rom. 2:16).”

We often think of Christ as the great lover of our souls – and so He is.  But what we often forget is how all things are committed into His hands.  In the glory of our personal relationship with Him, let us not forget with whom we are conversing: the Lord of all mankind, of all creation, the creator of all and the judge of all.

5:23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

In this verse Jesus says that He is not only equal if character and power with the Father, but He is equally worthy of praise and worship.  Not only because of what He has done for us (for that comes in the next verse) but because He is the divine Being.  He is God.  He has all authority.