Tag: Jesus

Feeding the Five Thousand

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John 6:1-3,5-6,11  After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 

After Jesus’ second visit to Jerusalem to attend the second feast of the Jews, He went back to Galilee and passed over the Sea of Galilee. Tiberias is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee from which the sea got its name. Great multitudes followed Him because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased.

Jesus went up the mountains where He sat with His disciples and then saw a great company come unto Him: He then asked where they shall buy bread so the multitudes can eat; He already knew what He was going to do.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, solved the problem for a very few, but Jesus solved it for the very many (John 6:9-13). He found a baker boy with his basket of barley loaves. Such boys are seen among crowds even today in the East.

On all such occasions, Jesus gave thanks to God for blessings already provided, putting emphasis on thankfulness rather than asking for food to be blessed. Everyone ate as much as they could eat, not only “take a little,” as expressed by Philip in John 6:7.

Search the Scriptures

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John 5:39-47 Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that come from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuse you, even Moses, in whom you trust. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? 

Jesus accused the Jews of searching the Scriptures because they think they can find eternal life therein, whereas the Scriptures testify of Jesus giving eternal life to those who believe He is from the Father, yet the Jews rejected Him and thus they searched in vain. ‘Testify of me’ – His “works” were only indirect testimonies; the Father Himself has given direct testimony concerning Jesus (John 5:30-37; Mat. 3:17; 17:5). That kind of testimony cannot be derived by the Jews, for they have never heard the Father’s voice; (John 5:37) neither do they have the direct witness of the Spirit as all believers have, for they do not have His Word in them and they refuse to believe in Christ whom the Father has sent (John 5:38, 40). Yet there is one form of direct testimony of Jesus that they (and all others) can know – that is, if you will search the Scriptures.

Christ has never sought men’s honour – Greek: doxa, meaning approval or praise. The eleventh New Testament prophecy in John that is unfulfilled: ‘I am come in my Father’s name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.’ All Christ’s works were done in the name of His Father (John 10:25). The future Antichrist will be received by the Jews and they will make a seven-year covenant with him (Dan. 8:25; 9:27). Just as so many come today in Christ Jesus’ name as deceivers (Matt. 24:5, 11, 24) and they have so many followers, yet He will at the time of judgement send them away (Matt. 7:22-23) for misusing His name and His Word (2Tim. 4:2-4).

Christ warned the Jews that they must not think He will have to accuse them, they considered Him an enemy, but Moses whom they trusted as a friend will accuse and condemn them in the judgment day.

‘But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words?’ Here Christ bears full testimony to the divine authorship and authority of the Pentateuch. He also affirms that no man can believe His words if he does not believe Moses’ writings, for they confirm each other.

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.

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).

The Hour Come

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John 4:21-26 Jesus say unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour come, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship you know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour come, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seek such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman says unto him, I know that Messias come, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus say unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. 

Jesus answered the woman on her question from verse 20, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father which is the sixth New Testament prophecy in John that is fulfilled. The answer embodies a great principle, that true worship is that of the heart and not of or at any particular place.

‘Father’ the Greek word is pater, and when used of God it expresses relationship and parentage to His “only begotten Son,” and to adopted sons (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5).

‘Salvation is of the Jews’ – the salvation predicted by the prophets was to come through the Messiah of the Jews (Luke 2:30; Rom. 3:1-2; 9:4-5; 1Pet. 1:10-12).

The hour is here now when true worshippers shall worship God in Truth, thus in Christ who is the Word (John 1:1,14,17; 14:6). ‘In spirit’ the area of the mind where our thoughts are produced and of which we are commanded to renew our minds (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23).

God is a Spirit Being, and must, therefore, be worshipped ‘in spirit,’ not the sun, moon, stars; nor an image of wood, stone, or metal; and not beast or man. He is not the air, wind, universal mind, love or some impersonal quality. He has a personal spirit (Psa. 143:10; Isa. 30:1) with a mind (Rom. 11:34), intelligence (Gen. 1:26; Rom. 11:33), will (Rom. 8:27; 9:19), power (Eph. 1:19; 3:7, 20; Heb. 1:3), truth (Psa. 91:4), faith and hope (Rom. 12:3; 1Cor. 13:13), righteousness (Psa. 45:4), faithfulness (1Cor. 10:13), knowledge and wisdom (Isa. 11:2; 1Tim. 1:17), reason (Isa. 1:18), discernment (Heb. 4:12), immutability (Heb. 6:17), and many other attributes, powers, and spirit faculties.

All Things

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John 3:22-27 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. For John was not yet cast into prison. Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptize, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 

Jesus left Jerusalem after the Passover and was either back in Samaria or Galilee (John 2:13). According to John 4:2, Jesus himself did not baptize, but His disciple did.

John the Baptist was baptizing in Aenon (Greek word Ainon which means springs), a town on the west of Jordan, about 87 km northeast of Jerusalem in Samaria. There was much water because of the many springs and streams that were suitable for baptizing.

The question that arose between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying, was whether John’s baptism or the legal ceremonies of the Jews were the most effectual to purify sin ceremonially.

John’s answer: “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” How literally true! We earn and deserve nothing, but God gives us all things that pertain to life and godliness – now and hereafter (2Pet. 1:3-11; 2Cor. 1:20).

Be Born Again

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John 3:1-4 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou do, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 

There was a man – Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews; He was a Jewish Rabbi, member of the Sanhedrin, and one of the three richest men in Jerusalem. He came to Jesus (John 3:1); He testified for Him (John 7:50-51); and He did service for Him (John 19:39).

Nicodemus didn’t come to Jesus by night because of personal shame like the disciples in John 20:19. It was more from fear than shame (John 7:50; 19:38-39). Through centuries Christians who were not ashamed of Christ did do things for fear of persecutors and this was wisdom in most cases.

‘We know that thou art a teacher come from God’ – evidently, the rulers had come to this conclusion, but the majority were too rebellious, to be honest, and sincere.

‘God be with him’ – the secret of power (Acts 10:38) for those who belong to God.

‘Except a man be born again,’ the Greek word for born is gennethe, and again is anothen, which means to be begotten from above. It literally means there must be a transformation from God and a renewal in righteousness and true holiness to be saved (2Cor. 5:17-21; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 1:13-14, 20; 2:12-17; 3:1-16).

‘He cannot see the kingdom of God’ the Greek word for ‘to see’ is eidon, which is not so much the mere act of looking, but the actual perception of the kingdom and its realities.

‘Be born’ Nicodemus misunderstood Jesus and thought only in human terms. Millions today make the same mistake in comparing the new birth with the old birth. This is the very thing Jesus did not want men to do (John 3:12). The truth is: one is a begetting and a coming into existence; the other is an adoption (Rom. 8:14-16; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5).

What Is in Man

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John 2:23-25 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. 

The purpose of miracles has always been that we must believe in His name – the name above all names – Jesus (Php. 2:9). Jesus prayed in John 11:42 to the Father: “I knew that thou hear me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Jesus didn’t trust men, for He knew they were not genuine in faith and character. Here is an example of the gifts of knowledge and discerning of spirits (1Cor. 12:4-11). In Jeremiah 17:9 we read that the heart (of all men) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? God answers in verse 10 that He searches the heart, He tries the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Water in Wine

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John 2:1-5  And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 

On the third day after Jesus left Jordan to start His ministry, He attended a marriage feast that sometimes lasted a week. Cana of Galilee was located on a low hill on the side of a rich upland plain, about eleven kilometres north of Nazareth. Called “Cana of Galilee” to distinguish it from Cana of Asher. It is not known how many disciples Jesus had during this first week of His ministry.

When they – the wedding party – ran out of wine (new/good wine = sweet juice) Mary offered Jesus’ service to help create grape juice. ‘Wine’ is used of both fermented and unfermented drink in Scripture. It speaks of the juice of grapes as ‘wine’ while it is still on the cluster (Isa. 65:8) and calls it ‘new wine’ when it is just pressed out of the grapes. It is blasphemous to say that Jesus would have made a wine containing alcohol, He was without sin (1Pet. 2:21-22; Heb. 4:15) and He would not have transgressed Habakkuk 2:15 that says “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink.”

Jesus answered His mother: “Woman…” not a name of disrespect, but one of respect, like our Madam (Matt. 15:28; John 4:21; 19:26; 20:15), “what have I to do with thee?” What have I to do with you in this matter? My time for working a miracle is not fully come. It is sad to see that the first miracle that was chosen for Christ – not chosen by Him – as one that so many people use today to justify the use of alcohol. The Word of God is very clear on the subject of being sober, which is a command to obey, not a request (1Th. 5:6,8; Tit. 2:2,4,6; 1Pet. 1:13, 5:8) and clear on not to drink (Pro. 23:21; 1Tim. 3:3; Tit. 1:7).