The Divine Son: Bible Talks On John's Gospel

These simple meditations on the Gospel of John appeared first in the Messages of the Love of God from 1946-1947. We have not been able to determine their authorship. However feeling that the style, with some editing to adapt it to our day, was quite simple and clear, we felt they would be helpful to many beginning Bible students. We have added a section entitled “Further Meditations” to each of the chapters. In most cases these consist of three points to consider. The first is typically a question that reviews some point made in the chapter. The second is a question requiring further reflection on the Word of God. The last provides a recommendation for another resource related to a theme in the chapter that might help further your study of God’s Word. In addition to these we have added meditations on the last three chapters of John’s gospel which were not commented on in the original series.

Bible Truth Publishers May 2008

The Word, the Life, the Light: John 1:1-18

The prophets gave many titles to teach the greatness and the work of the Holy One to come to earth as the King, the Shepherd and many more. But here in John are new titles that we may think more of that Holy One as always living. The first title is “The Word”.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.“

The Word

When we hear anyone say “the Word” we think of the Bible, God’s written words, but these verses mean Christ was Himself “the Word.”

It is by words we tell our thoughts to one another, so words express thoughts. God’s thoughts for the world were written in the Scriptures, but the Lord Jesus came to earth to show, by His life and by His death, God’s thoughts to the world. He was the Living Word.

We know “the Word” is referring to Jesus, because it says, “And the Word was made flesh (a form like men), and dwelt among us (among the people) and we beheld His glory.”

Yet “in the beginning” He was “with God” and “was God”. The next words are: “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made” (vs. 3).

If we could read the first verses of the book of Genesis in the Hebrew language as the Jewish people did, we might understand these wonderful words better. Their word “God” meant more than One, what we call a plural word. This teaches that the plan of all creation was by more than one. Here we learn the One to “make all things”, or do those plans, was The Word, the One who came to earth, the Lord Jesus.

The Life

“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men’’ (vs. 4).

There is nothing so necessary to us as life and light, and the Lord Jesus has given all life and light. But our natural life does not last forever, and God wants to give eternal, unending life.

The Light

The One who is the “true Light’’ was in the world, but “the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, but His own received Him not” (vs. 11).

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”

This is a wonderful promise. All who receive this One, or believe Him as their life and light, are given a new undying life like His, and are called “sons” or children of God.

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

“For the Life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us” (1 John 1:12).

Further Meditation:

1. What does the title “The Word” mean?

2. How does the Bible use the symbols of “light” and “darkness”?

3. A very extensive study of different symbols used in the Word of God can be found in Types and Symbols of Scripture. It covers many more topics than found in this chapter with lots about the tabernacle. Someday you might find it to be a nice resource to accompany your Bible study.

What the Voice Cried John: 1:19-34

The prophet John preached to the people out of doors, in the plains near the Jordan river. At that time all were “in expectation”, looking for the promised Messiah, as it was near the time foretold He should appear (Luke 3:15; Dan. 9:24-25).

When the leaders in Jerusalem heard of the earnest words of John, they sent men to ask him if he were the Messiah.

John told them he was not, that he was instead “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord,” as written in Isaiah 40:3. To “make straight the way of the Lord,” the people must be sorry for sins and be baptized, which showed to others that they knew they deserved death because of sins.

Behold the Lamb of God

God had sent John to baptize, and he was called John the Baptist. He said there was One to come who would be far greater than he. The next day Jesus came there, and John called to the people to “Behold!” He did not say to behold the Messiah; he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

It would be strange to us to hear a man called “a lamb”. We call a little child “a lamb”, meaning it is a pet, or gentle as a lamb. But the men who heard John understood. They had seen a lamb offered because of sin many times, and the man would put his hand on the lamb’s head to show it was taken in his place.

They knew “the Lamb of God” meant One provided by God to take away sin. Yet they did not then understand that He, too, must die to do that, although that had been written in Isaiah 53:6-7. They thought He would take away sin by His power.

Who Jesus Was and Is

John said the Holy One who had come was chosen and anointed by God, that He saw the Spirit descend and remain on Him. His record or report and message was that Jesus, who stood among them, was the Son of God.

That was wonderful news to the people who were looking for the prophesied Holy One: to know He had come to earth. The next time he spoke we read of men who believed John’s words.

Trust the Sent One

We must believe those same words “Behold the Lamb of God,” for we cannot take our sins from God’s sight either. We can only trust the One God sent, His own Son, that He took our place. When we believe and think of Him as dying for us, we behold Him as God’s Lamb.

Note: “Elias”, verse 21, is the Greek form of Elijah; “Esaias” (v. 23) the Greek for Isaiah; and “Messias” (v. 41) for Messiah, the anointed; in our language, the Christ.

Further Meditation:

1. What did John say he was not worthy to do?

2. How did John know who was the Holy One?

3. The book of Exodus presents the passover Lamb for the first time. There is a nice discussion on the Lord as the Lamb of God in the book Typical Teachings of Exodus by E. Dennett. You might have access to that book and enjoy reading the relevant section about the Lord.

We Have Found Him: John 1:35-51

John 1:35-51

The next day after John the prophet announced Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Son of God, Jesus came to the place again, and John again called, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

Two men were standing with John who wanted to know more of One sent by God to take away sin, and they followed after Jesus. He turned and asked them, “What seek ye?” They said, “Rabbi ... where dwellest Thou?” A rabbi was a man who taught the people of God, and was the most respectful title they knew to address Him.

Jesus invited them to “come and see.” It is not told where He stayed — it may have been an outside shelter — but they were welcomed to stay with Him. It was “about the tenth hour,” or near night. They counted twelve hours to a day, beginning at sunrise.

Telling Others

When we know a great event, we want to tell someone. Those two men had found Him who was the Holy One sent by God to take away their sins. This was the very greatest event to them, and they wanted others to know Him. One man, Andrew, went to tell his brother and brought him to Jesus.

Jesus knew the brother’s name, Simon, but gave him a second name, Cephas, which means a stone in Aramaic. Later the Greek language was used more and their word for stone is “petros,” translated into our language, Peter. Peter is the word most often used for him, though Cephas is also used, as in 1 Corinthians 15:5.

All great buildings were then made of stone, as the temple in Jerusalem. That was no longer used in honor to God. Peter was to be one of a new “temple,” not of real stones but of people who believed the Lord Jesus. Peter later wrote of others who believed as “lively (or living) stones” (1 Pet. 2:4-5).

Come and See

Jesus was going to Galilee and told a man named Philip to follow Him. Philip went to a man named Nathanael to tell him they had found the One written of in the Scriptures, and that He was Jesus of Nazareth.

Nathanael knew the writings which showed the One to come would be from Bethlehem Judea (Micah 5:2). Nazareth was not in Judea but in Galilee, and he thought the good and holy One could not come from there. But Philip said, “Come and see.”

When Nathanael found that Jesus knew him before and knew what he thought in his heart, he also believed Jesus to be the promised One. He would learn that Jesus had first come from Judea, just as the prophets had written.

All these men lived in Galilee, and were of the twelve chosen by Jesus to be with Him and to tell others about Him. They began to tell others as soon as they knew who Jesus was. It seems Nathanael had another name, Bartholomew, as that name is given in the other gospels and Nathanael is given in this gospel (see Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; also, John 21:2).

The titles of the Lord Jesus in the first Chapter of John, are: the Word, the Life, the Light, the Lamb, the Son of God, the Messias, Christ, the King of Israel, and the Son of Man.

Further Meditation:

1. What was a rabbi’s job?

2. How many different sets of brothers were part of the Lord’s disciples? What can we learn from this?

3. If you’ve just been enjoying some of the names and titles of the Lord Jesus Christ you might enjoy The Names of God by P. Wilson.

At a Marriage Feast John 2:1-12

A marriage feast is meant to be a time of joy when the friends rejoice with the bride and groom. Jesus and the disciples were invited to such a feast in Galilee, given by the bridegroom.

It was a custom to serve wine, made from grapes, and the host would provide plenty. But at this feast there was not enough.

The mother of Jesus was at that house and when she knew there was no more wine, she told Him. She expected He could supply it, for she believed Him to be the Messiah that would bring all blessings.

The Time for Blessing

As a boy, and as Jesus grew older, He had always obeyed His mother (Luke 2:51); but at this time He had begun the special work as the Son of God. That work was not right for her to direct, as His answer to her showed. And He said, “Mine hour is not yet come.” The time for Him to give all blessings on the earth was still in the future.

There were six large stone jars there, and Jesus told the servants to fill those with water, and they filled them “to the brim,” or full. Then He said to draw out from the jars and serve the “governor,” or honored guest. That man did not know how the wine was obtained, but when he tasted and found it the best wine of all, he spoke to the bridegroom of its goodness.

Joy

The servants and disciples knew who had provided it, and no doubt the rest soon heard. To make water become wine was a miracle that no one else could do. This was the beginning of Jesus’ miracles, and showed His glory. It was a promise beforehand of what He is able to do and will do when the nation of Israel believes on Him. Wine is a symbol of earthly joy, because for a time it makes people feel glad (Ps. 104:15).

He had come to earth to give true and lasting joy, “great joy” as the angel had said when He was born. Those who believed Him to be the promised Messiah, as Mary did, expected there would be no more sorrow, only joy on earth.

But the majority of that nation refused Him, and for that reason have since had great sorrows. Yet it is plain there will be a time of full joy on earth, as written in the prophets and told by Christ, which only He can give (see Zech. 2:10-12, Matt. 25:34, Luke 21:27-28).

Since Christ was rejected, it has not been a time of full earthly joy for any believers. What they use now of earth’s things are to be for His honor, and “much wine” is one of the things warned against, leaving sorrow, and not joy (Eph. 5:18).

Yet there is even now great joy Christ gives those who trust Him, by His Word and by His Spirit; and He told the disciples to ask the Father in His Name that their “joy may be full”, (John 16:23-24).

Further Meditation:

1. What does wine represent in the Bible?

2. What has to happen before there can be full joy on the earth?

3. If you’ve been enjoying thinking about joy you might find Joy by D. F. Rule to be very encouraging.

In the Temple John 2:13-25

“The Jews passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting.”

This seems to be the first Passover after the Lord Jesus began His public teaching. At that time Jewish men came from all countries, as the temple was the only place sacrifices were to be offered. Very many animals were used, and many gifts of money were given.

All should have been in praise to God; instead, it was as a market place to make money. The gifts were to be in special money, so men charged fees to make the changes, which was contrary to their laws (Ex. 30:1-16; Deut. 23:19; Deut, 14:24-25).

True Zeal

Jesus was grieved to see the business there, and He made a scourge (a whip of leather cords) and drove out the sheep and oxen, and told the men selling doves to take them away. He overturned the tables of the money changers, and said, “Take these things hence; make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise” (a place to buy and sell).

“The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up” (Psa. 69:9). That His Father should not be dishonored was more to Him than all else.

But the men in charge of the temple were indignant, although they knew the laws of God, and that it was entirely wrong for them to allow such things. They asked Jesus to show “a sign” of His right to do this.

The Son of God

His words, “My Father’s house,” were the same as to say He was the Son of God, and explained the reason for His right to clear God’s house of what was wrong.

These men had not believed the answer of the prophet John that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Holy One. If they had, they would have known His authority and have been ashamed at their wicked ways.

But Jesus gave them a sign; He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Sign

They did not understand that. They knew the temple had been many years in building, and they asked how he could build it in three days. They meant to ridicule Him.

But “the sign” He told them was really a prophecy of His own death. They would try to “destroy” Him on the cross, and He would rise in three days. If they had believed the Scriptures they would have known that the Holy One to come was their true “Temple,” for it was only by Him they could be blessed and God could be worshipped; He was their real “altar,” “ark” and “mercy seat.”

After He was crucified they only wanted His tomb made more sure (Matt. 27:62-64). They did not give up their evil ways.

Further Meditation:

1. How did Jesus show that He was God?

2. Why did they have moneychangers in the temple in the first place?

3. If you would like to know more about the moneychangers and many other cultural references found in the Word of God then you might find Manners and Customs of the Bible by J. M. Freeman a very useful resource. It has an index but is arranged from Genesis to Revelation making it a nice accompaniment to any study of the Scriptures.

A Night Visit John 3:1-10

One man, Nicodemus, who had seen the Lord Jesus, wanted to learn more. He seemed to fear to talk with Him when the men who were against the Lord Jesus would hear, so he came to where Jesus was at night. This man was a master, or teacher, and a ruler. He was in charge over the people and so a wise and well-known person.

He believed Jesus had power from God, but did not know Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus’ words to him that night were written that all since may learn, too.

Jesus told him everyone must have new life to be in God’s kingdom, or holy rule. The man had natural life, the same as we, but Jesus said he must be “born again,” “of water and of the Spirit.” The man knew better than we do what was meant by that “water.” He knew about the many washings listed in their laws, to make them fit to honor God.

The Water of the Word

Yet those washings only cleanse them outwardly and for a time, and make them know all must be pure for God. Water itself could not clear the heart of sins; but their scriptures, which we also have, taught that God’s words were the “water” to clean the heart.

One psalm (Psalm 119) taught much of God’s words. This man would have known that from his youth, for it was their lesson book with a verse for each letter of their alphabet. In that Psalm a young man was told to “take heed” (to pay attention to and believe) “according to Thy Word” (Psa. 119:9).

The same Psalm also told that God’s words “quicken,” which means give life: “Quicken Thou me according to Thy Word”; “Thy Word hath quickened me” (v. 25, 50).

The Role of the Spirit of God

Water cannot help us unless we use or take it ourselves; so every boy, girl, man, or woman must “take,” or believe God’s words in the heart. This causes each to repent of his own sins, that he may be given God’s Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus told of the Spirit in words easy for us to understand. He said, “The wind bloweth where it listeth (pleases), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

No one can see the wind or air, but all feel its motion, and power, and know it is here. In a similar way we cannot see the Spirit from God, but His action is real for all who believe God’s words, giving them a new life.

God’s Word taught of His Spirit and how all that was for Him must be by His Spirit, and must come from Him (as Gen. 6:3; Ezek. 37:14).

Our natural life is a wonder to us; how much greater wonder the new life given of the Spirit from God. We can only believe Him and all His words and so learn more of Him.

“As many as received Him (Christ), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

Further Meditation:

1. Why was the Spirit of God compared to the wind?

2. Where else in scripture is “water” used as a symbol for the Word of God?

3. New Birth, Eternal Life, Quickening, Sealing, Salvation, the Old Man and the Old Nature by A. C. Brown gives a brief introduction to some of these themes that are discussed in this chapter.

The Serpent on a Pole John 3:11-15

The man who came to Jesus at night did not understand how God could give new life to people (v. 9). Jesus spoke to him of the people poisoned by the serpents in the desert and then given life. Do you know that story?

The large company of Israelites were traveling through the desert land near the Red Sea, and they were very tired of the unpleasant way. They spoke against God and against Moses, who told them God’s words: they said they would die there, that there was no water or bread. They were tired of the bread sent by God from heaven.

The Brazen Serpent

God showed them it was their sins that caused death by sending fiery serpents which bit them, and many died. The rest cried for God to save them, and He told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole. Anyone bitten, when he looked to that serpent, would live.

Moses made the serpent as God said and put it on a pole where the people could see it. When any man bitten by a snake looked to the brass serpent, he was saved from the poison and lived.

Jesus told the man that as that serpent was lifted up, “even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” He was telling him of His own death before it came. He, the One from Heaven, would be lifted up on a pole or cross, the most shameful of deaths, and as despised as a serpent.

The serpent on the pole had no poison, but was made like those poisonous serpents; Jesus was without sin, but took all sin upon Himself.

A person bitten by a serpent, who believed God’s words and looked to the serpent of brass, was given life awhile longer on earth. Jesus said “whosoever believeth in Him (lifted up on the cross) should not perish, but have eternal life.” That means have a life without an end, the life given by the Spirit, (See vs. 6).

Healing for Sin

Do you suppose there was one of the bitten persons who did not turn his eyes to look to the brass serpent when he heard that God said he should live if he would look? We do not know. It is only told that any man bitten “when he [looked to] the serpent of brass ... lived.”

But there are some persons now who have heard God’s words of the One lifted up on the cross, who have not yet believed and “looked” to Him to save them from sin’s poison; that is most serious.

Do you suppose all are not bitten by the “serpent” sin, and not “poisoned” by sin? The people in the desert were not stealing or committing what you may call sin, but they had not liked God’s way, nor His words, nor the food He had sent them, and complained as though He would not care for them.

Our hearts are the same as theirs. If we do not want God’s way, nor His words, nor Christ who came so humbly; we too must perish, unless we believe God and “look” to His Son in His death for us.

Further Meditation:

1. What sin did the children of Israel commit that caused the Lord to send the fiery serpents?

2. What happened to the brazen serpent after it was placed on the pole?

3. This story is found in God’s Word in the book of Numbers chapter 21. If you have access to Notes on the Pentateuch: Genesis to Deuteronomy by C. H. Mackintosh, you will find that it has many nice remarks on this subject.

The Most Wonderful Words John 3:16-21

If you were asked what are the most wonderful words ever written, what would you say? Many would answer with these words which most of you can repeat:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Who said those words? The Lord Jesus said them to the wise man who came to Him at night, and they have been written for all to know. Many reasons that make them the most wonderful words. First, they are true words, said by One who knew and had authority. Second they are meant for all — for the people then and the people ever since — and they were given so simply that all can understand. It is the same Gift for all, and the same way to receive it.

We do not think what a blessed and wonderful promise “everlasting life” is, because we know only our short life here, which we think will go on and on with sunshine, air and all we need. But because of sin, life here ends. However, everyone has a soul which can not be in God’s presence because of sin, unless He gives life.

Perish

That is what to “perish” means in Jesus’ words — to be away from God in darkness, and that forever. He had already shown the man he talked with that all had sinned, like the people in the desert. That God sent His Son to save all shows all have sinned. The word “whosoever,” means it is for any person and every person.

That is one reason this gift is so wonderful; the people who receive it have not done anything to deserve it. They would perish forever unless He gave the gift. It would have been wonderful if God had offered to save one nation, but He offers to save all who will accept His gift, His Son, to have everlasting life in Him.

The Living One

God has given to all the natural life we have here; “He giveth to all, life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25,28). How surely then eternal life must be from Him. When the first man and woman sinned, God gave promise to One to come to save. Adam believed such a Living One would come, and so did all who believed God’s words after him.

The Lord Jesus was that Living One who has come. Say His words over and over, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” until you know you have believed Him; for after those words, He told the man other words not so pleasant, but ones we must know, too.

He said, “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

To condemn means for a judge to say a person is guilty of wrong and will be punished. God has said every one who does not believe His Son is guilty. Punishment is waiting, not because of the things he has done, but because he does not believe God’s Son, the Lord Jesus.

Further Meditation:

1. What does “whosoever” mean?

2. What does it mean that the gospel, while offered to everyone, must be personal?

3. God’s Way of Salvation by A. Marshall provides an excellent and simple presentation of God’s message of love and warning for everyone.

In the Country of Judea John 3:22-36

Jesus left the city, Jerusalem, and went to the country places where there may have been villages, but where the people could come to Him out-of-doors. It may have been near the Jordan River or a smaller river which flows into it, as there was water for the disciples to baptize the people. It is said that Jesus did not Himself baptize, but His disciples (John 4:2).

The word “baptize” means to overwhelm, and taught the people that they deserved death because of sins. But it also taught of Jesus’ death for them and of His resurrection, as they would later know.

The prophet John was at a place nearby called Enon, where there was much water, and he baptized those who came to him. The location of these places is not known now, but shows us that both the Lord Jesus and John, His messenger, were in all parts of the land, and all could have heard them. This seems to have been just before John was unjustly put in prison.

John’s Good Attitude

So many people went to Jesus, that some men seemed to think that John would be grieved, and came to tell him. But John answered them as he had before, that he was not the Great One to come, that he was only sent before Him to tell of Him.

John spoke of himself as that “friend” of Christ, the “bridegroom.” John had done all he had been told; and his joy was fulfilled to hear His voice. People who believe Christ are spoken of in the Bible as “the bride.”

John again spoke of Jesus as “He that cometh from above,” and “is above all.” He said whoever believed “set to his seal that God is true.”

The Seal

Kings and others used to have a name or a certain design on a ring or piece of metal, which could be placed upon wax or other substance, sealing an important writing, to show they gave authority or approval to the contents. Legal papers now have a stamp or seal put on them, and seals are often spoken of in the Bible (Esther 3:12; 8:8).

God has sent out the most important of all messages, saying He has sent His Son to the world to take the judgment for sin, and that all have sinned. He offers to free each person who believes His Son. Each one may “set seal” to that, showing his agreement.

How can this be done? It cannot mean each puts a mark on the paper of his Bible. No, these are the words, “He that hath received His (Christ’s) testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.”

The testimony of Christ was that God had sent Him and the reason He came. To believe His testimony, we believe Him (God’s Son), and that we are sinners He came to save. So when in your heart you believe the Lord Jesus, that He took your place to suffer for you, you are really saying, “All God’s words are true,” and that is like a seal, and shows you agree.

Further Meditation:

1. How were seals used many years ago?

2. Some people say that receiving the testimony and setting “his seal that God is true” is the Bible’s definition of faith. Why would that be true?

3. An excellent, clear and short introduction to the subject of faith can be found in the pamphlet Faith by H. P. Barker.

A Talk at a Well John 4:1-29

Long ago, wells in hilly lands were made with great labor; but when carefully walled with stone on the inside, with a low wall built around the top outside, they lasted many years.

One day the Lord Jesus and the disciples were on the way from Judea to Galilee and came to a good well made by Jacob hundreds of years before. It was about “the sixth hour,” near noon, and the disciples went on to a town to buy food. Jesus sat at the well to rest.

A woman came with water jugs to get water, and Jesus asked her to give Him a drink. That surprised her, because she saw by His dress or appearance that He was a Jew. The Jews were descended from Jacob’s son, Judah, and did not talk or deal with her people. Her people were of other sons of Jacob, but long before had rebelled against the king and would not worship God as He had said (1 Kings 12).

Living Water

But Jesus had come for good to all (though to the Jews first) and He wanted to bless the woman. If she had known who He was, she would have known it was a favor to her if she could give Him a drink of water. He told her if she knew who asked her for a drink, she would ask Him for “living water.”

She thought He meant water from the well, and she said, “Sir, Thou hast nothing to draw with and the well is deep: from whence hast Thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well?”

She did not then know He could have commanded the water of the well to come to Him, since all things obeyed His word. It is not told He ever used His power for Himself; it was always for others. He was far greater than Jacob, who was the same as other men.

He did not yet tell her who He was, but told her more of the “living water”. He said all who drank from that well would thirst again, but continued “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Wells are supplied by unseen springs in the ground, so the life He would give by the Spirit. She could not see the Spirit, but He would be in her forever.

But the woman still thought of real water, and that this would save her from carrying more, which was a hard task, so she said, “Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”

Her Deep Need

Jesus wanted her to think of something she needed far more than water for her thirst or for her house. She had sins which would keep her forever from God unless she had new life from Him. He spoke of her life and her wrong ways. It was as a miracle to her that He, a stranger, knew her past life and her sins, and she said, “Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet” (one to whom God had told events).

She knew the promise of the Holy One to come, and said, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ; when He is come, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said, “I that speak unto thee am He.”

Further Meditation:

1. What was one reason the Jews did not want to talk to the Samaritans?

2. Who else in this gospel failed to understand what Jesus was really saying when they first heard His words?

3. For a really in-depth understanding of this passage and others in the book of John you might find An Exposition of the Gospel of John by W. Kelly challenging to read but very helpful.

Water Jars Left: John 4:30-42

The woman to whom the Lord Jesus talked at Jacob’s well was so eager for her friends to see and know Him that she left her water jars to carry another time, so she could go more quickly to tell them.

While she was gone, Jesus talked to the disciples, who wanted Him to eat the food they had bought. He was so glad to have one believe His words as the woman had, and because He knew others there would believe too, that He felt satisfied without food.

He spoke of a harvest time, and told His disciples to lift up their eyes and look on the fields, “for they are white already to harvest.” Jesus meant there were people in that land who were ready to believe on Him as the woman did; they would be as a “harvest” to be gathered in for God, and the disciples were not to wait to go to tell them of Him.

Converts

The people the woman told about Jesus soon came to the well. She had said to them, “Come, see a man that told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” They knew the Messiah, or Christ, had been promised to come to earth to save from sin, and they, too, had sins like the woman. Her honest words made them want to see this Holy One, and they came promptly.

We are not told what the Lord Jesus said to them, but they also believed Him to be the Christ, and invited Him to come into the town to visit them. They said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have seen Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”

These people did not then know that Jesus must give His life to be their Saviour and the Saviour of the world, but they were glad He had come to earth. After He had given His life on the cross to suffer for all, and had risen and returned to Heaven, some of the disciples went to the towns of Samaria and told the people more about Him. Many more believed then, and there was great joy for such a Saviour. They were a part of the “harvest” for God, as Jesus told the disciples.

Challenging Work

It is not easy work to gather grain in the warm harvest time, and the disciples walked many miles to tell people of Christ. Now there are very many people to be told of Him, perhaps our own friends. Do you suppose we are as earnest and willing to leave our work or pleasure, as this woman who left her water jars, to tell her friends quickly of Christ? Although water was so necessary to her, she knew it was more needed for them to know One to save them from sins.

The woman also learned that day that it was not just at one certain mountain that God could be honored. Jesus told her that God wanted true praise, or worship, wherever the people were, and that it would be by His Holy Spirit, who teaches His words.

Further Meditation:

1. What did Jesus mean when He talked about the harvest?

2. Who else left things to follow or serve God? What did they leave?

3. For inspiring stories from the life of a man who worked faithfully to serve God you might enjoy Stories of the Grace of God in Bolivia by F. Smith.

A Boy Made Well: John 4:43-54

There is not much told about this boy, only that he was so sick, he was “at the point of death”, then suddenly he was made well. His home was in a town near the Sea of Galilee. It must have been a good home, because his father was a nobleman, one in a high position with the ruler. But the best home cannot keep illness or death away.

It is not told if this man had seen Jesus, but he had heard of the great things he had done in Jerusalem, and that He was on the way back to Galilee. The ruler thought Jesus could save his son, and started out himself to ask Him.

Signs and Wonders

It was at the town of Cana that the father met Jesus, and begged Him to come to heal his son. The location of the towns is not certain now, so we do not know just the distance, but it was not very near, as the man could not get back that same night.

All the people were anxious for Jesus to do miracles for them, without thinking much of who He must be, or of how careless they had been of God’s words. Jesus said to the man, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.”

Still the man thought only of his sick son and said, “Sir, come down ere my child die.”

The Lord Jesus cured the boy, though He did not go with the father; He simply said to him,

“Go thy way; thy son liveth.”

The man believed the words of Jesus, and did not keep on asking Him to come with him, but started back to his home. The next day as he was returning, servants from his home met him and said, “Thy son liveth!” The father at once asked them at what hour his boy became better, and they told him the hour the fever had left him, and the man knew that was the time when Jesus said to him in Cana, “Thy son liveth.”

The Cure for Care

When the man told his family and the servants what Jesus had said, they all believed on Him; and later, when Jesus was in that town and near there so much, they must have gone to see Him, and to hear His words. If they learned of Him as the One to save their souls from God’s punishment of sins, that would be more wonderful to know.

It is hard to have fevers and pain or to see those we love ill, as the boy was, yet the time has not come for all to be free of illness. This teaches us that even then, God wanted the people who knew His words to think more of who had come to earth, His Son, than of cures for themselves. Even so His Word tells us to ask His help in all trouble and to trust His will.

“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

Further Meditation:

1. In what town did the boy live?

2. This was the second miracle Jesus did in Galilee. What was the first miracle?

3. If you have your own set of cares you might find the messages in Angels in White by R. Elliott very uplifting.

At a Water Pool: John 5:1-9

There were pools for water in the city of Jerusalem, made with a stone wall around, some with steps down to the water, and porches beside to shade from the heat. The water came through tunnels from springs in the hills, plenty for the needs of the people and for the animals. Some of the pools are still used there, though the stones and porches are broken.

Place of Mercy

One pool was near the market or gate where sheep were brought into the city and much water was needed. This pool was named Bethesda, “the place of running water,” so the water was always fresh; the name also meant “the place of mercy”, for it was like God’s kindness or mercy, fresh and free.

It is told that at a certain time an angel came to that pool and troubled, or disturbed, the water. The first crippled or sick person who stepped into the water was made well. At that time many sick or lame persons came or were brought there, each to try to be the first to step in the pool after it was disturbed.

The Lord Jesus was in the city and came by the pool and saw the many sick or crippled people waiting in the porches. Some were lame, some blind. He knew one man lying there had been helpless many years and He said to him, “Wilt thou be made whole?”

The man said, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.”

He had no friend to help him, and another person not so helpless could go first. Then he found there was One to help him, greater even than an angel. Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”

At that command of Jesus the man was instantly well. He rose, took up his bed, which would be a thick mat or blanket, and walked. How surprised he must have been to be made well so quickly! But he did not then know who it was that had made him well. Jesus passed on in the crowd going to the temple.

It was God’s will at that time to send an angel to heal one sick person, because of His great kindness. He had said the people of Israel should have no sickness if they would obey His words to them. But they had not obeyed (Deut. 7:15).

Looking to God for Help

Those sick and lame people lying helpless in the porches at the pool, proved God’s ways were not kept. Yet He would show mercy, which means undeserved kindness. It was not complete, for if the angel came, only one was cured. That was with difficulty, since it was hard for such ones to get into the water. But it would make them know how helpless they were, and teach them to look to God for help.

When Jesus healed the man it was very different; the man did not first take even one step; all he did was to confess to Jesus that he was entirely helpless, and He made him well.

We are helpless to be free from our sins, but the word now is to all, “Through His (Jesus’) name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Further Meditation:

1. Why couldn’t the man get well?

2. What other forms of sickness did the Lord heal in this book of John?

3. If you have been enjoying the subject of mercy in this chapter you might also enjoy All of Grace by C. H. Spurgeon. The man in this chapter could do nothing for himself and depended completely on the Lord to work. The Lord working when man can’t is central to the theme of grace.

The Greatest Works John 5:10-47

When some of the men of Jerusalem saw the man whom Jesus had made well carrying his bed, they told him it was not lawful, or right, for him to do that because it was the Sabbath day.

The man answered, “He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk.” But he could not tell them the name of the One who had made him well. Afterwards Jesus met him in the temple and told him to sin no more.

The man then went to the men who had asked him who had said for him to carry his bed, and told them it was Jesus who had made him well. Those men already hated Jesus because He had spoken against their wrong acts in the temple. Their anger grew more because He had cured the man on the Sabbath day and told him to carry his bed.

They claimed to keep God’s law to their nation, which was to do no work on the seventh day, the Sabbath, but keep it holy in honor to Him, and He would bless them (Deut. 5:15; Ex. 20:10).

My Father and I

But those men did not honor God or believe His words. They should have been expecting such a one, and known that one who could by His word cure a helpless man and do many other miracles, had the right from God to tell the man what to do on that day.

When those men spoke in anger to Jesus, He said, “My Father worketh ... and I work,” and He told them His work was all for people.

To cure the sick and helpless seems a great work to us, but that work was only for people’s life on earth. Jesus told them of the far greater work He would do. He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” Verily meant, “It is true, it is true.”

“He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come in to condemnation [punishment]; but is passed from death unto life.”

Life Forever

That is a very wonderful work of the Lord Jesus to give life forever to each one who hears (accepts) His word and believes God who sent Him. No one could have that life by any work he could do. All would be away from the presence of God, called “death,” because all are sinners. When Jesus gave up His life on the cross it was His work to suffer the punishment for sin.

Jesus told those men about another “work” He will do, also greater than we can think. He said, “The hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth: they that have done good [believed His words] unto the resurrection of life; they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [punishment forever].” (See also 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4; Rev. 20.) These words of Jesus are very plain and solemn. What tremendous power there is in His voice — all who have ever died will hear and obey His command to rise!

Further Meditation:

1. Why were some men angry that the Lord had healed a lame man?

2. What was it like for a Jew to hear that He couldn’t work to gain life?

3. For more on the wonderful subject of the Lord Jesus as the Son of the Father you might enjoy reading The Son of His Love: Papers on the Eternal Sonship of Christ by W. J. Hocking.

A Boy's Loaves of Bread: John 6:1-14

One day the Lord Jesus and the disciples were in a country place near the shore of the Sea of Galilee and also near a mountain. The people learned where Jesus was, and wanted Him to do more miracles for the sick, so a great crowd followed Him to this place.

When evening approached, Jesus asked one of the disciples, Philip, where they could buy bread that all the people could have food, for He knew they were hungry.

Philip said that two hundred pennyworth would not be enough to buy even a little bread for each person. It is said that amount would be about the same as the pay for two hundred days of work. Jesus knew before He asked Philip what He would do, but He wanted the disciples to think of the needs of the people.

A Boy’s Loaves and Fishes

Then another disciple, Andrew, said that there was a boy there who had five barley loaves and two small fish, but he asked, “What are they among so many?” There were over 5,000 persons there. Probably the loaves, which a boy would carry with him, were not very large. No doubt he had taken these for his own lunch, but he gave all to Jesus.

The Lord Jesus told the disciples to make the people sit down on the grass. He gave thanks to God for the bread and broke the loaves in pieces. He then gave them to the disciples to pass to all, and the same with the fish.

All that crowd of people ate, not just “a little’’, as Philip had said, but all had plenty.

After all had finished eating, there was still bread left, and Jesus told the disciples to gather up the pieces in the baskets. That would teach them, and us also, to be careful of the food God has provided. All we have really comes because of His care for us. Then too, when the disciples or others ate those pieces of bread they would be reminded again of the kindness and great power of Jesus to do this for them.

Giving to Others

We who read of the Lord Jesus’ care for the hungry people may have something to be used for good to others, as that boy’s barley bread and fish. Whatever we have to give, we can do it as though we were giving it to Him to use, and for His blessing. The very best you can give anyone is God’s Word, or learn His words and tell them to someone. His words are for the souls of all, as bread is food for their bodies.

The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 men (besides the women and children) is told in all the gospels, but this book of John is the only one which tells that a boy had the loaves and fish.

All the people knew that a great miracle had been done for them, and they believed Jesus, the One God had promised to send. They said, “This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world” (Deut. 18:15,18).

The king over that land did not care for the people. They wanted to have Jesus be their king. Jesus knew this, but He knew He could not be their Holy King until all sin was judged. Therefore He sent the people away, and went on the mountain alone (Matt. 14:23).

Further Meditation:

1. Which Gospels mention that the loaves and fishes came from a boy?

2. How many baskets were used to gather up the fragments? Why this number and type of basket?

3. The Bible Handbook by W. Scott contains lots of helpful information in understanding God’s Word. For example it has information on the different coins used such as the “two hundred pennyworth” of bread mentioned in this Bible passage.

A Very Great Wonder John 6:15-25

After the Lord Jesus fed the multitude of people on the grassy plains near the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the disciples started across the sea in a boat to go to the town where some of them lived. But Jesus stayed on the nearby mountain to pray.

The Sea of Galilee is large and deep and often has stormy winds to disturb the water. That night after the disciples started across, a sudden wind came up and was “contrary” or against them, and the big waves tossed their boat.

The men rowed hard, but at the fourth watch, which was toward early morning, they had gone only a few miles on their way. Suddenly they saw Jesus coming near them, walking upon the water. They were very frightened and cried out thinking He was not real but a spirit instead.

Jesus spoke to them and His voice stopped their fear. He said, “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.”

Faith and Fear

It is told by Matthew that Peter asked the Lord to tell him to come to Him on the water, and the Lord Jesus said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and started to walk on the sea, but he looked at the high waves and was frightened and cried to Jesus to save him.

The Lord put out His hand and saved Peter from sinking, and at once they were by the boat and taken on board. Then right away they were at the shore where they wanted to be, though that must have been a distance of some miles.

The disciples were filled with wonder that Jesus had come to help them and that He could walk on the water. This seemed to them an even greater miracle than that He had fed the multitude the afternoon before. This proved to them that He was the Son of God. No man of earth could control the waters. But He was the Creator of the water and all things, as we read in the first part of this book of John: “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.’’

The Creator’s Power

Jesus had power to walk upon the water, and could cause Peter to do so also while he trusted Him. He had taken the form of a man to feel the sorrows of earth and to give up His life for the sins of all, yet He had the knowledge and power of earth’s Creator.

The people whom Jesus fed with the barley loaves were very surprised the next day that Jesus had come across the sea. They seem to have gone to that place by the sea, expecting Him to be there. They knew the disciples had started without Him in the evening, and there was no other boat to go in. When He was not there and some boats came to that shore they went in them to Capernaum in order to look for Him.

The Sea of Galilee was also called the Sea of Tiberias. Other times it is called the Lake of Gennesaret, for the land on one side of it had that name (John 6:1; Luke 5:1).

Further Meditation:

1. How did the Lord Jesus calm the disciples’ fears?

2. What other ways does Jesus show His power as Creator in this gospel?

3. Simon Peter: His Life and Letters by W. T. P. Wolston presents many helpful thoughts on Peter’s life including this story from John’s gospel.

Sent From Heaven John 6:26-71

Many of the people, who had eaten of the bread Jesus supplied for the entire multitude in the country place, came to the town where He was the next day. Some of them may have walked a long way to find Him, but He knew they came wanting Him to give them more food, not to hear the words of God which He told them.

Most of the people in those lands were poor and it may have been very hard to get enough food, yet they should have known that One who could provide so much food from a few loaves must come from God, and that His words must be true and for them to believe.

The Work of God

He told them to “labor,’’ or be really in earnest for what He could give them that would last forever; the bread He had given, though good, could not last long. They were hungry again. They asked Him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?“

He told them, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

The people may have thought there were laws they must keep, or work to do for others before they could have everlasting life. But Jesus told them that what they must do for God was to believe on Him whom God had sent, and that One was Jesus Himself.

The Bread of Life

But some of those people were so selfish or hard-hearted that they did not believe Jesus was sent by God, even though He had done so many kind and great things for them, which no one else could do. They asked Him to do something more, “a sign”, that they could believe Him. They spoke of food, called manna, which God Had given for the many thousand people of Israel while they lived in the wilderness, on the way to Canaan. They seemed to think Jesus should do the same for them.

You remember the story of the manna, how God had sent the small round pure food each morning (except on the seventh day of the week). It lay upon the dew on the grass or ground around the camp of Israel, and the people could gather all they wanted to (Ex. 16:14-18).

Yet those people tired of the pure food God sent, and complained. And the people would complain also if Jesus had supplied them each day. He told them the manna did not give people everlasting life, for all those who ate it had died. But He said God had now sent true bread to them, and that He was the Bread of life. He said, “I am the living bread which came down from Heaven.”

Bread, or food, is what keeps up life on earth. No one here can live without food. Jesus is the One to give life for heaven, so He is called “true bread.” He gives life forever to those who take Him as their own Saviour.

“Verily, verily (It is true, it is true) ... He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.”

“We believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ (the Chosen of God), the Son of the living God,” was Peter’s clear testimony of Jesus.

Further Meditation:

1. What is the “work of God”?

2. What did the children of Israel do with the manna once they became tired of it, and how does this apply to today? You will find the story in Numbers 11.

3. You will find a lot more about the manna and what it means in Typical Teachings of Exodus by E. Dennett.

On a Great Feast Day John 7

At one feast time the Lord Jesus did not go to Jerusalem with others from Galilee. But afterward He went and taught the people in the temple.

Each year they were to meet for that feast, after their grain and fruit were gathered, to thank God for all His care, and to especially remember when He led their nation out of Egypt. Then they had no houses, only the shelter of trees or booths of the branches, and later only tents made of skins or cloth. Yet God kept them safe from wild animals or enemies and from the hot sun.

The Feast of “Tabernacles”

During that feast time the people were to live under booths made of leafy branches instead of in their homes. This was called the “feast of tabernacles.” The word “tabernacle” means a shelter, tent, or booth.

While the people were met together, God’s laws and the story of His care were to be read to them, so all the people and the children would know. One thing they would hear would be the wonder that God caused water to flow out of a great rock in desert land, so there was plenty for the thirsty people and for their flocks, (Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:11; Psa. 114:8).

The last or eighth day, of the feast was to be a most solemn time. The people who believed God’s words would know they were not worthy of His care, but would wish for His blessings as a thirsty person wishes for water. On that day Jesus stood in a place where all could hear and called, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.”

The big rock in the desert gave the people water for a time, but the holy Person, Jesus, the Son of God, could bless and satisfy forever. To “come to Him and drink“, meant to believe Him and take His words into the heart as earnestly as a thirsty person drinks water.

That was so wonderful an offer of blessing that some of the people remembered the promise that a great Prophet would come to tell God’s own words, and they said, “Of a truth this is the33 Prophet,” (Deut. 18:18). Others said, “This is the Christ, (Messiah),” the one chosen by God.

Evil Responds to Good

If the chief priests and other leaders had believed the words of Jesus, that would have been the most wonderful feast time. But most of them hated Him, and they sent officers to take Him to put Him to death. When they heard Him speak to the people they would not take Him; they said, “Never man spake like this man.”

There was one leader who tried to have the others do right toward Jesus; the rest ridiculed Him and told him to look in the Scriptures and he would find that no prophet came from Galilee. If those men had wanted to learn of Jesus, they would have found that He was not from Galilee, but was born in Bethlehem of Judea, just as written in the scriptures (Micah 5:2).

Further Meditation:

1. What is meant by the “tabernacles” mentioned in this passage of Scripture?

2. What had the Messiah been expected to do when he came?

3. You’ll find more on the story of the water flowing from the rock in From Egypt to Canaan by W. T. P. Wolston.

Forgiven, Not Stoned John 8:1-20

You all know the word sin, and know perhaps that sin is the cause of all trouble in the world. When the Lord Jesus was on earth He spoke against all sin, for sin is to want our way instead of God’s way. Yet He always said words of pardon to any who confessed their wrong ways.

One day while He was teaching the people in the temple, some men brought a woman to Him, and they said she had so sinned that by the law she should be stoned, but they wanted to know what He would say to do. Those men hated Jesus because He had spoken against their dishonest acts, and they wanted to show He did not judge as God’s law said.

Jesus Responds

Jesus did not answer them right away. He stooped down and wrote on the ground, while they kept on asking Him. At last He said to them, “He that is without sin ... let him first cast a stone at her.”

Then Jesus kept on writing on the ground, which gave time for the men and all who heard Him to think of their own sins and what sin deserved. His words showed He had authority to command what to do, as a judge, and that the woman deserved to be punished as the law said. Her sin was adultery, which meant she had given her body to another, not her husband, disobeying God’s command (Ex. 20:14).

The relation of husband and wife was made by God, that is why it is to be faithfully kept as long as both live (Genesis 2:24). And the law said to punish one known to be untrue to the other. God told Moses to write for the nation of Israel, that the people should live rightly and He could bless them (Lev 20:10; Deut 28:9).

The Lord Jesus had also taught plainly against that sin, as shown in Luke 16:18. But He did not then come to earth to punish for sin. If He acted as the law directed, He must be just and punish not only that sin, but every sin. He knew that the men who brought the woman had sins, and they had spoken against Him, because He had told them God’s ways, which was the most serious sin of all.

After those men heard His words, “He that is without sin ... let him first cast a stone,” each one suddenly felt in his own mind that he had sins. They should all have bowed down before the Lord and confessed they too were sinners, but they did not do that; each one silently walked away, as though He would not know it. The eldest man who should have known God’s ways best, went out first, and the youngest one last.

Forgiveness

When Jesus rose up from writing on the ground, the woman stood alone before Him. She could have gone away from Him also. He told her He did not “condemn” (punish) her, and said for her to go, but to sin no more. The words He wrote on the ground are not told, but, since He always taught God’s ways, the words must have been about God’s holiness or His mercy.

Jesus came to take the “bruising” as though of stones, the punishment for all sins from God Himself. That was why He could forgive the sinner: “He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5).

Further Meditation:

1. Why did the men bring this woman to Jesus?

2. What would have happened had the Lord applied the law to everyone present that day? What would happen if each of us faced the law’s demand for holiness today?

3. The question of keeping the law as a rule of life has been raised many times over the centuries. How are we to live as Christians? You might find help on that question in the pamphlet Antinomianism and Legalism: What is the Rule for Christian Conduct? by J. L. Harris.

Before Abraham John 8:21-59

The Jewish men to whom Jesus talked spoke much of Abraham, a man who had lived over a thousand years before in that country, and was the first of the Hebrew nation, so called “the father” of that nation.

The Jews were descendants of his grandson Jacob (called Israel) and boasted they were from Abraham. But they forgot God had made Abraham the first of the great nation because he believed God’s words to him.

He had first lived in a land of great buildings, but where idols were worshiped instead of God. When God told him to leave that land and go to a land He would show him, Abraham obeyed, and was led to Canaan (later called Palestine). He lived there with his family, though they had no home but tents. He believed God when it would seem hard to believe. He also believed God’s promise of a great nation when he did not have even one child; and he believed God would raise his son from death.

False Children of Abraham

He believed God for what he could not see or understand, and that is called “faith.” He also obeyed God. But the Jewish men who called themselves “children of Abraham” had not believed God’s promise of the One He would send to bless all nations. They would not believe the words of Jesus or His great miracles which should have proved to them that He was the Son of God. They hated Him for His true words. Then Jesus said to them what is true of us all: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”

If we do what is wrong we are like a servant to the desire that produced the wrong act. Unless we stop and turn from the wrong thing, we will keep sinning more and more, and be as a slave to do the wrong.

Those men would not believe the Lord Jesus, but kept on speaking of Abraham. Then Jesus told them, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it and was glad.”

The men could not understand those words. They knew Jesus was not even fifty years of age, and Abraham, who lived so very long before, could not have seen Him. But Abraham had believed God’s promise to send One to bless. He rejoiced to think of such a One, so by faith Abraham looked ahead to the “day,’’ or time of a Saviour to come to reign as King, and was happy for that promise.

Deity of Christ

The Lord Jesus then told those men a more wonderful fact, and just as wonderful to us, He said, “Before Abraham was, I Am.”

That meant the Lord Jesus Christ lived before Abraham lived, and even more than that, those words meant He had always lived.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14).

The Son of God left His glory to be the Saviour for every nation. We can only wonder at this truth and speak His name with reverence.

Further Meditation:

1. Why weren’t those Jewish men spiritual “children of Abraham”?

2. What other proof does the Bible give that Jesus is God?

3. You can dig a lot deeper into the important subject of the divinity of Jesus Christ in the short pamphlet Scripture Testimony to the Deity of Christ by S. Green.

Clay on Blind Eyes John 9:1-12

As the Lord Jesus was passing along a street of Jerusalem He saw a blind man who sat and begged, and the Lord gave him a wonderful gift — his sight.

For some blind people, Jesus had touched their eyes and said for them to see. But for this man He first spit on the earth then took some of the moist clay in His hand and pressed it upon the man’s eyes, and told him to go, wash in the pool of Siloam.

That pool of water may have been close by, and easy for the blind man to get to: anyway, he obeyed and washed the clay from his eyes and he could see. What a change for him, for he had been born blind, so had never seen any person, a tree, or even light!

The neighbors and others who knew the blind man were so surprised that he could see, they were not sure he was the same person. Some said, “It is he:’’ others said, “It is like him.” But the man was certain, he said, “I am he.” And he told them that Jesus had put the clay on his eyes and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and he received sight. Jesus had walked on, but the man did not know where.

A Special Pool

It might seem it would not matter in what water his eyes were washed, but there was a reason for that certain pool. It was an important one of the city near what was once the king’s palace and garden, and very old, for its wall was repaired hundreds of years before in the time of Nehemiah (Neh. 3:15). It is written that the name Siloam meant “Sent” (verse 7), so those waters which came from the hills above, taught of Jesus, the One sent from Heaven to give the “water of life”.

Perhaps from this we can understand why Jesus put the clay on the man’s eyes and sent him to wash in that pool. First, He had spit on the clay, which was a sign of the humanity of Christ, in humiliation and lowliness and yet the Son of God with power. All the earth and man were created by God, but because of man’s sin, all is unfit for God. The blind man was in darkness. To cover his eyes with clay seemed to teach that was the result of a nature of sin in which he had been born, and must be cleared away by the power of one sent by God.

Jesus, the One sent from God, had taken an earthly body, but without sin, to bear the wrath of God. How wonderful it was that the pool of Siloam was named long before the Lord Jesus came, to teach about Him.

The Lasting Gift of God

It is said the pool of Siloam is still in use by people of Jerusalem, and would remind us how lasting is the Gift of God, His Son. By our nature we are like that blind man who could not see Jesus’ but he heard His voice. We too may hear His voice in God’s word; he obeyed and followed Jesus’ directions to receive his sight; we too must believe Him to be the only One to save us from wrath and darkness.

Further Meditation:

1. What does the name Siloam mean and what does its meaning teach us?

2. Darkness and light are often used in the Bible as spiritual symbols. Where else can you name that they are used in a way that’s similar to this chapter?

3. The Synopis of the Books of the Bible by J. N. Darby can be difficult to understand at times. However if you have the patience you will be very richly rewarded by its rich spiritual insight into passages such as this one.

Speaking for Christ John 9:13-41

The neighbors or friends, when they found that the man who had been born blind had been made to see, took him to the leaders in the temple to show them what a great miracle Jesus had done. The man told them that Jesus put clay on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and he washed and could see.

But the men would not believe that he had been born blind, and they sent for his parents to ask them. The parents said he was their son who was born blind. But they were afraid to say who had made him see, because those leaders had declared that whoever spoke of Jesus as the Christ, the One with power from God, would be put away from the synagogue (or congregation). They said their son was old enough and that they should ask him.

Courage Faces Hatred

It would seem that the son was a young man, since his parents were questioned, and also from their words that he was “of age”, which in that nation was from the time a young man was twenty years old (Num. 1:18). In any case the son had courage to speak of Jesus, though his parents did not. He had told them that Jesus must be a prophet, one whom God directed, and he said again He must be from God or He could not have done as marvelous a thing as to “open” his eyes.

He told them that they should know that such a man was from God. It made them very angry that he should talk so plainly to them, and they put him away from the temple. These men were called Pharisees, a party among the Jews of that time who taught much about the law and rules which had been made by leaders before them, but few of them truly believed or honored God.

It was a great disgrace for anyone to be put out of the company of the other people who could come to the temple, and the man may have been sad at such treatment. However he soon had the company of the Lord Jesus, who had heard he was put out and came where he was.

Belief

The man may not have seen Jesus before, but he believed His power because He had caused him to see. He also believed Jesus should be obeyed. When Jesus asked him if he believed on the Son of God, he at once asked, “Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?”

When Jesus said, “It is He that talketh with thee,” the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and worshipped Him.

Though the man had always been blind, he had listened well to God’s words when he heard them, for he believed One from God was to come to earth. He believed that One must be without sin to do so great good. Though he could no more go to the temple, he must have learned more of Jesus with others who believed Him, the Christ, the Son of God.

We might say that man would have been very ungrateful for his sight if he had not told who had made him to see. Is it any less a miracle that Christ now saves from darkness forever, anyone who believes on Him? Should we not now say who has done so great a miracle for us, even to those who are against Him?

Further Meditation:

1. What is the youngest this healed man could have been?

2. Who else faced persecution from the religious leaders because they chose to follow Jesus Christ?

3. If you would like to study more on the subject of persecution for Christ’s sake you can find some help in 1 Peter 2. Help in understanding that chapter may be found in The Epistles of Peter: An Expository Outline by H. Smith.

The True Shepherd John 10:1-8

The Lord Jesus told this parable to the men of Jerusalem. He spoke with authority, as a declaration, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

“To him the porter openeth: and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know his voice, And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.”

In that land sheep were kept at night in a high walled yard, called “a fold’’. Large flocks had a watchman to guard them. In the morning when the shepherd came, he would be let in. The sheep were such pets that each one had its own name, and knew the shepherd’s voice; as he called each name, the sheep came to him and followed him to the pasture lands.

Shepherd, Sheep, and a Right Door

But in this parable we know Jesus did not mean to tell of a shepherd of real sheep. The people who believed God were called “sheep” and He, their “Shepherd”, as we too say, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Psa. 23).

It was promised that the Holy One to come to earth would “feed His flock like a shepherd” (Isa. 40:11).

“He that entereth” in by the door (the right or proper way) is the Shepherd of the sheep.

That right way was the way God had said, and was written by the prophets in the Scriptures long before. The One to come from God was to come a holy Child, to “grow up” as “a tender plant,” to be One to teach God’s ways, to care for the people, heal their sickness, and care for them in every way (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; 53:2).

Jesus had come just as God had said, and He had done for the people as had been written of Him, so He had come by the “door,” the right way and was the true Shepherd. The Holy Spirit had been as the “porter” to let Him in, where the “sheep” would hear Him and know His voice. All who believed God’s words “knew His voice”, that His words were from God, and they believed and followed Him.

Confusion of Unbelief

Though Jesus’ words about the true Shepherd seem so plain and easy to understand, the men He told them to did not understand. Because they had not believed God’s words about the Holy One to come, they were not thinking of Him or wanting Him to be their Shepherd.

If we would rewrite the words of Jesus’ parable with a capital letter for the word Shepherd, and think of all as His own words to us, perhaps it would be still clearer. We can ask ourselves if He is our Shepherd and if we know His voice.

Further Meditation:

1. What is the meaning of the door of the sheepfold?

2. Besides the scriptures mentioned in this chapter, what other ones showed that Jesus was the promised Messiah?

3. Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus the Messiah gives a short but encouraging look at the accuracy of Scripture in declaring what would happen to Jesus centuries before the event.

The Shepherd, the Door: John 10:9-21

The Lord Jesus told the Jewish men how to know the true Shepherd sent by God to His people, and, it is plain He was Himself their true Shepherd. He told them something more, “I am the door of the sheep. By Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”

It was only by giving His life that the Lord Jesus could be the “door” or way for any to enter God’s “fold”. To “enter in,” a man must believe Him. There is no other “door” or way.

The Shepherd Gives His Life

And it had been written by one of the prophets that the Shepherd would be struck as though by an enemy’s sword:

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My Fellow (Companion), saith the Lord of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered,” (Zech. 13:7).

Jesus later said those words to His disciples the evening before He was crucified. He knew He was that Shepherd who was to die, and the disciples were scattered as sheep for a short time (Matt. 26:31).

Jesus told those men, “I lay down My life for the sheep.” That meant He willingly gave His life to save all who would “enter in”, or believe Him. He also said that He knew “His sheep” and that He was “known” by them.

These words were said to men of Jerusalem and we might think the words about the Good Shepherd giving His life for the sheep could not be for us now, but Jesus told them,

“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice: and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.”

Others Promised Blessing

From those words it is plain He thought of others besides the people, or “flock” of Israel, who had been chosen by God, because the other nations were worshiping idols. But the Lord knew there were many in the nations then who were tired of idols and ready to believe God. After Jesus had given His life and “taken it again”, as He said (verse 18), He told those who loved Him to go to all nations. These words about the Good Shepherd have been told many times, over and over, so His “voice” has been heard, many have believed.

There is only one “Door”, or way, to enter Christ, the Shepherd, who gave His life for the “sheep”.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6).

Further Meditation:

1. What prophecy shows that Jesus was to die?

2. How do sheep make a very good illustration of what we are like?

3. In Hymns for the Little Flock you will find that #103 is a wonderful song on this subject. You might want to sing and enjoy it today.

“Shall Never Perish”: John 10:22-42

“And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.”

That porch was very large; it was at an entrance, or “gate”, where the people went in and out of the building, and where many people could talk and be together. It was on this porch that the Lord Jesus answered the men who asked Him to tell them if He were the Christ. He had told them many times before, and had done the great deeds no other could do. He had just spoken those wonderful words that He was the Good Shepherd who would give His life.

Simple Words, Simple Faith

The time and place of His talk seem to have been written that all since who read it would know His words were meant for all people; they were said in a public and proper place for so important a matter. Those leaders did not believe Him because they wanted to keep on in their sins. Yet He explained carefully, and in that way the people about him heard, and many believed Him, and many since have been blessed by His words.

Jesus spoke of sheep so all could understand His meaning. Even children of every land know what sheep are. He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”

To “hear’’ His voice, is to believe His words, and by His words know He is the Shepherd. He knows His “sheep,” each one who believes Him, and He gives them eternal life — the Christ-life that cannot end.

Secure Forever

One or all the sheep of a flock might be snatched from a shepherd by robbers or wild animals, or they might perish or die in a storm. That cannot be true of “the sheep” of the Lord Jesus.

He said, “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (or snatch) them out of My hand.”

The “eternal life” He said He gives, would not be eternal if it could stop or end; that life is a part of His own life, so it cannot be lost.

The Lord’s “sheep” often go astray on earth, and then are not in His path here, for “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness’’ (right way). But David, who wrote that, also knew the Lord as the Shepherd who, “restoreth my soul.” David also knew he could not perish. He wrote, “I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” That is to be in the presence of the Lord, his Shepherd, forever.

While the Lord Jesus was on earth He spoke of God the Father as greater. Here he mentions His “sheep”. He said, “No man, (meaning ourselves, men or Satan) is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” Then He said, “I and My Father are one,” teaching us that His own, those who believe Him, are kept by both the Father and the Son of God.

Further Meditation:

1. What does it mean to “hear” the voice of the Shepherd?

2. How else do the Scriptures show that a person with true faith in God can never lose their place as His sheep?

3. You might find more, very encouraging words, in the small pamphlet Can a Sheep of Christ Ever Perish?

“Thy Brother Shall Rise” John 11:1-34

There were two sisters, Martha and Mary, (who lived with their brother Lazarus) in a town named Bethany. They knew the Lord Jesus and had welcomed Him in their home. They believed He was the Holy One promised by God.

While He was at a place beyond the Jordan River, some distance from them, Lazarus became very sick. The sisters knew Jesus could cure him and sent a messenger to tell Him of the sickness.

Divine Delay

But Jesus did not go to them at once, nor speak the command for Lazarus to be well, as He had for some. Instead He stayed two days longer in that place. Then He said to the disciples, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.”

They did not know Lazarus was dead, and thought Jesus meant natural sleep and said that was good for him. So Jesus told them, “Lazarus is dead,” and said, “Let us go unto him.”

The disciples were afraid to have Jesus to go near Jerusalem, for they had seen the men there try to stone Him. But when they saw His plan was to go, one of them said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” They loved Jesus so much they felt they wanted to share death with Him. They all returned with Him and came near to Bethany four days after Lazarus had died.

When Martha learned that Jesus was near, she went to meet Him, and said to Him, “Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Jesus told her, “Thy brother shall rise again.”

Martha knew, as did all who believed God, that the dead would be raised (Dan. 12:2; Heb. 11:35). But she did not know that Jesus was the One by whom any could be raised or have life.

Hope in Resurrection

Jesus then said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.”

Martha believed the words of the Lord, though she had not yet seen His power over death, and she said to Him, “I believe Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”

Martha returned to the house to tell Mary that Jesus had come, and she spoke to Mary secretly, “The Master is come, and calleth for thee.”

Mary at once went to Jesus. When the friends saw her go from the house they thought she was going to Lazarus’ grave to weep, and they followed after her to comfort her. As a result they came also where Jesus was.

Mary said the same words to Jesus as Martha, “Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” They were so certain He could have made Lazarus well, if He had been there. But they were soon to know what a great thing He still could do for them.

Jesus asked them where they had laid Lazarus, and they said; “Lord, come and see.”

Further Meditation:

1. What was it that Martha didn’t understand?

2. When and how will the dead that die in their sins be raised?

3. Death, the Intermediate State, Resurrection, and Final Destiny by B. Anstey gives quite a bit of help on understanding the subjects of death and resurrection that are mentioned in this chapter.

“Lazarus Come Forth” John 11:35-45

The town of Bethany was on the side of a mountain ridge, and Lazarus was buried in a cave, a common place of burial in that land. Martha and Mary and their friends led Jesus to the place. All were weeping, mourning for Lazarus.

A stone was over the opening of the cave and the Lord said for them to take it away. Martha thought that should not be done, because the body would already be decaying. But Jesus reminded her that He had said she should see the glory of God, and He had told the disciples that this sorrow would produce glory for the Son of God, which soon was shown them.

Waking the Dead

The stone was taken away and Jesus prayed and gave thanks to God that His prayer was heard; then He called with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”

“And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin.” It was their custom to wrap cloth closely about the face and limbs of a dead person. But those tight bindings around Lazarus did not hinder his obeying the voice of the Lord Jesus, neither was the power of the Lord prevented because his body was decaying.

Lazarus stood before Jesus, and the sisters and all the people saw him alive again. Jesus told them to loose him of the bindings so he could be free to walk among them. All of them could have called ever so loudly, and Lazarus could not have heard; how wonderful the power of the Lord was!

Wonder, Joy and Sympathy

The joy of Martha and Mary is not told, but it must have been a time of wonder and awe for all. It was a time by that cave for praise to God and to His Son for such a change from death to life. Many of the friends who had either not known Jesus before, or not fully believed in His power from God, believed Him then. We would suppose that every person who stood by that cave and saw Lazarus come before them alive would have believed in Jesus, as One from God, but it seems they did not.

Jesus had before raised two persons who had died, a young girl and a young man. However, they had not been dead long and not buried, so the power of the Lord was more felt in the raising of Lazarus (Mark 5:35-43; Luke 7:11-16).

The Lord Jesus’ words and care to Martha and Mary seem written that all since who believe in Him may be comforted in sorrow. Even many boys and girls know that sorrow.

His promise was very sure, “Thy brother shall rise again.’’ But he knew there was a time of sorrow and He wept with them. Perhaps the most comfort is in the words that the sorrow would be for the glory of God and for the Son of God. So we may believe there is glory to God in some way now also, and know that to bear sorrow patiently while He comforts us, honors Him.

Further Meditation:

1. How was the resurrection of Lazarus different than the resurrections of the others in the gospels?

2. Why is the Lord Jesus called “the firstfruits” of those that arise from among the dead when others like Lazarus had been raised before He was?

3. Christ Tempted and Sympathising by W. Kelly presents the One who went through so much on earth with perfect holiness. He’s the One who wept at Lazarus grave but didn’t come earlier because He was perfectly fulfilling His Father’s will. You might enjoy that presentation of the perfectly holy and yet tender One by reading this pamphlet.

One to Die for All John 11:46-57

Some of the men who saw Lazarus raised to life after he had been dead four days, went to the chief priests and leaders in Jerusalem to tell them what He had done. Those leaders, they knew, wanted to kill Jesus.

Why the Leaders Felt Threatened

When those men heard of that great event they met to decide quickly how they could take Jesus; they said, “What do we? for this man doeth great miracles. If we let Him alone, all will believe Him; and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.”

They knew Jesus did many miracles, but they would not believe He was from God, because they had not believed the Scriptures which told of Him. They hated Him because He had spoken truly against their evil ways. But they knew many of the people believed Him to be the Messiah who had been promised, and might try to make Him King.

Wicked and Faithful High Priests

The leader of those men of Jerusalem was Caiaphas, the high priest, which was the highest office of Israel, higher even than a king.

We are told in the book of Hebrews that the Lord Jesus is now Himself the great High Priest to care for all God’s people. He is not on earth, but in Heaven.

“We have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God” (Heb. 4:14; 7:25-26).

Caiaphas did not care for God’s words or believe him. He should have known the writing of the prophet that it was the time for the Great Messiah to appear. In addition he should have known that no nation could have power against Him when King, for it is written, “Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him” (Psa. 72:11).

Caiaphas said, “Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient (most necessary) for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” That “one man” was Jesus.

Blessing

Yet in spite of Caiphas’ own hatred of the Lord Jesus, it is written here that his words were really a prophecy from God — a prophecy of blessing! That blessing was not only for the people of that nation, but for the entire world, by the death of Christ. Except for His death, all must perish. But because He then took God’s punishment against sin, all who accept Him become “children of God,” which is far greater than to be kept as one nation of earth.

Further Meditation:

1. Why were the Jewish leaders unable to see and to believe the miracles that Jesus did?

2. What other men in the Bible were able to state correctly the Scriptures or God’s words without any real living faith in the person that they spoke of?

3. If you are interested in the work that the Lord Jesus does as our High Priest today, then you would no doubt enjoy the recording Christ’s Intercession as High Priest and as Advocate by R. Thonney.

Honor the Lord Jesus John 12:1-11

The Lord Jesus came again to the town of Bethany, and those who loved Him made a supper in His honor. This may not have been very long after He raised Lazarus from death, and Lazarus sat at the table, and the disciples were there.

Mary, the sister of Lazarus, brought sweet-smelling oil and put it on the feet of Jesus, and on His head also (Matt. 26:6-7). This would seem a strange thing to us, but in that land it was a mark of respect to pour oil on the head of kings or great men. Also, olive oil was often put on the feet of a guest who had walked over rough roads.

Costly Gift

But Mary did not use the olive oil which was common there, but a costly oil, called spikenard, obtained from other lands, the very best she could use.

Sweet smelling oils were also used in preparing a dead person for burial. When one disciple objected that Mary had used so expensive an oil for Jesus, He said she had done it for His burial.

He had told them plainly that He must suffer and die, but the disciples were so certain He would then be King, that they did not think He would die. Mary seemed to have believed His words about death and suffering; she longed to do what would soothe Him, and felt she must do it before.

She used her own hair to wipe or spread the oil tenderly on His feet. There is no word written as being said by Mary, but from Jesus’ words we know her act gave Him the most honor of all that day. He knew she was grateful to Him that He would give His life.

Worship and Praise

We learn from this that the Lord Jesus values the thought of each one who is grateful for His death and suffering for them. No one now can do for Him as Mary did, or as those who made Him the supper, but all who believe Him as their Saviour can be grateful to Him for His death. Their praise may also bless others, as the sweet odor of the oil was known to the others when it filled the house that night.

Jesus’ work of power to raise the dead and all His other works deserve our praise, but His work in death was the greatest of all, because He suffered for our sins. Except for that there could be no other blessings.

It is told that many persons learned that Jesus had come to Bethany, and they went there to see Him and to see Lazarus. They too believed in Jesus. They were, no doubt, people who lived away and had come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast and there heard of the raising of Lazarus. Bethany was close by that city (John 11:55).

The leaders of the temple found that still more people were believing in Jesus as the Christ, and they became more wicked in their plans to stop Him.

Further Meditation:

1. Why was oil put on the heads of men in those days?

2. How can we do something for the Lord Jesus today that is similar to what Mary did so long ago?

3. You will find a nice little article on “oil” in the Concise Bible Dictionary by G. Morrish. It gives different ways oil was used and what it symbolizes in the scriptures.

As Written of the King John 12:12-19

In spite of the command of the leaders of Jerusalem to take Jesus, He came into the city in a very public way so that all could know and see Him. He rode on a young ass, or donkey, and a great crowd of people were with Him, waving palm branches and shouting a welcome to Him as King.

The disciples had placed their cloaks and palm branches on the road to cover the stones to make the way smoother. Some palm trees have long, flat, graceful branches, not like other trees. In lands where they grow, they were used to wave before a hero, or conqueror, as people in other lands would wave flags.

Servant King Not Conqueror

But a just king for Israel did not come as one to conquer them, but as a servant to the people and for God. That was why Jesus rode on an animal used to carry burdens. At that time there was no king of their own nation, but they were ruled by men appointed by the ruler of Rome, who cared only for the tribute money and their labor, not for the people’s good. So the people wanted a fair and honest king of their own.

Besides the company of people who were coming with Jesus, many people already in the city who heard He was approaching, went to meet Him. They also waved palm branches to welcome Him, for since the raising of Lazarus they were very certain that Jesus was the Messiah to come from God and they wanted Him made King.

The words they shouted were from the Psalms, “Hosanna”, which meant, “Save us, we beseech.” They also called out, “Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord” (See Psalm 118:25-26).

So there was much joy that day, just as was written by the prophet, “Rejoice greatly or ‘fear not’, daughter of Sion; behold thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.”

Jesus and the crowds with Him went to the temple that day, and the priests there were angry at the children’s cries of “Hosanna.”

Fulfilled Prophecy

It was the duty of the high priest and prophets of that nation to proclaim a new king, to anoint him with oil and to blow the trumpets. A just king does not proclaim or make himself king, and Jesus did not make Himself King of Israel. He knew the men of the temple would reject Him, but He gave them the opportunity to honor Him as the King sent by God. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies which they knew.

It is told here that the disciples did not realize that day that they were carrying out the words of the prophet. But after Jesus was gone back to heaven, they remembered the scriptures and knew they had done the things for Him, just as written.

Other scriptures tell of a time after sin is judged that Christ shall rule over all people, from “sea to sea,” but not as the lowly King, as He came that day. He will be “KING OF KINGS and LORD of LORDS” (Rev. 19:16, 20:6; Psa. 72:8).

Further Meditation:

1. How did people in that day make use of palm branches?

2. In what ways does this passage from the Bible show that the Lord couldn’t have been a false Messiah who was trying to imitate what the Messiah was supposed to do?

3. If you would like to read more of what the Word of God has to say about that coming day when the Lord will reign supreme then you might really enjoy reading Prophetic Scriptures by C. E. Lunden. It is an arrangement of various scriptures by prophetic theme with a very small amount of additional commentary.

“We Would See Jesus” John 12:20-33

Most of the people who went to Jerusalem for the feasts were Jews, but at that last feast when the Lord Jesus was there, some men who were Greeks came. The Greeks once ruled that land and their language was known to many, but their people did not worship God.

Yet these men had learned of Him and wanted to honor Him. They heard of Jesus, perhaps from the people who were telling one another of the raising of Lazarus from dead, and they wished to see Him. They came to one of the disciples, Philip, and said to him, “Sir, we would see Jesus.”

Philip told another disciple and together they told Jesus. It seems the disciples were afraid to let others know where Jesus was, or hesitated because they were not of that nation. But we read, “Jesus answered them,” and the next words seem especially for them, although said in front of others who stood by.

A Grain of Wheat

He told them of His own death. He spoke about a grain of wheat, which men of every nation, even boys and girls, would know, He said, “Except a corn (a grain or kernel) of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

A grain of wheat is put in the ground, it decays, or dies, and from it a plant springs up which bears many grains, all having their life from the one grain. But that kernel could be kept ever so long, and if not planted and did not “die”, no further grain would grow and it would be “alone”.

Jesus was telling those men that except He die, none others could live, before God. He was to suffer death because of sin, but from His death many would have life in Him. He knew how very soon He would suffer, and He felt sorrow. Yet He said He had come for that time or “hour” and called it for the glory, praise and honor of God’s name.

It seemed Jesus would have those Greeks, too, know that He was from God, and He prayed God the Father to give glory to His Name.

“Then came there a voice from Heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

A Clear Prophecy

Jesus also told plainly what death He should die. He said He would “be lifted up from the earth.” Death on a cross was then a most common death for men who were despised, or enemies, or criminals.

It must have been strange to those men that this great person was to die such a death. Yet they must have felt how true His words were, when He so soon after died on the cross. They knew by His own words that He suffered for them, and that there was no other way for any person to come, or be “drawn” to Him, but by His death.

Further Meditation:

1. What did Jesus mean when He said that a corn of wheat would abide alone if it didn’t die?

2. Has anyone else ever known exactly when and how they would die?

3. The Cross, the Blood and the Death of Jesus Christ by G. V. Wigram gives a detailed look at every reference to these subjects in the New Testament. It is quite a book to wade through, but if you make it you will have a much deeper appreciation for the cross of Christ that this section of John refers to.

The Son of Man John 12:34-41

The Lord Jesus called Himself “the Son of Man,” and the Jewish men who were listening asked what He meant. They said the law, meaning the scriptures, said that the Christ when He came would always “abide” (live always). They asked Him, “How sayest Thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up (die on a cross)?” They said, “Who is this Son of Man?”

It is not told that the Lord Jesus answered their question. He had already shown them wonders which no other could do. He had told them God’s words, and of His love. He had told them that He came from God, and was the Son of God, and had offered them blessing.

A Light in the Dark

He knew they did not believe His words, and that their reason for asking was to try to show that He could not be the Christ. But He said to them, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light.”

He had come to be a light to men, and there was still time for them to see, if they would believe. To keep on in unbelief was to be in darkness. He walked away from those men and there are very sad words written of them: “Though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him.”

The scriptures those men talked of told of the Holy One to come as a man. He was to be of the family of King David, called the “seed of David”, but also called “the root” and David’s “Lord.” He must be a man, but a perfect and holy man, who would be Lord of all.

One of the greatest prophets had written of the Holy One coming so humbly as to be called “My Servant”; that He would be a man, called “a man of sorrows”; that He would be despised, that He would die, “as a lamb” (Isa. 52:13,14; 53).

The same prophet had written of the Holy Child to be born, showing He would be a perfect child on earth, yet also as God (See Isa. 7:14; 9:6-7).

Son of Man

“The Son of Man” was a lowly title for One from Heaven, yet the one the Lord Jesus Himself most often used, so we are to think of His meaning. He, the Son of God, left the glory of Heaven to take the form of man on earth. He was a holy child and lived a perfect man while here.

The word “son” means the heir, as a son has the right to the name and position of a family. When God created man He had desires and plans for blessing, but He could not fulfill them because all sinned. The Son of God became a man that He could give His life to atone for sin. He, the one perfect man, could be accepted. It is as “Son of Man” that He is to have glory, because as man He was “lifted up” in the shameful death for a man. Because He was perfect, He is heir of all God’s blessings for man. He is to share these blessings with those who believe in Him.

Further Meditation:

1. What rights belong to a son?

2. The title of the “Son of Man” shows an immense dignity and responsibility placed in the hands of Jesus Christ. What other verses mention these responsibilities?

3. There is a nice little article on the “Son of Man” in the Concise Bible Dictionary by G. Morrish.

Last Words to the People John 12:42-50

Although the Lord Jesus knew well that men were watching to make Him a prisoner, it seemed He must again give all the opportunity to believe on Him. We read, “Jesus cried (spoke out loudly), and said He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.”

He was once more telling them that He was from God and for them to believe His words as One sent by God, even if they did not understand who He was.

What Judges Man

Then He said, “If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not.” The word “judge” meant to give sentence or punishment. He continued, “I came not to judge (punish) the world, but to save the world.”

He knew their sins and the sins of the entire world, yet He had not come to punish, but by His own death to save all who would believe Him. “He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath One that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

Now we cannot see the Lord on earth, nor the great miracles He did, yet we can hear His words which He said, by the writings. And we have the same words of God of the Old Testament, as those men had. If any one does not believe those words, he will have the same “judge” as Jesus told the people then, His Word.

He called so often for all to believe Him, and all His promises are to whoever will believe, but especially to believe His death as the words most of us know so well.

“Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:14-16).

Last Words to the Crowd

The words of the Lord Jesus written in this twelfth chapter of the book of John seem to have been His very last words to the people. His words written in the next chapters were said to His disciples alone. Then there were a few words to the soldiers who took Him, and to the high priest and Pilate.

“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”

The “rulers” seem to have been men who had charge or duties when the people met together, in the temple, or in the synagogues in their towns, who would all be in Jerusalem at that time.

The “Pharisees” were men who kept many rules made by themselves and leaders before them, though they said they kept God’s laws. They were against all who believed Jesus was the Christ.

Further Meditation:

1. What did the Lord mean when He said that He hadn’t come to judge?

2. The story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16 mentions the witness of Moses, which is a reference to the Word of God. How does what is said there connect with the story in this passage of John’s gospel?

3. This chapter refers to how the Lord didn’t come as judge when He first came to earth. However He will act as judge in the future. His judging of the workmanship of believers is clearly presented in a pamphlet you might find useful, The Judgment Seat of Christ by G. H. Hayhoe.

Loved to the End John 13:1-17

The Lord Jesus knew the men who believed Him would have sorrows when He was gone, and He taught them in a plain way how they could help one another.

In that land people often walked barefooted or with sandals bound on their feet, so the dust of the roads soiled them. It was the duty of a servant to wash his master’s feet at evening, and also the guests’. That refreshed those washed, but was not a pleasant task for the servant.

Yet the Lord Jesus did that for the disciples that last evening He was with them. They were in the room where they had eaten the Passover supper together, and He laid aside His outer garments, fastened a towel around Him as a servant then did, and taking a basin of water He washed each disciple’s feet, and wiped them with the towel.

A Perfect Example

When the Lord had washed all He sat down again with them, and said, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.”

This would show them that they should do whatever was needed for one another, to be like Him. He had left His place of glory to come to earth to do a work for all. Then there was still more those men would learn of how to help each other, for the Lord told them, “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

If He had meant only that they should wash dust from one another’s feet, they would have known His meaning then, for that was a common act to them. But later those men would find they did wrong things as they walked through the world. Those would soil their lives as dust soiled their feet.

Water could not clean their wrong ways, only God’s Word could do that by causing them to be sorry for their wrongs. They could help one another if, when one knew another had done a wrong, he would tell him God’s Word, carefully and patiently. This was just as a good servant would not be careless and rough when he washed his master’s feet.

Enjoyment of Him

He was to give His own life that all who believed Him would be made “clean” of their sins in God’s sight, by His blood. But as long as he was in this world each one would need to be corrected by His words, or He could not bless them, or have “part”, or enjoyment with them. (v. 8). This is called “washing of water by the Word” (Eph. 5:26).

How kind and wise the Lord Jesus was to show those men that night not to be proud, but humble, as servants to one another. He planned for their help and blessing in the time ahead for them. His same care is for all who belong to Him now.

“Having loved His own which were in the world He loved them unto the end.”

Further Meditation:

1. What does the Bible mean when it says we should wash one another’s feet?

2. Why does it require divine love to perform this service for others? What other scriptures would help us to have the right attitude in “washing another’s feet”?

3. You might find “Feet Washing” by C. Wolston to give a nice extension to your meditations on this important topic.

A Friend Untrue John 13:18-38

It has always been a sign of friendship for people to eat food together, just as boys and girls sometimes ask their mother if they may invite a friend to eat with them. It is thought mean and deceitful, even among savage tribes, to harm one who has treated another as a friend and given him food.

The men who stayed with the Lord Jesus and went about with Him must have eaten many meals with Him and were called His friends. Their last meal before He was taken by the soldiers was the Passover supper. It would seem He was as the host, and the disciples were His guests (Luke 22:11). After they had eaten He told them these words from the psalms, “He that eateth bread with Me hath lifted up his heel against Me.”

The Sop

To “lift up the heel against” means to hurt a person when turned from them, and it is deceitful and ungrateful for one who has been treated as a friend to do so.

Jesus told them plainly, but with great sorrow, that one of them would betray Him, meaning he would give Jesus into the power of His enemies.

All the disciples knew that the leaders of the temple were trying to have Jesus taken, but those who loved Him could not think one of them would betray Him to them, yet they knew His words must be true, and the one nearest Him asked, “Who is it, Lord?”

It was a custom then to dip a portion of bread in broth or other liquid to soften or give it flavor to, and it was polite for the host to do that and hand it to his guests to eat. This was called a sop.

The Lord said to them, “He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it,” He then dipped a portion of bread and gave it to Judas.

Judas had been to the chief priests before this and bargained for them to pay him for betraying Jesus to them. (Matt. 26:14-16). Judas had not told this to the other disciples, or they would no doubt have tried to prevent him. He was so deceitful when the others asked, “Lord, is it I?” he also said, “Master, is it I?” (Matt. 26:14-16,25).

He knew the Lord Jesus deserved no wrong. When he heard His words that one would betray Him and was given the sop as the one to do so, he should have been amazed that the Lord knew his wicked plan and confessed his sin to Him.

Obstinate Judas

Instead Judas kept on with his plan for the sake of the promised money. It didn’t matter to him if the Lord were his friend or not, so the evil spirit, Satan, was able enter his mind to urge him on to betray Him. And he went away to bring the soldiers, as told later.

The Lord told the disciples that He was to be betrayed so that afterward they would know how perfectly He had known all, and that He was the One foretold in the scriptures long before (John 13:19). He also told Peter what he would do that night, though Peter loved the Lord; and He said all would leave Him (John 16:32). This all came true.

Further Meditation:

1. What does it mean to “lift up the heel against” somebody?

2. How was King David betrayed by those he was friendly to?

3. You might find the page or so on Judas receiving the sop in the book The Evangelists by J. G. Bellett to be quite refreshing to your soul. It presents the Lord’s patience and grace to Judas right up to the end.

The Way to God’s House John 14

Suppose you wanted to go into a beautiful building which was built high above you, and you could see no possible way to get there. Then someone showed you a path or door close beside you and said, “That is the way.” You would know what to do.

The Lord Jesus told the men who loved Him the way to God’s House in Heaven, just as plainly as that. He had told them He was to return to the Father and that they should be there with Him. He said they knew the way. But the men did not think they knew the way. They knew they could not take themselves, nor lift one another there. One of them asked, “How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the Way.”

The Way, the Truth and the Life

The holy Person who was beside them was the way or door to heaven. They believed Him to be the Son of God and loved Him, so they “knew” Him. He was the true One and the Life, so could give life to them so they could be with Him. There was no other door or way to enter Heaven. Only He could take them there.

The Lord Jesus first would give up His life on earth on the cross, but the disciples did not then understand that. They also didn’t understand when He said, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” But after He was risen from the tomb and they saw Him alive and gone up from them into the sky, they understood all His words. They did not forget that the Lord Jesus Himself was the only way to God. Peter afterward told the leading men of the temple that there was no other way; “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Is there any other way now for us to reach God’s House? Could we lift ourselves there, or could our friends or parents take us there? Or could do many kind things would that make us a way to God? No, we must go the only way the disciples could go — by Jesus Himself.

If a person does not believe in the Lord Jesus, there is no way possible for him to reach God or the blessed place, heaven, for He said, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”

The Holy Spirit

The Lord told the disciples that after He was gone the Father would send the Holy Spirit to teach them and to bring all things He had said to their remembrance. They would not see the Holy Spirit as they had Him, but He would be in them to comfort them.

Satan

The Lord had been talking with His disciples in the room where they ate the Passover meal. He said He would not talk much more with them because one He called “the prince of this world’’ was coming. A prince is a leader or ruler. This one was against Christ and “had nothing” in Him (v. 30). From other verses we know He meant the wicked spirit, Satan, who was there leading Judas to bring the soldiers to take Jesus.

Then Jesus said, “Arise, let us go hence,” so they must then have left the room to go to Mt. Olivet outside the city.

Further Meditation:

1. Why is faith in Christ essential for salvation?

2. In what way will the Holy Spirit act as a comforter for each believer as He did for the disciples?

3. Another Comforter by W. T. P. Wolston gives a simple and rather extensive presentation on the work that the Holy Spirit does. If you would like to study what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit in a lot more depth than this chapter provides you might find that book quite helpful.

The True Vine John 15:1-17

The Lord Jesus talked to the disciples about a vine. This may have been on their way to the garden where they were going. There seem to have been vineyards always in that land, and He explained things which they did not know by things they could see or know.

The people of Israel had been called “a vine” for God, what He could enjoy, as fruit of a vine is enjoyed. But because they had not been obedient to His words, they were like an “empty vine,” with nothing to please Him (Hos. 10:1).

Jesus said to the men who believed in Him, “I am the true vine,” and He said they were “the branches.”

Strength to Bear Fruit

If you live where grape vines are grown, you know the main stalk of a vine which comes out of the ground is very strong, like a tree. If a branch is cut from the vine, the branch can grow no fruit, and withers and dries.

The Lord said, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” The main vine gives strength to the branches. Jesus wanted those men to remember that strength for them to do what would please God, as “fruit,” must be from Him. They were not to trust in the nation, Israel, or in themselves, but in Him.

He would be gone from them, but they were still to depend on Him, and to “abide” in His words (v.7). That meant to keep, or obey, His words.

A man who takes care of grape vines early in their growth cuts away much from them, so the strength will not go to vines and leaves. It is fruit he wants.

The Fruit

The Lord Jesus spoke of God the Father as “a husbandman,” or caretaker. He is wise to know how best to correct His people that they may have “fruit” to please Him.

The “fruit” named here if they kept His words would be, “to love one another.” He said to them twice here “that ye love one another” (John 15:12,17). They were to love those who believed in the Lord Jesus, because He loved them. That would be the first “fruit” for God to see and enjoy, and something all can do, if they keep Christ’s words.

The Branch Cut off

Some have supposed a “branch” cut, meant that one who believed the Lord Jesus Christ could be cut off from heaven, but the Lord had just told those men the way to heaven. It was not by “fruit,’’ or some good work, but by Him. He had also said He gave eternal life to all who believed Him, and eternal life could not end, or be “cut off.” And He said those who believed Him could not “perish’’ (John 3:15-16; 10:28).

The meaning of the Lord must have been plain to those men. They were to depend on Him and obey His word while they were left on earth, for that would be like “fruit” for God to enjoy.

Further Meditation:

1. Why were the branches “cut off”?

2. What aspects does the fruit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 have?

3. Beautiful Grace: Meditations on the Epistle to the Galatians by G. C. Willis does a nice job of presenting the subject of the fruit of the Spirit. To meditate further on the fruit produced by “abiding” in the vine you might find this resource to be a real encouragement.

Hated Without a Cause John 15:18-27

If someone came to your town and cured all the sick and crippled and blind, and gave food for the hungry, and did many other things no one else could do, would every one honor that person? That is what we would think everyone would do.

There has only been One who did all those good things for people, and besides, always spoke what was true and what was right for God. That One was the Lord Jesus. Yet many did not honor Him; instead, they hated Him, though he had done no wrong. Jesus said of them, “They hated Me without a cause.”

Kindness Refused

Those words were in the scriptures written long before and told how many hated Him: “They that hate Me ... are more than the hairs of mine head” (Psa. 69:4). Why had they hated Him when He had always been right? It was because they were doing wrong to others and to God, and thought no one knew their sins, and wanted to keep on with them. Because He had come and spoken God’s words to them, they had “no cloak for their sin.” That meant they had no way to cover or hide their sins, no excuse for them.

He had come to save them from their sins, and offer blessing for all. So it was the kindness and love of God they refused in order to have their own ways. Their hatred was so terrible they had tried to stone Him and were then planning His death.

The Lord called the people who were against Him, “the world.” When we use the word “world,” we may mean the countries and all creation, or the people, or the things they have made. The word is used in those ways in the Bible, as “God that made the world” (all creation, Acts 17:24); and “God so loved the world” (the people, John 3:16). But it is also often used as the Lord said here, meaning the people who do not believe or want to know God. “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.”

He told the disciples, “I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). They were still on earth, but not belonging with those who hated Him.

Blinded

The people who do not believe Christ can soon be led by Satan, who is called “prince of this world.” He is always against the Lord, and has “blinded the minds of them which believe not” until they think the things they can do or have in this world are better than the glory of God (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2).

Even children can be led to follow Satan’s ways if they hear of the love of God and of His Son, the Lord Jesus, and do not believe or care to know Him.

The Lord again spoke to the disciples of the Holy Spirit to be sent to those who believed Him. The Spirit would help and comfort them, and teach them of Christ. One of these men, John, afterward wrote to “children” about the Spirit. He said, “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Further Meditation:

1. What does it mean that they had “no cloak for their sins”?

2. Why is Satan refered to as the “prince of this world”?

3. An excellent and very encouraging book that comments on this portion of God’s Word is The Last Words by H. Smith.

The Spirit of Truth John 16

Do you remember what is said in the second verse of the Bible, in the account of the creation of the world? We are told, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

There has always been the Holy Spirit. He has been written of many times in Scripture. But the Lord Jesus told the men who believed in Him that when He was returned to heaven the Holy Spirit would come to live in them. Jesus spoke of the Spirit as a person saying “He,” but not an earthly person, nor in a body, as the Lord Jesus took.

Unseen Person

The Lord called Him the Spirit of truth and the Comforter, which meant one to counsel and to defend us. The Lord had before told of the Spirit as being like the wind, saying, “The wind bloweth where it listeth (pleases), and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

We cannot see the wind, yet we feel it and know it is here. We can see what it does. It is a great force in the world. So the Holy Spirit, who is a person, acts like a force or power. He is greater, of course, than any power here.

And what the Lord Jesus told of the Holy Spirit (called also the Holy Ghost) was what the Spirit would do. First we are told what the Spirit would do for the disciples. He would “bring all things to your remembrance” whatsoever Jesus had said to them. He would teach them all things, guide them to all truth, tell them things to come, and abide or stay with them forever (see John 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:13). “He will reprove the world of sin ... because they believe not on Me.”

Reproof

“To reprove” means to speak against wrong. The Spirit would speak God’s words believers to show unbelievers their sin. The Son of God came in love to save sinners. The greatest sin anyone can do is to not believe Him.

“He will reprove the world ... of righteousness because I go to My Father.” Because the Lord Jesus was righteous, God raised Him and He is in heaven. The Spirit tells men to believe that.

“He will reprove the world ... of judgment ... because the prince of this world is judged.”

Satan was the first to lead to doubt and unbelief of God’s words (Gen. 3:4) and has ever since tried to lead people to unbelief. The penalty for sin is death and to be apart from God. Christ took that punishment on the cross, and the Spirit tells of judgment for Satan and all who follow him. These facts are explained more afterward, as the Lord said they would be. Read Hebrews 2:14.

After the Lord was gone to heaven, the Holy Spirit came (Acts 2). From that time the men who loved the Lord Jesus, but had been afraid of those who did not believe, spoke with power by the Spirit. They preached that Christ came to die for sinners, that God raised Him, and that there was judgment for all who did not believe Him (see Acts 4:8; 5:29-32).

Further Meditation:

1. Why is the Holy Spirit compared to the wind?

2. What other verses in the Word of God show that the Spirit of God is part of the Trinity with the Father and the Son?

3. The Holy Spirit: His Person, His Coming, His Operations by H. E. Hayhoe would give you a brief and easy-to-read introduction to Bible truths about the Holy Spirit.

Prayer of the Lord Jesus John 17

It is many times told of the Lord Jesus while He was on earth that He prayed to God the Father. Sometimes He went to a mountain to pray, and to a desert or other lonely or quiet place. Sometimes the disciples were with Him, but His words in those prayers are not written (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28).

But Scripture records the Lord’s words in His prayer the evening before He and the disciples went into the garden where Judas led the soldiers to take Him. They are very wonderful words.

A Place for Prayer

“These words spake Jesus and lifted up His eyes to heaven.” After He had prayed, “He went forth with His disciples over the brook, Cedron” to the garden (John 18:1). That brook flows through a ravine outside of the city, so must have been a lonely place; they were probably alone that night.

The great temple should have been a place for prayer (Isa. 56:7; Mark 11:17). But the Lord Jesus was refused in the temple, and the chief priests were then sending the men to take Him. Yet this prayer of the Lord, who knew all their plans and all He would suffer that night and the next day, were not for Himself, but for those who trusted in Him.

What Jesus Prayed for

He said He had told them God’s words and they had believed Him, and He prayed for them to be kept from the evil of the world. Then He prayed also for those who would believe Him when His disciples told them of Him. From these words we know this prayer is for all now who believe on the Lord Jesus their Saviour, as these men did and as they taught and wrote of Him.

Ever so many people since that time, in all parts of the world, have believed the words written by these men, and have put their trust in the Lord Jesus. To all those, the words of this prayer have been very blessed.

Have you noticed the first words of this prayer? He said, “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee.”

It was the hour, or time, for His death, when He was to suffer for the sin of the world. But He spoke of glory, because by His death God would have glory and would give special glory to His Son. Some day all people saved by His death will give Him glory.

One thing He prayed for was that those who believed Him should behold His glory: “I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me .”

It is written that because the Son of God left His glory to come to earth and “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross ... God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow ... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11).

Further Meditation:

1. What did Jesus pray for?

2. The Bible gives many places and circumstances where men of God prayed. It would be an eye-opening meditation to list at least five of them.

3. Prayer by H. P. Barker gives a very easy to understand and profitable introduction to the subject of prayer for a believer.

Betrayal and Arrest John 18:1-10

In the seventeenth chapter, while the Lord Jesus was praying so earnestly for His disciples, Judas was preparing to betray Him into the hands of those who hated Him. How little men knew of the goodness that was in the heart of God, which led Him to send His Son. “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

The Lord Jesus was God and He knew all that was about to take place. “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth” (verse 4). He went over the brook Cedron to a garden (the garden of Gethsemane), and Judas came there with his band to take Jesus captive. They brought lanterns and torches and weapons, thinking such things were needed. But they could not have done anything to Him unless He had willingly submitted, and this He did because it was His Father’s will.

The “I AM”

Jesus went to meet them and said, “Whom seek ye?”

They replied “Jesus of Nazareth”.

The Lord Jesus said, “I am He.” Many, many years before when Jehovah God appeared to Moses in the desert, He told him to tell the children of Israel that “I AM” had sent Him unto them (Exodus 3:14). Now the Lord Jesus was that “I AM”, and so when He said that, a little bit of His glory was seen, even by those wicked men who had come to take Him, and they could not stand in His presence. They all went backward and fell to the ground, yet even after this they got up on their feet again and bound Him. Their hearts were hardened by sin, and Satan had entered into Judas, and led him to do this terrible act of betraying Jesus to be crucified. Even although Judas had been with the Lord for so long, and had seen all His wonderful works, his heart was still evil, because he did not have faith. You may have a Christian father and mother, brothers and sisters, or friends, but unless you have accepted Christ as your own personal Saviour you are lost. Have you accepted Him?

Meeting Our Enemies

Peter thought he should fight to prevent the Lord Jesus from being taken captive, and so he took his sword and cut off Malchus’ ear. The Lord Jesus’ act of healing was to heal Malchus’s ear (Luke 22:51), showing that He loved His enemies. We ought to love our enemies too (Matt. 5:44). He proved His love to the utmost when He died on the cross for us who were His enemies. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Instead of being kind to our enemies, we are sometimes like Peter, and by sinful and unkind acts we close their ears to the truth. We need to be very careful about this even at school, work, or recreation. If we love the Lord Jesus, we would not want to dishonor His precious name before others.

Further Meditation:

1. Why should Peter not have used the sword to defend the Lord?

2. How does the name “I AM” show that Jesus was God?

3. Loving our enemies is an area most of us need to grow in. There are some helpful thoughts on this subject in Romans 13. Any commentary might be helpful on thinking on them further. I’ve personally found the remarks in Notes on Romans by W. Kelly to be helpful.

Confessing Christ John 18:11-40

The Lord Jesus told Peter to put his sword into the sheath, for He was going to drink the bitter cup, that is, He was going to the cross to bear God’s judgment against our sins. If the Lord Jesus had not borne our sins, we would have been lost forever.

Then they bound the Lord Jesus, the One who had come to set at liberty those that were bound (Isa. 61:1). Those poor men were bound by their own sins, but did not want the Lord Jesus — the only One who could set them free.

Grace Abounds

After this they led Him to Caiaphas the high priest. God had ordered that the high priest should offer sacrifices for himself and for the sins of the people, yet Caiaphas condemned the Lord Jesus to death even though He was the sinless One. Caiaphas had previously prophesied that Jesus should die for the people (John 11:50), little knowing that the Lord Jesus was the Great High Priest (Heb. 3:1; 4:14) who was going to offer Himself as the one perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the people. Even when our sinful hearts are seen at their worst, then God’s love shines out the brightest, for “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20).

Friends With Whom?

Peter and another disciple, John, followed the Lord Jesus to the high priest’s palace. Peter, though very self confident, found out his own weakness. He should not have been warming himself at the world’s fire. There is a lesson for us here. If we try to be good friends with those who do not love the Lord Jesus, we will soon find ourselves denying Him. Psalm 119:63 tells us the kind of friends we should have; “I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts.” It was a young damsel (a young girl) to whom Peter denied his Lord (verse 17). Be sure you don’t let any friend keep you from confessing Christ. When you begin any friendship ask the Lord for courage to confess His precious name at the very start.

One denial leads to another as it did with Peter, and who can tell the sad results of one wrong act? Great things often have very small beginnings, and we have to be watchful. Peter didn’t intend to deny his Lord; in fact he said he wouldn’t (Matt. 26:35). We are only safe when we keep close to the Lord and walk in obedience to His Word. If anyone reading this is unsaved, will you not confess His name today? As you grow older it will become harder. Many older people do not accept Christ because they are afraid to confess Him before their friends. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Further Meditation:

1. Did Peter plan on denying the Lord Jesus?

2. Who else in the Bible started telling lies and found it hard to stop?

3. If you are enjoying the study of John’s gospel and want to read even more about it you might consider The Collected Writings of R. Evans by R. Evans (of course). It’s a pretty big book, but it has a section on John’s gospel and could be a real help in your meditations.

Mocked and Rejected John 19:1-24

The Lord Jesus had every right to be the king and ruler over everyone. Someday soon He will reign in righteousness over the whole earth. But first, in admirable meekness, He allowed man to show what they really thought of Him. What came pouring out was either a hatred or an indifference to God that makes us read this portion of John’s gospel with wonder at the grace and patience of our Lord Jesus.

The Game of King

The Roman soldiers had a game they called “King.” Today if you were to go to Gabbatha, the place where Pilate had his judgment seat, you could see the positions on the game board for “King” scratched into the stones of the Pavement. The soldiers would gamble that they could win the game and begin to roll the dice and move a game piece like a bowling pin around the positions. After the piece had reached the different spots for robing, crowning, and receiving a scepter, the person who got to roll the dice the last time would yell out “King” and collect the gambling money. Consider what went on inside that courtroom the night it met a perfect man for the first time. “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote Him with their hands” (John 19:1-3). That night, with the “Word become flesh” in their grasp, they didn’t need a game piece. They beat His back with a whip, slapped His face, pounded a crown made from sharp thorns onto His head, and mockingly shouted the title “King of the Jews.”

No King but Caesar

The Romans had shown how little they cared for justice. Now the Lord displayed His dignity and the moral glory of His person as He stood before Pilate. At the same time the Jews showed how completely they were ready to reject their true king. Pilate would have had absolutely no power over Jesus unless God had allowed him to act. The Lord submitted to the will of God. That submission helped to show the open rebellion and hypocrisy of the Jews. They claimed to be fully subject to Caesar and demanded the cruel execution of the only fully righteous one that had ever lived. In this way they passed judgment on themselves. Pilate didn’t care enough for justice to withstand the false accusation that he would be betraying Caesar if he let Jesus go. He turned Jesus over to them to be executed by cruel crucifixion. It is beautiful to realize that the Lord willingly submitted to the will of God while everyone else showed complete disregard for anyone’s interests but their own.

Universal Testimony

“And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). God made sure that the “crime” posted at the top of the cross showed the truth to everyone who would pass by. The Jews hated Pilate and had manipulated him at the trial, where he did not act in justice. He now refused to be manipulated again. The result is a testimony by God to the true right that Jesus had to rule over His brethren. Hebrew was the language of the Jews, the religious people. Greek was the language of culture and learning. Latin was the language of law and politics. The law turned its back on justice that morning, the religious leaders showed angry, hateful hearts and the world of culture showed the height of its achievements in an angry mob. God made sure that each would have to look at the truth.

Further Meditation:

1. Why did Pilate turn an innocent man over to a mob?

2. How do we know the Jews weren’t sincere when they said “We have no king but Caesar”?

3. The Collected Writings of J. N Darby Vol. 33 is difficult reading but a real help in understanding the book of John.

A Finished Work John 19:25-42

Near the foot of the cross soldiers had gambled for His clothing. Painful nails had pierced through His hands and His feet before He was hung up to die, as though he were a common criminal. Long before in far better circumstances Cain had reached out and killed his own brother. Here on the cross in the middle of the worst possible circumstances the Lord Jesus showed the perfection of his human feelings. Seeing His mother, He commended her to the care of the disciple whom He loved. The finger of God had inscribed those words, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” (Ex. 20:12) on the tablet of stone. But the truth of it was embodied in the perfect human heart of the Lord. It could express itself even under the extremely trying circumstances of the cross. A cup filled with pure water can only spill pure water when it is bumped. The heart filled with the perfection of the divine nature could only show out tenderness to His mother and disciple.

Mary Cared for

Notice that Mary wasn’t someone who had some special righteousness or power. She needed to be cared for and the Lord provided for her. The Scriptures say nothing of what she did at the cross. Instead they focus on what Christ did. She was certainly blessed but was made a worshipper and not to be worshipped. The last time she is mentioned in Scripture she is at a prayer meeting along with many others (Acts 1:13-14). We would be greatly helped to follow her example and continue “with one accord in prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14) to the Lord.

It Is Finished

In the garden God had said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16). Now, at long last, when mankind had completely shown the absoluteness of his corruption and violence, that Scripture was fulfilled. Satan had been allowed to “bruise the heel” of the Lord by having man cruelly harm his body. But for all Satan’s cleverness and understanding of fallen man he has never understood a God of grace. His act of seeming victory only provided the opportunity for the Lord to accomplish redemption for mankind. In the hours of darkness mentioned in Matthew’s gospel, the Lord had “suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Now, with every Scripture that needed to be fulfilled before His death having been fulfilled, He could give the great shout of triumph and proclamation, “It is finished”!

Cruelty Brings Love

For one last time an unbeliever was allowed to touch the Lord Jesus. From that moment onward He would say to His own to reach out to “behold my hands,” but no man without faith was allowed to touch Him again. The final act of man’s hatred was for the Roman soldier to plunge his spear into the side of the Lord. It was too late to kill the Lord of life. He had already laid down His own life willingly. But that act of hatred immediately brought out the blood and water. It is that blood that makes an atonement or covering for sin. It is only that blood that “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

There were still many prophecies to be fulfilled. Isaiah 53:9 says that He would be with “the rich in his death” (Isa. 53:9). Now that redemption was accomplished, God the Father began to heap honor on the One who had fully glorified Him.

Further Meditation

1. What was “finished”?

2. Who saw Jesus Christ after he arose?

3. A very comprehensive, difficult and helpful work on these subjects is The Cross, the Blood and the Death of Jesus Christ by G. V. Wigram.

God’s Approval of Christ’s Work John 20:1-18

No one was allowed to look on when the Lord Jesus was made “to be sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21). No one was allowed to look on when “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Rom. 6:4). But God the Father was totally and completely satisfied by Jesus’ work of atonement. His glory would have been tarnished, an impossible thing, if He had not raised the One who had so fully satisfied His holy anger against sin.

Peter Witnesses the Empty Tomb

Peter had denied the Lord, but he did love Him. The Lord’s turning around and looking at Peter after he denied Him for the third time had made him go out to weep bitterly. He felt his sin deeply and the work of repentance began in his heart. Later Jesus would meet with him privately and in the next chapter restore him publically to service. Peter ran to the tomb and found it empty. Death couldn’t hold on to One who had fully paid for what produced it, sin. Jesus was gone and would never again be touched by death. “Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26). Mohammed is dead. Confucius is dead. Buddha is dead. The Lord Jesus Christ is a man alive in heaven. Satan still lies that “Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). But he is a liar and the father of it. The evidence is clear. All his false prophets from past centuries have received their wages, death.

Believing the Evidence or Knowing

Peter and John believed what their eyes told them. The tomb was empty; Jesus was risen and gone. The grave clothing was neatly placed in the tomb. No disciples had come to steal the body. It would have been extremely foolish to carefully unwrap a body that had laid dead for so long while they ran the risk of being caught. Anyone would grab the wrapped up body and hurry away to hide it. But Jesus, the Lord of life, had risen and quietly set aside those grave clothes that Nicodemus and the others had lovingly given to Him. He was gone. It is one thing to understand and accept the evidence but quite another to know it from the Scripture. When they saw and believed the evidence, Peter and John went on home. Later they would fully perceive (know) “the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” (John 20:9). Then the result would be dramatically different. Peter, when fully restored to public service, preached the resurrection to the Jews (Acts 2), before the temple (Acts 3), before Sadducees (Acts 4), before the Jewish council again (Acts 5) and to the Gentiles (Acts 10). It was his delight to present the One who not only died but rose again.

Loving Mary Learns

Mary of Magdala deeply loved the Lord and had been the first to the tomb that morning. The Lord Jesus deeply values affection and taught Mary a wonderful truth. She wanted to take hold of Him as her Messiah again but He had something much better for her. She wouldn’t just get to see Him reign on the earth. She was to take an amazing new message to His brethren, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” God the Son wanted her to know that she could now go with the same intimacy and confidence to the Father’s house that He could. She wouldn’t be living on the earth and seeing His glory from here. She would be present in His Father’s house with all the rights of a child born into that house. What a stupendous difference!

Further Meditation

1. What did Peter often preach about in the Acts?

2. What was new about the relationship of Father that the Jews had not already known?

3. More discussion on the essential subject of the resurrection can be found in The Collected Writings of J. N. Darby Vol. 3. It isn’t simple reading but it is a good help on an essential subject.

Resurrection John 20:19-31

Jesus had spent several years together with his disciples when He presented Himself to the Jewish nation as their Messiah. He had said to His disciples, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Now He was about to leave them and they were afraid of the Jews and so locked the door. But locked doors couldn’t keep the Lord out. He came to them with a new message, “Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). Peace, real deep and lasting peace, couldn’t be proclaimed until the Lord had laid the foundation for it on the cross. A holy God could not make a just peace with a sinner by ignoring his sin. But God didn’t ignore sin. The Lord Jesus “who knew not sin He has made sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21 JND). Now that God was satisfied with what Jesus did to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, He wanted that peace proclaimed. The disciples were to be sent out telling others the gospel of peace. The Lord Jesus delighted to repeat the message twice (John 20:19,21). He also mentioned the Holy Spirit, who would come and dwell in them forever on the day of Pentecost. Here they were told to receive Him. It all makes a beautiful picture of our privileges as believers in Christ. We receive new life from God just as Adam received life when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. We receive the Holy Spirit as the power and energy of that new life. We also are given the privilege of being gathered around a risen Lord Jesus Christ to be in His presence.

Resurrection Bodies

The Lord appeared in His resurrection body, which is like the one we will have when our bodies are transformed. That whole subject is presented in 1 Corinthians 15 in some detail. Also Philippians 3:21 says, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body.” In His resurrection body the closed doors where the disciples were assembled were no barrier to the Lord. He appeared in the middle of the disciples in a locked room. Our bodies will one day be completely suited to being in glory in the presence of God.

Message to Thomas

Thomas had not been present with the other disciples on that resurrection Lord’s day and had missed seeing the Lord. He clearly didn’t yet believe that the Lord was risen. But the disciples’ message to him was tender and was used to bring him to gather with them on the next Lord’s day when he did see the Lord. Their hearts seem to have been so filled with the joy of who they had seen that they had to tell others about Him. When our hearts are filled with the joy of being brought into the Lord’s presence, we won’t have to come up with clever speeches to convince others of what we have seen. That won’t work anyway. Instead there was a message that reached Thomas’s heart, and the next Lord’s day he had the privilege of the Lord Jesus talking directly to him.

Belief Without Sight

Thomas learned to believe only after he could physically see the Lord and had the opportunity to reach out and touch the wounds in His hands and side. Someday soon the Jewish remnant will have that opportunity too. The Lord will return and plant His feet on the mount of Olives when He comes to judge and make war. But now in our day we have an even greater privilege of believing when we can’t physically see any of this. We only see by faith. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Further Meditation

1. What was the disciples’ message to Thomas?

2. What are we to believe without seeing it?

3. Death, the Intermediate State, Resurrection, and Final Destiny by B. Anstey discusses some of the fundamental issues discussed in this chapter as they apply to mankind.

The Lord Provides John 21:1-14

We all have an influence on others by what we do and don’t do. We can “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Heb. 10:24). Or we can quickly discover that “grievous words stir up anger” (Prov. 15:1). Simon Peter announced to the others that he was going fishing. You might find it helpful to stop for a moment and notice what Peter is called in this chapter. Up until verse 17, he is referred to as Simon or Simon Peter when he is doing something. (John graciously calls him Peter.) At that point, after he is publically restored to the Lord, he is referred to as Peter. All through the book of Acts, except together with his name Peter in chapters 10 and 11, the name Simon is missing and we only read about Peter. Mark 3:16, “And Simon he surnamed Peter,” shows us that he had the name Simon from birth but that the Lord had given him the name Peter. This seems to show that when he is referred to as a natural man he is called Simon but viewed in grace he is called Peter.

The natural man Simon returns to his former occupation, fishing. He brings others, including the former fisherman John, along with him. The result is that they aren’t able to catch anything in their night of work. When we go about doing a work in our own natural energy, we will drag others along with us and not accomplish anything of spiritual value.

The Lord Provides

But the Lord is so gracious that He calls from shore, “Children, have ye any meat?” They have to admit that without Him they have nothing. As soon as they admit they are empty-handed He tells them right where to put their net and they pull in a multitude of fishes. John, the one who knew he was loved by the Lord, is quick to recognize the Author of goodness. He intimately knew the Person who had told them before where to cast their nets. He knew like James that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). But that wasn’t His only kindness to them. They had spent the night working and had no food with them. When they got to the shore they found a breakfast of fish and bread prepared and waiting for them. Jesus invited them to “Come and dine.” They had the warmth of the fire of coals for their body but specially the warmth of His presence for their souls.

The Millennial Figure

Besides teaching us many practical lessons, this chapter also has pictures that show future events. In verse 14 we are told, “This is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples.” The first time was on that resurrection day when they gathered around Him. That gives a picture of a Christian’s proper privilege today. The second time He appeared was again behind closed doors when He showed Himself to Thomas, a picture of a remnant of Jews who will recognize Him when He returns to the earth in a future day. This will happen at the end of an awful time of judgment called the tribulation. The third occasion when the Lord appeared to His disciples was outside in public. This occasion helps us to think of a coming day when He publicly and abundantly provides for His people. He already had a small number of fish with Him on the shore, but He used His servants to bring in many more. This period of time will follow after the tribulation and last for a thousand years (Rev. 20:2). We refer to that coming time as the millennium. It will be a time when the Lord reigns in peace over an earth that once again is productive like it was in the garden of Eden.

Further Meditation

1. How did the Lord provide for His disciples?

2. Where else in the Word of God is the period we call the millennium referred to?

3. The Prophecies of Isaiah Expounded by B. Anstey is not a quick read but gives an excellent coverage of the millennium, which appears often in the book of Isaiah.

Peter Restored John 21:15-25

Peter had denied the Lord in public not once but three times. He had failed and others knew it. But even before he had failed, the Lord was working for Peter’s blessing. He had told Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32). As soon as Peter had denied the Lord for the third time, “the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. ... and Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:61-62). That bitter regret began a deep work in Peter’s heart. Whenever we sin the Lord must show us how awful that sin is, and then we are ready to see and receive His restoring grace.

Next, the Lord met privately with Peter to continue the work He was doing in Peter’s heart. On that resurrection day the disciples announced, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34). It seems no one else was there but Peter.

Public Restoration

Now Peter was ready to be restored publically. The Lord Jesus doesn’t mention that Peter had denied Him. He doesn’t berate or rebuke Peter but rather exposes a root of self-confidence in Peter that had led to the sin of denial. Recently I dug up a huge bush in the back yard. It took 15 minutes to remove the branches but over 100 minutes to get out the big root. The Lord was about to finish exposing that root in Peter’s heart. Peter had said, “All shall be offended, yet will not I” (Mark 14:29). He compared his love to others and “knew” that it would withstand any test. That night his love failed when a young girl spoke about him. The Lord began at that point and said, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?” Peter was asked how his love compared to others. He had learned enough not to claim a greater love and he simply confessed that he did love the Lord Jesus. The word that Jesus used for love means a divine love but Peter used a word that means brotherly attachment.

Peter had denied the Lord three times and so the Lord probed his love with three public questions. The second time the Lord asked only if Peter had divine love for him and Peter responded with the thought that the Lord knew his love. These words must have penetrated deeply in Peter’s heart, searching out his inner motives. The third time the Lord spoke He asked whether or not Peter had this brotherly attachment that he claimed. Peter could only throw himself on the One who knew his heart. Others might not see the love but Peter knew that Jesus could. With that work in his heart, Peter was ready for the service that the Lord had just publicly given to him of feeding the lambs and feeding the sheep. He shared the simple basic truths about the Messiah with the “lambs” in the Acts. Later, he shared in his epistles more truth of God with those who had already believed and were perhaps more like sheep.

Even letting Peter know that he would get to die for the Lord was an act of grace. He had feared even a young maid just days before. Now the Lord revealed to him that he would be given the courage to be executed for His name.

Simply Follow the Lord

Peter was restored but he seems to have always kept his impetuous character. The Lord had said to Peter that he was to follow Him and they apparently started out together but John who loved the Lord also followed. Peter wanted to know what service John would have. The Lord’s simple response was to focus Peter once again on following Him. We should have our eyes set on only One as we go through our life in this world.

Further Meditation

1. Why did the Lord ask Peter three times if he loved Him?

2. Who else in Scripture was restored by the Lord?

3. Simon Peter: His Life and Letters by W. T. P. Wolston is easy and helpful reading on this passage.

Lessons Learned John 1-21

Let us think some of the great facts we have read in the book of John, for some of these are not written quite as simply in other parts of the Bible.

First we read there has always been the Holy One, called The Word. A word can express to us even thoughts or wishes which we cannot see. He was the Living Word to show God’s will and His desires for people.

This Holy One made earth and sky and all things: “Without Him was not anything made that was made.” He was the life and light of all.

Christ Come As Man to Die

That holy Being by whom all was made came to live for a time on the Earth in a body like ours. He was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He showed wisdom, kindness, holiness and patience in His words and ways, different from all others.

Although so great, He came to be the sacrifice to bear the punishment from God for the sins of His creatures. As a sacrifice He was called “the Lamb of God.” Before that, many lambs were offered to show sins deserved death. He was the perfect offering, provided by God.

All were told to “Behold,” to look and think upon, this holy Person to be offered for sin.

Proof in Power

The proofs the Lord Jesus gave of His power, which were written by John, are like samples of what He could do:

He changed water into wine.

He made a dying boy well.

He made a helpless man walk.

He fed thousands bread and fish.

He walked on water.

He forgave sinners.

He made a blind man see.

He made a dead man live.

Since he could do all those, He is able to do everything else He has promised. He declared God’s love for all. Jesus told that He would die for them and offered eternal life to all who trust in Him. Yet the holy Son of God as a humble man on earth was not welcomed by all. Many wanted to keep on their own dark ways of sin; but all who listened to and believed His words loved Him, and believed Him to be the Son of God.

One great truth for us to know is that God gives life that cannot end to all who believe His Son, and they can never perish (John 1:12; 10:28).

Holy Spirit

The promise of the Lord to send the Holy Spirit to teach and comfort those who believe Him, and His promise to come again to receive them unto Himself, are given in the second half of John’s book. There we can read the account of His giving up His life on the cross, as He had said, and that He was raised from the tomb.

Because the Lord Jesus is the “Living Word,” He could keep His written Word for us to read. There are no greater facts for all to know.

Further Meditation:

1. In what way is the Lord Jesus the “Lamb of God”?

2. What names and titles did Jesus take in this book of John?

3. If you would like some short and clear summaries of each of the books of the Bible you can find them in Short Sketches of the Books of the Bible by N. Simon.

The Divine Son: Bible Talks On John's Gospel

Table of Contents

John: Preface

The Word, the Life, the Light: John 1:1-18

What the Voice Cried John: 1:19-34

We Have Found Him: John 1:35-51

At a Marriage Feast John 2:1-12

In the Temple John 2:13-25

A Night Visit John 3:1-10

The Serpent on a Pole John 3:11-15

The Most Wonderful Words John 3:16-21

In the Country of Judea John 3:22-36

A Talk at a Well John 4:1-29

Water Jars Left: John 4:30-42

A Boy Made Well: John 4:43-54

At a Water Pool: John 5:1-9

The Greatest Works John 5:10-47

A Boy's Loaves of Bread: John 6:1-14

A Very Great Wonder John 6:15-25

Sent From Heaven John 6:26-71

On a Great Feast Day John 7

Forgiven, Not Stoned John 8:1-20

Before Abraham John 8:21-59

Clay on Blind Eyes John 9:1-12

Speaking for Christ John 9:13-41

The True Shepherd John 10:1-8

The Shepherd, the Door: John 10:9-21

“Shall Never Perish”: John 10:22-42

“Thy Brother Shall Rise” John 11:1-34

“Lazarus Come Forth” John 11:35-45

One to Die for All John 11:46-57

Honor the Lord Jesus John 12:1-11

As Written of the King John 12:12-19

“We Would See Jesus” John 12:20-33

The Son of Man John 12:34-41

Last Words to the People John 12:42-50

Loved to the End John 13:1-17

A Friend Untrue John 13:18-38

The Way to God’s House John 14

The True Vine John 15:1-17

Hated Without a Cause John 15:18-27

The Spirit of Truth John 16

Prayer of the Lord Jesus John 17

Betrayal and Arrest John 18:1-10

Confessing Christ John 18:11-40

Mocked and Rejected John 19:1-24

A Finished Work John 19:25-42

God’s Approval of Christ’s Work John 20:1-18

Resurrection John 20:19-31

The Lord Provides John 21:1-14

Peter Restored John 21:15-25

Lessons Learned John 1-21