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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 that you
are joining us today.
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We are on a journey
through the great themes
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in the book of John,
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and today we are on
lesson number 10 of 13.
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We're looking at "The
Way, the Truth, and the Life,"
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digging into Jesus,
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who He is and what
He offers us today.
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But before we do that,
let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we thank
You for blessing us
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with a wonderful journey so far
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as we've been
looking at the book of John.
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And we ask that today,
as You have in the past,
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You will
continue to open our eyes,
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our hearts, and our minds
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to more and more
of the love of Jesus.
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And we thank You in Jesus' name,
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[both] amen.
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Well, we're grateful to
be here once again this week
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and to have with us
one of the co-authors
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of this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson,
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Dr. Tom Shepherd. He is
the senior research professor
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of New Testament at
the Theological Seminary,
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Andrews University.
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Tom, thanks for
being with us again.
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>>Tom Shepherd:
It's a joy to be here.
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>>Eric: So, lesson number 10,
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"The Way, the Truth, and the
Life," we're going to be looking
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at a couple of
chapters significantly here
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in this week's lesson,
starting with John, chapter 13.
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Now, in John 13,
there's an amazing story,
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one that unfortunately
a lot of Christians
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kind of miss out on
some of the significance of,
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but walk us through what's going
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on here in John, chapter 13,
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with Jesus washing
His disciples' feet.
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>>Tom: Okay, just to
set the stage for that,
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I'd like to note that
from John, chapter 12,
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through the end of the book,
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which is almost
half of the book,
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it's really only a
period of about one week
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in Jesus' ministry.
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So John slows down-- we
call it the narrative time--
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he slows down
the narrative time,
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stretches it out because
these are the important events.
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In John, chapter 13,
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is now the feast
of Passover has come,
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and Jesus is going
to have His last meal
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with His disciples.
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So we want to read that
passage and what happens there.
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So we want to read
verses 1 through 11.
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>>Eric: "Now before
the Feast of the Passover,
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"when Jesus knew
that His hour had come
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"that He should depart
from this world to the Father,
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"having loved His own
who were in the world,
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"He loved them to the end.
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"And supper being
ended, the devil having already
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"put...into the
heart of Judas Iscariot,
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"Simon's son, to betray Him,
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"Jesus, knowing that the
Father had given all things
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"into His hands,
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"and that He had come
from God and was going to God,
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"rose from supper and
laid aside His garments,
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"took a towel
and girded Himself.
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"After that, He
poured water into a basin
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"and began to wash
the disciples' feet,
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"and to wipe them with the towel
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"with which He was girded.
Then He came to Simon Peter.
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"And Peter said to Him,
'Lord, are You washing my feet?'
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"Jesus answered and said to him,
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"'What I am doing you
do not understand now,
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"but you will know after this.'
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"Peter said to Him, 'You
shall never wash my feet!'
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"Jesus answered him,
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"'If I do not wash you,
you have no part with me.'
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"Simon Peter said to
Him, 'Lord, not my feet only,
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"but also my hands and
my head!' Jesus said to him,
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"'He who is bathed
needs only to wash his feet,
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"'but is completely
clean; and you are clean,
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"but not all of you.' For
He knew who would betray Him;
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therefore He said,
'You are not all clean.'"
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>>Tom: All right, now, this is
a very interesting presentation.
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It's the time of
the Feast of Passover.
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It's actually Jesus' last
supper with His disciples,
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which occurred
on a Thursday night.
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He's going to be
crucified on Friday.
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So we're right next to
the experience of His death.
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And it's interesting the
way our evangelist sets this up.
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He sets this up by describing
it's the Feast of Passover,
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and then Jesus knew that
His hour had come to depart
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out of this world to the Father.
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Now, so His hour has
come, the time of His sacrifice,
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the time of His death.
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And the evangelist
John puts it very--
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makes it very clearly
that He's going to the Father
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and that He loved His own,
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His disciples who
were in the world;
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"He loved them to the end."
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During supper--now, this
is kind of the second part--
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here is when the
devil had already put
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into the heart of
Judas to betray Him.
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So now we also
have the betrayer there.
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And then verse
3, very interesting:
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"Jesus, knowing
that the Father had given
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"all things into His hands,
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and that He had come from
God and was going back to God"--
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why did He say that?
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Because the next
thing that Jesus is gonna do
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is totally out of character
from what anybody would think
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somebody in His
position would do.
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And again, our
evangelist, a good storyteller,
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he slows down, he stretches
out the narrative time.
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He could have just
said He washed their feet.
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No, that's not what he says.
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"[He] rose from supper. He
laid aside His outer garments."
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He takes a towel. He
ties it around His waist.
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It's really slow, you know?
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"Then He poured
water into a basin
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and [then He] began to
wash the disciples' feet."
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So, all of these steps
that are described here
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are all the steps of a servant,
what a servant would do.
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So, this is something the
disciples probably watched
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in shocked silence
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as He went from person to
person, washing their feet.
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I mean that's not what
a master does. [chuckles]
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The servant, the disciple,
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is the one who
washes the master's feet,
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not just--not the
opposite. But Jesus does this.
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So, everybody's quiet.
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Nobody says anything
until He comes to Peter.
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And Peter just can't take it.
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He said, "Lord,
do You wash my feet?"
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He's like, "That's not right.
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You're not supposed to do
that. Please, don't do that."
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And Jesus says, "What I'm
doing, you don't understand now,
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but you will later."
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"No, You'll never
wash my feet," says Peter.
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And Jesus says,
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"If I don't wash your
feet, you have no part with me."
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"Well, then wash
all of me." [laughs]
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You see that's what he says.
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He says, "No, you don't need--
you've already been baptized.
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You don't need to be washed
again, but just your feet."
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And He says, "And
you are clean, see?
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But not all of
you," because He knew--
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it kind of goes back
to that thing about Judas.
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Now, what does this mean?
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Why does Jesus wash their feet?
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Well, Jesus explains
in verses 12 through 20.
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So that's what
we want to read now.
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>>Eric: "So when He had washed
their feet, taken His garments,
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"and sat down
again, He said to them,
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"'Do you know what
I have done to you?
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"'You call me Teacher and Lord,
and you say well, for so I am.
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"'If I then, your Lord and
Teacher, have washed your feet,
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"'you also ought to
wash one another's feet.
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"'For I have
given you an example,
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"'that you should do
as I have done to you.
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"'Most assuredly, I say to you,
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"'a servant is not
greater than his master,
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"'nor is he who is sent
greater than he who sent him.
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"'If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them.
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"'I do not speak
concerning all of you.
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"'I know whom I have chosen;
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"'but that the
Scripture may be fulfilled,
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"'"He who eats bread with me
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"'has lifted up
his heel against me."
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"'Now I tell
you before it comes,
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"'that when it
does come to pass,
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"'you may believe that I am He.
Most assuredly, I say to you,
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"'he who receives
whomever I send receives me;
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and he who receives me
receives Him who sent me.'"
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>>Tom: All right,
so what Jesus says is--
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He asked them first, "Do
you understand what I've done?"
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And probably they
would say, "Uh, no."
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So He says, "You call me Teacher
and Lord, and you're right,
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for so I am." So, just like the
beginning of this passage said
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that He came from
God, He's going to God,
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God has given everything
into His hands, He is the Lord.
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He is the Lord, all right?
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So He says, "If I
then, your Lord and Teacher,
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"have washed your feet, you also
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ought to wash
one another's feet."
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So this is where we might
say servant leadership arises,
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is with Jesus, the Lord
and Master, washes his feet.
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So He says, "You're
supposed to follow my example.
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"I have given you an example,
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"that you...should do
just as I have done....
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"Truly, truly, I say to you,
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"a servant is not
greater than his master,
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nor is a messenger greater
than the one who sent him."
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So if I've done it, you
can do it, too, all right?
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So He says in verse 17:
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"If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them."
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Now, sadly, most
Christian churches have
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or do not
practice this at this time.
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They practice the
communion service,
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but they do not
practice what Adventists call
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the ordinance
of humility, right,
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where you wash
somebody else's feet.
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Actually,
Catholics have a tradition
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where the pope will
wash 12 poor people's feet.
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I think probably
at the time of Easter
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he does this at St. Peter's.
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So there's still
some semblance of this,
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at least with
our Catholic friends.
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But Adventists do this
whenever we celebrate communion,
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and we have this
special ceremony.
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Now, I find it very significant,
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very, very
wonderful that we illustrate,
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we do something that Jesus did
and that He said we should do,
00:10:02.56\00:10:06.10
and that is to
wash one another's feet.
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And it just is a
great opportunity
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to make sure everything's right.
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When I was taught
about this, the idea was,
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if you have something
where you're not, you know,
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good with your
brother or your sister,
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you should go during the week
before the communion service
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and make things right.
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Or maybe at the
communion service,
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you wash their feet.
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The church is a--I tell people,
the church is a rock tumbler.
00:10:34.50\00:10:39.70
So whenever I teach
this in class, I say,
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"Does anybody here do, you
know, do you polish rocks?"
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And usually there's
somebody, and I say,
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"Well, what do you do?"
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Well, you have this
machine, and it's a big tumbler,
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and you open it up,
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and you put in the
semi-precious stones
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you wanna polish,
and you put all this grit
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in there with it and some water.
00:11:00.26\00:11:02.89
And then you'd better
have it in a place where noise
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is not a problem
because you turn it on
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and [imitates grinding noise]
it makes this terrible noise.
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You put finer and finer grit
and by the end of the week--
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it takes a while--by the
end of the week, you bring out
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those stones, and
they're shiny and smooth.
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I say to people, "The
church is a rock tumbler.
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We each have rough edges
that need to be rubbed off."
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Where does that
happen? In the church.
00:11:27.18\00:11:29.82
And sometimes
there'll be heat between us
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as brothers and
sisters. So what happens?
00:11:32.99\00:11:35.29
Well, we need to say--
and what my family calls
00:11:35.32\00:11:39.33
"the magic words"--
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it's not "please";
it's not "thank you";
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not even "I'm sorry."
00:11:41.96\00:11:45.40
"I'm sorry" is pretty good,
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but the magic words in my family
have always been, "I was wrong."
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I learned when I was young:
00:11:52.54\00:11:54.01
Say them quickly;
get them out of the way.
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So sometimes you have
to admit you're wrong,
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ask for forgiveness,
and go forward from there.
00:11:59.45\00:12:02.28
And I've learned,
if you say it quickly,
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you take the responsibility,
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things are
quickly, you know, resolved.
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If you don't, somebody will
apply the truth to you. [laughs]
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So that's what
happens in the church.
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And the ordinance of
humility is the opportunity
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to get that all
straightened out.
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>>Eric: And it's something
that we can engage in today
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and be blessed by today.
00:12:23.84\00:12:25.47
And Jesus says,
"Happy are you if you do it."
00:12:25.51\00:12:28.14
And I think there's
something to learn there.
00:12:28.18\00:12:30.05
We're going to continue looking
at Jesus here as the way,
00:12:30.08\00:12:32.01
the truth, and the life,
but before we go to break, Tom,
00:12:32.05\00:12:35.22
share with us a little bit
more about that companion book
00:12:35.25\00:12:37.99
that is available for
this quarter's lesson.
00:12:38.02\00:12:40.19
>>Tom: All right,
well, a companion book
00:12:40.22\00:12:41.69
is a book that's
published by Pacific Press,
00:12:41.72\00:12:43.69
and it has
additional information
00:12:43.73\00:12:45.49
that you won't find
in the lesson quarterly.
00:12:45.53\00:12:47.23
You won't find in
the teacher's lesson.
00:12:47.23\00:12:48.76
It gives you added information,
sometimes background stuff,
00:12:48.80\00:12:52.37
good exegetical information,
just very helpful for you
00:12:52.40\00:12:55.87
to have a better
understanding of the lesson.
00:12:55.90\00:12:57.84
And if you're a teacher,
extra information to share
00:12:57.87\00:13:00.74
with your students to
keep them interested in
00:13:00.78\00:13:03.08
the "Sabbath School" quarterly
and the "Sabbath School" lesson.
00:13:03.11\00:13:06.35
>>Eric: So if you
would like to pick that up,
00:13:06.38\00:13:07.62
and we would
encourage you to do so,
00:13:07.65\00:13:09.45
just go to itiswritten.shop.
00:13:09.48\00:13:11.92
Again, itiswritten.shop,
00:13:11.95\00:13:14.06
and you can pick
up the companion book
00:13:14.09\00:13:15.86
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson.
00:13:15.89\00:13:18.29
In just a moment or two,
00:13:18.33\00:13:19.63
we're going to
be back once again
00:13:19.66\00:13:21.16
as we continue looking at Jesus,
00:13:21.20\00:13:23.00
"The Way, the
Truth, and the Life,"
00:13:23.03\00:13:24.93
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:13:24.97\00:13:26.10
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:13:26.13\00:13:28.10
¤¤¤
00:13:28.14\00:13:30.14
>>John Bradshaw: The
Bible is filled with stories
00:13:32.97\00:13:35.38
of flawed human beings
God called to serve Him
00:13:35.41\00:13:38.85
in incredible ways.
00:13:38.88\00:13:40.72
He took a violent,
impulsive, racist fisherman
00:13:40.75\00:13:43.95
and transformed him into
one of Jesus' closest disciples
00:13:43.99\00:13:47.66
and one of the most influential
leaders of the early church.
00:13:47.69\00:13:51.49
Join me for another
episode of our series,
00:13:51.53\00:13:53.60
"Great Characters of the Bible,"
as we look at the life of Peter.
00:13:53.63\00:13:58.57
Peter was far from perfect.
00:13:58.60\00:14:00.50
He was overly confident. He
made promises he didn't keep.
00:14:00.54\00:14:04.37
But his experience
is an encouragement
00:14:04.41\00:14:06.41
to anyone who knows
the feeling of messing up
00:14:06.44\00:14:09.41
as a follower of
Jesus, of falling short,
00:14:09.44\00:14:12.68
and wondering if
you'll ever get it right.
00:14:12.71\00:14:15.65
God stuck with
Peter and helped him grow.
00:14:15.68\00:14:18.79
And if you'll let Him,
He'll do the same for you.
00:14:18.82\00:14:22.46
"Great Characters
of the Bible: Peter,"
00:14:22.49\00:14:26.13
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:26.16\00:14:28.96
¤¤¤
00:14:32.47\00:14:36.94
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:36.97\00:14:38.61
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:38.64\00:14:40.28
We're glad that
you're joining us today.
00:14:40.31\00:14:41.78
We are looking
at lesson number 10,
00:14:41.81\00:14:43.61
"The Way, the
Truth, and the Life."
00:14:43.65\00:14:46.45
Tom, I'm going to
read a few verses here
00:14:46.48\00:14:48.65
in John, chapter 14
00:14:48.68\00:14:49.98
and then let you
respond to what I read.
00:14:50.02\00:14:52.62
John 14, verses 1 through 3,
00:14:52.65\00:14:54.69
I think a familiar
passage to many of us,
00:14:54.72\00:14:57.16
Jesus says, "Let not
your heart be troubled;
00:14:57.19\00:14:59.59
"you believe in
God, believe also in me.
00:14:59.63\00:15:02.13
"In my Father's
house are many mansions;
00:15:02.16\00:15:04.57
"if it were not so,
I would have told you.
00:15:04.60\00:15:07.00
"I go to
prepare a place for you.
00:15:07.04\00:15:09.14
"And if I go and
prepare a place for you,
00:15:09.17\00:15:11.34
"I will come again
and receive you to myself;
00:15:11.37\00:15:14.11
that where I am,
there you may be also."
00:15:14.14\00:15:18.51
So, a familiar passage--
00:15:18.55\00:15:20.65
what's the context in
which Jesus made this statement,
00:15:20.68\00:15:24.05
and what's the
significance of that?
00:15:24.09\00:15:25.72
>>Tom: Okay, so
it's very interesting.
00:15:25.75\00:15:28.39
When the Bible was
originally written,
00:15:28.42\00:15:31.39
there were no verse divisions;
there were no chapter divisions.
00:15:31.43\00:15:35.70
Actually, in Greek,
when they originally wrote
00:15:35.73\00:15:38.60
the New Testament, there
were even no word divisions.
00:15:38.63\00:15:41.60
It's just a string of letters.
00:15:41.64\00:15:42.77
You have to
learn how to read it.
00:15:42.80\00:15:44.27
And they're all capital
letters across the line.
00:15:44.31\00:15:47.51
So we often, when
we read the Bible,
00:15:47.54\00:15:50.35
we will read a chapter and say,
00:15:50.38\00:15:53.11
"Oh, okay, a nice
devotional," you know,
00:15:53.15\00:15:55.22
and then we'll read the
next chapter the next day.
00:15:55.25\00:15:58.25
Now here's the
interesting thing.
00:15:58.29\00:16:00.49
There's a context in chapter 13
00:16:00.52\00:16:03.19
that fits very
nicely with chapter 14
00:16:03.22\00:16:05.39
to give it more context,
more kind of a life, okay?
00:16:05.43\00:16:11.27
So in verse 36 of chapter 13
00:16:11.30\00:16:14.60
"Simon Peter said to Him,
'Lord, where are You going?'
00:16:14.64\00:16:17.77
"Jesus answered, 'Where I am
going you cannot follow me now,
00:16:17.81\00:16:21.91
but you will follow afterward.'"
00:16:21.94\00:16:23.45
He's talking about the death,
00:16:23.48\00:16:25.28
His death on the
cross, and Peter, of course,
00:16:25.31\00:16:27.88
the tradition is that
he also was crucified.
00:16:27.92\00:16:31.12
So verse 37: "Peter said to Him,
00:16:31.15\00:16:33.62
"'Lord, why can I
not follow You now?
00:16:33.66\00:16:36.19
"I will lay down
my life for You.'
00:16:36.22\00:16:38.33
"Jesus answered,
00:16:38.36\00:16:39.69
"'Will you lay
down your life for me?
00:16:39.73\00:16:41.83
"'Truly, truly, I say to
you, the rooster will not crow
00:16:41.86\00:16:44.60
"'till you have
denied me three times.
00:16:44.63\00:16:48.04
"'Let not your
hearts be troubled.
00:16:48.07\00:16:50.07
Believe in God;
believe also in me.'"
00:16:50.11\00:16:52.74
When you see the
context that, you know,
00:16:52.77\00:16:55.28
He's just told
Peter he's gonna deny Him.
00:16:55.31\00:16:56.85
Peter's, like, [gasps] shocked.
00:16:56.88\00:16:59.45
Jesus says to all the disciples,
00:16:59.48\00:17:01.68
"Let not your
hearts be troubled.
00:17:01.72\00:17:03.72
Believe in God;
believe also in me."
00:17:03.75\00:17:05.39
So, "You're gonna make
a terrible mistake, Peter,
00:17:05.42\00:17:09.46
"but understand, don't
let your heart be troubled.
00:17:09.49\00:17:12.33
You believe in God;
believe also in me," right?
00:17:12.36\00:17:15.43
Now, there's
another beautiful part here
00:17:15.46\00:17:17.67
that I want to bring out.
00:17:17.70\00:17:19.27
In verse 2, He says,
00:17:19.30\00:17:20.60
"In my Father's
house are many rooms."
00:17:20.64\00:17:22.30
Actually it's not "mansions."
The word means "rooms."
00:17:22.34\00:17:24.44
It's like a big hotel,
00:17:24.47\00:17:26.27
the best hotel you've
ever been at. [laughs]
00:17:26.31\00:17:29.84
"There are many rooms
in my Father's house."
00:17:29.88\00:17:33.11
So there's a big
family in the Father's house.
00:17:33.15\00:17:35.98
He says, "If it were not so,
00:17:36.02\00:17:37.99
would I have told you that I
go to prepare a place for you?"
00:17:38.02\00:17:40.32
Now, verse 3, very famous verse
00:17:40.36\00:17:42.39
about the
Second Coming of Jesus,
00:17:42.42\00:17:43.73
is very precious to
Seventh-day Adventists:
00:17:43.76\00:17:46.83
"And if I go and
prepare a place for you,
00:17:46.86\00:17:49.56
"I will come again and
will take you to myself,
00:17:49.60\00:17:52.37
that where I am
you may be also."
00:17:52.40\00:17:55.00
Now, here's the
interesting thing.
00:17:55.04\00:17:57.17
In Greek, when He
says, "I will come again,"
00:17:57.21\00:18:00.21
it's actually
not a future tense.
00:18:00.24\00:18:02.34
That's the future, you know?
00:18:02.38\00:18:03.68
It's not actually a future
tense. It's a present tense:
00:18:03.71\00:18:06.01
"I'm coming again."
00:18:06.05\00:18:07.68
But it's very clear
from reading the whole text
00:18:07.72\00:18:10.99
that it's actually, He's
talking about the future.
00:18:11.02\00:18:14.32
So somebody says, "Well, if
you're talking about the future,
00:18:14.36\00:18:16.96
why would you
use a present tense?"
00:18:16.99\00:18:20.63
In Greek grammar, it's
called a futuristic present.
00:18:20.66\00:18:24.10
Isn't that cool? A
futuristic present.
00:18:24.13\00:18:25.77
It's good to learn a
little bit of Greek grammar.
00:18:25.80\00:18:29.20
A futuristic present is
a future event spoken of
00:18:29.24\00:18:35.64
with such
certainty it's described
00:18:35.68\00:18:38.51
as though already
happening, all right?
00:18:38.55\00:18:41.58
A future event spoken
of with such certainty
00:18:41.62\00:18:45.62
it's described as
though already happening.
00:18:45.65\00:18:47.66
So we could
translate it this way:
00:18:47.69\00:18:49.16
"And if I go and
prepare a place for you,
00:18:49.19\00:18:52.26
"I will most certainly come
again and receive you to myself,
00:18:52.29\00:18:57.00
that where I am
you may be also."
00:18:57.03\00:18:59.93
Some people worry about
the second coming of Jesus.
00:19:00.04\00:19:03.34
It's been a long
time since He left,
00:19:03.37\00:19:05.87
and they're wondering, you
know, is He really coming back?
00:19:05.91\00:19:10.05
It's not just a question
of Bible prophecy, my friends.
00:19:10.08\00:19:12.98
It's a question of the
man who made the promise.
00:19:13.01\00:19:15.92
You can trust this
man. He said, "If I go away,
00:19:15.95\00:19:19.79
I will most
certainly come again."
00:19:19.82\00:19:21.96
Trust Him on what He said.
00:19:21.99\00:19:23.63
>>Eric: So, some beautiful
promises that we find there
00:19:23.66\00:19:25.79
in the beginning of chapter 14.
00:19:25.83\00:19:28.16
I want to jump now to some
statements that Jesus made,
00:19:28.20\00:19:33.67
the "I am" statements.
There are seven of them.
00:19:33.70\00:19:36.94
Help us to
understand these statements
00:19:36.97\00:19:38.64
and their
significance. >>Tom: Okay, so
00:19:38.67\00:19:40.64
there's some dispute, I think,
00:19:40.68\00:19:42.24
in terms of just
how many of these are,
00:19:42.28\00:19:44.41
but we have these--let me kind
of run down them quickly here
00:19:44.45\00:19:48.65
and list them off.
00:19:48.68\00:19:49.98
We have in John 6, verse 35,
00:19:50.02\00:19:53.36
He says, "I am
the bread of life."
00:19:53.39\00:19:56.06
In John 8, verse 12, He says,
"I am the light of the world."
00:19:56.09\00:20:00.70
In John 10, verse 7, He says,
"I am the door of the sheep."
00:20:00.73\00:20:04.97
In John 10, verse 11, He
says, "I am the good shepherd."
00:20:05.00\00:20:09.10
In John 11, verse 25, He says,
00:20:09.14\00:20:11.57
"I am the
resurrection and the life."
00:20:11.61\00:20:14.08
John 14:6, He says,
00:20:14.11\00:20:16.18
"I am the way, the
truth, and the life."
00:20:16.21\00:20:18.81
In John 15:1, He
says, "I am the true vine."
00:20:18.85\00:20:22.05
Now, these seven
statements each have a context.
00:20:22.08\00:20:28.22
We already saw that
in chapter 6, verse 35,
00:20:28.26\00:20:30.96
when He spoke of
the bread of life,
00:20:30.99\00:20:32.29
that's when He fed the 5,000.
00:20:32.33\00:20:34.40
And what does this teach us?
00:20:34.46\00:20:35.93
Well, it teaches us that Jesus
is the source of spiritual life.
00:20:35.96\00:20:39.63
He's the source of
spiritual sustenance.
00:20:39.67\00:20:42.14
If you don't have
Jesus, you don't have life.
00:20:42.17\00:20:45.44
Now, this also
teaches the importance
00:20:45.47\00:20:47.11
of the communion service
00:20:47.14\00:20:48.78
because it's about
the communion service
00:20:48.81\00:20:50.78
where we partake of
the bread and the cup
00:20:50.81\00:20:53.55
that represent His
body and His blood.
00:20:53.58\00:20:56.89
He comes to
especially be with us.
00:20:56.92\00:20:58.95
Don't miss the
communion service, my friends.
00:20:58.99\00:21:02.12
Be sure you're there.
00:21:02.16\00:21:03.96
In chapter 8, He talks about
being the light of the world.
00:21:03.99\00:21:08.13
And in chapter 9,
00:21:08.16\00:21:09.73
when He heals the
man who's born blind,
00:21:09.76\00:21:12.40
He gives him eyes, so to speak;
00:21:12.43\00:21:14.40
He creates those
eyes that he didn't have.
00:21:14.44\00:21:17.07
At that time He also says,
00:21:17.11\00:21:18.81
"As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world."
00:21:18.84\00:21:21.61
It's beautiful.
00:21:21.64\00:21:22.94
In chapter 10, He has
this kind of metaphor;
00:21:22.98\00:21:27.12
you'd almost say a parable.
00:21:27.15\00:21:28.45
John never uses
the word "parable,"
00:21:28.48\00:21:30.29
but kind of a
parable about the sheep pen
00:21:30.32\00:21:33.32
and the shepherd.
00:21:33.36\00:21:34.66
He says, "I'm the
door of the sheep."
00:21:34.69\00:21:36.42
So He gives--
00:21:36.46\00:21:38.26
He's the
entryway into the church.
00:21:38.29\00:21:40.30
He's the good shepherd.
00:21:40.33\00:21:41.60
He's the protection for
the church. He's salvation.
00:21:41.63\00:21:44.60
He brings the church
to where it needs to be.
00:21:44.63\00:21:47.84
I missed the one
on light of the world.
00:21:47.87\00:21:50.14
He's the source
of spiritual vision.
00:21:50.17\00:21:52.87
He says, "I'm the resurrection
and the life" in chapter 11.
00:21:52.91\00:21:55.54
That's dealing with the
resurrection of Lazarus.
00:21:55.58\00:21:59.65
And so, He is our future hope.
00:21:59.68\00:22:03.02
He is the way, the
truth, and the life.
00:22:03.05\00:22:05.25
He is our guide.
00:22:05.29\00:22:06.79
And that's in
chapter 14, verse 6.
00:22:06.82\00:22:08.96
In 15:1, the true vine,
00:22:08.99\00:22:10.56
we must be connected to
Him to have spiritual life.
00:22:10.59\00:22:14.60
So these seven statements
that show up different places,
00:22:14.63\00:22:18.17
different contexts in
John, tell us more about Jesus
00:22:18.20\00:22:20.67
and how He is the
source of our life.
00:22:20.70\00:22:24.04
And it's wonderful what we have
in these beautiful statements.
00:22:24.07\00:22:28.04
>>Eric: And one
of those statements
00:22:28.08\00:22:29.38
that you just
referenced is John 14, verse 6,
00:22:29.41\00:22:33.15
which is right,
essentially, where we are.
00:22:33.18\00:22:34.95
I'm going to read a few
verses, verses 5 through 11.
00:22:34.98\00:22:38.65
Verse 5: Thomas says to Jesus,
00:22:38.69\00:22:40.52
"'Lord, we do not
know where You are going,
00:22:40.56\00:22:42.59
"and how can we know the way?'
00:22:42.62\00:22:44.29
"Jesus said to him,
00:22:44.33\00:22:45.63
"'I am the way, the
truth, and the life.
00:22:45.66\00:22:48.43
"'No one comes to the
Father except through me.
00:22:48.46\00:22:51.33
"'If you had known me, you
would have known my Father also;
00:22:51.37\00:22:54.47
"and from now on you
know Him and have seen Him.'
00:22:54.50\00:22:57.14
"Philip said to Him,
00:22:57.17\00:22:58.47
"'Lord, show us the Father,
and it is sufficient for us.'
00:22:58.51\00:23:01.48
"Jesus said to him,
'Have I been with you so long,
00:23:01.51\00:23:04.51
"'and yet you have
not known me, Philip?
00:23:04.55\00:23:06.55
"'He who has seen
me has seen the Father;
00:23:06.58\00:23:08.82
"'so how can you
say, "Show us the Father"?
00:23:08.85\00:23:11.32
"'Do you not believe
that I am in the Father,
00:23:11.35\00:23:13.82
"'and the Father in me?
The words that I speak to you
00:23:13.86\00:23:16.66
"'I do not speak
on my own authority;
00:23:16.69\00:23:18.89
"'but my Father who
dwells in me does the works.
00:23:18.93\00:23:21.80
"'Believe me that I am in
the Father and the Father in me,
00:23:21.83\00:23:25.27
or else believe me for the
sake of the works themselves.'"
00:23:25.30\00:23:29.60
So what are these questions
that Thomas and Philip have
00:23:29.64\00:23:33.27
about Jesus and
where He's going?
00:23:33.31\00:23:36.28
>>Tom: Okay, so
Thomas and Philip seem to be
00:23:36.31\00:23:38.35
two disciples who have a
little challenge with faith,
00:23:38.38\00:23:42.35
a little challenge with
understanding, you know.
00:23:42.38\00:23:45.49
And maybe you and
I can relate to them
00:23:45.52\00:23:47.96
because
sometimes during our life,
00:23:47.99\00:23:49.96
our Christian
walk, we have challenges,
00:23:49.99\00:23:52.46
and maybe we
falter on our steps,
00:23:52.49\00:23:55.00
and we need somebody to
kind of come along beside us
00:23:55.03\00:23:58.87
and say, "You know,
it's okay to have questions."
00:23:58.90\00:24:01.67
And that's what
Jesus seemed to--
00:24:01.70\00:24:04.51
He accepted their questions.
00:24:04.54\00:24:06.01
So Thomas seems to
ask a logical question:
00:24:06.04\00:24:09.08
"Lord, we don't
know where You're going,
00:24:09.11\00:24:10.81
so how can we know the way?"
00:24:10.85\00:24:13.18
And He says, "Well, I'm the way.
00:24:13.21\00:24:16.52
I'm the truth. I'm the life."
00:24:16.55\00:24:19.12
It's kind of
beautiful, you know.
00:24:19.15\00:24:21.79
You and I don't know
all the steps in our life.
00:24:21.82\00:24:25.43
If you had told me
when I was a young boy
00:24:25.46\00:24:29.50
that I would be a
teacher, I would have--
00:24:29.53\00:24:33.03
my family's very
medical-- I would have said,
00:24:33.07\00:24:34.94
"No, I'm going to
be a medical doctor."
00:24:34.97\00:24:36.94
Well, that's not
where my path led, you know.
00:24:36.97\00:24:39.74
And God has
brought me various paths.
00:24:39.77\00:24:43.18
Recently, He brought
me back into, you know,
00:24:43.21\00:24:45.71
the regular pastoral ministry.
00:24:45.75\00:24:47.65
I started my work as a pastor,
00:24:47.68\00:24:49.38
and now I'm ending
my work as a pastor,
00:24:49.42\00:24:51.75
and I'm officially retired,
but I'm pastoring two churches.
00:24:51.79\00:24:56.59
But it's beautiful
that God leads you.
00:24:56.62\00:24:58.96
So you don't need
to know all the steps
00:24:58.99\00:25:03.20
of where you're going to go.
00:25:03.23\00:25:06.10
You need to know that
Jesus is by your side,
00:25:06.13\00:25:09.44
leading your steps, and
that's very encouraging.
00:25:09.47\00:25:12.61
"I am the way, the
truth, and the life."
00:25:12.64\00:25:14.94
We have Him with us.
00:25:14.98\00:25:16.58
Now, Philip's question,
well, kind of statement:
00:25:16.61\00:25:20.15
"Lord, show us the
Father and it is enough for us."
00:25:20.18\00:25:23.75
The Gospel of John in chapter 1
00:25:23.79\00:25:25.62
says no one has ever
seen God at any time.
00:25:25.65\00:25:29.06
Moses, back in the
Old Testament said,
00:25:29.09\00:25:32.46
you know, "Show--
God, let me see You."
00:25:32.49\00:25:36.00
God said, "You can't see me.
00:25:36.03\00:25:38.03
If you saw my
face, you would die,"
00:25:38.07\00:25:40.04
because you're sinful, see?
00:25:40.07\00:25:41.94
But He says, "I'll let you
see as much as you can see,"
00:25:41.97\00:25:45.14
and He put his hand over
him-- God must have a big hand.
00:25:45.17\00:25:47.94
[laughs] And He walked past, and
He let him see His back, right?
00:25:47.98\00:25:51.95
Now, Jesus is
God in human flesh.
00:25:51.98\00:25:56.08
And so, He says, "Philip,
I've been with you so long.
00:25:56.12\00:26:00.19
"You don't know me? I
and the Father are one.
00:26:00.22\00:26:03.12
You know, you've seen
me, you've seen the Father."
00:26:03.16\00:26:05.96
So, it's interesting.
We haven't seen God,
00:26:05.99\00:26:10.90
but we have the stories
of Jesus. We have Jesus.
00:26:10.93\00:26:15.24
And He is the expression
of God to us that shows us
00:26:15.27\00:26:19.67
what the Father is like.
00:26:19.71\00:26:21.68
And that should be
enough for us to know Jesus.
00:26:21.71\00:26:25.95
>>Eric: What would you say
to somebody in just a few words
00:26:25.98\00:26:28.92
who says, "I want to get to
know Jesus a little bit better.
00:26:28.95\00:26:32.49
"I want to know the way,
00:26:32.52\00:26:34.56
but I'm not sure
exactly what to do."
00:26:34.59\00:26:37.13
What would you tell that person?
00:26:37.16\00:26:38.46
>>Tom: All right, so
that's a good question.
00:26:38.49\00:26:39.79
What I would say
to this person is,
00:26:39.83\00:26:41.10
first, you're going
to find God in the Bible.
00:26:41.13\00:26:43.93
You gotta read the Bible. Now,
where's the best place to start?
00:26:43.97\00:26:46.77
You know, the Gospel of
John is not a bad place to start
00:26:46.80\00:26:49.54
because, as we've
already said in these lessons,
00:26:49.57\00:26:51.54
that it draws you to Jesus.
00:26:51.57\00:26:53.54
There's these different
ways that John does that.
00:26:53.58\00:26:56.34
I also, in my own
personal experience,
00:26:56.38\00:26:58.51
I would say there's
a beautiful little book
00:26:58.55\00:27:00.95
called "Steps to Christ."
00:27:00.98\00:27:02.28
It's short, and it
has wonderful chapters.
00:27:02.32\00:27:05.29
I struggled with
doubt as a young man.
00:27:05.32\00:27:07.29
There is a chapter,
"What to Do with Doubt."
00:27:07.32\00:27:10.03
I read it over and over, and
it was a blessing to my life,
00:27:10.06\00:27:13.09
and I would
recommend that book as well.
00:27:13.13\00:27:15.93
>>Eric: So two excellent
books, the book of John
00:27:15.96\00:27:17.60
that you'll find in the Bible
00:27:17.63\00:27:18.93
and a little book
called "Steps to Christ,"
00:27:18.97\00:27:21.87
both phenomenal books.
00:27:21.90\00:27:23.74
We're glad that you have
chosen to join us this week
00:27:23.77\00:27:26.44
on "Sabbath School."
We've been looking at
00:27:26.47\00:27:27.94
"The Way, the
Truth, and the Life,"
00:27:27.98\00:27:30.58
and we trust that
you have found the way
00:27:30.61\00:27:33.85
or will continue
to seek for the way
00:27:33.88\00:27:36.08
because He most
certainly wants you to find it.
00:27:36.12\00:27:38.99
And we look forward to
seeing you again next week
00:27:39.02\00:27:41.29
as we continue our journey.
00:27:41.32\00:27:42.62
We're getting close
to the end of it here
00:27:42.66\00:27:44.76
in the book of John.
00:27:44.79\00:27:46.09
Just a few more episodes
to go, a few more lessons,
00:27:46.13\00:27:48.73
but we look forward
to having you join us
00:27:48.76\00:27:50.60
once again next week
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:50.63\00:27:53.44
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:53.47\00:27:55.77
¤¤¤
00:27:55.80\00:27:59.81
¤¤¤
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