Witnesses

John 5:31-47

Read this passage and count the number of times you find the word “witness” or “testimony”. Notice who and what Jesus speaks of as a witness to His authenticity. First He speaks of John. We discussed earlier John’s purpose as a witness and as a forerunner.

Next He mentions His works. A primary reason for the works He did and the miracles He preformed was to authenticate that He was indeed the Son of God. He also mentioned God the Father as a witness. Consider how the Father authenticated the Son. Remember at Jesus baptism the Father spoke from heaven saying “This is My beloved Son…” (Matt. 3:17). He spoke the same words to the disciples again at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:5). In John 12:28 we will see the Father responding to the Son when He is praying. Remember Nicodemus (John 3:2) said “We know you have come from God”.

Finally, Scripture (John 6:45, I John 5:-12) shares that God has written on our hearts that Jesus is His Son. As we study the Bible and the Holy Spirit works in our lives we are convicted that certainly Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus closes this passage that He is revealed even through Moses as he wrote in the Old Testament.

Even today with all these witnesses people down through the ages and today reject the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. One of our responsibilities is to share our faith with others and introduce Him to others. We do this because Christians are commanded to be witnesses by Jesus and also because of our love for Him. In Matt. 28:19 He says we should “Go therefore and make disciples”. Often we get discouraged when others don’t believe us or don’t trust Jesus as their Savior. We must constantly be reminded that our job is to share the truth; it is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to the heart.

We must also remember that if we are known as a Christian, we are a witness. We may be a good witness or we may be a bad witness. The lives we lead are as important a witness as the words we speak. I pray that you will be bold in your witness for the Lord Jesus.

Two Resurrections

John 5:28-29

“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

We all have a natural curiosity about the future. Here Jesus helps us understand that we are eternal beings. He explains that everyone will be raised from the dead and will stand before Him in judgment. However, there are two different judgments. Those who have trusted Him as Savior will be judged based on their works for Him. It is called a rewards judgment (bema judgment). If our works were done for His glory I Cor. 3:12 refers to them as “gold, silver, and precious stones”; but if they were done with the wrong motive they are called “wood, hay and straw”. We will be privileged to return those rewards to Jesus because of our love for Him.

Those who have not trusted Jesus as their Savior will stand before Jesus at the “Great White Throne judgment” (Rev. 19:11). The basis of that judgment will be whether their names are written in the “book of life”. The names in the “book of life” are those who trusted Jesus as Savior. Rev. 20:15 explains that “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown in to the lake of fire.”

Those of us who know the Lord Jesus have a responsibility to pray for and to share our faith with those who do not. It is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to convict them of their need to place their faith in our Savior. If we are faithful in sharing we have accomplished our purpose. I can share from personal experience that it is a tremendous thrill to have the privilege of leading someone to the Lord.

I encourage you to memorize Scripture that will allow you to share your faith from God’s Word. I would suggest Romans 3:23, 6:23, John 3:16; Romans 5:8, 10:9-10, I John 5:13 and John 5:24. I also suggest you write out your own personal testimony of your salvation on one page so that you may effectively share it with someone.

The Paralytic

John 5:1-15

John now shares with us another miracle Jesus performed. He had gone up to Jerusalem and noticed a man that had obviously been ill for a long time (38 years) and was in such bad physical shape that he needed help to do almost anything. Apparently, he was unable to walk. In this passage we observe Jesus performing a miracle that was independent of any act of faith by this paralytic. He simply said to the man “Arise, take up your pallet, and walk” and the man did that. We notice Jesus found him later in the temple and shared with him his spiritual need. At that time the man trusted Christ as His Savior (v. 4).

Notice in verse ten that rather than rejoice at this man being healed some of the pharisaical Jews were upset that Jesus asked the man to perform a task that violated their rules for the Sabbath. According to their law the man was not allowed to pick up his pallet and walk on the Sabbath. That was considered work. We all look at this situation and see their foolishness. Yet, many Christians live their lives legalistically in many ways. Many believe, like these Pharisees, that we achieve eternal life by obeying a set of rules and by performing good works. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that we obtain eternal life simply by confessing our sin and accepting Jesus as our Savior (John 3:16). Notice the 24th verse of this chapter. It says that “he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” We must be careful not to put other restrictions or requirements on people regarding their salvation.

After we have made the decision to trust Him as our Savior we should recognize His Lordship of our lives. That means that we should desire to live our lives in obedience to His will, not to earn our way to heaven, but to please Him. The Christian life is more than a decision about where we will spend eternity. It involves life-style changes as we study the Bible and learn His will for our lives and then constant submission to that will, realizing that He loves us and desires His very best for us.

The Nobleman’s Son

John 4:46-54

This passage records the second miracle Jesus performed. After the encounter with the woman of Samaria, Jesus had continued his journey to Galilee. He was met in Cana, a city of Galilee, by one of the officials of the country whose son had become ill to the point of death. He asked Jesus to come to his house to heal his son.

One of the purposes of this miracle may be to show us the gradual development of belief and trust in the Lord. This man was probably acquainted with Jesus only as a worker of miracles. He did not understand Jesus mission as Savior. He asks Jesus to come to his house and heal his son.

We must remember that Jesus, in His omniscience knew this man’s heart, and now applies a severe test to his faith. He tells the man to return home; that his son had been healed. This was an indication that Jesus possessed more power than the man thought, that He could heal from a distance and without visibly seeing the need. The nobleman’s faith rose to meet the demand and he started home.

We see a third stage of his faith reached as he meets his rejoicing servants. They were rejoicing that his son had been healed and he immediately asked when that had occurred. When they confirmed that it happened at the time Jesus spoke he believed and led his entire household to saving faith.

It is interesting to contrast Jesus first two miracles. The first (turning the water to wine) occurred at a joyous occasion and the second at a time of anxiety and pain. Both point to the divinity of Christ, result in a deepening faith, and illustrate the joy and blessedness that result from trusting in Him.

The Samaritan Woman

John 4:1-45

The story of the Samaritan woman is familiar to most Christians and the subject of many sermons. Today, rather than go into the details of the story I would like to reflect on it by following Jesus’ methods as He witnesses to her.

First, let’s consider His attitude. Although He was weary, thirsty, and hungry, His main concern when He met the woman was her spiritual condition. Compare this to most of us today as we are so often preoccupied with problems of the moment.

Notice that Jesus immediately places Himself on a level with the woman by finding a common interest. She is coming for water and He asks her to get some for Him. Her response is interesting.

Next He appeals to her curiosity which creates receptivity. She obviously could tell He was a Jew and knew that they normally didn’t mix with Samaritans. He brings up the subject of “living water” and she has no idea what He is talking about so she asks Him a question that presents the opportunity for further discussion. As we share with others we need to consciously avoid conversation killers. Those are comments or questions which do not evoke a response.

Notice His appealing question about never thirsting again. If someone offered you the opportunity to do something that would forever cure your thirst, wouldn’t it stir interest on your part. These comments allow Him to move deeper into the conversation by appealing to her conscience. He obviously knows about her past and now is opening up for her the opportunity to consider it.

This allows a transition into spiritual things as she brings up the subject of worship. Jesus talks about true worship and the woman expresses her knowledge of a coming Messiah, opening the opportunity for Jesus to reveal Himself. She becomes so excited she forgets about her water pot and returns to the city to share with others what she has learned. Now the opportunity has opened to share the message of salvation with many others.

This dialogue presents an outstanding example of how we can effectively share the gospel with others. Meet them where they are; appeal to their curiosity; transition to spiritual things; and close by clearly sharing the gospel.

I pray that you will be effective in sharing your faith with others.

The Humanity of Jesus

John 4:4-6

“And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting by the well.” We believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man. This is a mystery we don’t understand, but we see clear evidence of His humanity in this story. It was a difficult, walking journey that took several days to go from Jerusalem to Galilee. Based on what I’ve seen of that territory the ground was probably rocky. There may have been a path, because many made this journey, but there certainly wasn’t a paved road. Notice our passage says He was weary from His journey. God doesn’t get weary and tired, so that must be evidence of His humanity. We notice in verse seven that He was also thirsty. He asked the woman to give Him a drink because He didn’t have a way to get the water out of the well. He was also probably hungry. Notice in verses 31-34 the disciples were trying to get Him to eat. They were obviously traveling with Him and became hungry so they assumed He must be also. The real impact of Jesus humanity comes home when we consider the pain and agony He suffered on the cross for our sins. God, His Father, turned His back on Him in His agony. I’ve seen people suffer physically and emotionally before, but never to the point of death on a cross. Especially each Easter we are reminded of the tremendous price He paid. Can you imagine that Jesus loved you enough to do that? Can you imagine that the Father loved you enough to turn His back on His suffering Son so that you could spend eternity with Him? We often get so caught up in the resurrection that we forget the suffering of taking the burden of our sin on Himself in death. We should thank God and His Son for their great love.

Testimony of John the Evangelist

John 3:31-36

Most scholars believe the testimony of John the Baptist ends with verse 30 and verse 31 begins the testimony of the book’s author, John the evangelist. First he shares the preeminence of Christ. He speaks of Christ as above all and one who bears witness of His perfect knowledge of the words of God. He also explains that Christ gives the Spirit without measure. The phrase “without measure” is interesting. We as Christians receive the Holy Spirit immediately when we trust Jesus as our Savior. The Spirit resides within us (indwells) for the rest of our lives. We will never get more of Him and He will never leave us. I think that is what the phrase “without measure” means. We can impact the Spirit’s work in our lives by grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) or by quenching the Spirit ( I Thes. 5:19) and we are encouraged to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:30). We are filled with the spirit by living within God’s will and by confessing sin when we recognize it in our lives. John next proclaims the Father’s love for the Son. One way the Father expresses that love is that He “has given all things into His hand.” God has a plan for this earth and for each one of us. He has entrusted that plan to His Son to carry it out. His will will be accomplished through His Son. The Holy Spirit carries out the will of the Father and the Son on this earth and in our lives. John then closes this section by explaining that if we place our faith in the Son, we have eternal life. Notice that statement is present tense. It is not a state we will attain, but one we have. That should give us much confidence. John also explains the consequences of not obeying the Son; the “wrath of God abides on Him.” The book of John is truly one of love and this is the only place in this gospel where the “wrath of God” is mentioned. What a blessing it is to contemplate what God has done for us. We should rejoice that we have been chosen to be a part of His kingdom.