John Bible Study - Lesson 37

John Bible Study - Lesson 37

Read the passage below using the 2 different Bible translations:

John 14:1-14 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God^[a]; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know^[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

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

Jesus, the Way to the Father

14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.^[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?^[b] 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.”

⁵ “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.^[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

⁹ Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. ¹¹ Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

¹² “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. ¹³ You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴ Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

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 His disciples that He has prepared a place for them in Heaven.

·        Jesus also tells them that He will take them there.

·        The disciples are still not sure where Jesus is going.

·        Jesus tells His disciples that He is the way, the truth and the life and the only way to the Father.

·        Phillip asks Jesus to show them the Father and they will be satisfied.

·        Jesus explains that He and the Father are one and that the disciples have seen the Father in Jesus.

·        Jesus tries to help His disciples understand the relationship that He has with the Father.

·        Jesus also points to the work He has been doing which is the power of God working in Him and through Him.

·        Jesus tells the disciples that His followers will do even greater works than He will once He goes to be with the Father.

·        Jesus tells the disciples that they can ask anything in His name and He will do it.

Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

·        Jesus tells His disciples that He is leaving to prepare a permanent dwelling place where they would live with Him forever.

·        Jesus is inviting His disciples to trust Him.

·        What we should take to heart is that every believer has been adopted into God’s family and has been given an invitation to live in God’s House.

·        Jesus promises to return and take His disciples with Him.

·        Jesus fulfilled His purpose on the cross and was resurrected. Jesus will return a second time to take His people home.

Jesus’ Second Coming:

·        Jesus encouraged His listeners to expect His sudden return

·        One of every 20 verses in the New Testament relates to Jesus’ return.

·        According to God’s Word, Jesus will return personally, physically and visibly, and in the same fashion He went up into Heaven.

What will happen When Jesus returns?

·        He will judge and bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

·        He will evaluate the character, personal relationships, thoughts, motivations, words and works of everyone.

·        Even though we will all be judged, those who repent, trust, and believe in Him as Lord and Savior will be condemned.

Romans 8:1 New International Version (NIV)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

·        Everyone who trusts in Jesus can be confident He paid the price for their sins. They have received His grace, forgiveness and eternal life.

·        Jesus tells His disciples that He is the only way to the Father which means there is no other way. This truth revealed by Jesus sets Christianity apart from any other religions or faiths. First of all, we should be grateful God has even prepared one way to salvation. Second, other religions or faiths require works or good deeds on the part of the one seeking favor with their god. For Christians, we rely on Jesus’ work alone to accomplish what we could never do, earn or pay for ourselves. Salvation is in Christ alone, through His grace, through His work, and through His love and willing sacrifice. The Bible teaches that no one is righteous. It is only through Jesus’ righteousness’ that we have eternal life and friendship with God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 3:10 New International Version (NIV)

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;

Romans 3:23 New International Version (NIV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

2 Timothy 1:9 New International Version (NIV)

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

1 Corinthians 1:30 New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁰ God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

Romans 5:19 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man t(Adam) he many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.

Romans 5:10-11 The Message (MSG)

^9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!

·        Through Jesus we can know the Father.

·        Jesus reveals God perfectly to us.

·        To see Jesus is to see God.

Jesus claims equality with God: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

Mark 14:60-64 New International Version (NIV)

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death.

Evidence of Jesus’ equality with God:

·        Jesus’ teachings, unequaled claims, authority of His Words

·        Jesus’ miracles: for example, calming the storm, feeding thousands, raising Lazarus from the dead, healing those physically and spiritually ill

·        Jesus’ disciples doing the work He has called them to do which includes the spread of the gospel.

·        Answered prayer in Jesus’ name

·        Jesus’ authority to forgive and to save

·        Jesus’ prophetic words

·        Jesus fulling the prophecy of the Messiah

Jesus is God’s Son:

John 3:16-17 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus’ identity and equality with God revealed:

John 1:1-5 New International Version (NIV)

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome^[a] it.

John 1:9-14 New International Version (NIV)

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God’s confirmation of Jesus identity:

Matthew 17:5 New International Version (NIV)

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

·        Jesus says we will do even greater works than He

We have been commissioned by Jesus to share the gospel:

Matthew 28:18-20 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Believers receive the Holy Spirit and receive the power and authority to carry the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth:

Acts 1:8 New International Version (NIV)

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

·        Jesus says that anything we ask in His name He will do:

Praying in Jesus’ name means praying with His authority and asking God the Father to act upon our prayers because we come in the name of His Son, Jesus. Praying in Jesus' name means the same thing as praying according to the will of God.

1 John 5:14-15 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Praying in Jesus’ name is praying for things that will honor and glorify Jesus:

Saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer is not a magic formula. If what we ask for or say in prayer is not for God’s glory and according to His will, saying “in Jesus’ name” is meaningless. Genuinely praying in Jesus' name and for His glory is what is important, not attaching certain words to the end of a prayer. It is not the words in the prayer that matter, but the purpose behind the prayer. Praying for things that are in agreement with God’s will is the essence of praying in Jesus’ name. (Excerpt from GotQuestions.org)

·        Prayer is a major part of the spiritual discipline of the Christian life:

Matthew 18:19-20New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Ephesians 6:18-19 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

James 5:16 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

1 Thessalonians 5:17New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ pray continually,

·        Therefore, be a prayer warrior, continue daily to ask, seek and knock:

Matthew 7:7-8 New International Version (NIV)

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

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

·        Live a prayer filled life.

·        Trust Jesus when He tells you about what He will do for His people.

·        Live a life filled with praise, honor and worship of God.

·        Make your identity in Christ over any position or status you desire.

·        Make your requests known to God.

·        Surrender your burdens to Jesus.

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 believe Jesus has prepared a place for you?

·        Do you know where you are going?

·        Do you have confidence you have been saved?

·        Do you trust Jesus when He says He is the way, and the truth, and the life?

·        Do you believe Jesus is the only way to the Father?

·        Would Jesus lie to you?

Have a great week…………….Dave