Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 11:1) Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister, Martha.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had departed from the Feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem to a place beyond the Jordan River.  Sometime afterward, a man named Lazarus of Bethany, fell ill.  We are told later that Mary and Martha are his sisters.

(2) (It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

John made a parenthetical statement to explain to us who Mary was.  Although the incident of her anointing Jesus's feet with ointment and wiping His feet with her hair had not actually happened yet chronologically (as we will read about it in the next chapter), John wrote this account after both had happened, and chose an event he knew his listeners would know about to explain who Mary was.

(3) Therefore his sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." 

Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick.  Apparently, Lazarus was a dear friend of His.  We read of Jesus being a guest at the house of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-39.  It seems He had come to know and love Lazarus, as well.

(4) When Jesus heard, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He told either the messengers or His disciples who were likely with Him, that Lazarus's sickness would not result in death, at least not permanently, but would be used for the glory of God and that His Son Jesus might also be glorified through it.

(5) Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. (6) When He had heard that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was.

Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; yet after He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two more days.

(7) Then after that, He said to His disciples, "Let us go into Judea again."

After the two days Jesus tarried, He then told His disciples He wanted to go back to Judea.

(8) His disciples said to Him, "Master, the Jews of late sought to stone You, and You go there again?"

Jesus's suggestion surprised the disciples, and they reminded Him that the Jews there had sought to stone Him and wondered why He would want to go back there.

(9) Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. (10) But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles because there is no light in him."

I believe Jesus's point was that He had an allotted time in which to do His work, represented by a twelve hour daytime.  As long as He worked in the day, He would not stumble or be stoned because He was walking and working in the time in which His Father's light protected Him.  But once that light left Him and it was dark, then would He be killed, but not until then.

(11) These things He said, and after that, He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep."

Jesus then told them that Lazarus was sleeping, and He wanted to go back to Judea (specifically to Bethany in Judea) to wake him.

(12) Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps, he shall do well." (13) However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought He had spoken about taking rest in sleep.

The disciples said that if Lazarus was sleeping, it was good for his healing, but of course, Jesus spoke of Lazarus as having died, not merely resting in sleep.

(14) Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. (15) And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent you may believe; nevertheless, let us go to him."

Jesus explained to His disciples that He meant that Lazarus was dead.  He then told them that for their sakes He was glad He had not been there before he died.  They would now be able to observe a far greater miracle than they had yet seen and would have no lingering doubts, if there were any, that He was the Messiah.

(16) Then Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go that we may die with Him."

Thomas, also called Didymus meaning Twin, must have had a twin sibling.  He said to his fellow disciples that they should go with Jesus to die with Him, expecting that the Jews would indeed succeed in killing Jesus this time.

(17) Then when Jesus came, He found that he had been in the grave four days already.

Lazarus must have died very soon after his sisters sent word to Jesus.  I imagine it took the messenger at least a day to reach Him, and then Jesus stayed two more days, and then probably it took at least a day to get to Lazarus.  He had now been dead four days.

(18) Now Bethany was near to Jerusalem about fifteen furlongs off.

Bethany was in Judea, near Jerusalem, about two miles east of Jerusalem.  This was probably mentioned to show that it was easy for Jews to come to the place.

(19) And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.

Indeed, we are told that many Jews did come to Bethany to see Martha and Mary in order to try to comfort them after their brother had died.

(20) Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went out and met Him, but Mary sat in the house.

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran out to meet Him while Mary stayed behind in the house.

(21) Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (22) But I know, that even now, whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

Martha told Jesus that if He had been there before Lazarus died, she knew he would not have died.  Then she demonstrated great faith in Jesus when she added that even then, after he had died, that she was sure whatever He asked of God, God would grant Him.  It may not be that she was certain of Jesus's deity, but she knew He was from God and that God provided miracles through Him.

(23) Jesus said to her, "Your brother shall rise again." (24) Martha said to Him, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Jesus told her that her brother would rise again.  Although she surely wished for Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead at that moment in time, she may not have been certain about which resurrection Jesus meant.  She told Him she knew he would rise again in the resurrection in the last day.

(25) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. (26) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Jesus told Martha that He Himself was the resurrection and the life.  As He had said before in John 5:21, just as God raised up the dead and gave them life, Jesus Himself could give life to whomever He wanted.  In addition, those who were spiritually dead and destined for death and hell, He could give life to and resurrect.  Jesus was life; whoever believed in Him, even though he had been spiritually dead, would then live forever.  All those living in Him would be resurrected and would live forever.  Jesus asked Martha if she believed that.

(27) She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world."

Whether she had fully comprehended it or not before, Martha told Jesus she now firmly believed He was the Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah for whom they had been looking forward to.

(28) And when she had so said, she went her way and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, "The Master has come and calls for you." (29) As soon as she heard, she arose quickly and went to Him.

As Martha had gone out to meet Jesus on His way to her, she then left Jesus where she had met Him and went back to call her sister Mary.  She told her that Jesus had come and was looking for her.  Mary got up quickly and went out to meet Jesus.

(30) Now Jesus had not yet come into the town but was in that place where Martha met Him.

Jesus had not made it into town yet but was still in the place where Martha had met Him.

(31) The Jews then who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, "She goes to the grave to weep there."

Martha had spoken to Mary secretly about Jesus being there, so when she rose up quickly and went out of the house, the people who had been with her, comforting her, assumed she had gone to her brother's grave to weep for him.  They followed her.

(32) Then when Mary had come where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Mary had come to Jesus, she fell down at His feet and told Him, like her sister had, that if He had been there earlier, her brother would not have died.

(33) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

When Jesus saw Mary weeping and the people weeping with her, He was troubled in His human spirit and even showed some sign of it.  Jesus knew what He was about to do, yet He had love and sympathy for those hurting so at that moment, and human emotions came forth.  As the word "embrimaomai" that was translated as "groaned" always meant "to snort with anger, to have indignation, to blame, to sigh with chagrin, to murmur against," any sympathy He may have had was more because of the fact they all had such weak faith.

(34) And said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." (35) Jesus wept.

Jesus asked where they had laid Lazarus.  They told Him to go with them to see.  Then Jesus even wept.

(36) Then said the Jews, "Behold how He loved him!" (37) And some of them said, "Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?"

The people who had been with Mary thought Jesus wept purely out of love for Lazarus, but of course, He knew what He was about to do for Lazarus, so his emotions were more for the sad state of his sisters and perhaps even for some of them who would not believe in Him and come to a similar state, only permanent.  I believe the sense of verse 37 is that while some people remarked at how much Jesus loved Lazarus, others were wondering out loud why Jesus wouldn't have prevented his death if he loved him so much, if after all, He was one who could open the eyes of the blind.

(38) Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself, came to the grave. It was a cave and a stone lay on it.

Jesus, knowing what these people were saying, again groaned in His spirit.  This time there is no doubt that it was more a groan of chagrin and irritation.  The same word "embrimaomai" translated as "groaning" from verse 33 is used here.  It is not the same word that was translated as "groanings" in Romans 8:26 where the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  That word was "stenagmos" and meant "a groaning or a sigh."  So Jesus groaned within Himself at what the people were saying and then came to the grave.  It was a cave with a stone on it.

(39) Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time he stinks for he has been dead four days."

Jesus told them to take away the stone.  Martha, the one who said that she believed Jesus was Christ and could do whatever He willed, now objected, saying that the smell would be too bad because Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.

(40) Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?"

Jesus indeed reminded Martha that He had told her if she believed, she would see the glory of God in that though he were dead, he would live (verse 25).  She had said she believed He was the Christ and could do whatever He willed.

(41) Then they took away the stone where the dead man was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me."

They took away the stone from the cave where Lazarus lay dead.  Jesus lifted His eyes toward heaven and thanked His Father for hearing Him.  I don't believe that Jesus had to ask the Father to raise up Lazarus, because as God Himself, Jesus had that power.  I believe the thanks was more broad, that He had been given that power when God first willed that Jesus come into the world.  It was predestined Jesus would be fully human, but He was also God and had the power of God.  I believe Jesus always wanted to be in communion with God.  Additionally, I'm sure He wanted the people to see His union with God.

(42) "And I knew that You hear Me always, but because of the people who stand by, I said it that they may believe that You have sent Me."

In fact, Jesus went on in His prayer to say that He knew God always heard Him, meaning He always had the authority to do the things He did in order to bring about God's purpose.  It was because of the people with Him that He said this, so that they would know His union with God and believe that He had indeed been sent by God.

(43) And when He had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"

After Jesus had finished His prayer, He called out to Lazarus in a loud voice and told him to come forth out of the cave.

(44) And he who was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus said to them, "Loose him and let him go."

Lazarus came forth out of the cave still bound with all his graveclothes and even his face wrapped in a napkin.  Jesus told the people to unwrap him and let him go free.

(45) Then many of the Jews who came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed in Him.

Many of the Jews who had been with Mary at her house and followed her, saw what Jesus had done, and they believed in Him.

(46) But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done.

It's incredible that some people could witness such a miracle and not be moved to Jesus!  Their cold hard hearts were set against Him and against truth and regardless of what He had done, they only wished to use it against Him, and they ran to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done.  Raising the dead!  How can that be seen as anything other than what it was?  It was just as Jesus said in Luke 16:31, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."  We must see this as an important lesson about how we should never be so hard and set in our ways and have our minds so closed that we cannot see truth, especially the truth about Jesus.  If one's hard heart constantly pushes Jesus away, there will come a time when he will be blinded and unable to see the truth of Jesus (Psalm 81:12, Romans 1:21, John 7:34).

(47) Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, "What do we do? For this Man does many miracles."  

Then the Pharisees and the chief priests formed a council and discussed what they should do about Jesus.  Imagine!  Their problem was that He performed many miracles!  And they could not see the truth about how it was that Jesus could do miracles.

(48) "If we let Him thus alone, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."

There we have it!  If they allowed Jesus to go on as He was, all the people would come to believe in Him, and they would lose their power!  Their lust for power blinded them to the truth of Jesus.  As Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

(49) And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that same year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, (50) Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation not perish."

The high priest Caiaphas reproved their slow deliberation over Jesus.  Didn't they understand that one man should die for the good of the nation as a whole?  The end justified the means.

(51) And this he spoke not of himself, but being high priest that year, He prophesied that Jesus would die for that nation, (52) And not for that nation only, but also that He should gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

Caiaphas spoke that not from himself, but by the Spirit of God, he unknowingly prophesied about Jesus, one Man dying in order to save the whole nation, and in fact, the world.  Jesus would gather together all His people from all over the world into one church.

(53) Then from that day forth they took counsel together to put Him to death.

From that day forward the Pharisees and chief priests deliberated about how they would put Jesus to death.

(54) Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews but went from there to a country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

After that, Jesus did not walk openly among the Jews but went to a country near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim.  Biblical scholars are not sure exactly where this town was, but the point is that Jesus moved away from Jerusalem to a more remote place and stayed there with His disciples.

(55) And the Jews' Passover was near at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.

Then came the time that the Passover was near, and many people went out of the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to prepare and purify themselves before the Passover meal.

(56) Then they sought Jesus and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think, that He will not come to the feast?"

The chief priests and Pharisees looked for Jesus among the people making their way to Jerusalem for the Passover.  They wondered among themselves whether or not He would come to the feast.

(57) Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment that if any man knew where He was, he should show it that they might take Him.

The chief priests and Pharisees had given a commandment beforehand that if anyone knew where Jesus was, they must report it so that they could seize Him.  That is surely why they doubted that He might come.

The bulk of this chapter was centered around Jesus's raising Lazarus from the dead.  It is a beautiful picture of the resurrection and the life that is in Jesus.  Jesus can raise the most rotten sinful life to everlasting life when one believes in and gives his life over to Jesus for the atonement of his sins!

Parable of the Good Shepherd and Jesus's Deity

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 10:1) "Verily, verily, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."

This seems to be a continuation of the discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees at the end of the last chapter.  The Pharisees were angered by Jesus's insinuation that they were blind because of course, they were so certain they could see clearly and rejected Him.  Jesus now went on to explain the right way to come to the real truth.  He told them that truthfully, if a person did not enter the sheepfold, the church of God, the right way, but tried to come to it in a different way, he was a thief and a robber.  

(2) "But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep."

However, the one who entered by the door was the shepherd of the sheep.  In this case Jesus was talking about Himself, being the good Shepherd.  However, it can be said of anyone who shepherds a flock in a church.  They must come to the truth first in the correct way, which is through Jesus, to be able to rightly shepherd their flocks, which of course, was a direct dig to the Pharisees who had obviously tried to enter the wrong way.

(3) "To him the porter opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

If Jesus was the Shepherd, then the doorkeeper may be God, for He is the one who created the plan for His sheep to be cared for.  God, the doorkeeper, opens the door for the true Shepherd, and the sheep hear the Shepherd's voice, and He calls them by name and leads them.

(4) "And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him for they know his voice."

When the shepherd brings forth his sheep, he leads them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.

(5) "And a stranger they will not follow but will flee from him for they don't know the voice of strangers."

The shepherd's sheep will not follow a stranger but will flee from him because they don't recognize his voice.  Even so the Good Shepherd Jesus's flock will not follow a stranger when they know Jesus's word.

(6) This parable Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

This parable, or illustration, that Jesus gave them about how only the rightful shepherd could enter and lead his sheep, the Pharisees could not understand.  

(7) Then Jesus said to them again, "Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep."

Jesus went on to explain further.  Not only was He the Good Shepherd, but He was the door by which any must enter, sheep or shepherds.  He was the only way through which men could be saved.  To try to go through any other way was to be a thief, robbing the sheep of care and life (verse 1).

(8) "All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them."

Jesus did not mean the prophets who God sent to the people, but rather all who came before Him to these people pretending to pastor and guide them.  Those people, those Pharisees, were thieves and robbers, but the sheep of God would not hear them and those are the ones who would be more receptive to hearing Jesus because they knew there was something lacking in the robber shepherds.  Those sheep heard the Good Shepherd's voice and they followed Him.

(9) "I am the door; if anyone enters in by Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture."

Again Jesus stated He was the door, and if anyone entered in by Him, he would be saved and would be able to move freely in and out and would find pasture for his soul.

(10) "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly."

The thief who tried to climb in another way, who is being led by a different spirit than Jesus's, namely Satan, the chief thief, comes to steal the sheep's path to salvation, which would destroy and kill them.  The Good Shepherd came that His sheep might have everlasting life and that they might have it richer and more fulfilling, that they may have something more abundant than life itself.

(11) "I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

Jesus was both the door by which all must enter to be saved, and He was the Good Shepherd who perfectly led His sheep and would even give His life for His sheep.

(12) "But he who is a hireling and not the shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep."

However, the hireling, one who pretended to lead the sheep but was only in it for pay and reward, as the Pharisees who were only in it for vanity and glory, had no responsibility and ownership of his flock.  When the wolf came which represented any persecution or adversity, he would flee and leave the sheep which could be snatched away by the enemy and scattered.

(13) "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. (14) I am the Good Shepherd and know My sheep and am known by My own."

The counterfeit shepherd only in it for reward flees because he is only in it for himself, and he does not care about the sheep.  However, Jesus was the Good Shepherd, the real and true Shepherd, and He personally knew His sheep and cared for them, and they knew Him.

(15) "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep."

As the Good Shepherd knew His sheep and they knew Him, it was as the Father in heaven knew Jesus and Jesus knew the Father.  It was that Christlike knowledge that He gave His sheep, and He would lay down His life for them.

(16) "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd."

There were other sheep of Jesus's that were not yet of His fold, but He would be calling them to come into the fold, and they, too, would hear and know His voice, and all His sheep would be part of one great fold, the Christian church, and they would all have one Shepherd, Jesus.

(17) "Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life that I might take it again."

That was the very reason Jesus was sent to the world, to call all His sheep to Him and lay down His life for them and be resurrected again so that they, too, might have everlasting life.  God loved Jesus because as God Himself, Jesus was His plan to save the world.

(18) "No man takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received from My Father."

This is such an important part of the salvation plan.  The Jews did not kill Christ; He laid down His life of His own accord.  He could have easily disappeared at any point before they killed Him and prevented it.  However, He willingly gave His life so that the world might be saved.  But He also had the power to take His life again, which He would do, and that was the plan that was directed by Father God in heaven.

(19) There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.

As in John 9:16, again there was a division among the Jews over what they thought about Jesus's most recent words.

(20) And many of them said, "He has a devil and is mad; why listen to him?"

As before, many of the Jews thought Jesus was mad and must be possessed by a demon and therefore they should not listen to Him.

(21) Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?"

Also as before, other Jews rightly reasoned that such words were not the words of a devil, and a devil could not make the blind see.

(22) And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter.

It was winter and the time of the Feast of the Dedication.  This was a feast instituted in 164 BC by Judas Maccabeus in commemoration of his purifying the temple after it had been defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes.  John Wesley pointed out in his Notes on the Bible that Jesus "observed festivals even of human appointment. Is it not, at least, innocent for us to do the same?"  I love this!  I wish I realized it before.  Although my husband went along with celebrating Christmas and Easter with me, his family condemned those holidays as pagan and not instituted by God.  He grew up in a household where he had to be absent on Christmas party day.  I always thought that was sad.  After all, even if we celebrate those holidays that were originally not celebrated, but have come to be celebrated in honor of Jesus, if that is what is in our hearts, I could see no harm.  I love seeing that Jesus attended festivals that were not instituted by God and there is no harm if they are not against God's word.

(23) And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. 

Solomon's porch was a structure made by King Solomon himself.  It was on the east side of the temple and was covered and had supporting walls and overlooked a deep valley. 

(24) Then came the Jews round about Him, and said to Him, "How long do You make us doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

Here come the Jews again.  They surrounded Jesus and asked Him how long He would keep them in doubt.  If He was truly the Christ, they wanted Him to plainly say so.  

(25) Jesus answered them, "I told you and you did not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.

Jesus told them that He had already told them but they did not believe Him.  Additionally, His very works that He did in His Father's name bore witness of Him.  Perhaps Jesus never actually said the words, "I am Christ."  As a matter of fact, the only places you find those exact words in the Bible are when Jesus warned that deceivers would arise claiming, "I am Christ" (Matthew 24:5, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8).  Jesus spoke in parables and analogies rather than directly to reveal the secrets of the kingdom of heaven to those whose hearts were willing to listen and really consider.  In Luke 8:10, Jesus said to His disciples, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables, that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand."  Why would Jesus not want some to understand?  It's not that He doesn't want some to understand, it's that through parables He is able to reach people on a more spiritual level.  Open and willing hearts are able to understand.  Hardened hearts that really don't want to know truth cannot understand, and that is why Jesus did not answer the Jews directly as they wanted Him to.  It's obvious in the division that arose among them that some could see truth, so those were more receptive to Jesus's words, while others were stubborn and had already made up their minds, so Jesus's words would not penetrate their hard hearts.  There was no need to cast His pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6) when they would not see truth.

(26) "But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you."

Jesus told them that they did not believe Him because they were not of His sheep.  As He had said before, His sheep knew His voice and they followed Him.  If they were His sheep, they would hear and know Him, as well.  However, as He had said in John 8:47, those who were of God heard God's words, but they could not hear because they were not of God and therefore not Jesus's sheep.

(27) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (28) And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand."

Jesus alluded to the conversation He had had with them about the Good Shepherd and His sheep before the festival.  He told them that His sheep could hear and understand His voice and He knew them as His sheep and they followed Him.  He gave His sheep eternal life and no one would be able to take His sheep from Him.  Whereas the wolf in verse 12 above could snatch and scatter the sheep of a hireling, no one would be able to snatch His sheep out of His hand.

(29) "My Father who gave them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. (30) I and My Father are One."

Jesus said it was His Father God in heaven who gave His sheep to Him.  It was the Father's will that they come to Jesus who was their only way to eternal life in His kingdom.  His Father was the greatest of all, and no one could ever snatch His sheep out of His Father's hand.  He then stated what was seen as the ultimate blasphemy by the Jews, He and His Father were One.

(31) Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

Indeed, as they had done before when they ran out of arguments and questions, the Jews took up stones to cast at Jesus.

(32) Jesus answered them, "Many good works have I shown you from My Father; for which of those works do you stone Me?"

In response to their picking up stones, Jesus spoke to the Jews and told them they had witnessed many good works He had done in the name of His Father in heaven and to fulfill His purposes.  He asked for which one of those things did they intend to stone Him.

(33) The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You being a man make Yourself God."

The Jews answered that they did not intend to stone Him for any good work, but rather for what they considered to be blasphemy because He made Himself God when He had said that He and His Father were One.

(34) Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?"

In reply, Jesus asked them if it wasn't written in their law that came directly from the scriptures, and He then quoted Psalms 82:6, "I have said, 'You are gods...'"  That scripture continued to say, "...and all of you are children of the Most High."  By this statement, the Lord had given those to whom the word of God came a commission and authority to represent Him.

(35) "If He called them gods to whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, (36) Do you say of Him, whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?"

Jesus asked the Jews that if God had called those to whom the word of God came "gods," and they believed scripture could not be broken or denied as truth, then how was it that they called Him a blasphemer because He called Himself the Son of God?  Not only was the word of God given to Him (in reality He was the Word), but Father God had sanctified and sent Him into the world to proclaim truth.

(37) "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; (38) But if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him."

Jesus rationalized to them that if He did not do the works of God, then they shouldn't believe Him.  However, if He did do the works of God, even if they did not believe in Him, they should believe the works of God that He did.  If they believed those works were the works of God, then they might come to believe and know that the Father was in Him and He was in His Father.  Such a patient response to those about to stone Him!  I love the Gospel of John.  He shows us in much more detail just how much Jesus had done to prove He was the Son of God, so that His executioners had no excuse for what they did to Him.

(39) Therefore they sought again to take Him, but He escaped out of their hand, (40) And went away beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there He abode.

Rather than listening to His simple logic and therefore saving themselves, the Jews just tried to seize Jesus, but He escaped from them and went away beyond the Jordan River to the place John the Baptist had first baptized people, and He stayed there.

(41) And many resorted to Him, and said, "John did no miracle, but all the things that John spoke of this Man were true." (42) And many believed in Him there.

Many people came to Jesus, correctly rationalizing that John the Baptist had done no miracles like Jesus did, and all the things that John had said about Jesus were true.  Many of those people came to believe in Him there.  

This chapter of John proved that just good old common sense could bring people to Jesus and to salvation and eternal life through Him.  However, those wise in their own eyes, refused to listen to common sense, and sought to destroy the One speaking truth and offering salvation.  I can't help but relate this to what's going on in our world at this present time.  So many of the cultural lies we are being told can be so easily refuted with plain old common sense, but those highly educated "fools" are so very wise and superior in their own eyes.  However:

"There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord." - Proverbs 21:30

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God..." - 1 Corinthians 3:19

"Every man is senseless and without knowledge..." - Jeremiah 10:14

"Professing to be wise, they became fools." - Romans 1:22

There is no such thing as wisdom that comes against God and His Word.  It's just man's foolishness and it will never save him.  As a matter of fact, it will destroy him.

Jesus Gives Sight to One Born Blind

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 9:1) And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

In the last chapter, Jesus had slipped away from the scribes and Pharisees in the temple who were about to stone Him.  Sometime after that, as He was walking along, He saw a man who had been blind since his birth.

(2) And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

The Jews believed that adversities were the effects of sin, which in many cases is true.  Jesus's disciples therefore wondered who had sinned to make this person born blind.  It didn't seem that he could have sinned, being born that way, so they wondered if his parents had sinned.  What they failed to consider was that all men are born into sin since the fall of Adam.

(3) Jesus answered, "Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

Jesus answered that neither had sinned.  That's not to say that they had never sinned, but there was not a personal sin that had caused the man to be born blind.  In this case, he had a purpose in being born blind, to be used by God to show the miracle of God in healing him.  I find this to be a direct contradiction to those Word of Faith believers who say they know God's will is that none should be sick.  I've heard their prayers demanding healing because they know it's God's will!  While God did want us all to be well and whole and living in the Garden of Eden of life, we sinned and fell from grace.  Now bad things happen, and God may use those bad things for His purposes, as "we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  And to those who think it must be a cruel God to make a child born blind just so that He may have the glory when that child is grown, that may be his purpose in life!  Each of us is born for a purpose.  We don't all have to grow up to be pastors or missionaries in a foreign land.  God uses some of us just where are.  I have known too many people, my husband included, who lived Godly lives in spite of adversities that some would have considered lives not worth living.  And I have seen too many people inspired by those people and even coming to salvation in Jesus because they can see the joy in those people even when they live with so much adversity.  And if that was their only purpose, and people were saved into eternal life because of it, then it was a grand purpose and their reward will be great in heaven.  

As I write this, I can't help but think of the lives that have been destroyed through abortion.  Lives aborted because someone thought it was better that they not live, and lives that were not saved because they did not have the chance to witness that aborted life.  I am 100% pro-life and believe that even in the case of rape, it was not the child's fault, and that child can be adopted if the mother can't keep the child.  But the one case I always had difficulty with was incest, but as I write this, why would it be any different than a child born with any defect or a child born out of rape?  Yes, perhaps the child born of incest gets a double dose of both health problems and psychological problems, but can that child not be used by God, as well?  And could people possibly come to salvation if they witness a Godly person grow up out of all the hardship?  Is their life worth less because of what was done to them?  Again God can use something born out of wickedness for His purposes, and to deny that to any person is playing God and immoral.  I can see that now.  God can use all lives and His will is that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).

(4) "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night comes when no man can work."

Jesus said that He must do the works His Father sent Him to do while there was still time.  He would only be there a short time, and when His death came, He could do no more work, at least no work in person on earth.  That can be said of all of us.  We should do good now while we are alive and able, because no man can work after he is dead.

(5) "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

As long as Jesus was in the world, He was the light that would guide men to do God's will.  Once that light was extinguished, there would be darkness again unless people learned from His example and from His life and became little lights themselves.  For these two reasons, it was important to Him that He work constantly as soon His light would be extinguished, but also that He might teach His disciples to carry on His word.

(6) When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

Jesus then spat on the ground and made a clay from the spittle and the dust from the ground.  He then anointed the blind man's eyes with the clay.  Why would Jesus choose to heal this way when He could have just as easily said, "Your eyes now see."?  I believe Jesus healed in different ways to show that there was no one magic formula and that He was Lord over all instruments He used.  In addition, we will see later in this chapter that Jesus did this on the Sabbath.  By actually making an ointment, He would be seen as having worked on the Sabbath, and would use this incident to again demonstrate how the Jews' interpretation of the law of the Sabbath was contrary to the original intent of God.

(7) And said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went his way therefore, and washed and came seeing.

Jesus told the blind man to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  John made a parenthetical statement that Siloam meant "Sent."  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, said that the fountain of Siloam sat outside the walls of Jerusalem, and from it a little stream flowed into the city and was received into the pool of Siloam near the temple.  It was a blessing sent by God sent from the fountain of Siloam, thus its name.  Why would Jesus send the man to a specific place to wash?  Perhaps there was significance in the name as the One sent by God sent him to that pool.  Perhaps it was a test to see how much the man trusted Him to be healed.  If he had disobeyed Jesus and washed in the first water he came to, he would not have been healed.  Perhaps Jesus wanted the man to go to the pool near the temple that his miracle may be observed in such a public place.  The man indeed went as Jesus told him and he came back from the pool seeing.

(8) The neighbors therefore and they who had before seen him that he was blind, said, "Is this not he who sat and begged?"

The man's neighbors and those who had seen him before and knew that he was blind asked if it could be the same person they knew used to sit and beg.  The man was obviously well known in the city, and that may be the reason Jesus sent him there to attract attention and make there be no doubt that he had been healed, and this for Jesus's purpose and for the glory of God (verse 3).

(9) Some said, "This is he," others, "He is like him." He said, "I am he!"

The miracle certainly caused a commotion among the people.  Some said it was definitely the same man, while others said it just looked like him.  The man himself spoke up and said he was indeed the same man who used to be blind and sat and begged.

(10) Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" (11) He answered and said, "A man who is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash,' and I went and washed and I received sight."

When he admitted he was the same formerly blind man, the people asked how his eyes came to be opened.  He told them about Jesus making the clay ointment, putting it on his eyes, and telling him to go to the pool of Siloam to wash.  He told them he did just as Jesus said and he received his sight.

(12) Then they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."

The people then asked the man where this Jesus was.  He said he didn't know.  The man would have known where he had been sitting when Jesus put the ointment on his eyes.  When he came back from the pool, he must have returned to the area to find that Jesus was no longer there.

(13) They brought to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind.

The people brought the man to the Pharisees.  Whether they had evil intentions against Jesus or perhaps just wanted the disagreement settled among them that this formerly blind man was truly healed, we aren't told.  But we know what the intentions of the Pharisees were.

(14) And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

Here is where we learn that Jesus had performed this miracle on the Sabbath.

(15) Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes and I washed and I see."

Then the Pharisees also asked the man how he had received his sight, and he told them what Jesus had done and after he washed, he was able to see.

(16) Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not of God because He doesn't keep the Sabbath day." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?" And there was a division among them.

Some of the Pharisees proclaimed that Jesus could not be from God because He had broken the law of the Sabbath, but others rationalized that a sinner could not do such miracles, so there was much disagreement among them.

(17) They said to the blind man again, "What do you say of Him who has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

So the Pharisees spoke to the formerly blind man again and asked him who he thought Jesus was.  He answered that he thought He was a prophet.  

(18) But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight until they called his parents. (19) And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

The Jews, or primarily these Pharisees to whom the people had brought the man, did not believe that the man could have actually been born blind and could now see, so they called the man's parents and asked them if the man was really their son, if he had truly been born blind, and if so, how was it that he could now see?

(20) His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, (21) But by what means he now sees we don't know. He is of age, ask him; he shall speak for himself."

The man's parents confirmed that the man was their son and that he had been born blind, but they did not know how he came to see.  They said that their son was of age, so they should just ask him as he could speak for himself.  But of course, they already had and they weren't satisfied with his answer.

(22) This spoke his parents because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any man confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. (23) Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask him."

The man's parents answered that way because they were afraid of the Jews who had already agreed that if anyone believed that Jesus was Christ, they would be cast out, excommunicated, from the synagogue.  That is why they said their son was of age, to ask him.  It seems they feared for themselves more than they cared about their son as they would have him be the one who was excommunicated or worse.  But I suppose they really didn't know anything but what their son would have told them.

(24) Then again they called the man who was blind and said to him, "Give God the praise. We know this Man is a sinner."

The Pharisees called the formerly blind man back to them and just told him to give God the praise for his healing.  They insinuated the healing could not have been from Jesus because they knew him to be a sinner.

(25) He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner, I don't know. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see."

The man told them that whether or not Jesus was a sinner, he didn't know, and it seems he thought little of their trivial objection to Him.  What he did know was that he had been blind and now he could see, and that he certainly attributed to Jesus.

(26) Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?"

So the Pharisees asked the man again what exactly Jesus did to him, and how Jesus opened his eyes.

(27) He answered them, "I have told you already and you did not hear. Why would you hear it again? Will you also be His disciples?"

The man shows courage here.  Unlike his parents who were happy to push the responsibility back to him, he answered the Pharisees boldly that he had already told them and they did not want to listen and believe what he said.  Why would they want to hear the same thing again; would they believe him this time?  Would they suddenly want to become Jesus's disciples if they heard him tell them a second time what He had done?

(28) Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses's disciples. (29) We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we don't know where he is from."

The Pharisees then berated him and accused him of being a disciple of Jesus because he defended Him, which they considered an insult.  They said they were Moses's disciples, following the law of Moses which they said Jesus had broken that day.  They knew God had spoken to Moses, but they did not know where Jesus came from.

(30) The man answered and said to them, "Why, here is a marvelous thing, that you don't know where he is from and yet He has opened my eyes. (31) Now we know that God doesn't hear sinners, but if any man is a worshiper of God, and does His will, He hears him."

The man boldly said to them that that was an astonishing thing that they didn't know where Jesus came from, and yet He had opened his eyes.  He couldn't be a sinner because God wouldn't listen to sinners.  That's not to say that God would not hear our prayers when we call out and confess to Him that we need Him, but He would not allow a sinful man to call on Him and perform miracles for someone who was ungodly.  However, if a man worshiped God and did God's will, God would hear his prayers.  So what did that say about the Man who healed him?   

(32) "Since the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one who was born blind. (33) If this man were not of God, He could do nothing."

The man showed much more wisdom than the Pharisees.  Had they ever known a mere man to open the eyes of a man born blind in all of history?  It is true that there is no record of Moses or the prophets ever giving sight to a man who was born blind.  Therefore the man reasoned correctly that if Jesus was not of God, he would not have been able to do anything.  It was such simple reasoning and yet the Pharisees could not or would not see this.

(34) They answered and said to him, "You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?" And they cast him out.

Contemptuously the Pharisees told the man he had been completely born in sin, as if they hadn't been, and he dared to teach them, learned, wise, and holy, as they claimed to be?  They cast him out of the synagogue, I am sure excommunicating him.  

(35) Jesus heard that they had cast him out and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"

When Jesus heard that the Jews had cast the formerly blind man out of the synagogue, he looked for him.  When He found him, He asked if he believed in the Son of God.

(36) He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I might believe in Him?"

The man who had defended Jesus against the Pharisees did not know that Jesus spoke about Himself.  He had defended Him because he knew He had to be from God and assumed He was a prophet.  He asked Jesus who that Son of God was so that he might come to believe in Him.  He seemed very receptive to believing in Him but didn't realize it was Jesus Himself.

(37) And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who talks to you."

Jesus answered that the man had already seen the Son of man, and in fact, he was talking to Him at that moment.

(38) And he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him.

The man immediately told Jesus He believed in Him to be the Son of God and he worshiped Him.

(39) And Jesus said, "For judgment I am come into this world that they who do not see might see and that they who see might be made blind."

Jesus had previously said that He did not come to judge the world, but to save it (John 12:47).  Therefore, He is not saying here that He came to judge the world.  The world had already been judged according to the law of God and all in it stood condemned.  It is because of this judgment that Jesus came into the world to provide a way that all could be saved.  He would give sight to the blind, and not just physically, but He would give their souls light and understanding so that they might believe in Him and be saved.  His coming would also blind those who thought that they already saw and understood and boasted they knew God and His law, as their stubbornness and pride would not let them see the truth about Jesus.

(40) And some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"

Some Pharisees who had been within hearing of Jesus when he spoke to the blind man He had healed, heard His words and must have perceived He may have been talking about them, and asked Him if they were blind, too.

(41) Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you should have no sin, but now you say, 'We see,' therefore your sin remains."

Jesus's point in His answer was that if they had known themselves to be spiritually blind and truly desired light and knowledge, then they wouldn't have the sin that blinded them now.  Their sins could have been forgiven had they listened to and believed in Jesus.  However, since their stubborn hard hearts thought they could see already, they would not even try to see the truth in Jesus.  Therefore they were still in their sin.

The man who had been born blind, although not named, holds a very prominent place in the Bible.  This entire chapter was devoted to him, and we can learn a lot from his example.  His simple belief led to his being cured, and his gratitude and steadfastness led to his eternal life in heaven.  How simple it is to just believe in Christ!  And when we know Him and know what He has done for us in saving us from eternal damnation, it's easy to stand for truth.  That man stood up in the face of what could have been of even more severe consequence than he received, but he was so sure and secure in the truth of the Man who cured him, He just simply did what was right.  And at that point, he didn't even know that Jesus was the Son of God, but he knew He was of God, and he stood up for that.  God saved him from death by the hands of those evil men and Jesus came to him to save his soul.  And even if men came to kill him at a later point, they would never be able to kill his eternal soul.  That will surely be in heaven with Jesus!

"For whoever will save his life shall lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Matthew 16:25-26

Jesus Delivers an Adulteress and Promises Freedom to Those Who Believe in Him

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 8:1) Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had been at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  He now went to the Mount of Olives about a mile east of Jerusalem.  It's probable He wanted to rest in a more private place because there was much discussion going on among the chief priests and Pharisees who had wanted to seize Him during the feast. 

(2) And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him and He sat down and taught them.

The next morning Jesus went back to the temple in Jerusalem.  All the people who had likewise come early to the temple came to Him and He sat down and taught them.

(3) And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery, and when they had set her in the midst, (4) They said to Him, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. (5) Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do you say?"

The scribes and Pharisees, some of the same ones who had been seeking Jesus the day before to take Him into custody, brought a woman to Him they said had been caught in the act of adultery.  They surely were testing Him for they had made clear the day before they did not believe He was a great "Master."  They told Him that Moses had commanded in the law that adulterers should be stoned, but they wanted to know what He had to say about it.  Evidently, adultery was so common at that time that they had ceased to put the law in force, but they tested Jesus to see if He would uphold the law.  According to John Gill in his Exposition of the Bible, the Jews had a saying that "if all adulterers were punished with stoning, according to the law, the stones would be consumed," but they were not consumed.  

(6) This they said, tempting Him that they might have something to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

John tells us the scribes and Pharisees were indeed testing Jesus, hoping to catch Him in something of which they could accuse Him.  Because adultery was so common and they no longer upheld the law, if Jesus said she must be stoned, then they could accuse Him to the Roman governor for taking it upon Himself to condemn a person to death.  However, if He did not uphold the law of Moses, they could use that to show the people that He did not uphold God's law.  However, Jesus just stooped down and started writing with His finger on the ground, as if He wasn't even listening to them.

There is much discussion among the old commentaries I study about what Jesus was writing.  We weren't told in scripture, so some suggest it was not important.  It was rather a sign from Jesus that He had not come to condemn the world, so He was not going to meddle in the civil law.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, made an interesting observation.  God had written with His finger only one time in the Old Testament, writing the Law, the Ten Commandments.  Jesus wrote with His finger only once, in fact, it is the only time we read of His writing anything.  God's Old Testament law was written in stone.  Jesus wrote in the dust, which would be blown away by the wind, perhaps representing spirit, the spirit of the law that the people had so corrupted.  Those last thoughts are my own, not John Wesley's.  John Gill wrote that the learned Johann Christoph Wagenseil, a historian who made significant contributions to the study of Hebrew and Jewish texts, mentioned one ancient Greek manuscript he had seen that added "the sins of everyone of them."  If that is true, it could be seen as a fulfillment of a prophecy in Jeremiah 17:13, that said, "they that depart from me shall be written in the earth."  Adam Clarke wrote in his Commentary on the Bible that several of the old manuscripts added "their sins who accused her, and the sins of all men."  Any or all of these could be true, in keeping with the character and purpose of Jesus Christ.

(7) So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

The scribes and Pharisees kept pressing for an answer from Jesus, so He lifted Himself up from His stooped position and told them to go ahead, and the one who was without sin should cast the first stone.

(8) And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Jesus then stooped down again and continued writing with his finger on the ground, saying nothing more.

(9) And they who heard, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the oldest to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Those scribes and Pharisees and all the people who heard what Jesus said were convicted by their own consciences because all have sinned.  They began to walk out one by one, starting with the oldest person and continuing until they were all gone out.  Only Jesus and the woman remained.

(10) When Jesus had lifted Himself up and saw none but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no man condemned you?"

When Jesus again lifted Himself up from His stooped position, He saw that there was no one standing there but the woman.  He asked where her accusers were.  Had no man condemned her?

(11) She said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

The woman answered that no man had condemned her to which Jesus said that He did not condemn her either.  He told her to go but not to sin anymore.  Jesus was the only man ever on earth who was without sin.  Yet He did not come into the world to condemn it; He came to save it because it had already been condemned because every man had sinned against God in some way or another (Romans 3:23, 5:12).

(12) Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life."

When the people had gathered together again, Jesus again spoke to them.  He told them He was the light of the world, a spiritual light, a fountain of light and truth.  The one who followed Him would no longer be in the darkness of the world but would have Jesus's light of life.  They would gain spiritual truth and light from Jesus.

(13) The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."

Here came the Pharisees again to denounce anything Jesus said.  They told Him as He was the only witness in His case, His witness was not true.  The law required at least two witnesses to establish a thing as true in a criminal case which is what they asserted Jesus's testimony to be, criminal.  Jesus Himself had said in John 5:31 that if He bore witness of Himself, His witness would not be true.  However, He had gone on to say that God the Father bore witness of Him.

(14) Jesus answered and said to them, "Though I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you cannot tell where I came from and where I go."

This time Jesus somewhat granted their position that He did indeed bear witness of Himself, but His witness was true because He had come from Father God in heaven and He would be going back to Him, but these Pharisees could not understand that.  They only saw Him as the son of Joseph and Mary from Galilee.

(15) "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no man."

Jesus told them that they judged people according to the flesh like they judged a book by its cover, so to speak.  Jesus did not judge the outward man but judged the heart of man.

(16) "And yet if I judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone but I and the Father who sent Me."

However, if Jesus did judge, His judgment was true because He knew and judged the heart of a man, and He was not the lone witness and judge of a person; He was a literal part of His Father in heaven who sent Him.

(17) "It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true."

Jesus acknowledged that it was written in their law that the testimony of two men was considered to be true.  

(18) "I am One who bears witness of Himself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."

However, Jesus confirmed that He had two witnesses Himself.  He was one witness and His witness was true because of Whom He came from, and the Father Himself had borne witness of Him when Jesus was baptized, and also in the miracles He performed and the knowledge of God that only the Son of God could have.

(19) Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You neither know Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you should have known My Father also."

The thick-headed hard-hearted Pharisees asked where Jesus's father was.  Jesus replied that they did not know Him or His Father.  Had they known the scriptures they boasted that they knew so well, then they would have recognized Him as the prophesied Messiah.  Because they didn't know the scriptures or Him, they could not know His Father, as going through Jesus was the only way to know God.  

(20) These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple, and no man laid hands on Him for His hour was not yet come.

Jesus spoke these things in the treasury of the temple, that place where people cast in their offerings (Mark 12:41).  John's purpose in reporting this was probably to show that it was a very public place and may have been a reason why no man attempted to lay hands on Him.  However, they wouldn't have been able to anyway, because it was not yet His time.  Jesus used this public area to prevent them from taking Him.

(21) Then Jesus again said to them, "I go My way and you will seek Me and will die in your sins; where I go, you cannot come."

Once again, Jesus said that He would be going away and they would be seeking their Messiah, but He would not come, because He had already come and they missed Him and would die in their sins.  He told them where He was going, they were not able to come.

(22) Then the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself? Because He says, 'Where I go, you cannot come.'"

The last time Jesus said this (John 7:34) the Jews thought He was going to the dispersed Jews among the Gentiles, but perhaps now they understood Him to mean He was going to die.  That was their reasonable assumption because He had said that where He went, they could not go.  They wondered if He was going to kill Himself.  That seems a rather absurd notion, but it may have been out of malice that they suggested it.  It may have been their way to try to prove He was a deceiver and had broken the law and was mad, and would therefore probably go kill Himself.

(23) And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above; you are of this world; I am not of this world."

Jesus told them that they were from beneath heaven, the earth, but He was from heaven above.  They were of the world and only understood worldly things, but He was not of the world.

(24) "I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." 

Jesus reminded them that He had told them they would die in their sins because if they did not believe that He was the One and only from God, they would indeed die in their sins.  All the Bible translators added the word "He" after "I am," but the original text said only "I AM" telling them exactly who He was, the Great I AM, God Himself come down from heaven to save them from their sins.  However, if they would not believe in Him, they would not be saved, but would die in their sins.

(25) Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "The same that I said to you from the beginning."

Once again their hard hearts could not understand and asked who Jesus was.  He answered that He was the same He had professed to be from the beginning, Son of God, sent by His Father, living bread from heaven, light of the world, etc.

(26) "I have many things to say and to judge of you, but He who sent Me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him."

I believe Jesus's point was that He, being omniscient and knowing their hearts, could say many things that would condemn them and He could righteously judge them right then.  However, God who sent Him was true and Jesus was there to fulfill His will that the world might be saved through Him.  He would only speak according to God's will, although it was certainly in His power to condemn them right then, but that would not have fulfilled God's will in that He must suffer at their hands.  Jesus, the Son of man, would only speak those things that He as the Word of God knew to be His will.

(27) They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

Indeed, their hard hearts could not understand that He spoke of His Father, Almighty God in heaven.

(28) Then Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you shall know that I AM and I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things."

Although they would not believe Him then, He said once they had lifted Him up on the cross, then they would know that He was the Great I AM, and that all He had done and said was from Father God in heaven.  Indeed, some would come to know the truth when they saw Jesus die on the cross and observed all the signs that were done at His death, as the centurion and those with him did (Matthew 27:54).  

(29) "And He who sent Me is with Me; the Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."

Father God in heaven who had sent Jesus was always with Him, because He and His Father were One.  He always did what pleased God because He was the Word of God; He was God (John 1:1).

(30) As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

It seemed Jesus's last words pierced the hearts of many and they did believe in Him.

(31) Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, "If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed. (32) And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

Jesus then spoke to the Jews who had come to believe in Him.  He told them that if they continued to receive His words and obeyed them, they would be His disciples, and they would know truth that only comes from God, and that truth would set them free, free from the bondage of sin and free from death.  Truth makes one free from guilt, free from corruption, free from evil desires, free from the bondage of lies and deception; it truly makes one free.

(33) They answered Him, "We are Abraham's seed and were never in bondage to any man; how can You say, "You shall be made free'?"

This seems to come from other Jews who were standing by, not the ones who believed in Him, for it doesn't seem to be sincere or even factual.  They asserted they were of Abraham's seed and therefore never in bondage to any man.  The Jews had often been in bondage, in Egypt, in Babylon, and even at that present time they were in bondage under the Romans.  This statement could only be made by arrogant and most likely contemptuous Jews who thought of themselves as free already or would have others believe so and were in no need to be made free.

(34) Jesus answered them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, whoever commits sin is the servant of sin."

Jesus patiently explained that whoever committed sin was a slave to sin, in bondage to its consequences.  Only Jesus could set one free from that bondage of sin.

(35) "And a servant does not abide in the house forever; the Son abides forever. (36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

Jesus went on to say that a servant, as one was to sin, could not abide in the house of heaven forever.  However, the Son abode in heaven forever and if He made one free, they would indeed be free and would abide in that house with Him.  I found it interesting that almost every other translation except for the KJV made the "Son" in verse 35 a lower case "son."  While any saved disciple of Jesus might be called a son of God and would indeed be able to abide in His house forever, I do not believe that was the original intent of the verse, judging by the next verse.  If the Son makes one free, he shall be free indeed.

(37) "I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you."

Jesus agreed that He knew they were of Abraham's seed physically and biologically, but the fact that they wanted to kill Him meant they were not sons of Abraham in the spiritual sense.  His word had no place in their hearts, proving they certainly weren't followers of the faith of Abraham.

(38) "I speak that which I have seen with My Father, and you do that which you have seen with your father."

Jesus only spoke according to the will of His Father.  However, He told them that they did a different work from their father.

(39) They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham."

They told Jesus that Abraham was their father, to which He replied that if they were indeed Abraham's children, then they would do the works of Abraham, which obviously, they didn't.

(40) "But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this."

Jesus went on to repeat that they wanted to kill Him, the One who brought them truth from God, and certainly Abraham had never done anything like that.

(41) "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, God."

As they clearly didn't do the works of Abraham, Jesus indicated that they had a different father of whom they did works.  They answered that they were not illegitimate children, that they had one Father as did Abraham, and that Father was God.

(42) Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."

Jesus contradicted them in that assertion, too.  He told them if God was their Father, then they would have accepted and even loved Him because He had come from God, and He came not of His own will, but of God who sent Him.

(43) "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you cannot hear My word."

Jesus asked them why they couldn't understand what He was telling them.  If they were children of God, they would have certainly understood Him.  He told them the reason they could not understand Him was because they could not really hear His Word because of their stubbornness and pride.  They did not want to hear and understand it!

(44) "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the father of it."

Jesus told them that their father was the devil! And it was the lusts of their father that they did.  Their father had been a murderer from the beginning.  He was the one responsible for the fall of man in the very beginning of creation when he tempted Eve.  He provoked Cain to kill Abel.  He had been more or less involved in every murder since then and certainly was the murderer of the souls of men.  Satan did not abide in truth because there was no truth in him.  He rejected God completely so he did not have the only truth of God.  He only spoke lies and those were from him and him alone.  If he did speak any truth as he might have occasionally when he spoke scripture as he did when he tempted Jesus, he always perverted it.  Satan is a liar and he alone is the father of lies.  Their desire to murder the Son of God and to lie about Him and His mission was to do the work of their father, Satan.

(45) "And because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me." 

I believe this statement is meant to be the conclusion of what Jesus was saying about their father the devil.  Because they like their father had no truth in them and could only tell lies, they could not see the truth that Jesus told and would not believe Him.

(46) "Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe Me?"

Jesus then asked them which one of them could convict Him of any sin.  If He wasn't guilty of the sin of lying, then why didn't they believe him?

(47) "He who is of God hears God's words; you therefore do not hear because you are not of God."

Jesus answered His own question.  Only people who followed God could hear His words, so they could not believe Him because they were not of God.  God was obviously not their Father or they would have been able to understand and believe Jesus.

(48) Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Did we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a devil?"

Although there is no record of it in scripture, apparently the Jews had accused Jesus of being a Samaritan which they considered to be an insult as the Samaritans were considered half-breeds and heretics.  Because Jesus had taught the Samaritans and one of the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans was how they worshiped God (John 4:20), they must have thought Jesus was siding with the Samaritans since He had told them God was not their Father.  And because of that, He must be the one to have a devil spirit.

(49) Jesus answered, "I do not have a devil, but I honor My Father and you dishonor Me."

Exhibiting incredible patience, Jesus answered that He did not have a demon spirit, but that He only honored His Father.  They, on the other hand, dishonored Him, so they in fact, dishonored His Father God (John 5:23).

(50) "And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges."

I believe Jesus's point was that He did not seek honor nor vindication for Himself, but there was One, His Father, who sought His honor and would judge and vindicate Him.

(51) "Verily, verily, I say to you, if a man keeps My word, he shall never see death."

And most assuredly, the Father would judge Jesus true, and if a man kept His word and believed in Him, he would never die but have everlasting life.

(52) Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and You say, 'If a man keeps My word, he shall never taste death.' (53) Are You greater than our father Abraham who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself?"

The Jews continued demonstrating their inability to really hear and understand Jesus.  They were sure He had a demon then.  After all, Abraham and the prophets were dead, and yet He said if they abode in His word, they would not die.  Just who did He think He was?

(54) Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God."

Jesus told them it was not Him giving Himself that honor to give life to those who believed.  If it were only by Himself, Jesus the man, His honor would mean nothing.  However, it was His Father in heaven who honored Him and it was God's plan that those who believed in Jesus would not die.  The same God they said was their God, and they did not honor His Son.

(55) "Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him, and if I should say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you, but I know Him and keep His word."

They had said the Father was their God, yet Jesus said they obviously didn't know Him.  However, Jesus knew Him intimately; He was one with Him.  If He said He didn't know God, then He would be a liar as they were liars like their father, the devil.  But He spoke truth and He did know God and He kept God's word.

(56) "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw and was glad."

Abraham, whom they called their father, rejoiced in the promise of the coming Messiah, this time of Jesus.  Abraham saw and understood through faith this day and he was glad.  Hebrews 11:13 tells us Abraham was one of the faith greats who died not yet having received the promise but saw it far off and was fully persuaded of it and embraced it.

(57) Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?"

The incredibly thick-headed and hard-hearted Jews couldn't even understand what was said of Abraham in the Old Testament scriptures.  They thought Jesus meant He had personally seen Abraham and they knew He was not old enough to have been able to see him.

(58) Jesus said to them, "Verily, verily, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

Jesus told them that before Abraham came into existence, He was.  This time all translations agree that Jesus said, "I AM."  By using this title of God, He was telling them how it was that He was before Abraham, because He was God.

(59) Then they took up stones to cast at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

At that last assertion of Jesus, the Jews took up stones to cast at Him, but Jesus hid Himself.  John then makes it a point to say that Jesus went right through the midst of them to go out of the temple, but they didn't see Him because He had hidden Himself from their view.  Some commentators say that to pick up stones, they would have had to go outside the temple to get them and that is when Jesus made His exit, but by John's specific words, I believe Jesus miraculously hid Himself from them.  

This wound up being a rather long post, but it seemed inappropriate to divide it.  It began with Jesus's not condemning the woman caught in adultery, and then He went into a most patient and extensive explanation of who He was.  With the utmost patience, Jesus fully answered every one of the Jews' questions and objections, but with boldness of the truth.  In His example, we may learn a lot about patience and meekness, but not meekness to the point of compliance.  Although patient, Jesus was bold in that He did not shy away from the truth, even in the face of provocation from others.  Adam Clarke wrote about how well Jesus balanced the two, patience and boldness or fidelity to the truth.  We often may be too meek and are therefore ineffective in relaying the truth of the Gospel.  However, we can also be too bold and zealous and come across as self-righteous and judgmental.  Jesus gave us a beautiful example of the balance of two virtues, patience and fidelity, and I didn't want to interrupt Him.

Jesus Teaches at the Feast of Tabernacles

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(John 7:1) After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for He would not walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill Him.

In the last chapter, Jesus had fed the five thousand and then had a long discourse with the Jews concerning Himself, the Bread of life.  He then must have gone to Jerusalem as John 6:4 had said the Passover was near.  Finding that the Jews sought to take His life, He would not continue there but He returned to Galilee and walked there.  

(2) Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

This would make it at the end of September or the beginning of October when the Jews celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles.  It was so called because of the tents or tabernacles which were erected in and around Jerusalem and designed to commemorate their dwelling in tents in the wilderness.  During this feast the Jews dwelt in those tents for eight days.

(3) His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea that Your disciples also may see the works that You do."

Jesus's brothers or cousins or some such close relatives urged Jesus to leave that place and go into Judea so that the disciples He had made there previously (John 4:1) or perhaps any disciples from all over who would be going to Judea for the feast, would be able to witness His works.

(4) "For no one does anything in secret while He Himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show Yourself to the world." (5) For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

Jesus's kin did not believe in Him and did not know His true purpose in doing the things He did.  They thought He did His works for fame and glory from men; therefore they said He needed to go into Judea where He would be seen by a greater number of people than where He was.

(6) Then Jesus said to them, "My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready."

Jesus told them that it was not yet His time to go and be seen there, but that they could go anytime they wanted.

(7) "The world cannot hate you, but Me it hates because I testify of it that its works are evil."

The reason they could go anytime they wanted was because they were not hated by the world.  Jesus said that the world hated Him because He testified about how evil its works were.

(8) "You go up to this feast; I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."

Jesus urged His kin to go on to the feast, but He was not going at that time because the time was not yet right for Him to go.

(9) When He had said these words to them, He was still in Galilee. (10) But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

Jesus had been still in Galilee when He spoke to His brothers, but after they had left to go to the feast, He also started toward it, but not openly as it would have been if He had gone with all His relatives, but He went secretly.

(11) Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"

Indeed, the Jews were looking for Jesus at the feast and asked around where He was.

(12) And there was much murmuring among the people concerning Him, for some said, "He is a good man;" others said, "No, but He deceives the people."

There was much murmuring among the people as they debated about Jesus.  Some saw Him as a good man, while others thought He only deceived the people, pretending to be the Messiah.

(13) However, no man spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

However, no one spoke openly about Jesus for they feared the Jews, that they might be mobbed by them and turned out of the synagogue or even prosecuted. 

(14) Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.

At about the middle of the feast, about the fourth day, it was apparently Jesus's time and He went up into the temple and taught.

(15) And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this man know letters, having never learned?"

The Jews marveled at Jesus and wondered how He knew the scriptures so well when they knew He had had no formal education.

(16) Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me."

Hearing the people or knowing their thoughts, Jesus answered that His doctrine came directly from His Father who sent Him.

(17) "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself."

Jesus went on to say that if any man was willing to do the will of the Father, if he had an honest desire to obey God, he would be led to embrace the doctrines of the Bible, and would then know if Jesus taught the doctrines of God or if He spoke of Himself and was not directed by God.

(18) "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but He who seeks His glory who sent Him, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in Him."

Jesus said that anyone who spoke from himself was seeking his own glory, but as He only sought the glory of the One who sent Him, God, that made Him true and there was no unrighteousness or falsehood or deception in Him.

(19) "Didn't Moses give you the law and yet none of you keep the law? Why do you go about to kill Me?"

Jesus pointed out that Moses had given them the law and yet none of them kept it continually.  All men violated it in some way or another as there was no one who did good (Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:3).  He asked why then they wanted to kill Him because they presumed He had violated the law as when He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda and told him to carry his mat.

(20) The people answered and said, "You have a devil; who goes about to kill you?"

The majority of the people were not aware of the intentions of the chief priests and scribes, and said that Jesus must be demon possessed to think that anyone wanted to kill Him.

(21) Jesus answered and said to them, "I have done one work and you all marvel."

I believe Jesus's point was that He had done that one work of healing the man at the pool of Bethesda and that had them all shocked and astonished that He should do it on the Sabbath and then tell the man to carry his mat on that day.

(22) "Moses therefore gave to you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and you on the Sabbath circumcise a man."

Jesus told them that Moses had given them the law of circumcision, although it did not come from Moses originally; it had been in practice since Abraham.  He said that they circumcised on the Sabbath.

(23) "If a man on the Sabbath Day receives circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry at Me because I have made a man completely whole on the Sabbath Day?"

Jesus went on to say that if one received circumcision on the Sabbath because it was the eighth day when the law directed male children to be circumcised, and that was not breaking the law of Moses, but upholding it, how could they then be angry at Him for healing a man and making him whole on the Sabbath.  Circumcision is a physical symbol of the relationship between God and the Jewish people.  It's about making the physical body holy and acceptable unto God.  Therefore if that holy act was lawful to be done on the Sabbath, then how could they be angry at Jesus for making a man completely whole on the Sabbath?

(24) "Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment."

It's the original, "You can't judge a book by its cover."  Jesus said they should not judge according to the appearance of a man, as they saw Him as only a carpenter's son, but rather they should judge His fruits, His actions.  Was it not good to make a man whole on the Sabbath?  In like manner, people shouldn't judge the chief priests to be pious and holy just because they wore long flowing robes and spoke long prayers in public.  Once again, they were to judge their fruits whether or not they were good.

(25) Then some of them of Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?"

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, apart from the people as a whole who had come into Jerusalem for the feast, had heard about plans to kill Jesus and asked if this man was the One they sought to kill.

(26) "But, lo, He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?"

Those people from Jerusalem continued to reason among themselves.  If Jesus was the one they sought to kill, then why didn't they say anything when Jesus taught so boldly?  They supposed that the rulers must have known that He was the Christ.

(27) "However, we know where this Man is from, but when Christ comes, no one knows where He comes from."

The people continued to reason among themselves.  Could Jesus really be the Christ when they knew where He had come from, the son of Joseph and Mary from Galilee?  However, they would not know exactly where the Christ would come from.  They knew by prophecy that He would come from Bethlehem, be from the line of David, and born of a virgin, but they didn't know who His parents would be, and Joseph and Mary from Galilee didn't fit their expectations.

(28) Then Jesus cried out as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me and you know where I am from, and I am not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, Whom you do not know. (29) But I know Him for I am from Him and He has sent Me."

Perceiving the questioning among the people, Jesus cried out in a loud voice in answer to them.  I think the sense is, "So you think you know Me and where I am from?"  But He had not come into the world in the normal way by Himself and His parents.  Actually, the people might have realized that there would be some miracle to His birth, as how can one be born of a virgin?  Jesus had come from God.  God had sent Him, and God was true, true to the promises He made by the prophets and true in the testimonies He gave of Jesus, as when Jesus was baptized.  Obviously, these Jews did not truly know God as they professed to know Him or else they would have known these things.

(30) Then they sought to take Him, but no man laid hands on Him because His hour had not yet come.

That made them angry and they sought to take hold of Jesus, but they were not able to lay hands on Him, being restrained by divine providence, because it was not yet the right time.

(31) And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When Christ comes, will He do more miracles than these which this Man has done?"

Many people believed in Jesus, reasoning in their hearts that the coming Christ could not do any more miraculous things than this Man had done, so He must be Him.

(32) The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.

The Pharisees heard that the people were thinking such positive things about Jesus, and that raised their ire all the more.  They, with the chief priests, sent officers to take Jesus.

(33) Then said Jesus to them, "Yet a little while I am with you, and then I go to Him who sent Me. (34) You shall seek Me and shall not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."

As Jesus knew that the Pharisees had planned to take Him and put Him to death, He told the people that He would only be with them for a little while, about six months from this Feast of Tabernacles to the next Passover, and then He would go back to Him who had sent Him.  He warned they would be seeking their Messiah but they would never find Him because He had already come and gone.  And where He went, to heaven, they could not come.

(35) Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where will He go that we shall not find Him? Will He go to the dispersed among the Gentiles and teach the Gentiles?"

The Jews wondered among themselves where Jesus could go that they would not be able to find Him.  They wondered if He would go to where the Jews had been dispersed among the Gentiles and teach them.

(36) "What saying is this that He said, 'You shall seek Me and shall not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

However, if that was the case, then what had Jesus meant when He said they would seek Him and not find Him and they wouldn't be able to go where He went.  If He went to some region of the Gentiles, nothing really kept them from finding Him there.

(37) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, "If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink." 

On the last day of the feast, the Jews had a ceremony of drawing water from the fountain of Siloam which the priests poured out on the altar while they sang, "With joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation."  It was on this day that they commemorated God's miraculously giving water out of a rock (John Wesley's Notes on the Bible).  Jesus stood up and cried out that if any man thirsted, let him come to Him and drink of His living water.

(38) "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

Jesus went on to say that whoever believed in Him, as the Scriptures themselves had said (Isaiah 44:3 and Isaiah 55:1), an abundance of living water would flow from his heart.  An interesting note about the use of "belly" instead of our more romantic "heart"--actually our feelings do flow more from our bellies than from our hearts.  We have "butterflies in our stomach," we can be literally sick in the stomach with dread, and we can feel immense love in our gut.

(39) (But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom they who believe in Him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.)

This was a parenthetical statement by John explaining Jesus's figurative expression of "rivers of living water."  He meant this in a spiritual sense.  John went on to say that he who believed in Jesus would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit after Jesus had been glorified and ascended into heaven.  That is not to say that the one who believed didn't have the Spirit of God drawing him to Himself and to Jesus, but once the Holy Spirit lived within him, there would be greater measures of spiritual gifts and guidance, "rivers of living water." 

(40) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."

Many of the people who heard Jesus speak believed and said that He was surely the great Prophet Moses had spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:15, "The Lord thy God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like Me, to Him you shall hearken."

(41) Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will Christ come out of Galilee? (42) Has not the scripture said that Christ comes from the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was?"

Other people said Jesus was the Christ, which they misunderstood as being separate from the Prophet.  Then others asked if the Christ would come out of Galilee as they imagined Jesus was born in Galilee just because He grew up there.  They knew from the scriptures the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem.

(43) So there was a division among the people because of Him.

The people were all divided over their opinions about Jesus.  Many would miss out on the gift of salvation because they got hung up on every detail.  And of course, it's not that the details were wrong, they just didn't see the whole picture.  I think of how some people wish to question every single contradiction they think they find in the Bible in order to disprove it and disprove God.  However, they just don't know the whole picture.  Any scripture can be taken out of context to mean something else.  But in the context of the whole and especially with the help of the Holy Spirit showing us truth, we can be assured God's Word is true, even if we don't have all the answers.  Although the longer you are with the Holy Spirit and in God's word, you begin to understand considerably more than you did in the beginning, and many of those answers reveal themselves.

(44) And some of them would have taken Him, but no man laid hands on Him.

Some of the people wanted to seize Jesus and would have taken Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Just like in verse 30, it was not yet Jesus's time to be seized, so no one was able to lay hands on Him.

(45) Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"

Those officers that the chief priests and Pharisees had sent to take Jesus (verse 32) reported back to those who sent them.  The chief priests and Pharisees asked why they had not brought Jesus to them.

(46) The officers answered, "Never has a man spoke like this Man."

It's not just that God did not permit the officers to lay hands on Jesus, but He softened their hearts toward Him!  I think that is wonderful!  Those officers might be brought to salvation even though they were once the enemy.  We should never judge and give up on any person as the Holy Spirit of God is able to draw even the meanest hearts.

(47) Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? (48) Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? (49) But these people who do not know the law are cursed."

The Pharisees asked the officers if they, too, were deceived.  They thought by suggesting that not one ruler or Pharisee believed in Him would be proof to them that Jesus was not the Christ.  After all, they were learned in the scriptures and so wise and holy!  They judged all those people cursed who did not know the law as they supposedly did.

(50) Nicodemus said to them (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them), (51) "Does our law judge man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"

Nicodemus, who had come to Jesus in the night (John 3:1), was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews.  He asked the other chief priests and Pharisees if their law would judge a man without hearing from him and witnessing what he did.  Their law required justice and gave every man the right to a fair and impartial trial.  Nicodemus stepped in to make sure justice was done and that Jesus was not presumed guilty and condemned without hearing from Him personally.  Nicodemus had a secret respect for Jesus that made him step in, but it appears he did not have the courage to openly testify for Him.

(52) They answered and said to him, "Are you also of Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet arises out of Galilee."

The chief priests and Pharisees asked Nicodemus if he was also from Galilee, insinuating that he must be one of Jesus's followers.  They told him to go search the scriptures and the histories and see that no prophet arose out of Galilee.  However, showing how much they didn't know the scriptures or perhaps they did know but didn't think they would be challenged, they were wrong about the fact that no prophet had come from Galilee.  Jonah had come from Galilee and of course, he became a symbol of Christ three days in the tomb when he was three days in the belly of the great fish.  Additionally, being rulers, they surely had access to a public register that would tell them that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem and that He was in the genealogy of David.

(53) And every man went to his own house.

Thus that simple question of Nicodemus put an end to their desire to seize Jesus at that time, and everyone went back to his own house.