King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, October 06, 2024
Chapters: John Chapters 2-4
Message: Believing Is Seeing
Hello My Friend,
I do not know why, but for some reason it is taking me an hour to get through one chapter, and I am not distracted or doing other things in between. It is not as though I am distracted or not focused enough, but for whatever reason I am taking way too long to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to me. Sometimes I think I tend to get so involved in trying to read between the lines that I take away the purpose of the message. The key to seeing everything we believe from the Scriptures to be true is something called faith, [Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.]
Jesus, walked the earth for three and a half years performing miracles on both believers and non-believers, it was not the miracle itself that make them believers it was their faith in Him. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, we return to John, Jesus, has returned to His hometown in Galilee, He was invited to go a wedding in the small town there of Cana, His mother, and the disciples were invited also.
[John 2:1-5 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. 5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.]
[the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.] Wedding ceremonies back then lasted a week, there must have been some people making comments that the refreshments, in particular, the wine was running low. We do not know why Mary put Jesus on the spot here, but she must have thought that this would be the opportune time for Jesus to show His stuff. Jesus, was not quite ready to reveal to the people who He is as this may have seemed like some parlor trick to show off what He could do with His Holy Spirit power. Nevertheless, He went along with it and while they all knew something was different about the wine, only a few of them believed it to be a miracle.
[John 2:7-11 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.]
[the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,] So, here is this man well known to what takes place during these long feasts, they normally serve good quality wine the first day, but serve some cheap stuff as the days go by. This wine was unlike anything the man tasted, in fact, it was the best wine that he had tasted, but he was oblivious to the fact that it was water. However, the ones who filled the pots with water sure knew and if the disciples had any apprehension that He is the Christ before they sure believed it now. Sometimes it is the little things that remind us that God is with us and has much better things in store for us if we just believe that by faith, [Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]
[This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee,] John, points out that while Jesus had been performing miracles, it was the first time the people in His hometown are seeing them. Well, Jesus did not stay home too long in Cana, He, His earthly family, and the disciples went to Capernaum for a few days then went off to Jerusalem for the Passover.
[John 2:13-17 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.]
[in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves,] Jesus, was appalled by what He saw, the leaders of the Jews controlled what had become a marketplace in the very Temple used for seeking redemption and atonement from God, made a huge profit off of the sacrifices that they people were bringing to God. Redemption and atonement can never be bought for any price, that is something that can only be obtained by the grace of God through ones faith in Christ, [Romans 3:24-25 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;]
[his disciples remembered that it was written,] By this time, perhaps some of the disciples are getting into the Law to see what else it says regarding the Messiah. John, is referring to this passage, [Psalms 69:8-9 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. 9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.]
Christ, suffered reproach for the sins of His people, having the sins of His people imputed to Him, and therefore, was in every bit of authority to do what He did. Of course, these men were not too happy about Jesus flipping over their tables and chasing away the animals and people, they wanted to know who gave Him the authority to do these things.
[John 2:18-21,23-24 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,]
[What sign shewest thou unto us,] Jesus, gave a rather strange response to their question, but it was He said actually foretells of His death, burial, and resurrection. His response was in respect to the Temple, and His power over it, and had every authority to cleanse it from their sin as he does every temple that comes to Him willingly, [1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.]
You see, Jesus, knew that the majority of people following Him were not sincere in their faith of Him. Jesus, will not commit Himself to anyone unless they are committed to Him. At this point, there were some who started wondering that perhaps He is the Christ, although they may not have been very open about it. Nicodemus, being a leader of the Pharisee’s was one of them, he secretly came to see Jesus to ask Him what He meant by what He said.
[John 3:1-5 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.]
[Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.] Now, right here, Jesus, is referring to the spiritual part of man since the kingdom of God is not a physical or even a heavenly place, but rather spiritual. This is why He goes on to state that in order to be a part of the kingdom of God one would need to born a second time.
[John 3:6-12 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?]
[Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?] In other words, Jesus is asking him that since he is supposed to be knowledgeable of the Scriptures he ought to know what He is talking about. Well, if Nicodemus did not believe what Jesus said in regards to his spirit, then perhaps something he did know would and starts speaking about something he would know about, Moses.
[John 3:14-19 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.]
[even so must the Son of man be lifted up:] Jesus, was speaking of when God sent poisonous snakes to the Israelites when they were blaspheming Him, and had Moses make a bronze serpent on a pole and anyone who looked to it would be saved from death, [Numbers 21:8-9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.]
The key to their being healed was not actually looking at the serpent, it was their faith in the promise. There are people all over the world praising Jesus and all the things He has done, but they are not true worshipers. Why? One can know who Jesus is, and even believe in His death, burial, and resurrection, but unless they personally believe in and receive Him as their Saviour, then they are not born of the Spirit. Jesus, is not the only one who said this, even John the Baptist did. Remember, how John tells his side of the story a little differently? Well, he actually tells us what was going on when Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, before he had gotten arrested.
[John 3:22-28 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast into prison. 25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.]
[A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.] John, is basically saying the same thing that Jesus was. You see, salvation has always been the same message from the very beginning. John, goes on to point out something that Jesus said.
[John 3:31-36 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.]
[He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:] One can know who Jesus is, and even believe in His death, burial, and resurrection, but unless they personally believe that He saved them and receive Him as their Saviour, they are not born of the Spirit, hence, they will not receive eternal life, and God simply will not accept them as His own, [2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.]
One can deny the fact that Jesus is the Son of God all they want, but that does not mean anything, just like we cannot deny who we are He cannot deny Himself, He knows who He is and so do those who actually believe in Him by faith. This is exactly why Jesus opened the door to salvation to the Gentiles, and He did not wait until He resurrected. In fact, He purposely went through a the Gentile town, Samaria.
[John 4:1-7 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, 2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) 3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. 4 And he must needs go through Samaria. 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.]
[the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,] The news of this same Gospel that John the Baptist was preaching was not only spreading throughout the region, Jesus was speaking it too now and even more people were accepting it. This had them scrambling to figure out how to stop Him before things got out of hand, but this was an opportune time for Jesus to see what Gentiles were saying. Jesus did not care what race or nationality she was, all He cared about was her soul.
[John 4:9-11 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?]
[from whence then hast thou that living water?] This actually goes with our having to be born of water and Spirit. No one born of the flesh is worthy to stand before God, which is why she questions why Jesus is even talking to her. Right away the woman was curious about this water that would give her life.
[John 4:13-18 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.]
[Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not,] This woman eagerly wanted this life giving water, but it was actually what Jesus had said to her after this that she believed Him to be the Messiah.
[John 4:21-26 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.]
[God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit] Do you see how it was the same message that He spoke to Nicodemus? Jesus, just approached her in a different way. There is only one Gospel, and there is only one way to eternal life and that is through ones faith in Christ, but not everyone responds to it the same way, which is why we are to teach it in a way that they can understand it, [1 Corinthians 3:5-7 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.]
All this woman needed to hear was that Jesus knew that she had been married five times and the man she is with now was not even her husband. The woman believed right away, she completely forgot about the water pot and ran home to tell them what happen and to bring them to Jesus.
[John 4:28-30,40-42 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? 30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. 40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his own word; 42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.]
[for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ,] So many people honor and worship God, even give praise to Jesus, but they have nothing to do with Jesus. The truth is this, they have no clue who they are worshiping because it is not Almighty God they are worshiping. If we want God to have anything to do with us then we have to believe in His Son, that His Son is the Messiah, and that He is the only way to Him, [1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.]
God, started with the Jews, very few accept Him still today because they refuse to believe God’s own Word. He chose the Jews to show the rest of the world that there is only One Living God, but He has always accepted all who came to Him. Now, we learn that His fame was getting beyond the Jews when while on His way back home, a man ran up to him who was an officer to Herod.
[John 4:47-50,52-53 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. 48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. 52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.]
[Except ye see signs and wonders,] Many people believe in the existence of Christ, but do they actually believe that He is the Son of God, and God Himself? Most religions paint Him as a prophet or some mere preacher man who was martyred for His faith, and sadly, that He is still dead. People want to see a miracle before they fully believe in Christ, but I tell you what, all miracles come from God, they happen every day, religion is too blind to see them because they really do not seek Christ for who He is, rather just to be fed, [Hebrews 4:2-3 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [John 3:17-18 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for the gift of my salvation, I know that it is not by my own works that I am saved from death and hell for my sins, but by Your finished work. You died a sinless death, was buried, and arose from the grave three days later. And You not only saved me from an eternity in hell, You assure me that I have eternal life with You. Lord, it can be hard to worship You in spirit and truth when I get overwhelmed with life, lead me and guide me, fill me with Your grace, love, and wisdom to do whatever it is that You call me to do. I love You Lord and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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