Our Seniors Sunday School Class yesterday at International Bible
Baptist Church was interesting. We have been going through the
Gospel of John and yesterday we discussed the meeting between
Jesus Christ and Nicodemus the Pharisee, John chapter 3. Then we moved into
the true interpretation of John 3:16.
In our study of John, we are using a downloaded movie which I feel is realistic of the day, culture, and generation of the Jewish people during the time of Christ's ministry on earth. It does not show Him wearing elegant spotless linen clothing, but the blue collar clothing one would expect to see a carpenter wearing in that time. His sandals were not expensive Italian designer leather shoes - but worn leather sandals of the working class, sandals worn by working and walking on the dusty roads in and around Judea and Galilee.
In previous weeks we saw that the Wedding at Cana was not catered at a Stouffer's class hotel of the day, but in a home with rough hewn wooden tables, no white linen table clothes and polished silver - but in the setting of the working class people of that day.
My wife, Dory, has asked me, "Why not just read and discuss the Scripture text verse by verse? Why intersperse viewing portions of the movie with reading and discussion of the verses?"
That is the way Bible studies or Sunday School are usually done and there is nothing wrong with a verse by verse walk through the Scripture text. However I want to add another dimension to our study. I want to add the visual aspect of Israel of Christ's day with the reading and understanding of the text. Why accept a two dimensional study when you can have a three dimensional study?
I love reading historical novels. Why? Well, I love history - but reading history books can often be rather dry. Yes they give us historical facts, dates, events - but in what can sometimes be a rather dry, often sleep provoking, manner. But take those same historical facts, wrap them around a novel with real characters (and perhaps a few fictional characters thrown in for flavor) in real historical circumstances - and we keep the reader's attention. All the while the reader is learning history.
Over the years I have read many books about England and Scotland. But not until I actually went to England and Scotland on business trips did I get a true feel, the real flavor of the people and the land. Since we cannot take a business trip back to Israel in the time of Christ - I feel this movie will, to some extent, give us that same feeling for the people and places. So we watch the movie in bite size chunks - in step with our reading and discussing verse by verse though the amazing Gospel of John.
Our discussion yesterday was about the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus found in chapter 3 of John. Actually we started in John 2:23, "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."
Jesus was in Jerusalem for three Passovers during the last three years of His earthly ministry. This is the first Passover of that time and we find that many believed in Him - but not necessarily for the right reason. They saw the signs and miracles He did and believed He was a great teacher with apparent spiritual abilities - but they do not recognize Him as their Messiah.
We read in John 2:24-25, "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."
Just as when Jesus fed the 5000 at Bethsaida and they followed Him to Capernaum, Jesus knew their hearts. In their hearts, He was not their Messiah, the Son of God - but a man who could perform magical tricks and give them free material things. And they wanted more of His bounty.
The Three Passovers Of Jesus' Earthly Ministry:
Who was Nicodemus and why did he come to talk with Jesus? In the short movie clip I showed, we start viewing where Jesus had just driven the moneychangers out of the temple - and we saw that the Pharisees were very upset with Him. All except one Pharisee - Nicodemus. This moment in the movie shows Nicodemus at the instance when he is about to see the Light. He does not fully comprehend, but you can see the seeking in his manner. True, that is only the movie's interpretation - but I have a feeling it could very well have happened just like like it is shown.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, and a teacher. At the time there were basically three sects in the Jewish religious community - Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes (ascetics). During that time most cities had a religious/civic leadership called the Sanhedrin, much like our regional Federal Courts in America. The Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem which was like their Supreme Court. The Great Sanhedrin was the highest authority in the land. It was comprised of 70 priests/rulers (Pharisees and Sadducees) and a High Priest, Caiaphas. His father-in-law, Annas, was the retired High Priest.
You might relate the Pharisees and Sadducees of that day to the Liberals and Conservatives of today, sort of, but not exactly. The Sadducees were more like Conservative in that they insisted on a literal interpretation of Scripture. While the Pharisees, on the other hand, gave oral tradition equal authority to the written Word of God - much like the Roman Catholic church today views the writings of the Vatican as equal in authority (and often higher) than Scripture.
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead - but the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees denied the afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death - like atheists and some cult churches of today. But the Pharisees believed in an afterlife and they believed in rewards or punishment for each individual. The Sadducees rejected the idea of an unseen, spiritual world. But the Pharisees taught the existence of angels and demons in the spiritual realm.
The Essenes were an ascetic religious group, i.e., they dedicated their lives to a pursuit of contemplative spiritual worship and practiced extreme self-denial. They lived an extremely austere and simple lifestyle, abstaining from the normal pleasures of life. It was a strict men-only community typically living in remote areas - living lives of ritual purity and separation.
The Essenes began about 100 BC and disappeared from history after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. They have given our Christian faith a major gift today. It was they who created and saved the many scrolls found in the Qumran Caves, which we call the Dead Sea Scrolls. And through these scrolls much of the Bible as we know it today has been validated. One key book of our Bible, Isaiah, has most certainly been validated - for the Isaiah scrolls found in the Qumran caves - are virtually identical to the Isaiah we read in our Bibles today.
Most Christians today, when asked about the meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus, will immediately bring to mind the teaching of Jesus in this very important passage:
What did Jesus mean by being born of water and the Spirit? The Spirit is obvious. We are born again, i.e., saved, by the Holy Spirit. You and I can, and should, witness to non-believers about the salvation found only in Jesus Christ. We can lead them toward the cross - but ONLY the Holy Spirit can lead them into the family of God.
But what did He mean to be "born of the water" - born of what water? Glad you asked.
One interpretation is the natural or physical birth. The pre-birth baby is protected in a sack of amniotic fluid for nine months. At the time for birth, the sack bursts releasing the fluid/water, and the baby is born. Thus the child is born of the birth water. Yet this would be seen as being born of the flesh. A child is conceived in the flesh, born in the flesh - but that does not give the child spiritual life. We are all born with the Adamic Sin Nature, spiritually dead.
Another interpretation favored in many churches is that a person is not saved UNTIL he/she is baptized. The is called Baptismal Regeneration and is not supported in Scripture.
Finally the interpretation which I believe is supported by Scripture. The water through which we are born again - is the Written Word of God, Scripture, the Bible.
In classs we discussed Jesus' teaching of the Israelites grumbling and complaining against Moses and God in their wilderness journey and God causing 23,000 to die from poisonous snake bites. To offer repentance, God had Moses lift up the Bronze Serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9, 1 Corinthians 10:8-9) and all who looked upon the Bronze Serpent, a type of Christ, were saved. All who did not died physically.
This is an analogy, that like the Israelites looking up at the Bronze Serpent to be saved - sinners need only to look to Him who has been lifted up on the cross to be saved from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin (John 1:12, John 3:16).
And that brings us to the one Scripture verse, that portion of the Living Water which every Christian should know by heart:
The WORLD is you, me, and all believers from all the world, throughout all history.
Whoever believers HAS ETERNAL LIFE. Think on that. It does not say, "Could have eternal life IF. . . " nor does it say, "Could have eternal life UNTIL. . ."
ETERNAL means never ending - with no qualifications.
Like I said in the beginning, yesterday we had an exciting Seniors Sunday School Class. Kind of makes you want to be a Senior, right? But not to worry, we do not discriminate because of age. Anyone who wants is always welcome to join us.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
In our study of John, we are using a downloaded movie which I feel is realistic of the day, culture, and generation of the Jewish people during the time of Christ's ministry on earth. It does not show Him wearing elegant spotless linen clothing, but the blue collar clothing one would expect to see a carpenter wearing in that time. His sandals were not expensive Italian designer leather shoes - but worn leather sandals of the working class, sandals worn by working and walking on the dusty roads in and around Judea and Galilee.
In previous weeks we saw that the Wedding at Cana was not catered at a Stouffer's class hotel of the day, but in a home with rough hewn wooden tables, no white linen table clothes and polished silver - but in the setting of the working class people of that day.
My wife, Dory, has asked me, "Why not just read and discuss the Scripture text verse by verse? Why intersperse viewing portions of the movie with reading and discussion of the verses?"
That is the way Bible studies or Sunday School are usually done and there is nothing wrong with a verse by verse walk through the Scripture text. However I want to add another dimension to our study. I want to add the visual aspect of Israel of Christ's day with the reading and understanding of the text. Why accept a two dimensional study when you can have a three dimensional study?
I love reading historical novels. Why? Well, I love history - but reading history books can often be rather dry. Yes they give us historical facts, dates, events - but in what can sometimes be a rather dry, often sleep provoking, manner. But take those same historical facts, wrap them around a novel with real characters (and perhaps a few fictional characters thrown in for flavor) in real historical circumstances - and we keep the reader's attention. All the while the reader is learning history.
Over the years I have read many books about England and Scotland. But not until I actually went to England and Scotland on business trips did I get a true feel, the real flavor of the people and the land. Since we cannot take a business trip back to Israel in the time of Christ - I feel this movie will, to some extent, give us that same feeling for the people and places. So we watch the movie in bite size chunks - in step with our reading and discussing verse by verse though the amazing Gospel of John.
The Gospel of John (2003 Full Movie) [HD]
https://youtu.be/KdYaHZHMGDM?t=2
Our discussion yesterday was about the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus found in chapter 3 of John. Actually we started in John 2:23, "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."
Jesus was in Jerusalem for three Passovers during the last three years of His earthly ministry. This is the first Passover of that time and we find that many believed in Him - but not necessarily for the right reason. They saw the signs and miracles He did and believed He was a great teacher with apparent spiritual abilities - but they do not recognize Him as their Messiah.
We read in John 2:24-25, "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."
Just as when Jesus fed the 5000 at Bethsaida and they followed Him to Capernaum, Jesus knew their hearts. In their hearts, He was not their Messiah, the Son of God - but a man who could perform magical tricks and give them free material things. And they wanted more of His bounty.
The Three Passovers Of Jesus' Earthly Ministry:
First Passover - Jesus meets Nicodemus: John 2:13, "Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." . . . John 2:23, "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."
Second Passover - Feeding the 5000: John 6:4-5, "Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?' "
Third Passover - Triumphal Entry/Crucifixion: John 11:55-57, "And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 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?' Now both the chief priests (Caiaphas and Annas) and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him."
Who was Nicodemus and why did he come to talk with Jesus? In the short movie clip I showed, we start viewing where Jesus had just driven the moneychangers out of the temple - and we saw that the Pharisees were very upset with Him. All except one Pharisee - Nicodemus. This moment in the movie shows Nicodemus at the instance when he is about to see the Light. He does not fully comprehend, but you can see the seeking in his manner. True, that is only the movie's interpretation - but I have a feeling it could very well have happened just like like it is shown.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, and a teacher. At the time there were basically three sects in the Jewish religious community - Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes (ascetics). During that time most cities had a religious/civic leadership called the Sanhedrin, much like our regional Federal Courts in America. The Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem which was like their Supreme Court. The Great Sanhedrin was the highest authority in the land. It was comprised of 70 priests/rulers (Pharisees and Sadducees) and a High Priest, Caiaphas. His father-in-law, Annas, was the retired High Priest.
You might relate the Pharisees and Sadducees of that day to the Liberals and Conservatives of today, sort of, but not exactly. The Sadducees were more like Conservative in that they insisted on a literal interpretation of Scripture. While the Pharisees, on the other hand, gave oral tradition equal authority to the written Word of God - much like the Roman Catholic church today views the writings of the Vatican as equal in authority (and often higher) than Scripture.
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead - but the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees denied the afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death - like atheists and some cult churches of today. But the Pharisees believed in an afterlife and they believed in rewards or punishment for each individual. The Sadducees rejected the idea of an unseen, spiritual world. But the Pharisees taught the existence of angels and demons in the spiritual realm.
The Essenes were an ascetic religious group, i.e., they dedicated their lives to a pursuit of contemplative spiritual worship and practiced extreme self-denial. They lived an extremely austere and simple lifestyle, abstaining from the normal pleasures of life. It was a strict men-only community typically living in remote areas - living lives of ritual purity and separation.
The Essenes began about 100 BC and disappeared from history after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. They have given our Christian faith a major gift today. It was they who created and saved the many scrolls found in the Qumran Caves, which we call the Dead Sea Scrolls. And through these scrolls much of the Bible as we know it today has been validated. One key book of our Bible, Isaiah, has most certainly been validated - for the Isaiah scrolls found in the Qumran caves - are virtually identical to the Isaiah we read in our Bibles today.
Most Christians today, when asked about the meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus, will immediately bring to mind the teaching of Jesus in this very important passage:
John 3:34, "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?' "
John 3:5-6, "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."
What did Jesus mean by being born of water and the Spirit? The Spirit is obvious. We are born again, i.e., saved, by the Holy Spirit. You and I can, and should, witness to non-believers about the salvation found only in Jesus Christ. We can lead them toward the cross - but ONLY the Holy Spirit can lead them into the family of God.
But what did He mean to be "born of the water" - born of what water? Glad you asked.
One interpretation is the natural or physical birth. The pre-birth baby is protected in a sack of amniotic fluid for nine months. At the time for birth, the sack bursts releasing the fluid/water, and the baby is born. Thus the child is born of the birth water. Yet this would be seen as being born of the flesh. A child is conceived in the flesh, born in the flesh - but that does not give the child spiritual life. We are all born with the Adamic Sin Nature, spiritually dead.
Another interpretation favored in many churches is that a person is not saved UNTIL he/she is baptized. The is called Baptismal Regeneration and is not supported in Scripture.
Finally the interpretation which I believe is supported by Scripture. The water through which we are born again - is the Written Word of God, Scripture, the Bible.
Jesus to the woman of Samaria: John 4:13-14, "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.' "
Jesus teaching in the temple at the Feast of the Tabernacles: John 7:37-38, "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' "
Paul teaching on the Christian household: Ephesians 5:25-26, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, (26) that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,"
And back in the Old Testament: Psalm 119:9-11, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. . . (11) Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You."
In classs we discussed Jesus' teaching of the Israelites grumbling and complaining against Moses and God in their wilderness journey and God causing 23,000 to die from poisonous snake bites. To offer repentance, God had Moses lift up the Bronze Serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9, 1 Corinthians 10:8-9) and all who looked upon the Bronze Serpent, a type of Christ, were saved. All who did not died physically.
This is an analogy, that like the Israelites looking up at the Bronze Serpent to be saved - sinners need only to look to Him who has been lifted up on the cross to be saved from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin (John 1:12, John 3:16).
John 3:14-15, "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."
And that brings us to the one Scripture verse, that portion of the Living Water which every Christian should know by heart:
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world (you, me, all believers of all the world for all time) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting (eternal, never ending) life."
John 3:17, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
The WORLD is you, me, and all believers from all the world, throughout all history.
Whoever believers HAS ETERNAL LIFE. Think on that. It does not say, "Could have eternal life IF. . . " nor does it say, "Could have eternal life UNTIL. . ."
ETERNAL means never ending - with no qualifications.
1 John 5:11-12, "And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (12) He who has the Son HAS life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
Like I said in the beginning, yesterday we had an exciting Seniors Sunday School Class. Kind of makes you want to be a Senior, right? But not to worry, we do not discriminate because of age. Anyone who wants is always welcome to join us.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on image to enlarge:
No comments:
Post a Comment