John Bible Study - Lesson 24

John Bible Study - Lesson 24

Read the passage below using the 2 different Bible translations:

John 8:12-30 New International Version (NIV)

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³ The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied.²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

John 8:12-30 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus, the Light of the World

¹² Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

¹³ The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. ¹⁵ You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. ¹⁶ And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷ Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. ¹⁸ I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.”

¹⁹ “Where is your father?” they asked.

Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” ²⁰ Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.

The Unbelieving People Warned

²¹ Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

²² The people asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

²³ Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. ²⁴ That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they demanded.

Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.”²⁷ But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father.

²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. ²⁹ And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.

Note:

Here are the 3 questions for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the questions to help you understand the passage. Answer the questions first yourself before you look at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask God to help you understand what you are reading.

3 questions to answer:

1.    Content: What is this passage about?

2.    Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

3.    Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

Answers to the questions above and some background:

Content: What is this passage about?

·    Jesus tells the people about the light He offers that will lead the people out of darkness.

·        The Pharisees dispute Jesus’ claims.

·        Jesus validates His own claims and backs it up with the Father’s witness.

·        Jesus was not arrested because His time had still not come.

·        Jesus tells the people He is going away.

·        The people do not understand what Jesus means when He says He is going away.

·        Jesus tells the people that they will die in their sins if they don’t believe in Him.

·        The people want to understand who Jesus is but are unable.

·      Jesus tells the people that when they see Him on the Cross crucified that they will finally understand who He is.

·        Jesus tells the people His work and obedience pleases the Father.

·        Jesus reminds the people that the Father who sent Him is with Him.

·        Many who heard Jesus’ teaching believed in Him.

Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

·        Jesus is the light of the world: Jesus was claiming that He is the exclusive source of spiritual light.

·        Jesus is the only source of true spiritual light and truth.

John 1:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT)

Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God,
 and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. ⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it. ⁶ God sent a man, John the Baptist, ⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. ⁸ John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. ⁹ The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. ¹¹ He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. ¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John 14:6 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

·        The Pharisees continue to discredit Jesus in order to hold onto their power over the Jewish people

·        The Pharisees were unable to connect God the Father to Jesus the Son even though God Himself called Jesus His son

·        Jesus’ claim that He is God’s Son  and was sent by God is confirmed by God Himself

Mark 9:7 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

Luke 3:21-22 New International Version (NIV)

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

·        According to the Jewish law there must be at least 2 witnesses to verify that something is true. In this case Jesus, God the Father and John The Baptist are the witnesses. Jesus claimed to be God’s Son and God confirmed Jesus was His Son. Jesus was sent by God to pay for our sin. John the Baptist confirmed that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. The proof is that Jesus did pay for our sin and the evidence can be found in the transformation of so many people into followers of Jesus. The Proof is the Cross and Resurrection recorded by the Gospel writers who had firsthand knowledge and many witnesses to confirm what they saw and heard. The Bible is also full of prophecy that tells us that God would send a Redeemer and Jesus fits that mold perfectly.   

John 8:17 New International Version (NIV)

 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.

·        Jesus was not arrested at that time due to the fact God had a different timeline and is Sovereign over all things.

·        God is sovereign over our timeline as well:

Proverbs 16:9 New International Version (NIV)

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

·        God appointed the time when Jesus would be arrested and crucified. When that time came Jesus did not avoid getting arrested

John 18:1-8 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Arrested

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”

·        Jesus tells the people He was going away but they could not understand what He meant

·        Jesus explains that unless He goes away that they will die in their sins. Jesus was talking about His work on the Cross, His Crucifixion where Jesus would pay for all our sins. Also, Jesus would ascend back to heaven after the Resurrection and then return on a day in the future appointed by God.

·        Jesus confirms His claim that He is the Messiah, The Son of God, the One who was sent by God to save them from their sins

·        Jesus explains that once He is crucified they will understand who He is.

Note: The role of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the truth about who Jesus is and what His work would and did accomplish. After the events of the Cross, Resurrection, and Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would come and indwell in Believers, many people continue to this day to become followers of Jesus.

In other words, they understand who Jesus is and what His work accomplished.

John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 1:29 New International Version (NIV)

John Testifies About Jesus

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

·        Continue to study God’s Word and apply it to your life

·        Jesus’ claim that He is the light of the world can be seen in the transformation of those whose life is in Christ. So if you are a believer continue to testify how Jesus’s light led you out of darkness.

·        All believers are witness to Jesus’ light

·        Continue to engage the Holy Spirit in every aspect of your life.

Don’t forget:

John’s main purpose in writing this Gospel:

·        To tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles

·        The events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life

John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Questions to ponder:

·        Do you struggle to identify with and follow Jesus based on pressure from people who mock you for not having a secular worldview?

·        Will you contend for the faith, stand firm in your devotion to God, and take on the challenges and persecution from the secular world? 

·        Ask Jesus to shine the light on areas in your life that you are not following Him?

·        Jesus set out to please God in every way. Will you do the same?

Have a great week…………….Dave