JOHN 1-10 JESUS IS GOD2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: John 1-10 Jesus Is God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2014. As we look at the Gospel of John, we are looking at the final of the four Gospels, and it's unique and it's different than the other Gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to by the scholars as synoptic Gospels.

That is because they are very similar. They have a lot of the same accounts. They have a very similar layout and setup and many of the same teachings, many of the same miracles. They are very well related to one another. John, on the other hand, is very different. John...

approaches the life of Christ in a unique way and covers different accounts, different miracles, and different teachings in the life of Jesus. Now all of the gospel writers really focus on the the final part of Jesus's ministry primarily, but John narrows it down even further. The majority of the gospel of John takes place in that final week, the Passion Week that we just went

have been studying. For example, in John chapter 13, you have Jesus washing the disciples' feet, right? Well, that's, you know, just about the middle of the book in John chapter 13. Well, that was the last supper. That was, you know, the evening before the

he would be crucified. And so, you know, that kind of gives you a sense. So John 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, you know, those are all right leading up to, you know, those final hours. And so it's a real, real strong focus that John has of that final part of the ministry of Jesus. Well, the gospel of John was written by John the Apostle. He was, you know, one of the 12 disciples, one of the 12 apostles. Originally, he was a fisherman.

And Jesus called him and he became a follower of Jesus. And he was one of the close three. Remember Peter, James, and John were with Jesus in those special occasions like the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Transfiguration.

And so he had a very close relationship with the Lord and he refers to himself throughout this gospel as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And so he, you know, realized and knew that Jesus loved him and that's his way of, you know, referring to himself in different situations throughout this gospel.

Now we don't know exactly when the Apostle John wrote this gospel. I put here 65 through 95 AD. Really what it is, is there's a group of people who think it's around 65 and then there's another group of people who think it's around 95 AD. So they have, you know, their different viewpoints and they wrestle back and forth on that. It doesn't make a huge difference either way. But

But it was written somewhere in that time frame, which makes it unique in that this is probably the latest of the Gospels written and possibly was written after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.,

Now John, as he was writing this, seems to have all people in mind. You might remember as we've talked about the different Gospels that, you know, each one emphasized different aspects of the life and ministry of Jesus and wrote to particular audiences.

The gospel, well, we had the gospel handout that we gave and it's on the back table that kind of outlines the different authors of the gospels and gives you those different emphases and perspectives and things that they were writing about and the people that they were writing to.

But John seems to have all people in mind. He uses the word the world. For example, in John 3.16, for God so loved the world, right? He loved everybody. He loved the world. He's speaking to all people to let them know about who Jesus is. Now the emphasis of Jesus that John presents is that Jesus is God.

You remember Matthew emphasized that Jesus is the Savior, the Messiah. Mark emphasized Jesus as a servant. Luke emphasized Jesus and his humanity. And now in the Gospel of John, we're going to be focusing on the deity of Jesus Christ, the reality, the fact that he is God. And so that's the focus of John, and that's what we're going to be spending a lot of time looking at as we spend time looking through these chapters this evening.

A little quick look at the geography. It's not different than the other Gospels because, of course, it's all the same account of the life of Christ. You have Jesus being born in Bethlehem there in South Israel. He grew up in Nazareth.

up in the north and he was there for his early adult years and then as an adult he moved to Capernaum as he began his ministry and he used that as the base of operations for the majority of his ministry and then of course was Jerusalem where he would go for the feasts. It was the capital of Israel. The temple was there and he would be crucified there just outside the city walls at the end of his ministry. So

That's a quick look at the geography. We spend a lot of time on the geography looking at the Gospel of Luke, and so we really won't be talking a whole lot about that throughout this Gospel. Well, before we get into the chapters this evening, just want to run through the transition into the New Testament just to kind of refresh our memory since we're rewinding the tape and starting back at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Going back in history, I'll take you back to 444 B.C.,

When Nehemiah goes from Persia to Jerusalem because he has a burden to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And so Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar.

And the people had been allowed back for a while, but they hadn't rebuilt the city. They'd been in the land, but they'd just kind of been settling and, you know, making ends meet. But they haven't been establishing the city of Jerusalem and setting up the walls, even though the temple had been rebuilt. And so Nehemiah goes, he rebuilds the temple and begins to establish the city of Jerusalem once again.

Now as he goes back. He finds also some other problems. There was still issues within the people. In their rebellion against God. And disregard of his word. And so God continues to send prophets. Malachi comes on the scene around 430 BC. He is the last prophet.

of the Old Testament prophets. He is the one who ends the book, the Old Testament books, and he's the final prophet to them. And then there's a period of silence where there's no more prophets speaking, there's no more prophets sent to the nation as a whole until John the Baptist comes on the scene to announce the Messiah. The

Now in between that, Malachi and John the Baptist, you had a lot happening. Greece conquered the world and it became the language of choice and the primary language for most of the people. The roads were established.

The scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures were translated into Greek. And then, of course, Rome came on the scene in 63 BC and took over, you know, and became now the world dominant power and established, you know, the peace of Rome and established all the connections between the various regions and such. And so that's all going on. There's a lot that we're not getting into in that, of course, but...

But this is all being established to prepare the way now for John the Baptist to come on the scene. The Jews are back in the land, but they're being ruled by Rome. And so Rome has the power. They're submitted to Rome, even though they don't like it. John the Baptist comes on the scene to announce the Savior. And of course, Jesus comes right upon his heels. He is, you know, right there at the end of John the Baptist's ministry. Jesus is on.

Also there beginning his ministry and announcing himself and proclaiming himself to be the Messiah. And the people were thinking that that meant that he was going to overthrow Rome and set up his kingdom right then and there. But of course what he really came to do was to make an end of sin and to be our Savior. So he was crucified, he was resurrected. And then shortly after that you have the events that are recorded in the book of Acts as

And that ends around 63 AD. So about 30 years after Jesus has been crucified and resurrected, then that brings you to the end of New Testament history. All the books after, all the epistles, kind of fill in throughout the gospel of, I'm not the gospel, but the account of Acts and the various missionary travels and such that are going on. And so it's a very relatively short amount of time that's happening as far as New Testament history is concerned.

So John the Baptist comes on the scene, Jesus comes on the scene, and that changes everything. So let's get started now in John chapter 1, verse 14 is the key verse.

It says, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now John introduces the gospel in verses 1 through 5 saying, in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God and the word was with

It's his way of introducing Jesus. When he is referring to the word, he's referring to Jesus Christ. And you can see that from John 1.14 as he talks about the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. That is the picture of Jesus being God, becoming flesh or becoming man. Adding humanity together.

To his deity. And he says we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the father.

And so he's introducing Jesus here as being in the beginning. That is, he has always existed or already existed in the beginning. That he is with God and that he also is God. Now, each of the Gospels are interesting because we've talked about the different focuses that they have. You remember Matthew focused on Jesus as the Messiah.

And so as Matthew began his gospel, he included a genealogy and it connects with his mission because he takes the line of Christ back to David, which of course the Messiah would be from David, but then he also takes it back to Abraham. And so he traces the line of Jesus all the way back to Abraham, the one of course who was promised that the Savior would come through his descendants.

Mark presents Jesus as a servant and he includes no genealogy. Which of course if you're trying to prove the credentials genealogy wise anyways of a servant, there's not a lot of requirements. You don't have to have a high pedigree or some specific lineage in order to be a servant. And so Mark presents no genealogy. Luke does present a genealogy.

Now we talked about Luke and his emphasis on the humanity of Jesus. And you can see that in his genealogy because he traces the line of Christ all the way back to Adam, the first man. And so Jesus is a descendant of Adam, the first human being. Again, focusing on the humanity of Jesus.

Now as John writes and focuses on the deity of Jesus Christ, he includes a genealogy. We probably wouldn't normally think it so, but here in verse 1 we have a genealogy and that is it goes back to eternity. It traces the line of Christ or who Jesus is back to eternity. That in the beginning he was with God. In the beginning he was, in the beginning he had already existed and he is God.

And so he starts out really powerfully talking about the deity of the word or the deity of Jesus Christ. Well then in verses 6 through 13, he talks about John the Baptist being sent from God. And so the forerunner is sent ahead to announce the coming of the Messiah.

In verses 14 through 18, he talks about the word becoming flesh. Again, the humanity of Jesus. Being God, he became man. Then he records the testimony of John in verses 19 through 34.

He was ministering to the people. He was baptizing. They were asking, well, who are you? And here John records that John the Baptist was saying, I'm not the Christ. I'm not the Messiah. I'm not the Savior. I'm the forerunner.

And he announces that the one he's running ahead of or the one he's preparing the way for is Jesus as he points him out. In verse 29, he points out Jesus and he says, look, it's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And so he is fulfilling his ministry and his mission, testifying that Jesus is the Christ.

Well that prompts some of John the Baptist's disciples to follow Jesus. And so Peter and Andrew follow Jesus in verses 35 through 42. And then Philip and Nathaniel follow Jesus in verses 43 through 51. Now,

Looking at chapter 1 as an overview, you know, I want to take some time and consider the emphasis that John has of Jesus being God. And so what we're going to be doing is looking at different ways that John refers to Jesus as God throughout this gospel. And so throughout our chapters this evening, we'll be looking at this. And so here's the first one.

Again, it starts in verse 1. We've talked about it a little bit. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This is the first of many ways that John will refer to Jesus as God. Here it's a pretty clear statement. The word was God. It's a reference to Jesus and it's a reference to Jesus being God. But it's also illustrating the distinctness or distinction from Jesus and the Father. And when we talk about Jesus being God...

It does need to be clear. We kind of need to communicate it better, I think, sometimes because a lot of times when people are, you know, hearing that Jesus is God, they're perceiving, they're thinking that we are saying that Jesus and the Father are the same person.

that they're not different, that they're not, you know, separate. But we believe, and the Bible teaches, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are God. That is, they have the nature of God, but they are distinct from one another. And so there's a separateness between them. There's an order between them. There's roles, you know, that they each individually have. And

And yet they are one God. And of course it's a difficult concept. But when we talk about Jesus being God, again, we're not saying that Jesus is the Father. We're saying that Jesus has the nature of God. That he is God.

deity that he is God. And as we look through the gospel of John, John will be saying this in quite a few different ways. In fact, I count 17. You know, maybe you count it and other people will count it a little bit differently. But this is the first way that he references the deity of Jesus Christ, declaring that the word was God. Well, there's another one here in verse 3.

He says, all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made. And so here his reference to Jesus as God is that Jesus is the creator. He is the one who created all things and he makes it pretty clear. Nothing was created without him. So it means that he is not created.

but he is the creator. Now you can look at Genesis chapters 1 and 2, Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 and 17, and there see that Jesus is God, and that God is the one who created all things, and Jesus is the creator of all things. And so you can understand that Jesus being God was part of creation and was the creator of all that exists.

And so again, referencing that Jesus Christ is God. We can see another reference to the deity of Jesus in verse 30 when John the Baptist says, This is he whom I said, after me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.

Now, this one's, you know, not as clear as perhaps some of the others that we'll look at. But here what John the Baptist is saying is that Jesus existed before John the Baptist.

And what makes that interesting is we know from the other gospel accounts that John the Baptist is actually six months older than Jesus. That when the angel Gabriel talked to Mary and said, hey you're going to conceive, he said Elizabeth is already six months pregnant, your relative. And so then Mary went to visit her and of course she gave birth to John the Baptist. So that means that

Although John the Baptist was older, as far as this earth is concerned, Jesus had existed prior to his birth. Now that's unique and that's different than everybody else. I know there's some ideas and some that teach that

You know, there's all these souls that are waiting for, you know, bodies. And then when the birth happens, then the souls are taken from heaven and, you know, united with that body. And then they're born. But that's not contained in the scriptures anywhere. There's no indication of that. It seems that Jesus is unique in that he existed prior to his conception.

The rest of us, including John the Baptist, began our existence at conception. But Jesus has existed since the beginning. He was in the beginning. He was in the beginning with God because he is God. And so it makes him unique in that he was before John the Baptist, even though John the Baptist was older.

Well, another reference we find here in chapter 1 is verse 34, where John the Baptist says, I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. So this is the fourth way that John references the deity of Jesus Christ in this chapter, where John the Baptist says, I have seen, I testify, Jesus is the Son of God. Now,

This is a term that is really, really key and really important for understanding the deity of Jesus Christ and understanding that Jesus is God. The idea or the phrase, the Son of God, it really means and it shows that Jesus is God.

The Jewish people of the day, you know, while this was all going on, understood that this statement was a claim to be equal to God. And in fact, you could say that Jesus was crucified because he claimed to be God. In John chapter 19 verse 7 says,

As the Jews are talking to Pontius Pilate, and Pontius is like, hey, why don't you try him, you know, according to your own law? Why are you bugging me and trying to, you know, get me to deal with Jesus? And they said, well, you know, we don't have the authority to kill anybody. And he's like, well, why? Why does he need to be put to death? And in John chapter 19, verse 7, it says, the Jews answered him, we have a law, and according to our law, he ought to die because he made himself the son of God.

Because he claimed to be the son of God, he deserves to die. You see, they understood that that was blasphemy unless it was true. And they didn't believe that it was true. That it was blasphemy because by declaring himself the son of God, that he was declaring himself to be equal to God. And so Jesus is the son of God. This

this phrase, the Son of God, it signifies a very unique relationship that Jesus has with the Father. He is not a son in general, like you and I are all sons and daughters of God.

But he is the son of God. He has a unique relationship to the father. He is the unique son. Which again, it's a statement, a declaration that he is equal with God. Equal to God. That he has the nature of God. You can think about it this way. Whenever two people have a child, let's say a son...

That son has the same nature as the parents, right? So two people don't give birth to something with a lesser nature, like a dog, right? That doesn't happen. No, people give birth to people, and dogs give birth to dogs. The son of, or the descendant of, the child of another person

It's a statement of the same type of nature, the same type of character. And so just as, you know, your child has your nature, Jesus declaring himself to be the son of God, it's not a statement of his origin. It's a statement of his relationship to the father and his equality, the same kind of nature that the father has, Jesus has.

Jesus has the nature of God. And that's what we mean when we say that Jesus is God and Jesus is the son of God. And that's why the Jews were offended and said he must die because by saying he is the son of God, he declares himself to have the nature of God, to be equal to the father. And so Jesus says,

being the son of God is a statement that he is God. So these are the four ways that we see John reference the deity of Jesus in John chapter 1. Again, maybe there's others you could, you know, check out. These are kind of the ones that popped out to me as I was reading through it and preparing for this. So the word was God. All things were made through him. Jesus was before John the Baptist.

And Jesus is the Son of God. We'll see more in the coming chapters as we go forward this evening. But now let's get into chapter 2. Verse 23 is the key verse. It says,

So in verses 1 through 12, we have Jesus' first miracle. And it is when he turns water into wine. He's there at the wedding. And the weddings in those days were a long, seven-day-long feast. And so at some point during this feast, they run out of wine.

And Mary comes to him and says, hey, they've run out of wine. And she tells the servants, hey, do whatever he tells you to do. And so he tells them, well, fill it up with water and then take out some and take it to the master of the feast. And he tastes it and he declares, well, this is the best wine and you've saved the best for last. Well, then in verses 13 through 22, Jesus cleanses the temple.

And we also have that recorded in the other gospels, but the timing is different. And so it seems that Jesus cleansed the temple twice. This time here in John chapter 2 was early on in his ministry, he cleansed the temple. Then the second time was during that Passion Week. As he goes in, he cleanses the temple once again at the end of his ministry.

And in verses 23 through 25, it tells us that Jesus knew what was in a man. And so we're getting some insight into his ministry and what was going on. And he knew what was going on in the hearts of the people. And so he did not commit himself to them because he knew what was there. Well, here in chapter 2, we have another reference to the deity of Jesus Christ. In John chapter 2, verse 16, it says,

It says, and he said to those who sold doves, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of merchandise. This is kind of the other side of Jesus declaring himself to be the son of God. He refers to God, he refers to the father as my father. Now, to us again, sometimes we kind of miss the importance of these things. And to us, you know, for Jesus to say my father might not be a big deal.

But the Jewish people understood what Jesus was saying. In fact, you can see there in John chapter 5 verse 18, it says, And so again, you can see, you know, their understanding of what Jesus was saying was very clear. When Jesus says, my father...

He is declaring himself to be equal with God. He is declaring that he has the nature of God because he refers to the Father. Again, not in general, not in a, you know, kind of a vague way, but a very specific way saying he's my father, I'm his son. We have this unique relationship because we have the same nature. We have the nature of God.

And so when Jesus referred to God as my father, every time he was claiming and proclaiming that he is God. Well, the Gospel of John has seven miracles of Jesus that John records. And so just to highlight them as we go through, the first one is in John chapter 2.

and that is Jesus turning water to wine. As opposed to the other gospel writers who have a lot more, you know, of the miracles of Jesus, and you can see that, you know, especially in the gospel of Mark, all the many things that he did. John kind of selects seven, and so lets us know, you know, that Jesus turns water to wine. A lot of, you know, Bible scholars and students have pointed out

you know, the comparisons. As you look at the early chapters of John and the early chapters of Genesis and, you know, the beginnings of the Bible. And there's lots of parallels with the references to the word and the light and creation and such. And then also you can look at the ministry of Moses and his first sign to the Pharaoh was to turn water into blood.

And here you have, you know, someone kind of replacing Moses, the new covenant now. And so the water is not changed to blood, but it's changed to wine and the new covenant in his blood. And so water to wine is his first miracle.

And John says at the end of his book in John chapter 20 verse 31 that he records the things that he records. That he chose these things on purpose that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing you may have life in his name. And so these are handpicked by John to help us believe that Jesus is the Savior and that he is the Son of God. Alright, chapter 3 now. Verse 3 is the key verse.

In verses 1 through 8, Jesus declares, you must be born again.

This is when Nicodemus comes. He is a religious leader of the day and he comes to Jesus and is having a conversation with him about what is necessary to enter into the kingdom of God. Later on we find out he does believe, he becomes a believer and he's with Joseph of Arimathea as Joseph collects his body off of the cross and lays him in the tomb. And so he's involved in that later on.

But here he doesn't understand. And Jesus is talking to him about being born again. And he's saying, you know, what does that mean? I don't understand. Do I have to go back into my mother's womb? And Jesus explained, no, I'm talking about spiritual things. That you're born once, you know, the natural birth. But you need a spiritual birth. You need to be born again by the Spirit of God. And if you are not born again, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Well, then in verses 9 through 21...

That famous portion where Jesus says, God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. And so here Jesus declares, this is why he's there. Because God the Father loved the world.

So much that he sent Jesus, his son, the one who has the same nature as him. Now, only begotten is not, you know, talking about, again, his origin, but it's talking about the relationship that he has with the father. The Jews would refer to Isaac as the only begotten of Abraham.

And you know, Abraham had more than Isaac. He also had Ishmael, and then later on he had other children. But Isaac had that special place. You know, he was the firstborn that God had promised. He wasn't the one that they had tried to do on their own. He was the, you know, the one that had that special place, that relationship with Abraham, the father. And it's a picture then, you know, of

the father and Jesus. Even as Abraham takes Isaac up on Mount Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice in obedience to God. It's that picture, it's that visual. And so that's what the idea of only begotten son is referring to, is that unique and special relationship that they have with one another. Well then in verses 22 through 30, John declares, this is John the Baptist, he must increase, but I must decrease.

There's a little bit of a conflict that's happening here amongst the disciples of John the Baptist because John the Baptist comes on the scene and people get excited and fired up and people are repenting and John has his disciples. He has those that are following him. He's teaching them.

And they're loyal to John the Baptist. And then now, you know, from their perspective, this new guy comes on the scene. And all of a sudden, he has more followers than John the Baptist. And they're kind of upset by this. And they're thinking, John, you got to come up with some kind of program or something. Maybe we can get some signs made up or some flyers. You know, get you some business cards and let people know that you're still around, you know. And so that way your church will be as big as his church.

And John the Baptist says, no, no, that's not what this is about. I did my job. He's supposed to increase because that's what I came to do was to prepare the way for him and for his ministry. Verses 31 through 36, John the Baptist continuing to talk about Jesus says, he who comes from above is above all.

And he's talking about Jesus and his origins, that he comes from above. He's not from earth, but he came down from heaven. And that's the sixth reference that John uses to point out that Jesus is God. That Jesus came down from heaven.

Jesus has always existed because he is God. He was in the beginning with God and he was God. And so he is unique in that. Nobody else has come down from heaven. None of us have, you know, existed before and then came down from heaven and now live on this earth. That's something unique to Jesus. He came down from heaven and

He did not begin his existence when he was conceived. He has always existed. And again, that's something that can only be said of Jesus. So he was in heaven.

Then he became man and then he returned to heaven when he ascended to the Father. And that's why Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 about glorifying him with the glory that he had before the world began. Because he had always existed in heaven. He became man. He entered into time and space. Added humanity to his deity.

And then later was crucified. So we have John referring to Jesus coming down from heaven here in this chapter. But then we also have John refreshing our memory that Jesus is the Son of God. There in John 3.16 and then John 3.35 and 36. And so a couple more times, John is making the case, making the point that Jesus is God.

John chapter 4 now, verse 23 is the key verse. He says,

In verses 1 through 19, we have this encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. He is there at the well and the disciples have gone into town to get some food. And the woman comes out to get a drink and Jesus says, hey, you want to give me a drink? And she's like, well, you're Jew, I'm Samaritan. You know, don't you know? Haven't you heard? We don't relate to one another. We're not supposed to talk to each other. We don't like each other. You know, what are you doing talking to me?

And Jesus says, hey, if you knew who I was, then you would have asked me for a drink. Because I can give you, you know, something that will quench your thirst and you'll never thirst again. And she's like, ooh, well give me some of that. I don't have to carry this water back and forth.

Not understanding Jesus was talking about spiritual things. And so Jesus here is ministering to this Samaritan woman. In verses 20 through 26 he tells her that those who worship must worship in spirit and truth. That he's talking about spiritual things and that those who come to the Father must do so in spirit and in truth.

Well the woman's really impressed and moved by her conversation with Jesus. And so in verses 27 through 30 she calls the whole city to go out to meet Jesus. And she says he told me everything I've ever done. And that

piques the curiosity and the interest of the town. And so they all come out and Jesus ministers to them. And so in verses 31 through 42, he tells his disciples, the fields are white for harvest. And so he sees this great opportunity. It's an opportunity to minister to the Samaritan village as they are heading out to him to hear, you know, what he has to share.

Then in verses 46 through 54, it records for us here when Jesus heals a nobleman's son. And so here we have the second of the miracles that John the Apostle records in the life of Jesus. And so he heals the official's son in John chapter 4, telling him, hey,

Your son will be well. And it tells us that the guy believed and he went his way. And then a servant met him later and said, hey, your son's better. He's doing good. And he's like, oh, what time did that happen? And he did the math. He's like, that's the time that Jesus told me, you know, that he would be okay. And so he believed Jesus and it, you know, happened according to his faith or according to his belief, according to what Jesus declared. Chapter 5 now, verse 18 is the key verse.

Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was his father making himself equal with God.

In verses 1 through 15, Jesus heals a lame man. And he's, you know, there at the pool of Bethesda. And he's been wanting to get in the pool. There's the idea, the understanding, you know, they believed that when the water was stirred, if you got in, then you would be healed. And so he's been waiting there, but he didn't have anybody to help him. And Jesus says, hey, do you want to be well?

And he says, well, of course I do. And so Jesus says, well, take up your mat and walk. Well, then in verses 16 through 23, the Jews seek to kill Jesus. There's a little bit of a problem here because when Jesus does this miracle, it's on the Sabbath. And the Jewish leaders did not like

that Jesus worked miracles on the Sabbath. They believed that that was wrong and that that was forbidden. They taught that that was forbidden. It didn't violate God's law, but it did violate the law that they had established. And so they were upset by this. They were upset, first of all, because he's carrying his mat, this guy who's been healed. They're like, hey, what are you doing carrying your mat? And they said, well, the guy who healed me told me to carry it.

And so they're like, somebody healed you on the Sabbath too? Like, oh my goodness, this is getting worse as we talk about it. And so now they're trying to seek out Jesus to kill him because he healed on the Sabbath and because he declared that God was his father, making himself equal with God.

In verses 24 through 30, Jesus says, the Father granted the Son to have life and to execute judgment. And so he's sharing, you know, with them a little bit about his ministry and his authority, that he has the authority to give life as well as to execute judgment, but those things have been granted to the Son by the Father.

Well, then in verses 31 through 47, Jesus says, I have a greater witness than John's. And so John came, John the Baptist that is, and he came, you know, as a witness. But Jesus says, I have a greater testimony, a greater witness, a greater understanding, not understanding, but a greater proclamation than

of who I am and that I am who I declare myself to be. And so Jesus here is, you know, dealing with these guys who want to kill him because they understand exactly what he's saying. Now, that's the thing here. This wasn't just like a big misunderstanding. They thought he was claiming to be God, but he really wasn't. He is claiming to be God. They understood that he was claiming to be God, and that's exactly why they wanted him dead.

Well, the seventh way that we find here in the Gospel of John, how Jesus is referred to as God, is that Jesus gives life. There in John 5.21, he says, As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. So he claims here to have the same power to give life, the same authority to give life, as the Father does. Now that is...

You know, a statement that is only true of God. He is the only one who can give life. And so as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so the Son raises the dead and gives life. Well, then you can also see in John 5, 23, another reference. In verse 23, it says that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

And so here you can see that Jesus deserves the same honor as the Father. This is a pretty heavy statement as well because you remember God has declared many times in the scriptures that he will not share his glory with another. He deserves all honor. He deserves all glory. And Jesus says, I should be honored just as the Father.

We should be given the same amount of honor because again, Jesus is declaring that he has the nature of God, that he is God, that he is one with the Father.

And so several ways you can see in chapter 5, Jesus is referred to as God. God is Jesus' father in John 5.17. Jesus gives life in 5.21. He deserves the same honor as the father in 5.23. And then he's referred to again as the son of God in John chapter 5 verse 25. And so some of them, you know, are unique to this chapter. These are the first time we've seen them. But

Jesus being the Son of God is going to be seen over and over and over again throughout the Gospel of John because that is the emphasis of John, that Jesus is the Son of God. Well, we also see in John chapter 5, the third miracle of Jesus as he heals the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. Chapter 6 now, verse 29. Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he sent.

This is a great verse. I really like this verse. This is what God wants you to do. You know, a lot of people like to know, what is it that I need to do? And that's why Jesus says this. People are coming to him, what is it that we need to do? And Jesus says, here's the works. The good works that you need to do is to believe in Jesus whom the Father sent. That's what he wants you to do. In verses 1 through 14, Jesus feeds the 5,000. This is one of the few verses

parts of the gospel of John that are also you know included in the other gospels and this one is unique in that it's included in all four gospels and so we've seen it a few times already and so I'm not going to spend some time on it but Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus women and children

Then in verses 15 through 21, Jesus walks out to the disciples on the sea, on the Mediterranean, not the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Galilee, and reaches them. And again, they believe that he is God as he works that miracle. Then verses 22 through 29, he says that the work of God is to believe in the one whom he sent.

In verses 30 through 40, Jesus declares, I am the bread of life. And that's the beginning of seven I am statements, maybe eight depending on how you count it. But Jesus makes some pretty powerful statements attached to the phrase I am. And so we'll be keeping track of those as well. He says in verses 41 through 59, he who believes in me has everlasting life.

And so this is the way to have everlasting life, to believe in the one whom the Father has sent. Well, this causes many disciples to turn away in verses 60 through 70 as he declares himself to be the bread of life. And they're like, this is a hard saying because he talks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. And they wrestle with that. And so many disciples turn away at that point.

John here refers to Jesus as God a few times. In verse 27, he talks about Jesus giving life. Verse 32, that God is Jesus' Father. In verse 38, again referring to Jesus coming down from heaven. And then in verse 69, once again, Jesus is the Son of God. And so we've talked about all of those before, but here they are once again reminding us that Jesus Christ is God.

Again, in verse 35, I mentioned this is the first of the I am statements. He says, I am the bread of life. I am the source, you know, and the supply, everything that you need. I am that bread. He referred to it and, you know, called the people to remember that God provided the manna. And he says, that was just a picture. I am the bread of life. I am the one that God has provided for

And so he who comes to me shall never hunger. He who believes in me shall never thirst, Jesus says. And then here in chapter 6, we have two more miracles, the feeding of the 5,000 and the walking on water. So by the end of our chapters this evening, we'll be almost finished with the miracles of Christ. There's just one more in the coming week. John chapter 7 now, verse 38, says, He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

In verses 1 through 9, we are introduced to Jesus' brothers.

And we can see and we learn that they do not believe in Jesus. They say, hey, why don't you go up to the feast? You should do your miracles there so everybody can see. But by this time, the Jewish leaders were already pretty upset with Jesus and wanted him dead. And so he didn't go, you know, in the main caravan that went or publicly. He went secretly and he still went to the feast. This is talking about the Feast of Tabernacles. And so he went later on.

In verses 10 through 24, the Jews marvel that Jesus is teaching. So he shows up in Jerusalem. He's teaching and the Jews are marveling at his teaching and what he's saying and the authority that he has. They're also marveling that

he's not being taken captive because they've heard the rumors they've heard you know that the chief priests want him dead and so then they start to wonder well maybe he is the christ because maybe that's why they're not you know arresting him because now they believe that he is the savior in verses 25 through 31 many of the people believe and so they're beginning to you know believe in jesus as a result of his teaching and

Jesus declares in verse 32 through 39, if anyone comes or if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. And rivers of...

or torrents of living water will flow forth from him. And so Jesus here is on the last day, that great day of the feast, when they're pouring water out to remind the people of how God provided water from the rock in the wilderness. Jesus says, hey, if you're thirsty, you know, can you imagine the priest is all pouring out water, all the tensions on him. And Jesus kind of interrupts and says, hey, over here, guys, look at me. If you're thirsty, come to me and drink. He is, you know, providing himself water

as something better than, you know, what was provided for the children of Israel in the wilderness. And he is presenting himself as the one who can quench the thirst. And so verses 40 through 52, it tells us that some of them, that is the Jews, wanted to take him. They wanted to arrest him. They wanted to put him to death, but they were unable to do so yet. It wasn't quite his time.

So verse 29, we see a reference to the deity of Christ in that he came down from heaven.

Chapter 8 now, verse 58. Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Here we have that phrase again, I am. It's an important phrase because it's the way that God identified himself in the Old Testament. So we'll talk about that in just a moment. But in verses 1 through 12, they bring to him a woman who is caught in adultery.

And so they say, hey, you know, Moses says we should stone her. What do you say we should do? And this is like we've seen in the past, just them trying to trap Jesus to, you know, get him to say something that turns the crowd against him or to get him to say something that they can use against him in order to use, you know, an illegal way to put him to death.

And so here this woman's caught in adultery and Jesus, you know, the account, you know, he writes in the sand and they're like, hey, what do you say we should do? He keeps writing in the sand. Hey, well, let whoever has no sin cast the first stone. And, you know, we don't know exactly what he was writing, but many have speculated over the years. He's probably writing, you know, the name and then, you know, their sin and you and you sinned and then you and you sinned. And if you haven't sinned, then cast the first stone. It tells us that the eldest left first and

all the way to the youngest until no accusers were there any longer. And so Jesus gives her mercy, shows her mercy, and says, go and sin no more. The other thing that's always pointed out in this passage, which is appropriate, is where's the guy? Because if she's caught in the act of adultery, you know, there is somebody else there with her. But again, they're not concerned with, you know, the truth or really making things right. They're just trying to trap Jesus.

In verses 13 through 20, Jesus says, the Father bears witness of me. And so Jesus declares, the Father is speaking to you about me. He's bearing witness. He's showing you that I am the Son. I am the Messiah whom he has sent. In verses 21 through 30, he says, you will die in your sins if you do not believe.

And so as he's speaking to the Jews, he's declaring their need for salvation, their need for forgiveness of sins, which is not being met by the sacrifices, which is not being satisfied by the law. It is going to be fulfilled only through Jesus Christ. He says in verses 31 through 47, "...whoever sins is a slave of sin."

And this is the problem that you and I as humans have. That when we sin, we are slaves to that sin. It is our master. We're incapable of releasing ourselves from that slavery. It's only Jesus who can set us free. And so he says, he who the son sets free is free indeed. Then we're delivered from the guilt of sin, the penalty of sin.

And eventually will be delivered from sin altogether in the presence of God. Well then in verses 48 through 59, Jesus makes this bold declaration. Before Abraham was, I am. And here's the ninth way that John refers to Jesus as God. That Jesus is the I am. I am is God.

A name that God ascribes to himself in the Old Testament. In Exodus chapter 3 verse 14, when Moses is there at the burning bush talking with God, and he says, well, if I'm going to go speak to Pharaoh and the children of Israel on your behalf, who should I tell them sent me? And God says to Moses, I am who I am. And so he says, you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you.

And so as Jesus declares, before Abraham was, I am. He's not just saying that he existed before Abraham, although that is true. But if that was all he was saying, he would have said, I was. You know, I was before Abraham. But he says, I am. He takes for himself the name of God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush.

he's proclaiming himself to be God. Now, not saying that Jesus is the Father...

But saying that he is equal to God. That he has the nature of God. Now again, the religious leaders, the Jewish people, understood what Jesus was declaring here. This isn't like we're just, you know, manipulating the text to make it say something we want it to say. In verse 59, you can see it says, "...they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so he passed by."

So when Jesus says before Abraham was I am they understood immediately Jesus was declaring himself to be God and so they said this is blasphemy and they're seeking to put him to death. They understood that Jesus was claiming to be equal to the father to be the one who spoke to Moses there at the burning bush.

And so Jesus is God. We see that several ways here in John chapter 8. He refers to God as his father. He refers to his coming down from heaven and he declares himself to be the I am. And so here's the third of the I am statements. He says before Abraham was, I am. John chapter 9 now verse 38 says,

Then he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. John chapter 9 is one of those classic chapters. We've seen it a lot. We refer to it often. This man who was born blind, that Jesus heals. And we see that take place in verses 1 through 12. Well, then the Pharisees hear about it in verse 13 through 34, and they investigate the healing. Now, the reason why they're so interested in this is because...

It's another miracle that Jesus did on the Sabbath. And so they're upset about this. And they're, you know, thinking this man cannot be from God because he healed on the Sabbath. And so they're interrogating the blind man. They call in the blind man's parents. And they don't want to have anything to do with it. They just say, ask him. He's the one who had the healing. Um...

And so they cast out the blind man eventually as the blind man says, hey, why do you keep asking me about this? Do you want to be his disciple? And they say, no way, get out of here. We don't want to hear from you.

Well, then in verses 35 through 41, Jesus reveals himself to the blind man and he believes in Jesus. Because he was blind before, he didn't know what Jesus looked like. And so Jesus shows up later and he says, hey, you know, do you believe in the Son of God? And he's like, well, who is he? He says, well, I am the Son of God. I am the one who healed you. I'm the one that...

That set you free. And so in John chapter 9 verse 35. We have again a reference to the reality that Jesus is God. As he revealed himself to this blind man as the son of God. And then as far as his miracles are concerned. Here's the sixth one. The healing of this man who was born blind. So most of his miracles accounted for. We'll see one more in the chapters that we read this coming week.

But our final chapter for the evening is John chapter 10, verse 33 is the key verse.

And so once again, we see Jesus declaring himself to be God, to be equal to God. The Jews understanding that claim and desiring to put him to death as a result. In verses 1 through 6, Jesus talks about the sheep and the shepherd. He says,

And he refers to himself as the good shepherd in verses 7 through 21. Then in verses 22 through 30, he declares that he and the Father are one. And there's this unity among them that is important to understanding the deity of Jesus. Then in verses 31 through 39, the Jews try to stone Jesus for blasphemy because he said, I and the Father are one.

And then Jesus moved on from there and ministered beyond the Jordan in the region of Perea in verses 40 through 42. So here in John chapter 10, we have the 10th reference to Jesus being God.

Or the tenth way that John referred to Jesus as God. As Jesus says, I and my Father are one. This is a strong declaration that Jesus is God. Because it means that he has perfect unity with the Father.

And the thing about unity is this perfect unity requires equality. It requires the same kind of nature. You could think of it as marriage. You know, the Bible says that when two people get married, they become one flesh, right? It's not that they, you know, are only now one physical literal person, but there's this unity, there's this compound unity between them.

This is the same idea when Jesus says, I and my Father are one. He's saying we are one in essence. We are one. We are united. Not that Jesus is the Father, but that they are together one. Now, the whole point of marriage and the unity that happens there, the reason why that's possible is because it's the joining together of two people with the same nature, right?

Man who is human, woman who is human, they're able to be joined together.

You cannot join together in unity with something of a different nature. So man and dog are not, you know, united in marriage. Although, you know, the state and the government might try to declare that that's possible later on. But you got to understand there's not that same kind of unity because there's not equality. There's different kinds of nature, different capacities. There's not the same, you know,

mutual participation if the natures are different and marriage is different than having a pet wouldn't you agree it's different right in the same way when jesus says i and my father are one he's not saying we i have a lesser nature you know i'm kind of you know similar i've kind of been commissioned by him or created by him he's saying i have the same nature as god

I have the same nature as the Father. Again, it's a declaration that Jesus is God. And in case we missed that, then in verse 31, it says, the Jews take up stones to stone him. And he says, hey, I've done a lot of good works. For which of these do you stone me? He says, no. Or they say, no, it's for blasphemy because you being a man...

make yourself God. That you're declaring, you're saying that you are God, which of course Jesus is. It is blasphemy unless it's true. And Jesus is God, it's true. So it's not blasphemy. So we have that references to Jesus as God a few times. He gives life in verse 10. He is, God is Jesus' father in verse 17. And then we have

He is one with the Father, and in verse 36, he is the Son of God. And so, over and over and over again throughout the Gospel of John, we see Jesus being declared as God. He is presented as God. He is one with the Father. And again, we see that in these I am statements as well. He is the bread of life. He is the light of the world. Before Abraham was, he says, I am. He says, I am the door, and I am the good shepherd.

And so Jesus declares himself to be God, to be the I am, to be the one that is the only one who can save us, the only one for salvation. Now, understanding and knowing that Jesus is God is important for a couple reasons. It helps us to understand the value of what he has done for us. This is an important part of the gospel message. It's not that

You know, someone died for us. It's that God became man to die for us. That's the core of the gospel message. It's the value of the sacrifice.

It's not even that just it was a good man who died or a great prophet or a great teacher. It was a perfect sinless man who is God, who has always existed, who is our creator. He became man to die upon the cross for us. And so as you look through and continue on reading through the Gospel of John and you see that the many references to Jesus as God.

Take some time to consider that and understand and let that develop in you the greater understanding of Jesus is God, our creator, and he became man to die upon the cross for us. It helps us to understand the value of what he did.

and helps us to respond appropriately in our gratitude and our you know receiving of his grace and his mercy towards us let's pray lord thank you that you loved us so much that you did not consider equality with god something to be grasped but you humbled yourself and became obedient even to the point of death that you became a man that you humbled yourself to humanity

That you might suffer and die for us as we've just been considering in this last week with Good Friday and Easter. It's just amazing that you are God, our creator.

Would love us so much. And would do that for us. And I pray God that you would help us. To understand your great love for us. That we might respond appropriately. In love for you. And in living our lives for your glory. And so magnify yourself in our hearts we pray. Help us to see more and more. That you are our God. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.