Proud to be TJ's man

Jesus was “crossing the Rubicon”!

As I approach our text, I am reminded of a story circulating among the outdoor types, which goes something like this. In the mountains of the Northwest, a man was sitting beside a campfire while he roasted some kind of bird over the fire with eager anticipation. About this time, a forest ranger came upon the camp and asked the camper what he was preparing for dinner. The camper replied that it was a seagull. A frown came over the ranger’s face as he informed this fellow that it was against the law to kill that particular bird, and that he would have to give him a citation.

The camper responded by telling the ranger how he had lost his way and had consumed all of his food. In desperation, he had managed to kill this seagull to maintain his strength. After listening sympathetically, the forest ranger told the fellow he would let him go this time with just a warning, and the camper thanked the ranger profusely. Just as the ranger was about to leave, he asked the camper, “Just out of curiosity, what does seagull taste like?” Thinking for a moment, the camper responded, “Well, I would place it somewhere between a spotted owl and a bald eagle.”

Needless to say, this camper’s words got him into even more trouble. He would have been better off not to say anything at all.

Some may think our Lord’s words in our text are something like this camper’s statement. At the outset, Jesus is deemed guilty of breaking the Sabbath, and of instructing the healed paralytic to do likewise. But after our Lord defends His actions to the Jewish authorities,[1] He is considered guilty of an even greater offense—claiming to be equal with God.

Our text is our Lord’s response to the accusations made against Him. Some may be tempted to think it is less than spectacular, for no debate is actually recorded, and there is no interchange between our Lord and the Jewish authorities. Only our Lord’s words are recorded.[2] Our text contains a three-fold use of the (King James) expression, “Verily, verily, I say unto you …” (verses 19, 24, 25).[3] Surely this tells us that the words spoken here are vitally important, both to be heard and to be heeded.

Listen to what others have said about our text:

“Nowhere else in the Gospels do we find our Lord making such a formal, systematic, orderly, regular statement of His own unity with the Father, His divine commission and authority, and the proofs of His Messiahship, as we find in this discourse” (Ryle).[4]

Ryle adds: ‘To me it seems one of the deepest things in the Bible.’ Similarly Phillips in his translation inserts a sub-heading ‘Jesus makes His tremendous claim.’[5]

It is, as Barclay says, ‘an act of the most extraordinary and unique courage … He must have known that to speak like this was to court death. It is His claim to be King; and He knew well that the man who listened to words like this had only two alternatives—the listener must either accept Jesus as the Son of God, or he must hate Him as a blasphemer and seek to destroy Him. There is hardly any passage where Jesus appeals for men’s love and defies men’s hatred as He does here.’[6]

Our Lord’s words are a bold stroke. If Jesus wishes to avoid trouble with the Jews, this is the time for Him to deny, to “clarify,” or to minimize, His previous claim to be equal with God. Instead, He makes His claim even more emphatically.

This is one of the great texts in the Gospel of John and in the entire New Testament. The truths set down here are the very foundation of the gospel and of our faith.

By 49 B.C., Julius Caesar had become the most powerful man in Rome. For two years he had been away from the city, fighting warring tribes and demonstrating his tremendous skills as a general and an administrator. Much to the dismay of his political opponents, his time in Gaul had only made Caesar more powerful back in Rome.

When Caesar was ordered home by the Roman Senate, he became aware that his enemies were trying to destroy him. To return home he would have to cross the Rubicon River and leave his loyal army behind. For years that river had served as an absolute boundary, beyond which a general could not bring his army.

Because his enemies would be allowed to keep their armies, Caesar knew that to enter Rome alone would be walking into a death sentence. Consequently, he made the bold decision to bring his army across the Rubicon and with him to Rome!

When word arrived in the city that Caesar had “crossed the Rubicon,” everyone knew that civil war had begun. He was acting in defiance of the Roman Senate, and his enemies quickly fled the city. Within two months, Julius Caesar had crushed all opposition and had all of Italy under his power.

Because of this story, “crossing the Rubicon” is an expression used even today to describe a decision that cannot be revoked or a decisive action that cannot be changed. We must not skip this section in our haste to find another narrative section, because something of critical importance was happening here: Jesus was “crossing the Rubicon”!

  Preceding Christ’s remarkable of verses 17-18 was the miraculous healing of a man who had been sick for 38 years! But the Jews’ reactions scandalized His merciful act because it took place on the Sabbath. In His response, Jesus claims equality with the Father and incurs a whirlwind of religious wrath!

This is the first of the long discourses of this gospel. When we read passages like this we must remember that John is not seeking so much to give us the words that Jesus spoke as the things which Jesus meant. He was writing around 100 A.D., so he had some 70 years to think about Jesus and the wonderful things which Jesus said.

1. He claimed to be Equal with God. (5:19-21)

Throughout the passage, Jesus never refers to God generically as our Father. It is always MY Father or the Father. Instead of denying their accusation, He endorsed it!  If today a man made this kind of a claim, we would conclude that he was joking or mentally disturbed. Jesus was certainly not insane, and neither was He a liar!

* Jesus claimed to be one with His Father in His works— (“I’m the giver of life” vs. 19-20).

“Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. {20} For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.”

Here we come to the first of the long discourses of the Fourth Gospel.  When we read passages like this we must remember that John is not seeking so much to give us the words that Jesus spoke as the things which Jesus meant.  He was writing somewhere round about a.d. 100.  For seventy years he had thought about Jesus and the wonderful things which Jesus had said. 

* Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father in executing judgment—(“I am the final judge” vs. 21, 26).

“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.  {26} For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.”

To orthodox Jew, Jehovah God was “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25); and no one dared to apply that august title to himself. But Jesus did! By claiming to be the Judge, He claimed to be God.

Most people mistakenly believe that God the Father is the final judge of mankind. But this verse, along with several others, indicates that Jesus will be the judge:

Acts 10:42: “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”

2 Corinthians 5:11: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

 * Jesus claimed to be equal to the Father in honor—(vs. 22-23).

 “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, {23} that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him…. {27} And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”

He claimed that there are valid witnesses who support His claim to Deity (5:30-47).

Jesus calls six witnesses to testify on His behalf.  We might seek to put these verses in a courtroom scene…Jesus, in essence, is on trial…but really it’s the hearers who are on trial!

The word “witness” is a key word in John’s gospel; it is used 47 times. Jesus did bear witness to Himself but He knew they would not accept it; so He called in other witnesses.

WITNESS #1: HIS WITNESS CONCERNING HIMSELF (vs. 30-31).

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. {31} “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.”

WITNESS #2: THE WITNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST (vs. 32-35).

“There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. {33} “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. {34} Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. {35} John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.”

WITNESS #3: THE WITNESS OF HIS WORK (S) (vs. 36).

“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.”

Remember Nicodemus in John 3:2? “He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Remember the brothers of our Lord in John 7:3? “Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.”

Remember the Jewish leaders in Acts 4:16 when describing the apostles? “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.”

Jesus had used His works to convince the disciples of John the Baptist, who had been put in prison. Matthew 11:1-6: “After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. {2} When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples {3} to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” {4} Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: {5} The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. {6} Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”

WITNESS #4: THE WITNESS OF THE FATHER (vs. 37-38).

“And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, {38} nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.”

Verse 37 is a connecting verse between Jesus’ miracles (vs. 36) and the scriptures (vs. 38-39). The direct testimony of the Father is referred to here, and it’s unsure if Jesus was talking about the three voices from heaven:

– at the baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22)

– at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:5-6; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35)

– after the triumphal entry (John 12:28)

The gospel of John does not even give two of them!…and verse 37 says that “you have never heard his voice nor seen his form.”

WITNESS #5: THE WITNESS OF THE SCRIPTURES (vs. 39-44).

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, {40} yet you refuse to come to me to have life. {41} “I do not accept praise from men, {42} but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. {43} I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. {44} How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God ?”

At least 18 unmistakable references to the Old Testament are found in John. There is little doubt that Christ was coming and that He had now come.

The practice of the Jews at that time was to study each word minutely, and to build absurd mystical and allegorical interpretations around those word studies. As a result, they rejected the Messiah, because their minds were made up as to what the Messiah must be before they read the Scriptures

   They were BIBLIOTRISTS (Bible worshippers)! They worshipped the words of the Bible, but not the Christ of the Bible.

WITNESS #6: THE WITNESS OF MOSES (vs. 45-47).

“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. {46} If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. {47} But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?””

* There are two more witnesses which we have, which were not available for the Jews.

– the Holy Spirit (15:26) dwelling within each Christian

– the witness of individual apostles (15:27), who would be ready to speak on His behalf only after being empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)

Certainly, today, we are without excuse!

[1] In the Greek text, John simply refers to these folks as “the Jews.” From the context, we would infer they are the “Jewish religious authorities.”

[2] This is not at all to suggest that the Jews said nothing. It is to say that John did not find their words profitable for us, and thus included only our Lord’s words.

[3] In the NET Bible this expression is rendered, “I tell you the solemn truth.”

[4] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971), p. 311.

[5] Morris, p. 311, fn. 52.

[6] Morris, p. 311, fn. 53.

The first period in the life of Jesus recorded in this gospel contained His claims. He Himself presented some of them through an explicit avowal of Messiahship, some were implicit in the titles ascribed to Him by His friends, and still others were latent in the miracles that He performed.

He claimed nothing less for Himself than Deity. He demanded nothing less from His followers than obedient faith.

Between chapters 4 and 5:1, the following incidents occurred in Jesus’ life:

1. Returned to Nazareth, taught in the synagogue, and was rejected (Luke 4).
2. Called four fishermen the second time, and healed many (Matt. 4; Mark 1; Luke 5).
3. Made the Galilean tour among crowds (Matt. 9).
4. Healed a leper (Matt. 8).
5. Healed a paralytic (Matt. 9).
6. Called Matthew (Matt. 9).
7. Ran into controversies about eating and fasting (Matt. 9; Mark 2; Luke 5).

Because of His claims, He met opposition. Chapters 6 and 7 will show the development of this opposition in debate and controversy before it broke into deadly conflict.

The subject matter in this Period of Controversy was centered around two events: the healing of the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda and the feeding of 5,000 men in Galilee.

These two differ in character, in scope, in locality, and in response:

– One was negative, for it removed the handicap of a long standing disease. The other was positive, for it provided nourishment for the healthy crowd.

– One pertained to one individual, the other to 5,000 men.

– One took place in Galilee, the other in Jerusalem.

– One evoked the enmity of the Jews; the other brought acclamation of the multitude.

BOTH PRODUCED CONTROVERSY!

* THE NEED (5:1-5)

“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. {2} Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. {3} Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [and they waited for the moving of the waters. {4} From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.]  {5} One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years

There were three Jewish feasts which were feasts of obligation– Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Every adult male Jew who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem was legally bound to attend them.

It’s most likely that this feast was Pentecost, since the events of John 6 occur when the Passover was near.  The Passover was in mid- April, and Pentecost was seven weeks later.

Make this special note: Verses 3b and 4 are not found in the latest translations of the original Greek…they aren’t even found in most translations except as a footnote. They were added in the later centuries to explain why the sick were gathered, and listed the superstitious feelings of the people.

Beneath the pool was a subterranean stream which every now and again bubbled up and disturbed the waters. The belief  was that the disturbance was caused by an angel, and that the first person to get into the pool after the troubling of the water would be healed from any illness from which he was suffering.

For 38 years, this pathetic man has lain here in the poverty, the repulsion, and the despair. To us this is mere superstition.  But it was the kind of belief which was spread all over the world in ancient days and which still exists in certain places.

Suddenly, the waters of the pool begin to boil, or bubble, or froth in some way, and pandemonium breaks out. Only one person will be healed per “stirring”—the first one into the pool. Every ailing person there at the pool is in competition with the rest of the multitude who are also hoping for a healing. If and when the waters are actually troubled, no one dares to tell anyone else, for fear they might reach the pool first. Can you imagine the pushing, shoving, and tripping that takes place as every ailing person desperately strives to be the first into the water?

What a pathetic sight, to see cripples crawling, hopping, rolling, clawing their way to the water’s edge. What chaos there would be! And then, even if one person was healed, it would not be the most needy person, because the one with the smallest ailment would be the most likely one to reach the pool first. The most needy person would be the least likely to get into the water first. Therefore, the least needy would probably be the one cured, while all the rest struggle to get out of the pool, get back to their “stations,” and await their next chance. What a very pathetic scene.

In this story we see very clearly the conditions under which the power of Jesus operated.  He gave his orders to men and, in proportion as they tried to obey, power came to them.

(i)  Jesus began by asking the man if he wanted to be cured.  It was not so foolish a question as it may sound.  The man had waited for thirty-eight years and it might well have been that hope had died and left behind a passive and dull despair.  In his heart of heart the man might be well content to remain an invalid for, if he was cured, he would have to shoulder all the burden of making a living.  There are invalids for whom invalidism is not unpleasant, because someone else does all the working and all the worrying.  But this man’s response was immediate.  He wanted to be healed, though he did not see how he ever could be since he had no one to help him.

The first essential towards receiving the power of Jesus is to have intense desire for it.  Jesus says:  “Do you really want to be changed?”  If in our inmost hearts we are well content to stay as we are, there can be no change for us.

(ii)  Jesus went on to tell the man to get up.  It is as if he said to him:  “Man, bend your will to it and you and I will do this thing together!”  The power of God never dispenses with the effort of man.  Nothing is truer than that we must realize our own helplessness; but in a very real sense it is true that miracles happen when our will and God’s power co-operate to make them possible.

(iii)  In effect Jesus was commanding the man to attempt the impossible.  “Get up!”  he said.  His bed would simply be a light stretcher-like frame-the Greek is krabbatos, a colloquial word which really means a pallet-and Jesus told him to pick it up and carry it away.  The man might well have said with a kind of injured resentment that for thirty-eight years his bed had been carrying him and there was not much sense in telling him to carry it.  But he made the effort along with Christ-and the thing was done.

(iv)  Here is the road to achievement.  There are so many things in this world which defeat us.  When we have intensity of desire and determination to make the effort, hopeless though it may seem, the power of Christ gets its opportunity, and with him we can conquer what for long has conquered us.

* THE MIRACLE (5:6-9a)

“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” {7} “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” {8} Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” {9} At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.”

Not only would this man’s plight be seemingly hopeless, but the man himself seemed resigned to his fate and had accepted the inevitable. Verse 7 is a further explanation of their superstition: the people believed the angels stirred the water, and the first one in would be healed.

Just think: 38 years of misery, shame, embarrassment and despair; in a split second, it was all history!

No matter how long we have been struggling with some particular sin or situation from our past, Jesus can change it! The real question is: do you wish to get well?

* THE CONFRONTATION (5:9b-17)

“The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, {10} and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

Undoubtedly, the witnesses around the pool were bustling with excitement. But the miracle leaves the legalists bristling with anger. When they should have been on their knees in praise, the only thing these Pharisees can do is pull out their principle-book and quote condemnation, chapter and verse.

The law said simply that the Sabbath Day must be different from other days and that on it neither a man nor his servants nor his animals must work; the Jews set out 39 different classifications of work, one of which was that it consisted in carrying a burden.

The Rabbis of Jesus’s day solemnly argued that a man was sinning if:

– he carried a needle in his robe

– if he wore artificial teeth or his wooden leg

– if a woman wore a broach

The authorities levelled their accusations against Jesus.  The verbs in verse 18 are imperfect tense, which describes repeated action in past time.  Clearly this story is only a sample of what Jesus habitually did.

His defense was shattering.  God did not stop working on the Sabbath day and neither did he.  Any scholarly Jew would grasp its full force.

Jesus said:  “Even on the Sabbath God’s love and mercy and compassion act; and so do mine.”  It was this last passage which shattered the Jews, for it meant nothing less than that the work of Jesus and the work of God were the same.  It seemed that Jesus was putting himself on an equality with God.  What Jesus really was saying we shall see in our next section; but at the moment we must note this-Jesus teaches that human need must always be helped; that there is no greater task than to relieve someone’s pain and distress and that the Christian’s compassion must be like God’s-unceasing.  Other work may be laid aside but the work of compassion never.

“But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.'” {12} So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” {13} The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. {14} Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” {15} The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. {16} So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. {17} Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”

The Pharisees took this occasion (vs. 16) as one excuse to persecute Him. They disliked Jesus when here the first time (2:18) and were suspicious of His popularity (4:1).

Now they have cause for an open breach. They would watch His conduct on the Sabbath from now on (Mark 2:23; 3:2, 6). Of course, the penalty for blasphemy was death. It is here that the “official persecution” of Jesus began!

* THE REACTION (5:18)

“For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

The reply of Jesus to these accusations contained not only a new ethical concept of the Sabbath, but also a new theology. Jesus indicated that He made the Father His pattern, and that He felt that the Father’s work constituted sufficient precedent and reason for Him. They understood what He meant, because they sought to kill Him.

Essentially, the indictments of the legalists were two fold:

1. Jesus broke the Sabbath (vs. 16, 18)
2. Jesus claimed equality with God by claiming Him as His Father (vs. 17-18).

Ironically, the Pharisees were the guilty ones: they judged Jesus, refused to rejoice or give praise at the healing, and even went so far as to plot Christ’s assassination.

These Jewish leaders are seen for who they are. They suppose that they love God and their fellow man, in obedience to the law of Moses. They think themselves pious, and expect to be the first to enter the kingdom of God. Indeed, they expect a prominent leadership role in that kingdom. And yet when Jesus comes to town and heals a paralytic, their only concern is that the healed man is “walking illegally” (with his mat). They hardly seem to notice or care that the man is “walking”—the paralytic has been healed! And then, because Jesus has performed such a miracle, they begin to persecute the Son of God. When Jesus points out that this is exactly who He is, they redouble their efforts to kill Him. The wickedness of man never ceases to amaze us.

The second thing this incident in John’s Gospel does is to provide the occasion for Jesus to state very clearly (and very early in this Gospel) just who He is.

The most important question you will ever answer is this: “Who is Jesus Christ?” John gives us the answer, clearly. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who speaks and acts for God, and as God. Jesus Christ is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He is the only One through whom your sins can be forgiven, the only way to heaven (John 14:6). Do you believe this?

   #Thou shalt.”

   “Thou shalt not.”

   “Thou shalt.”

   “Thou shalt not.”

   “Shalt.”

   “Shalt not.”

   “SHALT!” “SHALT NOT!”

Sounds like angry children arguing on the playground, doesn’t it? But what you’re hearing is the insistent bickering of adult Christians entrenched in legalism.

* LEGALISM: LET’S UNDERSTAND IT.

When we lift the veil on legalism, we find hypocrisy instead of holiness.

What is it? Legalism is conforming to a code of behavior for the purpose of exalting self. Legalists make lists of “dos” and “don’t” based not on Scripture but on tradition or personal preference. Then they judge themselves and others on their performance. In a nutshell, it’s a “checklist Christianity.”

How does it appear? It slips into a congregation unnoticed and usually preys especially on young, naive believers. Paul describes legalists in Galatians 2:4: “<This matter arose> because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.”

Why is it wrong? First and foremost, legalism is unbiblical. Grace and freedom are the hallmarks of the Christian life, not law and bondage. Second, it promotes the flesh, which cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). Third, it is based on pride, a prime example of which is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax gatherer in Luke 18:9-14.

When did it start? Legalism is an ancient art, begun by the Pharisees and implemented by subsequent generations of apprentices who have been narrow, rigid, and often intolerably religious.

Legalists have refused to accept the doctrine of grace. Instead, they have sought to supplement grace with their own works or ideas.

I was made aware of a book which records some very strange laws still on the books in our country. Some of these “whacky laws” are listed below:

• “In Pennsylvania, the penalty for cursing is a forty-cent fine. However, if God is mentioned in the curse, the fine is sixty-seven cents.”
• “It is illegal to mispronounce the name of the city of Joliet, Illinois.”
• “In San Francisco, you are not permitted to carry a basket suspended from a pole.”
• “It is unlawful for goldfish to ride on a Seattle, Washington, bus unless they lie still.”
• “Michigan law once required taking a census of bees every winter.”
• “In Natchez, Mississippi, it is against the law for elephants to drink beer.”
• “An old Hollywood, California, ordinance forbids driving more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time.”
• “In Muncie, Indiana, you cannot bring fishing tackle into a cemetery.”
• “The California penal code prohibits the shooting of any animal, except a whale, from an automobile.”
• “In Kansas City, Missouri, children are prohibited by law from buying cap pistols. However, the law does not restrict them from buying shotguns.”
• “A Minnesota law requires that men’s and women’s underwear not be hung on the same clothesline at the same time.”
• “In Joliet, Illinois, women are not allowed to try on more than six dresses in one store.”[1]

I mention these “whacky laws” of our own land because I am about to point out some of the “whacky Jewish laws” of Jesus’ day. We are inclined to look at these laws and laugh, amazed at how ridiculous they seem. Before getting too carried away with our laughter, let me say this. Every one of these apparently ridiculous laws made sense to the lawmakers at the time they became law. These “whacky laws” did not come about in a vacuum; they were a legislative attempt to prevent or solve a real problem of some kind. Lest we think lawmakers wish to spend all their time making up silly laws, let me suggest that they must do so because of “whacky” folks like you and me.

As parents, we should be able to understand how this happens. We would love to be able to give our children a very general principle or guideline, and trust them to follow it. For example, we wish we could say to our child, “Just be home at a reasonable hour.” The trouble is that they do not agree with us about what “reasonable” means, and so we have to give an exact time.

Our child says, “Mom, can I go down the street and play with Charlie?” We say, “No, I don’t want you to play with Charlie at his house.” So our child goes down the street and plays with Charlie out in the yard (to keep our rules), or he plays with Charlie’s brother in his house. We therefore learn to make our rules more and more specific, lest our child fail to behave as we intended. The more specific we make these rules, the sillier they appear to others.

I am not defending Pharisaism or the legalism of the Jews of Jesus’ day. Many of their rules would be very difficult to defend. Nevertheless, I must also say that most of the regulations I am about to call to your attention were probably necessitated by people who were unwilling to abide by principles; thus, religious leaders were forced to become more and more specific, to the point of unbelievable gnat-straining. Here are some of the regulations of the Jews in our Lord’s time:

Some of the detailed regulations are passing wonderful. For example, ‘(On the Sabbath) a man may borrow of his fellow jars of wine or jars of oil, provided that he does not say to him, ‘Lend me them’ (Shab. 23:1). This would imply a transaction, and a transaction might involve writing, and writing was forbidden. Or again, ‘If a man put out the lamp (on the night of the Sabbath) from fear of the gentiles or of thieves or of an evil spirit, or to suffer one that was sick to sleep, he is not culpable; (but if he did it with a mind) to spare the lamp or to spare the oil or to spare the wick, he is culpable’ (Shab. 2:5). The attitude to healing on the sabbath is illustrated by a curious provision that a man may not put vinegar on his teeth to alleviate toothache. But he may take vinegar with his food in the ordinary course of affairs, and the Rabbis philosophically concluded, ‘if he is healed he is healed’ (Shab. 14:4)![2]

The Mishna says: ‘He that reapeth corn on the Sabbath to the quantity of a fig is guilty; and plucking corn is reaping.’ Rubbing the grain out was threshing. Even to walk on the grass on the Sabbath was forbidden because it was a species of threshing. Another Talmudic passage says: ‘In case a woman rolls wheat to remove the husks, it is considered sifting; if she rubs the head of wheat, it is regarded as threshing; if she cleans off the side-adherences, it is sifting out fruit; if she throws them up in her hand, it is winnowing’ [Jer. Shabt, page 10a]. The scrupulosity of these Jews about the Sabbath was ridiculously extreme. A Jewish sailor caught in a storm after sunset on Friday refused to touch the helm though threatened with death. Thousands had suffered themselves to be butchered in the streets of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes rather than lift a weapon in self-defense on the Sabbath! To these purists, the act of the disciples was a gross desecration of the Sabbath law. The worst of all was that Jesus permitted and approved it.[3]

In the above citations, J. W. Shepard is referring to the Sabbath laws of Jesus’ day, but we would be incorrect to suppose things have improved with time. A friend loaned me a book by Rav Yehoshua Y. Neuwirth entitled, Shemirath Shabbath: A Guide to the Practical Observance of Shabbath.[4] This volume (my friend reminds me that it is the first volume) goes into great detail concerning the interpretation and application of the Sabbath for contemporary Judaism. In the preface to this work the author writes, “The Mishna (Chagiga: Chapter 1, Mishna 8) likens the laws of Shabbath to ‘mountains hanging by a hair,’ in that a multitude of precepts and rules, entailing the most severe penalties for their breach, depend on the slightest of indications given by a biblical verse.”[5]

He also reminds us of the importance which Judaism has placed, and continues to place, on the keeping of the Sabbath:

May we be privileged, by virtue of the proper observance of the Shabbath, to see the final redemption of Israel. Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, “Were Israel properly to observe two Shabbathoth, they would immediately be redeemed” (Shabbath 118b). Until such time, God’s only dwelling-place on this earth is within the four walls of the Halacha (Berachoth 8a).[6]

The book contains many instructions about the keeping of the Sabbath, but I will mention only a few:

Cooking in most all forms (boiling, roasting, baking, frying, etc.) is forbidden on the Sabbath, in particular when the temperature is raised above 45 degrees centigrade (113 Fahrenheit).[7]

If the hot water tap is accidentally left on, it cannot be turned off on the Sabbath.[8]

Escaping gas can be turned off, but not in the normal way. One must turn off the tap of a gas burner with the back of the hand or the elbow.[9]

The preparation of food is greatly affected by the Sabbath. One cannot squeeze a lemon into a glass of ice tea, but one can squeeze lemon on a piece of fish.[10]

That one cannot light a fire on the Sabbath is taught in the Old Testament law (cf. Exod. 35:3). Strict Judaism views this to prohibit turning electric lights on or off on the Sabbath. The problem can be solved, however, by using a timer, which automatically handles this task.[11]

So, too, an air conditioner cannot be turned on by a Jew on the Sabbath, although a Gentile might be persuaded to do so.[12]

One cannot bathe with a bar of soap on the Sabbath, but liquid detergent is acceptable.[13]

I find the section dealing with “discovered articles” (pp. 233-235) most interesting. One is prohibited from transporting goods on the Sabbath. This would prevent merchants from conducting business on the Sabbath. It has been so highly refined that now one cannot carry something which he unknowingly took with him. If one is walking along on the Sabbath and discovers that he is carrying something in his pocket, he has several courses of action so as not to violate the Sabbath.

He may, for example, drop the item out of his pocket, but not in the normal or usual fashion (by grasping it, removing it from the pocket, and dropping it on the floor). He can, however, reverse his pocket, expelling the object unnaturally, and thus legitimately. If the item is valuable, and he does not wish to leave it on the ground, he can ask a Gentile to watch the item for him.

Otherwise, the item could be carried, but not in the usual way. He can carry it for a prescribed distance (just under four amoth), put it down, then take it up, and so on. Or, the man could relay it between himself and a fellow-Israelite, each one carrying the object for no more than the prescribed distance. If this is not advisable, the object can be carried in an unusual way, such as placing it in the shoe, tying it to his leg, or managing to suspend it between his clothing and his body.

Morris adds this regulation regarding work on the Sabbath: Mishnah, Shab. 7:2 lists thirty-nine classes of work forbidden on a sabbath, the last being ‘taking out aught from one domain into another.’ An interesting regulation provides that if a man took out ‘a living man on a couch he is not culpable by reason of the couch, since the couch is secondary’ (Shab. 10:5). This clearly implies that the carrying of the ‘couch’ by itself is culpable.[14]

This information is not supplied to amuse you, but to prepare you for the issues that arise in our study of John chapter 5, as well as later on in John’s Gospel. A decisive change takes place here. Until now, signs and miracles may not have convinced all, but they definitely were instrumental in drawing some to faith. When Jesus turned the water into wine, a few realized what had happened, but only the disciples of our Lord are said to have “believed” (John 2:11).

When our Lord went to Jerusalem and cleansed the temple (John 2:12-22), He also performed a number of signs, which caused a number to “believe in His name” (2:23-25). Nicodemus was at least impressed by the signs Jesus performed (3:2). The Samaritans did not require a sign, but many believed in Jesus when they heard His words (4:4ff.). The royal official who came to Jesus was forced to believe the word which Jesus spoke to him, and the miracle that resulted was instrumental in his coming to faith, along with his whole house (4:43-54).

What is the main issue with legalism? It leaves us uncertain about our relationship with God! We never quite know ‘how we stand’ with our Redeemer, Lord, and Savior!

And any system that diminishes the work of grace on our behalf is wrong! It is just wrong!

——————————————

[1] Barbara Seuling, More Whacky Laws (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1975).

[2] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971), p. 305, fn. 25.

[3] J. W. Shepard, The Christ of the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1939), p. 161.

[4] Rav Yehoshua Y. Neuwirth, Shemirath Shabbath: A Guide to the Practical Observance of Shabbath, English edition, prepared by W. Grangewood (Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1984).

[5] Ibid, p. xxx.

[6] Ibid, p. xxxii.

[7] Ibid, p. 1.

[8] Ibid, p. 17.

[9] Ibid, p. 11.

[10] This is my understanding of the view expressed on pages 66-67.

[11] Ibid, pp. 141-142.

[12] Ibid, p. 146.

[13] Ibid, p. 154.

[14] Morris, p. 306, fn. 28.

“The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, {2} although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. {3} When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

This chapter is filled with many “nuggets” of information about our Lord:

 – we see the humanity of Jesus (“tired”)

 – we see the Deity of Jesus

 – we see the universality of the gospel

 – we see spontaneous evangelism

 – we see true worship defined

Beginning with His cleansing of the temple at Jerusalem (John 2:13-22), including a considerable public ministry in the environs of Jerusalem and ending with the Lord’s departure into Galilee, a period of approximately 8-9 months have transpired.

Jesus made the move from Judea to Galilee. He is likely avoiding an imminent confrontation with the Pharisees. Jesus’ popularity is swelling (John 3:26). The crowds are growing, even more than they had for John. This irritated the competitive, jealous spirits of the Pharisees (cf. Mt 27:18).

Meanwhile, Jesus is practicing immersion. This is obviously not Christian baptism since Jesus has neither died nor risen again (cf. Rom 6:1-6). It is simply the continuation of John’s baptism for remission of sins (Mk 1:4) as the entrance into the kingdom (Jn 3:5). But for now, it marks those who are willing to become like children (Lk 18:16-17) and be born again (Jn 3:5).

In a typical parenthetical comment (cf. Jn 3:24; 4:8,9b), we learn that Jesus delegates the baptismal act to his disciples (Jn 4:2).

It was not yet time for our Lord to take on the Pharisees. That time would come soon enough. To let the situation cool a bit, Jesus left Judea and returned north to Galilee, no doubt relieving the fears of the Pharisees. They must have felt that Jesus could cause them little trouble there.

{4} Now he had to go through Samaria. {5} So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. {6} Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.”

The name Samaritans originally was identified with the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 17:29). When the Assyrians conquered Israel and exiled 27,290 Israelites, a “remnant of Israel” remained in the land. Assyrian captives from distant places also settled there (2 Kings 17:24).

This led to the intermarriage of some though not all, Jews with Gentiles and to widespread worship of foreign gods. By the time the Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem, Ezra and Nehemiah refused to let the Samaritans share in the experience (Ezra 4:1-3; Neh. 4:7). The old antagonism between Israel to the north and Judah to the south intensified the quarrel.

The Jewish inhabitants of Samaria identified Mount Gerizim as the chosen place of God and the only center of worship, calling it the “navel of the earth” because of a tradition that Adam sacrificed there. Their scriptures were limited to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.

      The Samaritans professed to believe in the God of Israel and awaited the coming of Messiah (see John 4:25). They accepted only the first five books of the Law, but rejected the rest of the Old Testament Scriptures. Wherever they found it necessary to justify their religion and their place of worship, they modified the Law. The relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans was definitely strained.

Notice Jesus’s tact and persistence—and her growth.

– He began on the ground of her kindness…she saw Jesus as a Jew (vs. 7-9).

“When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” {8} (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) {9} The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)”

Three things about this woman seem to put her at a distinct disadvantage. First, she is a Samaritan. Second, she is guilty of sexual immorality, and third, she is a woman. We have already commented about the way the Jews felt toward the Samaritans.

The Pharisees had a very simple system for being holy—they simply kept their (physical) distance from sinners. They thought sin was contagious, and that one could catch it by merely being close to sinners.

The “woman at the well” is a woman whose sins are apparent, but she has not sinned alone. In those days, husbands divorced their wives, but wives did not divorce their husbands. If this woman was married and divorced five times, then five men divorced her.

“A woman could not divorce her husband in Jewish law. But under certain circumstances she could approach the court which would, if it thought fit, compel the husband to divorce her (see for example, Mishnah, Ket. 7:9, 10). Or she might pay him or render services to induce him to divorce her (Git. 7:5, 6). In theory there was no limit to the number of marriages that might be contracted after valid divorces, but the Rabbis regarded two, or at the most three marriages as the maximum for a woman (SBk, II, p. 437).” Morris, p. 264, fn. 43.

This woman was “put away” five times. Think of how she must feel about herself. And the man she is now living with is not her husband. She isn’t even married this time, but just living with (or sleeping with) a man, perhaps another woman’s husband. This woman has been passed around by some of the male population of Sychar. Jesus’ words not only call the woman’s attention to her sins; they call our attention to the sins of the men of that city.

The Rabbinic precept ran:  “Let no one talk with a woman in the street, no, not with his own wife.”  The Rabbis so despised women and so thought them incapable of receiving any real teaching that they said:  “Better that the words of the law should be burned than deliver to women.” 

They had a saying:  “Each time that a man prolongs converse with a woman he causes evil to himself, and desists from the law, and in the end inherits Gehinnom.” 

One of their sayings ran: ‘A man shall not be alone with a woman in an inn, not even with his sister or his daughter, on account of what men may think. A man shall not talk with a woman in the street, not even with his own wife, and especially not with another woman, on account of what men may say.’” Morris, p. 274, citing SBk, II, p. 438.

Here is Jesus taking the barriers down. The disciples seem to embrace this view. They cannot fathom why Jesus would be “wasting His time” talking to a woman.

There were several different kinds of Pharisees. One of the groups was called the “bruised and bleeding” Pharisees because they closed their eyes when they saw a woman approaching and would then walk into walls, houses, etc., and hurting themselves. They were bruised and bleeding because they were always running into things to avoid seeing a woman in public!

– Jesus took no offense..and appealed to her curiosity (vs. 10-12).

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” {11} “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? {12} Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

Like all good personal workers, Jesus refused to get involved with needless discussion. She was doing what many people do when truth comes into the picture…she was using “scripture (her beliefs, etc.) to avoid truth.” Her reference in verses 11-12 showed that the wall was broken down and she was ready for serious conversation.

 The Samaritans claimed descent from Jacob through Joseph and the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

– Jesus appealed to her desire for physical satisfaction…she saw Jesus as greater than Jacob (vs. 13-15)

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, {14} 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.” {15} The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

She did not realize Jesus was speaking of spiritual things. To her, His promise was a gratification of common human laziness. She made the mistake great crowds made later in John 6:26: she sought Jesus for the physical good she could get from Him, not the signs.

– Jesus appealed to her ambition (vs. 16).

“He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

If she wanted badly enough what He had to offer, she would be willing to exert herself to obtain it. It would require a walk of a mile in the hot sun with only the word of a stranger to make it worthwhile. But the command had a double edge for it cut sharply at her heart: she must disclose some of her personal life. Her reply: “I’m not ready for that, least of all an investigation by a Jew.”

Why would Jesus now ask her to go call her husband? Is Jesus calling her to submit to her husband’s spiritual leadership? Is he calling her to repent of her sinfulness? Is he allowing the reader to understand his love for the sinful? Is he seizing the opportunity to demonstrate his omniscience?

It is not so surprising that she has had five husbands. Divorce was especially common among the Romans of the day who generally kept a wife at home and a mistress for social events. Even the Jews, following the liberal teachings of Hillel, divorced their wives with alarming regularity. Hillel even permitted divorce “if she burnt his dinner while cooking.” The Samaritan ethic of marriage was likely somewhere in between that of the Romans and that of the Jews.

– Jesus appealed to her moral sense…she recognized him as a prophet (vs. 17-20).

“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. {18} The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” {19} “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. {20} Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus turned her life inside out before her very eyes! It shocked her and put her on the defensive. It’s been accurately observed that “like many others whose moral position is challenged, she took refuge in arguing impersonally about religion. She used “religion” to avoid truth!”

Jesus, by His power to search her heart and reveal her past sins, has revealed her sin and made her desirous of righteousness and also manifested, to some extent, His omniscient and divine nature, and thus provided the way to righteousness.

Her response in verse 20 had to do with a long-standing fight between the Jews and the Samaritans. This was a “hot-button” for her people.

According to the Jews, Jerusalem was the only God-ordained place of worship (Deut 12:5-11; 1 Kgs 9:3; 2 Chr 3:1). According to the Samaritans it was Gerizim. The Samaritans taught that Adam was created from the dust of Mount Gerizim, that the flood never covered it, that the ark came to rest there, and that Jacob wrestled with the angel there. They also felt that Abraham offered Isaac on Gerizim.

Because he was a Jew, she assumed that Jesus would “fight” that Mount Moriah in Jerusalem was the acceptable place; she sought to involve him in this age-long controversy.

Jesus skillfully dealt with both the controversial issue and the deeper personal need concealed behind it ( was a sensitive issue, and He spoke only the truth).

  – Jesus appealed to her religious sense…she recognized him as the Christ (vs. 21-25).

  “Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. {22} You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. {23} Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. {24} God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” {25} The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus begins with a tremendous statement: “Salvation is from the Jews.” He made no concession to her position, and He was blunt. But He also very quickly made the matter not of time or space, but of the heart.

God is spirit, and not confined to things or places. And here reply showed a measure of sincerity in her heart. They revealed both hope and ignorance.

Both Jews and Samaritans erred in thinking that worship was a specific deed done with the body at a certain locale rather than a heart bent on knowing and loving God. Jesus now introduces a new relationship with God (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:8-12), where the Spirit of God and the spirit of man commingle (1 Cor 2:10-14; 6:19).

“God is Spirit.”  Theology flows from the lips of Jesus in simple chunks that children can get a hold of but that theologians cannot fathom. Such is this little nugget of truth. It answers so many questions about the nature of God and yet leads us to just as many more.

She doesn’t know how to respond to Jesus. He has her pinned. So she just blows it off saying, “Well, the Messiah will make it all clear to us.” So Jesus said: “Lady, I am the Messiah.” It would be another two years before Jesus is this clear again about his identity (Mt 16:16-18). He knows the Samaritans are not going to force him to be a political Messiah (cf. Jn 6:15). Furthermore, since he is only going to be there for two days he is able to be a bit more forward. The Samaritans did, indeed, have a high Messianic expectation (Acts 8:9; Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 18. 85), as is evidenced by their response.

 – Jesus appealed to her faith (vs. 26).

“Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

Hearing His words created faith in her heart.

Jesus wasted no words: He revealed Himself more openly to her than He had even to Nicodemus. In this one instance Jesus had overcome the woman’s indifference, materialism, selfishness, moral turpitude, and religious prejudice, ignorance, and indefiniteness.

   “Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” {28} Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, {29} “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” “ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.”

These verses reveal to us the consciousness Jesus had of His mission and verse 30 implies that the people from the town were not skeptical but were looking for the Deliverer. Her leaving the water pots indicated her excitement and plans to come back.

 Note the lessons, or steps here:

– The experience to face herself and see herself as she really was. It was similar to Peter when he caught the many fish in Luke 5:8: “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

– She staggered at Christ’s ability to see into her heart. He is like the surgeon who sees the evil and diseased, and takes it away.

‘Her first instinct? To share her discovery? “First to find, then find, then to tell” are two great steps of the Christian life.

    “Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” {32} But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” {33} Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” {34} “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work”

   The disciples also got involved with the physical, rather than the spiritual. They couldn’t figure out why Jesus was not hungry and thirsty.

It is his great desire that we should be as he was.

(i)  To do the will of God is the only way to peace.  There can be no peace when we are at variance with the king of the universe.

(ii)  To do the will of God is the only way to happiness.  There can be no happiness when we set our human ignorance against the divine wisdom of God.

(iii)  To do the will of God is the only way to power.  When we go our own way, we have nothing to call on but our own power, and therefore collapse is inevitable.  When we go God’s way, we go in his power, and therefore victory is secure.

“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. {36} Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. {37} Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. {38} I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” {39} Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” {40} So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. {41} And because of his words many more became believers.”

John 4:39-42: “Many of the Samaritans from that city believed on him, because of the woman’s story, for she testified:  “He told me all things that I have done.”  So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay amongst them, and he stayed there two days.  And many more believed when they heard his word, and they said to the woman:  “No longer do we believe because of your talk.  We ourselves have listened to him, and we know that this is really the Saviour of the World.”

God cannot deliver his message to those who have never heard it unless there is someone to deliver it.

      A song: “He has no hands but our hands To do his work today: He has no feet but our feet To lead men in his way: He has no voice but our voice To tell men how he died: He has no help but our help To lead them to his side.”

It is our precious privilege and our terrible responsibility to bring men to Christ.  The introduction cannot be made unless there is a man to make it.

We often wonder how we can begin a conversation on spiritual things when we find someone ‘who thinks of spiritual things.’ We have the beginning point: “Look what he has done for me and to me.”