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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad you have
chosen to join us today.
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We are taking a
look at the great themes
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in the book of John,
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and we're glad
that you are here.
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Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we ask
that You'll bless us
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as we continue to
look at the great themes
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in the book of John. Help
us to learn lessons from Jesus
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that we can apply
in our lives today.
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We thank You in Jesus' name,
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amen. >>Thomas Shepherd: Amen.
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>>Eric: Well, this
week we are taking a look
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at lesson number 6.
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Lesson number 6 is "More
Testimonies About Jesus."
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And to help guide us
through this week's lesson,
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we have Dr. Tom Shepherd.
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He's the senior
research professor
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of New Testament at
the Theological Seminary;
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that is Andrews University.
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Tom, thanks for being
with us again this week.
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>>Tom: It's a joy
to be here, thank you.
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>>Eric: This week we
are delving into, primarily,
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John 6 and John 7.
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In John 6, we read about
the feeding of the 5,000.
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Walk us through this.
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>>Tom: Okay, so,
we've already looked at this
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in an earlier lesson.
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We looked some about
the actual miracle itself
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of feeding the 5,000
and how Jesus interacted
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with His
disciples and gave these--
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fed 5,000 people with just
five loaves and two fishes.
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And, now, it's
typical of the Gospel of John
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that the miracles of Jesus,
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they take a small
portion of the passage
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and then there's
this long discussion,
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sometimes a long
soliloquy by Jesus,
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and this passage
does some of the same.
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So today, we're
going to look a bit more
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at some of the
discussion that Jesus has.
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Now, He walks on
water after the--
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after He sends away the crowds.
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His disciples go
across the boat by boat
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across the Sea of Galilee.
And Jesus walks on water,
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He actually comes to them
on the water and says to them,
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"It is I; do not be afraid."
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So, it's really an
amazing miracle itself.
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The next day, the
crowd is looking for Him
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where He had
been on the far side
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of the Sea of Galilee
and they don't find Him.
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So they go looking for Him,
and they find Him at Capernaum,
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they want to
know how He got there.
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And He talks about
the feeding of the 5,000
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in verse 26 of John 6.
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He says: "Truly,
truly, I say to you,
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you are seeking me, not
because you saw signs"--
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we've already talked about signs
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as things that point
towards God's power--
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"but because you ate
your fill of the loaves,"
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They were [laughs]
just looking for more food.
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He's going to have
actually a discussion with them
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about some of
those kinds of ideas,
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but they just are
not really so interested
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in what He has to say.
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Now, I want to have
you read for us, then,
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verses 35 through 40.
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>>Eric: "And Jesus said to
them, 'I am the bread of life.
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"'He who comes to
me shall never hunger,
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"'and he who believes
in me shall never thirst.
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"'But I said to you
that you have seen me
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"'and yet do not believe.
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"'All that the Father
gives me will come to me,
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"'and the one who comes to
me I will by no means cast out.
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"'For I have
come down from heaven,
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"'not to do my own will,
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"'but the will
of Him who sent me.
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"'This is the will of
the Father who sent me,
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"'that of all He has
given me I should lose nothing,
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"'but should raise
it up at the last day.
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"'And this is the
will of Him who sent me,
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"'that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him
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"'may have everlasting life;
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and I will raise him
up at the last day.'"
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>>Tom: All right, so this is
a very important turning point;
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a very important statement
is made here in verse 35.
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Jesus said, "I am
the bread of life."
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Now, throughout
the Gospel of John,
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there are a series
of seven statements
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where He says, I
am this, I am that,
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and this is the first
one: "I am the bread of life."
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We remember back in chapter 2
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that we studied before,
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that He turned water into wine,
what we said was grape juice.
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And we have the two elements
of the communion service,
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the Lord's supper, the cup
of grape juice and the bread,
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and they represent Jesus' body.
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Now, in the Gospel
of John, we said before,
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we don't have any
statement of the Lord's supper.
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Well, it's really kind
of here in Cana of Galilee
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and here when He fed the 5,000.
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And He says, "I
am the bread of life.
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"Whoever comes to
me shall never hunger,
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and whoever believes
in me shall never thirst."
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The woman at the well
that we just talked about
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in another episode last week,
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she received that water of
life and wasn't thirsty anymore.
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And so, here we
have the, you know,
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combining of these
ideas that Jesus says.
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Now, He says, "All that the
Father gives me will come to me,
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and whoever comes to
me I will never cast out."
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Some people get the
idea that Jesus, you know--
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that some are in
and some are out.
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And if you're in,
that's good for you.
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If you're out, too bad for you.
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But I want to
remind our listeners
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to read John 3:16.
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"For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son,
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"that whoever believes
in Him should not perish
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but have everlasting life."
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It's not that God
wants to keep you out,
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He wants to get you in,
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and you have to make that
choice to follow Jesus, see?
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So this is a--
the choice is ours
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whether we'll accept the
invitation that He offers to us.
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And then He says, "I'll
raise him up at the last day."
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If you read chapter 5 of John,
you'll find that he talks about
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raising people
up; He's talking about
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the
resurrection of the last day.
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So, eating the bread of life,
being connected with Jesus now,
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assures us of
eternal life in the future.
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>>Eric: So He makes
these statements about Himself
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being the bread of life.
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He does that a
couple of times here.
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But then He makes a
very interesting statement
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that doesn't sit well
with the audience; in fact,
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it upsets them significantly.
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>>Tom: Mm-hmm, yeah.
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So, He starts to get
into this in verse 41.
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It says, "So the Jews grumbled
about Him, because He said,
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'I am the bread that
came down from heaven.'"
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You know, He had made a contrast
between Him and the manna,
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and so, "They said, 'Is not
this Jesus, the son of Joseph,
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"whose father and mother
we know? How does He now say,
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'I have come down from heaven'?"
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So they're already
taking offense at Him.
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And we know that
this "son of Joseph"
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is an
insufficient title for Jesus.
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We are reminded of
Nathaniel, back in chapter 1:
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"Can anything good
come out of Nazareth?"
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And He's the son of Joseph;
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it's an insufficient
terminology to refer to Jesus.
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And so, now He's going
to make it even starker.
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So, let's read verses
40-- let's see--48 to 54.
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>>Eric: "'I am
the bread of life.
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"'Your fathers ate the manna
in the wilderness, and are dead.
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"'This is the bread
which comes down from heaven,
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"'that one may
eat of it and not die.
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"'I am the living bread
which came down from heaven.
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"'If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever;
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"'and the bread that I
shall give is my flesh,
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"which I shall give
for the life of the world.'
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"The Jews therefore
quarreled among themselves,
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"saying, 'How can this
Man give us His flesh to eat?'
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"Then Jesus said to them,
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"'Most assuredly, I say to you,
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"'unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man
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"'and drink His blood,
you have no life in you.
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"'Whoever eats my flesh
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"'and drinks my
blood has eternal life,
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and I will raise him
up at the last day.'"
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>>Tom: Whoa, now those are
very stark words, you know.
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I mean, just saying
you're the bread of--
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come down from
heaven, that's one thing,
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but then to say that the bread
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you're going to give
people to eat is your flesh!
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And then you go even further and
you're going to drink His blood.
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You're like, ew!
How can that be right?
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So they grumble. "How can this
Man give us His flesh to eat?"
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was the phrase they said.
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And He makes it even starker by,
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you know, adding on
the thing about His blood.
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Well, the body
and blood of Christ is
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what we talk about the
Lord's supper, you know.
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It's the bread and
it's the cup that we take.
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We say this--Jesus said,
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"This is my body.
This is my blood."
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So there's very clear
kind of depiction language
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of the Lord's supper
being referred to here,
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and it doesn't go over
too well with these people
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as they hear what He has to say.
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So what happens?
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Let's read now verse 60 and
see what their response was.
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>>Eric: "Therefore
many of His disciples,
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"when they heard this, said,
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'This is a hard saying;
who can understand it?'"
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>>Tom: Yeah, so, you
wonder sometimes, you know,
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why did Jesus give
these hard sayings?
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Well, He's, shall we
say, winnowing the wheat.
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People who
really got to know Him,
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people who traveled with
Him, people who listened to Him
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and came to see that, yeah,
this is truly the Son of God,
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He wanted to
separate them from those
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who were just sort
of-- what should we say?
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--kind of
fair-weather disciples.
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Because the
fair-weather disciples
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would ruin the true disciples
when the great crisis came
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at the cross.
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And so, Jesus separates them
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with these
strong sayings early on,
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or sometime before
the big crisis comes,
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so that only the true disciples
are facing the big crisis.
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It's a rather interesting kind
of an expression to consider.
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Now, if we look at
the end of this chapter,
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we read verses 66 through 71.
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>>Eric: "From that time
many of His disciples went back
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"and walked with Him no more.
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"Then Jesus said to the twelve,
'Do you also want to go away?'
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"But Simon Peter answered Him,
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"'Lord, to whom shall we go?
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"'You have the
words of eternal life.
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"'Also we have come to believe
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"'and know that
You are the Christ,
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"the Son of the living God.'
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"Jesus answered them,
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"'Did I not
choose you, the twelve,
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"and one of you is a devil?'
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"He spoke of Judas
Iscariot, the son of Simon,
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"for it was he
who would betray Him,
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being one of the twelve."
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>>Tom: All right, so we see here
the effect of Jesus' statements
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to the people
who were fair-weather
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or just surface disciples was
to completely turn them away.
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And they don't
walk with Jesus anymore,
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they leave, and
they're not coming back.
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Now, if you were a
pastor of this group,
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or if you were one
of the 12 disciples,
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you might be sort of discouraged
that the crowds are leaving,
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right? Because we
like lots of people to come
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to our evangelistic meetings;
00:11:12.63\00:11:13.94
we like to see
many people baptized.
00:11:13.97\00:11:16.77
But Jesus saw that
there were some people who,
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you know--they weren't really
serious about faith in Him.
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So it says,
"Many of His disciples
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turned back and no
longer walked with Him."
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And there's this kind
of this pathetic question
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that He asked the twelve:
"Do you want to go away, too?"
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And this-- here
are the true disciples.
00:11:35.36\00:11:37.49
Peter answers for them:
"Lord, to whom shall we go?
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"You have the
words of eternal life.
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"And we have
believed and have come to know
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"that You are
the Holy One of God."
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So, the true ones stuck
with Him, but among the true,
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there was one--well, He said
there was one devil, [chuckles]
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Judas Iscariot,
who would betray Him.
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And that one doesn't
come out until the end.
00:11:59.38\00:12:01.22
So, it's very interesting.
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This tells us about
the testimony about Jesus,
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about this--we start to
see these "I Am" statements
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that are so
important and the great lessons
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that come from this.
00:12:11.66\00:12:12.96
>>Eric: So, a
significant turning point here
00:12:12.99\00:12:14.76
that we're looking
at. >>Tom: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:12:14.83\00:12:16.77
>>Eric: Tom, tell us
a little bit more about
00:12:16.80\00:12:18.10
this companion book,
that if somebody is wanting
00:12:18.13\00:12:20.70
to dig more deeply into the
book of John, our studies in it,
00:12:20.74\00:12:23.94
what's in the companion book?
00:12:23.97\00:12:26.27
>>Tom: Okay, so,
the companion book
00:12:26.31\00:12:27.61
is published by
Pacific Press each quarter.
00:12:27.64\00:12:29.94
And it has the same
title as the lesson quarterly.
00:12:29.98\00:12:33.11
And you can buy it at the ABC,
00:12:33.15\00:12:34.82
or you can get it
here at It Is Written.
00:12:34.85\00:12:36.82
And it shares extra information;
it gives you more details,
00:12:36.85\00:12:41.32
goes further than the
"Sabbath School" lesson itself
00:12:41.36\00:12:44.33
or the teacher's quarterly
and can be very helpful for,
00:12:44.36\00:12:47.40
you know, adding on extra flavor
to your Sabbath school lesson.
00:12:47.40\00:12:51.27
>>Eric: So, if you'd
like to pick that up,
00:12:51.30\00:12:52.60
you can do it very easily;
00:12:52.63\00:12:53.94
itiswritten.shop is
where you want to go;
00:12:53.97\00:12:56.44
itiswritten.shop, pick
it up, you'll find it there
00:12:56.47\00:12:59.61
as the companion book
00:12:59.64\00:13:01.04
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson,
00:13:01.08\00:13:02.58
or, as Tom
mentioned, you can pick it up
00:13:02.61\00:13:03.95
at the ABC as well,
00:13:03.98\00:13:05.11
whatever's more
convenient for you.
00:13:05.15\00:13:06.78
But we trust that it will be
00:13:06.82\00:13:08.12
a blessing to you as you dig
00:13:08.15\00:13:09.68
more deeply
into the great themes
00:13:09.72\00:13:11.92
of the book of John,
00:13:11.95\00:13:13.32
which is what we are
delving into this quarter.
00:13:13.36\00:13:15.96
And we're going to
continue our in-depth study here
00:13:15.99\00:13:19.29
in just a moment
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:13:19.33\00:13:21.60
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:13:21.63\00:13:23.43
¤¤¤
00:13:23.47\00:13:26.30
>>Eric: One of the most powerful
evidences that the Bible is true
00:13:27.77\00:13:30.87
are the prophecies that
you will find in its pages.
00:13:30.91\00:13:33.61
If you've been
wondering about what's happening
00:13:33.64\00:13:35.61
in the world today,
especially in the United States,
00:13:35.64\00:13:38.25
socially, militarily,
politically, and economically,
00:13:38.28\00:13:42.02
the "Which Way,
America?" seminar will answer
00:13:42.05\00:13:44.52
those questions for
you in a powerful way.
00:13:44.55\00:13:47.46
I'm Eric Flickinger,
and I want to invite you
00:13:47.49\00:13:49.42
to the "Which
Way, America?" seminar,
00:13:49.46\00:13:51.39
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:13:51.43\00:13:53.46
>>male announcer:
Watch "Which Way, America?"
00:13:53.50\00:13:54.93
on YouTube and It Is Written TV.
00:13:54.96\00:13:57.13
>>John Bradshaw: More
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00:13:58.13\00:13:59.60
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00:13:59.63\00:14:01.90
They're watching their favorite
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00:14:01.94\00:14:05.27
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00:14:05.31\00:14:09.68
They're watching them
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00:14:09.71\00:14:13.58
See for yourself why people
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00:14:13.62\00:14:17.02
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00:14:17.05\00:14:19.59
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00:14:28.46\00:14:31.93
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:31.97\00:14:33.74
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:33.77\00:14:35.47
We're taking a
look at lesson number 6,
00:14:35.50\00:14:37.87
"More Testimonies
About Jesus," this week.
00:14:37.91\00:14:40.48
We're looking specifically
at John 6 and John 7.
00:14:40.51\00:14:44.41
And Tom, lead us into John 7.
What's going on in this chapter?
00:14:44.45\00:14:48.75
>>Tom: Okay, in John, chapter 7,
00:14:48.78\00:14:50.72
we see that Jesus goes
to the Feast of Booths.
00:14:50.75\00:14:55.02
This was a feast that was
held in the fall of the year,
00:14:55.06\00:14:59.03
and they made booths,
where they would camp out.
00:14:59.06\00:15:03.30
And it was a great
time to go to Jerusalem.
00:15:03.33\00:15:06.60
And it commemorated
the time of their travels
00:15:06.63\00:15:11.67
in leaving Egypt and
coming to the promised land.
00:15:11.71\00:15:15.54
And Jesus, at first it seems,
00:15:15.58\00:15:19.71
is not going to go
to the Feast of Booths.
00:15:19.75\00:15:23.08
His brothers say,
"Well, come on, you know,
00:15:23.12\00:15:24.95
"You want to be
seen by everybody,
00:15:24.99\00:15:26.29
come to the Feast of
Booths down in Jerusalem."
00:15:26.32\00:15:28.06
He says, "You go,
I'm not going yet,"
00:15:28.09\00:15:30.23
but then He goes secretly.
00:15:30.26\00:15:31.66
And He then starts to teach
in the middle of the feast,
00:15:31.69\00:15:37.27
and the Jews all marvel--
this is, like ,verse 15--saying,
00:15:37.30\00:15:41.74
"How is it that
this Man has learning
00:15:41.77\00:15:43.47
when He has never studied?"
00:15:43.51\00:15:44.81
He didn't go to the
school of the rabbis.
00:15:44.84\00:15:47.28
And so He says, "My
teaching is not my own,
00:15:47.31\00:15:50.68
but of the One who sent me."
00:15:50.71\00:15:52.65
Now, when we get
down to verse 25,
00:15:52.68\00:15:56.99
the people in Jerusalem say,
00:15:57.02\00:15:59.55
"Some of the people of
Jerusalem therefore said,
00:15:59.59\00:16:02.09
'Is not this the Man
whom they seek to kill?'"
00:16:02.12\00:16:06.29
And so, it's already
people are voicing around
00:16:06.33\00:16:08.90
that they want to
get rid of this guy.
00:16:08.93\00:16:11.17
He's some kind
of dangerous fellow.
00:16:11.20\00:16:13.97
Verse 26: "And here
He is, speaking openly,
00:16:14.00\00:16:17.17
"and they say nothing to Him!
00:16:17.21\00:16:19.24
"Can it be that the
authorities really know
00:16:19.27\00:16:22.88
that this is the Christ?"
00:16:22.91\00:16:25.18
But then there's even a
back-and-forth among them:
00:16:25.21\00:16:28.25
"But we know where
this Man comes from,
00:16:28.28\00:16:29.78
"and when the Christ appears,
00:16:29.82\00:16:31.12
no one will know
where He comes from."
00:16:31.15\00:16:32.59
That's what their belief was.
00:16:32.62\00:16:35.09
"So Jesus proclaimed,
as He taught in the temple,
00:16:35.12\00:16:37.86
"'You know me, and you
know where I come from.
00:16:37.89\00:16:40.16
"'But I have not
come of my own accord.
00:16:40.20\00:16:42.63
"'He who sent me is
true, and Him you do not know.
00:16:42.66\00:16:45.83
I know Him, for I come
from Him, and He sent me.'"
00:16:45.87\00:16:48.80
Again and again,
Jesus refers to the Father.
00:16:48.84\00:16:51.01
You know, "I've
come from heaven,"
00:16:51.04\00:16:52.34
"He sent me," "I'm
doing my Father's will,"
00:16:52.37\00:16:54.61
"It's to finish His
work"-- all these things.
00:16:54.64\00:16:56.95
Now, in verse 32,
00:16:56.98\00:17:00.35
we should read
what's going to happen here.
00:17:00.38\00:17:04.89
Why don't you
read for us verse 32?
00:17:04.92\00:17:08.09
>>Eric: "The Pharisees
heard the crowd murmuring
00:17:08.12\00:17:09.86
"these things concerning Him,
00:17:09.89\00:17:11.43
"and the Pharisees
and the chief priests
00:17:11.46\00:17:13.29
sent officers to take Him."
00:17:13.33\00:17:15.40
>>Tom: All right, so
they want to arrest Him,
00:17:15.43\00:17:17.73
all right, but that
doesn't happen quite yet.
00:17:17.77\00:17:21.27
You know, you--that's
sort of left in suspension,
00:17:21.30\00:17:23.61
that these people are
going about to get Him.
00:17:23.64\00:17:29.28
But Jesus "on the last day
of the feast," in verse 37,
00:17:29.31\00:17:33.38
"the great day" of the feast--
there was a great ceremony
00:17:33.42\00:17:36.08
"the great day" of
the feast. He says--
00:17:36.12\00:17:38.15
He stands up, and He cries out,
00:17:38.19\00:17:40.09
"If anyone thirsts, let
him come to me and drink.
00:17:40.12\00:17:43.02
"Whoever believes in me,
as the Scripture has said,
00:17:43.06\00:17:45.46
'Out of his heart will
flow rivers of living water.'"
00:17:45.49\00:17:49.13
So it says, "Now this
He said about the Spirit,
00:17:49.16\00:17:52.63
"whom those who
believed in Him were to receive,
00:17:52.67\00:17:55.80
"for as yet the
Spirit had not been given,
00:17:55.84\00:17:57.84
because Jesus was
not yet glorified."
00:17:57.87\00:18:00.51
This is the narrator telling
us where the story is headed.
00:18:00.54\00:18:03.61
And he's going to tell us--
00:18:03.65\00:18:04.95
he's telling us
about the Holy Spirit
00:18:04.98\00:18:06.88
coming on people, but
that's only going to happen
00:18:06.92\00:18:09.08
after Jesus is glorified.
00:18:09.12\00:18:10.92
When is Jesus glorified?
00:18:10.95\00:18:12.45
At the cross,
that's when He is--
00:18:12.49\00:18:14.32
that's His hour of glory.
00:18:14.36\00:18:17.29
So, let's read verses 40 to 44
00:18:17.33\00:18:20.43
and see what the
people thought about all this.
00:18:20.46\00:18:23.20
>>Eric: "Therefore
many from the crowd,
00:18:23.23\00:18:24.57
"when they heard
this saying, said,
00:18:24.60\00:18:26.00
"'Truly this is the Prophet.'
00:18:26.03\00:18:28.30
"Others said,
'This is the Christ.'
00:18:28.34\00:18:29.94
"But some said, 'Will the
Christ come out of Galilee?
00:18:29.97\00:18:32.84
"'Has not the Scripture
said that the Christ comes
00:18:32.87\00:18:35.18
"'from the seed of David
and from the town of Bethlehem,
00:18:35.21\00:18:38.01
"where David was?'
00:18:38.05\00:18:39.45
"So there was a division
among the people because of Him.
00:18:39.48\00:18:42.38
"Now some of them
wanted to take Him,
00:18:42.42\00:18:44.25
but no one laid hands on Him."
00:18:44.29\00:18:46.49
>>Tom: Okay, so, because
His hour had not yet come.
00:18:46.52\00:18:49.12
You know, it's not--we
keep hearing those terminologies
00:18:49.16\00:18:51.83
coming up. So, people are
divided about who Jesus is.
00:18:51.86\00:18:56.90
So, obviously Jesus was
a very impressive preacher,
00:18:56.93\00:19:00.47
a very impressive prophet,
and people were really struck
00:19:00.50\00:19:04.67
by hearing Him, but they
were uncertain about Him.
00:19:04.71\00:19:09.38
So, it's interesting here--
00:19:09.41\00:19:11.85
"Is the Christ to
come from Galilee?"
00:19:11.88\00:19:14.02
You know, He was
known as Jesus of Nazareth,
00:19:14.05\00:19:17.02
but we know from
the birth narrative of--
00:19:17.05\00:19:20.59
both in Luke and in Matthew,
00:19:20.62\00:19:23.96
that He actually
was born in Bethlehem,
00:19:23.99\00:19:26.26
though that's not
where His living place was.
00:19:26.29\00:19:29.76
His parents and everything
were really more up in Galilee.
00:19:29.80\00:19:34.54
So, He had fulfilled that,
00:19:34.57\00:19:36.54
but maybe they just didn't
ask, "Where were you born?"
00:19:36.57\00:19:40.94
You know, and so
they're divided about Him.
00:19:40.98\00:19:44.11
Now we read verses--very
interesting verses--45 to 52.
00:19:44.15\00:19:50.79
>>Eric: "Then the officers
came to the chief priests
00:19:50.82\00:19:52.75
"and Pharisees,
who said to them,
00:19:52.79\00:19:54.56
"'Why have you not brought Him?'
00:19:54.59\00:19:56.79
"The officers answered, 'No
man ever spoke like this Man!'
00:19:56.83\00:20:00.43
"Then the
Pharisees answered them,
00:20:00.46\00:20:02.03
"'Are you also deceived?
00:20:02.06\00:20:03.83
"'Have any of the rulers or
the Pharisees believed in Him?
00:20:03.87\00:20:06.77
"'But this crowd
that does not know the law
00:20:06.80\00:20:09.10
"is accursed.'
00:20:09.14\00:20:10.44
"Nicodemus (he who
came to Jesus by night,
00:20:10.47\00:20:12.81
"being one of
them) said to them,
00:20:12.84\00:20:14.94
"'Does our law judge a
man before it hears him
00:20:14.98\00:20:17.61
"and knows what he is doing?'
00:20:17.65\00:20:19.18
"They answered and said to
him, 'Are you also from Galilee?
00:20:19.21\00:20:22.72
Search and look, for no prophet
has arisen out of Galilee.'"
00:20:22.75\00:20:26.45
>>Tom: Well, this is
quite the story. [chuckles]
00:20:26.49\00:20:29.62
It's very interesting.
00:20:29.66\00:20:31.29
So, the officers come
back empty-handed, [laughs]
00:20:31.33\00:20:35.93
and the leaders say,
"Why didn't you arrest Him?
00:20:35.96\00:20:39.43
Why didn't you bring Him?"
00:20:39.47\00:20:41.57
And their answer was, "No one's
ever spoken like this man."
00:20:41.60\00:20:47.61
Now, that's an amazing testimony
by these officers of the court:
00:20:47.64\00:20:53.25
Nobody's ever
spoken like that before.
00:20:53.28\00:20:56.22
His words were arresting,
and they--it's almost as though
00:20:56.25\00:21:02.12
they forgot their errand that
they were sent for, you know.
00:21:02.16\00:21:06.13
I don't know if you've
had that kind of experience;
00:21:06.16\00:21:07.46
you went to do something,
and there was something
00:21:07.50\00:21:09.76
that happened that was
so amazing that you forgot,
00:21:09.80\00:21:14.07
you know, what it was
that you were planning to do,
00:21:14.10\00:21:16.81
you know, on your
journey or your mission.
00:21:16.84\00:21:20.28
And so, that's--these
officers are taken by Jesus.
00:21:20.31\00:21:24.61
Now, [laughing] it
frustrates the leaders.
00:21:24.65\00:21:28.15
It's kind of funny, you know.
00:21:28.18\00:21:30.29
They said, "Have you
also been deceived?" [laughs]
00:21:30.32\00:21:32.95
They're kind of
pulling their hair out.
00:21:32.99\00:21:34.46
"What's wrong with you guys?"
00:21:34.49\00:21:36.29
And then they ask a
question in verse 48, which is,
00:21:36.32\00:21:38.96
you know, really telling:
00:21:38.99\00:21:40.63
"Have any of the authorities or
the Pharisees believed in Him?"
00:21:40.66\00:21:45.30
And of course, their answer is,
00:21:46.74\00:21:49.14
no, none of them have.
00:21:49.17\00:21:52.27
"But this crowd that does
not know the law is accursed."
00:21:52.31\00:21:57.58
That's verse 49.
00:21:57.61\00:21:59.85
Boy, what a condemnation
of the common people
00:21:59.88\00:22:04.85
these men had, you know.
00:22:04.89\00:22:07.36
"This crowd that does not
know the law is accursed."
00:22:07.39\00:22:11.96
I hope there's no pastors
that think of their congregation
00:22:11.99\00:22:18.70
in that light.
00:22:18.73\00:22:21.34
We think
differently about people,
00:22:21.37\00:22:23.10
and the reason we do is because
of Jesus and what He was like.
00:22:23.14\00:22:28.44
So now this interesting
thing comes up: Nicodemus.
00:22:28.48\00:22:35.28
The last time we saw
him was in chapter 3.
00:22:35.32\00:22:38.35
And he came to
Jesus, he buttered Him up,
00:22:38.39\00:22:41.59
but Jesus would have none of it
and spoke to him very directly
00:22:41.62\00:22:45.03
about being born from
above, and being born,
00:22:45.06\00:22:49.53
being baptized,
being born of the Spirit.
00:22:49.56\00:22:52.07
And the further Jesus
talks in John, chapter 3,
00:22:52.10\00:22:56.00
the less and less
Nicodemus has to say,
00:22:56.04\00:22:58.74
until it's just
Jesus; it's a monologue.
00:22:58.77\00:23:03.65
But something happened
to Nicodemus; you know,
00:23:03.68\00:23:06.58
that experience
with Jesus that evening
00:23:06.61\00:23:11.32
changed the way
he looked at things.
00:23:12.32\00:23:14.46
So he says, "Does our law judge
a man without first giving him
00:23:14.49\00:23:19.83
a hearing and
learning what he does?"
00:23:19.86\00:23:23.16
Now, scholars argue
over whether Nicodemus
00:23:23.20\00:23:27.30
ever became a believer.
00:23:27.34\00:23:28.87
And quite a few
of them are like,
00:23:28.90\00:23:32.31
"No, he's an ambiguous
character," he's--you know,
00:23:32.34\00:23:36.08
he never comes out,
"I believe," you know.
00:23:36.11\00:23:39.85
He's not like Peter, you know:
00:23:39.88\00:23:41.28
"We know that You have
the words of eternal life.
00:23:41.32\00:23:42.95
We know that You're
the Holy One of God."
00:23:42.98\00:23:46.32
He doesn't say that.
00:23:46.35\00:23:47.99
But you see, there's a--
00:23:48.02\00:23:49.72
there's this understated
way that things are said
00:23:49.76\00:23:54.03
in the Gospel of John.
00:23:54.10\00:23:56.00
When we remember in chapter 2
00:23:56.03\00:23:58.60
when Mary speaks to
Jesus at the wedding in Cana,
00:23:58.63\00:24:03.10
she says they don't--
they've run out of wine.
00:24:03.14\00:24:06.78
She--you know, it's
kind of understated.
00:24:06.81\00:24:09.28
"Could You please
do something about it?"
00:24:09.31\00:24:10.78
She doesn't say that:
00:24:10.81\00:24:11.68
"Could You please
do something about it?"
00:24:11.71\00:24:12.61
She just says,
"They have no wine."
00:24:12.65\00:24:14.78
And her expectation is
that He will do something.
00:24:14.82\00:24:19.62
It's the same thing here.
00:24:19.65\00:24:22.56
"Does our law judge a man
00:24:22.59\00:24:24.16
"without first
giving him a hearing
00:24:24.19\00:24:25.69
and learning what he does?"
00:24:25.73\00:24:27.66
He's obviously implying,
00:24:27.73\00:24:29.93
we should give this man a
hearing. We shouldn't just,
00:24:29.96\00:24:32.77
you know, write Him off
and say He's from Galilee,
00:24:32.80\00:24:35.10
there's nothing there,
and, you know, He's no good.
00:24:35.14\00:24:37.94
We should give Him a hearing."
00:24:37.97\00:24:40.48
And so, notice what's happened.
00:24:40.51\00:24:43.78
The religious leaders
sent the guys to arrest Him.
00:24:43.81\00:24:47.32
They come back, they
haven't arrested Him,
00:24:47.35\00:24:49.08
they were taken by his
words, and they're like,
00:24:49.12\00:24:52.29
"Agh! What's wrong
with you people?" You know,
00:24:52.32\00:24:55.12
"Are you like the
rest of these folk here?
00:24:55.16\00:24:57.19
"This crowd is just--you know,
00:24:57.23\00:24:58.73
none of the Pharisees
have believed in Him."
00:24:58.76\00:25:01.03
And then Nicodemus,
one of the Pharisees,
00:25:01.06\00:25:03.63
pipes up, and he says,
"Does our law judge a man
00:25:03.67\00:25:07.10
"without first
giving him a hearing
00:25:07.14\00:25:08.60
and learning what he does?"
00:25:08.64\00:25:10.84
Nicodemus, obviously, has
at least an interest in Jesus.
00:25:10.87\00:25:16.01
We could maybe say there's
more than an interest there.
00:25:16.04\00:25:19.15
And, you know, if
they've been stymied
00:25:19.18\00:25:24.15
by the officers
not arresting Him
00:25:24.19\00:25:26.69
because they were
taken by His words--
00:25:26.72\00:25:28.89
then they've
said the authorities
00:25:28.92\00:25:30.66
and the Pharisees
haven't believed in Him--
00:25:30.69\00:25:32.46
oh, but wait a minute, [laughs]
one of the Pharisees has;
00:25:32.49\00:25:36.30
he, too, was taken
by the words of Jesus.
00:25:36.33\00:25:38.70
That just increases
their anger, and they say,
00:25:38.73\00:25:41.10
"Are you from Galilee, too?"
00:25:41.14\00:25:44.24
[laughing] It's like a
slap in the face, you know.
00:25:44.27\00:25:47.61
"Search and see that no
prophet arises from Galilee."
00:25:47.64\00:25:51.28
Now, here's a
warning to you and me:
00:25:51.31\00:25:54.12
Be careful--
00:25:54.15\00:25:55.45
be careful about your
interpretation of Scripture.
00:25:55.48\00:25:58.79
They were basing
their decision against Jesus
00:25:58.82\00:26:02.12
based on their
understanding of the prophecies.
00:26:02.16\00:26:06.46
Be careful. God
may have something more
00:26:06.49\00:26:09.13
for you and for me
from the prophecies.
00:26:09.16\00:26:12.53
Don't be closed-minded;
have an open mind.
00:26:12.57\00:26:15.60
Let God lead; let the
Spirit of God guide you.
00:26:15.64\00:26:18.37
Well, it's a great story.
00:26:18.41\00:26:20.04
>>Eric: It's a fantastic
story and some new insights
00:26:20.08\00:26:23.41
that have come out of that.
00:26:23.45\00:26:25.18
We trust and hope
that you have found
00:26:25.21\00:26:27.08
a few new insights as well
00:26:27.12\00:26:29.32
as we've gone
through this week's lesson.
00:26:29.35\00:26:31.52
Remember, this is
only one of 13 lessons
00:26:31.55\00:26:35.29
on the great themes
in the book of John.
00:26:35.32\00:26:37.76
If you happen to be
joining us partway through
00:26:37.79\00:26:40.43
and want to catch up, you
can find archived episodes
00:26:40.46\00:26:43.83
at itiswritten.tv
00:26:43.87\00:26:45.73
and on the It Is
Written YouTube channel.
00:26:45.77\00:26:47.94
We are going to be back again
00:26:47.97\00:26:50.77
next week with a
brand new episode,
00:26:50.81\00:26:53.31
and we hope and trust
00:26:53.34\00:26:54.64
that you're going
to join us for that.
00:26:54.68\00:26:55.98
In fact, invite others.
00:26:56.01\00:26:58.38
If you want to dig more
deeply into the book of John,
00:26:58.41\00:27:00.95
if you want to share
some of the great themes
00:27:00.98\00:27:03.65
in the book of John with others,
00:27:03.69\00:27:05.35
let others know
about this study.
00:27:05.39\00:27:08.09
Invite them to join it.
You can share on social media.
00:27:08.12\00:27:11.49
You can send messages
to your friends and family.
00:27:11.53\00:27:14.56
Let them know what
you're learning about
00:27:14.56\00:27:16.53
in the book of John
so that they can join us
00:27:16.56\00:27:19.10
on this journey as well.
00:27:19.13\00:27:21.54
So again, watch
archived episodes,
00:27:21.57\00:27:23.41
make sure that
you tune in each week
00:27:23.44\00:27:25.51
for a brand new episode.
00:27:25.54\00:27:27.64
And each week we're going
to be unpacking more and more
00:27:27.68\00:27:30.45
in the book of John,
more and more insights
00:27:30.48\00:27:33.18
into the life of Jesus.
00:27:33.21\00:27:35.45
We'll look forward
to seeing you again
00:27:35.48\00:27:37.49
as we continue
this journey next week
00:27:37.52\00:27:40.29
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:40.32\00:27:42.29
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:42.32\00:27:45.13
¤¤¤
00:27:45.16\00:27:49.13
¤¤¤
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