Category: Bible

Witnesses to Jesus

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John 5:30-38 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that bears witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witness of me is true. You sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that you might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent him you believe not. 

The Son can do nothing of Himself (John 5:17,19, 30; 8:18, 28); He seeks not His own will, but the will of the Father (John 6:38); His doctrine is not His, but the Father’s who sent Him (John 7:16; 8:26,38).John 5:31

‘If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.’ For a witness to be legally true and acceptable there must be two or three witnesses (Deut. 17:6).

‘Another that bear witness of me’ this refers to the Father (John 7:28; 8:26; Mat. 3:17; 17:5). He did not here refer to John the Baptist who also witnessed of Him (John 5:33-35), but to the Father and the works which are greater witnesses than John (John 5:36-38).

John the Baptist ‘was a burning and a shining light’ which was a common rabbinic idiom for a famous man; the Jews rejoiced in him for a season, thus did they believed John to be a prophet. A prophet cannot lie, so why didn’t they believe what John said of Christ (John 1:29)?

‘You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape.’ – You Jews here today have never heard the Father’s voice as did Israel at Sinai (Deut. 5:22-33 and others in Mat. 3:17; 17:5); nor have you seen His shape as men in other ages have seen His physical form (Gen. 18:1-8; 32:24-30; Exo. 24:9-11; Jos. 5:13-15; Jdg. 6:11-23; 13:3-23; etc). This proves that God has both a voice and a bodily shape.

Resurrection of Life

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John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 

The ninth New Testament prophecy in John: ‘The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live’ are fulfilled and continuously being fulfilled as men turn to God for salvation. They that hear shall live (Acts 3:19; Rom. 10:9-17). ‘So hath He given to the Son to have life in himself’ – As God, this could not be true, but as the Son of man all life-giving powers and all authority to redeem and judge were given by the Father through the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1; Acts10:38; Mat. 12:28).

The tenth New Testament prophecy in John is unfulfilled ‘for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’ Jesus is saying that we must not marvel at His power to resurrect souls from death in sin (John 5:25; Eph. 2:1-9) and that He will also resurrect dead bodies from the grave (John 5:28-29; 1Cor. 15:20-23; Rev. 20:4-15).

Only the bodies die at physical death (Jas. 2:26) and only the bodies go into the graves to await physical resurrection (John 5:28-29). All scriptures on the future resurrection of the dead refer to the bodies that sleep in the graves, not to the souls and spirits which are immortal and do not sleep in the graves. The righteous are in a conscious state in heaven (2Cor. 5:8; Eph. 4:8-10; Php. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:22-23; Rev. 6:9-11) and the wicked are conscious in hell (Luke 16:19-21; Isa. 14:9; Rev. 20:11-15). The souls and spirits of all men will be brought back from heaven or hell to the place where the bodies were buried and God will then resurrect them so that they will hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth to live forever in heaven or hell (Dan. 12:2; 1Thes. 4:13-18). The bodies cannot come forth out of the graves lifeless and dead, so when the souls and spirits reunite with the bodies in the resurrection they will come forth like Christ did when His soul and spirit came back from hell to the body in the tomb and He came out of the grave (Psa. 16:10; Mat. 12:40; 28:1-6; Eph. 4:8-10).

The righteous that ‘have done good’ (Greek: poieo, from which we get the word poem) refers not so much to individual acts of goodness as to character, nature, and conduct. The righteous that are ‘blessed and holy’ (Rev. 20:4-6); that ‘are Christ’s’ (1Cor. 15:23, 51-58; Gal. 5:24); that are ‘worthy’ (Luke 21:36); that are ‘in Christ’ (1Thes. 4:16-17; 2Cor. 5:17); that are in ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:1-6); that have purified themselves ‘even as He is pure’ (1Jn. 3:2-3); that are without spot or wrinkle and without blemish and are the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:27; 1Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18, 24) – these will be resurrected to eternal life 1,000 years before the wicked (John 5:29; Dan. 12:2). The wicked will be resurrected to eternal punishment and damnation 1,000 years after the resurrection of the righteous (Dan. 12:2; Rev. 14:9-11; 20:4-6, 11-15; 21:8; 22:15).

The Authority of the Son

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John 5:19-27 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what He see the Father do: for what things so ever He does, these also does the Son likewise. For the Father love the Son, and showed him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raise up the dead, and quicken them; even so the Son quicken whom he will. For the Father judge no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honour not the Son honour not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hear my word, and believe on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

The Son does the same works as the Father in perfect union with Him and His will. No person of the Trinity acts independently of the others. During His ‘self-emptying’ life He was an agent of the Father, who worked through Him by the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2; 61:1; Acts 10:38).

The Son was limited in knowledge and wisdom and power during the days of His flesh (Isa. 50:4; Luke 2:40, 52; Mat. 11:25-27; 24:36; Acts1:6-8). The eight New Testament prophecy in John ‘and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel’ was fulfilled in the increased works of Christ.

‘So the Son quicken whom He will.’ Jesus had unlimited and absolute authority from God by the fullness of the Spirit (John 3:34) to act as He willed in resurrecting men (John 5:28-29; 6:39; 11:25). The Father will judge the world by Jesus Christ (Acts 17:31; 12:1-25:48).

‘Even as they honour the Father’ This absolute equality with the Father in honour proves His deity and membership in the Trinity (1Jn. 5:7).

He that obeys God’s Word and believe (trust without doubt) in the Father, have everlasting (eternal) life and will not come to judgment before God, but as for all men the law of sowing and reaping is always in effect (Gal. 6:7-8) and anyone can still fall away from grace when they sin wilfully (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31).

To pass from death unto life happens when 2 Corinthians 5:17 come to pass: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” See also 1 John 3:14 and Galatians 5:24.

Emptied Himself

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John 5:17-18 But Jesus answered them, My Father work hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. 

God the Father works on all days in upholding Heaven and Earth and running its infinite mechanism; He works in providence, watching over and caring for all creation of dependent creatures, so here Christ worked in healing on the sabbath, in providing food for the hungry, and performing acts of mercy and love. This was the true principle of sabbath observance if there is to be any recognition of one day above another (Rom. 14:5-6). We are not to rest in indolence or merely rest from physical and mental toll, but we are to follow the divine examples and “do good on the sabbath days” (Mat. 12:12; Mark 2:27-28; 3:4; Luke 6:9; 13:16; John 7:22-23; Gal. 4:9-10).

‘Hitherto, and I work’ refers to the delegated authority given to Jesus Christ by the Father (John 5:19-40; Heb. 1:1-2). He was working the works that the Father gave Him to do.

‘But said also that God was his Father’ This was another reason for wanting to kill Him. All Jews considered God as their Father, but here they understood Him to mean that God was His personal Father making Him equal with God. Before becoming man, Jesus was equal with both the Father and the Holy Spirit. He had a spirit body and all the natural attributes and powers like them; but in becoming man He laid aside this God-form and “emptied Himself” to be like man (Php. 2:5-11).

Made Whole

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John 5:9-18 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterwards Jesus found him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

The man obeyed Christ by ‘rising-up’ and was healed even before he took his bed and walked. It was on the sabbath and it was unlawful to carry anything from a public place to a private place, and vice versa and thus the Rabbis asked him who told him to take up his bed and walk? He answered them that it was ‘He that made me whole.’

When they questioned him more on the Healer’s identity, he could not answer them, because he did not know that it was Jesus and because Jesus withdrew from the multitude that was in that place. He knew the hatred of the leaders and the result of His breaking their man-made laws.

Afterwards, Jesus found him in the temple, and said unto him, ‘Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.’ Sin always brings back the curse (sickness and disease – Pro. 26:2).

The man told the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him and it brought persecution because it was done on a sabbath. God hated sabbaths and predicted He would do away with them (Isa. 1:13-15; Hos. 2:11). God hates any law, ritual, or form of religion that violates good and exalts pride and hypocrisy.

Bethesda

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John 5:1-8 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he say unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another step down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 

This was the second feast Jesus attended at Jerusalem where Jesus asked a man if he wanted to be healed. The pool where the man laid was located at the Sheep Gate which was not a market as stated in verse 2. (When a word is printed in italics, it means there is nothing in the Greek language for this word.) It was a swimming pool in the shape of a pentagon and it was called Bethesda, which means house of mercy – a public infirmary. It had five arches, a covered colonnade where people could be protected from the weather.

Weak, sickly, and helpless people waited for the moving of the water by an angel that came only seasonal into the pool to disrupt the water and whoever went in was made whole of whatsoever disease they had.

Jesus knew that the man had been lame a long time and He asked him if he wanted to be healed.  This is the third great miracle recorded in John. Why Jesus did not heal others that were here is not explained for we know it is God’s desire to heal everybody, otherwise, He would be impartial and the stripes of Christ would be in vain for some (Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:17; 1Pet. 2:24).

Jesus commanded the man to rise, take up his bed, and walk. A simple action necessary to confirm obedience and faith to enable this miracle as is with all other miracles.

The Nobleman

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John 4:46-54 …And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heals his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. The nobleman say unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son live. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son live. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son live: and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee. 

The nobleman was either an officer or prince, (Acts 12:20-21; Jas. 2:8) one of the royal family or an officer of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. This was not the same miracle like that of the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8:5-12 and Luke 7:1-10. The two miracles differ as to time, place, plea, the Lord’s answer, and the man’s faith, as can be seen from a comparison.

‘Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe’ – a statement showing the lack of absolute faith that the centurion of Matthew 8 demonstrated. Signs and wonders are given to make believers (Mark 16:15-20; John 5:20-36; 9:3-4; 10:25-38; 14:10-15). This is why Jesus went with him. If he did not at first believe, he did after Jesus gave him the promise of verse 50. Wanting to see works is nowhere condemned. It is when they are done and men still reject God that judgment will fall (Mat. 11:20-23; Luke 10:13).

‘Thy son lives’ – is the seventh New Testament prophecy fulfilled in John. ‘And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him and he went his way.’ – This, after all, is faith (Rom. 4:17; 10:17; Heb. 11:1). When faith is truly exercised one can go his way in absolute assurance that the work is done. Note that no definite prayer was given; merely a prophecy and a promise.

‘Began to amend’ – One of the most used scriptures today by certain ones who pray for the sick. It is said that Jesus did not always heal instantly, but sometimes gradually, so we are not always to expect an instantaneous healing. This is not the truth. It not only belittles the work of Christ but demonstrates that some teachers have no faith for an instantaneous miracle. This boy was healed the very hour Jesus said he would live (John 4:53) without medicine. If men today can get healing this quickly it will be like that which Jesus gave.

‘Whole house’ – If whole houses are saved, then they must all believe and be prepared to serve God. God saves no one on the faith of others.

Receiving Jesus

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John 4:40-45 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. 

‘He abode there two days’ – This is another of many customs of the Jews that was broken by Jesus. Talking to the woman itself was breaking rabbinical law, and having fellowship with Samaritans for two days would have been unpardonable in the eyes of the Pharisees (John 4:9). Jesus taught being neighbourly to those whom one could help, so here He practised what He preached (Luke 10:29-37).

‘Many more believed because of his own word’ – Two groups of “many” (John 4:39, 4:41) made a large congregation.

These Samaritans believed He was the Saviour of Gentiles as well as Jews. They were not like the other Samaritans that would not receive Him (Luke 9:51-56). Receiving Jesus will make a change in any life, community, or nation.

Jesus and His disciples left after two days to continue their journey to Galilee.  His native country was Judea – His town, Bethlehem (Mic. 5:1-2; Matt. 2:1-23). His adopted country was Galilee. Judea rejected Him, but Galilee received Him (John 4:45). Nazareth, His adopted home town, rejected Him, but not all of Galilee (Luke 4:16-30).

The Harvest

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John 4:35-39 Say not you, There are yet four months, and then come harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reap receive wages, and gather fruit unto life eternal: that both he that sow and he that reap may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One sow, and another reap. I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and you are entered into their labours. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. 

The harvest began after the Passover in April, so the four months before this would be in December. ‘Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.’ This refers to the Samaritans that were coming out of the city to hear Him. The harvest of souls was already at hand, produced in one day. The lesson is that we are not to sit and wait four months for spiritual harvests; we can have an immediate harvest of the seed sown by living out God’s love to us indeed (by our example) and not through our words (1 Jn. 3:18) in our daily dealings with others.

Christ had sown the seed in the woman and had already received wages of gratification of saving souls. He had sown and gathered fruit unto life eternal the same day, so the sower and the reaper, who here were one and the same person, rejoiced over the harvest of that day (comp. 1Cor. 3:6-9).

Verse 38 simply states that Christ had sent the disciples out to reap benefits of the labours and to carry on the work of the prophets and others before them, including Himself and John the Baptist. They had already baptized many and had preached and healed many (Matt. 10:1-42; Luke 9:1-62; 10:1-42; John 4:2). ‘Believed on him’ – This brings the new birth and eternal life (John 3:15-18; 1Jn. 5:1).

There is no proof that the woman was a prostitute. Her five husbands could have died, or they could have legally divorced her, for divorce then was easy to get. Men divorced for “every cause” (Matt. 19:1-12). It was not always that Deuteronomy 24:1 applied: “and it comes to pass that she find no favour in his eyes because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement.” Rabbis now ignored this, giving divorces for minor causes. Whether the Samaritan allowed divorce or repeated widowhood is not known. The one “whom thou now hast” may have only been under contract to her and they had not yet come together as man and wife (John 4:18).

His Meat

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John 4:27-34 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seek thou? or, Why talk thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and say to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that you know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus says unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 

The disciples marvelled, not only because there were no dealings between Jews and Samaritans, but because Jewish etiquette and the Talmud forbade Rabbis to converse with women in public or instruct them in the law. No Rabbi could even converse with his wife, sister, or daughter in public and in the street.

The woman then left her waterpot, and went into the city, and said to the men there” “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” It may be that Christ did tell her all about her life, so her report was no exaggeration.

‘I have meat to eat that you know not of’ Jesus referred to refreshment or soul satisfaction that they have not learned. He delighted in converting the Samaritans (John 4:34).

‘My meat is to do the will of him that sent me’ – Jesus did the will of His Father and that is the true sustenance of life for us, to do God’s will (Rom. 12:1-2; 1Jn. 2:17) and to accomplish what we were created for – no matter what we choose as a profession or where to life or whom to marry – to represent Christ on earth so that others can by our walk in life, be turned to a godly life (1Pet. 2:21-22).