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JESUS CALLS MATTHEW

Selected Scriptures from the NASB

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JESUS CALLS MATTHEW

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please open our minds and help us understand Your Word today. Open our eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Give us understanding so that we can know You better. Please grant us spiritual wisdom and insight so that we might grow in our knowledge of You. The Bible says that the revelation of Your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced. Please reveal things to us as we study that will help us decide to obey You with all of our hearts. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Introduction: Last week we saw some of the miraculous healings that Jesus performed. During the first year of His ministry, Jesus traveled around Galilee, preaching the gospel and ministering to the people. As we have seen these last few weeks, Jesus healed people and cast out demons, and people came from all over to ask for healing and listen to His teaching.

It has been several weeks now, but we have already talked about Jesus calling His disciples to follow Him, and we tried to clear up a few misconceptions.

¨ When did Jesus call His first disciples? Soon after returning from His temptation in the wilderness.

¨ Who were His first disciples? Andrew and John were the first to follow Jesus. Andrew went to find His brother, Simon Peter. The next day, Jesus called Philip to follow Him. Philip brought along his friend, Nathanael.

¨ These disciples, at least, were with Jesus when He performed His first miracle in Cana. What event do most people think of when talking about Jesus calling His disciples? The account on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus called the fishermen to become fishers of men (Mt. 4:18-22; Mk. 1:16-20; Lk. 5:1-11).

¨ When did that event occur? This actually would have been about the time we’ve been studying about recently, at some point during the first year of His public ministry, possibly several months after they first encountered Him.

¨ Does anyone remember what additional disciple was listed in this group? In this account, John’s brother James is added to the list of disciples. It is likely that he had already been following Jesus around Galilee, along with John.

Today, we are going to look at the calling of Matthew. We’ve mentioned this account before, but today we will look at it in more detail.

I. JESUS CALLS MATTHEW (Mt. 9:9-13; Lk. 5:27-32)

Because this is Matthew’s story, let’s read about the account from His point of view.
[READ Mt. 9:9-13]

9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and began dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?”  12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

¨ When did this take place? We’ve already established that this occurred during the first year of Jesus’ ministry. Verse 9 places this event after the healing of the paralytic we read about last Sunday. The text also connects it to the previous account, which occurred in Capernaum.

We must note that it is unlikely that Matthew had never heard of Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector in or near Capernaum, the city Jesus used as his headquarters. This is also far enough into His ministry that His fame had spread and crowds followed Him (Mk. 2:13). Nearly every account we’ve looked at has included a statement like “immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee” (Mk. 1:28). Matthew had likely heard of Jesus and had probably even heard Him teach or seen Him perform miracles. Matthew likely knew about Jesus, but he was about to have a personal encounter with the Messiah.

¨ What other name did Matthew go by? Mark and Luke refer to him as Levi.

¨ How did Jesus address Matthew? He simply said, “Follow Me.”

¨ How did Matthew respond? Matthew left his tax booth and followed Jesus.

If we just read in Matthew, we miss an important detail about him.

[READ Lk. 5:27-32]

27 After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 And he left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.
29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

¨ What detail does Luke include about what happened to Matthew after he left his tax booth? Luke tells us that Matthew hosted a great feast for Jesus.

¨ How does this detail help us to understand the account? Matthew not only followed Jesus when the invitation was offered, but he also made feast for Him and invited many people that he knew to come and meet Jesus.

In Matthew’s account, we see Jesus reclined at a table with tax collectors and sinners, but we may miss the significance of Matthew’s response. He apparently wanted everyone he knew to meet this Jesus he now followed. It can be easy to lose sight of where we came from before we encountered the grace of Jesus, but Matthew recognized that these men he had previously been affiliated with needed the grace of Jesus, too.

¨ How did the Pharisees respond? They grumbled against Jesus and asked the disciples why He ate with tax collectors and sinners.

Tax collectors were despised by Jewish society. They collected taxes on behalf of Rome, making them traitors in the eyes of the Jews. Remember, the Jews were a proud people -- God’s chosen people. They hated Rome and believed the Messiah would deliver them from Roman imperialism. Additionally, tax collectors were often underhanded in their collection practices, extorting money for personal gain. So the tax collectors were seen as collaborators with the the enemy and thieves.

Pharisees were self-righteous religious elites who were so concerned about keeping the law that they had missed the whole point. When they saw sinners and tax collectors, they saw people who were unrighteous and unclean, and therefore they would have nothing to do with them. They didn’t understand why Jesus would attend a feast with them.

¨ How did Jesus answer the Pharisees? He gave them an analogy, a challenge, and a clarification.

¨ What did Jesus’ analogy depict? The Pharisees thought they were well. They prided themselves on their piety and purity. Because they thought they were righteous, they did not see the need for spiritual healing. On the other hand, those who know they are sick are open to the remedy the physician brings.

¨ Jesus told the Pharisees to go learn about a specific phrase. What do you think He meant by that? The Pharisees spent copious amounts of time studying the law. After all, that is where they thought their righteousness came from. By challenging them to learn about the phrase, He was challenging their understanding of Scripture. The phrase Jesus uses comes from Hosea 6:6. This verse means that it is not adherence to the rituals that God values, but rather the attitude and actions that come from truly knowing and obeying God.

Samuel said the same thing to Saul when he performed the sacrifices rather than waiting for Samuel, as the Lord had commanded (see 1 Sam. 15:22-23). And David made similar statements in Psalm 51, indicating that God was interested in a right heart attitude more than ritual observance (see Ps. 51:16-17).

¨ What do you think Jesus means by His last statement in verse 31? If the Pharisees misunderstood the analogy and were not familiar with the teaching from Hosea, there was no way they could misunderstand Jesus’ final statement. The Pharisees had labeled themselves “righteous,” and they were complaining that Jesus interacted with sinners. They would have heard Jesus’ statement as, “I’m not here for you; I here for them.”

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the two responses to Jesus. We can see both evident in this account. First, Matthew accepted Jesus’ message and His invitation to follow Him. He responded immediately, leaving his station to follow the Messiah. He understood his unworthiness and so rejoiced at the mercy and grace Jesus offered. He held a feast and invited all of his unworthy friends to meet the Man who offered salvation. We know that Matthew’s belief was genuine and lasting because he became one of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples.

Second, the Pharisees rejected Jesus’ message. In this case, they weren’t hostile to Jesus and they didn’t reject His message outright. But they didn’t see their own need for forgiveness and so did not accept Him as Savior. By this, they were rejecting Him.

As part of His rebuke, Jesus drew a distinction between Himself and the religious leaders. Jesus interacted and engaged with sinners, bringing them hope of eternal life. The religious leaders were so concerned about their own perceived righteousness that they neglected the ones who needed grace.

We must note, though, that Jesus was never just hanging out with sinners, as some may argue, and this should not be an excuse for us to do so. Whenever Jesus engaged with sinners, He showed compassion and steered the conversation directly toward His gospel message. Evangelism requires interaction with the lost. But Jesus never engaged with them in their sin or even stood by passively while they engaged in sinful behaviors. In fact, that would have been cruel, not loving. Jesus is not a friend of sinners because he hangs out with them, but because He calls them to repentance and eternal life.

II. FASTING OR FOLLOWING (Lk. 5:1-11; Mt. 9:14-17)

Let’s briefly revisit the account of the four fishermen’s calling.

[READ Lk. 5:1-11]
1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

¨ Where did this account take place? Lake Gennesaret is an alternate name for the Sea of Galilee.

¨ Why did Jesus take the boat out? There was such a great crowd that they were pressing in on Him. So He got on the boat so He could have some space as He taught them.

¨ Do you think it was odd for Jesus to ask for the boat? It may have been odd if this was the first calling of the disciples, but by this time, Jesus was well acquainted with Peter. Peter was one of the first to have followed Jesus (Jn. 1:25-42), and Jesus had made Capernaum -- and probably even Peter’s house -- his home and base of operation (Mt. 4:13).

¨ After teaching, what sign did Jesus perform? Jesus instructed Peter to move the boat to deeper water and cast out his nets, even though he had not caught anything all night. When he let down his nets, he caught so many fish that his nets began breaking and his boat could hold them all.

¨ Who else was involved in this account? Luke mentioned that Simon had partners in another boat, James and John. Although Luke didn’t mention it, Andrew was likely with Simon (see Mt. 4:18-22).

¨ How did Peter respond to the miracle? He fell at Jesus’ knees, overwhelmed by his sin and unworthiness. This is the reaction we often see in Scripture when someone comes face to face with the glory of God.

¨ How did Jesus reassure Peter? He told him not to be afraid, another common response when men met God or angels. Then He informed Peter of his new calling -- from now on he would be catching men. In other words, Jesus had chosen him, and the other three, to be His disciples and to call others to repent and believe the gospel.

¨ How did the four men respond to this call? They left everything -- their boats, their livelihood, their families -- and followed Jesus.

¨ Thinking about these five men, the four fishermen and Matthew, what did they have in common? In both accounts, they recognized that they were sinners in need of the Savior.

¨ How did their responses compare? All five gave up everything, immediately, to follow Jesus. They left their jobs, their livelihoods, and their former ways of life. In Matthew’s case, he probably left behind wealth and a fairly lucrative (if despised) lifestyle.

Though it would be a while before they understood everything, the disciples recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. They rejoiced in His coming, and that perspective is evident in their actions.  On the other hand, the Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as Messiah and misunderstood His purpose. Let’s look at another account that emphasizes this distinction.

[READ Mt. 9:14-17]

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¨ Where did this new group come from? John was already in prison, but he still had disciples who lived by his teaching and taught others. These would have been followers who did not realize Jesus was the one John had come to prepare the way for.

The disciples of John noticed that Jesus and His disciples weren’t fasting, though John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted often. They wanted to know why. Fasting from food was a big part of the Jewish religion of the day, and the Pharisees had turned the practice into a necessary ritual. Fasting was meant as a time of fervent prayer, usually in conjunction with either mourning or grave concern.

Jesus answered them with some analogies. Fasting was a time of mourning, prayer, and seeking the Lord’s will; where a wedding was a time of celebration, feasting, and enjoying the presence of the bridegroom. Jesus identified Himself as the bridegroom and indicated that there should be no mourning while the bridegroom was present. Jesus implied that He would be taken away at a certain point, and that would be the time for fasting and mourning. This is the first instance where He clearly indicated He would be taken away.

The analogies Jesus used were meant to demonstrate that the old ritualistic practices were not compatible with the new covenant that Jesus brought. The new covenant was not to be a patch on the old sacrificial system. A wineskin was supple so that as the new wine fermented, the wineskin could expand with it. Once the wineskin was used, it became stiff and brittle. If new wine was put in an old wineskin, it would burst as the pressure built inside of it. The gospel of Jesus could not be constrained within the existing traditions of the Pharisees.

The disciples of Jesus, like wedding guests, were rejoicing in a time of celebration with the bridegroom. They understood that their old way of life was nothing in light of the gospel that Jesus offered. By contrast, the Pharisees wanted Jesus’ message to fit within their traditions and rituals. Others wanted the new to patch the old, like a national messiah who would restore them to their former glory.

But Jesus calls His disciples out of the old and into the new. The four fishermen and Matthew answered that call, leaving everything behind and choosing to follow Jesus in every aspect of their lives.

III. WHAT WE’VE HEARD IN THE WORD TODAY

In the midst of a very public ministry, Jesus chose Matthew personally. Matthew was not a religious leader, a person of renown, or in any way worth of being noticed by Jesus. In the eyes of his society, Matthew was an outcast. He was a traitor and a thief. Tax collectors were so despised that the Pharisees didn’t even lump them in with the “sinners.” According to the wisdom of the world, Matthew should have been one of those people Jesus avoided.

But Jesus didn’t act according to the wisdom of the world. In fact, He deliberately chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise (1 Cor. 1:27). As He was passing by, he looked at Matthew in the middle of his shift and called him to leave his old life behind and follow Him. The former tax collector got up from his booth, left it all behind, and became one of Jesus’ most intimate disciples, one of the twelve in His inner circle.

The Pharisees were trapped in their legalistic traditions, isolating themselves from the ones they should have been helping. They didn’t serve or minister; they condemned. In contrast, Jesus had every right to condemn, but that wasn’t His purpose. Like He told Nicodemus, He came not to condemn but to save (Jn. 3:17). In order to seek and save the lost, He had to interact with sinners, something the Pharisees couldn’t understand. Jesus did not hang out with sinners; He ministered to them. He proclaimed truth and called them to repentance. Jesus never participated in sinful activities or condoned others’ sin in order to reach them. In fact, in today’s account, Jesus called Matthew to leave his previous lifestyle. Reaching sinners should never be used as an excuse to participate in sin.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You that Jesus came into our world to establish a new covenant of grace. May we be disciples who are willing to follow Him in all areas of our lives, and wherever He leads. We also thank You for Your compassion for sinners such as us. Help us to be compassionate toward lost sinners, pointing them to the Gospel of Your salvation. For it is in Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Invitation Hymn # 357: “Jesus Calls Us” (4 vs.)

Benediction: Beloved, as you wait upon the Lord, may your strength be renewed; may you mount up with wings as eagles; may you run and not be weary; may you walk and not faint. Amen. (Isa. 40:31)

JESUS CALLS MATTHEW - Study Guide

JESUS CALLS MATTHEW
Answers (Lesson 125) - April 28, 2024 - Rev. Alan Cousins

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Introduction: Today, we are going to look at the calling of Matthew. We’ve mentioned this account before, but today we will look at it in more detail.

I. JESUS CALLS MATTHEW (Mt. 9:9-13; Lk. 5:27-32)

Because this is Matthew’s story, let’s read about the account from His point of view.

Matthew 9:9-13

This event occurred during the first year of Jesus’ ministry. Verse 9 places this event after the healing of the paralytic we read about last Sunday. The text also connects it to the previous account, which occurred in Capernaum.

It is unlikely that Matthew had never heard of Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector in or near Capernaum, the city Jesus used as his headquarters. This is also far enough into His ministry that His fame had spread and crowds followed Him (Mk. 2:13). Nearly every account we’ve looked at has included a statement like “immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee” (Mk. 1:28). Matthew had likely heard of Jesus and had probably even heard Him teach or seen Him perform miracles. Matthew likely knew about Jesus, but he was about to have a personal encounter with the Messiah.

Matthew is called Levi in Mark and Luke’s gospels. Jesus simply told Matthew to follow Him. Here we see Matthew’s faith; he left his tax booth and his former life behind to follow Jesus.

Luke 5:27-32

Luke tells us that Matthew hosted a great feast for Jesus. So, Matthew not only followed Jesus when the invitation was offered, but he also made feast for Him and invited many people that he knew to come and meet Jesus. We see Jesus reclined at a table with tax collectors and sinners, but we may miss the significance of Matthew’s response. He apparently wanted everyone he knew to meet this Jesus he now followed. It can be easy to lose sight of where we came from before we encountered the grace of Jesus, but Matthew recognized that these men he had previously been affiliated with needed the grace of Jesus, too.

The Pharisees grumbled against Jesus over this and asked the disciples why He ate with tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors were despised by Jewish society. They collected taxes on behalf of Rome, making them traitors in the eyes of the Jews. Remember, the Jews were a proud people -- God’s chosen people. They hated Rome and believed the Messiah would deliver them from Roman imperialism. Additionally, tax collectors were often underhanded in their collection practices, extorting money for personal gain. So the tax collectors were seen as collaborators with the the enemy and thieves.

Jesus answered the Pharisees by giving them an analogy, a challenge, and a clarification. The Pharisees thought they were well. They prided themselves on their piety and purity. Because they thought they were righteous, they did not see the need for spiritual healing. On the other hand, those who know they are sick are open to the remedy the physician brings.

Jesus told the Pharisees to go learn about a specific phrase. What do you think He meant by that? The Pharisees spent copious amounts of time studying the law. After all, that is where they thought their righteousness came from. By challenging them to learn about the phrase, He was challenging their understanding of Scripture. The phrase Jesus uses comes from Hosea 6:6. This verse means that it is not adherence to the rituals that God values, but rather the attitude and actions that come from truly knowing and obeying God.

If the Pharisees misunderstood the analogy and were not familiar with the teaching from Hosea, there was no way they could misunderstand Jesus’ final statement in verse 31. The Pharisees had labeled themselves “righteous,” and they were complaining that Jesus interacted with sinners. They would have heard Jesus’ statement as, “I’m not here for you; I here for them.”

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the two responses to Jesus. We can see both evident in this account.

First, Matthew accepted Jesus’ message and His invitation to follow Him. He responded immediately, leaving his station to follow the Messiah. He understood his unworthiness and so rejoiced at the mercy and grace Jesus offered. He held a feast and invited all of his unworthy friends to meet the Man who offered salvation.

Second, the Pharisees rejected Jesus’ message. They didn’t see their own need for forgiveness and so did not accept Him as Savior. By this, they were rejecting Him.

Jesus was never just hanging out with sinners, as some may argue, and this should not be an excuse for us to do so. Whenever Jesus engaged with sinners, He showed compassion and steered the conversation directly toward His gospel message. Evangelism requires interaction with the lost. But Jesus never engaged with them in their sin or even stood by passively while they engaged in sinful behaviors.

II. FASTING OR FOLLOWING (Lk. 5:1-11; Mt. 9:14-17)

Let’s briefly revisit the account of the four fishermen’s calling.

Luke 5:1-11

This account takes place at Lake Gennesaret, which is an alternate name for the Sea of Galilee. There was such a great crowd of people pressing in around Jesus, He got on the boat so He could have some space as He taught them. After teaching, Jesus instructed Peter to move the boat to deeper water and cast out his nets, even though he had not caught anything all night. When he let down his nets, he caught so many fish that his nets began breaking and his boat could not hold them all. Luke mentions that Simon had partners in another boat, James and John. Although Luke didn’t mention it, Andrew was likely with Simon (see Mt. 4:18-22). Peter respond to this miracle by falling at Jesus’ knees, overwhelmed by his sin and unworthiness. This is the reaction we often see in Scripture when someone comes face to face with the glory of God. Jesus told Peter not to be afraid. Then He informed Peter of his new calling -- from now on he would be catching men. In other words, Jesus had chosen him, and the other three, to be His disciples and to call others to repent and believe the gospel. They responded by leaving everything -- their boats, their livelihood, their families -- and followed Jesus.

Though it would be a while before they understood everything, the disciples recognized Jesus as the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. They rejoiced in His coming, and that perspective is evident in their actions. On the other hand, the Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as Messiah and misunderstood His purpose. Let’s look at another account that emphasizes this distinction.

Matthew 9:14-17

John’s disciples noticed that Jesus and His disciples weren’t fasting, though John’s disciples and the Pharisees fasted often. Fasting from food was a big part of the Jewish religion of the day, and the Pharisees had turned the practice into a necessary ritual. Fasting was meant as a time of fervent prayer, usually in conjunction with either mourning or grave concern.

Jesus answered with analogies. Fasting was a time of mourning, prayer, and seeking the Lord’s will; where a wedding was a time of celebration, feasting, and enjoying the presence of the bridegroom. Jesus identified Himself as the bridegroom indicating that there should be no mourning in the bridegroom’s presence. Jesus implied that He would be taken away at a certain point, and that would be the time for fasting and mourning.

These analogies were meant to demonstrate that the old ritualistic practices were not compatible with the new covenant Jesus brought. The new covenant was not to be a patch on the old sacrificial system. A wineskin was supple so that as the new wine fermented, the wineskin could expand with it. Once the wineskin was used, it became stiff and brittle, and was proned to burst under the pressure of new wine. The gospel of Jesus could not be constrained by the existing traditions of the Pharisees.

Jesus’ disciples, like wedding guests, were rejoicing in a time of celebration with the bridegroom. They understood that their old way of life was nothing in light of the gospel that Jesus offered. By contrast, the Pharisees wanted Jesus’ message to fit within their traditions and rituals. Others wanted the new to patch the old, like a national messiah who would restore them to their former glory.

III. WHAT WE’VE HEARD FROM THE WORD

The Pharisees were trapped in their legalistic traditions, isolating themselves from the ones they should have been helping. They didn’t serve or minister; they condemned.

In contrast, Jesus had every right to condemn, but that wasn’t His purpose. Like He told Nicodemus, He came not to condemn but to save (Jn. 3:17). In order to seek and save the lost, He had to interact with sinners. Jesus did not hang out with sinners; He ministered to them. He proclaimed truth and called them to repentance. Jesus never participated in sinful activities nor condoned others’ sin to reach them.

Jesus Cares for the Sick

Selected Scriptures from the NASB

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JESUS CARES FOR THE SICK

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this time You've given us to open Your Word together and discover who You are. Thank You for not leaving us in the dark about who You are and what You are doing in the world, but that You have revealed Yourself and Your will through the Bible, in Your sacred words to us. Lord, we need wisdom as we study Your Word. You promise us in James 1:5 that we only have to ask for wisdom to receive it. Lord, please give us Your wisdom now as we approach Your words of truth and not rely on own under-standing. Thank You for the clarity, encouragement, and hope Your Word brings. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Introduction: For the last several weeks, we have been studying the early ministry of Jesus. Although it is difficult to determine the exact order of events or the exact date of when these events occurred, the Bible gives us some very clear markers that help us to at least determine a pace of events.

¨ What major event serves as the framework for the life of Jesus? The Passover.
Because He often traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover, this also gives us an idea of His movements. After He was baptized, tempted in the wilderness, and turned water into wine at Cana, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the first Passover of His earthly ministry.

¨ Whom did He meet while He was in Jerusalem? Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus during that first Passover.

¨ Whom did He meet on the way home from Jerusalem? On the way home, He traveled through Samaria and met a woman at the well of Sychar. She and her town believed Jesus to be the Messiah.

¨ What happened next? We can’t be sure of the exact order of events, but Jesus returned to Galilee, was rejected in Nazareth, healed the Capernaum official’s son, and cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue.

As far as we know, Jesus spent the rest of the year in Galilee. He was going from town to town (Mk. 1:38), preaching the message of the gospel. As He went, He taught with authority (Mk. 1:22) and did many signs, including casting out demons and healing the sick.

¨ Last week we looked at some examples of how people responded to Jesus’ message. What are the only two possible responses? You can accept the message of the gospel, repent, and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Or you reject Jesus and His message and desire to be king of your own life. Both have eternal consequences.

We also talked about the very important difference between believing in who Jesus is and trusting in Him as Lord and Savior. Even the demons believe in God and know that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 4:17). Paul tells us that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13). True salvation is more than an understanding of truth; it is an active acceptance of Jesus’ gospel.

Today, we’re going to look at some of the signs He did in Galilee during that first year of ministry. We will see the authority and power that Jesus has over His creation in the healing of disease and brokenness in the world.

I. JESUS HEALS (Mk. 1:29-34; 1:40-45)

We haven’t used Mark’s Gospel much up to this point, but we are going to look at today’s accounts through his point of view. Before we do, I want you to think back to the study we did on the four Gospels. Does anyone remember what Mark’s focus was? Mark presents Jesus as a servant, showing compassion through decisive and immediate actions. We are going to look at several accounts where Jesus demonstrated compassion through healing those who were suffering.

[READ Mk. 1:29-34]

29 And immediately after they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately spoke to Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.
32 Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city had gathered at the door. 34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

¨ When did this take place? Mark places this account immediately after Jesus cast the demon out of the man in the synagogue in Capernaum.

¨ Where did Jesus go after He left the synagogue? He went to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew.

¨ Why did Jesus go to Simon’s house? Simon was one of Jesus’ disciples, and we know from the rest of the Scriptures he was one of the most intimate of the disciples. Matthew tells us that Jesus lived in Capernaum after He was rejected in Nazareth (Mt. 4:13). It is likely that Peter’s house had become the base of operations between their travels.

¨ Who was with Jesus? We can assume that Peter and Andrew were there, since it was their home, and Mark tells us that James and John were there.

¨ What did they find when they arrived at the house? Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever. Luke tells us it was a high fever.

¨ What did the disciples do? They immediately told Jesus about the situation. Luke says they “appealed to Him on her behalf” (Lk. 4:38).

¨ How did Jesus respond? He simply took her hand to lift her up, and His healing caused the fever to leave.

Simon’s mother-in-law began to serve Jesus and the disciples, as would have been customary for the hostess to do. That evening, Jesus healed many others, as people from the whole city brought those to Him who were sick or demon-possessed. Let’s keep reading.

[READ Mk. 1:40-45]

40 And a man with leprosy came to Jesus, imploring Him and kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

¨ When and where did this account take place? It seems that this would have been later in the first circuit of Galilee, since verse 45 indicates Jesus could no longer openly go into the towns. But Jesus was still in Galilee during the first year of His ministry.

¨ What is interesting about how the leper approached Jesus? He came humbly, kneeling before the Lord. Luke’s account (Lk. 5:12-16) indicates that the leper fell on his face.

¨ His statement is interesting as well. What stands out about his statement? Whether because of humility or wisdom, this man did not approach Jesus with an air of entitlement or expectation, but genuine faith and submission to Jesus’ will.

This man’s request was genuine and full of emotion. Mark says that he implored Jesus; Luke writes that he begged. His faith is obvious -- he knew Jesus could heal him. And yet, he didn’t assume Jesus would heal him. He humbly bowed before the Christ, surely aware of his unworthiness, and asked Jesus for healing.

¨ How did Jesus answer him? Mark says that Jesus was moved with pity. This is an example of Christ’s compassion which Mark emphasizes. He said, “I will; be clean.”

¨ What was significant about Jesus’ actions in verse 41? Jesus touched the leper. This was significant because leprosy was a filthy disease of the skin. The self-righteous Jews despised lepers, and the law abiding Jews avoided coming into contact with them. A leper was unclean according to the law (Lev. 13). Jesus could have healed him without laying a hand on him. In fact, we saw last week that He declared the healing of a man’s son who was in a different city at the time. But Jesus, the compassionate servant, chose to touch the leper.

¨ What instructions did Jesus give the leper? He told him to say nothing about what happened, but to present himself to the priest according to the law of Moses (Lev. 14).

¨ But the man couldn’t help but share the amazing encounter he had just experienced. What happened as the news spread? People were coming from all around to see Jesus, to hear His teaching, see His signs, or ask for healing themselves. The crowds were so large that He could no longer openly go into the cities but had to meet the multitudes in desolate places outside the towns.

In both of these accounts, Jesus demonstrated His power and authority over disease. He rebuked Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever, and it fled. He touched the unclean man and he became clean. There were many others that He healed from all kinds of infirmities.

¨ What attributes of God did Jesus demonstrate through these accounts? Jesus demonstrated His omnipotence and sovereignty by supernaturally healing the ailments; His graciousness in healing those who did nothing to deserve healing; and His mercy in showing kindness to those in misery.

During this first circuit through Galilee, we aren’t told much about Jesus’ teaching. We know that He was teaching and that His message was one of repentance and the gospel. But most of what is recorded about this first year of ministry reflects an excited crowd following a miracle-worker. We have seen Jesus establish His authority in the temple and synagogues, and now we have seen His power over disease. Jesus is the Creator (Col. 1:16; Jn. 1:3), and He has power over His creation, including the power to heal.

II. JESUS FORGIVES (Mk. 2:1-12)

Although Jesus clearly performed many acts of healing, these signs themselves were not His primary objective. In this next account, Jesus healed a man but also gave us some insight into His deeper purpose.

[READ Mk. 2:1-12]

1 When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. 3 And some people came, bringing to Him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. 4 And when they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying. 5 And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” -- He said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

¨ Where else can we find this same account? It is also included in Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26.

¨ Where was Jesus this time? He was in the region of Galilee in the city of Capernaum.

¨ Where was He teaching? He was teaching inside a house. This was likely Peter’s house where Jesus had established his “home base” in Galilee (Mk. 1:29).

¨ What happened when the people heard Jesus was in the house? They filled the house to the doors -- standing room only.

¨ What did Jesus do for those assembled there? He preached the word to them.

¨ What is the “word” that He preached to them? In the previous context of Mark 1:14-15, Jesus preached “the gospel of God,” calling people to “repent and believe in the gospel.” He was preaching and teaching the same message here (see Mk. 1:21 and 1:39).

¨ How did the paralytic man arrive at the house? He was carried on a bed by four of his friends.

¨ How severe was his paralysis? Considering he had to be carried on a bed by four men, it must have been very extensive.

¨ How did the men get their friend to Jesus inside the crowded house? They opened a hole in the roof and lowered their friend to where Jesus was.

¨ What did their efforts demonstrate? Jesus acknowledged their faith, presumably for their effort to get their friend before Jesus and trusting He could heal him.

¨ What did Jesus do rather than healing the man of his paralysis? The surrounding context speaks of Jesus healing many people, so it seems a bit odd that Jesus turned His attention to forgiving the man’s sins rather than healing him. Luke 5:17 actually mentioned the power to heal in the context of the account.

¨ Who are the scribes mentioned in verse 6? These were teachers of the law who had come to hear Jesus’ teaching.

¨ What does Luke 5:17 add to this point in his parallel account? Luke explains that these were members of the Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from the regions of Galilee and Judea, even Jerusalem, to hear what Jesus was teaching.

¨ How did the scribes respond to Jesus forgiving the man’s sins? They were thinking to themselves that Jesus was speaking blasphemies, because only God could forgive sins.

¨ Did they say anything out loud? They were not speaking out loud but questioning in their hearts. We would likely attribute these thoughts to the mind or brain rather than the heart. Luke 5:22 says Jesus “perceived their thoughts.”

¨ How did they conclude that Jesus was blaspheming? Since only God can forgive sins, and Jesus was claiming to forgive the man’s sins, Jesus was claiming to be God. For a mere man to claim to be God is a blasphemous statement.

¨ How did Jesus know what they were thinking? He perceived in His spirit what they were questioning in their hearts.

¨ What does this ability to know the thoughts of men indicate about Jesus? This is a supernatural ability that can only be explained by revelation from God. Since Jesus is God in the flesh, “He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man” (Jn. 2:24-25).

¨ What was the answer to Jesus’ question about whether it is easier to heal or forgive sins? Both are only possible by the power of God. To claim to forgive sins is something that can’t be verified by sight, but to heal a lame man is verifiable.

¨ Why did Jesus follow the act of forgiveness with an act of healing? He said He did it so that all might know He had the authority to forgive sins. It was a physical sign to affirm the spiritual reality. Performing a physical and miraculous sign was a common affirmation that a prophet’s words were from God.

¨ How long did the healing take? The man rose immediately, so it was an instantaneous healing.

¨ How did the paralytic respond? He rose and carried his bed through the crowd. Luke 5:25 says that he went home “glorifying God.”

¨ How did the crowd respond? They were amazed and glorified God.

¨ How many healings did the paralytic receive? He actually received two healings -- he was healed spiritually through the forgiveness of his sins and physically by the removal of his paralysis.

Imagine yourself standing in that room. You hear this man teaching about forgiveness of sin and things start falling through the roof. Soon, a man descends on a bed. You might expect you are about to see a miraculous healing like the ones you’ve heard about … but then something more amazing happens. Jesus announces to the man that his sins are forgiven. But only God can do that!

Even the scribes and Pharisees knew what Jesus was claiming. There was no doubt. They instantly believed this Man was a blasphemer. Imagine their shock when Jesus announced to them exactly what they were thinking. In fact, it was they who were blaspheming by denying Jesus was God. They just didn’t realize it at the time.

¨ What attribute of God was revealed when Jesus was able to read the minds of the scribes and see the faith of the other men? Omniscience -- Jesus knew all about the men. This is confirmed by John 2:24-25.

The Son of Man knew the faith in this man who was paralyzed and his friends. His first act was to offer him forgiveness for the sins he had committed against a holy God. He was merciful toward this sinner and offered him forgiveness. But he didn’t stop there. Jesus also healed him of his paralysis. We don’t know how long he had been confined to his bed, but can you imagine the freedom this man now felt? He had been healed of his brokenness -- both spiritually and physically. He responded by glorifying God.

In these acts of spiritual and physical compassion, Jesus left those around Him with no doubt about what they had just experienced, even if they didn’t rightly acknowledge its source. They had just witnessed God heal a man and, in that act, confirmed the man’s forgiveness before God.

Jesus, calling Himself the Son of Man, has the power to forgive sins and heal. There can be no doubt that Jesus is God.

III. WHAT WE’VE HEARD IN THE WORD TODAY

As Jesus walked the earth, He performed many miracles of healing. While healing was not His primary mission, it was a part of what the Father sent the Son to accomplish. These miracles served specific functions in the lives of individuals, but the overall purpose was to glorify God and affirm that Jesus is God.

As God in the flesh, Jesus had the authority on the earth to forgive sins. Demonstrating His authority to heal both physically and spiritually was a major purpose in these events and authenticated the words He spoke by the works He performed.

All of this work was done as a part of the restoration that will be finalized at the consummation. At the fall, brokenness entered the perfect creation. Both the spiritual perfection and the physical perfection were corrupted by sin. As we think about the words we use to describe the corruption and brokenness, DIS-order and DIS-ease are two that come to mind in light of today’s passages. The original creation was in perfect order; now it is in DIS-order. There was perfect ease in the functioning of the body, but now there is DIS-ease. Things went out of control and got hard.

As we think about these words, we often compare things to our current state. We think of ourselves as normal and those who are different as those with diseases or disorders. But each person on this planet bears disease and disorder in his or her body as a result of the corruption that Adam brought to the world. Just as we should not seek to understand what is spiritually correct by comparing our sins to the sins of others (there is always someone “worse” than us), we should not think of disease and disorders in light of what we see in the world around us. It is the original perfect creation to which we should be comparing the current state.

While we may not all receive some form of physical healing, we are all in need of spiritual healing from the corruption we have inherited from Adam. This is the miracle of forgiveness that Jesus offered to those He healed as they put their faith in Him, believing that He could heal them of their physical and spiritual corruption. And all of this was done to glorify God and offer Him the worship that He alone is due.

Jesus is God, and when we look to Him for forgiveness of sin, He will heal us of our sinful condition and give us eternal life. And, while our physical healing may not come on this earth, we can be assured that when He brings about the consummation of all things, we will be restored to the original perfection without disease or disorder of any kind. Then we can worship in perfect holiness and harmony, knowing that sin will never corrupt us again!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your power over creation and Your ability to heal the sick. Again, Lord, we pray for the many on our prayer list in need of Your healing and even miracles. Comfort them, encourage them, and end their suffering. But even more importantly, Lord, we want to thank You for the spiritual healing which we all need to make us into Christ’s likeness. For it is in His name, I pray, Amen.

Invitation Hymn # 504: “He Touched Me” (2 vs.)

Benediction: Beloved, may the Lord give strength to you when you are weary and may He increase your power when you are weak. Amen. (Isa. 40:29)

JESUS CARES FOR THE SICK - Study Guide

JESUS CARES FOR THE SICK
Answers (Lesson 124) - April 21, 2024 - Rev. Alan Cousins

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Introduction: Today, we’re going to look at some of the signs Jesus did in Galilee during His first year of ministry. We will see the authority and power that Jesus has over His creation in the healing of disease and brokenness in the world.

I. JESUS HEALS (Mk. 1:29-34; 1:40-45)

Mark presents Jesus as a servant, showing compassion through decisive and immediate actions. We are going to look at several accounts where Jesus demonstrated compassion through healing those who were suffering.

Mark 1:29-34

Mark places this account immediately after Jesus cast the demon out of the man in the synagogue in Capernaum. He left the synagogue and went to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew. Matthew tells us that Jesus lived in Capernaum after He was rejected in Nazareth (Mt. 4:13). It is likely that Peter’s home had become the base of operations between their travels. On this day, we can assume that Peter and Andrew were there, since it was their home, and Mark tells us that James and John were also there. When they arrived at there that found Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a fever. Luke tells us it was a high fever. The disciples immediately told Jesus about the situation. Luke says they “appealed to Him on her behalf” (Lk. 4:38). Jesus simply took her by the hand, helped her up, and caused the fever to leave her. Peter’s mother-in-law began to serve Jesus and the disciples, as would have been customary for the hostess to do. That evening, Jesus healed many others, as people from the whole city brought those to Him who were sick or demon-possessed.

Mark 1:40-45

Timing wise, it seems that this healing would have been later in the first circuit of Galilee, since verse 45 indicates Jesus could no longer openly go into the towns. But Jesus was still in Galilee during the first year of His ministry.

The leper came humbly, kneeling before the Lord. Luke’s account (Lk. 5:12-16) indicates that the leper fell on his face before Jesus. Whether because of humility or wisdom, this man did not approach Jesus with an air of entitlement or expectation, but genuine faith and submission to Jesus’ will. This man’s request was genuine and full of emotion. Mark says that he implored Jesus; Luke writes that he begged. His faith is obvious -- he knew Jesus could heal him. Mark says that Jesus was moved with pity. This is an example of Christ’s compassion which Mark emphasizes. He said, “I will; be clean.”

Verse 41 tells us Jesus touched the leper. This was significant because leprosy was a filthy disease of the skin. The self-righteous Jews despised lepers, and the law abiding Jews avoided coming into contact with them. A leper was unclean according to the law (Lev. 13). Jesus could have healed him without laying a hand on him. In fact, we saw last week that He declared the healing of a man’s son who was in a different city at the time. But Jesus, the compassionate servant, chose to touch the leper. Jesus told the man to say nothing about what happened, but to present himself to the priest according to the law of Moses (Lev. 14).

However, the man couldn’t help but share the amazing encounter he had just experienced. As the news spread, people came from all around to see Jesus, to hear His teaching, see His signs, or ask for healing themselves. The crowds were so large that He could no longer openly go into the cities but had to meet the multitudes in desolate places outside the towns.

In both of these accounts, Jesus demonstrated His power and authority over disease. He rebuked Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever, and it fled. He touched the unclean man and he became clean. There were many others that He healed from all kinds of infirmities.

In these accounts, Jesus demonstrated His omnipotence and sovereignty by supernaturally healing the ailments; His graciousness in healing those who did nothing to deserve healing; and His mercy in showing kindness to those in misery.

During this first circuit through Galilee, we aren’t told much about Jesus’ teaching, but we know His message was one of repentance and the gospel. Most of what is recorded about this first year of ministry reflects an excited crowd following a miracle-worker. We have seen Jesus establish His authority in the temple and synagogues, and now we have seen His power over disease. Jesus is the Creator (Col. 1:16; Jn. 1:3), and He has power over His creation, including the power to heal.

II. JESUS FORGIVES (Mk. 2:1-12)

Mark 2:1-12

This same account is also included in Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26.

Jesus was in the region of Galilee in the city of Capernaum. He was teaching inside a house, which again was likely Peter’s house where Jesus had established his “home base” in Galilee (Mk. 1:29). When the people heard where Jesus was ministering, They filled the house to the doors -- standing room only. Jesus preached the word to them. In the previous context of Mark 1:14-15, Jesus preached “the gospel of God,” calling people to “repent and believe in the gospel.” He was preaching and teaching this same message here (see Mk. 1:21 and 1:39).

A paralytic man was carried on a bed by four of his friends to the house where Jesus was. Unable to get their friend inside the crowded house, the men opened a hole in the roof and lowered their friend down to where Jesus was standing. Jesus acknowledged the faith of the man’s friends by the effort they exerted to get their friend to Jesus and trusting that He could heal him. But rather than healing the man of his paralysis, Jesus turned His attention to forgiving the man’s sins instead.

The scribes mentioned in verse 6, were teachers of the law who had come to hear Jesus’ teaching. In Luke 5:17, Luke adds in his parallel account, that these were members of the Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from the regions of Galilee and Judea, even Jerusalem, to hear what Jesus was teaching. Upon hearing Jesus forgive the man’s sins, they were thinking to themselves that Jesus was speaking blasphemies, because only God could forgive sins. Though they were not speaking out loud, they were thinking these things in their hearts. Luke 5:22 says Jesus “perceived their thoughts.” They concluded that Jesus was blaspheming, since only God can forgive sins. Jesus was claiming to forgive this man’s sins, and thus, was claiming to be God. For a mere man to claim to be God is a blasphemous statement.

Jesus ability to know the thoughts of these men indicates that this was a supernatural ability that can only be explained by revelation from God. Since Jesus is God in the flesh, “He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man” (Jn. 2:24-25).

The point of Jesus’ question about whether it is easier to heal or forgive sins? Is that both are only possible by the power of God. To claim to forgive sins is something that can’t be verified by sight, but to heal a lame man is verifiable. Jesus followed the act of forgiveness with an act of healing. He said He did it so that all might know He had the authority to forgive sins. It was a physical sign to affirm the spiritual reality. Performing a physical and miraculous sign was a common affirmation that a prophet’s words were from God. And since the man rose immediately, it was an instantaneous healing. The healed man responded by getting up and carrying his bed through the crowd. Luke 5:25 says that he went home “glorifying God.” Actually, the man received two healings that day. He was healed spiritually through the forgiveness of his sins and physically by the removal of his paralysis. The paralytic had been healed of his brokenness -- both spiritually and physically. He responded by glorifying God.

III. WHAT WE’VE HEARD FROM THE WORD

While healing was not Jesus’ primary mission, it was a part of what the Father sent Him to accomplish. These miracles served specific functions in the lives of individuals, but the overall purpose was to glorify God and affirm that Jesus is God.

Demonstrating His authority to heal physically and spiritually was a major purpose in these events and authenticated the words Jesus spoke by the works He performed.

While we may not all receive some form of physical healing, we are all in need of spiritual healing from the corruption we have inherited from Adam. This is the miracle of forgiveness that Jesus offered to those He healed as they put their faith in Him, believing that He could heal them of their physical and spiritual corruption. All of this was done to glorify God and offer Him the worship that He alone is due.

JESUS IS REJECTED IN NAZARETH

Selected Scriptures from the NASB

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JESUS IS REJECTED IN NAZARETH

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask that You would give each of us understanding and discerning hearts. Help us to be slow to get angry but quick to respond to the needs, disappointments, and problems that others are facing. Lord, we want to be used by You as a channel of blessing to others, showing the loving compassion that Jesus modeled for us here on earth. Father, open our hearts to receive the truth of Your Word this morning. May the Holy Spirit enlighten our minds so that we will understand every word and apply it appropriately to our lives. We ask You to change us from the inside out to be the people that You desire us to be. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Introduction: Last Sunday, we read about Jesus’ trip from Jerusalem to Galilee. He had been in Jerusalem for the Passover, and He left Judea when He heard that John had been arrested.

¨ What was interesting about His trip home? Jesus returned to Galilee through the region of Samaria, which may have been an unusual route to take. It was definitely unusual that He stopped to talk with a Samaritan woman and then stayed in her town for two days.

¨ What message did Jesus deliver to the woman and her town? He revealed that He was the Messiah, and He offered the woman living water. He offered them the hope of salvation and eternal life.

¨ How did the woman and the townspeople respond? They believed Jesus was the Messiah, and they trusted in Him as the Savior of the world (Jn. 4:42).

In the last few weeks, we have seen crowds begin to follow Jesus as they saw the signs that He did. We have seen Jesus extend His offer of salvation to both Jews and Gentiles. Today we will take a look at the contrast of responses Jesus received as He began preaching in Galilee.

I. PEOPLE REJECT JESUS (Lk. 4:14-30; Jn. 8:58-59, 10:25-33, 38)

As Jesus came to Galilee, He began to preach publicly, saying, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). Let’s see how the people responded to His gospel.

[READ Jn. 4:14-30]

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21 Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all the people were speaking well of Him, and admiring the gracious words which were coming from His lips; and yet they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. 30 But He passed through their midst and went on His way.

¨ When did this event take place? Luke records the temptation of Jesus just before this account, but if you think about our timeline we began last week, we know that some time had passed. This would have been after Jesus visited the woman at the well in Samaria. If you have your timeline with you, write “rejection at Nazareth,” just after the first Passover.

¨ What is interesting but odd about Luke 4:14-15, in light of the rest of the passage? It seems odd that verses 14 and 15 talk about Jesus being glorified by all, but then verses 16-30 talk about the people rejecting Him. 
¨ In this case, it helps to understand the chronology of Jesus’ ministry. Take a look at your timeline from last week, if you have it. After the first Passover of Jesus’ ministry, where did Jesus go? He returned to Galilee through Samaria and then ministered in Galilee until the next Passover.

So, Luke 4:14-15 is a generalized summary of Jesus’ time in Galilee. Then, the next couple chapters detail different events that occurred during this time, as He journeyed around Galilee.

¨ As He taught in the synagogue in Nazareth, what did Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah? He read a section that prophesied the Messiah’s coming to Israel. We find this in Isaiah 61:1-2.

¨ After reading and sitting down, what did Jesus say about the passage He had read? He claimed that it had been fulfilled in the hearing of those present. In other words, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah.

¨ Who did the crowd say He was? They knew Him as the son of Joseph who had grown up in their town.

¨ What did Jesus attest to about a prophet in his hometown? In general, prophets are not accepted in their own country/town. This seemed to be the case in this instance as well -- the people knew Him as the son of Joseph who had been raised in their town and taught in the very synagogue He was now teaching in, but they did not accept that He was the Messiah.

¨ Whom did Jesus point to as examples of God’s grace through a prophet? He referred to the widow in Zarephath who was blessed by Elijah and Naaman who was blessed by Elisha.

¨ Were these two examples Jews or Gentiles? Both of them were Gentiles who received mercy and grace from God as they received the message of the prophets as true.

¨ What was Jesus implying about their rejection of Him as the Messiah? He was clearly implying that they were just like the unbelieving Jews of Elijah’s and Elisha’s time who did not receive them as true prophets.

¨ How did the Nazarenes respond to this? They were filled with wrath and tried to kill Him by taking Him to a cliff to throw Him off it to His death.

¨ How did Jesus escape? He simply passed through the midst of them in what can only be described as a miraculous event. This is similar to John 7:30, 8:59, and 10:39 where He escaped the crowds because His time to die had not come yet. Let’s take a look at some of these passages from John.

[READ Jn. 8:58-59]

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.

So similarly, when Jesus claimed to be God, the Jews took up stones to stone Him to death for blasphemy.

[READ Jn. 10:25-33 & 39]

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
39 Therefore they were seeking again to arrest Him, and He eluded their grasp.

The Jews desired to stone Jesus for blasphemy and then sought to arrest Him after He defused the situation, but He escaped from their hands.

In these accounts, Jesus was also demonstrating the attributes of God: His sovereignty in controlling the situations and escaping the plans of the Jews; His omniscience in knowing the thoughts of the people; His wisdom in knowing how to respond in each situation to bring His plans to completion.

So, one clear reaction to Jesus’ message, as we see many times throughout the Gospels, was total rejection. Now, some of the other reactions in Scripture seem a little less severe; the people don’t always want to kill Him, but they are examples of rejection nonetheless. Jesus came as the Messiah and King, and people rejected Him. They were unwilling to submit to Him as Savior and Lord. They wanted to continue to walk on the wide path they were on rather than follow the Savior on the narrow path that leads to eternal life.

II. BELIEF or FAITH? (Jn. 4:46-54; Lk. 4:31-37; Jas. 2:19; Rom. 9:30 -- 10:4)

But not everyone rejected Jesus. There are many passages where we read of lots of people believing in His message and seeking to follow after Him. Let’s look at some examples of those who believed Jesus was who He said He was. One specific example of belief is found in John 4.

[READ Jn. 4:46-54]

46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” 49 The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. 51 And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household. 54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.

¨ When did this passage take place? John recorded this event between Jesus’ journey through Samaria and another trip to Jerusalem -- the second Passover on our timeline. John also claimed this was Jesus’ second sign. Combining that with the clues from the other Gospels, we can place this event early during His first circuit of Galilee. We can’t be sure of the exact order, but this likely happened around the same time as the rejection in Nazareth.

¨ Where did this event take place? Although the official was from Capernaum, he went to see Jesus in Cana. Both Cana and Capernaum are cities in Galilee. You will recall that Cana is the location of the first recorded miracle of Jesus when He turned water into wine at a wedding feast.

¨ What is significant about Capernaum? In the passage we just read a few minutes ago, the Nazarenes mentioned that they had heard about what He had done in Capernaum. There are at least three reasonable ways to interpret their statement: (1) He may have already been to Capernaum and done signs there since returning to Galilee; (2) He may have done signs in Capernaum before He left for Jerusalem (Jn. 2:12); or (3) The Jews may have been referring to this event in John (if it happened prior to Jesus’ visit to Nazareth) because the healed son was in Capernaum.

¨ What request did the official make? The official asked Jesus to heal his son who was deathly ill.

¨ What did Jesus mean by His initial statement (v. 48)? You may have a footnote indicating that the “you” is plural in this comment. This suggests that His comment, though perhaps addressed to the official, was directed at the Jews. As we have already seen, the Jews often asked Jesus for a sign (Jn. 2:18), and many people followed Him because of His signs (Jn. 2:23, 4:45).

¨ How did the official express faith in Jesus? First, he asked Jesus to come heal his son, apparently believing He could. Then, he believed Jesus’ words at face value, accepting that his son would live, and he went on his way.

The official had obviously heard of Jesus and the works He had done. Unlike the skeptical crowd in Nazareth, the official from Capernaum believed in Jesus, not just to heal his son (v. 49), but for the salvation of his household (v. 53).

We’ve looked at those who rejected Jesus outright. We’ve seen those who believed in Jesus and demonstrated their faith in Him. Now let’s look at a different kind of belief.

[READ Lk. 4:31-37]

31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, because His message was delivered with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!”  35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.

¨ Where did this account take place? This account takes place in a synagogue in Capernaum.

¨ When did this happen? This is likely after the other accounts we’ve read, after Jesus moved His headquarters to Capernaum, but about the same time early in the first tour of Galilee. Luke also tells us that Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath.

¨ How did the people respond to Jesus’ teaching? They were astonished because He spoke with authority.

¨ Do you notice anything interesting about the beginning of verse 34? You may have a footnote in your Bible indicating a variant translation. The Greek word used here is sometimes translated as “Leave us alone!” as in this case. No matter how it is rendered, it is clearly intended as an interjection, perhaps indicating surprise, indignation, or anger.

¨ Who is speaking in verse 34? The text states that the man cried out in a loud voice, but it seems to be the demon speaking through the man. The demon recognized Jesus as “the Holy One of God.” He also acknowledged that Jesus had the power and authority to destroy them.

¨ Why did Jesus tell the demon to be quiet? There are several times that Jesus commanded the demons to be silent because they knew who He was (Lk. 4:41). The timing of Jesus’ ministry was precisely planned, as we’ve already seen when He talked about “His hour.” It seems He was not yet ready to reveal Himself to the extent that the demon’s acknowledgement would have.

¨ What effect did the words of Jesus have on the demon? The demon had to obey the authoritative command of the Son of God. He came out of the man, causing him no harm.

¨ How did the people respond? They were amazed, wondered at His authority, and spread word about Him throughout the region. We are not told whether they believed in Him, and it seems that they may not have fully understood who He was and the authority He held.

In this account, we see one who recognized who Jesus was and knew the depth of His power and authority. The demon even obeyed Jesus’ command. But he did not believe on the name of Jesus for salvation or submit to Him as Lord. This was also apparent in the response of the people in Jerusalem who had seen the signs Jesus was doing but did not trust in Him as the Messiah (Jn. 2:23-25). Let’s take a minute to look at the difference between believing who Jesus is and believing (trusting) in Jesus for salvation.

[READ Jas. 2:19]

19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

¨ When we look at a single verse, what rule of hermeneutics do we need to stop and consider? We are in danger of taking the verse out of context, so we should stop and take note of the immediate context of the verse. The letter was written to Jews who were scattered geographically (Jas. 1:1). The first two chapters emphasize what true faith is. The verse we just read is found in a paragraph explaining that true faith is more than belief or mere mental assent -- true faith is demonstrated in action.

¨ So, what did James mean by this statement? He was making the point that mere belief is not the same thing as active faith. The demons obviously are not saved by faith, though they believe in God. In Luke 4:31-37, Jesus interacted with a demon who clearly knew who He was, even recognizing Him as “the Holy One of God” and fearing the destruction He would bring. Luke 4:41 confirms that the demons believed Jesus was the Christ, and Matthew 8:29 suggests that the demons knew that Jesus was going to defeat them at an appointed time. And yet, the demon’s belief was obviously not a saving faith.

When James wrote, “You believe that God is one,” it was a clear reference to the shema (Deut. 6:4-5), the core profession of faith of the Israelites under the old covenant. In other words, believing orthodox doctrine is not proof of salvation; even the demons believe the truth about who God is. Paul taught the same thing, emphasizing that salvation and justification are not earned through the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 2:16). Sometimes people try to set Paul and James against one another, claiming that there is a contradiction in the Bible regarding the connection between justification and works. But there is a simple explanation that clears up this apparent contradiction.

[READ Rom. 9:30 -- 10:4]

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, but the righteousness that is by faith; 31 however, Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though they could by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

¨ How does this passage add to our understanding of salvation? In this passage, we see that the Jews pursued righteousness through the law, and therefore did not succeed in achieving it. They had a zeal for God, a desire for righteousness, but they misunderstood the gospel.

Many of the Jews believed the truth about God, but they placed their trust in their ability to obey the law. Because of this legalism, the cross of Jesus became a stumbling block to them.
They rejected Jesus, not even realizing their need for Him, in many cases.

We have just begun to look at Jesus’ earthly ministry, a few months at most. Already we have seen various responses to Him. The religious leaders were immediately threatened by His teaching. The people in His hometown rejected His message outright, refusing to believe He was who He said He was. We will see others who, like the demons, recognized the truth in Jesus’ claims but refused to trust in Him for salvation.

Although many had rejected Jesus’ message of hope and salvation, there were many, like the official from Capernaum, who received the message gladly. Jesus had come to seek and save the lost, and those who were His sheep recognized His voice and followed Him. In turning from their sin and to the Messiah, they received eternal life and were held securely in the hand of Jesus and the hand of the Father (Jn. 10:25-30). These people heard the teaching and saw the miracles, and they believed in Jesus as the Messiah. And in this belief, they were willing to submit to Him as Lord, taking up their crosses and following Him through the narrow gate and along the narrow path to eternal life. I truly hope that reflects your view of who Jesus is and what you believe about Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we want to praise You for Your wisdom, grace, and mercy in saving sinners such as us. Give us a renewed confidence in the finished work of Jesus for our salvation. Thank You for revealing Yourself in the Bible and challenging us to examine our faith. And Lord, if there is anyone here this morning who needs to receive Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life, may they accept You today. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Invitation Hymn # 332: “Without Him” (2 vs.)

Benediction: Beloved, may the wisdom and sayings of God be life to you and health to your flesh. Amen. (Prov. 4:22)

JESUS REJECTED IN NAZARETH - Study Guide

JESUS REJECTED IN NAZARETH
Answers (Lesson 123) - April 14, 2024 - Rev. Alan Cousins

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Introduction: We have seen crowds begin to follow Jesus as they saw the signs that He did. We saw Jesus extend His offer of salvation to Jews and Gentiles. Today we will look at the contrast of responses Jesus received as He began preaching in Galilee.

I. PEOPLE REJECT JESUS (Lk. 4:14-30; Jn. 8:58-59, 10:25-33, 38)

As Jesus came to Galilee, He began to preach publicly, saying, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). Let’s see how the people responded to His gospel.

Luke 4:14-30

Luke records the temptation of Jesus just before this account, but if you think about our timeline we began last week, we know that some time had passed. This would have been after Jesus visited the woman at the well in Samaria. If you have your timeline with you, write “rejection at Nazareth,” just after the first Passover.

It seems a bit odd that verses 14 and 15 talk about Jesus being glorified by all, but then verses 16-30 talk about the people rejecting Him. In this case, it helps to understand the chronology of Jesus’ ministry. After the first Passover of Jesus’ ministry, He returned to Galilee through Samaria and then ministered in Galilee until the next Passover.

As He taught in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah. He read a section that prophesied the Messiah’s coming to Israel (Isa. 61:1-2). As He finished reading, Jesus claimed that it had been fulfilled in the hearing of those present. In other words, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. In general, however, prophets are not accepted in their own country or town. This seemed to be the case in this instance as well. The people knew Him as the son of Joseph who had been raised in their town and taught in the very synagogue He was now teaching in, but they did not accept that He was the Messiah.

Jesus pointed to the widow in Zarephath, who was blessed by Elijah, and Naaman who was blessed by Elisha, as examples of God’s grace shown through a prophet. Jesus was clearly implying that the Nazarenes were just like the unbelieving Jews of Elijah’s and Elisha’s time who did not receive them as true prophets. Hearing this, the people were filled with wrath and tried to kill Jesus by taking Him to a cliff to throw Him off it to His death. But He escaped by simply passing through the midst of them in what can only be described as a miraculous event. This is similar to John 7:30, 8:59, and 10:39 where Jesus escaped the crowds because His time to die had not come yet. Let’s take a look at some of these passages from John.

John 8:58-59, 10:25-33, 39

In this account and the other two we looked at briefly, we see a very negative response to Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. Likewise, His claims to be equal to the Father brought the same reaction -- the people wanted to kill Him for making such a claim. But Jesus didn’t just make claims; He demonstrated His authority through His teaching and miracles. In these accounts, Jesus was also demonstrating the attributes of God: His sovereignty in controlling the situations and escaping the plans of the Jews; His omniscience in knowing the thoughts of the people; His wisdom in knowing how to respond in each situation to bring His plans to completion.

One clear reaction to Jesus’ message, as we see many times throughout the Gospels, was total rejection. Now, some of the other reactions in Scripture seem a little less severe; the people don’t always want to kill Him, but they are examples of rejection nonetheless. Jesus came as the Messiah and King, and people rejected Him.

II. BELIEF or FAITH? (Jn. 4:46-54; Lk. 4:31-37; Jas. 2:19; Rom. 9:30 -- 10:4)

John 4:46-54

John recorded this event between Jesus’ journey through Samaria and another trip to Jerusalem for the second Passover on our timeline. John also claimed this was Jesus’ second sign. Combining that with the clues from the other Gospels, we can place this event early during His first circuit of Galilee. We can’t be sure of the exact order, but this likely happened around the same time as the rejection in Nazareth.

Although the official was from Capernaum, he went to see Jesus in Cana. Both Cana and Capernaum are cities in Galilee. You will recall that Cana is the location of the first recorded miracle of Jesus when He turned water into wine at a wedding feast. The mention of Capernaum is important because in the passage we just read a few minutes ago, the Nazarenes mentioned that they had heard about what Jesus had done in Capernaum. There are at least three reasonable ways to interpret their statement: (1) He may have already been to Capernaum and done signs there since returning to Galilee; (2) He may have done signs in Capernaum before He left for Jerusalem (Jn. 2:12); or (3) The Jews may have been referring to this event in John (if it happened prior to Jesus’ visit to Nazareth) because the healed son was in Capernaum.

This official asked Jesus to heal his son who was deathly ill. [You may have a footnote indicating that the “you” in verse 48 is plural in Jesus’ words. This suggests that His comment, though perhaps addressed to the official, was actually directed at the Jews. As we have already seen, the Jews often asked Jesus for a sign (Jn. 2:18), and many people followed Him because of His signs (Jn. 2:23, 4:45)].

The father expressed faith in Jesus. First, he asked Jesus to come heal his son, apparently believing He could. Then, he believed Jesus’ words at face value, accepting that his son would live, and he went on his way. The official had obviously heard of Jesus and the works He had done. Unlike the skeptical crowd in Nazareth, the official from Capernaum believed in Jesus, not just to heal his son (v. 49), but for the salvation of his household (v. 53).

We’ve looked at those who rejected Jesus outright. We’ve seen those who believed in Jesus and demonstrated their faith in Him. Now let’s look at a different kind of belief.

Luke 4:31-37

This account takes place in a synagogue in Capernaum. It likely happened after the other accounts we’ve read, after Jesus moved His headquarters to Capernaum, but about the same time early in the first tour of Galilee. Luke also tells us that Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath.

The people were astonished at Jesus’ teaching because He spoke with authority.

You may have a footnote in your Bible indicating a variant translation. The Greek word used here is sometimes translated as “Leave us alone!” as in this case. No matter how it is rendered, it is clearly intended as an interjection, perhaps indicating surprise, indignation, or anger. According to verse 34, the text states that the man cried out in a loud voice, but it seems the demon was speaking through the man. The demon recognized Jesus as “the Holy One of God.” He also acknowledged that Jesus had the power and authority to destroy them. There are several times that Jesus commanded the demons to be silent because they knew who He was (Lk. 4:41). The timing of Jesus’ ministry was precisely planned, as we’ve already seen when He talked about “His hour.” It seems He was not yet ready to reveal Himself to the extent that the demon’s acknowledgement would have. The demon had to obey the authoritative command of the Son of God. He came out of the man, causing him no harm.

The people were amazed, wondered at Jesus’ authority, and spread word about Him throughout the region. We are not told whether they believed in Him or not, and it seems that they may not have fully understood who He was and the authority He held.

Here we see one who recognized who Jesus was and knew the depth of His power and authority. The demon even obeyed Jesus’ command. But he did not believe on the name of Jesus for salvation or submit to Him as Lord.

James 2:19

James was making the point that mere belief is not the same thing as active faith. The demons obviously are not saved by faith, though they believe in God. In Luke 4:31-37, Jesus interacted with a demon who clearly knew who He was, even recognizing Him as “the Holy One of God” and fearing the destruction He would bring. Luke 4:41 confirms that the demons believed Jesus was the Christ, and Matthew 8:29 suggests that the demons knew that Jesus was going to defeat them at an appointed time. And yet, the demon’s belief was obviously not a saving faith.

When James wrote, “You believe that God is one,” it was a clear reference to the shema (Deut. 6:4-5), the core profession of faith of the Israelites under the old covenant. This means, believing orthodox doctrine is not proof of salvation; even the demons believe the truth about God.

Romans 9:30 -- 10:4

In this passage, we see that the Jews pursued righteousness through the law, and therefore did not succeed in achieving it. They had a zeal for God, a desire for righteousness, but they misunderstood the gospel. They placed their trust in their own ability to obey the law. Because of this legalism, the cross of Jesus became a stumbling block to them. They rejected Jesus, not even realizing their need for Him, in many cases.

Ultimately, there are only two responses to Jesus’ message. Those who fail to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and to trust in Him for redemption have actually rejected His message altogether. There is a difference between believing that Jesus is the Son of God with the power to save -- the demons believe that -- and submitting to Him as Lord and Savior (Rom. 10:13). Jesus had come to seek and save the lost, and those who were His sheep recognized His voice and followed Him. In turning from their sin and to the Messiah, they received eternal life and were held securely in the hand of Jesus and the hand of the Father (Jn. 10:25-30).

Living Water

Selected Scriptures from the NASB

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LIVING WATER

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes we reach out for You, wishing we could touch You, see You, or in some other way find physical evidence that You are near and that You are concerned. Please, forgive us our doubting and lift us up to higher levels of faith and understanding. We do not ask that You change in any way whatsoever. We humbly pray that You will change us until our spirits shall be more like Yours. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Introduction: Week before last, we were in Jerusalem with Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus had come with His disciples to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, as was customary for the Jews. We know that Mary and Joseph made this journey every year according to Luke 2:41.

¨ What public and authoritative act did Jesus do when He arrived in Jerusalem? He cleansed the temple, driving out the merchants and money-changers. He also foreshadowed His death and resurrection. Throughout the time He was in Jerusalem, He also apparently did other signs.

¨ Then Nicodemus came to visit Him to find out more concerning His teaching. What did Jesus explain to Nicodemus? Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, or born of the Spirit, to see the kingdom of God. He also explained that salvation -- eternal life -- is granted through belief in the Son of Man.

¨ How did Jesus use the imagery of light and darkness? He drew a familiar juxtaposition of light and darkness to explain that light exposes hidden things. Those who love evil love darkness because their sins can stay hidden. But the light has already come, and so they are condemned already.

We looked at Jesus’ mission: to glorify God by fulfilling His redemptive work. There is an interesting detail in John 2:24 that we haven’t looked at yet. Even though Jesus did signs in Jerusalem, He “did not entrust Himself to them.” Although Jesus had emerged into the public eye, it is interesting that His early teaching (at least what is recorded for us) was focused on private conversations.

Today, we are going to look at another private conversation Jesus had early on in His ministry.

I. JOHN EXALTS JESUS (Jn. 3:22-36)

Before we turn to the next discourse that John records, let’s see how John the Baptist responded to Jesus’ early ministry.

[READ Jn. 3:22-36]
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there; and people were coming and being baptized -- 24 for John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” 27 John replied, “A person can receive not even one thing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 “He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. 35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

¨ When did this passage take place? This is after Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus. We don’t know how much time has passed, but we can infer that Jesus was in Jerusalem for at least the week of Passover and had moved into the surrounding countryside.

¨ What other setting clues are we given? We know that John was baptizing at Aenon near Salim (v. 23) and that John had not yet been put into prison. This detail helps us to understand the order of events. There is some disagreement regarding the location of Aenon near Salim, but it was probably a town midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

¨ What concern did John’s disciples and a Jew bring to John? People were beginning to follow Jesus. It seems the disciples of John were concerned that the people were going to Jesus to be baptized instead of John (or perhaps abandoning John).

¨ How did John the Baptist respond to this concern? He was not concerned. John recognized that his mission, his success, was given to him by God. John was serving Someone and something greater than himself, pointing to the ministry of Jesus as the Messiah.

¨ What did John remind his disciples of in verse 28? He reminded them that he never intended to accumulate followers for himself. Rather, he was preparing the way for the One to come after him.

¨ What analogy did John use? He likened himself to a bridegroom’s friend, who rejoices for him in his happiness rather than resenting the bridegroom’s joy. He would not begrudge Jesus’ day by bemoaning the passing of his ministry.

John understood that his purpose was to usher in the day of the Lord, and now that Jesus had come, John’s ministry was near its end. He demonstrated this understanding in verse 30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Some translations mark the quotations as continuing through verse 36. Whether these verses were spoken by John the Baptist or written by John the apostle, they exalt the Son above those of the earth and reaffirm the teaching we saw in the account of Nicodemus: those who believe in the Son will have eternal life, but those who don’t believe are condemned already.

Jesus had just begun His public ministry, and He was attracting followers. It is likely that some of John’s followers were leaving him to follow Jesus. But John had the correct perspective. The purpose of his ministry was to point to the coming Messiah. He had seen God confirm the identity of Jesus (Mt. 3:16-17; Jn. 1:32-34). And now he knew it was time for his ministry of preparation to give way to Jesus’ ministry of redemption.

It’s worth noting that Jesus had amassed enough of a following to concern John’s disciples. So far, the public had seen Jesus cleanse the temple and do signs around Jerusalem. We don’t know what signs He was doing, or if He had done any public teaching, but clearly He had made an impact on the people. Of course, believing in His signs wouldn’t be enough, and Jesus knew the nature of the people following Him (Jn. 2:24-25). But for now, the people followed.

II. THE SAMARITAN WOMAN (Jn. 4:1-45; Mt. 4:12; Mk. 1:14-15; Lk. 4:14)

The next account is another private conversation, this time with a Samaritan woman. Let’s keep reading to see what happened.

[READ Jn. 4:1-45]
1 So then, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that He was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing; rather, His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again to Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired from His journey, was just sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away to the city to buy food. 9 So the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, though You are a Jew, are asking me for a drink, though I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus replied to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 She said to Him, “Sir, You have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do You get this living water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well and drank of it himself, and his sons and his cattle?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw water.” 16 He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said to Him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe Me, woman, that a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What are You seeking?” or, “Why are You speaking with her?” 28 So the woman left her waterpot and went into the city, and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is He?” 30 They left the city and were coming to Him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have come into their labor.”
39 Now from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One truly is the Savior of the world.”
43 And after the two days, He departed from there for Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

¨ What interesting detail is given in verse 2? Jesus was not baptizing people, but His disciples were. Although Jesus was not doing the baptizing Himself, it was Jesus the people were choosing to follow.

¨ Why might Jesus not have been baptizing the people? The text does not give us any additional information, but it is interesting that John had said, “I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:8). John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming of Christ. Jesus’ baptism is not like John’s, and we will see this idea more clearly as we work through the rest of the New Testament.

¨ Why did Jesus leave Judea? The Pharisees heard that Jesus was making more disciples than John. This would have concerned the Jewish leaders, who were interested in maintaining their power and influence.

This is a case where we can glean some helpful information from the other Gospel accounts. Let’s take a look at the parallel passages.

[READ Mt. 4:12]

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

[READ Mk. 1:14-15]

14 Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

[READ Lk. 4:14]

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region.

¨ So, how do these verses help us get a better picture of the timing of events? If we were reading through any of the synoptic Gospels without considering John’s Gospel, we might think that Jesus went straight back to Galilee after being tempted in the wilderness. But John gives us a pretty clear timeline of events that happened between the temptation of Jesus and His return to Galilee. In fact, think back to that parenthetical statement we pointed out -- “for John had not yet been put in prison” (Jn. 3:24). Matthew and Mark both attribute Jesus’ return to Galilee to the arrest of John the Baptist. When we put all the details together, we see a clear progression: (1) Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover; (2) Jesus and His disciples were baptizing in Judea as John was ministering in Aenon; (3) John the Baptist was arrested by Herod Antipas; (4) Jesus started back toward Galilee, traveling through Samaria.

¨ Why was John arrested? Luke 3:19-20 gives us this detail. It is obviously out of order chronologically in Luke’s account, but it gives us Herod’s reasoning for arresting John. John had spoken out against Herod for marrying his brother’s wife, as well as the other evil things Herod had done, and so Herod locked him in prison (see Mt. 14:3; Mk. 6:17-18).

Jesus may have been putting some distance between Himself and the Pharisees, Herod, or both. Regardless of the reason, we know that ultimately Jesus’ motivation for everything was obedience to the Father’s will. There would come a time when Jesus would be delivered to the religious and political leaders, but it was not yet His hour. So, Jesus headed to Galilee.

¨ Why did Jesus go through Samaria? John wrote that He “had to.” Based on our historical understanding of the Jews and their disdain for the Samaritans,  MAP it seems that the most common travel route from Jerusalem to Galilee was along the Jordan River, avoiding Samaria altogether. One might argue that Jesus couldn’t have gone that way because it would take him through Perea, where Herod may have been (Herod’s palace was likely in Machaerus). Whether or not Jesus was concerned about encountering Herod or the Pharisees, it was necessary for Him to go through Samaria. Perhaps there is no reason other than the divine appointment He was about to keep.

¨ Why did Jesus sit by the well? The immediate answer is that He was tired, but it was also that He intended to interact with this Samaritan woman.

¨ Where were the disciples during His discussion with the woman? Verse 8 says they had gone into the town to buy food.

¨ Why was the woman surprised that Jesus would ask her for a drink? She was a Samaritan, and she must have recognized Him as a Jew. There was great animosity between the two groups, dating back to the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

¨ According to verse 27, what other cultural taboo was violated as He spoke to her? It was not normal that a man would carry on a conversation with a woman who was a stranger.

¨ What did Jesus offer to the woman? He offered her living water rather than the water from the well.

¨ What did Jesus claim about the living water? He said that those who drank it would never thirst, and it would become a fountain that provides eternal life.

¨ How did she misunderstand His offer? She wanted to receive the water, but she was thinking in physical terms since she said she would not have to come to the well to draw water any longer.

Let’s take a moment to look at what Jesus meant by His imagery of water.

The imagery of living water was based in the Old Testament. Jeremiah spoke of the judgment of those who had forsaken God as “the fountain of living water” (Jer. 2:13, 17:13). Ezekiel and Zechariah looked forward to a time when living waters would flow from the temple and Jerusalem (Ezek. 47:9; Zech. 14:8). In the revelation to John, the river of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb, nourishing and sustaining the new Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1-5). Just as physical water is necessary to sustain physical life, Jesus is the source of eternal life.

¨ When Jesus changed the conversation to talking about the woman’s husband, how did she conclude that Jesus was a prophet? Jesus correctly identified the fact that she had been with five husbands prior to the man she was with now. He could not have known this on His own, so she discerned that He was a prophet.

¨ For whom was the woman waiting to come and reveal the truth? She was waiting for the Messiah (the Christ).

¨ Who did Jesus claim to be? He told her that He was the Messiah.

¨ Did she believe His claim? She must have believed Him, because she went to the city and told the people about Him.

¨ What did she claim about Jesus as she spoke to the people of her city? She claimed that He had told her all things about herself (an exaggeration) and that she thought He might be the Christ.

¨ Why did many of the Samaritans believe in Jesus? They believed the testimony of the woman.

¨ How did the Samaritans respond to hearing the message from the woman? They asked Jesus to stay, and they listened to Jesus directly (vs. 40-42).

¨ How did they respond once they heard the teaching directly from Jesus? Many more believed in Jesus as a result of hearing Him teach.

¨ Who did they acknowledge Jesus was? They acknowledged that He really was the Christ.

¨ What did they acknowledge about His role as the Christ? He was the Savior of the world.

¨ Take a moment to look back to verse 31. While the woman ran back to tell her town about Jesus, what did Jesus teach the disciples? Jesus again emphasized His purpose: to do the will of the Father. In fact, He likened His obedience to food, that which sustains and nourishes. He also introduced the imagery of the harvest, which we will see again. Here, He indicated that it is time for the harvest and that already there are those being gathered for eternal life. Based on the context, He may have been referring, at least , to the woman and the people of Sychar who believed in Him.

¨ How long did Jesus stay in Sychar? Two days (vs. 40, 43).

¨ Where did He go next? He continued on to Galilee.

Jesus often used analogies, imagery, and parables in His teaching. We will look more closely at parables in a future lesson, but it is interesting to see the differences in His strategies. Jesus used parables to explain spiritual truths to those whom “it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God” (Lk. 8:10), while hiding it from those who did not have eyes to see.  When speaking to Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman, Jesus did not speak in parables, but used analogies and imagery to impart truth. He explained salvation to Nicodemus as a spiritual birth. To the woman at the well, salvation was described in terms of living water.

Jesus knew each person to whom He was speaking and communicated in a way that would resonate with him or her. These people were different in many ways, but Jesus’ gospel is for all people. Nicodemus was a religious man, presumably moral, knowledgeable about the law, seeking truth, and a Jew. But he was missing saving faith in the Savior. The woman at the well was a Samaritan, apparently despised by even her own people, immoral, and largely uneducated about religious traditions. She did not seek out Jesus, but she needed Him. It is interesting that these are the first two encounters recorded for us (apart from the disciples). Jesus’ message was for everybody, regardless of cultural classification. Jesus offers eternal life to all who believe in Him (Jn. 3:16).

III. WHAT YOU’VE HEARD IN THE WORD

As Jesus began His ministry, He taught Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman about eternal life. Many of the Jews were waiting for a national hero, a king who would deliver them from the imperialism of Rome. But Jesus didn’t preach about physical salvation; He spoke of spiritual salvation. In the case of the Samaritan woman, Jesus used a metaphor she was familiar with.
She understood the mundane hopelessness of drawing water every day, knowing that she would have to return the next day. With every sacrifice, the Jews were reminded of their inability to atone for themselves. While the Samaritan woman may not have understood the depth of this truth, she understood that she was powerless to quench her thirst. Jesus used that understanding to point her toward the salvation that He offers.

Jesus’ offer of salvation and eternal life still stands today. Have you believed in Him as the Christ? He holds out the precious gift of salvation to you today.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Today we want to thank You for Your omniscience and providence. We ask You to give us hearts that desire to share the gospel of Christ with others. Most of all we praise You that Your saving gospel is available to everyone who simply believes in Your Son. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Invitation Hymn # 329: “The Savior Is Waiting” (2 vs.)

Benediction: Beloved, may you not forget God’s teaching, but keep His commands in mind; then you will live a long time, and your life will be successful. Amen. (Prov. 3:1-2)

JESUS TEACHES THE TEACHER

Selected Scriptures from the NASB

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JESUS TEACHES THE TEACHER

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that the blessed Holy Spirit would descend upon our congregation right now. May He enlighten our minds and open our hearts to Your truth. Fill us with Your love, so that we may love others as You have loved us. Grant us the courage to follow Your will, even when it is difficult or unpopular. We surrender ourselves to You, trusting that You will lead us along the path of righteousness. Thank You for being with us always; I pray that we will always live in obedience to Your purpose and will for our lives. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Introduction: For the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry on earth. Luke tells us that Jesus was about 30 when He began His ministry (Lk. 3:23). As the time came for Jesus to begin His three-year journey to the cross, He came to His cousin, John the Baptist, to be baptized. Immediately afterward, He spent 40 days in the wilderness and resisted the temptations of the devil. Both of these events emphasized His humanity, while revealing His deity.

¨ What happened in the first few days after Jesus returned from the wilderness? Although we can’t be certain about the specific amount of time that had passed, in the first record we have after His temptation, John the Baptist identified Him publicly as the Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29). Then in the next few days, Jesus called His first five disciples to follow Him (Jn. 1:35-51).

¨ What was Jesus’ first sign? He turned water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana.

¨ Who witnessed this miracle? Only the disciples and the servants who did His bidding.

Although this was His first miracle, it was not for the public. Rather, it was a manifestation of His glory for the sake of His disciples. After revealing Himself to them, they traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover. When He saw the corruption in the temple, He became angry and defended the honor of His Father by zealously cleansing the temple of the traders. In this way, He asserted His authority and began to teach publicly. It was this public teaching that led to the account we’re going to look at today.

We are going to begin by looking at a passage that contains what is arguably the most familiar verse in the Bible. Our goal today is to think about the mission of Jesus here on earth and how He fulfilled that mission.

I. NICODEMUS COMES TO JESUS (Jn. 3:1-21; 1 Pet. 1:3-5, 22-25; Ezek. 36:25-27)

We know Jesus had probably been teaching His disciples and He had apparently been giving signs in Jerusalem during that first Passover week, but we are going to look at the first teaching conversation that is recorded for us.

[READ Jn. 3:1-21]

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

¨ What type of literature are we reading? A historical narrative with dialogue.

¨ How is Nicodemus described in this passage? He was a member of the Pharisees and one of the rulers of the Jews. This refers to the Sanhedrin, the group of 71 elders who ruled over Jewish affairs. Nicodemus is also see in John 7:45-52, addressing this council.

¨ When did Nicodemus come to speak to Jesus? He came to Jesus at night. This was shortly after the first Passover described in John 2:13 and the first cleansing of the temple.

¨ What did Nicodemus affirm about Jesus, even at this early stage in His ministry? Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher sent from God.

¨ What did Nicodemus point to as an affirmation of Jesus’ teaching? He pointed to the signs Jesus had done as the affirmation that His teachings were from God.

¨ What signs was Nicodemus referring to? It is unlikely that Nicodemus knew about Jesus’ first miracle in Cana, and the Jewish leaders probably would not have been quick to accept His cleansing of the temple as a sign that He was from God. But if we look at John 2:23, we learn that Jesus did signs while He was in Jerusalem for the Passover. We don’t know what exactly these signs were, but people were believing in Him because of the signs, and it must have been enough to get the attention of the Jewish leaders.

¨ What did Jesus tell Nicodemus must happen before He could see the kingdom of God? He must be born again, or born from above.

¨ What did Nicodemus response indicate about his understanding of this claim? It seems he was confused as he related it to being physically born again.

¨ How did Jesus correct his misunderstanding? He changed the focus to a spiritual rebirth, not a physical rebirth. The new birth comes from the Spirit of God.

As it was for Nicodemus, this can be a difficult concept for the unbeliever. Let’s look at a few verses that flesh out this idea, but first ...

¨ There is one other passage where we see this same phrase, “born again.” Does anyone know where it is? The phrase is found in 1 Peter.

[READ 1 Pet. 1:3-5, 22-25]

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
22 Since you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brothers and sisters, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“All flesh is like grass,
And all its glory is like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
And the flower falls off,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” (Isa. 40:6-8)
And this is the word which was preached to you.

¨ How do these verses add to our understanding of the phrase? Peter relates the phrase to the resurrection of Christ. This new birth produces living hope, an imperishable inheritance, and a security. In verse 23, he clarifies His meaning by drawing a distinction between perishable and imperishable seed.

[READ Ezek. 36:25-27]

25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances.

¨ How does this instruct us as to the meaning of being born again? Here we see a transformation brought about by God. The people had hearts of stone, but they were softened as the Holy Spirit was placed within them. Their dead hearts were made alive.

Titus 3:5 speaks of “the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” John records another time when Jesus claimed, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life” (Jn. 6:63). Paul explained that we “were dead in offenses and sins,” that we committed, but God “made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:1,5). There are many other verses we could turn to, but it is clear what Jesus was teaching. Life in the flesh is death; only in Christ are we truly alive, born again of the imperishable seed, given a new heart, and adopted as children of God. So to be born again is to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit unto salvation. Now, let’s finish looking at the discourse in John 3.

¨ Why did Jesus use the plural pronoun “we” in verse 11? He was reflecting the plural “we” (that Nicodemus used in verse 2), referring to Himself and God. Nicodemus had already acknowledged the connection between the two.

¨ What did Jesus contrast in verse 12? He contrasted the understanding of earthly things with the understanding of heavenly things.

¨ What title did Jesus identify with in verse 13? The Son of Man.

¨ What did He say must happen to the Son of Man? The Son of Man must be lifted up, as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness.

¨ What event was Jesus referring to with Moses and the serpent? He was referring to the account in Numbers 21:8-9, where God had sent venomous serpents to bite the Israelites, and those who looked up to the bronze serpent on the pole were healed. Those who did not look up died.

¨ What is this “lifted up” foreshadowing? This is a foreshadowing of the crucifixion where Christ would be lifted up on the cross.

¨ What will happen to those who believe in the Son of Man? They will have eternal life.

¨ What will happen to those who do not believe in the Son of Man? They will perish.

¨ For what purpose did God send His Son into the world? Not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.

¨ Why was it not necessary for Jesus to condemn anyone? Those who are not looking to Jesus in belief are already condemned because they have already sinned. They avoid the light, which would expose their sinfulness.

¨ What word was repeated seven times in this passage? Believe.

¨ What prompted God the Father to send His Son? His love for the people of the world.

Remember that a very important principle of interpreting Scripture is to allow it to interpret itself. Of course, there are other passages that tell us about Jesus’ mission, but all of them point to the same basic truth -- Jesus came to save sinners, giving eternal life to all those who repent of their sins and believe in Him.

Understanding what Jesus has done for us should fill us with gratitude for God’s love toward us that even when we were sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus knew that He had come to live of life of obedience to the Father and call people to repent and trust in Him. He did all of this knowing that there were those who would still be condemned because they loved their sin more than the Savior. They run from His light so that their evil deeds are not exposed. The light described in John 1:9-11, connects to the light that exposes sin in John 3. The perfect, obedient life of Jesus gives a standard of perfect obedience that shines a bright light on our sinfulness. At times, we may try to stay in the dark so that we are not exposed to the light where we are compared to Jesus.

But you know something? That was every one of us before being saved through believing in Christ by faith. So, we need to be careful not to write off those who are still in darkness but to shine a light on their sin and point them to the light -- the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

II. JESUS’ MISSION (Jn. 6:38-40; 17:1-5; Phil. 2:5-11)

Let’s take just a few minutes to look closer at another aspect of Jesus’ mission.

[READ Jn. 6:38-40]

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

¨ Who is speaking in these verses? Jesus is speaking. This is part of His Bread of Life discourse.

Jesus did a lot of teaching in this sermon, but we are going to focus on these few verses, where He was speaking directly about His purpose.

¨ Why did Jesus come to earth? To do the will of His Father.

¨ What is the will of the Father? That everyone who believes in the Son will have eternal life.

[READ Jn. 17:1-5]

1 Jesus spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, 2 just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.

¨ What is the context of these verses? Jesus is praying. This is at the end of His ministry, just before His arrest.

¨ Why did Jesus ask to be glorified? He only asked to be glorified so that the Father would be glorified.

¨ How would glorifying Jesus glorify God? The Father is the One who sent Jesus, whom Jesus was obedient to. The Father gave Him authority to give eternal life. For God to be glorified, His redemptive plan had to succeed. So, for the plan to succeed, Jesus must be glorified.

We see this glory clearly in the next set of verses.

[READ Phil. 2:5-11]

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow (Isa. 45:23), of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¨ How is Jesus characterized in this passage? Jesus is seen as divine, humble, and obedient.

¨ Notice the movement in this passage. Where did Jesus start? At first, He was in the form of God. This Greek word (morphe) used here for form emphasizes the nature or character of something. In other words, Paul was explaining that Jesus was by nature God. This means He possessed glory, honor and power.

¨ How did Jesus’ position change? In His humility, He willingly set aside His rightful glory to become a servant, born in the likeness of men.

¨ This is incredible enough. I bet none of us would willingly set aside divine privileges to come live as a common man. But Jesus took it even further than that. What was His ultimate act of humility and obedience? He willingly subjected Himself to a brutal death on a cross. He chose to die, obediently fulfilling the Father’s redemptive plan.

¨ Thankfully, that was not the end. What happened next? Because Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, the Father exalted Him, bestowing on Him all glory and honor, so that all would worship Him.

¨ What is the final result of this entire progression (the humility and glorification of Jesus)? It is all to the glory of God. We can see Jesus’ intent in John 8:54, when He claimed, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me.” By humbling Himself and allowing the Father to exalt Him, Jesus brings glory to the Father.

¨ This passage in Philippians is often used to talk about the nature of Christ and His purpose on earth. We’ve just seen that briefly. But take one more look at the beginning of this passage.  What is significant about verse 5? This passage begins with an imperative. Paul was calling believers to imitate Christ. Remember the importance of context. In verses 1-5, Paul was exhorting the saints in Philippi to be unified in the love of Christ, selflessly and humbly ministering to others. Then he instructed them to have the mind of Christ, which is characterized by humility, obedience, and an interest in bringing glory to God.

As we think about the passages we’ve looked at today, we can see a clear connection between the reason Jesus came to earth and bringing glory to God in the process. Jesus came to offer eternal life to sinners and to glorify the Father while He was on the earth. He finished the work that the Father had sent Him to do. This work was accomplished in the active obedience of keeping the law and perfectly obeying the Father, as well as His passive obedience of enduring the Father’s wrath on the cross. He was obedient to the point of death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). The Father was glorified and was pleased to glorify the Son as a result of completing His work.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to have that same mind. Just as Jesus humbled Himself in obedience to the Father, so should we. Jesus did not seek His own glory, but the glory of the Father. Jesus brought glory to the Father by accomplishing His redemptive purpose. So, how do we bring glory to God? We will be answering this question in detail on Wednesday.

III. WHAT YOU’VE HEARD IN THE WORD

As followers of Jesus, our chief aim should be to bring glory to God, just as Christ did. God has created us for His glory, not our own. We often get caught up in trying to promote our own glory rather than God’s glory. That’s not behaving as Christ did. Jesus walked in perfect obedience to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. He taught His disciples to do the same, and He calls us to follow in that pattern.

The Father did not send the Son into the world to eliminate poverty or cure every disease in every person on the planet. He sent the Son to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10). Jesus completed His work, and we are the blessed beneficiaries of His work -- both His active obedience in keeping the law and His bearing the wrath of the Father on the cross. Knowing that we gain all of His righteousness as He bears all of our sin, should cause us to rise up and glorify Him in every way that we can.

This is a high calling and one that we will not perfectly fulfill this side of heaven. But when we fail to glorify God in all we do, we know that we have an advocate with the Father -- the One who has glorified the Father in all things. We can turn to God in repentance from those failures, knowing that He has forgiven us in Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can grow to be more and more like Jesus in order that the glory of God may shine from our faces as it does from Christ’s. We are broken image bearers, yet we are redeemed image bearers.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace shown in the face of Jesus. Please give us a greater understanding of what it means to glorify You. Most of all we praise You for sending Jesus into this world to accomplish the work You had for Him to do and fulfilling Your great plan of redemption that made us Your children. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Invitation Hymn 66: “To God Be the Glory” (3 vs.)

Benediction: Beloved, may may you be strengthened by the truth that God is the Lord who heals you. Amen. (Ex. 15:26)

JESUS TEACHES THE TEACHER - Study Guide

JESUS TEACHES THE TEACHER
Answers (Lesson 121) - March 24, 2024 - Rev. Alan Cousins

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Introduction: Today, we’ll begin by looking at a passage that contains what is arguably the most familiar verse in the Bible. Our focus is to think about Jesus’ mission here on earth and how He fulfilled it.

I. NICODEMUS COMES TO JESUS (Jn. 3:1-21; 1 Pet. 1:3-5, 22-25; Ezek. 36:25-27)

John 3:1-21

The passage is a historical narrative with dialogue. Nicodemus was a member of the Pharisees and one of the rulers of the Jews. This refers to the Sanhedrin, the group of 71 elders who ruled over Jewish affairs. Nicodemus is also see in John 7:45-52, addressing this council. He came to Jesus at night. This was shortly after the first Passover described in John 2:13 and the first cleansing of the temple. Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher sent from God. He pointed to the signs Jesus had done as the affirmation that His teachings were from God. It is unlikely that Nicodemus knew about Jesus’ first miracle in Cana, and the Jewish leaders probably would not have been quick to accept His cleansing of the temple as a sign that He was from God. But if we look at John 2:23, we learn that Jesus did signs while He was in Jerusalem for the Passover. We don’t know what exactly these signs were, but people were believing in Him because of the signs, and it must have been enough to get the attention of the Jewish leaders.

Jesus explained to Nicodemus that before He could see the kingdom of God he must be born again, or born from above. It seems Nicodemus was confused by Jesus statement, as he related it to being physically born again. Jesus corrected Nicodemus’ misunderstanding by changing the focus to a spiritual rebirth, not a physical rebirth. The new birth comes from the Spirit of God.
1 Peter 1:3-5, 22-25

Peter relates the phrase “born again” to the resurrection of Christ. This new birth produces living hope, an imperishable inheritance, and a security. In verse 23, he clarifies His meaning by drawing a distinction between perishable and imperishable seed.

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Here we see the meaning of “born again” as a transformation brought about by God. The people had hearts of stone, but they were softened as the Holy Spirit was placed within them. Their dead hearts were made alive. Titus 3:5 speaks of “the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” John records a time when Jesus claimed, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life” (Jn. 6:63). Paul explained that we “were dead in offenses and sins,” that we committed, but God “made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:1,5).

Clearly, Jesus was teaching that life in the flesh is death; only in Christ are we truly alive, born again of the imperishable seed, given a new heart, and adopted as children of God. So, to be born again is to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit unto salvation.

Jesus used the plural pronoun “we” in verse 11, because He was reflecting the plural “we” (that Nicodemus used in verse 2), referring to Himself and God. Nicodemus had already acknowledged the connection between the two. In verse 12, Jesus contrasted the understanding of earthly things with the understanding of heavenly things.

According to verse 13, Jesus identified Himself as the Son of Man. He said that the Son of Man must be lifted up, as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness. Jesus’ analogy referred to the account in Numbers 21:8-9, where God had sent venomous serpents to bite the Israelites. Those who looked up to the bronze serpent on the pole were healed. Those who did not look up died. The phrase “lifted up” foreshadows the crucifixion where Christ would be lifted up on the cross. Those who believe in the Son of Man will have eternal life, those who do not believe will perish.

Yet, God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. In fact, it is not necessary for Jesus to condemn anyone. Those who are not looking to Jesus in belief are already condemned because they have already sinned. They avoid the light, which would expose their sinfulness. Also note that the word “believe” is repeated seven times in this passage. The love of God the Father for the people of the world prompted Him to send His Son.

From the early interactions in His ministry, it is clear that Jesus knew what His mission was. Based on this passage, we can define the mission of Jesus this way: Jesus came into the world so that the world might be saved through Him (Jn. 3:17). There are other passages that tell us about Jesus’ mission, but all of them point to the same basic truth -- Jesus came to save sinners, giving eternal life to all those who repent of their sins and believe in Him.

Understanding what Jesus has done for us should fill us with gratitude for God’s love toward us that even when we were sinners, Christ died for us.

II. JESUS’ MISSION (Jn. 6:38-40; 17:1-5; Phil. 2:5-11)

Let’s take just a few minutes to look closer at another aspect of Jesus’ mission.

John 6:38-40

Jesus is the One speaking in these verses. This is part of His Bread of Life discourse. Jesus did a lot of teaching in this sermon, but we are going to focus on these few verses, where He was speaking directly about His purpose. Here we learn that Jesus came into the world to do the will of His Father. The will of the Father is that everyone who believes in the Son will have eternal life.

John 17:1-5

The context of these verses lets us know that Jesus is praying. This is near the end of His ministry, just before His arrest. Jesus only asked to be glorified so that the Father would be glorified. The Father is the One who sent Jesus, whom Jesus was obedient to. The Father gave Him authority to give eternal life. For God to be glorified, His redemptive plan had to succeed. So, for the plan to succeed, Jesus had to be glorified. We see this glory clearly in the next set of verses.

Philippians 2:5-11

In this passage, Jesus is seen as divine, humble, and obedient. It is important to notice the movement in this passage. At first, Jesus was in the form of God. This Greek word (morphe) used here for “form” emphasizes the nature or character of something. In other words, Paul was explaining that Jesus was by nature God. This means He possessed glory, honor and power. Then, Jesus’ position changed. In His humility, He willingly set aside His rightful glory to become a servant, born in the likeness of men. This is incredible! I bet none of us would willingly set aside divine privileges to come live as a common man. But Jesus took it even further than that. He willingly subjected Himself to a brutal death on a cross. He chose to die, obediently fulfilling the Father’s redemptive plan. Thankfully, that was not the end. Because Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, the Father exalted Him, bestowing on Him all glory and honor, so that all would worship Him. The final result of this entire progression (the humility and glorification of Jesus) is all to the glory of God. We can see Jesus’ intent in John 8:54, when He claimed, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me.” By humbling Himself and allowing the Father to exalt Him, Jesus brings glory to the Father.

This passage in Philippians is often used to talk about the nature of Christ and His purpose on earth, which we’ve just seen. But take one more look at the beginning of this passage in verse 5. This passage begins with an imperative. Paul was calling believers to imitate Christ. Remember the importance of context. In verses 1-5, Paul was exhorting the saints in Philippi to be unified in the love of Christ, selflessly and humbly ministering to others. Then he instructed them to have the mind of Christ, which is characterized by humility, obedience, and an interest in bringing glory to God.

As we think about the passages we’ve looked at today, we can see a clear connection between the reason Jesus came to earth and bringing glory to God in the process.

* Jesus came to offer eternal life to sinners and to glorify the Father while He was on the earth.

* He finished the work that the Father had sent Him to do.

* This work was accomplished in the active obedience of keeping the law and perfectly obeying the Father, as well as His passive obedience of enduring the Father’s wrath on the cross (Phil. 2:8).

* The Father was glorified and was pleased to glorify the Son as a result of completing the work.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to have that same mind. Just as Jesus humbled Himself in obedience to the Father, so should we.

III. WHAT YOU’VE HEARD FROM THE WORD

Our chief aim should be to bring glory to God, just as Christ did.

The Father did not send the Son into the world to eliminate poverty or cure every disease in every person on the planet. He sent the Son to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10).

We are the blessed beneficiaries of Jesus’ finished work.

Knowing that we gain all of Christ’s righteousness as He bears all of our sin, should cause us to rise up and glorify Him in every way that we can.

JESUS’ FIRST SIGNS & WONDERS

Selected Scriptures from the NASB

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JESUS’ FIRST SIGNS AND WONDERS

JESUS’ FIRST SIGNS & WONDERS

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to be our Savior and for dying for us on the cross paying the price to redeem us from our sins. Thank You for giving us Your Holy Word that so beautifully opens up Your plan of redemption for mankind. I also thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to live in us, leading and guiding us into Your truth. I pray Lord, that You would give each of us a deeper understanding of Your Word, Your plan for Israel, and Your plan for the Church. I pray that as we read and study our Scripture lesson for today, that our hearts will be flooded with Your light, enabling us to understand all that You would teach us. Then, may our understanding of Your Word cause us to live in ways that honor You, and draw us closer to You with each passing day. Father, open the eyes of our hearts as we read, study and meditate on Your Word, so that we may see You more clearly and love You more dearly. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Introduction: We’ve been talking for the last few weeks about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. One of the significant things we’ve noticed is how He identified with mankind.

¨ Can you think of a way Jesus identified with mankind? He came to be baptized as a man, even though He had no sin to repent of. He was tempted like man, but without sin. He took on flesh, being born of a woman.

¨ Why is it significant that Jesus was human and identified in every way with mankind? He had to be like us so that He could serve as our High Priest, becoming our Propitiation and Mediator.

We also saw how Jesus was God and identified with God. God the Father identified Jesus as His Son at His baptism. Only in the power of the Holy Spirit could Jesus resist the temptations of the devil. We also saw Him display divine attributes, like omniscience, as He called His disciples. In these first few acts, Jesus clearly displayed His relationship with mankind and with God.

¨ In what ways have we seen Jesus’ mission confirmed? God revealed that He was pleased with Jesus, confirming His obedience to God’s plan of redemption. We also see confirmation in the testimony of John, who did not feel worthy to baptize the Son of God and who declared publicly that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away sins (Jn. 1:29). Additionally, the first disciples identified Him as the Messiah.

Last week, we jumped ahead a little as we saw Jesus call some of the disciples. Today, we will step back to the chronology as it is presented in the first chapters of John.

I. JESUS’ FIRST SIGN (Jn. 2:1-12)

Last week we read about Jesus’ interaction with Nathanael, which is recorded at the end of chapter 1 of John’s Gospel. Today, let’s pick up in chapter 2.

[READ Jn. 2:1-12]

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “What business do you have with Me, woman? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He tells you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone waterpots standing there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” And they took it to him. 9 Now when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the groom, 10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the guests are drunk, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother, and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

¨ When did this event take place? On the third day. This is most likely referring to the last event mentioned, which was the calling of Nathanael. So this was a few days after Jesus had called the first five disciples to follow Him. If we scan back through John 1, it seems that it had been about a week since John first testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God (after He returned from the wilderness). That puts this event about 50 days after the baptism of Jesus.

¨ Where did this event take place? The wedding was in Galilee, at Cana. We know Jesus was in Galilee three days earlier (Jn. 1:43-44).

¨ Who went to the wedding with Jesus? Jesus’ mother was at the wedding. Also, Jesus was invited with His disciples. This would have included the first five. Matthew had not yet been called at this time. The calling of the fishermen at the Sea of Galilee had not yet occurred.

¨ Who were the disciples with Jesus? John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael. This may explain why this event is not recorded in the synoptic Gospels. If the account occurred before Mathew began following Jesus, then John would have been the only Gospel writer present to witness the event.

¨ Why was Mary concerned about the lack of wine? In that culture, it was the responsibility of the bridegroom to provide wine for the festivities. To run out of wine would have been a great embarrassment. It is possible that this wedding was for family or close friends of Mary and Jesus. Perhaps, Mary was helping serve and so was aware of the shortage of wine.

¨ How did Jesus respond? Jesus’ response might seem harsh or abrupt to us, but He was not being disrespectful. Rather, He was making a point. Jesus meant to emphasize the fact that He was here to accomplish His heavenly Father’s plan in His Father’s time, not submit to His earthly mother. He was not walking around flashing His divine power whenever He felt like it. Every miracle He did and every word He spoke was done in accordance with the Father’s will.

¨ So, did Jesus decline to help? Obviously, His statement was not intended to suggest He would not help, because He did. His mother apparently did not take it as a refusal, because she instructed the servants to do whatever He told them to do.

¨ What did Jesus have the servants do? He had them fill six stone jars with water.

¨ What is significant about the jars? John tells us that these were stone purification jars.

The Jews were serious about their ritual washings. Originally, God instituted ceremonial washing as a part of the Levitical law, but the Pharisees had developed an oral tradition that required extensive cleaning rituals in addition to those written in the law. Mark 7:3-4 lists a few of the required traditions. These jars were large, holding twenty or thirty gallons each. So, the servants filled them to the brim with between 120 and 180 gallons of water.

¨ When did the water turn to wine? We are not actually told when or exactly how the miracle happened. We are not told that the water had become wine until the master of the feast tasted it. It could have been turned to wine in the serving pitchers after it was drawn from the jars, or as the master of the feast drank it.

¨ What did the master of the feast find surprising when he tasted the new wine? He thought it tasted better than the first wine, which was contrary to custom. Usually the good wine was brought out first. This serves as a confirmation that the drink was indeed wine, even better than the rest.

¨ What was significant about this event? This was the first miracle, or sign, that Jesus did. Through this act He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

¨ Where did Jesus and the disciples go afterward? They went to Capernaum (still in Galilee) and stayed there a few days.

This is the first recorded event where Jesus actively performed a miracle. John refers to it as a sign. We have seen other signs: the angelic announcements, the Bethlehem star, the descending of the Holy Spirit like a dove at the baptism of Jesus. But these signs were given by others. This event at Cana is the first sign performed by Jesus Himself as a manifestation of His glory.

Interestingly, John uses the word “sign” (semeion in Greek) throughout his Gospel to describe the miracles of Jesus, indicating that they served a purpose. The synoptic Gospels tend to use “power” (dunamis) emphasizing the mighty works of Jesus.

Throughout this interaction, we see Jesus clearly distinguish Himself from ordinary humanity. Although He has just completed several human activities (i.e., baptism and temptation), He is clearly no ordinary human. He demonstrated His deity by turning water into wine. This was a supernatural act, impossible to explain by any naturalistic means. He also set Himself apart as One on a mission, obedient only to the Father’s plan.

II. JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE (Jn. 2:13-22; Mt. 21:12-17)

We can’t be sure how much time passed before the next event John records for us, but we would expect that it wasn’t long.

[READ Jn. 2:13-22]
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And within the temple grounds He found those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 And He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; 16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away from here; stop making My Father’s house a place of business!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written: “Zeal for Your house will consume me” (Ps. 69:9) 18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

¨ When did this event take place? This event occurs at the time of the Passover.

¨ What other event in the life of Jesus can you think of that happened at Passover? Jesus was crucified at Passover.

Interestingly, Passover becomes a time marker for Jesus’ life. Many people point to this event, this first Passover, as the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Up until this point, He had been preparing for His ministry, but He had not revealed Himself except to His disciples.  So in one way, Passover marks both the beginning and the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As we walk through the life of Jesus, keep an eye out for references to Passover. This will help us with pacing the events through these last three years of Jesus’ life on earth.

¨ Where did this event take place? This event took place in Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover, as was customary for the Jews. Specifically, this event occurs in the temple in Jerusalem.

¨ What did Jesus find at the temple? He found people selling oxen, sheep, and pigeons, as well as those changing money.

¨ Why would there have been oxen, sheep, and pigeons sold in the temple? These animals were used for the sacrifices offered at the temple. As travelers came to Jerusalem for the Passover, they could buy the animals there for the sacrifices.

¨ Why was there money being exchanged in the temple? There was a tax paid by the Jews for the service of the temple as described in Exodus 30:11-16. The exchange was likely related to the paying of this half-shekel tax as people came to Jerusalem for the Passover observance.

¨ How did Jesus respond to what He found? John describes Jesus’ actions in cleansing the temple as decisive and forceful. His was not a passive disapproval. Although some teach that Jesus angrily ransacked the temple, it is more accurate to say He responded zealously. He overturned the tables, poured out their money bags, and drove out the animals and the merchants. While He was angry at the improper use of the temple, His actions were not outbursts of anger as we are prone to, but rather controlled and purposeful actions taken in pursuit of purifying the house of worship and bringing God glory. We will look at righteous indignation in more detail on Wednesday.

¨ What did Jesus communicate about His authority by His comments and actions? He was claiming authority to remove people from the temple by referring to God as His Father and the temple as His Father’s house.

¨ Who should have been controlling what was happening in the temple? The priests and Levites should have been ensuring the proper use of the temple area.

¨ How did the Jewish leaders respond? Since Jesus was making a claim of authority and identifying Himself as the Son of God, the Jews wanted Him to provide a sign to authenticate His claims. This was common of the prophets throughout the time prior to Jesus and continued with the apostles.

¨ Did Jesus give them a sign? Not at that moment. Instead, Jesus pointed to the ultimate sign -- His resurrection. This is a recurring theme throughout the life of Jesus. The Jewish leaders continually demanded a sign, and yet they never acknowledged the signs that He gave, including His resurrection from the dead.

The Jewish leaders didn’t understand Jesus’ statement. The temple they were standing in had taken an enormous amount of time, labor and material to build. Herod began rebuilding the temple in about 17 BC after it had fallen into disrepair from the rebuilding in Zerubbabel’s day. That would have been about 46 years before. Apparently, the disciples didn’t understand the comment either. John indicated that it wasn’t until after Jesus rose from the dead that the disciples remembered this statement and believed.

Jesus demonstrated a zeal for the honor of His Father’s house. He came to a place that was dedicated to the worship of God -- a form of worship that was clearly prescribed by God -- and found it being defiled and misused. The Jewish leaders had consented to the abuse of God’s holy temple, and it angered Jesus when He saw the abuses. While the people bought and sold in the temple, presumably making a profit from the sales and from exchanging the money, they were defaming God and blaspheming His character. A place and act of holy worship had become an occasion to make a profit.

¨ What attributes of God was Jesus demonstrating as He drove the people and animals from the temple with whip in His hand? Holiness -- Jesus was zealous for God’s glory that was tarnished by the sins in the temple. Justice -- Jesus recognized the sin and sought to judge the sin. God’s wrath toward sin is an appropriate response that is consistent with His justice and holiness.

This is the first of two similar accounts in the life of Jesus. The synoptic Gospels describe another time that Jesus cleansed the temple. Let’s turn to Matthew 21. Some people believe this was the same event, so let’s look at the text to see if we can decide if these are two different events or parallel accounts of the same event.

[READ Mt. 21:12-17]
12 And Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.” (Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11)
14 And those who were blind and those who limped came to Him in the temple area, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, 16 and they said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” (Ps. 8:2) 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

¨ What is described in verse 12? Entering the temple, Jesus drove out the people buying and selling, and He overturned tables.

¨ What event is described in the verses just before this? The triumphal entry of Jesus in Jerusalem a week before His trial and crucifixion.

¨ How can you tell whether the cleansing described in verse 12 is before or after the triumphal entry? The “And” connects verse 12 to the preceding passage. The entire passage is characterized by phrases indicating passage of time: “And those who were blind and those who limped came to Him,” “And He left them and went out,” “In the early morning, when He was returning to the city,” etc. This event is clearly placed in a sequence of events after the triumphal entry.

¨ Was John the Baptist alive at the time of the crucifixion? No, he had been killed by Herod Antipas about a year earlier.

These facts place this temple cleansing in the synoptic Gospels about three years after the cleansing of the temple described in John 2. They are two different events, so be careful to distinguish the two. The accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke are parallel accounts.

Jesus began His ministry as He would end it, zealous for the glory of His Father. And yet, even as He cleansed the temple and redirected the focus of the people’s worship, Jesus spoke of deeper truths. The Jews knew the temple to be the dwelling place of God. But Jesus spoke of His body as the temple, the dwelling place of God (see Col. 2:9). He also spoke of His crucifixion and resurrection, which would nullify the temple’s purpose as the place where God dwelt and atonement was made.

III. WHAT YOU’VE HEARD IN THE WORD

Today we’ve looked at two accounts that give us very different pictures of Jesus. In Cana, we see His divine power to turn water into wine. He manifested His glory through this gracious act of creation, reflecting His divinity. He also emphasized His submission and obedience to the will of the Father. Then, in the next account, we see His righteous anger and divine authority as He zealously cleansed the temple. As Mary brought the shortage of wine to His attention, Jesus pointed out that it was not yet His hour. When He cleansed the temple, He referred to it as His Father’s house. When asked by the Jews about a sign, Jesus pointed to His crucifixion and resurrection. It is clear that Jesus was on mission, focused on His purpose in God’s redemptive plan. In both cases, He was driven to bring glory and honor to the Father and to obey His will.

We may not glorify God by performing miracles, but we can look to Jesus as an example of how to bring glory to God through our anger. Anger is a God-given emotion that reflects part of His character, but we must take care to direct it to the right ends -- the promotion of God’s glory and the defense of His holy name and character. Our anger toward the sin we see around, us, and inside of us, does not promote righteousness unless it is truly directed by the Holy Spirit to glorify God. We can make that our prayer as we consider what we’ve learned today, asking God’s Spirit to guide us into a hatred of sin that calls people to repent and look to Christ, glorifying the Father. We can seek to imitate Jesus by honoring God in all we think, say, and do.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, how we praise You for Your omnipotence, holiness, and justice. Thank You for Jesus who came as the perfect example to display Your justice and mercy to us. We ask You to help us abhor sin as much as You do, and in a way that always honors You. Please accept our praise and thanksgiving in Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Invitation Hymn 410: “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” (4 vs.)

Benediction: Beloved, may God be your refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore may you not fear,
though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Amen. (Ps. 46:1-3)

JESUS’ FIRST SIGNS AND WONDERS - Study Guide

JESUS’ FIRST SIGNS & WONDERS
Answers (Lesson 120) - March 17, 2024 - Rev. Alan Cousins

Text: Selected Scriptures from the NASB

Introduction: Last week, we jumped ahead a little as we saw Jesus call some of the disciples. Today, we will step back to the chronology as it is presented in the first chapters of John.

I. JESUS’ FIRST SIGN (Jn. 2:1-12)

Last week we read about Jesus’ interaction with Nathanael, which is recorded at the end of chapter 1 of John’s Gospel. Today, let’s pick up in chapter 2.

John 2:1-12

We read that this event took place on the third day. This is most likely referring to the last event mentioned, which was the calling of Nathanael. So this was a few days after Jesus had called the first five disciples to follow Him. If we scan back through John 1, it seems that it had been about a week since John first testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God (after He returned from the wilderness). That puts this event about 50 days after the baptism of Jesus.

The wedding was in Galilee, at Cana. We know Jesus was in Galilee three days earlier (Jn. 1:43-44). Jesus’ mother was at the wedding, and Jesus and His disciples were invited to attend. This would have included the first five. Matthew had not yet been called, and the calling of the fishermen at the Sea of Galilee had not yet occurred. This means that John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael were probably the only ones with Jesus. This may explain why this event is not recorded in the synoptic Gospels. If the account occurred before Mathew began following Jesus, then John would have been the only Gospel writer present to witness the event.

Mary was concerned about the lack of wine, because in that culture, it was the responsibility of the bridegroom to provide the wine for the festivities. To run out of wine would have been a great embarrassment. It is possible that this wedding was for family or close friends of Mary and Jesus; or, perhaps, Mary was helping serve and so became aware of the wine shortage. Jesus’ response to His mother might seem harsh or abrupt to us, but He was not being disrespectful. Rather, He was making a point. Jesus meant to emphasize the fact that He was here to accomplish His heavenly Father’s plan in His Father’s time, not to submit to His earthly mother. He was not walking around flashing His divine power whenever He felt like it. Every miracle He did and every word He spoke was done in accordance with the Father’s will. Obviously, Jesus’ statement was not intended to suggest He would not help, because He did. Mary apparently did not take it as a refusal, because she instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do.

We are not told exactly when or how the miracle happened. We are not told that the water had become wine until the master of the feast tasted it. It could have been turned to wine in the serving pitchers after it was drawn from the water jars, or as the master of the feast drank it. The master of the feast thought it tasted better than the first wine that was served, which was contrary to custom. Usually the good wine was brought out first. This serves as a confirmation that the drink was indeed wine, even better than the rest.

This was the first miracle, or sign, that Jesus did. Through this act He manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. After the wedding, they went to Capernaum and stayed there a few days.

This is the first recorded event where Jesus actively performed a miracle. Turning the water into wine is the first sign performed by Jesus Himself as a manifestation of His glory. Interestingly, John uses the word “sign” (semeion in Greek) throughout his Gospel to describe the miracles of Jesus, indicating that they served a purpose. The synoptic Gospels tend to use “power” (dunamis) emphasizing the mighty works of Jesus.

Throughout this interaction, we see Jesus clearly distinguish Himself from ordinary humanity. He demonstrated His deity by turning water into wine. This was a supernatural act, impossible to explain by any naturalistic means. He also set Himself apart as One on a mission, obedient only to the Father’s plan.

II. JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE (Jn. 2:13-22; Mt. 21:12-17)

We can’t be sure how much time passed before the next event John records for us, but we would expect that it wasn’t long.

John 2:13-22

This event occurs at the time of the Passover. In a way, Passover marks both the beginning and the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As we walk through the life of Jesus, keep an eye out for references to Passover. This will help us with pacing the events through these last three years of Jesus’ life on earth.

This event took place in Jerusalem, specifically at the Temple. Jesus and His disciples had traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover, as was customary for the Jews. When He arrived at the Temple, Jesus found people selling oxen, sheep, and pigeons, as well as those changing money. The animals were used for the sacrifices offered at the Temple. As travelers came to Jerusalem for the Passover, they could buy the animals though some times diseased and at exorbitant prices. The money exchange was for converting ordinary money into the “shekel of the sanctuary” for a tax paid by the Jews for the service of the temple as described in Exodus 30:11-16. The main problem with this were the high exchange rates that were being charged and taking advantage of the worshipers.

John describes Jesus’ actions in cleansing the temple as decisive and forceful. It was not simply a passive disapproval. Although some teach that Jesus angrily ransacked the temple, it is more accurate to say He responded zealously. He overturned the tables, poured out their money bags, and drove out the animals and the merchants. While He was angry at the improper use of the temple, His actions were not outbursts of anger as we are prone to, but rather controlled and purposeful actions taken in pursuit of purifying the house of worship and bringing God glory. We will look at the subject of righteous indignation in more detail on Wednesday. By His actions, Jesus was claiming authority to remove people from the temple by referring to God as His Father and the temple as His Father’s house.

The priests and Levites should have been ensuring the proper use of the temple area, but failed to do so and were making a handsome profit on the side. Since Jesus was making a claim of authority and identifying Himself as the Son of God, the Jewish religious leaders wanted Him to provide a sign to authenticate His claims. This was common of the prophets throughout the time prior to Jesus and continued with the
apostles.

However, Jesus did not give them a sign at that moment. Instead, He pointed to the ultimate sign -- His resurrection. This is a recurring theme throughout the life of Jesus. The Jewish leaders continually demanded a sign, and yet they never acknowledged the signs that He gave, including His resurrection from the dead. The Jewish leaders didn’t understand Jesus’ statement, and apparently the disciples didn’t understand His comment either. John indicated that it wasn’t until after Jesus rose from the dead that the disciples remembered this statement and believed.

Jesus demonstrated a zeal for the honor of His Father’s house. While the people bought and sold in the temple, they were defaming God and blaspheming His character. With whip in hand, Jesus demonstrated some of the character traits of God. These include His Holiness -- Jesus was zealous for God’s glory that was tarnished by the sins in the temple. His Justice -- Jesus recognized the sin and sought to judge the sin. God’s wrath toward sin is an appropriate response that is consistent with His justice and holiness.

This is the first of two similar accounts in the life of Jesus. The synoptic Gospels describe another time that Jesus cleansed the temple. Some people believe this was the same event, so let’s look at the text to see if we can decide if these are two different events or parallel accounts of the same event.

Matthew 21:12-17

Upon entering the Temple on this occasion, Jesus drove out the people buying and selling, and overturned their tables. We are told that Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a week before His trial and crucifixion, had just taken place before He cleansed the Temple this time.

In verse 12, the “and” connects it to the preceding passage. The entire passage is characterized by phrases indicating passage of time: “And those who were blind and those who limped came to Him,” “And He left them and went out,” “In the early morning, when He was returning to the city,” etc. This event is clearly placed in a sequence of events after the triumphal entry. Also, John the Baptist had been killed by Herod Antipas about a year earlier. These facts place this temple cleansing in the synoptic Gospels about three years after the cleansing of the temple described in John 2. They are two different events, so be careful to distinguish the two.

As He cleansed the temple and redirected the focus of the people’s worship, Jesus spoke of deeper truths. The Jews knew the temple to be the dwelling place of God. But Jesus spoke of His body as the temple, the dwelling place of God (see Col. 2:9). He also spoke of His crucifixion and resurrection, which would nullify the temple’s purpose as the place where God dwelt and atonement was made.

III. WHAT YOU’VE HEARD FROM THE WORD

In Cana, we see Jesus’ divine power to turn water into wine. He manifested His glory through this gracious act of creation, reflecting His divinity. He also emphasized His submission and obedience to the will of the Father. Then, in the next account, we see His righteous anger and divine authority as He zealously cleansed the temple. It is clear that Jesus was on mission, focused on His purpose in God’s redemptive plan. In both cases, He was driven to bring glory and honor to the Father.

Anger is a God-given emotion that reflects part of His character, but we must take care to direct it to the right ends -- the promotion of God’s glory and the defense of His holy name and character.