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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024043S
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00:00 [uplifting music]
00:12 [uplifting music] 00:15 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We're glad that you have joined us this week. 00:20 We are looking at lesson number 4 00:22 in our study of the themes in the book of John. 00:25 Lesson number 4 is 00:26 "Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah." 00:30 We're glad that you're joining us, 00:31 but let's begin with prayer before we dive in. 00:34 Father, we thank You for guiding us so far 00:37 in our look at the book of John, and today as we delve 00:40 into it once again, we ask for Your guidance, 00:43 Your direction, and that You will give us 00:45 a deeper understanding and appreciation 00:47 of the great themes that are found 00:49 in this book, and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:53 We're also happy to have with us one of the authors 00:56 of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson, 00:58 Dr. Tom Shepherd. He is the senior research professor 01:01 of New Testament at the Theological Seminary; 01:03 that is Andrews University. 01:05 Tom, thanks for being with us again. 01:07 >>Thomas Shepherd: Good to be with you. 01:08 >>Eric: So we are looking now at lesson number 4 of 13, 01:11 making our way into this quarter's series of lessons. 01:16 Lesson number 4 is "Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah." 01:19 Let's jump back to John, chapter 1 again. 01:22 We--looking at the themes, it's less of a chronological 01:25 work through the book, but we're looking 01:27 at different themes that appear 01:28 in different chapters throughout. 01:30 How does John the Baptist present himself 01:33 in the Gospel of John, and what is the lesson 01:37 that we perhaps should learn in his approach? 01:40 >>Tom: All right, so we turn to John, chapter 1. 01:43 We're gonna read, starting in verse 19 of John, chapter 1. 01:49 It says, "And this is the testimony of John, 01:52 "when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem 01:54 "to ask him, 'Who are you?' 01:56 "He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, 01:58 "'I am not the Christ.' 02:00 "And they asked him, 'What then? Are you Elijah?' 02:03 "And he said, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' 02:06 "And he answered, 'No.' 02:07 "So they said to him, 'Who are you? 02:10 "'We need to give an answer to those who sent us. 02:12 "What do you say about yourself?' 02:14 "He said, 'I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 02:18 "'"Make straight the way of the Lord," 02:21 "as the prophet Isaiah said.' 02:23 "(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 02:27 "They asked him, 'Then why are you baptizing, 02:30 "if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?' 02:33 "John answered them, 'I baptize with water, 02:36 "'but among you stands One you do not know, 02:38 "'even He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal 02:41 "I am not worthy to untie.' 02:44 "These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, 02:47 where John was baptizing." 02:49 So it's very interesting. 02:50 John the Baptist was a fiery preacher. 02:54 He's not re--he's referred to not only in the Bible; 02:57 he's also referred to in the writings of Josephus. 03:00 And Josephus was a Jewish historian 03:04 of the first century, rather interesting character 03:07 on his own. But he refers to John the Baptist. 03:11 And of course, Herod puts John in prison 03:14 and eventually beheads him, and this really upset people. 03:18 John was taken to be a real prophet, 03:21 and people really respected him because he spoke to power. 03:24 He spoke truth to power, shall we say? 03:27 And power didn't like the truth that they heard. 03:30 And John, you know, is this fiery preacher. 03:34 You read some of his words in some of the other gospels. 03:38 And so he really attracted a great deal of attention. 03:42 So, people wanted to know, who is he? 03:44 And some people were, no doubt, whispering around, 03:46 "He must be the Messiah, he must be the Messiah." 03:49 John says, "No, that's not who I am. 03:52 I'm not the Messiah." 03:53 And they said, "Well, are you Elijah?" 03:55 You know, the expectation that Elijah would come back. 03:57 He says, "No, that's not--I am not." 03:59 "Are you the prophet?" "No." 04:01 "So then, who are you?" 04:02 "I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness." 04:04 He quotes from Isaiah, pointing out who he is, 04:07 but he keeps pointing away from himself to Jesus. 04:11 He says, "There's somebody else coming. 04:14 I'm not worthy to stoop down and, like, untie his shoes." 04:21 He shows up again a little later in John 3, where-- 04:26 you see, there was a real risk. 04:29 Because John was this popular preacher, 04:34 there was a real risk that there could be 04:37 competition between Jesus and John, 04:40 between their disciples, and there actually seems 04:43 to have been some of this, you know, feeling of envy 04:46 for other people. 04:48 So, let's read John, chapter 3, verses 25 through 30, 04:52 and we'll see the beauty of this man John. 04:56 >>Eric: "Then there arose a dispute between some 04:58 "of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. 05:02 "And they came to John and said to him, 05:04 "'Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom 05:07 "'you have testified-- behold, He is baptizing, 05:10 "and all are coming to Him!' 05:12 "John answered and said, 'A man can receive nothing 05:15 "'unless it has been given to him from heaven. 05:18 "'You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 05:20 "'"I am not the Christ," but, "I have been sent before Him." 05:24 "'He who has the bride is the bridegroom; 05:27 "'but the friend of the bridegroom, 05:28 "'who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly 05:31 "'because of the bridegroom's voice. 05:33 "'Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 05:36 He must increase, but I must decrease.'" 05:39 >>Tom: I've met very few people 05:41 who would say something like that. 05:44 It's an amazing testimony to the humility 05:47 and the strength of this man. 05:50 He didn't have to have high position 05:53 in order to feel fulfilled in doing 05:57 what, you know, God wanted him to do. 05:59 So, it's interesting where this discussion begins. 06:02 It begins over a question of purification, 06:06 and there seems to be here some kind of linkage to baptism. 06:11 The baptism, of course, is your sign 06:14 of your giving your life to God, your being-- 06:16 your sins are being washed away, baptism of repentance. 06:19 You're turning back to God, so your life is being purified. 06:23 And there was a dispute. 06:25 We're not told exactly what the dispute was, 06:28 but it's probably over how should baptism be done, 06:32 who should baptize, and of course, 06:35 that leads to the question of competition 06:37 between Jesus and John. 06:40 Now, notice, his disciples come to him and they 06:43 call him "Rabbi," which means "my teacher." 06:47 So, "Rabbi, He who was with you across the Jordan, to whom 06:50 "you bore witness--look, He is baptizing, 06:53 and all are going to Him." 06:57 "We don't like it. We're your disciples. 07:00 You're our leader, not Him!" 07:02 [laughing] You know, you get that kind of feeling, 07:04 you know, this kind of competition. 07:06 John could have made a real problem for Jesus right here. 07:11 He could have made big trouble for Him, but he doesn't do that. 07:15 He doesn't do that. So, he says instead, 07:20 "He must increase, but I must decrease." 07:24 Very impressive. 07:26 >>Eric: Very humble. 07:27 It could have been very-- it could have been 07:29 very different, as you mentioned. 07:30 You know, coming back to John pointing people 07:32 to Jesus, in John 1, he calls Him the Lamb of God. 07:36 What's the significance of John labeling Jesus 07:39 as the Lamb of God? >>Tom: Yeah, well, 07:41 so we should read those verses. John, chapter 1, 07:43 starting in verse 29: 07:47 "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, 07:50 "and [he] said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, 07:52 "'who takes away the sin of the world! 07:55 "'This is He of whom I said, "After me comes a Man 07:57 "'who ranks before me, because He was before me." 08:00 "'I myself did not know Him, but for this purpose I came 08:03 "baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel.' 08:06 "And John bore witness: 'I saw the Spirit descend 08:08 "'from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. 08:11 "'I myself did not know Him, but He who sent me 08:14 "'to baptize with water said to me, 08:15 "'"He on whom you see the Spirit descend 08:18 "'and remain, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." 08:21 "'And I have seen and have borne witness 08:24 that this is the Son of God.'" 08:26 Well, that's quite a testimony, you know? 08:29 And you think of the "Messiah," Handel's "Messiah": 08:34 "Behold, the Lamb of God," which is one of the oratorios, 08:38 and it's just striking. 08:41 This Lamb of God, Jesus, will die at the time of Passover. 08:45 He will die as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin 08:49 of the world, just as the Passover lamb 08:52 was that which protected people from the destroying angels. 08:56 So, belief in Jesus will protect a person 08:59 from eternal death. 09:01 So, it's a very striking kind of an expression, 09:05 and it's not the end of the idea of Jesus 09:08 as the Lamb of God. 09:10 >>Eric: And we're seeing this, as you said, throughout. 09:13 Back in the book of John, chapter 1, again, 09:16 we see the story of Jesus calling Andrew, 09:20 calling Andrew and the other disciple. 09:23 This other disciple, this disciple whom Jesus loved, 09:26 he remains nameless, but not so much. 09:31 Help us to understand some lessons 09:33 from Jesus calling them. 09:35 >>Tom: Yeah, so, it's after this, 09:38 after John has called Jesus the Lamb of God-- 09:41 "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away 09:43 the sin of the world"-- I mean, that-- 09:45 that really had to keep-- catch people's attention. 09:48 So, it's the very next day, verse 35, "The next day again 09:52 "John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked 09:55 "at Jesus as He walked by and said, 'Behold, 09:58 "the Lamb of God!' 10:00 "The two disciples heard him say this, 10:03 and they followed Jesus." 10:05 Now, this is very important that, you know, they hear it. 10:08 They didn't have to go, but they follow Jesus, 10:11 and now, verse 38, "Jesus turned and saw them following 10:14 "and said to them, 'What are you seeking?' 10:17 "And they said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 10:20 "'where are You staying?' 10:22 "He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' 10:25 "So they came and saw where He was staying, 10:27 "and they stayed with Him that day, 10:29 "for it was about the tenth hour. 10:30 "One of the two who heard John speak 10:32 "and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 10:36 "He first found his own brother Simon and said to Him, 10:38 "'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ). 10:41 "He brought him to Jesus. 10:43 "Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. 10:45 You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)." 10:49 So this is in the Gospel of John, 10:50 the first calling of the disciples. 10:52 There's Andrew and this other disciple 10:55 who is not named; in fact, he's never named. 10:57 He's called the beloved disciple later on. 10:59 It's likely it's John himself who is there. 11:02 He's there from the beginning. 11:04 And the question of following the light-- 11:07 remember the question is, you received the light-- 11:09 now what will you do with the light? 11:11 So here's two men who hear this "Behold, the Lamb of God," 11:16 and they follow it up. 11:17 It doesn't say anybody else does, you know, 11:20 but these two guys, they want to know more, you see? 11:23 So, the light comes, and they're following it out. 11:26 Now, that's a key for belief, you see. 11:28 "Come and you will see," says Jesus, and so they come. 11:32 So, then what does Andrew do? 11:34 Andrew's a good disciple. 11:36 He brings somebody else to Jesus. [chuckles] 11:38 That's what you and I should do in our churches. 11:40 We should bring somebody else to Jesus 11:43 and let them know about the truth. 11:44 So, you know, sometimes that's a easy thing to do. 11:47 It's a very simple thing. 11:49 Invite somebody to church. You'd be surprised. 11:53 If you just say, "Hey, you know, we have a good program 11:55 "coming up. We have a nice meal, too. 11:58 Why don't you come to church with us?" 12:00 And give them the opportunity 12:02 to hear the message of the gospel. 12:05 Now, people will come to church for various reasons, 12:07 but they'll hear the Word of God there. 12:10 >>Eric: Andrew was a good inviter. 12:12 >>Tom: He was a good inviter, yep. 12:13 >>Eric: Worked well for him. 12:15 We're going to come back in just a moment 12:17 as we continue looking at this theme 12:19 in the book of John. 12:20 But before we take a break, share with us a little bit more 12:22 about that companion book 12:24 that is available for people to pick up. 12:25 >>Tom: Yeah, every quarter we have a companion book 12:28 that gives more information about the stories 12:32 that we're studying, the themes that we're studying 12:34 in the Gospel of John. 12:36 It's written by a scholar who will unpack 12:38 more than what you find in the lesson, 12:40 unpack more than what you find in the teacher's quarterly. 12:42 It's a great resource, and it's geared toward-- 12:46 every chapter is numbered the same. 12:48 It's got the same title as the lesson quarterly, 12:51 so it's easy to follow and useful to have in your library. 12:54 >>Eric: And you can find that very easily 12:56 at itiswritten.shop. 12:58 Just go to that website, itiswritten.shop. 13:00 You'll find the companion book to this quarter's 13:03 "Sabbath School" lesson, and you can pick it up there. 13:06 We're going to come back 13:07 in just a few moments, 13:09 and when we do, we're going to continue delving into 13:12 this incredible theme, that is, 13:14 "Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah." 13:17 We're leading up to some significant events 13:20 and tracing themes throughout the book of John. 13:23 We're going to continue to do that when we come back 13:25 in just a moment right here on "Sabbath School," 13:27 brought to you by It Is Written. 13:29 [uplifting music] 13:35 >>John Bradshaw: He came into the world 13:37 via a miracle birth, but he met with a tragic death. 13:45 In between times, he lit up the world 13:49 as he prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. 13:52 John the Baptist's life may not have been glamorous, 13:56 but it was a life of faithfulness, 13:59 and he stands forever as an example 14:02 of faithfulness to God. 14:04 Don't miss the latest episode of It Is Written's new series 14:09 "Great Characters of the Bible" as we look at the life 14:13 of the man born to herald the Messiah 14:17 and as we learn how faith in God can change the world. 14:22 "Great Characters of the Bible: John the Baptist," 14:26 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 14:33 >>Eric: One of the most powerful evidences that the Bible is true 14:37 are the prophecies that you will find in its pages. 14:39 If you've been wondering about what's happening 14:41 in the world today, especially in the United States, 14:44 socially, militarily, politically, and economically, 14:48 the "Which Way, America?" seminar will answer 14:50 those questions for you in a powerful way. 14:53 I'm Eric Flickinger, and I want to invite you 14:55 to the "Which Way, America?" seminar, brought to you 14:58 by It Is Written. 14:59 >>Announcer: Watch "Which Way, America?" 15:01 on YouTube and It Is Written TV. 15:04 [uplifting music] 15:08 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:10 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:11 We are looking at lesson number 4 of 13, 15:14 learning about the themes in the book of John. 15:18 Tom, we've been in John, chapter 1 a bit. 15:20 I want to touch one more thing before we leave John, chapter 1. 15:23 We see some parallels and some differences 15:26 between how Philip thought of Jesus 15:28 and how Nathanael did. 15:29 Walk us through some of the latter part 15:31 of John, chapter 1 here. 15:33 >>Tom: Okay, so, Jesus is calling His first disciples. 15:36 They're, shall I say, they're following the light. 15:38 They're following after Him. 15:40 And here in John 1, verse 43, he calls Philip. 15:44 So it says, "The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. 15:47 "He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me.' 15:50 "Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 15:53 "Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 15:56 "'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law 15:58 "'and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, 16:01 "the son of Joseph.' 16:02 "Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good 16:05 "come out of Nazareth?' 16:06 Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" 16:08 Now, we've seen various, actually quite a few 16:13 different titles for Jesus already 16:15 in John, chapter 1, lots of them--you know, 16:17 He's the Word; He becomes flesh. He's the Lamb of God. 16:22 He's the Christ; He is the Messiah, the Christ. 16:25 He is, you know--all kinds 16:29 of different terms are used to refer to Him. 16:31 He's the one who baptizes with the Spirit. 16:36 He's the Son of God, so lots of different titles. 16:39 So, when Philip is--calls Nathanael his friend, you think, 16:45 okay, well, this is going to be like-- 16:47 this is going to be like Andrew. 16:50 Andrew had said to his brother, Simon, 16:54 "We have found the Messiah." 16:56 That's clear: "We found the Christ." 17:00 When Philip finds Nathanael, he says, "We have found Him 17:05 of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote." 17:08 That sounds pretty good. 17:09 But then he says, "Jesus of Nazareth, 17:11 the son of Joseph." 17:12 That's kind of an inferior kind of title for Jesus. 17:16 So Nathanael responds to this: "Can anything good 17:20 come out of Nazareth?" 17:21 I have a sermon I titled on this one: "The Honest Redneck," 17:25 where Nathanael is this kind of prejudiced guy, 17:29 you know, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" 17:32 But he's a rather honest man. 17:34 Philip says to him, "Come and see." 17:36 That's the same thing Jesus said to John and to Andrew: 17:40 "Come and see." Now, what is not narrated is very interesting. 17:44 He said, "Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" 17:48 Verse 47: "Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him 17:51 "and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, 17:54 in whom there is no deceit!'" 17:56 In between those two verses is a very important step 18:01 that is not mentioned, 18:03 and that is Nathanael's decision to come, 18:08 Nathanael's decision to follow the light. 18:11 So, it kind of shouts at you for not being there. 18:15 The point of view shifts. 18:17 We were at--we were with Nathanael and Philip, 18:19 and then suddenly, in verse 47, Jesus saw Nathanael coming. 18:24 Philip said, "Come and see." 18:25 Now Jesus sees him coming. 18:27 So, obviously, he decided to go when Philip, his friend, 18:31 said, "Come and see." 18:32 So, his friendship with Philip overcame his prejudice 18:40 against somebody from Nazareth. 18:42 That's kind of an interesting thing, his friendship. 18:45 So, you know, you and I might have friends, 18:49 and they might have biases and prejudices. 18:51 We all have biases and probably prejudices, 18:55 but if you're truly a friend with someone, they may-- 19:01 they may come to see. 19:03 They may come hear the message 19:05 just because they're friends with you. 19:07 When it comes to evangelism, you're much more likely 19:10 to have somebody come to evangelistic meetings 19:13 when a friend invites them than if they just receive 19:17 a flyer in the mail or, you know, hear it on the radio 19:20 or something like that. 19:21 But if they get a personal invitation 19:23 from a friend, more likely to come, more likely. 19:26 So here's what happens with this guy. 19:28 So, Nathanael had said something rather negative about Jesus, 19:33 you know, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" 19:36 When Jesus sees him coming, He says something very positive 19:39 about him: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, 19:42 in whom there is no deceit." 19:44 Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" 19:46 Now, when somebody says something really nice about you, 19:51 you know, you might say, "Well, I'm not that good," 19:54 you know. But Nathanael, he's this honest guy; 19:58 what you see is what you get. 20:00 He says, "How do you know me?" He just accepts it-- 20:03 "I'm an honest guy, of course," you know. 20:05 So, "Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, 20:09 when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'" 20:14 Now, I want you to read his response in verse 49. 20:17 >>Eric: "Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, 20:20 You are the Son of God! 20:21 You are the King of Israel!'" 20:23 >>Tom: Now, this is an amazing exchange 20:26 between these two men. 20:28 He says, "How did You know me?" 20:32 And He says, "Before Philip called you, 20:34 while you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 20:35 That's a very-- it's a revelation, 20:38 but it's a very small revelation. 20:40 It wasn't like the crossing of the Red Sea or something. 20:42 He just says, "Oh, I saw you under the fig tree." 20:45 And then Nathanael makes this incredible confession: 20:49 "Rabbi, You are the Son of God. 20:51 You are the King of Israel," you know? 20:53 So, he has the smallest light--and pow!-- 20:56 it just explodes into this amazing confession. 20:59 Jesus says, "You're gonna see much more than that. 21:02 "You're gonna see the angels ascending 21:04 and descending on the Son of Man." 21:05 Now, we'd better press on because we need to look 21:08 at somebody else. 21:09 >>Eric: We do, and we're gonna jump over to John, chapter 3 21:12 in order to do that. We're gonna take a look at Nicodemus. 21:15 You, of course, have heard of Nicodemus. 21:16 In fact, the most famous verse in the entire Bible comes 21:18 from this chapter, John, chapter 3. 21:21 Tom, how did Nicodemus approach Jesus? 21:24 This is fascinating. >>Tom: Yeah, it is. 21:26 So, now we start in chapter 3 and verse 1: 21:29 "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, 21:32 "a ruler of the Jews. 21:33 "This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know 21:38 "'that You are a teacher come from God, for no one 21:41 can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.'" 21:44 Nicodemus went to the Dale Carnegie school 21:47 of "How to Win Friends and Influence People." 21:50 And he comes to Jesus-- but it's interesting 21:53 he comes to Jesus by night. 21:57 Now, why by night? 21:59 You could say "at night" or "in the night," 22:02 but "by night" means "under the cover of darkness." 22:07 It's like he doesn't want to be seen with Jesus, you know. 22:12 We've already talked a little bit about the theme 22:14 of darkness and light, so coming by night 22:17 sort of gives some of that feel of "I want to be hidden" 22:21 kind of a thing. 22:24 But when he comes in Jesus, he kind of, like, 22:26 butters him up: "Rabbi, we know that You are 22:29 "a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs 22:33 that You do unless God is with him." 22:34 Now, Jesus responds rather abruptly, it seems: 22:37 "Truly, truly"--verse 3-- "I say to you, 22:39 unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 22:43 It's almost like Nathanael-- I mean, Nicodemus 22:46 is talking about one thing, and Jesus just goes off 22:49 on a different, you know, different angle, 22:51 but that's not actually the case. 22:53 Because Nicodemus said, "No one can do these signs 23:00 unless God is with him." 23:02 And Jesus says, "Unless one is born again 23:06 he cannot see the kingdom of God." 23:08 So He's used the very words of Nicodemus, right? 23:12 Now, Nicodemus lets down the-- 23:15 the Dale Carnegie stuff seems to go away. 23:18 And in verse 4, he says, "Nicodemus said to Him, 23:20 "'How can a man be born when he is old? 23:22 "'Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb 23:24 and be born?'" Actually, he's expecting a negative answer. 23:27 Cause he can't go back into his mother's womb 23:30 and be born a second time, can he? 23:31 "Don't talk nonsense." That's kind of what he's saying. 23:35 Now, the interesting thing here, this is part of that-- 23:38 we described this before, this misunderstanding of Jesus, 23:42 all right. 23:44 And there's kind of a symbolism, and there's two meanings. 23:50 "Born again"--the word "again" can also mean "from above." 23:57 So, which way was Nicodemus taking it, born "again" 24:04 or born "from above"? 24:06 >>Eric: Sounds like born "again" is the way that he's taking it. 24:10 >>Tom: Yeah, he's taking it born "again," and the reason 24:13 he takes it that way is because he wants 24:16 to discredit the idea. 24:19 Jesus probably meant born "from above." 24:21 Now, it's not wrong for us to say 24:23 that you must be born "again." 24:24 If you read 1 Peter, 1, you'll find that he talks 24:27 about being born anew, so there's nothing wrong 24:30 with saying being born again. 24:32 But here in John, actually, this probably means 24:35 being born "from above." 24:36 And Nicodemus responds to it-- of course, being born-- 24:39 but Nicodemus responds to it by saying, "How can you 24:42 be born when you're old?" 24:45 because he doesn't like the close application 24:48 Jesus is making to him, that he needs this new birth, 24:52 this birth from above. 24:56 The light comes to him--what will you do with the light? 24:59 He seems to be kind of shying away from the light. 25:01 Now, he hasn't run away, but he's kind of shying away 25:03 from the light. Let's read verses 5 through 8. 25:09 >>Eric: "Jesus answered, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 25:12 "'unless one is born of water and the Spirit, 25:14 "'he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 25:16 "'That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which 25:19 "'is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel 25:22 "'that I said to you, "You must be born again." 25:24 "'The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound 25:27 "'of it, but cannot tell where it comes from 25:29 "'and where it goes. 25:30 So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'" 25:33 >>Tom: So Jesus goes on to say that 25:35 you have to be born "of water"--that's baptism-- 25:37 "and of the Spirit"-- you must have 25:39 the Spirit of God working in your life 25:41 or you can't enter the kingdom of God, all right? 25:44 And then He uses an illustration of the wind. 25:47 Now, the words for "wind" and "spirit" are the same word, 25:50 and so it's a play on words once more. 25:53 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, 25:57 "but you do not know where it [goes] 25:58 "comes from or where it's going. 26:00 So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." 26:01 You cannot control the Spirit of God. 26:03 He is meant to control you and me, not otherwise. 26:07 Now, there's one more metaphor that we should look at 26:08 before we close this up, and it's a little later 26:11 in this statement, where he says... 26:14 >>Eric: "Nicodemus answered and said to Him, 26:16 "'How can these things be?' 26:18 "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Are you the teacher of Israel, 26:21 "'and do not know these things? 26:23 "'Most assuredly, I say to you, we speak what we know 26:26 "'and testify what we have seen, and you do not receive 26:29 "'our witness. If I have told you earthly things 26:31 "'and you do not believe, how will you believe 26:33 "'if I tell you heavenly things? 26:35 "'No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down 26:38 "'from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 26:41 "'And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 26:44 "'even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 26:47 "'that whoever believes in Him should not perish 26:49 but have eternal life.'" 26:50 >>Tom: Okay, so, he uses this metaphor, 26:54 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 26:56 so must the Son of Man be lifted up." 26:57 He's talking about the cross. 27:00 When the people of Israel were being bitten by snakes 27:04 out in the wilderness, God said to Moses, 27:07 make a bronze serpent, put it up on a pole, 27:09 and anybody who looks at the serpent will live. 27:13 And Jesus says the Son of Man, just like Moses lifted up 27:16 the serpent in the wilderness, 27:17 "so must the Son of Man be lifted up." 27:19 He's lifted up on the cross, you look to Him, 27:22 and you will live. He'll come back to that kind of a statement 27:25 later on in the gospel, that He'll draw all people to Him 27:29 if He's lifted up. 27:31 >>Eric: And we're going to see that throughout 27:33 the book of John, that Jesus is indeed lifted up. 27:36 We're glad that you are joining us on this journey as we look 27:39 at these great themes in the book of John. 27:41 Next week when we come back, lesson number 5, 27:43 "The Testimony of the Samaritans." 27:47 What do the Samaritans have to say about who Jesus is? 27:50 We're gonna find that out very, very soon. 27:52 We're grateful that you've joined us 27:53 this week, and we look forward to seeing you again next week 27:56 as we continue our journey through the great themes 27:58 in the book of John here on "Sabbath School," 28:01 brought to you by It Is Written. 28:03 [uplifting music] 28:24 [uplifting music] 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-10-16