Why Is This So Hard For People To Admit?

John 8:21-30

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

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The world is in rebellion against God. The result of rebellion is death, because God is life, and when you move away from God, you move away from life. A cut flower can’t live on its own—it needs to be connected to its root. In the same way, a person who turns his back against God and rebels is cutting himself off from God, and when that person dies, he will face spiritual death.

The reason the Father sent the Son was to bring people back to life:

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him [John 3:16–17].

This is what Jesus is getting at when He says here:

24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins [John 8:24].

The point is not that Jesus came to judge healthy people and send them to their deaths, the point is that Jesus came to save sick and dying people and bring them to life!

All that is required to be saved is to believe in Jesus, that is to humbly acknowledge that you are stuck in sin and need to be saved.

QUESTION FOR THE DAY
Why is it so hard for people to admit that they need a savior?

How Much Evidence Will Finally Be Enough?

John 8:12-20

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

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Back in 5:32–40, Jesus speaks of the witnesses that affirm His identity:

• John the Baptist;

• The works that Jesus does;

• The Scriptures in general;

• Moses specifically.

Here He builds on that and unambiguously tells the Pharisees that he has been sent from the Father.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
People often want more evidence before they will believe in Jesus. But how much evidence is enough? Often, our desire for evidence is a stalling tactic, like a child asking for one more glass of water before going to bed. Rather, at some point we have to make the decision to believe, or not believe. No amount of evidence will take away the need to take a step in faith.

The Woman Caught In Adultery

John 7:53-8:11

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]

53 [[They went each to his own house, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

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Quick note on the text itself: the earliest manuscripts do not have this story at this place in John’s Gospel, but the later manuscripts do. So, it seems that somehow the earliest manuscripts were missing this section, and later scribes added it back in.

The obvious problem with what the scribes and the Pharisees do to the woman is that it is impossible for a woman to commit adultery by herself—there had to be a man present also! So, the Jewish leaders are seeking to enforce the law unfairly, since Old Testament law condemned both the woman and the man who were caught committing adultery.

Jesus once again proves here that He judges differently than do the Jewish leaders, as He has already said:

24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment [John 7:24].

QUESTION OF THE DAY
This is a very popular Scripture passage, particularly the part when Jesus says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” From reading the passage as a whole—and the Gospel of John so far—do you think Jesus is accepting and approving the adulterous actions of the woman? Why or why not? [Hint—look at His final words to her in v.11.]

Where Is Jesus Actually From?

John 7:40-52

40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

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We see the irrational opposition and even hatred that the Jewish religious establishment has for Jesus. Even when their colleague Nicodemus makes the relatively tame suggestion that they should at least listen to Jesus before making up their minds, they react with anger.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Jesus is neither from Galilee nor from Bethlehem—John has told us in the first chapter of his Gospel that Jesus actually comes from heaven.

Rock Strike

John 7:37-39

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

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In Exodus 17, the Israelites are in the wilderness; they are thirsty and begin to complain and grumble. But the Lord is merciful toward them and provides water:

6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel [Exodus 17:6].

When Jesus is crucified, a Roman soldier pierces His side with a spear:

34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water [John 19:34].

The life that Jesus offers is life in the Spirit, and those who believe in Him receive the life of God. But before that life is available, Jesus will have to be “struck,” like the rock in the wilderness.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
Why is the Spirit so often compared to water?

Officers Sent To Arrest Jesus

John 7:32-36

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

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Jesus tells that crowd that where He is going will be impossible for them to follow. He is speaking of His resurrection and ascension into heaven, but they take Him literally and wonder if He is going to go to the Jews who live around the Mediterranean region and who speak Greek.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The irony is that the gospel message does in fact spread around the Greek-speaking parts of the Mediterranean after the ascension of Jesus.

Confusion in Jerusalem

John 7:25-31

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

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The crowds in Jerusalem are confused—if Jesus is not the Christ, then why would authorities let Him go around teaching? Shouldn’t they already arrest Him for making such a (false) claim? But if He is not the Christ, then how is He able to do the miracles that He has been doing?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The obvious right move for those in the crowd who are confused about Jesus is to come closer to Him to gain clarity! It is the same for people today, who are not yet sure about Jesus—they need to allow their curiosity to lead them to Him. “Come and see.”

P.S. His “hour” is the time of His arrest and crucifixion—the reason Jesus came was to die for the world.

How Do We Know If Something Is From God?

John 7:14-24

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

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The Feast of Booths is taking place in Jerusalem, and Jesus is teaching in the temple grounds. One of the problems He is facing is that people are skeptical of His teaching, so He gives them a simple way to know if He is from God:

1. Choose first to be obedient to God and act accordingly;

2. And then you will be able to discern whether this or that teaching is from God.

17 If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority [John 7:17].

Jesus is facing opposition because He healed a man on the Sabbath, but He points out that because it is permissible to circumcise a baby on the Sabbath. It makes no sense that healing a man’s body on the Sabbath is somehow disregarding God’s law.

QUESTION FOR THE DAY
Obedience is the foundation to so much of the Christian life. Where do you need to exercise obedience today?

What John Means By "The Jews"

John 7:10-13

10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

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What John means when he uses the term “the Jews” depends on the context. Sometimes it just literally means “Jewish people.” But other times, as here, it means “the Jewish religious establishment.” These are the power brokers that are particularly opposed to Jesus’s message of repentance. Note how much influence they have over the people, in that people choose to censor themselves rather than face the consequences of upsetting the religious leaders.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Speaking the truth is an important part of faithfulness to Jesus. There is no call for needless provocation, but at the same time Christians need to be more committed to speaking the truth than afraid of the powers that be.

Jesus's Brothers Egg Him On

John 7:1-9

7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

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The Feast of Booths (also called the Feast of Tabernacles) was one of the great Old Testament religious holidays. When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness before they reached the Promised Land, God told them that once they arrived in the land, they would need to observe an annual festival in which they would build temporary booths or tents and live in them for a week, to remind themselves of God’s deliverance.

Galilee is in the north, and Judea is in the south—Judea is the region around Jerusalem. Jesus’s brothers want Him to make a big splash and go to Jerusalem, but He demurs because He knows if He goes to Jerusalem, folks will try to kill Him. Why does the world hate Him? Because He has been preaching about the need for repentance, and the power brokers don’t like having their sins and hypocrisy pointed out.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I wonder how lonely it was for Jesus that even His own family members didn’t believe in Him.

What Else Is There?

John 6:55-71

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

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After these hard sayings, many of the crowd of disciples leave because they aren’t willing to keep going. Jesus asks the twelve what they are thinking, and Peter replies, “Well, where would we even go?” Jesus is proud of that response, which shows He chose the right type of men to be in His inner circle. (Though He knows that even in the inner circle there is one who is going to betray Him.)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
It’s easy to tear down and point out problems or difficulties. But what few people actually do is think through the alternatives. I love Peter’s response to Jesus: “What else is there?” Sure, the way of Jesus can be hard, but what else is there?

Why Can't The World Save Itself?

John 6:60-65

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

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The “disciples” are those people who are following Jesus and learning from Him—the term does not necessarily refer to the inner circle of His disciples—the twelve.

Jesus has told them that He is “heavenly bread” and that the way people can have life is to trust Him, but this claim troubles some of those in the crowd of disciples. Jesus asks if they would still be offended if He ascended into heaven? He goes on to point out that the world cannot save itself—it is the Spirit who gives life, not the flesh or worldly things. In other words, God is the only source of life.

QUESTION FOR THE DAY
If God is the only source of life, why are you looking at other things to make you happy?

Is Jesus Advocating Cannibalism?

John 6:52-59

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

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In the long discussion that takes place after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus follows the same practice He often does when interacting with the Jews—He speaks cryptically, allowing Himself to be misunderstood on the surface to get people to lean in and really think about what He is saying. Here, it almost seems at first as if He is advocating some kind of bizarre cannibalistic practice:

53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you [John 6:53].

Let’s break down what He is saying:

• What do you do with bread? You eat it, i.e., you take it into yourself.

• What has to happen for bread to sustain life? It has to be broken before the energy it contains can be transferred to your body. In some sense, you might say the bread has to die before it offers life.

• In the wilderness during Old Testament times, the Lord provided heavenly bread—manna—for the Israelites.

• Jesus feeds the five thousand in the wilderness, using only five loaves and two fish.

• But the people miss the point of the miracle and want more literal bread, whereas Jesus wants to offer them the life that He came to bring.

• So, Jesus tells them that what they really need is “heavenly bread” and tells them that He Himself is heavenly bread, sent from the Father to give them life.

• What do you do with bread? You eat it. What do you do with “heavenly bread?” You “eat” it.

What does it mean to consume Jesus? He has told us in v. 30—to believe in Him. That is, to eat His body and drink His blood is to make Jesus the central part of your life.

Like so many of the things Jesus says, it is deliberately provocative and at first appears bizarre, but once you take your time and break it down, it makes sense.

QUESTION FOR THE DAY
How can you make Jesus more central to your life today?

Thoughts On Predestination

John 6:35-51

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. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 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.”

41 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. 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. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

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Predestination is the theological idea that God has elected some people for heaven and some people for hell, and that they have no choice in the matter. Often this theological system is called “Calvinism” or “the Reformed position.”

At Asbury we are in a different theological camp, called “Arminianism.” This system stresses the responsibility each person has to say yes or no to salvation and emphasizes the freedom every person has to make that decision.

There is a deep mystery as to why some people say yes to Jesus and other people say no, and certainly salvation is something God does for us, not something we do for ourselves. The Calvinists quite rightly want to clearly state that salvation isn’t something we earn because we are better than other people or something we choose because we are smarter than other people, and they draw upon some biblical passages that seem to teach predestination.

One such passage is John 6, where Jesus talks about how the Father draws people to the Son. James Lambert is one of our associate pastors at Asbury. He and I recently talked about this passage, and I’ve asked him to write a guest commentary for today. It is extensive, but I think you will find it helpful. For me personally, I am persuaded that the Reformed position on predestination is not the best way of understanding what the Bible teaches about salvation, and James’s commentary below is a good explanation of why we believe what we believe. –Andrew Forrest

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Guest commentary by the Rev. James Lambert

In the Bible, bread stands for life, and breaking bread stands for fellowship. The message in today’s reading is that Jesus is the source of true life, and the way to receive that true life is to trust Jesus. He is God’s provision for everything that humanity needs, and that provision never runs out, just as with the spring of living water Jesus mentions in 4:14. “The living bread that came down from heaven” in v. 51 references the manna God provided for Israel in the Exodus. “Looking on the Son and believing in him” in v. 40 is an echo of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in chapter 3 and the story of the plague of snakes in Numbers 21. Jesus is the one who has conquered death, represented by the snake and later by the cross, and so He is the trustworthy source of true life and healing.

This passage is often used to support the Calvinist / Reformed doctrines of “unconditional election” and “perseverance of the saints,” and/or the popular doctrine of “once saved always saved.” Those who hold these teachings point to the idea of the Father “giving” people to the Son in vv. 37 and 39, the Son not turning any of those away, and the Son not losing anything given to Him, as well as the idea of the Father’s “drawing” in v. 44, which must happen before anyone comes to Jesus. These verses certainly teach us about the trustworthiness and compassion of the Son, the way the Father and Son work together in salvation, and the way salvation starts with God’s action, God’s initiative.

However, those ideas must be balanced with other Biblical teachings, including those found in John’s gospel itself; and we must focus on the actual words of the text rather than ideas imported onto them from elsewhere.

For example, in John 12:32 Jesus proclaims: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Very interesting. So ultimately all people will be drawn, not just a few. Comparison with chapter 12 causes problems for the Calvinist reading of chapter 6, because the “all” here is not consistent with the idea that only certain individuals chosen beforehand are drawn to Jesus and given eternal life.

So, if all people are drawn, does that mean all people will be saved? No. Only those who believe will be saved. We know that those who do not believe “are condemned already,” as Jesus said in John 3:18. (We also know from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:41–48 that there will be “goats” sent away into eternal fire; more on that below.)

Jesus is telling us here that the “drawing” of God must happen before anyone can believe. It is about chronology and initiative and doesn’t actually mention the idea of choice or election at all. Then John 12 tells us that all people will be drawn. If we hold these two teachings together, the logical conclusion is that all people are somehow “drawn,” but not all people actually “come” to Jesus. In chapter 6 it is crystal clear that the criterion for receiving true life is faith—believing in Jesus the Son. In chapter 12 Jesus gives different criteria—those who “hate their lives,” those who “serve me,” and those who “follow me” are the ones who receive eternal life (12:25–26).

So taken together, John 6 and 12 teach us that God offers salvation and true life to all people through Jesus. Those who look on Him with faith will follow through with faithfulness, laying down their lives in faithful service to Jesus and receiving honor from the Father. Why do some come to Him and others do not? Why do some respond positively to the drawing which all receive? We cannot say for sure. It is not a question of merit, but there is choice involved. Otherwise, it makes no sense for God to expend so much effort throughout Scripture telling us to choose and calling us to repent. If we are not careful, our desire to know why can lead us to read more into certain Scriptures than is actually there, with the tragic result of missing the force of other plain Scripture teaching—reading right past it as if it’s not even there.

Another text we must compare in order to avoid drawing the wrong conclusions is John 15:6—“If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” This verse is from an extended speech that begins in 15:1–2 with “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me…” Therefore, the branches in question in 15:6 were at some point connected to Jesus, the true source of life. They were truly alive, but they end up dead. The metaphor of spiritual life is crystal clear: you can be in the Vine now, spiritually alive, and later out of it, spiritually dead. We should not read in any artificial distinctions here between true and false believers. Certainly, it is true that there are false believers, people who claim Christ but know Him not. However, Jesus would never refer to those people as “in me.” We see the same thing in Romans 11:22, where the Apostle Paul addresses Gentile believers who are clearly in Christ and warns them that they must “remain in his kindness” or else be cut off. It is an identical message to that of Jesus in John 15: “Remain in Me.” The Son will not “cast you out” for any flaw in you or any lack of love and patience on His part. But you must abide in Him. You must continue in the relationship of faithful, obedient love which He graciously makes available to you.

The other Biblical teachings we must consider here is God’s universal desire for all people to be saved. John affirms this famously in 3:16—“God so loved the world.” 2 Peter 3:9 is more explicit: “The Lord is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” And in 1 Timothy 2:3–4 Paul declares that “God our Savior desires all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”

John 6:37–40 cannot be referring to individuals who were unconditionally chosen by God before the world began being unalterably saved, with no future possibility of being lost, while everyone else is hopelessly damned; otherwise it would contradict other Scriptural revelation. The true meaning of those verses is grand and wonderful, but it cannot be that rigid. To find a better interpretation here we must ask questions of the text and answer them from Scripture:

What has the Father given the Son?
(And what will the Son most assuredly not lose?)

We learned that in John 3:35–36—“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 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.”

The Father has given the Son “all things,” and this makes the Son Himself the plumb line, the ultimate determiner of who is in and who is out of God’s kingdom.

What the Father has given the Son is authority. Kingship. “You are my Son; today I have begotten You.” (Psalm 2:7) “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” (Revelation 5:37, KJV) “Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” (Rev. 1:5)

The purpose of the Father giving the Son all things is redemption of the world and salvation of sinners. “For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20)

So, what the Father gives the Son in John 6:39 is the same thing the Father gives the Son elsewhere in Scripture: everything! Full authority which will be fully revealed “on the last day.” Those who trust in the Son will be included in the “all things” which will be raised up on the last day. Those who do not will perish when the world is cleansed and re-made. The Son of God, the great King of the universe, will judge all people according to the criteria He has laid out for us in His own teaching and that of His apostles.

In all the talk of predestination and perseverance we may be tempted to skip the last part of verse 51: “And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” How shocking! We will unpack the shock more in Monday’s reading. But today we need to end where we began: bread stands for life. That life in Jesus is full and rich, disciplined but free, lived in the company of other believers who are united in an imperfect fellowship (the church) which lifts up earthly signs (bread and wine) of heavenly reality (salvation in Christ).

Will we receive this heavenly bread? Will we accept Jesus as the only way to life?

This Is God's Will For You

John 6:22-34

22 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. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 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. 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.” 28 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.” 30 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.’” 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. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

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After Jesus miraculously fed the five thousand in the wilderness by only using five loaves and two fish, the people want to make Him king:

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 [John 6:14–15].

Jesus then crosses the Sea of Galilee to be with the disciples and get away from the crowd, but they track Him down. Jesus, drawing on the image of heavenly bread, tells the people that the most important thing and the way to show obedience to Father is to believe and trust the Son, on whom the Father has set His “seal.” But the crowd misunderstands and insists that Jesus give them the “bread” to which He has referred.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
In v. 28, the people ask what God wants them to do.
In v. 29, Jesus replies: believe in me.

Have you ever been told that what God wants from you is to believe in Jesus?

The People Want To Make Jesus King (By Force)

Here’s what to watch out for in Part 3 (chapters 6–11) of the Gospel of John:

• In chapter 6, the people want to acclaim Jesus as king, but by the end of chapter 11, the Jewish authorities have decided to have Him murdered. Understanding why this is the case will be an important thing to watch for.

• Jesus often says something that is—on the surface—cryptic or puzzling. He does so with the intention of getting people to lean in and really think. So, when Jesus says something puzzling, ask yourself, “What point is Jesus trying to make here?”

• The theme of seeing (and hearing) correctly will be woven throughout this section of John’s Gospel. Jesus will talk about the importance of seeing clearly and then John will show how the people refuse to see what’s right in front of them.

• Another recurring theme that is related to the theme of sight is that of acknowledging what is happening right in front of you. Jesus will continually ask people to pay attention to what He is doing, but they will often ignore what can be seen and instead focus on something else that doesn’t matter.

We begin our reading plan on Ash Wednesday at the Sea of Galilee as Jesus feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. We will conclude on Good Friday with Jesus about to enter Jerusalem in the last week of His life, and the Jewish authorities committed to His execution.

Along the way, we will learn more about who Jesus really is and how He came to die in order that all who believe in Him might have life and have it in abundance.

John 6:1-21

6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 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. 5 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. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 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?” 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. 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. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 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.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

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Mark’s Gospel moves quickly—he is famous for employing the word “immediately” through his narrative. In Mark, Jesus will do-this-and-then-immediately-do-that-and-then-do-some-other-thing-right-away.

In contrast, the Gospel of John takes a different approach. John has picked a few key incidents from the life of Jesus and slows down the narrative, taking his time to show us how this or that event or interaction demonstrates that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God.

Remember John’s thesis statement:

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name [John 20:30–31].

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The long account of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand is a good example of John’s practice of slowing down and doing more with less. Each of the Gospels tells us about this miracle, but John’s account is the longest—he wants to show us why this event was so important. One of the keys to understanding the miracle of the five thousand is to understand that John wants us to see Jesus connecting, fulfilling, and then exceeding the Old Testament.

Some Old Testament connections in John 6:

• Israel was hungry in the wilderness→the five thousand are hungry in the wilderness;

• Moses spoke from a mountain→Jesus preaches from a mountain;

• The Lord provided manna from heaven→Jesus is the bread from heaven;

• The twelve tribes of Israel→twelve baskets of extra bread;

• Etc.

The people respond to the miracle, but not in the right way—they misunderstand the real identity of Jesus, and instead see Him as a leader who will provide for their material needs and whom they can control and manipulate.

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 [John 6:14–15].

The people want Jesus for their own agenda, which is why He withdraws.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Note how for the disciples, the five loaves and two fish are obviously not enough—they can’t see any way to solve the problem with what they have. And yet, once they put it in the hands of Jesus, He does for them what they could not do for themselves. Where today do you feel that you don’t have enough? What would it look like to take what little you have and place it in the hands of Jesus?

P.S. Remember, there are seven signs that Jesus performs in John’s Gospel. In this passage, John tells us about sign #3 (see v.2, which references the healings that Jesus was doing, as in 5:9) and sign #4 (see v.14, the miracle of the feeding).

P.P.S. Why do you think John has included the account of Jesus walking on the water?

Meribah and Massah – Psalm 95

Psalm 95

1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8  do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9  when your fathers put me to the test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter my rest.”

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I might categorize Psalm 95 as a feel-good psalm if it ended with the first part of verse 7.

It is a great call to worship God.

 1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.

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But then comes a warning at the end of verse 7:

Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

What is going on here?

A good reference Bible will point you to Exodus 17, the story where the people of Israel complain (again), and God tells Moses the strike the rock at Horeb and water will come out of it. Moses does this, and God provides water. Exodus 17:7 says:

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Massah means testing. Meribah means quarreling.

In v. 7-9 God is the one who reminds the worshipping community, amid their joyous worship, of their past when they tested God and quarreled with the Lord in the wilderness. The warning is jarring and stern:

For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.” (v. 10-11)

And there the Psalm ends.

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Beth Tanner provides insight:

We can make God so angry that worship is an abomination (Amos 5:18-25). This is not a nice word to hear, but it is true. This psalm leaves people who are anticipating a festival, and indeed whose festival had already begun with the shouts in vv. 1-2, on their knees contemplating the sins of past generations that serve as a warning to them. “Is the praise honest and real?” is the question this psalm asks as the party begins. “Do you really know what you are doing?” “Are you really prepared to encounter God’s face?” The questions for these ancient ones should also be ours. Worship, full-voiced praise-filled worship, requires an understanding of the serious nature of that praise, for as one encounters all of these enthronement songs, God is praised for being the Judge and Controller of the creation and all the peoples. The praise of God cannot be taken lightly, and so the congregation is left here on their knees to understand just that.

I Read One Psalm A Day, Every Day

Almost five years ago—during the early days of the pandemic—I started the practice of reading one psalm a day, every day. There are 150 psalms, and when I got to Psalm 150, the next day I started back over at Psalm 1. I had heard Eugene Peterson recommend the practice as being particularly formative, and on Easter Monday 2020, I started reading through the psalms.

The nice thing about reading a psalm every morning is that there really is no excuse not to do it. If you are flat on your back and sick as a dog, if you had to get up at 3:00 AM to catch an early flight, if you overslept and have to brush your teeth in the shower just to save time, you can always make time for that day’s psalm. I generally prefer to read in my Psalms journal, but my iPhone Bible app will do in a pinch.

I’m constantly reading and working through whatever biblical book I’m preparing to preach and teach on, but the practice of a daily psalm gives me a really clear plan for my mornings.

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, and our next set of John readings actually starts on Wednesday. (We’ll conclude on Good Friday, so our next John section will run through Lent.) So, I’d like to invite you into my own Psalm practice for the next two days. Today is Psalm 94. (I’ll read Psalm 150 on Monday, April 28 and being over again with Psalm 1 on Tuesday, April 29.)

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Psalm 94

1 O Lord, God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    repay to the proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words;
    all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O Lord,
    and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the sojourner,
    and murder the fatherless;
7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge—
11     the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are but a breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him rest from days of trouble,
    until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
    he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame injustice by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,
    and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.

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C.S. Lewis, in his little book on the psalms, offers the insight below into today’s psalm (and the other psalms of vengeance like it). Since I read first read this several years ago, the psalms that call on God to avenge the psalmists’ enemies have become much more meaningful to me. After all, it often seems as if the wicked get away with their crimes. Lord, come and make things right!

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“The ancient Jews, like ourselves, think of God’s judgement in terms of an earthly court of justice. The difference is that the Christian pictures the case to be tried as a criminal case with himself in the dock; the Jew pictures it as a civil case with himself as the plaintiff. The one hopes for acquittal, or rather for pardon; the other hopes for a resounding triumph with heavy damages. Hence he prays “judge my quarrel”, or “avenge my cause” (35, 23). And though, as I said a minute ago, Our Lord in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats painted the characteristically Christian picture, in another place He is very characteristically Jewish. Notice what He means by “an unjust judge”. By those words most of us would mean someone like Judge Jeffreys or the creatures who sat on the benches of German tribunals during the Nazi régime: someone who bullies witnesses and jurymen in order to convict, and then savagely to punish, innocent men. Once again, we are thinking of a criminal trial. We hope we shall never appear in the dock before such a judge. But the Unjust Judge in the parable is quite a different character. There is no danger of appearing in his court against your will: the difficulty is the opposite—to get into it. It is clearly a civil action. The poor woman (Luke 18, 18, 5) has had her little strip of land—room for a pigsty or a henrun—taken away from her by a richer and more powerful neighbour (nowadays it would be Town-Planners or some11other “Body”). And she knows she has a perfectly watertight case. If once she could get it into court and have it tried by the laws of the land, she would be bound to get that strip back. But no one will listen to her, she can’t get it tried. No wonder she is anxious for “judgement”.

Behind this lies an age-old and almost world-wide experience which we have been spared. In most places and times it has been very difficult for the “small man” to get his case heard. The judge (and, doubtless, one or two of his underlings) has to be bribed. If you can’t afford to “oil his palm” your case will never reach court. Our judges do not receive bribes. (We probably take this blessing too much for granted; it will not remain with us automatically). We need not therefore be surprised if the Psalms, and the Prophets, are full of the longing for judgement, and regard the announcement that “judgement” is coming as good news. Hundreds and thousands of people who have been stripped of all they possess and who have the right entirely on their side will at last be heard. Of course they are not afraid of judgement. They know their case is unanswerable —if only it could be heard. When God comes to judge, at last it will.”

—from “Reflections on the Psalms”, by C.S. Lewis

The Bible Isn't The Point

John 5:30-47

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 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. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 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. 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, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 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. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 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. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 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?”

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Jesus is mistrusted by the Jews and is here explaining who He is and what He’s doing. He tells them that the reason they should trust Him is because what the Father and what John the Baptist have said about Him, and also because the Old Testament prophesied about Him. Unfortunately, though they “search the Scriptures” they have missed the point of the Bible—the Bible itself isn’t the point, the point is the Lord to whom the Scriptures testify.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:
We have completed another month of readings, and I hope you are learning more about the Bible. But the whole reason for doing this at all—the whole reason I spend all this time reading and writing—is so that you will come to have faith in Jesus and life in His name.

So, here’s our prayer for the day:
“Lord, use the words of your Scriptures to bring me more alive in You.”

Insight Into The Trinity

John 5:19-29

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

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Here, Jesus is explaining the life and love the Son shares with the Father, through the Spirit.

• The result of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is that those who are in Jesus—i.e., those who trust and believe in Him—also share in His Sonship;

• Jesus is the Son, who, through His loving obedience to the Father, carries out the Father’s will;

• Through His death and resurrection, all who trust Him have been adopted into the family of God;

• The love the Father has for the Son is now poured out on us through the Holy Spirit.

This is another way of thinking about salvation, with trinitarian language—the Son came to bring us back into the love of the Father, and the Father’s desire is to share the love He has for the Son, and the Spirit is the love They share.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
How is our understanding of God changed by understanding that God is trinity?