John 1

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: “Most truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have paid attention will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because he is the Son of man. Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.

- Hear!

- Pay attention!

- God has given Jesus authority to do judging!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

- So powerful!

- And each relationship between God and men such as Job, Daniel, Samuel and others is special!

- But it can’t be compared to the one between God and Jesus!

- Jesus cannot do a single thing of his own initiative: Do you understand what it means?

- He seeks, not his own will, but the will of his Father: can you believe it?

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: “If I alone bear witness about myself, my witness is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the witness he bears about me is true. You have sent men to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. However, I do not accept the witness from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. That man was a burning and shining lamp, and for a short time you were willing to rejoice greatly in his light.

- John the Baptist bore witness about Jesus!

- Jesus calls him a burning and shining lamp!



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[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: But I have the witness greater than that of John, for the very works that my Father assigned me to accomplish, these works that I am doing, bear witness that the Father sent me.

- But most important, Jesus’ miracles bore witness about Jesus!

- And he made so many again and again!



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[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form, and you do not have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the very one whom he sent.

- Jesus knows God’s voice personally!

- Jesus knows God’s form personally!

- Jesus knows God’s word personally!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: “You are searching the Scriptures because you think that you will have everlasting life by means of them; and these are the very ones that bear witness about me. And yet you do not want to come to me so that you may have life.

- The Bible bears witness about Jesus!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: I do not accept glory from men, but I well know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in the name of my Father, but you do not receive me. If someone else came in his own name, you would receive that one. How can you believe, when you are accepting glory from one another and you are not seeking the glory that is from the only God?

- Have the love of God in ourselves!

- Receive Jesus!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 5: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you have put your hope. In fact, if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe what I say?”

- Moses accuses the Israelites and religious leaders are among them!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6: When they found him across the sea, they said to him: “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them: “Most truly I say to you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate from the loaves and were satisfied. Work, not for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains for everlasting life, which the Son of man will give you; for on this one the Father, God himself, has put his seal of approval.”

- People are usually more interested in their physical needs rather than their spiritual ones!

- When they have too much concern for their physical needs, they forget their spiritual ones!

- By acting that way, they may miss everlasting life!

- It was the case of the Israelites!

- it was not the case of faithful men like Job, Daniel, Samuel and others!

- God remembers men like Job, Daniel, Samuel and other faithful men but he forgot the majority of the Israelites!

- When we look at today’s society, it is easy to understand why!

- And it is not going to change on the contrary!

- That’s why God must clean this world!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6: Jesus said to them: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not get hungry at all, and whoever exercises faith in me will never get thirsty at all. But as I said to you, you have even seen me and yet do not believe. All those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and I will never drive away the one who comes to me; for I have come down from heaven to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose none out of all those whom he has given me, but that I should resurrect them on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who recognizes the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day.”

- Jesus is the bread of life!

- If we pay attention to his teaching we may get everlasting life!

- We must exercise faith in him!

- We must come to him!

- We may have everlasting life!

- If we die, we will be resurrected on the last day!

- But everybody has to play his part!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6: Then the Jews began to murmur about him because he had said: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” And they began saying: “Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” In response Jesus said to them: “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him, and I will resurrect him on the last day.

- Jesus left his position to come down to the earth and died for our sins as a ransom!

- As a consequence, God gave him authority!

- And as he says, he will resurrect those who are faithful on the last day!

- Everything according to God’s will!

- Jesus receives the price for his faithfulness!

- It means the same for those who are faithful!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6:

It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has listened to the Father and has learned comes to me. Not that any man has seen the Father, except the one who is from God; this one has seen the Father. Most truly I say to you, whoever believes has everlasting life. “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness and yet they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and for a fact, the bread that I will give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.”

- Jesus is from God!

- He has seen God!

- He is the bread of life!

- He died for our sins!

- Believing in the value of his sacrifice means everlasting life!

- He is the living bread because through the value of his sacrifice we can access to everlasting life!

- Adam lost perfection and everlasting life!

- Through Jesus’s death we can get them back!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6:

Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I will resurrect him on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in union with me, and I in union with him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It is not as when your forefathers ate and yet died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said these things as he was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum. When they heard this, many of his disciples said: “This speech is shocking; who can listen to it?”

- We speak about Jews!

- They are supposed to know their history!

- They are supposed to know that their forefathers received manna and water from God!

- It was bread from heaven!

- They could survive thanks to this food and this water in the desert!

- They should remember they rejected God after being freed from Egypt by him!

- They should remember they rejected God in front of the promised land!

- In fact, they didn’t trust God and were afraid of the people there!

- So they died in the desert and only the new generation could enter the promised land!

- Thus it is logical that they rejected Jesus and his teaching!

- Today we see the same with the majority of humanity!

- They have the Bible, they have God’s word and yet they don’t know anything!

- They prefer Man’s tradition!

- Thus human history is a constant repetition!

- Then it is always possible to say the responsibility is from the religious leaders or religion or translators or whoever!

- But if man doesn’t make any effort toward God, he will stay away from God!

- Then when Jesus comes, he will say I don’t know him!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6:

- But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were murmuring about this, said to them: “Does this stumble you? What, therefore, if you should see the Son of man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that is life-giving; the flesh is of no use at all. The sayings that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning those who did not believe and the one who would betray him. He went on to say: “This is why I have said to you, no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” Because of this, many of his disciples went off to the things behind and would no longer walk with him.

- Murmuring!

- The spirit is life-giving!

- No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father!

- People had the opportunity to be taught by Jesus!

- They could see his miracles!

- And they were still murmuring!

- Just because they don’t understand something!

- They thought eternal life was not worthwhile!

- Now we get God’s message thanks to the Bible!

- Many don’t care about it!

- Even people who say they are Christians!

- But without it no way!

- Now of course, we need to do our part!

- We need to study and check by ourselves!

- We can’t let others do the job or not!

- Or we can lose everything like the Israelites and the Jews!

- What do we want?

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 6:

- So Jesus said to the Twelve: “You do not want to go also, do you?” Simon Peter answered him: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life. We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them: “I chose you twelve, did I not? Yet one of you is a slanderer.” He was, in fact, speaking of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for this one was going to betray him, although he was one of the Twelve.

- Living means making choices!

- The devil made a choice!

- Eve made a choice!

- Adam made a choice!

- Abel made a choice!

- Cain made a choice!

- The demons made a choice!

- The angels made a choice!

- Noah and the rest of humanity made a choice!

- Which choice are we going to make?

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 7:

- After this Jesus continued traveling about in Galilee, for he did not want to do so in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

- When Jesus was on earth, death was always close to him!

- But he always escaped till the right time!

- But first he had to fulfill his mission and transmit God’s word!

- He chose 12 apostles to keep doing his work!

- In turn, the 12 apostles taught disciples to keep doing his work!

- After his death, Jesus chose Paul to do a special work toward the nations!

- And people keep doing this special work even through corruption!

- Remember only Noah and his family escaped the flood!

- We must always keep it in mind to look for the proper way to serve God!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 7:

- However, the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near. So his brothers said to him: “Leave here and go into Judea, so that your disciples may also see the works you are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he seeks to be known publicly. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” His brothers were, in fact, not exercising faith in him. So Jesus said to them: “My time has not yet arrived, but your time is always at hand. The world has no reason to hate you, but it hates me, because I bear witness about it that its works are wicked. You go up to the festival; I am not yet going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.”

- Some people saw Jesus’ miracles and believed in him!

- Jesus’ brothers didn’t put faith in him because they didn’t want!

- They acted like the Pharisees and scribes!

- We have always the choice!

- It is a personal decision!

- We can’t accuse others!

- We can let others decide and think for us!

- But it is still our personal decision!

- We can see and listen!

- But we can also refuse to do it!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 7:

- So after he told them these things, he remained in Galilee. But when his brothers had gone up to the festival, then he also went up, not openly but in secret. So the Jews began looking for him at the festival and saying: “Where is that man?” And there was a lot of subdued talk about him among the crowds. Some would say: “He is a good man.” Others would say: “He is not. He misleads the crowd.” Of course, no one would speak about him publicly because of fear of the Jews.

- Here we have a good description of the Israelites and the Jews!

- The majority always made the wrong choice!

- And they would keep making the wrong choice generation after generation!

- And we can say the same with mankind!

- But of course, if they never understand, the situation can only deteriorate!

- It is pure logic!

- That’s why Jesus must come to put an end to this society which finds itself in a dead end!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 7:

- When the festival was half over, Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. And the Jews were astonished, saying: “How does this man have such a knowledge of the Scriptures when he has not studied at the schools?” Jesus, in turn, answered them and said: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him who sent me. If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or I speak of my own originality. Whoever speaks of his own originality is seeking his own glory; but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him, this one is true and there is no unrighteousness in him.

- Jesus was always thinking about his mission!

- He was always ready to teach people about God’s word!

- Doing his father’s will!

- Nothing else!

- He wasn’t looking for his own glory but his father’s one!

- There was nothing more important!

- Thus he shows us the way!

- The prize: living forever working with God and doing his will to build a perfect world!

 

[JLG]

Looking for Jesus

John 7:

- Moses gave you the Law, did he not? But not one of you obeys the Law. Why are you seeking to kill me?” The crowd answered: “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you?” In answer Jesus said to them: “One deed I performed, and you are all surprised. For this reason Moses has given you circumcision—not that it is from Moses, but it is from the forefathers—and you circumcise a man on a sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on a sabbath so that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you violently angry at me because I made a man completely well on a sabbath? Stop judging by the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

- Jesus is clear about the Law!

- The Bible is clear about the Israelites and the Jews!

- Daniel prayer to God about the mountains of sins about the israelites and the Jews and the reconstruction of Jerusalem is also clear!

- And God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer saying reconstruction and destruction is also clear!

- Probably too clear thus people do as if they didn’t know about it!