See and Hear for Yourself

John 4:39-42 
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

When we bear witness by testifying of what Christ has done in us, others will go to Him to listen to what He said, hoping it is true. When they read and hear for themselves, then they can believe from the source that is reliable and true, and see Jesus is the Christ who alone can save from the just anger of a righteous God.  Only by His work and word can we be set free.

Fields are Ripe for Harvest

John 4:35-38 
35 Do you not say, “There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

God sows through us as He did through others from Eden until Christ.  So now with the gospel the crops are ripe for bearing fruit for the food we should labor.  No matter who plants or waters, it is always God who brings the harvest for eternal life in Christ.  Our duty is wages, the souls of men are eternal life fruit of the harvest, and God's glory brings rejoicing together. 

Food is to Do God's Will

John 4:31-34 
31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 33 Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

To Jesus food to sustain the body and enjoy was actually doing God the Father's will, finishing the work He came to do - teaching, suffering, dying, and resurrecting from the grave. So that is what He hungered for.  We should also hunger for doing God's will, to run the course faithfully and finish the race with the goal of glorifying God in sight always. This is His will and our calling.  Let us find these words of His as more than necessary food and savor each one.

Worship in Spirit and Truth

John 4:21-26 
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Worship of God is not constrained to one certain city or place, but in the heart of the worshipper as a living temple where God takes up residence. Real worship is not in rituals nor in the right building, it is true spiritual honoring and exaltation of our creator and Lord from within.  The Messiah, the Christ - Jesus - He is who told us this, He who is God's very word. He is the source of all authority, and so is true and worthy to be praised.

Never Thirst Again

John 4:11-14   
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?   13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Living water satisfies our thirst, while water from a well we draw repeatedly ourselves will always leave us needing more.  So it is with what Jesus offers to truly satisfy our thirst - His Spirit given to live in us becomes this unending life as a fountain flowing continually from within, from Him.

Living Water Freely Given

John 4:7-10 
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Jesus turned a request from an outcast for a drink into an offer she could not wisely refuse - living water from God with her.  He so offer us to drink as we try to serve in order to earn a dink, but He comes to us to offer when we don't expect it nor deserve it.  It is freely offered.

Predetermined Route

John 4:1-4   
1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

Jesus had a timetable to fulfill scripture, so when the religious leaders were set to come after Him for baptizing many to repent (and then not be following the Pharisees but God), Jesus went the direct route to where He needed to go - through an area avoided by "good" Jews.  He needed to, not only to get there quicker, but to preach good news to a woman and her town of second class citizens.  Jesus came to those looking for the Messiah who believed and received Him.

Eternal Life or Wrath of God?

John 3:33-36 
33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

God the Son guarantees that God is true, and spoke His words to us.  The Son has all the Father has, so only believing in Jesus brings life unending in God's presence now and beyond death. We only see life with God in Jesus Christ, or we are still in God's judgment of wrath on our sin - we all are facing what we deserve unless the Son sets us free.

Point to Christ

John 3:26-29 
26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.

John had been baptizing as he called for people to turn from sin to God, and Jesus baptized also.  So the Jews pointed out all were going to Jesus instead; but John pointed out the heaven sent one had that right, while he simply rejoiced to see Jesus in action. He even hinted at Jesus being the Messiah in joy, but nobody seemed to grasp that. We too can only point to Jesus, because we are not God but only His servant messengers bearing witness to Him.

Already Condemned

John 3:18-21 
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

We are all condemned unless we believe, and will never believe if we go on doing evil and hating what is good.  Loving darkness keeps us from the light because our hearts are not set on doing right to seek and please God.  This is the rest of the story beyond God so loved the world - it does not mean all go to heaven, just that it is possible by what Jesus has done.

Look and Believe or Perish

John 3:13-17   
13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Heavenly things come down from there, and Jesus brought these to us, that we might look on Him and believe all He said and has done to make forgiveness and life forever with God possible.  We need to believe His life, death, and resurrection and therefore that Jesus is God, the Word man man. That is how much God loves His creation, to send His Son from heaven to bring these good gifts and save us from ourselves, our own sin, and from His due punishment against we who are born against Him. 

Heavenly or Earthly Things?

John 3:9-12   
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Nicodemus could not grasp hat he had to be born again, changed unseen by God, because everything for him had been the outward works attempting to appease God and earn His favor to enter heaven.  Even though he taught the Old Testament, he missed the core of it - that man is born in sin and cannot work his way out of it.  Only a new heart and God's Spirit can make us new.  So Jesus told him these things in earthly terms because he did not have opened eyes to see further. So God alone now opens eyes to the gospel for change in us.

Must be Born Again from Above

John 3:3-8 
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

One must be made into a new creation to move from sinful mortality to God's sinless presence in immortality.  Only God's breath, His Spirit that first breathed life into the clay of Adam, can blow into us to transform our spirit.  So He moves as the breath of a blowing wind to change us in an unseen new birth.  This is God's work which man cannot duplicate, imitate, nor even fully investigate; so we can only see the results of being reborn.

He Knows All People

John 2:23-25   
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

When people saw what Jesus did they believed in Him, but only to a point - Jesus saw their hearts as He does all men's, and so chose to give Himself only to those He chose.  Soon Nicodemus and a Samaritan woman would find Jesus trusting and committing to them the words of life.  But it was His choice and on His terms because He knew where their hearts lay. So it is today.

Resurrected in 3 Days

John 2:19-22 
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

Jesus told those who questioned Him about driving out merchandisers from God's house that they could destroy His temple, but Jesus would raise it back up.  He meant His body resurrected from the grave, though, not the stones around them.  This is the heart of the gospel - hope of a new life from death, now and at the end of time.  We are also temples of the living God, for His Spirit lives in those reborn, and these temples will also rise again.

Zeal for His House, Not Profit

John 2:14-17 
14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

God's house is to worship Him in, not to do business and make personal profit.  Not even if the items sold are supposed to be used to offer sacrifices.  So Jesus drove these profiteers out of the temple.  A warning for us to not ever make church about profit, but service and worship, and to lovingly but firmly drive out those who would - just how to do this in grace and love is the difficulty.

Sign of Water Made Wine

John 2:1-4, 11   
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”  11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

The 3rd day after disciples began following Jesus, He turned water into wine at a wedding feast they were invited to.  So began many signs Jesus did that were not humanly possible to show He was from heaven.  So God began walking around us to show His glory in ways we could not miss if not rejected.  So now also we can read these from eyewitnesses and either harden our hearts or believe and follow when called.

How Do You Know Me?

John 1:48-51 
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Jesus knows us before we know Him.  But even that is small compared to who Jesus is and what He did for us, coming down from heaven with angels ministering as He suffered, died, and arose victorious over Heath and hell.  But we still look past His work to His knowing and calling us before we saw Him.  He draws us and first saw us in sovereign grace and mercy.

We Have Found Him!

John 1:43-46   
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”   Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus found Philip and called him to follow; Philip in turn found Nathanael and pointed to the Messiah (the prophet we should listen to) that God wrote about from the beginning.  They knew the Scriptures and that they pointed to Jesus, and shared that so another could come and see also.  So do we seek out the one who found us and point others to see Him also as the Bible points out who He is.

The Messiah, the Christ

John 1:40-42   
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

When we meet the Messiah, the Christ Jesus, we are moved to tell others we found Him (actually He found us as here) and followed.  We do not force religion or our way on others, but gladly are driven to invite others to meet Him to know the same fulfilling joy we have. We bring others to meet our savior messiah to find life. 

Behold the Lamb of God!

John 1:35-38   
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

The lamb of God - a lamb was to be sacrificed to atone for sin.  Jesus walked by John and was identified as God's sacrifice for us by the one sent ahead to make a way for Him by repentance and cleansing crooked ways.  So what do we seek?  Do we ask where He lives so we can live there also?  Only Jesus sacrificed Himself for us in a perfect way to perfect us in His righteousness; ours is filthy rags no matter how we work, we all come short, so only a perfect sacrifice will do.

Spirit Descended and Remained

John 1:32-34   
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

God as Spirit is in whom we are immersed and cleansed - baptized.  John saw God's Spirit on the Son of God and man to also prove Jesus was both a man and God among us, Emmanuel.  This same Spirit is the one all Christians receive when made new, reborn, and without which we only have lifeless religion.  God himself comes to live within us, Christ the hope of glory!
Colossians 1:27 - To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Lamb Revealed

John 1:29-31   
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

A lamb is a sacrifice.  Jesus was sacrificed to atone, to completely pay, for all our sin against God.  So when John announced that Jesus was God's lamb come to take away sin, he already told of His crucifixion and death in our place.  John knew he was a messenger come to turn people to God when He came among us, so he baptized and waited for Jesus to be revealed.  Then he faded back to yield to the Lamb of God.

Voice Crying in the Wilderness

John 1:20-23   
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John called everyone to repent, to turn from their sin to God through the Messiah, the Christ.  He did this not in the city where everyone lived, but in the wilderness so that they had to be drawn out to come to him to hear.  Either people came to hear out of hunger, or they came to question or stop him as the priests were sent by those who were of the council and opposed anyone not of them. John still called out for all to straighten up.

Grace for Grace and Truth

John 1:16-18   
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Everything in Christ we have been given, even His righteousness!  What the law of rules we could never keep could not do, Jesus Christ did and gives us who come to Him truth of who He is and we are - and unmerited favor, grace, which we never could deserve.  We only now can see God in Christ alone; Jesus reveals the Father to us, as He Himself is God's word and God.  This is the true God and eternal life.

Word Became Man, Emmanuel

John 1:14-15   
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

God's Word who was with and was God and made all things became a man, Jesus Christ.  Those alive saw God's glory with their own eyes in front of them with truth and grace, such as John the Baptist who understood Jesus was higher than any man, not a mere prophet but God's word who existed from eternity among us, Emmanuel.  Since God came among us, so should we pay attention and listen to all He said and was written down for us.

Believe & Receive to Become Children of God

John 1:10-13   
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

When Jesus walked this world His people did not acknowledge or even know Him - even though He called them to bring the nations to God.  But those who did and now do believe His words and receive and accept Him through His words, these He gives a new life as a birth from within.  But even this cannot be in our power or will to want and do so - it is God's will and call and work alone.  John told Nicodemus it is unseen like the wind blowing by; so God in our spirits changes and opens our eyes to see and receive with trusting and active belief. 

Witness to the Light of the World

John 1:6-9 
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

John the Baptist had been called and sent by God to tell others of the light of men so that we could believe through that testimony by the call to turn from sin to Him. The true light John told us about was about to be seen, so as to illuminate all who would gaze upon Him in repentance and faith - believing, trusting, and receiving that light.  We who know Him now also bear forth that light as witnesses.

Life Light of Men Shines

John 1:4-5   
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

This Word who from the beginning was God is light and life. The darkness did not comprehend nor could it apprehend or overtake the light of God the word; this light is life to us, to all men and women ever born. God spoke life into the first man in Eden, and this breath of life cannot be created by man - but a word from God is spoken, and so it is.  He gives light and life, and it is good.

Word was Always God

John 1:1-3   
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

God's Word is alive.  He was with God from the very beginning, and the entire universe and every living thing came from Him.  Everything.  He was there when God's Spirit hovered over the waters in Genesis and was spoken to create light, land, waters, plants, moon and stars, animals, and us.  God spoke it all out of nothingness.  This word spoken was God Himself.