A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

In part 1, The Seven Miracles In John, I showed how John selected these seven miracles specifically for their ability to help us believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be and that by believing, we might have eternal life.

In addition to these seven miracles, John’s gospel contains seven “I am” statements.  Their focus is on what happens after we become believers. You can call them part 2 of John’s underlying message to the Church. In this study, we’ll look at these seven “I am” statements to see what they’ll tell us. Here’s the first one.

1. The Bread of Life

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35).

Jesus had recently fed the 5000. Incredibly, some were still asking for a miraculous sign to help them believe He was who He claimed to be. They brought up the manna their forefathers had eaten in the wilderness (Exodus 16:13-18), and that established the context for this statement.  I believe Jesus was saying the manna was meant to be a model of the Messiah. Whoever partakes of Him will never again know spiritual hunger. Like the manna, everyone who seeks Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7-8), but each of us has to find Him for ourselves. No one else can receive Him for us, nor can we receive Him for anyone else. We all get an amount sufficient for our salvation. No one is lacking, none of Him is wasted.

As for our thirst, remember how Jesus told the woman at the well that the water He offered would cure her thirst forever. Pointing to Jacob’s well, before which they were standing, He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

And then, on the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (John 7:37-39).

The Psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1). In Jesus, our spiritual hunger is satisfied, and our spiritual thirst is quenched. Once we have the Holy Spirit, our search for spiritual fulfillment comes to an end, and we never need any other sustenance. The God-shaped hole in our heart is finally filled.

2. The Light of The World

“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’” (John 8:12).

Literally, this means that those who join Jesus as one of His followers will not be ignorant of spiritual matters but will have the power of understanding, especially of the spiritual truth that brings eternal life. When we take the time to learn and apply these truths in faith, we discover that the old adage is true. Whatever the spiritual question, Jesus is the answer.

Are you feeling downtrodden or discouraged? Overcome by the worries of life?

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus…. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:4-7, 19).

Do you carry a burden of guilt because of your sins?

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Do you have money problems?

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38). “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor. 9:11).

Or health problems?

“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:14-16).

I’ll say it again. Whatever the spiritual question, Jesus is the answer.

3. The Gate

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture” (John 10:9).

This is a reference to the Kingdom and recalls the words of  Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in green pasture.” Salvation is found through Jesus; He is the gate to the Kingdom, and no one can enter except through Him (John 3:3, John 14:6). Having entered through Him, we will have the freedom to come and go as we please, dwelling in a state of peace in the midst of plenty. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6).

4. The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

No one expects sheep to be responsible for themselves. Owners hire shepherds for that purpose. A shepherd’s job is to accept responsibility for the safety and well-being of his flock. Most shepherds only take that to the point where it would threaten their personal safety, rightly deciding that their life is worth more than that of a sheep. A few would be willing to risk their lives to protect their sheep, but our Shepherd knowingly and willingly died to save us because there was no other way.

5. The Resurrection and The Life

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

This is an amazing statement. The Lord had already said that whoever believes in Him would not perish but would have eternal life (John 3:16). Here, he provided more detail, saying that even though a believer experiences physical death, he will still have life. He was referring to the resurrection of those who die in faith. And then He said there would be some who would never die but would pass from this life directly into the next one. If we didn’t already know about the rapture, we wouldn’t see this, but since we do, we can understand that He was talking about that one generation who will be alive when He comes for the Church and will receive eternal life without dying first. And once again the Lord confirmed that the single qualification for eternal life is to believe that His death paid the entire price for our sins.

6. The Way, The Truth, and The Life

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

There is no other way into the presence of God than by accepting the Lord’s death as payment in full for our sins. As Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the only remedy God has provided for man’s sin problem. He is the only way to eternal life. This is the truth of God’s Word.

7. The Vine

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

It’s important to understand that salvation is not a fruit-bearing event, so in this statement, Jesus was talking about our life after we’re saved. Of course, a non-believer cannot bear fruit, and even after we are saved, believers are not automatically fruitful. But if we yield our life to Him (Romans 12:1-2) and respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit He sent to guide us (John 14:26), we can bear much fruit.

If not, our lives will be unfruitful because, without Him, we can do nothing of spiritual value. We’ll still be saved, but we’ll be of no more use to the work of the Kingdom than the unfruitful branches the gardener discards at pruning time. Paul confirmed this in 1 Cor 3:12-15. The unfruitful believer will be saved but only as one escaping through the flames.

Fruitfulness is not a matter of success or failure from a worldly standpoint. It’s a matter of motive. Many of us will see some of our greatest accomplishments burn in the fires of judgment because we achieved them with wrong motives, like self-satisfaction, or recognition from others, or even a desire to “make points” with God. Only those things that are prompted by the Holy Spirit and where our only motive is gratitude for all we’ve been given will survive. “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).

In summary, let’s put each of these seven “I am” statements in capsule form.

• Statement 1 tells us that Jesus is the One who spiritually sustains us.
• In statement 2, we learn that through Him we gain spiritual understanding and wisdom for living.
• Statement 3 explains that He has given us free and unlimited access to His Kingdom.
• Statement 4 shows how He did this by paying our entrance fee with His life.
• In statement 5, we learn that whether we die before the rapture or are taken alive in it, He has guaranteed our eternal life with God.
• Statement 6 explains that He is the only one who can do this for us.
• Statement 7 reveals that for the balance of our life on Earth, the things we do in His strength, out of gratitude for what He’s done for us, are the only things that matter.

http://gracethrufaith.com

(Jack Kelley went home to be with the Lord in 2015. His wife, Samantha, continues to maintain his website.)

 

 

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

In the past, I’ve explained the need for four gospels and the tremendous increase in understanding we can gain by comparing events from the different perspectives of each (read The Four Faces of Jesus). In this study, we’ll focus on the unique character of John’s Gospel.

Due to his extensive use of symbolism, John’s Gospel, written to the church, can be the most intriguing. Everything he recorded in his gospel actually happened, but he arranged and described them to convey additional truths. Sometimes, he even rearranged the order of events to underscore (emphasize) this additional truth. John 2 is an excellent example of this. He placed the cleansing of the Temple right after the wedding at Cana to show that the Lord came to create an intimate personal relationship with His church (as in a marriage), not to fix a broken religion.

The focus of John’s gospel is the Lord’s Judean ministry, and really only the last part of that. He devoted most of nine chapters (John 12-20) to the Lord’s last week and used one-third of the 879 verses to describe His last 24 hours. The first 11 chapters define the Lord’s ministry through John’s selective use of 7 miracles, and we’ll use them to show how John’s Gospel contains more than meets the eye.

Miracle 1: Water Into Wine (John 2:1-11)

This one is misunderstood by most and yet results in the disciples putting their faith in the Lord. “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed His Glory, and the disciples put their faith in Him” (John 2:11). It seems so insignificant when compared to the opening miracles in the other gospels, which involved either casting out demons or curing leprosy.

This miracle took place because an embarrassing discovery had been made. A wedding banquet Jesus was attending was in full swing when the servants suddenly realized they were out of wine. His mother, who was also there, asked Him to help. The Lord had six empty jars of stone filled with water, which He then turned into wine. The master of the banquet proclaimed the wine Jesus had made to be superior to the wine they had served earlier, saying they had saved the best for last.

Look at the symbolism: These six stone jars normally held water used for ceremonial cleansing, an important part of Old Covenant life. Now, they contained wine, which is often associated with the New Covenant due to the Lord’s Supper.

What’s more, the wine these jars now contained was superior to the wine the wedding guests had been drinking before, just as the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). This miracle symbolized nothing less than the Mission of the Messiah; changing the empty way of man’s religion into a living, joyful, relationship with the Lord, as demonstrated by the wedding celebration. (You can read more about this here.)

Miracle 2: Healing the Official’s Son (John 4:43-54)

Here’s an act of God’s Grace, pure and simple. There’s no indication of the official’s nationality or background, his religious conviction, or his worthiness—only his faith.  He had heard of Jesus, and His miraculous power, and begged Him to come and heal his dying son. Jesus didn’t go with him but simply told the man his son would live. The man took Jesus at His word and departed for home. The next day, while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his son had recovered. From their discussion, he learned that his son had been made well from the very time he had spoken with Jesus. Because of this, He and all his household became believers, saved by grace through faith.

Miracle 3: The Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9)

Tradition holds that an angel periodically stirred the waters at the Pool of Bethesda. The first one into the water when that happened was healed. Many people who were sick or disabled waited there by the pool day after day for a chance to be healed. But a cripple can’t get himself to the pool in time. This man had been crippled for 38 years and had repeatedly tried and failed. Then Jesus came along and healed him.

I believe this man’s predicament demonstrates the poverty of the Law, which was never intended to heal us of our infirmities (physical and spiritual) but to show us our need for a Savior. It demonstrates that we’re hopeless and helpless without Him.

He was at the very edge of healing, but all of his unsuccessful efforts to get into the pool had only made it obvious that his infirmity was preventing him from being healed. In the same way, the Law leaves us at the very edge of salvation, but our unsuccessful efforts to keep it only make it obvious that our sinfulness will prevent us from being saved. Just like the cripple needed someone to heal him, we need someone to save us.

Miracle 4: The Feeding of the 5000 (John 6:1-5)

This is perhaps the best known of all the Lord’s miracles and the only one before the resurrection that is recorded in all four gospels. A large crowd had followed Jesus into a remote location, and Jesus could see they would need to be fed. But the men alone numbered 5,000, and adding the women and children could have more than doubled that number. Andrew found a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, and Jesus multiplied it into a satisfying meal for everyone, with enough left over to fill 12 baskets.

This is the practical demonstration of the Lord’s promise that if we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, all our other needs will be met as well (Matt. 6:31-33). But there’s more in view here than just our physical needs. We who believe in Jesus will never again feel that emptiness; that tells us there’s more to life than just having our physical needs met. This is what Jesus meant when He said:

“I AM the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). (You can read more about this here.)

Miracle 5: Walking on the Water (John 6:16-25)

The 5th miracle is also well-known to everyone familiar with the Lord’s ministry. The disciples had labored all night long to row only about halfway across the Sea of Galilee (about 3 miles) when the Lord passed by them—walking on the water! When they realized it was Jesus, they let him into the boat and immediately reached their destination. Without Him, they were struggling just to make headway, but with Him in their midst, the struggle was over. (You can read more about this here.)

Miracle 6: Healing The Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)

A man had been blind from birth. Jesus made some mud, put it on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off. When the man did as Jesus instructed, he could see.

While Jesus performed this miracle early in Chapter 9, the balance of the narrative clearly (and sometimes comically) shows how much more spiritual discernment this blind beggar had than the learned officials of the religion, who had studied all their lives. In their experience, no one had ever opened the eyes of a man born blind, and they were determined to discredit the lowly beggar, especially since this event took place on the Sabbath. A lengthy interrogation followed, where the beggar put the religious experts to shame, and they ended up throwing him out. Afterward, Jesus found him and introduced Himself. The man became a believer and worshiped him.

Jesus said He came so the blind would see and those who see would become blind. When the Pharisees asked if He thought they were blind, He said, “If you were blind you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:39-41).

As it concerns your eternity, it doesn’t matter what you claim to know about Jesus. What matters is whether you know Jesus.

Miracle 7: Raising Lazarus from The Dead (John 11:1-44)

The last miracle John recorded before the resurrection shows the fulfillment of our Lord’s promise to all who believe in His name, as He called Lazarus out of the grave and restored him from death to life. The text shows that even though Jesus knew Lazarus was sick, He actually waited until Lazarus was dead and buried before He responded to the sisters’ call for help. He did this so He could bring Lazarus back to life. It was an unmistakable model of the resurrection of the believing dead that contains the tiniest hint of the rapture. I don’t think people who don’t already know about the rapture see this, but those who do can take comfort in this faint hint contained in John 11:25-26.

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26).

What’s The Point?

Near the end of his gospel account, John said, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).

This tells us he selected these seven miracles specifically for their ability to help us believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be and that by believing, we might have eternal life. So, what do these particular miracles show us that would help us believe?

• Miracle 1 shows He came to take us from the stone-cold and empty way of man’s religion into a living and joyful relationship with Him.
• Miracle 2 shows we are saved by grace through faith.
• Miracle 3 shows our own futile works are insufficient to save ourselves. We need Him to save us.
• Miracle 4 is a demonstration of His supernatural care and provision for those who seek Him.
• Miracle 5 shows that because of His miraculous power, we can easily accomplish things through Him that would be all but impossible on our own.
• Miracle 6 reveals that if we’ll allow it, He can cause even the lowliest person born spiritually blind to see and believe.
• Miracle 7 is a promise that all who believe in Him will live even though they die, and those who live and believe will never die.

I purposely confined my commentary on these miracles to what I believe John was trying to convey to us in his gospel. Some of these miracles are contained in one or more of the other gospels, where you might see details John didn’t include or where the emphasis might be a little different. Matthew’s account of Jesus walking on the water is a good example (Matt. 14:22-33). I encourage you to read the different accounts of all these miracles to get the whole story. Selah.

http://gracethrufaith.com

(Jack Kelley went home to be with the Lord in 2015. His wife, Samantha, continues to maintain his website.)