Study Notes 7-22-12

July 22, 2012July 22, 2012 ~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

6:36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

I think that what we have here is a perfect example of people seeing, hearing, and yet not believing the very words of Christ (the outward presentation of the Gospel message from the Monogenes Himself). How can this be? We often ask ourselves the same thing. How can I present the gospel in any clearer terms? Why won’t these people respond to this? The reason is because they are still spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) and that your talk is complete foolishness to them (1 Cor. 2:14).
Why could they not believe? Jesus is about to explain that they don’t believe because they haven’t been called – “draw” is the word He uses here. They can’t come to Him because “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” So this verse is a setup for what Jesus is about to tell them.
The lesson is this: God is completely sovereign over salvation. When He calls someone with the inward call of the Holy Spirit that is when a man begins to see the light. Until then, we are preaching foolishness, but it’s a foolishness we will continue to preach because it has the power of life, and God is pleased to use this foolish preaching of ours as the outward call that informs the inward call.

6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

What a magnificent statement by our Lord. He says that even though these people won’t come to him (vs. 36), those who do come He will accept with open arms – “I will never cast out.” The Savior is saying that for those who believe in Him, He will embrace them as His own.
For those who might have grown up in a culture or a church that taught that eternal security is not possible, this verse stands diametrically opposed to that kind of false teaching. The Roman Catholic Church not only says that (due to mortal sins) salvation can be lost, but that to think of our eternal state as secure is puffed up and arrogant. However, according to Christ, nothing could be further from the truth. He will never cast out any who come to Him.
John Calvin puts it this way, “In the first place, he says, that all whom the Father giveth him come to him; by which words he means, that faith is not a thing which depends on the will of men, so that this man and that man indiscriminately and at random believe, but that God elects those whom he hands over, as it were, to his Son; for when he says, that whatever is given cometh, we infer from it, that all do not come. Again, we infer, that God works in his elect by such an efficacy of the Holy Spirit, that not one of them falls away; for the word give has the same meaning as if Christ had said, ‘Those whom the Father hath chosen he regenerates, and gives to me, that they may obey the Gospel.’”
Also, the word here “come”, as I detail elsewhere, is equivalent with “believe.” John MacArthur puts it this way, “To come to Christ is to forsake the old life of sin and rebellion and submit to Him as Lord. Though John does not use the term ‘repentance’ in his gospel, the concept is clearly implied in the idea of coming to Christ.”
MacArthur cites a great Spurgeon quote to back up his statement, “You and your sins must separate, or you and your God will never come together.”

6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Christ is one with the Father. His will is one with the Father – we have talked about this before. And looking ahead to chapter 10, and Christ’s discourse on His role as the Good Shepherd, we see Him saying something similar, but even more explicit:

10:26-30 “…but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. [27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. [30] I and the Father are one.”

It’s important to remember that at this saying, the Jews began to pick up stones to kill Jesus. This was a highly offensive statement. Now, Christ didn’t get stoned here, for as radical as this statement it, He’s about to rock the minds of these men and women all the more…

6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. [40] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Why is it that you will never lose your salvation? Because Christ will lose nothing! Why is it that Christ will lose nothing? Because that is the will of the Father.
Whether or not you commit a so-called “mortal” sin or not, the Lord Jesus Christ will not allow one person to slip from His hands. What has been alive by the Holy Spirit cannot be made dead by a human being. By the power of God the Almighty Creator of the Universe, you will be Christ’s adopted brethren for eternity, not by your will or effort, by the power of God.
You see, when God wills something it happens. All forces of creation, both spiritual and physical, bow to his wishes. He opens His mouth and the nations tremble. By His words Satan is thrown down and bound. By His will you are kept safe. No one can cross His sovereign will. What an amazing and comforting thought.
This verse also gives us a preview of the resurrection. Jesus says that not only will He keep you safely in His hands, but that He will raise you up “on the last day.” On the last day, we will see the final consummation of His power over the grave and of death and will realize the power of the resurrection – this time in our own bodies. On that day, God will complete the work He has begun, and the saying that what is perishable will be raised imperishable will realize its completion. He will be redeeming more than your souls, friends. He will be redeeming your bodies. Paul talks about this at length in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians:

15:20-23 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.

Commenting upon Jesus’ power and plan from election to glorification Calvin says this:

Besides, as the election of God, by an indissoluble bond, draws his calling along with it, so when God has effectually called us to faith in Christ, let this have as much weight with us as if he had engraven his seal to ratify his decree concerning our salvation. For the testimony of the Holy Spirit is nothing else than the sealing of our adoption, (Romans 8:15.) To every man, therefore, his faith is a sufficient attestation of the eternal predestination of God, so that it would be a shocking sacrilege to carry the inquiry farther; for that man offers an aggravated insult to the Holy Spirit, who refuses to assent to his simple testimony.

Therefore, when Christ says in verse 40 that, “I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” He is saying that from beginning to end, from predestination, to calling and justification to adoption and resurrection to glorification, He will loose nothing, nor will the “will” of the Father be interrupted by the schemes of the Devil, the world – and/or even our own flesh!

6:41-43 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” [42] They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” [43] Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.

These Jews did not like Christ equating Himself with bread from heaven. Christ was to them a stumbling block. For they seemed to know from where Jesus came, and who His earthly parents were. This made it all the more difficult to believe Him when He said that He had “come down from heaven.”
The word “grumble” here has definite parallels with the grumbling of the people of Israel in the Old Testament. They were provided great manna from heaven, yet they still complained. Here Christ has just explained that He is the bread from heaven that will forever satisfy them. Like their ancient forefathers, they grumble. The reason was the same: unbelief. When we don’t believe the words of God we grumble. Grumbling is the outward fruit of unbelief.
That is why we must never grumble, but always set our hope firmly on the work and purposes of God. This whole passage is about deeper things. Deep things that we can’t fully understand, and such is our life, we run up against many things we can’t understand. But let us not grumble in unbelief. Let us let go of our unbelief and place our full trust upon Him who is able to sustain us until the last day.

6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

In verse 37 He had just said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me”, and in verse 36 He had said that, “you have seen me and yet do not believe.” But now He’s saying WHY they won’t believe, and why they won’t come to Him. They won’t believe because “no one can come to (Him) unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
The Father had not drawn these people to Christ, and therefore they were unable to come to Him. Christ is enumerating an important spiritual principle, not just for these Jews, but for us as well. For what He is saying here is in the general sense. His words are “no one” and “all” and so on. So He’s not limiting His discussion to simply Jews, but is giving a discourse about a universal spiritual principle.
To further affirm this, John Piper reminds us that we need to realize the full implications of what Christ is saying here. He’s about to talk about how – in particular – God draws people to Himself. But in doing so, Christ it known that He will not be limiting His kingdom to the Jews, or any one group of people. He is not a “tribal deity” as Piper says. And to emphasize the point, Piper reminds us that John stresses the wide call of Christ in this Gospel (of John) to all men (John 3:16, 3:18, 3:36, 5:24, 6:35, 6:37, 6:47, 6:58, 7:38, 12:46, etc.).
Here are all the reference and what they look like to show what I mean, and what Piper was getting at:
- “Whoever believes in him will have eternal life” (John 3:15).
- “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
- “Whoever believes in him is not condemned” (John 3:18).
- “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36).
- “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24).
- “Whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
- “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
- “Whoever believes has eternal life” (John 6:47).
- “Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” (John 6:58).
- “Whoever believes in me, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38).
- “Whoever believes in me will not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).
- It is obvious that this verse is talking about God’s methodology in calling and saving us for all eternity. But while we talk about God’s work in the lives of particular men and women – in you and men – we need to remember the role we play in spreading that gospel to all men – not ones we choose, but ones HE chooses. John Piper reminds us of this when he says the following:

It is an awesome thing that we are sent to the whole world with the greatest news in the world—with a free offer for all who believe. And it is an awesome thing that as many as are appointed to eternal life believe (Acts 13:48). It is an awesome thing that God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). And it is an awesome thing that God grants repentance to whom he will (2 Timothy 2:25). It is an awesome thing that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). And it is an awesome thing he acts decisively to draw particular people to the truth (John 6:44).

When John says the Father “draws” men, the Greek word he’s using is helkō, which literally means to “drag off.” This is important because when we hear the word “draw” I think that our minds tend to think of the word differently than that. We think the natural synonym might be “ compel” or something like that, when the sense of the word is nothing of the sort. Here John is talking about a powerful “dragging” force. The Father isn’t just wooing people to come to Christ, He is making sure they come by grabbing a hold of them, and bringing them all the way home.

Irresistible Grace

We call this the doctrine of Irresistible Grace. The idea behind the doctrine is not to teach us that God “drags us” kicking and screaming into heaven, but rather that in His sovereign will, He creates within us a desire that we never had before. That desire is for Himself. Once our desires have changed, we begin to see the irresistible nature of His love for us. Our eyes are opened to the magnificence of His love and plan for us – the fact that He is working on our hearts ought to be enough proof that He loves us, but then He reveals the mysteries of His will in Christ Jesus, and the truth of what Christ has done is so amazing, so profound, so audacious, and so ludicrous, that we can’t help but want to run to the cross and embrace Christ as Lord. That is what God does by drawing us.
The point is that this “drawing” is active and not passive. John Piper says it’s “decisive” and says, “When you chose Christ—when you awakened spiritually to the compelling truth and worth of Christ—it was because God gave you eyes to see. God awakened you. God gave you eyes to see the irresistible greatness of Jesus.”
Calvin puts it magnificently:

Christ declares that the doctrine of the Gospel, though it is preached to all without exception, cannot be embraced by all, but that a new understanding and a new perception are requisite; and, therefore, that faith does not depend on the will of men, but that it is God who gives it.

The first part of the verse says, “can come”, and by this we know that the Apostle is referring to “believing” in Christ. When we “come” to Christ, we believe in Christ, we are placing our faith and truth in Him for salvation.
Calvin explains:

The statement amounts to this, that we ought not to wonder if many refuse to embrace the Gospel; because no man will ever of himself be able to come to Christ, but God must first approach him by his Spirit; and hence it follows that all are not drawn, but that God bestows this grace on those whom he has elected. True, indeed, as to the kind of drawing, it is not violent, so as to compel men by external force; but still it is a powerful impulse of the Holy Spirit, which makes men willing who formerly were unwilling and reluctant. It is a false and profane assertion, therefore, that none are drawn but those who are willing to be drawn, as if man made himself obedient to God by his own efforts; for the willingness with which men follow God is what they already have from himself, who has formed their hearts to obey him.

Sovereign Election

The verse also teaches us that God had a sovereign plan – that is the overarching theme, isn’t it? This is what is known as the doctrine of Election. That from eternity past, God chose to create a particular people for himself. I’m not just talking about Israel, but of the true Israel, which is the church, and indeed is Christ Himself. This verse teaches us is that God’s work of salvation is particular. That is to say, it is discriminating.
To discriminate means to choose some, but not others based on a desire.
1 Peter 2:9-10 tells us:

…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Radical Corruption

By necessity, Jesus is also teaching us the state of mankind. Specifically, as the ESV Study notes, “No one can come to me means “no one is able to come to me” (Gk. dynamai means “to be able”). This implies that no human being in the world, on his own, has the moral and spiritual ability to come to Christ unless God the Father draws him, that is, gives him the desire and inclination to come and the ability to place trust in Christ.”
Sproul puts it this way, “Jesus said that we are so corrupt, that our hearts have been so hardened toward the things of God, that we cannot respond to God and come to Him on our own…If the Father wants us to come to Christ, He must effectually draw us to His beloved Son.”
We are so morally and spiritually bankrupt that we can’t come to Christ on our own. We are dead in our sins. This is the doctrine known as Total Depravity. This saying of Jesus is one that men hate to accept, and you might not like hearing it either.
You might think that I’m wrong and the Bible is wrong to tear down “human character”, but as C.H. Spurgeon once said, “You cannot slander human nature, it is worse than words can paint it.”
John MacArthur points out “the Bible indicates that fallen man is unable, of his own volition, to come to Jesus Christ.” MacArthur goes on to give a lengthy list of Biblical reasons why this is the case:

Unregenerate people are dead in sin (Eph.2:1; Col. 2:13), slaves to unrighteousness (John 8:34; Rom. 6:6, 17, 20, John 8:34), alienated from God (Col. 1:21), and hostile to Him (Rom. 5:10; 8:7). They are spiritually blind (2 Cor. 4:4), captives (2 Tim 2:26), trapped in Satan’s kingdom (Col. 1:13), powerless to change their sinful natures (Jer. 13:23; Rom. 5:6), unable to please God (Rom. 8:8), incapable of understanding spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14; John 14:17).

Preserving Grace and Assurance of Salvation

The beauty of this passage does not lie alone in the call of the Spirit, however, but also in the preserving nature of the work of the Spirit and in the power of Jesus Christ. Sproul says, “Those who are truly saved will continue in that condition, for Jesus will not let them fall away.”
As we get deeper into the book of John, we’ll see other passages that detail the magnificent power of God’s preserving grace. In John 10:26-30 Jesus is giving a very similar discourse and says that the power He has to keep His children in grace is the same power that God the Father has (because they are “one”) – which His listeners at the time would have understood to be omnipotent. He says this:

10:26-30 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. [27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. [30] I and the Father are one.

Christ mentions this in order to give us assurance. In His compassion He came to give us peace. He came to give us a peace that the world couldn’t give (John 14:27).
If salvation is a monergistic work, and if He is truly sovereign over salvation, then surely there is nothing we can do to lose what we have not earned or worked for. It is all by His preserving grace that we are kept until the day of Christ’s return!

Why Me? The Pleasures of God

Perhaps the most difficult and unknowable question we come to about the nature of God’s sovereign work in salvation – at least from this particular text – is the why. Specifically, you might be asking “why does He discriminate?” or “why does He choose to ‘draw’ some and not others?”
R.C. Sproul even admits that this is “the deepest theological question that I can think of, the one for which I have no adequate answer.” Specifically, Sproul was referring to the question of “why me?”
Sproul offers the best explanation I’ve heard for a question that really can’t be answered in specifics (anyone who says they know the answer is lying):

I can’t give a single reason under heaven why God would save me other than, as the prophet Isaiah said, that the Suffering Servant of Israel should see the travail of His soul and be satisfied – that God has determined to honor His Son by giving Him adopted brothers and sisters (Is. 53:11). In the final analysis, the only reason I am a Christian is that the Father wants to honor the Son. From all eternity, He determined that the Son’s work would not be in vain and that He would be the firstborn of many brethren. Therefore, He determined not just to make salvation possible and then step back and cross His fingers, hoping that somebody would take advantage of the ministry of Jesus. No, God the Father, from all eternity, determined to make salvation certain for those whom He had determined to give to His Son.

My own explanation would simply lie in the hidden counsel of God, and the manifestation of His discriminating love for us. Ephesians 2:4-5 says that God loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses. It says…

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

Note the “rich” mercy and the “great” love of God toward us. These are the things that compelled Him to do what He did from all eternity past. And because of this love, the Father knew from eternity past that He would have to send His only Son to be a sacrifice for us. He knew that we would fall – otherwise there would be no reason to elect anyone, for everyone would always have been in perfect harmony with God – and yet He determined by the counsel of His own will to create us in His image, and plan before hand whom to save – a particular people for Himself, as a love gift for His glorious Son, Jesus Christ.

Conflicts and Objections

Despite the heavy predestinarian overtones, some would like to strip the verse of its potency, and by doing so, find a way to enter into the salvation process some way in which man’s free will can be justified. For men, left to their own devices, will always want to preserve the notion of their freedom from God – as some have stated in this Sunday School class before, men (like you and me) like to “maintain the illusion of control” as much as possible. But they do this because they misunderstand the nature and way in which God works in the hearts of men.
The chief verse that men of this stripe use to discredit God’s sovereignty is John 12:32, where the same word for “draw” is used in the Greek, and Jesus says that when He is lifted up (on the cross) that He will “draw all people” to Himself.
Carson explains, “The context shows rather clearly, however, that 12:32 refers to ‘all men without distinction’ (i.e. not just Jews) rather than to ‘all men without exception’ (ever single human being on earth).”
Looking at this verse in context we see that it is clearly the negative expression of verse 37, which we just read. Carson explains that “the combination of vs. 37a and vs. 44 prove that this ‘drawing’ activity of the Father cannot be reduced to what theologians sometimes call ‘prevenient grace’ dispensed to ever individual, for this ‘drawing’ is selective, or else the negative note in vs. 44 is meaningless.”

NOTE: The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines Prevenient Grace as follows, “The grace that ‘comes before’ any human response to God in justification or conversion. In Reformed theology, this grace is seen as irresistible. In Arminianism and Wesleyanism the view is that God’s grace is extended and persons may choose whether or not to believe in Jesus Christ. The human decisions of the faithful are responsive and enabled by God’s grace.”

John Piper seems to think that the “all” in John 12:32 is referring to “all the sheep” of Christ – all the elect. For, as Piper points out, in the Greek, there is actually no word “people” in that verse. It’s simply “all”, with no reference to “people” whatsoever. So what he argues we must do is derive the correct meaning of the word “all” from the context of the verse, and he does this by looking at several other similar passages in John’s gospel (namely John 11:50-52 and John 10:15 and 10:27). He explains:

In other words, running straight through the Gospel of John is the truth that God the Father and God the Son decisively draw people out of darkness into light. And Christ died for this. He was lifted up for this. What John 12:32 adds is that this happens today in history by pointing the whole world to the crucified Christ and preaching the good news that whoever believes on him will be saved. In that preaching of the lifted up Christ, God opens the ears of the deaf. The sheep hear his voice and follow Jesus (John 10:16, 27).

Personally I am satisfied with either of these options – both are plausible, both could be correct. But I think that to say that 12:32 somehow implies that “all” means every single human being would be to affirm universalism which runs counter the teaching we find throughout Scripture that some people die and go to Hell and others die and go to Heaven.

Study Notes 7-14-12

July 16, 2012 ~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

Below are the notes from yesterday’s lesson. I’ve got a few extras in there that I didn’t have time to mention – including some notes I had found from Jonathan Edwards on the 35th verse. Enjoy!

6:22-24 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. [23] Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [24] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

But the essence of what was going on here is that the next day, once everyone had been fed, and had gone home and slept (while the disciples were going through quite a trial on the Sea), they came looking to see what Jesus was up to, and what He might do and say today. Again, their motives were not entirely pure…as MacArthur says, they were “thrill seekers.”

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

Sproul aptly points out that when they said “when”, they really were meaning “how.” For they had seen that Jesus had not gone out in a boat with the disciples, but rather had gone along by himself to pray (Mark 6:46). However, Jesus doesn’t answer their question…

6:26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

This is a stern rebuke – once again Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God sees right into their hearts. Earlier in chapter two, we read that, “…when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25).
James Montgomery Boice points out that there is application here even for Christians. He asks us to closely examine our own motives as Christians when we come to Christ in prayer. “In am convinced that in our day in American Christianity there is a lamentable tendency to focus on human need rather than on God himself.” He goes on to explain what he means by that, “What is wrong (with just coming to Christ with our needs all the time) is that it is tragically possible to so focus on our needs that we are actually focusing on ourselves rather than on Jesus, and so never get to the solutions to our problems that Jesus wants to bring.”
Am I coming to Christ with my needs fully realizing that He has allowed them to come into my life in order to show me something? Perhaps something of my own sin? Perhaps He wants to show me my need for constant dependence on Him? Perhaps He wants to show me how finite I am, and use this to teach me something about Himself. Whatever the reason may be, we need to be remind ourselves that Jesus Christ wants us to come into His presence seeking His kingdom in prayer – not just in word and deed!
I am not, of course, saying that we ought not to lay our burden at the cross, or that we ought not to come to our heavenly Father with our needs. But when that becomes the sole focus of our supplication, we reveal that our desires aren’t yet fully conformed to His. For we should be constantly asking God “Lord, how can I glorify you today? How can these needs of mine be used to show me more about your character? How can my situation refine me and purge me of more of my sinful nature? Lord please use me to bring yourself glory.”
Boice concludes the thought this way, “May I say it even more strongly? I am convinced that one of the major steps to achieving good spiritual mental health is getting your mind off yourself entirely and on the Lord instead.”

6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

The first part of this verse is a call for us to seek the Kingdom first and let God take care of the loaves and the fishes. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
The second part of the verse stresses where this imperishable food was going to come from: the Son of Man. By now, it would have been evident to these people that Jesus was referring to Himself when He said “Son of Man”, so there would have been no confusion (I don’t think at least) with His point here.
The last part of the verse says something about the Son of Man, namely that God the Father has set his seal upon Him. Carson explains, “The idea is that God has certified the Son as his own agent, authorizing him as the one who alone can bestow this food.”

6:28-29 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

As Carson points out, these people misunderstood the point Christ was making in verse 27. “His point was not that they should attempt some novel form of work, but that merely material notions of blessing are not worth pursuing. They respond by focusing all attention on work.”
These men had been so set on getting their material desires fulfilled that they had “missed the greater blessing” (Boice). It shows where their minds where when they immediately thought of a blessing from God as something they could earn somehow.
How true this is of today! So many people want to believe that they can do something to earn a merit badge toward heaven. We Americans are used to pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps, and we almost innately feel like there is something we need to add to God’s work.
Ryle remarks, “we should observe, for one thing, in these verses, the spiritual ignorance and unbelief of the natural man…doing, doing, doing, was their only idea of the way to heaven…there are no limits to man’s dullness, prejudice, and unbelief in spiritual matters.”
I also think the lesson here of a works-based gospel can give us Christians pause to check our viewpoints on the work of God. Why? Because we naturally want to add our own name to God’s work. We want to find someway in which we can be involved. We are indeed responsible for responding in faith, however, it is God who gives us the faith! It is God who is working in your heart to allow you to respond to that offer of the gospel. But somehow we want to claim our finite free will above the will of the most holy Sovereign! As Christians we need to learn to give this up.
But let us not miss the divine point as we simply analyze the mistakes of men. This sentence (Boice calls the “golden sentence”) is, in essence, the gospel. Jesus Christ here tells us how a man can be saved. How? To “believe in him whom he (the Father) has sent.”
These people of Galilee, like many today, want to know how to be “doing the works of God” – they want to do good things and live a good life. Christ gives them the answer this time, and in so doing, He says that the work of God is that they believe on the Son of God – the one whom He has sent. The mission of the Son is intricately caught up in the divine essence of what it means to “do the works of God.” In other words, there is but one thing that God wants us to focus our attention on firstly, and that is to believe in His Son.

As Ryle sums it up:

If any two things are put in strong contrast, in the New Testament, they are faith and words. Not working, but believing, – not of works, but through faith, – are the words familiar to all careful Bible-readers. Yet here the great Head of the Church declares that believing on Him is the highest and greatest of all “works!” It is “the work of God.”

Doubtless our Lord did not mean that there is anything meritorious in believing. Man’s faith, at the very best, is feeble and defective. Regarded as a “work”, it cannot stand the severity of God’s judgment, deserve pardon, or purchase heaven. But our Lord did mean that faith in Himself, as the only Savior, is the first act of the soul which God requires at a sinner’s hands. Till a man believes on Jesus, and rests on Jesus as a lost sinner, he is nothing. Our Lord did mean that faith in Himself is that act of the soul which specially pleases God. When the Father sees a sinner casting aside his own righteousness, and simply trusting in His dear Son, He is well pleased. Without such faith it is impossible to please God. Our Lord did mean that faith in Himself is the root of all saving religion.

6:30-31 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? [31] Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

These people might have been looking for manna from the Messiah who would “duplicate” the miracle that Moses had wrought in their midst – for such was the teachings of the Jews (see Boice). But we’ve already explored the motives of these people, and it was obviously outside of the mere religious desire to see a second Messiah come from heaven. Their desires were for their bellies!

6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

First, He seems to correct them on their understanding of the Old Testament account of the story, for even though they said that “He gave them bread from heaven to eat”, it seems that they thought of “He” as Moses! Jesus was eager to correct them in this misunderstanding.
Boice talks about the necessity of bread for life – especially in the days of Jesus. “Without bread, men died. If you see that, then you also see that Jesus was claiming to be the One whom men and women could not do without.”
Boice also points out that “everything before this (in the passage) has had to do with trusting Christ initially. But when a person trusts Christ as Savior this is hardly the end.” What he meant by this is that “bread should be eaten daily” as Christ should be “eaten” daily. This isn’t a call for a daily Eucharist, but rather a call to satisfy our spiritual desires every day, just as we would our physical desires everyday.

6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Jesus quickly makes the transition from the physical to the metaphysical, from the temporal to the eternal. This is something He does ALL the time, it is one of the hallmarks of His teaching, and we see it throughout the gospels. First He will correct misunderstanding of the meaning of an Old Testament passage, then He will elevate their minds to the eternal from the shadow of the OT, then He will conclude by leading them to Himself – as we conclude by leading people to the cross when we are sharing about Christ.
Look carefully at the word “world” here and realize that – as Steve Lawson points out – there are at least 10 different uses for that word in the Gospel of John alone. That means that we need to make sure the one that we have in mind actually fits the context of the text. In this instance, I think it’s talking about every tribe, tongue, and nation. Jew and Gentile, man and woman, servant and free man are all alike going to benefit from the Bread of God.
Lastly, when we look carefully at the Word of God, and see proclamations about the “world”, we need to more fully understand the significance of the work of Christ, and also the fact that Christianity is not secluded to one tribe or nation. Christ came to save sinners from all over the globe. An amazing thought.

6:34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Not unlike the woman at the well, they want the bread (as she wanted the water) so that they would never have to worry about providing for themselves again! Ryle even notes that, “there is a striking resemblance between the thought expressed in this verse, and the thought of the Samaritan woman, when she heard of the living water that Christ could give.”
The Galileans saw an eternal welfare state, as it were, and wanted Jesus to provide for them in this way “always.” Of course they did. Ryle confirms my own feelings on the matter when he notes, “On the case of the Jews before us, the wish seems to have been nothing more than the ‘desire of the slothful,’ and to have gone no further. Wishing and admiring are not conversion.”

6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

This is the first of the seven “I AM” sayings of Christ (if we don’t include 6:20). And as I mentioned earlier, the underlying meaning or feeling conveyed by the language here is that Jesus Christ is God, Jehovah, the great I AM of the Old Testament wrapped in human flesh.
Of the several significant points that we need to look at, the first is that Jesus is connecting the “food that endures to eternal life” from verse 27 and that He is the manna that has come down from heaven from verse 33. They are all one in the same “bread of life”, and they are all meant to point to Christ.
What is the result of eating this bread? It is that one will never thirst or hunger again. Is it not significant that the two miracles related to food in the New Testament Gospels are bread and wine? Certainly there is a sort of shadow of the coming Eucharist. Though I won’t assign too much importance or connection between the two by laying on Scripture something more than might be there. But Jonathan Edwards also says there’s a connection here between the Showbread of the Old Testament and the privilege we have of eating at “the King’s Table” today.
What is clear is that Jesus is claiming to be that which satisfies the souls of man. He is at the heart of what our hearts long for. John Piper says this about verse 35, “what it means to believe in Jesus is to experience Him as the satisfaction of my soul’s thirst and my heart’s hunger. Faith is the experience of contentment in Jesus” (Battling Unbelief, Chp. 5).
I think the practicality of this passage lies in the fact that Jesus is the ultimate satisfaction for our lives. When Augustine came onto the scene, one of the things he wanted to illuminate was the way to be truly happy. As Sproul says, this wasn’t the happiness of the Epicureans or the Stoics. This was something more substantial – it was finding true happiness in the knowledge of God. This is what Jesus was saying to these men, I am the key to true satisfaction and happiness in this life and the next. Don’t seek after what the Epicureans give you (happiness for your belly), but that which satisfies the soul.
In the margins of his notes on this chapter, Jonathan Edwards scribbled something that I thought was really good. He said that bread of heaven was “enough for all God’s people” – and he noted that there was a parallel with the feeding of the 5000 and the manna from Exodus that was more than enough for the people each day. In fact Edwards said that one of the main applications for sinners was that “this bread will save you from eternal famine” and that, unlike the manna, “it doesn’t perish.”
The last thought that Edwards pointed out, also find a connection with the feeding of the 5000, and Ryle’s description of us as God’s ministers feeding His people with the Word of God. Edwards says that we are “priests of Christ” doling out the holy Showbread of Christ (there is underlying sacrificial language/parallels there). Edwards calls on sinners to not “loathe the heavenly manna and tread it under food.”
Yet so many do loathe Christ and scoff at the satisfaction He offers. And as Christians, it is our unbelief that stops us from laying hold of the satisfaction Christ offers. When we sin, we are basically saying that we find more satisfaction in our idolatry than in Christ. We prefer our materialism (insert idol here) over Christ because we don’t believe the basic fact that Christ can be more satisfying than our sin. This is the sin of unbelief. We need to take Christ at His word and lay hold of that which is most satisfying – the Bread of Heaven.
If we truly believe Christ is what He said He is – the most satisfying thing we can lay hold of – how ought this to change our lives and spur us on? What actions would you find yourself doing if you truly set your seal to what God the Father set His seal to?

Study Notes 7-1-12

June 30, 2012June 30, 2012 ~ 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 4^th 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.

Study Notes 6-24-12

June 25, 2012 ~ 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 4-15-12

April 16, 2012April 16, 2012 ~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

3:31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.

John MacArthur really lays out convincingly that this section of scripture is all about the preeminence of Christ. He says that there are 4 or 5 different ways in which the scripture shows this, and I’m going to create sub-headings here for each one since it was so good, and I will write my own thoughts underneath his sub-headings.

Christ is declaring to us the absolute authority and singularity with which He reigns. If you are a sinner, lost without Christ, this is a terrifying truth. If you are a Christian, held closely to the bosom of Christ, this is a magnificent truth, it is a beautiful truth, for He is your sovereign. He is sovereign, He is sufficient, and He is supreme. As Abraham Kuyper once famously said, “Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

Now onto the first heading…

First: Christ had a Heavenly Origin

His claim to be divine is at the essence of His supremacy. If He is divine, then His words have a force behind them that ordinary men’s words would not have.
If you are to tell someone you’re above all, it indicates that you have more authority than anyone else. This is the kind of statement that causes some secularists to call Christ an “ego-maniac” and the like. And surely He would be, if He did not have the right to claim the things He did about Himself. Similarly, these are the kinds of statements that cause us to deal with what kind of man Jesus was. Josh McDowell, the famous Atheist turned Christian-apologist, said that we must all deal with Jesus in some way and that we end up either having to call Him “liar, lunatic, or Lord.”
This is something that every non-believer must be confronted with, and it’s the same question that Jesus put to Peter “who do you say I am?” Your response to that question will reveal whether or not you will spend eternal life with Christ or not.

3:32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.

Second: Christ Knew the Truth First Hand

Being divine, and having come from heaven, He would have heard God’s words first hand. Being both God and man, He understood the will of God for mankind perfectly. He was able to testify to God’s words with perfect accuracy because He was in the presence of God, but also because He was/is God!
When we start to think about Christ “hearing” testimony, we quickly begin to picture in our minds the conversation between members of the Trinity from before the world was created. We don’t exactly know how they communicate one to another since they all have the same mind. These are the kinds of things that men cannot know; they are mysteries fall too deep for us to plum. But Christ realizes this, so He speaks in ways that He knows we’ll comprehend, and this is why He was a great “rabbi” because He could communicate the heavenly things so well, and yet the heavenly things were so wonderful that many in His day didn’t have a clue what He was talking about, and we’re still unpacking them today.

3:33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

Third: Christ’s Testimony Always Agreed with God

Naturally, if Christ is God, then He will always agree with what God has to say because He is agreeing with Himself. Though it is difficult for us to grasp the complexity of the trinity, the doctrine of the trinity is well established in these verses. All three forms of the Godhead are mentioned in this section. Each member of the Godhead is mentioned as unique, and yet each one is mentioned as part of the One whole true God.
As to the text, we see that John is presenting us with a reality, and that reality is that if we accept the testimony of Jesus, then we must necessarily accept the premise that what God says is true, and therefore whatever Jesus says is true. Once we agree (“set our seal to”) that God is the very essence of truth, we necessarily have a basis for putting our trust in the testimony of His Son.

3:34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

Fourth: Christ Experienced the Power of the Holy Spirit Without Limit

Because Jesus is divine, He was filled with the Spirit during His time on earth – and not just a little power of the Spirit, but power “without measure.” This is an incredible thing to think on. I have no doubt that the Spirit of God was working in compliment to His own deity to perform many of the miracles that He performed on earth. I have no idea how this worked, but we read that it happened, and we know that it happened, and we know that Christ had the Spirit without limit.
As Boice points out, some have erroneously thought this passage means that God gives the Spirit to believers without measure, but that is obviously not the case as our own experience bears witness. It is also preposterous to think that mere humans without the nature of divinity (as Christ had) could possible contain the fullness of the Spirit. If this were the case, we would see miracle after miracle. Lastly, we know it is not the case because we are such sinful creatures that the Spirit of God, while striving with us, is often ignored by our disobedience. We do not tap into the power of the Spirit nearly as much as one would expect who had the full and unlimited power of the Spirit “without measure.”

3:35-36 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. [36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Fifth: Christ Received all Authority from the Father

If Jesus is divine, as we have reasoned from above, then it means that everything He has to say is something we need to be paying attention to. He has all authority. By way of analogy, it reminds me of when I was growing up and my parents would go out for the evening, leaving us with a babysitter. The babysitter was not (in our view) endowed with all of the authority that our parents had. Though she may have been acting as a sort of regent of my parent’s authority, I certainly didn’t take her word as having the same power as my parent’s word. My parents were the supreme authority. And by way of extension to this analogy, if my mom gave me an order, and testified to me that my father was in agreement with her on this matter, I certainly believed her. Why? Because my parents were a united front. Anything my mom said my dad agreed upon and vise versa. They had the same mind, and there was no disunity between them.
So it is with the authority of Christ – and so it ought to be with us by way of extension. That is to say that we are co-regents with Christ on this planet. We reign with Him. Paul says that we have the mind of Christ, and that is because we have the Spirit of Christ who is the one giving us the thoughts of the mind of Christ. Furthermore, we are being conformed into the image of Christ. Now, we don’t perfectly represent the mind and authority of Christ, just as my babysitter didn’t perfectly represent my parents. I remember a few times when babysitters did really foolish things and said foolish things that my parents would never have approved of.
In verse 36 John tells us that whoever believes in Christ will reap eternal life. There is a connection here between obedience and belief, and disobedience and wrath. Note that it isn’t as though our actions reap a reward immediately upon their execution. That is to say that the word “remains” indicates that we are already going to incur the wrath of God – it is the de-facto state of affairs for humanity until we do something about it (believe in Christ).
Lastly, it’s important to remember that we’re talking life and death here. The Bible is a book that deals with the most difficult matters human beings have to deal with in life. When we read about what Christ said, it isn’t the story of a man who wasted His words talking about things that were fleeting. So as a consequence, when we study the Bible we end up confronting these “ultimate” issues. And if we read the gospels, this is especially true.

A Few Questions to ask ourselves:

If Christ is supreme over my life, am I striving toward pleasing Him with my life?
If Christ is supreme over all humanity, am I striving to present my family to Him as ones cleansed by the Word of God?
If I believe that this man Jesus’ message is truly from God, what steps am I taking to obey it?

How do we teach this to our children? Here’s an example: Today we talked about Jesus and about His nature – who He is as a person and how He learned everything He knew from God the Father before He even came to earth. Because His message was from God, and because God is completely truthful in everything He says and does, that means that Jesus’ message to us is completely truthful, which means that we need to pay very close attention to what we learn in the Bible about Jesus (Heb. 2:1) and what He says.

2-26-12 Study Notes

February 25, 2012 ~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

Note the divine imperative here. He doesn’t ask, He tells Philip to “follow me.” This reminds me of the efficacious work of the Spirit when He calls us to follow Christ – He lifts the blinds on the windows of our heart and causes us to see Christ for who He is.

1:44-45 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Again we see that Philip and the other disciples are convinced (at least very nearly convinced) that they have found the Messiah. This connoted both an understanding of the law and the prophets, and an attitude of expectation at Jesus’ arrival.
Nathanael is said to be the same person as Bartholomew. Bartholomew was a surname and Nathanael was a given name.

1:46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nazareth was not a very important town, but it doesn’t seem that Nathanael’s opinion was necessarily universal. As Morris says, “It is not a famous city, but we have no reason for thinking it was infamous. We should probably understand Nathanael’s words as the utterance of a man who could not conceive of the Messiah as coming from such an insignificant place.”

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

This is the first of two statements where Jesus seems to show a sort of super-human intellect. But it is more than intellect of a “super-human” kind. It is obviously knowledge that only the Divine Being could know.
The fact that Jesus used the term “Israelite” is interesting because its not the word used most in this gospel – usually the word “Jew” is used, but Jesus is using the covenant name of the nation and the one closely identified with Jacob – significant because Jacob is the character that best ties in this whole final passage.
When Jesus says there is no “guile” or “deceit” in Nathanael, it harkens our minds back to Jacob who was himself a deceiver. Jesus is basically saying, ‘here is an Israelite in whom there is no Israel!’ He is praising Nathanael for being a straight-forward type of guy.

1:48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

This says something of the divine knowledge of Jesus during His time here on earth. There is an ongoing argument among scholars as to how much Christ knew or could have known in his humanity. Some ask the question: if he was fully human, how could his human mind have known what The Deity knows? The question is worth asking, though we may never know the answer. It is certainly obvious from the Scriptures that Jesus knew a lot – though it is my opinion from reading the Bible throughout the years that He didn’t use His full omnipotence while on earth. For example, while on earth He said that only the Father knew the date of His second coming. It is this kind of statement that leads me to think that He laid aside some of His divine omniscience.

1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Note the way that Nathanael ties the two concepts of the “Son of God” and the “King of Israel” together. I like this because it signifies both His deity and His humanity. It also signifies His authority and kingship.
Keep in mind that Nathanael had just been identified as an “Israelite”, and now Nathanael is identifying Jesus as the “King of Israel” – he is submitting to His authority.
And by the reaction we read here, he seemed to understand right away that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies.

1:50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

In this verse we’re given a hint from Jesus that the best is yet to come. This is a fitting statement for the beginning of what would end up being the most exciting and world-altering three years ever lived by a man on earth. Jesus’ ministry here on earth was a shower of one miracle after another. Teaching after teaching by Christ flowed forth the divine wisdom with a profundity that forever changed the course of history for humanity.

1:51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

This is a clear reference to Jacob’s ladder – which is amazing to see the fulfillment of this from thousands of years prior (Gen. 28:10-17). According to Jonathan Edwards, the passage serves as an analogy to what Christ fulfilled in bringing to us in Salvation and the Covenant of Grace.
The sleep that Jacob takes symbolizes death (spiritual death), and the rock he lays his head upon symbolizes Christ. The ladder is God’s Salvation and the Covenant of Grace, which was ushered in with Christ. The ladder is the only way to heaven, though men desire to make their own ladders of self-righteousness, which only lead to destruction. The rungs of the ladder are the ordinances and promises of God – they are strong enough to keep us and hold us as we climb upwards toward heaven. The ladder, of course, leads to heaven. It takes us to God who is far above the earthly sin and trouble of this life.
As Christians it is our mission each to day to climb the ladder. Edwards says, “don’t rest is what you’ve attained.” He also points out that there is great happiness – ultimate happiness – awaiting us at the top of the ladder, and that every man desires to reach that happiness. Our souls all desire to be happy in God.
Lastly, let’s examine this title, “Son of Man.” As Morris reminds us, “In the gospels it is used by Jesus as His favorite self-designation, occurring in this way over 80 times.
The term is derived from Daniel 7:13-14. So why did Jesus like this title? Leon Morris gives us four reasons:

“Because it was a rare term and one without nationalistic associations. It would lead to no political complications.”
“Because it had overtones of divinity”
“Because of its societary implications. The Son of Man implies the redeemed people of God.”
“It had undertones of humanity. He took upon Him our weakness.”

Morris concludes, “It was a way of eluding to, and yet veiling his Messiahship, for His concept of the Messiah differed markedly from that commonly held.”

How do we teach this to our children? If you were to tell your children on the way home today that you learned about how Jesus was and is the Word of God, what would you say?

EXAMPLE: Today we learned about how the first disciples were called. We also learned about the name that Jesus liked to use for himself (the Son of Man). The title ‘Son of Man’ indicates that Jesus is divine, and that He’s also human. The Jews who were listening to Jesus teach would not have thought much about this title (for older children: it was a title disassociated with any preconceived political or society notions) so they wouldn’t have had any incorrect thoughts about who Jesus was or who He was describing Himself to be. We also learned about how Jacob from the Old Testament saw a ladder reaching all the way to heaven. On the ladder there were angels going up and down – almost like a stairway. Jesus said to His disciples that they would see angels walking up and down “on” the Son of Man – on Him! What Jesus meant by this was that He was the great ladder (or stairway) that connected heaven and earth. Our only way to get to heaven is by Jesus and His salvation.

Properly Interpreting Scripture

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012 ~ pjwenzel ~ Leave a comment

In class this past Sunday I mentioned a good rule for interpreting Scripture – namely that we should interpret the difficult, less clear passages by the more passages in Scripture that are explicit. We should always interpret the implicit by the explicit.

I mentioned that this method of interpretation falls under what is called ‘The Analogy of Faith’ which puts forth the idea that all Scripture should be interpreted by Scripture because there are no contradictions in Scripture. J.I. Packer notes that, “The Word of God is an exceedingly complex unity.”

R.C. Sproul says, “the supreme arbiter in interpreting the meaning of a particular verse in Scripture is the overall teaching of the Bible.” If we come across a word or phrase that seems to contradict what we see plainly tough in other parts of Scripture, then we need to ask ourselves if we’re reading this verse correctly and begin to test our thoughts against what we know is plainly taught in other parts of Scripture.

Lastly, if you are stumped by a passage of Scripture, it is helpful to seek guidance from those who are wiser than you are. This is why Biblical commentaries are written, and why leaders in the church are supposed to help the layperson clearly understand the scripture. This was the even the case in the Old Testament (see Nehemiah 8:8).

More resources on correctly interpreting Scripture:

A short article by Sproul explaining some of his methods (START HERE)

R.C Sproul’s series (there is also a book) called ‘Knowing Scripture’ (all levels of maturity) Here’s a link to the book.

A longer article by J.I. Packer on interpretation (more advanced)

A few good Bible Commentaries for your own personal study are:

Matthew Henry – good for all levels, though the english is older

Crossway’s Individual Bible Commentaries – good for a serious student

Warren Wiersbe Commentary Set – good for beginners

Believer’s Bible Commentary – good for all levels

John MacArthur’s Commentary Set – good for the serious student

Calvin’s Commentary Set – good for the advanced student