According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

THE WAKE UP WONDER

John Chapter 11: 1-54

A TIME OF FRIENDSHIP
John 11:1-6 (ESV)
1  Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2  It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3  So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4  But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6  So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

A TIME OF MISUNDERSTANDING
John 11:7-16 (ESV)
7  Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8  The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9  Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10  But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11  After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12  The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13  Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14  Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15  and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16  So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

A TIME OF SORROW
John 11:17-22 (ESV)
17  Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18  Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19  and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20  So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21  Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

 A TIME OF FAITH
John 11:23-27 (ESV)
23  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24  Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26  and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27  She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

A TIME OF EMOTION
John 11:28-37 (ESV)
28  When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29  And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30  Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31  When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32  Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33  When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34  And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35  Jesus wept. 36  So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37  But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

A TIME OF AUTHORITY
John 11:38-44 (ESV)
38  Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
40  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”41  So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”43  When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44  The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

A TIME OF REJECTION
John 11:45-54 (ESV)
45  Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46  but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47  So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49  But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.  50  Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51  He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,    52  and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53  So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. 54  Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

ONE IN UNITY

John Chapter 10: 22-42

THE ENCOUNTER
John 10:22-24 (ESV)
22  At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23  and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
24  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

THE EXPLANATION
John 10:25-30 (ESV)
25  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26  but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30  I and the Father are one.”

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
3  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

THE EVIDENCE
John 10:31-39 (ESV)
31  The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.  32  Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33  The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34  Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35  If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36  do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37  If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38  but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39  Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

Psalm 82:6-7 (ESV)
6  I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
7  nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”

THE ENCOURAGEMENT
John 10:40-42 (ESV)
40  He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.
41  And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”
42  And many believed in him there.

John 17:18-21 (ESV)
18  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20  “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21  that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

THE EXCELLENT SHEPHERD

John Chapter 10: 1-21

THE VOICE OF THE SHEPHERD
John 10:1-6 (ESV)
1  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3  To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  4  When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5  A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6  This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

THE TRUTH OF THE SHEPHERD
John 10:7-10 (ESV)
7  So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8  All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9  I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Ezekiel 34:1-4 (ESV)
1  The word of the LORD came to me: 2  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.         4  The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

THE CARE OF THE SHEPHERD
John 10:11-13 (ESV)
11  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13  He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Ezekiel 34:22-24 (ESV)
22  I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23  And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24  And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

THE SACRIFICE OF THE SHEPHERD
John 10:14-18 (ESV)
14  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17  For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  18  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

THE VIEWS OF THE SHEPHERD
John 10:19-21 (ESV)
19  There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
20  Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
21  Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

AND THE BLIND MAN SAW

John Chapter 9

THE STRANGE REMEDY
John 9:1-7 (ESV)
1  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6  Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7  and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

THE UNKNOWN HEALER
John 9:8-12 (ESV)
8  The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9  Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10  So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11  He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”  12  They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

THE AWKWARD ARGUMENT
John 9:13-17 (ESV)
13  They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14  Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15  So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16  Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17  So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

THE PARENT’S PARADOX
John 9:18-23 (ESV)
18  The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19  and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20  His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21  But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22  (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23  Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

THE BEGGAR’S EXPERIENCE
John 9:24-29 (ESV)
24  So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”      25  He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26  They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27  He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28  And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29  We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

THE TEACHER’S TEACHER
John 9:30-34 (ESV)
30  The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31  We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32  Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34  They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

THE TRUTH’S EXPOSURE
John 9:35-41 (ESV)
35  Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36  He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37  Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38  He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39  Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40  Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41  Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

DISPUTING AGAINST THE TRUTH

John 8: 21-59

ORIGINS AND DESTINIES
John 8:21-30 (ESV)
21  So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22  So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23  He said to them, “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, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” John 25  So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26  I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27  They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28  So Jesus said to them, “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 authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29  And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30  As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

John 1:10-11 (ESV)
10  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  11  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Psalm 116:15 (ESV)
15  Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Acts 2:36-39 (ESV)
36  Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37  Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39  For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV)
9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

ARGUMENT OVER ABRAHAM
John 8:31-40 (ESV)
31  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33  They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34  Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35  The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37  I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38  I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” 39  They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40  but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.

CHILDREN OF THE LIAR
John 8:41-47 (ESV)
41  You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
42  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43  Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46  Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47  Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

GREATEST OF CLAIMS
John 8:48-59 (ESV)
48  The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49  Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50  Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51  Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52  The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53  Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54  Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55  But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56  Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
57  So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
58  Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
59  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 (ESV)
13  But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

COMPASSION, a CLAIM and CONFLICT

John 8: 2-20

COMPASSION
John 8:2-11 (ESV)
2  Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3  The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4  they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5  Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6  This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7  And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8  And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9  But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10  Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11  She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Deuteronomy 22:22 (ESV)
22  “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

 A  CLAIM
John 8:12 (ESV)
12  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 1:4-5 (ESV)
4  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Isaiah 42:6 (ESV)
6  “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

CONFLICT
John 8:13-20 (ESV)
13  So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14  Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16  Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17  In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18  I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19  They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20  These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

THE BREAD OF LIFE

John 6: 22-71

THE DESIRING OF JESUS
John 6:22-29 (ESV)
22  On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23  Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24  So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25  When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
26  Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
27  Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
28  Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
29  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

THE DEMANDING OF JESUS
John 6:30-40 (ESV)
30  So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
31  Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32  Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34  They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

THE DEMEANING OF JESUS
John 6:41-51 (ESV)
41  So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42  They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43  Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45  It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46  not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
47  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48  I am the bread of life. 49  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50  This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

THE DISPUTING WITH JESUS
John 6:52-59 (ESV)
52  The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59  Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)
14  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

THE DEPARTING FROM JESUS
John 6:60-71 (ESV)
60  When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61  But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64  But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65  And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67  So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
69  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
70  Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
71  He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

Isaiah 55:1-3 (ESV)
1  “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

SIGNS OF THE SON

John 6: 1-21

 A TREMENDOUS PLAN
John 6:1-7 (ESV)
1  After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2  And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3  Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4  Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5  Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.
7  Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

Matthew 14:13-16 (ESV)
13  Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.     14  When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15  Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16  But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

A TREMENDOUS PROVISION
John 6:8-11 (ESV)
8  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10  Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.   11  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

Mark 6:39-42 (ESV)
39  Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40  So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41  And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42  And they all ate and were satisfied.

A TREMENDOUS POPULARITY
John 6:12-15 (ESV)
12  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15  Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV)
15  “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

Mark 6:45-47 (ESV)
45  Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46  And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47  And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.

 A TREMENDOUS PERIL
John 6:16-21 (ESV)
¹⁶  When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,
¹⁷  got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
¹⁸  The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.
¹⁹  When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.
²⁰  But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
²¹  Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Mark 6:47-52 (ESV)
47  And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48  And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49  but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50  for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51  And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52  for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

According to John

(Sermon series)

 by Rev. Richard Jones

THE ULTIMATE CLAIM

John 5:19-47

THE FATHER AND THE SON
John 5:19-23 (ESV)
19  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21  For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22  The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23  that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

THE HOUR AND THE VOICE
John 5:24-29 (ESV)
24  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25  “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27  And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28  Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29  and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

THE CLAIM AND THE WITNESSES
John 5:30-40 (ESV)
30  “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31  If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32  There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33  You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34  Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35  He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36  But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37  And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38  and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40  yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

THE TESTIMONY AND THE GUILT
John 5:41-47 (ESV) 
41  I do not receive glory from people. 42  But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43  I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44  How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?45  Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46  For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)
10  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.