|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Day 76 |
|
| |
 The reading for day 76 was John 6:1-15:27
Warning...this might be long.
There are several themes that seem to really stand out in the Gospel of John. Jesus' deity is probably the biggest followed closely by sovereignty, belief, and love. Everything that Jesus does is to point to His deity and in everything He says He identifies Himself with the Father.
Chapter 6 begins with Jesus feeding the 5,000 followed by Jesus walking to His disciples on the water of a stormy sea. Verses 26 through 71 is where the heart of the matter lies.
The people come across the sea to find Him and ask the question, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" (NASB). Jesus doesn't waste any time getting to their motives. He responds with, "Truly, Truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled." Jesus then tells them to work for the food that endures to eternal life. They ask, "what do we do" and He says, "Believe in the one that God sent" (paraphrase). They respond with "what sign will you show us?" What?!?! Didn't they just witness what he had done feeding the 5,000? They were the same people! Anyway...Jesus tells them that the bread of God comes down from heaven and gives life to the world and they say, "give us this bread always." Here's where it gets good...Jesus says, "I am the bread of life...you have seen me, and yet do not believe." The key to this whole passage is belief. Look through this passage and see how many times the word believe is used in its various forms. The longer Jesus speaks to them and the deeper He goes, the harder it is for them to believe. Jesus tells them to believe that He is the bread of life. Everyone who believes has eternal life. Jesus goes so far as to say "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." Is this a reference to communion? No!!!!!!! This is about belief. Belief that Jesus is the bread from heaven and that His words are Life! 6:66 From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. Look through the book of John and do a word search for the word believe and see how many times it shows up. 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
It seems from chapter 6 that we could equate eating His flesh and drinking His blood with belief.
The book of John also builds a very strong case for the soveriegnty of God in salvation. In chapter 8 the "Jews" that Jesus was speaking with claim God as their father. Jesus quickly rejects that notion. 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. 8:44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 8:45 And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not. 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 8:47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God. In chapter 6 verse 37 Jesus says, "All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
I thought this verse was really cool. "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again" (John 10:17 NASB). How cool is that? The Father loves the Son because the Son is going to sacrifice Himself for God's people and then rise from the dead to demonstrate God's glory.
I'm not trying to say that there's not going to be a last day resurrection because I know there is going to be one...but what does Jesus mean when He says, "I am the resurrection and the life?" What does that mean for our view of the resurrection?
Here's another cool verse. "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26 NASB).
In chapter 12 verse 31 Jesus declares, speaking about what is going to happen at the cross, that "Now judgement is upon this world; now the ruler of the world will be cast out" (NASB). Who is the ruler of the world and when was he cast out? What does this do to how we look at Satan?
Its very interesting to me that the gospel of John doesn't have the institution of the Lord's Supper. What he shows us instead is Jesus washing His disciples' feet. Why don't we view this as something that Jesus required?
13:14 If I then, [your] Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Here is another awesome promise.
14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. Wow!!!!! Can it get better than that? 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
|
|
| To leave a comment or start your own blog: |
 |
or |
 |
Already a member? Login |
|
|
|
More Posts from Zach and Jessic...
|
|
|
|
|
|
back to top
