Sunday School Lesson
December 27
Lesson 4 (KJV)
Called to Prepare
Devotional Reading: John 1:19–34
Background Scripture: Matthew 3
Matthew 3:1–12
1. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2. And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
4. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,
6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
12. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. List salient points of John the Baptist’s ministry and message.
2. Compare and contrast the two baptisms of which John spoke.
3. Correct one attitude that puts him or her in danger of being viper-like.
HOW TO SAY IT
| Esaias | E-zay-us. |
| Herod Antipas | Hair-ud An-tih-pus. |
| Isaiah | Eye-zay-uh. |
| Josephus | Jo-see-fus. |
| Judean | Joo-dee-un. |
| Malachi | Mal-uh-kye. |
| Messiah | Meh-sigh-uh. |
| Pentecost | Pent-ih-kost. |
| Pharisees | Fair-ih-seez. |
| Sadducees | Sad-you-seez. |
| synagogue | sin-uh-gog |
Introduction
A. The Voice
In 2010, the reality television show The Voice premiered in Holland before arriving in the United States, becoming an international sensation. Similar to the long-running X Factor and American Idol franchises, contestants compete in weekly singing competitions in hopes of earning a cash prize and a recording contract.
Perhaps the most well-known element of the show is its distinctive selection process. At the beginning of each season, hopeful amateurs perform for a panel of celebrity recording artists. From the pool, each celebrity chooses a “team” of would-be entertainers to coach through the remainder of the season.
To ensure that the panelist-coaches make their initial selections on the basis of vocal talent rather than appearance, the celebrities sit in chairs facing the audience rather than the stage during initial performances. The judges must, in other words, choose prospects solely on the basis of “the voice.” Each season’s winner is appropriately dubbed “The Voice” to emphasize that person’s outstanding singing abilities.
Our passage for today describes the work of a biblical figure who was known in his own time as “the voice,” John the Baptist. But would John be acknowledged as a truly great voice with a great message?
B. Lesson Context
In Jesus’ day as before, mainstream Jewish religion centered primarily on the Jerusalem temple (which was controlled by wealthy pro-Roman Sadducees) and secondarily on local synagogues (which often were led by Pharisees and scribal experts in the Jewish Scriptures). As Jesus himself pointed out, both had become oppressive, actually hindering people in their relationships to God (example: Matthew 23:13–39). The religious authorities placed heavy burdens on the average worshipper (23:4). This implied that God was not readily accessible to common people. Those authorities had developed a complex system of rules and regulations that people could not keep.
Aside from the fact that these approaches made God largely inaccessible, they also were closely tied to the efforts of the Jewish elite to maintain peace with the Roman Empire (John 11:48). Reacting to this situation, some Jews turned to monastic movements. Others adopted an ascetic lifestyle and sought God through seasons of meditation in the wilderness. Still others were drawn into fringe prophetic movements that promised deliverance from Roman oppression; these sometimes led to rebellion (example: Acts 5:34–37).
John the Baptist’s work was familiar within this religious landscape. But it was unique in two significant ways that made him a popular figure. The first of those distinctives is evident from the epithet we still use for him today: he was “the Baptist” (Matthew 3:1, today’s text) or “the Baptizer.” While Jews regularly washed their hands, feet, and household items for purposes of religious purification—including full-body washings on many occasions—they washed only themselves, never other people.
Such washing was viewed as a way of removing sin and impurity (compare Ezekiel 36:25). In standard Jewish thinking it was not possible for one person to remove another person’s impurities. No priest or rabbi would wash someone else, not least because doing so would make the one giving the bath unclean as well! John, however, was different. His hands-on baptism served as a powerful symbol of the content of his message.
That message was the second distinctive of John’s ministry. He did not tell people to withdraw into the wilderness, nor did he promise freedom from Roman rule. Rather, John the Baptist told them to repent in preparation for a great work of God that was looming on the horizon.
John’s focus on second chances and emphasis on the reality of God’s presence made him a popular figure with Jews from a wide range of backgrounds. Both the New Testament and the ancient Jewish historian Josephus (about AD 37–100) attest to John’s popularity (Antiquities of the Jews 18.5.2). His refusal to compromise and his commitment to speaking the truth ultimately led to his death at the hands of Herod Antipas, Rome’s client-king (Matthew 14:1–12).
A. Setting (v. 1)
1. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea.
The phrase those days moves Matthew’s story from the events of Jesus’ birth and early childhood to a period some two decades later. During this time, Jesus’ cousin John, the son of a priest from the Judean hill country (Luke 1:5, 39–40, 57–66), came to adulthood with a distinct sense of mission and calling of his own.
At some point, probably during his teenage years, John adopted an ascetic lifestyle and began to live alone in the wilderness of Judaea (see also Luke 1:80; compare Numbers 6:1–21). That location, the large desert area east of Jerusalem around the Jordan River valley, was popular with those who wished to focus on prayer and meditation.
B. Message (vv. 2–3)
2. And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
John’s message can be summarized in a single word: Repent. The person who repents becomes truly sorry for past misdeeds, changes the way that he or she thinks and, as a result, starts behaving differently. Exactly how John thought people’s minds should change is not specified here (see on Matthew 3:6, below).
The immediate need for this change of mind was indicated by the fact that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jews would have understood that phrase both temporally (as already present or coming soon) and geographically (as coming to Israel). As sovereign Creator of the universe, God is always king over everything. But His reign was about to become evident in a unique way. Repentance would make the people ready to stand in the king’s presence when He arrived.
The Jewish people had not had their own, sovereign nation since the exile of 586 BC, except for brief times of rebellions. The people were looking for God to expel the foreign rulers in preparation to reestablish the throne of David (compare Acts 1:6). What God had in mind required different preparation than ridding the nation of outsiders, however. His spiritual kingdom required not a change of personnel, but a change of heart.
Here as elsewhere, Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven (32 times in his Gospel) while Mark and Luke prefer “kingdom of God” (Matthew, 5 times; Mark, 15 times; Luke, 32 times). Heaven in this context is most likely a gesture of respect to avoid saying God’s name. Matthew’s preference for this terminology has led to the conclusion that he was writing to an audience that was primarily of Jewish background. They would appreciate this gesture of respect. The phrase also recalls Daniel’s prophecies of “one like the Son of man” who is to come “with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13).
3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
John earned the title the voice of one crying in the wilderness from prophecy spoken by Esaias, more commonly known to us as Isaiah (see Isaiah 40:3). In its original context, the prophecy envisions God as a great king on a journey, with messengers and servants preceding Him to make people ready for His arrival. John the Baptist considered himself one of these messengers (John 1:23), announcing that the great king, the Lord, would soon appear. Repentance would make things straight in preparing the people for the king’s arrival.
| What Do You Think? Under what circumstances will your witness for Christ be better served by dressing in a way that is distinctively different from that of culture customs? How might that hinder? Digging Deeper How do passages such as Leviticus 19:19, 27; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23; 11:3–16; 1 Timothy 2:9–10; and 1 Peter 3:3 inform your decision? |
Voice in the Wilderness
Fred knows all about being a “voice in the wilderness.” He learned the language of an unreached people group in West Africa and lived with them as he labored to bring them God’s Word in their own language. After two decades, however, not a single person had been baptized.
Fred’s son grew up in that village, speaking the local language. After completing college in the United States, he returned with his wife and children to the same people group his father had served. The son discovered that the seeds his father had sown were finally beginning to sprout! A key leader had expressed his faith in Christ. The once-barren fields appeared ripe for harvest.
Do you feel like a “voice in the wilderness” to your family or neighbors? Don’t give up! Keep spreading the word and trust the Lord to change hearts and minds at just the right time.
—D. G.
C. Messenger (v. 4)
4a. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins.
John’s attire of rough clothing and sparse diet (see Matthew 3:4b, below) reflected his ascetic lifestyle. More significantly, John’s choice of clothing recalls that of the great prophet Elijah (see 2 Kings 1:8). According to Malachi 4:5–6, Elijah would return one day to call the Jews to repentance before the day of judgment. John fulfilled that task in unexpected fashion (Matthew 17:11–13).
4b. And his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Locusts were clean foods according Leviticus 11:22, readily found in the wilderness. Honey was a key descriptor regarding the abundance of the promised land (example: Exodus 3:8). John lived off the land, sustained by the two foods God provided.
II. Called to Repent
(Matthew 3:5–10)
A. Receptive Audience (vv. 5–6)
5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan.
Judaea was the Roman province in which the city of Jerusalem was located; the region round about the Jordan River extended northward into Galilee, Jesus’ home territory. Since John performed no miracles (John 10:41), his fame as a prophet must have been based on the integrity of his lifestyle and the nature of his message.
6a. And were baptized of him in Jordan.
Jews were aware of the symbolism of the Jordan River. Generations before, Joshua had led the Israelites across the Jordan to claim the promised land (Joshua 3–4). Now John was symbolically preparing Israel for the kingdom of Heaven, whose leader was much greater than any who had come before.
6b. Confessing their sins.
The types of sins that concerned John are hinted at in Luke 3:10–14. The very notion of the kingdom of Heaven assumes that God is a sovereign ruler who must be obeyed. Confessing that one’s life was not completely submitted to God (see Matthew 3:2, above) was essential to the repentance that John called for in preparation.
B. Unrepentant Adversaries (vv. 7–10)
7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Some religious leaders of the day doubtless accepted John’s message. But appearances of Pharisees and Sadducees rarely led to positive encounters with either Jesus or John. Because Jewish thought viewed washing purification as something that happened through rituals of personal cleansing, the leading priests and rabbis challenged John’s authority to baptize. He replied with a challenge of his own, publicly identifying them as vipers. Like poisonous snakes, they hid their intentions from the masses so they could harm them (compare Matthew 12:34; 23:33). Their status as the religious elite would not exempt them from judgment, God’s wrath to come.
| What Do You Think? Under what circumstances, if any, are Christians justified in speaking harshly to others as John did? Why do you say that? Digging Deeper In addition to Acts 8:20; 18:6; Titus 1:13; and 1 Peter 3:15–16, what passages help frame your answer? |
8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.
John uses the common New Testament metaphor of fruits to describe behavior based on belief (examples: John 15:16; Romans 7:4–5). Exactly what such fruit would look like is not specified here. By comparison with a similar account in Luke 3, fruit should take the form of visible changes in behavior. In particular, actions should show that the baptized individual is obedient to divine standards of justice—helping those in need and refusing to take advantage (Luke 3:10–14).
The characteristic behavior of the religious elite—ignoring John’s message and instead challenging his authority to preach and baptize—demonstrated that they themselves were as much in need of repentance as the masses they instructed. Rather than being arrogant, the Pharisees needed to humbly examine themselves to determine whether they were indeed prepared for the coming of God’s kingdom.
| What Do You Think? As new Christians begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), which of the rotten fruits (5:19–21) should be first to go? Why? Digging Deeper Which of the lists in Romans 1:29–31; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Ephesians 4:25–32; 5:3–5; Philippians 4:8–9; and Colossians 3:5, 8, 12 convict you most in this regard? Why? |
Fruits of Repentance
I had never seen anyone stop for the one traffic light in this East African city. I didn’t stop either—until two policeman carrying large rifles waved me down, and one climbed into my back seat to escort me to the police station. When I asked how much my fine would be, he said, “200,000.” In local currency, that was 10 times the rate of a normal traffic violation. Unsurprisingly, I was being extorted.
Another time, a non-Christian traffic policeman had commandeered a ride. My friend was sharing the gospel with him. The policeman, revealing knowledge of John’s words in Luke 3:14, said, “I could never become a Christian. Then I’d have to stop taking bribes.”
Even the corrupt policeman knew that repentance requires a change in behavior! What about you?
—D. G.
9. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Many Jews of John’s day believed they would receive the promises made to Abraham their father simply by virtue of being part of the family (Genesis 12:1–3). Although following the law became very important after the exile of 586 BC, the emphasis remained on being born into God’s covenant people.
John challenged this line of thinking at a foundational level. Being descended from Abraham was not proof of being in a right relationship with God. One had to seek God earnestly. John’s message anticipates the later New Testament teaching that salvation is based on faith that results in obedience, never on a supposed birthright.
10. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
John used a dramatic analogy to drive his point home: the barren trees that should be bearing good fruit have been marked for destruction. Without a change of heart, these barren trees would become firewood. God is patient, but His patience has limits (compare Luke 13:6–9). Those who accepted John’s message would be prepared for what (and who) was coming. Those who did not would not participate in God’s kingdom, regardless of their lineage or religious standing.
It is important to recall the nature of John’s audience: with the possible exception of those mentioned in Luke 3:14, he was not preaching to pagans. Rather, he was preaching to Jews who already believed in God and were attempting, at some level, to live by the Law of Moses. John’s audience included religious leaders who were experts in the Scriptures; they too needed to prepare.
III. Called to Prepare
(Matthew 3:11–12)
A. John’s Work (v. 11a)
11a. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance.
John viewed the act of submitting to water baptism as evidence of repentance (compare Acts 19:4). Those undergoing this baptism were admitting that they needed to change. They needed to be cleansed of sinfulness. They needed to begin producing the kind of fruit that John called for.
B. Prophesied Work (vv. 11b–12)
11b. But he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.
John’s baptism was not an end in and of itself; rather, it looked to the future. John was the Messiah’s forerunner. Greater things were coming. John’s baptism would give way to the baptism Jesus would bring (that is, Christian baptism).
Two (and possibly three) actions by God lay ahead. One was the blessing that came on the Day of Pentecost when Peter preached the first post-resurrection gospel sermon. That message included the directive to “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38; compare 10:44–48).
| What Do You Think? What can you do to recognize and appreciate more fully the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Digging Deeper Does your thinking trend more toward things you need to start doing or things you need to stop doing? Why is that? |
Second, John predicted a fire to come. Some Bible students see this as judgment on the disobedient (compare Jude 7). Others, however, see it as a purifying fire for the repentant (compare 1 Peter 4:12). It could be both, for a total of three things John predicted.
The one to bring about such things is the Messiah. John, as a lowly servant, felt unworthy even to bear Jesus’ shoes (compare Matthew 3:13–15; John 1:29–30). Jesus’ ministry would be greater than John’s. We today can testify to that fact since we are on this side of the cross and the empty tomb.
12. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Chaff is the outer husk that surrounds seeds of wheat. In antiquity, the husk was separated from the grain by tossing the wheat into the air; the chaff would drift to the side while the heavier seed fell in a pile on the threshing floor. The worthless chaff was then burned. God’s unquenchable fire would be even more thorough in removing those who refused to repent (compare Matthew 13:40–43).
John had begun the work of separation by calling people to repent in preparation for the Lord’s coming. Even today, those who repent and follow the biblical plan of salvation will be gathered up like the good grain. But those who do not will, like the useless chaff, be discarded and destroyed. The message is clear: choose your fate and act accordingly before it is too late.
| What Do You Think? What plan can you make to get rid of the chaff in your life? Digging Deeper What would be the advantages and disadvantages of recruiting an accountability partner for this task? |
Conclusion
A. Voices in the Wilderness
Whenever a person emerges as the lone advocate for an important cause and is later proven to be right, we may refer to that individual as “a voice in the wilderness.” Such people often feel that way themselves, alone in their cries for change and often criticized for their views. They call others to prepare for a future that is obscure to most but that they themselves foresee (or think they foresee) clearly. Like John the Baptist, these individuals are often attacked rather than appreciated.
Today’s lesson reminds us of the need to prepare for Christ’s coming—in our case, His second coming. Part of our preparation involves serving as voices in the wilderness as we speak out against the evil we see both in the world and among God’s people.
B. Prayer
Father, help us to know our own hearts so that we can be ready for Your Son’s return. Help us bear the fruit You have called us to bear and to be strong in telling others that Your kingdom is near. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
The time to repent is now
KID’S CORNER
Reasons to Believe Jesus is God
Sunday, December 27, 2020
John 14:8-14
John 14:8-14
(John 14:8) Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
When Philip wanted Jesus to show them the Father to satisfy them, he may have thought like so many who want to see God with their physical eyes to have additional convincing evidence to believe in God or to believe what the Bible says is true. They think they do not have enough evidence to believe God exists. But Paul wrote in Romans 1:19-20, that those who refuse to believe God exists without more evidence (or without seeing God) have no excuse for their unbelief: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse.” We can conclude the Creator exists from looking at creation, and from looking at creation, we learn about God’s eternal power and divine nature that the Bible and Jesus more fully reveal.
Despite all the caring and compassionate signs Philip saw Jesus give and all the authoritative and truthful words Jesus spoke when he saw Jesus, Philip may still have only seen a carpenter, the son of a carpenter with calloused hands dressed in common clothing—not the One who is King of kings. Perhaps Philip wanted to see what Isaiah reported he saw in Isaiah 6:1, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.” But how might we feel if we really saw God with our human eyes and our sinful souls? We might feel like Isaiah (or worse) who then reported in Isaiah 6:5, “And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’”
When Jesus came into the world, He did not come to scare people into believing God exists or frighten them into believing in Him. Remember how Jesus came to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as John described in John 12:12-15, “The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’” When Jesus came into the world for the first time, He came to save the world not to scare the world, but when Jesus comes again into the world and everyone sees Him as He is, then many unbelievers will be scared to death while believers rejoice. Then, “at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
Jesus could have entered Jerusalem that Palm Sunday as John described Jesus when he had his vision of Jesus in heaven. In Revelation 1:13-18, we read: “And in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.” Jesus does not want those who believe in Him and trust in Him to be afraid of Him. During decades of faithful apostleship, Jesus had prepared John spiritually for that extraordinary vision of Him, but when John saw Jesus, he still “fell at his feet as though dead.” Philip did not know what he was asking at the time (and many do not know now) when they ask to see God.
For the sake of His disciples and all who would believe in Jesus, Jesus had said in John 12:45, “And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.” Philip was keeping his eyes on the physical instead of the spiritual, the same as many still do. He wanted to see God the Father with his physical eyes right then and there. He thought that if Jesus would pull back the veil between heaven and earth for a moment, so they could see God the Father with their physical eyes, then they would be satisfied. If Jesus had done what Philip wanted, in their physical, sinful state they would have been terrified. Jesus wanted them to know that they had seen God spiritually because they had seen Him, and Jesus wanted everyone to know that God had sent Him into the world because He loved the world and wanted to save the world (see John 3:16). Jesus spoke of them seeing in Him the moral and spiritual character of God and the creative and redeeming power of God in all He said and did. Jesus did not say that the Father looked like Him physically, but older. In Jesus’ words and works “what can be known about God was plain to them.” The Father’s “eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are,” could be “understood and seen through the things” Jesus said and did. Those who come to believe in Jesus believe these truths.
(John 14:9) Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
The Father is God. Jesus, the Son of God, is God. In John 14:15, Jesus will begin to teach about the Holy Spirit and say that He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believed in Him (He still sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within those who believe in Him). The Holy Spirit is God. The Bible reveals one God in three Persons, not three gods. These three Persons love one another and speak and work together in complete, perfect unity. In John 4:24, Jesus said, “God is spirit.” With our human limitations, we can describe the common spiritual reality of the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as divine. How this can be and how this happens is beyond human understanding: God is God and we are only people God created in His image—we believe these facts of Scripture whether we completely understand these facts or not. Disciples of Jesus see God when they see Jesus—as the Bible describes Jesus. With humility, Jesus says the truth about himself when He says that those who have seen Him have seen the Father. Jesus does not say in a way that would seem to be bragging, “I am God! Look at me!” If you have seen the loving heart of Jesus, you have seen the loving heart of God the Father and the loving heart of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus, we see the divine character of God and the perfect work of God the Father and the Holy Spirit as Jesus perfectly poured forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which only God can do perfectly in this world: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
(John 14:10) “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
In this and the following verses, Jesus elaborated on what He showed and told His disciples (and us) in John 14:6, and elsewhere, when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Father and the Son are inseparable in every way! Jesus showed and told them even more what He meant after He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Beyond our finite human understanding, God the Father and God the Son are “in” each other because they are one God and two Persons. It is impossible to go to one Person without going to and through the other Person. Jesus only spoke and taught what the Father and He agreed for Him to reveal and teach about themselves and reality. They did not live and work independently from each other. When you are with the Father, you are with the Son. You cannot be with God the Father and not at the same time be with God the Son. If you think you can, you are with neither of them. To truly believe in the true God, you cannot believe in one Person without believing in the other Person. Jesus was not an instrument of God, like a hammer in the hand of a carpenter. Even when Jesus walked on earth, Jesus and the Father were always together in thought, word, and deed. Before Jesus came to earth, they chose to work together in everything. Jesus chose to do His Father’s will, say His Father’s words, and do His Father’s works, and the Father endorsed everything Jesus said and did, and did so mightily when He raised Jesus from the dead. As the Son of God, Jesus did all His Father’s tasks perfectly. As believers in Jesus, because we love the Father and the Son, we choose to do and say what Jesus commands us to do and say, but we only do so as the indwelling Holy Spirit enables us. Furthermore, we need to always remember that Jesus will never command us to say or do anything contrary to what He has revealed in the Bible. We do not want to be mere instruments like a hammer in the hand of a carpenter. We want to work for and with the Father as Jesus did because we love the Father and the Son.
(John 14:11) “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
Jesus wanted them (and us) to believe the facts He revealed about God the Father and himself, which they probably could not understand when He first told them. Later, the Holy Spirit helped them (and will help us) understand what believers need to understand as His faithful witnesses. To come to understand fully and believe more about the nature and character of God, Jesus knew that they needed first to believe in Him because of the loving works He did (John often calls these works “signs”). Later, they would understand and believe that the Father and the Son were in each other because Jesus was God, the Son of God, and because the Father endorsed what Jesus said and did when Jesus rose from the dead.
(John 14:12) “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
If we genuinely believe in Jesus, we will try to do the loving works that the Father and the Son want us to do. We will be one in heart, one in understanding, and one in purpose with God (though not as completely as we will be someday, nor as completely as Jesus was in the Father, for even as a new creation we will remain human beings). We will want to do the loving works of God in the spirit of Jesus and we will look to the Holy Spirit to help us. The indwelling Holy Spirit will help us do the works the Father and Son want us to do in the loving way they want us to do them. Consider some examples of “greater works than these” (and you can think of others) that Jesus promised His disciples (and all who follow Him as Lord and Savior) that they would do. Jesus never taught outside of a small geographic area. The apostles, such as Peter and Paul, taught about Jesus and His teachings in a larger geographical area. Today, some have traveled around the world to teach about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit has enabled these “greater works.” When walking on earth, Jesus never had the number of deeply committed followers that He would have later as He worked in the disciples through the power of the Holy Spirit. After Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, “about three thousand persons were added” were added to the Church (Acts 2:41). Today, people can worship God and study the Bible with others around the world through developing technologies.
(John 14:13) “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Do you want the Father to be glorified in the Son? If you answer “Yes,” do you also want the Father and the Son to be glorified and honored and praised by many believers and new believers as the result of what you say and do? Your answer will influence how you pray. Jesus did not make this promise to recruit disciples or to persuade people to believe in Him or to make people want to follow Him or to make people rich. He gave this promise to His mature disciples who had proved that they loved Jesus and His Father, but who still had a lot to learn. They understood Jesus and His heart and His purposes up to the level of their understanding prior to His death and resurrection. They would spiritually mature to the point of only asking for things according to His will and for the purpose of glorifying the Father and the Son. As believers in Jesus, we need to be of this same mind and intention when we pray in Jesus’ name.
(John 14:14) “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
Jesus gave (and still gives) this promise to those who believe in Him. But no one should interpret His promise separately from what Jesus said in John 14:13. In His promise, Jesus encourages and gives believers permission to pray to Him. When believers pray to Jesus “in His Name,” they pray to Jesus while considering His power and His moral and spiritual character as He has revealed himself in the Bible. And the Holy Spirit helps believers in Jesus pray according to the will of God as He has helped believers in the past. Believers do not use Jesus’ Name as a magic word to get results. In Acts 19:11-20, see an example of nonbelievers in Jesus trying to use Jesus’ Name without knowing Jesus and the results. Remember: Jesus gave His promise to disciples who had been with Him about three years; He did not say this to the crowds to recruit followers. To ask in Jesus’ Name means to ask for something that Jesus would agree to give because it would be consistent with the kind of person Jesus is and the kind of works that He and the Father would want done. When believers meet these conditions, Jesus can do what we ask because what we ask will be according to His will and will bring glory to the Father and the Son.
Reasons to Believe Jesus is God
Sunday, December 27, 2020
John 14:8-14
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14:10—KJV).
Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works (John 14:10—NASB).
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works (John 14:10—NRSV).
In words that we cannot completely understand about God, any more than we can completely understand ourselves, Jesus told His disciples that He and the Father were totally united in thoughts, words, and works. Whatever Jesus said, God the Father said also. Whatever Jesus did the Father did also. If we want to know what God is like, if we want to know the God the Father, Jesus said that we only need to consider everything He said and did. Jesus said that if you do not believe in Him, then believe in His works. No one had done or has done the perfectly loving and powerful works of Jesus that He did speaking only a few words. If you do not believe Jesus’ works, then look at those who say they believe in Jesus. Like Jesus, believers in Jesus do works of love and use the gifts Jesus gives them to help others physically, mentally, and spiritually. Because the Spirit of Jesus indwells believers, they can do greater works than Jesus did when He walked on earth. Consider one example, believers in Jesus travel around the world to feed and clothe the poor, heal the sick, and tell people about Jesus and His love for them. They tell the hopeless in “this world” that when they believe in Jesus, they receive His gift of everlasting life. Believers in Jesus glorify and honor the Father like Jesus did; therefore, the Father and the Son answer their prayers to help others.
Thinking Further
Reasons to Believe Jesus is God
Sunday, December 27, 2020
John 14:8-14
Name ____________________________
1. What did Philip say would satisfy him?
2. What did Jesus expect Philip should know and why?
3. What kind of words did Jesus speak and what kind of works did Jesus do?
4. Why should we believe in Jesus? What kind of works can believers do?
5. How does Jesus teaching on prayer in these verses encourage you?
Discussion and Thinking Further
1. What did Philip say would satisfy him? Philip wanted Jesus to show them the Father and said that would satisfy them. Philip was thinking of seeing the Father with his physical eyes.
2. What did Jesus expect Philip should know and why? Jesus expected Philip to see the Father with his spiritual “eyes” or with spiritual discernment. If Philip would do this, then he would “see” that the divine spiritual nature and character of Jesus was the same as His Father, the same as God, the LORD as revealed in the Bible. Jesus said that Philip should have learned these truths because Philip had been with Jesus for “all this time,” a long enough time to know the Father from all Jesus had taught and demonstrated.
3. What kind of words did Jesus speak and what kind of works did Jesus do? Jesus spoke words from His Father and did works of His Father. The Father indwelt Jesus and did His works.
4. Why should we believe in Jesus? What kind of works can believers do? We should believe in Jesus because of the works of the Father in Jesus that we have learned about in the Bible and the disciples and the people saw when Jesus walked on this earth. With our spiritual eyes we can still see the works of the Father and Jesus in our lives and in the world today. Believers can do the same kind of works that Jesus did: works that help and heal others in a variety of ways with the gifts Jesus gives us. For example, many of our health care workers who believe in Jesus do greater works of healing than is humanly possible. Missionaries can fly around the world to teach about Jesus, whereas Jesus physically limited himself to teaching in Galilee, Samaria, the other side of the Jordan River, and Judea. Jesus works within believers in Him to do His work today.
5. How does Jesus teaching on prayer in these verses encourage you? If we stay close to Jesus and learn what the Bible teaches, then we will have Jesus’ help in knowing what to pray for and how to pray. Then, we will know how to pray according to the will of God, to glorify God the Father and Jesus, and we will receive what we ask because we will be praying according to the will of God, for what God wants and will wisely give.
Word Search
Reasons to Believe Jesus is God
Sunday, December 27, 2020
John 14:8-14
Name ______________________________
V L R P I L I H P A O E A D L
K B O V K J Z Q S F W I H S Q
W T C R F N R K T O V N Y A J
M A S W D U R E H A B U L M O
E L Z I Q O X S H E W Y R E V
Y M X H W N Y A L T X C S G M
V Z S K R O W I M H A E J L S
E R Y B M J E R C G Q F X O I
W N E L A V L S T R U L Y R T
G P D T E J M U Y E X E C I M
J N G C A H Y S O S R Q M F N
V A I N T E Z E K X G A O I J
S L U O P I R J P Y S C R E T
M N K X G O E G S L M O T D P
T S A T I S F I E D B C F L H
Philip
Lord
Show
Father
Satisfied
Time
Believe
Me
Works
Very
Truly
Works
Greater
Going
Glorified
True and False Test
Reasons to Believe Jesus is God
Sunday, December 27, 2020
John 14:8-14
Name ______________________________
Circle the True or False answers. Correct the False statements by restating them.
1. Philip wanted to see the Father with his very own eyes and said that would make them happy. True or False
2. Knowing someone involves more than just seeing someone with your eyes. If you know Jesus, you have seen the Father. True or False
3. When you know what Jesus said and did, and when you believe Him and believe in Him, you also know the Father. True or False
4. Knowing the Father in Jesus is better than seeing the Father with your eyes and not knowing the Father or Jesus. True or False
5. The Father and the Son are two Persons so united in every way divinely possible that Jesus said He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. True or False
6. The Father dwells in Jesus, so Jesus said that His body was the temple of God. True or False
7. The Father dwelt in Jesus and did His works. True or False
8. Because of the works the Father did through Jesus, people should believe Jesus and believe in Jesus as the Bible teaches. True or False
9, Those who believe in Jesus will do the works Jesus did and do even greater works than Jesus did when on earth. True or False
10. When believers pray that the Father may be glorified in His Son, Jesus will do whatever will truly glorify the Father in the Son. True or False
True and False Test Answers
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
- True
Prayer
Father, help us to know our own hearts so that we can be ready for Your Son’s return. Help us bear the fruit You have called us to bear and to be strong in telling others that Your kingdom is near. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.