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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ002117A
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00:24 Two thousand years ago this was a thriving fishing village. Five 00:29 of the fishermen that lived here left this village, turned the 00:33 world upside down and changed the course of human history. One 00:39 them was a very angry young man. He and his brother were called 00:42 the sons of thunder. But something happened that turned 00:47 his life around and changed him forever. He ended up writing 00:51 five books of the Bible. Four of them are even named after him, 00:56 that's more than anyone else. And he's referred to more than 00:59 30 times in the Bible. His name was John and this is his story. 01:06 It follows John from an angry young man wanting to destroy 01:10 his enemies by fire to becoming one of Jesus' most influential 01:15 disciples. John underwent a remarkable transformation as a 01:20 disciple, from the quick tempered son of thunder to the 01:25 compassionate apostle of love. How did he do this? What made 01:29 all the difference? What was the secret of his transformation? 01:33 Well stay with us to find out. His story will encourage 01:39 and inspire you and maybe what enhanced and changed his life 01:43 will do the same for you as well. 01:47 ♪ ♪ 02:15 This is a place of miracles. Here in the ancient fishing 02:18 village of Bethsaida and along the nearby northern shore of the 02:22 sea of Galilee Jesus performed some of his most incredible 02:28 miracles. Here Jesus met a blind man, he took him by the hand, 02:32 healed him and restored his sight. Nearby Jesus taught a 02:38 great crowd of people. At the end of the day when they got 02:41 hungry and there was no food for them to each, Jesus took the 02:45 lunch of a young boy and multiplied his five loaves and 02:49 two small fish into enough food for over 5000 people. And it was 02:56 from here at Bethsaida that Jesus walked on the water across 03:00 the sea of Galilee. The disciples left Bethsaida by boat 03:04 to sail to the other side of the lake. Jesus remained behind 03:09 alone to pray. That night a wild storm arose and the disciples 03:15 were afraid the boat would sink and they all would drown. But 03:20 then they saw Jesus walking to them on the water. After Jesus 03:24 entered the boat the wind stopped and they arrived safely 03:29 at land. All of these miracles and many more happened right 03:33 here around Bethsaida. Yes this surely is a place of miracles. 03:40 In fact, this is where it all began. Christianity started 03:46 right here in this area. When Jesus began his work and needed 03:52 people to help him he called special people, disciples, to 03:56 join him and follow him. And five of those first followers 04:00 or disciples were born and lived here in Bethsaida: Peter, Andrew 04:06 Philip, James and John all came from Bethsaida and worked here 04:10 as fishermen. And so this ancient town, Bethsaida, on the 04:17 northern shore of the sea of Galilee had great biblical 04:20 importance. It's mentioned 13 times in the gospels. That's 04:25 more than any other city with the exception of Jerusalem and 04:29 Capernaum. And that shouldn't surprise us because Jesus did 04:33 most of his work preaching, teaching and healing in this 04:40 area. Now archeologists are peeling back the layers to 04:47 unravel the history of ancient Bethsaida and they're making 04:51 some amazing discoveries. This city dates back 1000 years 04:56 before the time of Christ. The spectacular finds here include 05:01 the remains of a large royal palace and the largest and best 05:05 preserved ancient city gate in Israel showing that it was once 05:10 a well-fortified city. Due to the careful work of the 05:14 archeologists now we can walk along the same cobblestone 05:19 street that Jesus walked when he was here. Among the discoveries 05:23 is the house of a fisherman. It was built of basalt and was 05:28 probably two stories high and included a paved open courtyard 05:34 surrounded by several rooms. They identified it as belonging 05:38 to a fisherman because in it they discovered an anchor, stone 05:43 net weight, a fishhook and a needle for repairing the nets. 05:47 As the site continues to be excavated there are sure to be 05:52 more wonderful and exciting surprises as ancient Bethsaida, 05:56 the city of miracles comes back to life. But perhaps what's most 06:01 surprising of all is that although Jesus performed so many 06:06 miracles here and spent so much time teaching the people of 06:10 Bethsaida and the surrounding towns they still rejected him 06:15 and his teachings. This frustrated and disappointed 06:19 Jesus and he issued a stern warning to them for their lack 06:23 of faith. But in contrast the majority of Bethsaida's 06:27 inhabitants who rejected Jesus five of the city's native sons, 06:32 Peter, Andrew, Philip, James and John responded to Christ's call 06:37 and gave up everything to follow him. They became part of a 06:43 special group of 12 men that Jesus chose to work with him and 06:48 be his disciples. And three of them, Peter, James and John, 06:54 became part of a sort of inner circle who Jesus collected to 06:58 exclusively witness three major events, the raising of Jairus' 07:03 daughter from the dead, the transfiguration of Christ on the 07:07 Mount and Jesus' agonizing prayer in the Garden of 07:11 Gethsemane just before his crucifixion. These three, Peter, 07:16 James and John were given unique opportunity and got closer to 07:21 Jesus than anyone else. And interestingly they are the only 07:26 disciples that Jesus gave nick names to. But there was nothing 07:30 special about these three disciples. They were just 07:33 ordinary fishermen from Bethsaida, and John, like the 07:38 others, was far from perfect. He was impatient, intolerant and 07:43 bad tempered. He was an angry young man. But something 07:48 happened that turned him around and changed his life forever. 07:52 John underwent a remarkable transformation as a disciple. 07:57 From the quick tempered son of thunder to the compassionate 08:01 apostle of love. How did he do it? What made all the difference 08:05 What was the secret of his transformation? Well let's 08:12 follow his journey and find out. Sometime after leaving his 08:16 boat and fishing nets at Bethsaida, John along with Jesus 08:21 and the other disciples, headed south to Jerusalem through 08:25 Samaria. John was asked to make arrangements for lodging in the 08:30 town up ahead and he seemed glad to be of service. He was the 08:33 youngest of the 12 men that Jesus had chosen to be his 08:37 apostles, but already he'd shown leadership qualities. John, 08:42 accompanied by his brother James hurried on down a rocky hill 08:47 toward the village in fading light determined to make the 08:51 Master proud of him. True, making arrangements might be a 08:56 bit tricky. After all, this was Samaria, a place most Jews 09:01 avoided. There'd been bad blood between the Jews and the 09:05 Samaritans since long before John was born. In fact, most 09:10 people traveling from the sea of Galilee down to Jerusalem as 09:14 Jesus was, avoided the land of Samaria altogether. They took a 09:19 detour around through Perea, but Jesus had chosen a direct route 09:25 south. After entering the village through the town gate, 09:28 John and James asked around for lodging. A great teacher named 09:34 Jesus would be spending the night. Middle eastern custom 09:38 dictated that hospitality always be shown the strangers. Well at 09:44 first the Samaritans tried to oblige, but then they heard that 09:48 Jesus was actually on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate a 09:53 great feast at the temple. Well the Samaritans folded their arms 09:57 and pressed their lips together sneeringly. They said that they 10:01 had no shelter for a party intending to honor their 10:04 religious rival in Jerusalem. Well John tried to reason with 10:09 them. Did they know who this Jesus was? Hadn't they heard of 10:13 the great wonders he'd performed. The Samaritans 10:17 wouldn't budge. So John and James had to leave town and head 10:22 back up the hill to meet Jesus. As John walked he grew more and 10:28 more angry. He kept seeing those stubborn Samaritan faces shaking 10:33 their heads. John wasn't used to being insulted. He'd grown 10:37 up in a very comfortable home in Bethsaida. His father 10:42 operated a prosperous fishing business here on the Galilee 10:45 with boats and nets and large catches, with hired servants. 10:51 His mother was a woman of some means. The family had 10:55 connections with the high priest in Jerusalem. Who did these poor 10:58 Samaritans think they were? And what really galled John was that 11:04 they'd refused to shelter his Master. Just days before this 11:08 John had stood on the mountain top with Jesus and watched in 11:13 awe. Christ became a dazzling divine figure right before his 11:18 eyes and Moses and Elijah appeared from heaven to honor 11:24 Christ. John had seen his Master shining like the sun and now 11:28 these lowly Samaritans presumed their wretched village too good 11:33 for him. Incredible. By the time John met up with Jesus his 11:39 indignation was about to explode. John and his brother 11:43 quickly explained the situation and then John's eyes caught Mt. 11:49 Carmel in the distance behind them, the place where Elijah had 11:53 called down fire from God out of heaven, the place where the 11:57 prophets of Baal had been struck down. Filled with zeal John 12:02 burst out with these words recorded in Luke chapter 9 12:06 and verse 54: 12:17 John wanted to demonstrate his loyalty. He wanted those who 12:23 dishonored his Christ to be crushed. But Jesus looked away 12:28 from him. He gazed down for a moment at the cluster of houses 12:32 barely visible in the dusk. Then he turned back to John and 12:36 said, again in Luke chapter 9 verses 55 and 56: 12:51 And then Jesus suggested that they try the next village. 12:56 John's Master understood him much better than he understood 13:02 himself. When he called John and James to be among the 12, he 13:06 gave them a nick name, he called them the sons of thunder. These 13:13 young men had plenty of fire in their belly. They were gung ho, 13:18 ready to go, and Jesus saw their potential. But he also 13:23 understood much more clearly than they that the fire could 13:27 burn in two different directions and standing there looking down 13:32 on that Samaritan village, Jesus pointed out the two directions. 13:35 He didn't come to destroy men's lives but to save them. Now back 13:43 to John's story. You know zeal for the truth, passion for a 13:49 just cause can drive us to destroy those we perceive as 13:52 our enemies. Or it can drive us to redeem them. John hadn't been 13:58 able to see that distinction. He didn't know what kind of spirit 14:02 was driving him. He thought it was a spirit of loyalty and 14:06 fervor. He didn't see the raw anger inside, the destructive 14:12 anger. John was a very earnest, sincere young man. John was 14:17 also a very angry young man. Bad things happen to all of us in 14:24 this life. Bad things can happen to us in childhood, bad things 14:28 can happen to us as we go through school; friends can 14:31 betray us and spouses can abuse us and sometimes those bad 14:37 things seed way down deep inside don't they. We can't forget, we 14:43 can't forgive. The wound doesn't heal and anger starts building 14:49 up. We want so badly to change that bad thing that happened 14:52 to us. We want to fix it. We want to get even. But we can't 14:57 change the past so our anger keeps seeping out in all kinds 15:02 of ways. What can we do about this kind of anger? What can 15:06 replace it? How do we keep indignation from becoming a cloak 15:12 for rage? Well let's take a look at how Christ dealt with this 15:16 angry young man John. Because something remarkable happened 15:21 to John, the son of thunder. We move many months past that 15:27 run in between John and the inhospitable Samaritan village. 15:30 The scene, an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem that had 15:36 been reserved for the Passover meal Christ wanted to celebrate 15:40 with his 12 apostles. As they gathered in the lengthening 15:44 shadows of evening these men could sense that something 15:48 significant was going to happen. Walking up the stairs to the 15:52 upper room, they started talking about the kingdom Christ 15:56 promised to establish and then their eyes fell on the low table 16:00 where the Passover meal had been laid out. They looked down at 16:04 the pillows arranged around three sides of the table where 16:07 they could recline. This was a formal Passover supper. Who 16:12 would be sitting where. Who would have the honored 16:15 positions next to Christ. Well as human nature would have it 16:21 all 12 felt highly qualified. All had observed Christ's 16:25 teachings, all had performed miracles in his name, all had 16:29 proclaimed the good news in his name. John wasn't the only 16:33 highly driven individual in this crowd. Standing there awkwardly 16:39 these men found themselves bickering about who would sit 16:43 where. They just couldn't help it. The twelve had spent a long 16:47 time together, plenty of time to acquire grudges and 16:50 resentments and each of them wanted the top position. In the 16:55 end Judas managed to maneuver his way to the side of Christ. 16:59 After all, as he always reminded the rest, he was the treasurer, 17:05 and John reclined on the other side. The others slowly 17:08 stretched out around the table and looked daggers at Judas and 17:13 John. It was time to celebrate the Passover, the memorial of 17:17 God's great deliverance of Israel from Egypt. But the air 17:21 in the upper room seemed heavy that evening. It seemed that all 17:26 the resentful words the disciples had muttered were still 17:30 suspended there. Suddenly Christ rose to his feet, he stepped 17:36 over to a water basin. At first the disciples assumed it was 17:40 time for the ritual hand washing that was part of the Passover 17:45 meal. But then Jesus laid aside his outer garment. He took a 17:49 towel and tucked it into his waist band, he poured water from 17:53 a pitcher into the basin and then moved back toward his 17:58 disciples. Kneeling down he removed one of the man's sandals 18:01 and without a word he began to bathe, to wash, the man's feet. 18:05 He washed the dirt and grime of the streets of Jerusalem from 18:10 his toes. Then Jesus moved to the next man and the next. John 18:15 watched this in awe. There was Jesus the picture of a slave 18:20 performing this menial task. But it wasn't something menial, this 18:26 washing of feet. It wasn't just a dirty chore. To John it seemed 18:30 something quite glorious. He stared at Jesus' hands as the 18:36 Master worked washing, drying from one disciple to the next. 18:40 Those were remarkable hands. He'd seen them at work before. 18:44 He seen them take a little girl's pale, lifeless hand as 18:49 the family wept and wailed around her. He'd watched as 18:53 Christ's hands had lifted the little child from a death bed. 18:57 John had seen those hands touch a paralyzed man staring 19:02 helplessly at the pool of Bethesda. He'd seen the man rise 19:07 and walk. John had seen those hands lifted in prayer before 19:11 a hungry crowd of 5000. He'd seen those hands break a few 19:15 loaves of bread into that meal that satisfied them all. He'd 19:20 seen those hands lifted to defend a woman caught in the act 19:25 of adultery from those ready to stone her. John had seen those 19:29 hands touch the eyes of a man born blind and create sight 19:34 where none existed before. John had seen those hands do a lot 19:38 during his time with Jesus and it all flooded over him as he 19:43 stared at Jesus washing the soiled feet of his disciples. 19:50 Those were powerful hands, they were omnipotent hands. But above 19:54 all they were hands of love. They blessed whatever they 20:00 touched. They'd come to save not to destroy. At length Jesus 20:05 came to John and undid his sandals. He began to wash his 20:09 feet and at that moment it didn't seem to matter who was 20:14 sitting where at the table. It didn't matter who would be the 20:18 most honored in the kingdom. This incredible love was all 20:22 that mattered. And as Jesus washed John's feet the son of 20:27 thunder felt his anger being washed away at last. Christ's 20:33 love had finally overcome it. Christ's love was stronger than 20:38 all the hurt, all the rage, all the misguided zeal. Years later 20:45 John would remember this crucial moment in his life. He would 20:49 remember how much it meant to him. This is the way that he 20:53 himself would describe it in John chapter 13 verses 3-5: 21:21 Jesus deserved to be exalted to the highest place in heaven but 21:28 he had occupied the lowest place on earth. John was overwhelmed 21:33 by the Master's glorious act. At last he'd found something 21:37 to replace his religion of anger It was love pure and simple. 21:43 All of Jesus' life came together in that one beautiful act in the 21:48 upper room. As a Christian, when I participate in the foot 21:59 washing service in my church, I feel that love flowing through 22:03 my heart again. Friends, Jesus had a solution for people 22:08 consumed by anger. He has a solution for those whose 22:12 religion is 22:13 driven by anger, for those whose restless, driving life is 22:18 motivated by anger. You can never do enough the quench that 22:22 anger. You can never accomplish enough to get even with the bad 22:26 things that happened. There's always more anger left over at 22:30 the end. It's only love that can quench our anger. It's only love 22:35 that can heal the wounds. We can never, never, never change the 22:41 past but we can be loved in the present. And here's how it 22:45 happens. John was transformed in the end because he had 22:48 experienced three and a half years of fellowship with Jesus. 22:54 Jesus is capable of pouring love into our hearts. Here's how. 22:59 Jesus wants us to open ourselves up to him so he can wash our 23:04 feet, so he can show us what gracious love is all about and 23:09 wash our hearts. Jesus can wash away our anger. He did it for 23:15 John, he transformed the fiery son of thunder. Toward the end 23:20 of John's life we find him in chains on the Isle of Patmos, 23:25 imprisoned for his faith. He knows that he'll probably die 23:28 alone separated from the fellow believers who mean everything 23:33 to him. But John doesn't rage on that island, he doesn't call 23:37 fire down from heaven on the Roman soldiers who guard him. 23:42 He doesn't anguish because he won't occupy an honored position 23:45 in the kingdom at the end of his life. No. Instead John writes. 23:51 He sends out epistles and they are some of the most beautiful 23:55 love letters this world has ever seen. Oh, John was still 23:59 thundering at the end. He still had fire in his belly. He still 24:04 had plenty of passion and zeal. But now it was love that he 24:09 thundered out. It was love that compelled him. John had become 24:13 the apostle of love. Have you experienced that kind of 24:20 unconditional gracious love that transformed the son of 24:25 thunder? Are you still driven by anger? We can try to replace our 24:30 pain and rage in countless ways, but there's only one real 24:36 solution, only love can wash away our anger. Let's open up 24:41 our hearts to Christ's transforming power. Let's allow 24:46 the powerful, loving hands of Christ wash away our anger, 24:50 to do that powerful work in us right now as we pray. 24:55 Dear Father, we come to you because anger is burning us out, 25:01 because everything we try to do doesn't really fill the 25:05 emptiness inside us. We need the hands that healed the paralytic 25:10 and the blind man. We need the hands that raised the dead. We 25:15 confess our need for your forgiveness and cleansing right 25:18 now. We ask that Jesus the Savior place his gracious hands 25:23 on us right now. Please pour out your love inside our hearts. 25:29 In the name of the Master who washes his disciples feet, Amen. 25:34 The story of John the apostle, who underwent a 25:41 remarkable transformation as a disciple from the quick tempered 25:46 son of thunder to the compassionate apostle of love, 25:50 has encouraged and inspired people all over the world. If 25:53 you're struggling with the challenges and stress of every 25:57 day life and would like to experience God's unconditional 26:00 love, if you're looking for ways to live a better life and to 26:04 find inner peace and true happiness, if you'd like to get 26:07 closer to God, then I'd like to recommend a free gift we have 26:12 for all our viewers today. It's the book The Greatest Act of 26:18 Kindness. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely 26:22 free. There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. So make 26:27 the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift 26:31 we have for you today. Here's the information you need: 26:36 Phone or text us at 0436333555 Australia or 0204222042 in 26:47 New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's 26:53 free offer and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and 26:57 with no obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436333555 27:04 in Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website 27:12 to request today's offer. Write to us at: 27:28 Don't delay. Call or text us now. 27:33 If you've enjoyed today's journey to ancient Bethsaida 27:36 in Israel and our reflections on the life and times of John the 27:40 apostle, then be sure to join us again next week when we will 27:45 share another of life's journeys together. Until then remember 27:50 the ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new 27:54 heaven and a new earth. And God will wipe away every tear from 27:57 their eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying 28:02 There shall be no more pain for 28:04 the former things have passed away. 28:07 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-06-01