Gospel of John, 6:51 - 7:24
John 6:51-7:24 · Courtney Hemenway · Apr 13, 2008
Gospel of John (2008), No. 15
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926058288052

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

the light while we started on question 14 on on less than 11 who needs less than 11 and alright I think I think we had just touched on now question 14 lesson 11 and how did the Jews respond to the words eat my flesh and drink my blood and what was the basis for their response so arm I think we just touched on it. Eating his flesh wasn't hard enough for them. He now floors them by telling them to drink his blood. And this is particularly hard since the custom of the Jews when eating was to drain all the blood from any meat before eating it.

You can look at this in... I'll read this first one. Somebody can look up Leviticus 3, 16 and 17. Mike, why don't you do that one? And then... Leviticus 17.10.

From Genesis 9.4, only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.

And then Leviticus 3.16 and 17. And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma. All the fat is the Lord's. This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and in all your dwellings you shall eat neither fat nor blood.

Leviticus 17.10 And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people." Alright, so the basis for them, they knew this, that if any animal was slain, they had to drain all the blood out of the animal before they could eat it. So, here's the Lord Jesus saying, not only do you have to eat my flesh, but you have to drink my blood. So he hit him with the left hook on eat my flesh, because they didn't understand that one. Then he tells them with the right hook, drink my blood.

So their response was understandable based on what they had in the Old Testament. Did I get that one? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I think there's one other but I'll let that go. What was the genesis for? 9-4. Therefore, their basis for the response is based on the practice of not even drinking any meat with blood. So the terminology of eating my flesh and drinking my blood, what does that basically say?

What was he telling him? I mean, physically that wasn't the same. He was giving him a spiritual thing. If you go back to verse 35, I don't know if you talked about that last week, he tells you how to get rid of your hunger. Come to Him. And that's the eating coming. And then the believing, the thirst is taken care of by drinking, by believing on Him. That's how the thirst will be. That's what it means to drink.

Yeah, the eating of the flesh, we went about that in question 13. Basically, you go through the steps that he is the bread of life, and then the eating. And so it was basically believing in him was the eating of the flesh. Now we're into the drinking of the blood. The drinking of the blood was a little bit different. He was talking about the living waters that are coming, that verse.

Verse 35, if you read it, it says, how do you get rid of your hunger? Come to me. And how do you get rid of your thirst? Believe on me. Verse 35. There's two distinctions there. Yeah. Back up there. Sorry, my electronic one's a little slower. Without a spiritual understanding, of course, they didn't know what he was talking about. Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead.

Well, this just came to my mind, if you don't mind me adding it. I think he's saying he's the sacrifice. They sacrificed animals. And he's saying in a roundabout way, he's saying, I am the sacrifice. This just came to my mind just now. Yeah, it's more because the life isn't, if you look at the, let me see which one I had here, sorry. I'm flipping around here a couple places.

In the Leviticus 17.10, as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. so the blood is identifying life okay and and so we have a couple things going on here that his blood showed one that he had to die okay because the blood had to be shed the life is in the blood okay so he showed that he must die this is this is interesting in the fact that the what were the Jews thinking he was Well, besides that, they thought he was the Messiah.

So what was the Messiah going to do? Rule and reign. I would say that only the disciples thought he was the Messiah. I think the rest of the Jews weren't sure. Yeah, well, they weren't sure. They had a lot of things going on. Is he the lunch ticket? They had a whole bunch of things. they wanted him. At that point they were questioning, you know, is this the Christ? Is this the Messiah?

But the disciples, now he's saying he must die. The blood must be shed. So first of all, this shows that he negated the fact that he was going to be the Messiah now. That he was going to be the ruling king because he's saying the blood must be shed. So that was the first thing. The other was he needed to shed his blood, so we may partake in the life, because the life is in the blood. So eating his blood, believing in him, and then partaking in his blood. That is where the life is. So two things kind of went on. Negated him being the Messiah for them now, coming in as the ruling king, and then also the life is in the blood. So it kind of equated to two different things. Good with that? Alright,

15. Are these verses the same as the Lord's Table? Does it talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood? Is this speaking in reference to the Lord's Table?

Shall I pull a mic? Okay, who says yes? Who says no? We've got a pretty good split there and a lot of chickens in between. You know, okay, Mike, we're going to pit the two sides of the table here. Oh, this could trouble. This is a family dispute. This is good. I feel like tying two cat's tails together here. This is good. Okay, Mike.

I think it does because the Lord's Table is primarily about the death of Christ. his body and his blood for the sacrifice for sins. And so the issue of the Lord's table has nothing to do with resurrection, doesn't have anything to do with your seating in the heavenlies, it has everything to do with the earthly sacrifice of the Lord Jesus as he said, remember me until I come about this one issue. I gave my body, this is my blood, and it was only about sacrifice. Okay?

And the flip side. Okay, we said no, we thought doing this in remembrance of him, and I think this was me, I don't think it was Jack, but this doing remembrance of me, and he had not yet died, so he couldn't really have done it in remembrance of him. and he gave his blood as a new covenant, and until he died, he couldn't give his blood as a new covenant. So, that was my vision. I'm with her.

That's why I said, seeing Mike raise his hand, oh no! No, you know, that's right. One, he had not died, none of this had happened, nothing had transpired. Had he, you know, None of the things he talked about at the Lord's table had occurred. The other one is, remember what he's saying. What did he say?

Eat my flesh and drink my blood and you'll have life? Has anyone received salvation from the Lord's table? He's saying, eat my flesh, drink my blood, life. He's saying that's where the life is. I'm saying this does not represent the Lord's table. He's saying, come to me, eat my flesh, drink my blood, and have eternal life. Nothing in the communion or the Lord's table has ever saved anybody. There is not salvation in the Lord's table.

It's a remembrance. I knew this was going to happen. Verse 51 says, I'm the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give in the future tense is my flesh which I shall give for the life of the world. Future tense. Future. In that this was not represented of the Lord's table yet. But it's a precursor of things to come. Precursor, but it was not speaking of it. And that's why, you know, some people have taken this as, you know, as you take the Lord's Communion. And there's a lot going in that You know, the blood, and I forget what the terminology is. I should look it up. You know, when you actually take the cup, it's transformed as blood.

Transfigured. That's it. I knew it was a big word, and I couldn't remember it when I just thought of it. So yeah, and that's completely, you know, in all the commentaries, that is not, there's no basis for that. But, so, and other people who, like I said, take this, and this is the Lord's Supper. Very eloquently put.

I don't believe it is. I think it's speaking of, in the future tense, you're right, it's pointing to it, but it's not representative of it. Okay. Yeah, yes, is it? The same as. There'll be a long discussion at their next family meeting. No. Verses 51 to 53 are both in the eras tense. Yeah, done in the past. Yeah. So any questions on those before we move on to the next? And we'll zoom through. Lesson 12. All right. Swishing through here. OK, lesson 12.

Read the Gospel of John chapter 6, verses 59-71. I'll go ahead and read it. You guys can follow along. And when we get to the next one, I'll have a couple people read it just to move on here a little bit. John 6, verses 59-71. These things he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, and this is a difficult statement, who can listen to it? But Jesus, conscious that his disciples grumbled at this, said to them, Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life.

But there are some of you who do not believe, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray Him. And he was saying, for this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, you do not want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. Jesus answered them, Did I myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil? Now I met Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him."

So, by way of review, this is the section a time immediately after Jesus had traveled to Capernaum and the feeding of the 5,000 in the desert and was teaching how the bread of life and they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. So that was the confusion. This is the follow-on after those verses. So, question one.

What were the thoughts of the disciples after Jesus stated that he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life? Did the disciples understand what Jesus was talking about? Yes? No? No. Again, quoting those ones from Leviticus and Genesis, they're going, huh? eat my flesh, drink my blood." And drinking of blood was, I think, just totally offensive to him. They had no clue. So, from verse 60, therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, this is a difficult statement.

Who can listen to it? Okay? So remember that Jesus was talking to these people who were coming for a sign. Remember? He's drilled down into them, trying to figure out why. He knows their heart. And again, I'm amazed in all these. As I've been studying 6 and 7 a lot, I'm amazed when I look at this and you see what they say. A lot of times, either before or after, Jesus knew what they thought. Jesus knew what they were going to say. Jesus knew what they were saying.

What a comfort. I mean, again, that thought that the intimacy that we have with the Lord, He knows everything about us. what a piece, you know, here is kind of somewhat condemning sometimes. Yeah, they're grumbling, they're mumbling. He knew about that.

He knew what their thoughts were. He knew, you know, when the feeding of the 5,000, they followed him, you know, over to Capernaum, you know, they weren't looking to find, you know, God. They were finding, you know, the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. And he knew that, so he drilled down into them.

So a lot of these, you find that he knows what they're thinking, knows where they're going, and so he kind of says these things and then finds out where they're at and kind of exposes what they're thinking. So he purposely challenges them with their own desires versus what his desires are. So they couldn't understand this. you know, would you?

If somebody came who is a great teacher and said, eat my flesh, drink my blood, you know, and you've been taught blood is horrible, all this stuff, you know, a lot routinely I beat them up and then put it upon myself. What would you have done? I can't condemn them for the very thing I wouldn't understand. All I've been taught is don't drink the blood of animals. We drain the blood. Now you're saying what? And you're a human?

So perfectly understandable. But he's also drilling down. These are the people who still want signs, still want food, still want miracles to be seen. Remember all that. As I went through all these, I just see how he just keeps drilling down to find where their heart is. He knows what it is and he just keeps exposing it. And when we saw as he got, you know, eat my flesh and then eat my flesh, drink my blood, you know, I'm the bread of life. He kind of walks them through this and just exposes their heart with every question or every thing that he does.

So it's, you know, like I said, I'm comforted by the fact that, you know, he knows this intimately. You know, I think of all the things, you know, when we ask for prayer requests and you kind of hold back that prayer request. Do you think the Lord doesn't know that? That's why sometimes, you know, spoken and unspoken. Because, you know, God intimately knows you inside and out. And a lot of times we've been talking in the last few weeks, you know, well, on a whole realm of issues, but reckoning, you know, what you know up here versus what you believe in your heart. And I think I said that last week.

We went through those 34 things of Schaeffer and what you have immediately when you are a new creature in Christ. If we really believe, I mean believe one of those, two of those, it's life-changing. But it's really the belief in your heart. And you can fake to people, but the comfort I have is you can't fake it to God. God knows your heart. And when you truly believe, it's life-changing. Because you believe in God, what he said, in the heart, not just by the facts. Alright, little tangent there, sorry. Question two. What did Jesus mean by his question in verse 62? I'll read 61 and 62. But Jesus, conscious that his disciples grumbled at this, said to them, Does this cause you to stumble?

What then, if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? So Jesus just told him he'd come down from heaven and become a man, that he was going to have to die, shed his blood, so that he might be saved or have eternal life in him. So, I guess the question is, do you think this speaks of his impending ascension after the cross? So is this speaking of his ascension? His resurrection? Shall I do the old hand again? Is he talking about, since he said he'd come down from heaven, is he trying to get them to think about his pre-existence? Pre-existence? Any other thoughts? Deity. Deity?

You know, I think his voice and his words testified to That's getting there. I mean, you're all kind of nibbling around. This is one of those ones where, again, I have the answer. Why don't you guys get that? I perfectly know what the answer I want out of this one.

But the real thing is, in looking at a lot of the commentaries and different things, my first impression was that this speaks of His resurrection as ascension. Most of the commentaries, when I looked at it, this mainly was pointing, and you kind of nibbled around the edges of this.

Most of them said this wasn't the expression of his ascension after the cross. This merely speaks of Jesus being the incarnate Son of God that has come down from heaven. He asked them what they would think of him if he returned or departed earth for his heavenly home as a man. So most of the commentaries were saying this wasn't speaking about the ascension.

He just talked about him coming down from heaven. And now he's talking about the deity. He's really saying, now you see me as a man and I've come down out of heaven. What would you say if I went back up as a man? So he's really drilling into the fact that he is fully God and fully man. So that was what most of this pointed to. That it wasn't about the resurrection and the ascension. It was basically saying, OK, I said, I came down. What would you think of me ascending? So it wasn't as specific about the resurrection.

It's just he's drilling down into him to say, I am God and I am man. so that that was what you know most that most them when I started looking at it and the commentaries and I started looking at what it was saying that made sense it was more of the speaking of him within context we're talking about being God in coming down that was you know to remember he equated himself with my father and you know and coming out of heaven now is in what he said what he say you see me as a man what if I return to heaven So he's really drilling into him.

He's fully God and fully man. Do you have something? Any problems? Yeah, and there's a lot in that. Son of man, son of God. He uses that in different contexts. But here I think it's really saying man and God. So he's just saying, I told you I came down. What if I came back and went back? I'm a man. So he's kind of putting I'm God and man.

So what's he asking him? Would you be offended if the son of man went home to heaven? I think he's really just trying to tell him that he's fully God and fully man. The question is, you know, what do you think if I went to heaven? I'm fully God, fully man. You see a man ascending into heaven. I think that's really what he's saying, is putting what all of John is talking about, Jesus as God and man.

So, you know, I think the question to him is, you know, what do you think? Do you believe that? You know, what would you do if you see me go up into heaven? Well, doesn't it kind of go along with the other part, too, Like his blood and body, or not like our blood and body?

For me, studying through it, it's kind of hard when we break it up into chunks, and that's why a lot of times we read the whole section. Because yeah, he's just gone through, remember he said, from the Father, and then I'm the bread of life, and then eat my flesh, drink my blood.

He's doing all these things that are pointing to his deity. And that's really the focus of John, is pointing to Christ as God. and this one really sets it up that he is God and man. How many more signs and wonders do you need to see? All of these are doing that. As you come down more and more, and like I said, it's just this drilling down into where they're at. Every time it's like, you know, okay, I came out of heaven. I'm the bread of life. And he's just going on and on, drilling down, finding where they're at. I just told you I came out of heaven. What do you say if I go back to heaven? So he's trying to expose them. Because he knows their heart. Alright, let me see. Yeah, he's really just basically challenging to understand that he was God and man. That's really, I think, the purpose of his question.

All right, in question three, what did Jesus mean in verse 63 when he states, it is the spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing? Deathly quiet. Okay, others? It is the spirit who gives life to flesh profits nothing. Our flesh is referring to the old signature Anything good in the flesh All right, would you say that the this whole dialogue about my flesh and drink my blood and The fact that what would you say about if I ascended to heaven that they are they are like at the end of verse 63 says the words that I speak to you are our spirit and their life. So maybe the contrast here is the fact that he's speaking about spiritual truth. They're trying to understand it fleshly, which is like me trying to understand a language that I never learned. And not only that, it's that what he speaks has relevance and it also has life. And because they don't have the life he's talking about, in them at the time, they can't understand. Because the flesh does not understand spiritual things in 1 Corinthians. The flesh does not perceive the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness, and they can't know them.

Exactly. You know, and this... Okay. Go ahead. Well, I was going to say, there in 63, he says, the words that I speak to are spirit, and they are life, and you can say bread. As I study this, it's amazing. First time really digging this deep into John and the consistency and just the progression as you go through. What was John 1-1? In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. very first words out of John in his letter.

Gospel. Then what do we have? Bread, flesh, eat. He's just going down and down and down, drilling this in, drilling it down. And so, basically he's saying he's the Living Word. It's coming back to that. It points back to what he started on the very first thing. The Word was God. Word was with God, and he's progressively explained that.

And then the flesh, 1 Corinthians 2.14. These are spiritual things, not fleshly. You know, you can't even understand this because these are spiritual things that I talk about. And that it is only as a person receives Jesus or the Living Word in faith can we have life. So he's tying in all those things he's walked you through, through all the previous chapters, are coming back again. Spirit and flesh. life and world, life and death. All these things are being brought out.

If you look in the consistency of the message again, if you look in verse 65, and he was saying, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it is granted from the Father. And then in verse 44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him on the last day. again it's the consistency of the message and when you get to this point he's saying all of the Godhead is involved. It means the Father will draw people through the Holy Spirit to his son. All these messages point to everything that we know as the gospel message. And you know when I read some of these in In verse 65, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father.

This is one of the little rabbit trails we'll run a little bit on for just a second. I was one of those things. Does this mean there's election or preselection? He has a list and he's checking it twice. That's a year of study. You're right. That was a big rabbit hole. I was just bringing it up. In fact, I shouldn't have even started that one. I think it gets answered somewhat in 44. He draws him. That's the key, I think, but we won't jump on that train.

I think there's another issue, and that is that to gain understanding is by faith alone. There's no other way. And faith leads directly to the impartation of spiritual light from the Spirit of God himself. And therefore, one can understand. Yeah, and again, 1 Corinthians 2.14, the flesh just doesn't understand this. So once life is imparted through faith and belief in Christ, and I don't know if you probably all have the same thing, once you came in as a new creature in Christ, suddenly things in the Bible just suddenly made sense. You see things and it's like, wow, yeah! You know, and that's where this is. They're spiritual. Now you are a new creature in Christ. Guess what? Man, you see it in a whole different light. you can understand this stuff now.

Some of the stuff that you kind of, well now, wow. And I always love, as I think I said, think of any other book that's like this. I mean, how many times, I've been through John. Well, man, now I see it's like, wow, all this stuff. It's a living, it's the living word. So I just, I think about that a lot where this is the living word. And it's alive.

No other book is like the Bible. You know, you can't, You know, you can read War and Peace five times and be the same by the second time. It's not going to change. I will, if you don't mind, just drop one little comment on that about the Father drawing. I shouldn't have gone on that rabbit trail. I'm so sorry.

It does mean that God is the one who orchestrates this whole thing. And when Jesus said that, a lot of people left. Yeah, we'll see a lot of people left after the... Yeah, there were a lot. Well, that was earlier, and he's now drilled it down further. And you'll see, a lot of them will leave.

Question four. What important truth do you derive from Peter's statement in verses 68 and 69? I said compare with verse 63. In verse 63, it is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and of life. And then 68 and 69, Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. So what truth do we derive from that? What did Peter say he knew about Jesus? He's what? Right. Each of these verses states that Jesus is or has the words of life. What Peter was saying was that he knew that Jesus was the Son of God or the Holy One of God and that he was the only one with the words of eternal life.

And he states, to whom shall we go? Where else can we go to give us a first-hand account of who God is? He is convinced that Jesus is the only way to eternal life, even though a little while later he denies him three times. Has this been the consistent message through all the Gospel of John? Words of life? Where do we start off?

John 1.1? Words. Life. He is the Word. the bread of life. It's just amazing. It just starts off from John 1 and continues to point to Jesus is the Son of God and He is where our life is. Consistency all the way down. We're moving into John chapter 7 verses 1 through 24. Mike, do you want to read again, or do you want me to read? How about 1 through 13, and then Jack, can you do 14 through 24? John 7, chapter 7.

After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews thought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to him, Depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. 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.

For even his brothers did not believe in him. Then Jesus said to them, My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast, I'm not yet going to go up to this feast, for my time is not yet fully come.

When he had said these things to them, he returned in Galilee. But when his brothers had gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews saw him at the feast and said, Where is he? And there was much complaining among the people concerning him. Some said he is good, others said no. On the contrary, he deceives the people. However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews.

Now at about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory, but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? The people answered and said, Thou hast a demon who go about to kill thee. And Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marveled. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision, not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers, and ye on the sabbath day circumcised them all. If a man on the Sabbath day receives circumcision, that the Law of Moses should not be broken, are ye angry with me, because I have made a man entirely well on the Sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteously." Alright, question five, going back to the beginning of it.

What was the Feast of the Booths or Tabernacles? Anybody know what that one is? Yeah, that's one of the Jewish feasts called It commemorates when they were wandering the wilderness and had to make food. Yep, that's exactly it. Kind of interesting to note, because that's explained in Leviticus 23. But it was a festival of the Lord explained there. Note what he said in this one, now that it's a feast of the Jews. So it's a change in the description from the feast in Leviticus in which they were called the feast of the Lord.

This was only a Jewish festival. This was one of three feasts that all males were obligated by law to appear in Jerusalem. So it was the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. Those three feasts or festivals, all males were required to go to Jerusalem. OK?

And Gomer Randy said, the festival was observed on the 15th day of the seventh month to commemorate the wandering of Israel in the wilderness. Features of the celebration included a holy convocation on the first and eight days and the offering of many animal sacrifices. The Israelites were also commanded to live in booths made of palm and willow trees during the festival to commemorate the period of wilderness wandering when they lived in temporary shelters. This feast is also known as the Feast of Booths. OK? Alright, so we'll move on to question six. Who are his brothers and why did they want Jesus to go up to Judea? Why didn't he go up to Judea? Why didn't he go? So, who are his brothers? Who is he referring to in his brothers? Or his brethren, I think, in some of the translations.

James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. Who were his half-brothers? so these were his half-brothers that were were talking which is kinda we'll get into it what and where they were at K arm so yeah you can see that in I think it's Matthew's somewhere math and look at it I can't remember it's shh shh probably up here Matthew 1356 is where it names his brothers and also had sisters half-sisters okay so why did why did Jesus brothers actually go back a little bit to actually I kinda curious what happened to the brothers James and Judas or Jude we know about they went on and we recorded them in James and Jude and then also I think it was one that we don't have much record on. I think it was Joseph or Joses is the one we don't have any record. And I think it was Simon that went on in secular recordings that he also was a believer. So just kind of what happened to him. We know about James and Judas with the Book of Jude.

So why did Jesus' brothers want him to go up to Jerusalem? To show himself. To find what he said he was there for. Did they want him to glorify God? Did they want him to show him as the Son of God? Glorifying himself and glorifying that they wanted to be part of this. family that produced this wonderful man or whatever. It's human pride. Yeah. Hey, come on up. I want to show off my brother here who could do all these great things. They were looking to show off his power.

They were impatient with his separateness from the center of, remember they're going to Jerusalem, the center of their religious life and honor is in Jerusalem. So they wanted to walk up and show off. the buzz the buzzer that I just love so much well that that will get to yeah because yeah I mean that that's the that's the saddest thing I think is here's his half-brothers been with them grew up with them and I don't believe them and all they wanted to do is show him off at their religious ceremonies in the religious center in Jerusalem they were thinking this is the Son of God I want everybody to know the Son of God that wasn't their motive and he knows it again remember he knows he knows what they wanted so is he gonna you know satisfy them okay I'll go do a few miracles today up in Jerusalem no he knows what he yeah he's and he knows his time so they were not looking for God's purposes and his timing they just want to show him off up there so were they thinking heavenly or earthly earthly okay question seven what did you mean in verses six and seven when he said to his brothers your time is always opportune and the world cannot hate you well I think it means that they were of the world yeah yeah where where they have their of the world I like from William Kelly man's time was always ready.

They spoke as of the world, and the world heard them. They loved the world, and the things of the world, and the love of the Father was not in them. But what they valued more, they were loved by the world as its own." Terrible position for his brethren, but not more terrible than true. How could the world hate those who so prized its honor? They were of the world.

The world cannot hate them for they were of it. The world hated Jesus because he testified of it that its works were evil. You know, how devastating from our point of view is his statement in, I don't have the verse, that for not even his brothers were believing in him. Christ, as we have seen many times in John's Gospel, always knows what they're thinking. So even though from our perspective it's difficult to understand that his brothers, who had been with him and seen him grow up, did not believe him, Christ knew their hearts and rightly determines that they are of the world.

OK? And I got to correct it. This is where I had my note. James, Jude, and Simon, we have records that they went on to become believers. It's Joseph or Joseph that we don't have any record of. his position was. So I think I'd mix Simon and Joseph up. Yeah.

I also think this points out the fact that what he just finished saying that no one comes to him unless the Father draw him. Not only whether they're going to come or not, but the timing. Only his. And it points back to that 1 Corinthians chapter 2 that unless the Spirit of God works, to open up your understanding.

You don't see it, and I don't care if Jesus is your half-brother. You're not going to see the thing. Exactly. It doesn't matter if you're a half-brother or anything. Unless the Father draws you, the Holy Spirit. You can be a half-brother. You can walk with Him. You can be all this. But it's the Father through the Holy Spirit drawing.

The other interesting thing is that His brothers are not passively waiting around for revelation. They're aggressively seeking the world's viewpoint to be manifested about him. So there isn't this herd of people locked up in a room someplace waiting for the Holy Spirit.

Their deeds are evil and they're rocking in the world. They don't care. Well, that's the sad part about it. It's half-brothers. They want to go show him off. It's a circus. And they want to be the brother. Hey, look what my brother can do. Whip up one of them miracles for us. And they want to do it in Jerusalem, the place of honor. This is the big festival and all this, and they want Him to show off. And He knows it. That's the thing I just keep drilling in.

In all these circumstances we go through in life, do you feel alone? All these verses say He knows. The intimacy that we have with the Father is unbelievable. It is. Well, it is believable. So when you're going through something, don't ever feel alone. God's sovereignly in control and God knows. God knows. We see repeatedly through this. They didn't even have to say the purpose or anything like that. He knows their hearts.

So be comforted by the fact of the intimacy that we have with the Father. I tried, I tried, I tried. So we will go up, we'll start with verse 8 and I'll hand out the question sheet 13 and we'll try and rock it through the end of this and question sheet 13. I think 13 has hopefully shorter answers that we can get through it fast and we'll be done. All right, let's close.

Heavenly Father, we thank you. We just thank you again for the intimacy that we have with you. Father, we just are comforted by the fact that you know our hearts. You know everything about us inside and out. You know everything that's going on. There is not a time where you say, oops, you don't know. Father, you know intimately each and every one of us. And we thank you for the fact and we're comforted by the fact that you are in control and you know us. And through that we have the peace that surpasses all understanding that you promised.

So Father, as we just look into your word, we just thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ and his life on earth and just the word that you have left us that pointed to Christ and all he was doing here. We are so comforted by the fact of him going to the cross for us. And Father, that we have new life in Christ. Our very life is Christ's life. So Father, we just thank you. It's in His name we pray. Amen.