John Lesson 52

Introduction

Was Jesus more than just a good man? Was he the Son of God? Was he deity, God in the flesh? There are many who deny that he was. In fact, there are some who think that he was nothing more than just a philosopher, a moralist, and a great man. Today in our study, we’re going to be summarizing the Gospel of John as we conclude our verse by verse study of this grand book. I believe that you’ll notice with us that there are really only one of two alternatives. Either Jesus Christ was a liar, a blasphemer, the greatest hypocrite ever to live, or he was everything that he claimed to be, the Son of God. What do you believe about him? I hope that you’ll get your New Testament open and read together with us as we let the Bible speak.

Very pleasant good day to you. We’ve come now to the last chapter of the Gospel of John. We’ve been studying verse by verse through this grand book, and as we conclude in our study today, we want to look at the book as a whole. But first of all, let’s look at the last four or five verses of it, and there we’ll find who the writer is and what he has to say about the testimony that he’s given of these things. I’m reading in John chapter 21, verses 20 through 25. Well, the scripture says, Then Peter, turning about, seeeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following, which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die, but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, to which if they should be written, every one. I suppose that even the world itself cannot contain the books that should be written. Amen.

But in these last two chapters we’ve been studying the proof of his resurrection. The appearances that Jesus made to his disciples after he arose. They were willing to bear witness, and they testified that indeed he is the Christ, the anointed one, by reason of the fact that he died and that he was buried, and that he rose again according to the scriptures. And there are several different appearances that Jesus made to his disciples. At least some twelve different ones are recorded for us in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and also recorded in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. John really only records four of these. He tells us in chapter 20 how that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and then how he appeared to his apostles, all except Thomas the first time, and then a second time where he appeared to them where Thomas was also present.

1. Thou Knowest That I Love Thee

And in the third time he appeared to his apostles, as recorded earlier in this chapter 21, he meets them at a place beside the Sea of Tiberius, which is also the Sea of Galilee, and up in the region of Galilee. And at that time he appears to seven of his disciples. And actually that is the scene when we pick up our reading for the lesson of the day, where three times the Lord had asked Peter, Lovest thou me? And three times Peter had answered, Thou knowest that I love thee. It’s also a reminder to us of the time that Peter had denied the Lord three times. And now he reaffirms his love, this zeal for Jesus Christ. Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus was not just testing Peter, but I believe was giving him some reassurance.

But even as the Lord knew all things, indeed the Lord had known how Peter had denied him. The Lord did know how this impetuous Peter had his weaknesses and his faults, and even perhaps in future time would do that which is wrong again. And Galatians 2 and verse 11 says that he did do that which made him stand to be condemned. And yet the Lord still could use a faithful Peter. And his words to Peter were, feed my lamps, tend to my sheep, feed my sheep. But also in view of the fact that Peter was to feed the flock of God, that he had a responsibility as a faithful apostle to preach the gospel, the good news of salvation. There’s going to be persecution against Peter.

There would be some more testing of Peter. In fact, in verse 18, Jesus said to Peter, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself and walkest whither thou wouldst, but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not. Indeed, you you will be imprisoned even. Peter, you will be taken places where you would not really want to go. History records for us that Peter died an unnatural death. In fact, that Peter was crucified. Eusebius in one of his books describes how that Peter was crucified, in fact, upside down. Circular history records or tradition says that Peter thought himself unworthy to be crucified like the Lord, and so at his request, he was crucified upside down.

2. What Is That to Thee? Follow Thou Me

And as verse 19 says that Jesus fake this about Peter signified by what death he should glorify God. Now, in response to this, as we started, Peter looking about, or perhaps looking behind him, he saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. And throughout this book, it’s a common expression about the disciple whom Jesus loved. And we pointed out earlier this refers to John the apostle. And really in this text, verse 24, we know it’s also John who testified of these things and who wrote these things. So the disciple whom Jesus loved is John the Apostle, a dear beloved friend of the Lord, a close disciple. But Peter, seeing John, says, Well, the Lord, what about him? What shall this man do? If Peter is to die an unnatural death, will John also.

The response of Jesus is a mild rebuke. He says, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Several important lessons that should be gleaned in this. It was not that Jesus was saying to Peter that we ought not to be concerned about our brethren. Indeed, this disciple whom Jesus loved and testified of these things and awarded these things, it was an important man. And Peter and John certainly had care one for the other, and and we ought to care one for the other. But but let’s learn the lesson. What is that to thee, Peter? You see, first of all, Peter, while you have care for others, and indeed Jesus had taught his disciples in John 13 and verse 35 that they should love one another even as I have loved you.

And passages like Galatians chapter six, verses one and two, says that, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual restore such anyone in a spirit of meekness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted. Then verse 2 of Galatians 6 says, Bear ye one another’s burdens. We should have a responsibility toward our brethren, trying to help them, even as we love them, so we would we would be willing to die for them even as the Lord has died for us. There is care one for another. But we must not make comparisons. Comparisons with each other often lead to to envy and to discontentment. And comparisons indeed do not justify our actions. Sometimes people say, Well, I’m doing just as good as so and so, or I’m doing as much as they are.

Or sometimes it works in the negative that sometimes people make comparisons and think, well, I can’t do as well as this other person, so I’ll just not do anything. Comparisons are not good. Well, we care one for the other, and we may be concerned about one another. What is that to be, what ability another person may have, or what another person may be doing? Peter, whatever John happens to John, really is not going to affect or change your responsibility. We must not make comparisons with other passages like Second Corinthians chapter 10 and verse twelve, the apostle wrote, for we dare not make ourselves out the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves. But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.

Let’s not make ourselves the member who compare ourselves or commend ourselves by comparing with others. In 2 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 5, the apostle says, Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobate. We need to examine ourselves. And in fact, each one of us has our own responsibility. Come judgment day. We’ll give answer not for how well we’ve done or measured up to others, but rather how well we have fulfilled our own role. What is that to do, Peter? You do your responsibility, you fulfill your responsibility. Galatians chapter 6, verses 4 and 5. The apostle said, Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another.

Come judgment day, each one of us should give an account of himself before God, Romans 14 and verse 12. I believe that’s what Jesus really had in mind when he was saying to Peter, what is that to be? If I will that John should tarry or should live until I return or come again, what is that to be, Peter? Now, verse 23, John said the saying went abroad that that disciple should not die, as though the saying, the rumor got spread that John wasn’t going to die until Jesus did. But that is not what was said. In fact, John corrects the rumor by just repeating what Jesus had really said. That Jesus had said, If I will, if it if I desired that John should not die, it makes no difference to you, Peter.

3. John Testifies That His Testimony Is True

You have a work to do. And Peter, your responsibility is your own, and should not be affected by what happens to John. There are some who’ve said that John never did die, and some who said that John was resurrected. But this rumor is strictly that. Jesus had said nothing about how long John should live or not live. The closing two verses, John testifies that he is the witness of these things, that his testimony is true. And in fact, what is written is sufficient to make us believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But where a closing remark. He says there is so much that could have been said that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. In other words, this is an overstatement we call a form of speech called hyperbole.

But John uses it to emphasize the significance of the glorious Jesus Christ, who he is, the Son of God. John has written such enough to testify, enough to cause belief in him. But there is so much more that could have been said that John did not say. What do you think about the Christ? We’ll be back in just one moment, and we’re going to examine some of those things, the high points of the Gospel of John, that he did testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Was he simply a philosopher, a moralist, a man who gave us some great values for living, but really nothing more? Or was he the Son of God? Was he God with us? Was he deity? There are many who would deny that Jesus is anything more than just a mortal man. But one cannot study the Gospel of John without being convinced that either he was a liar, a blasphemer, a hypocrite, or else he was what he claimed to be. Those who deny that Jesus Christ was the Son of God have really never carefully studied the Gospel of John, if they say he’s still a good man. You see, one who has given for us the greatest system of morals and ethics certainly would not be a liar.

4. The Claims That Jesus Made Himself

And yet when you go through the Gospel of John, either Jesus is what he claimed, the Son of God, or he is a liar. And you cannot say he was a good man and deny he is the Son of God if you carefully studied the Gospel of John. As we conclude our study in this grand book, I want you just to notice some of the facts that are revealed for us. The claims that Jesus made himself. You see, the Gospel of John, as we’ve noted from the very start, is not a book that gives us the chronology of the life of Christ. It doesn’t go into the details about his birth or his early days or a chronological walk with him on the earth. We can study that really from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

But what we learn from the Gospel of John is a presentation of who Christ is. Who this man Jesus really is. And it starts on a doctrinal level. The very first few words of it, the claim is, in John chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Now that’s quite an affirmation. Now, is Jesus really in the beginning? Was He in the beginning with God? Is He God? The Scripture begins with that testimony. Then as we go through the book of John, we find there are other times where the claim was made.

The Jews understood that was Jesus’ claim. In John chapter 5, verses 17 and 18, when he healed the lame man on the Sabbath, Jesus told the Jews, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. The Jews sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. They saw him as a blasphemer. And I say to you that if you deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, you’d have to. Is he the Christ or is he a blasphemer? If he’s a good man, he is what he claimed to be. But not only in John 5, we look at John chapter 8. And there in John chapter 8 and in verse 58, Jesus Christ declaimed to be eternal in his nature.

He said, Before Abraham was, I am. He used the same kind of terminology that was used in Exodus chapter 3 to describe that was described as the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush, I am that I am. Jesus said, this is how he could exist before Abraham, for he said, I am. And the Jews even then took up stones to cast at him. They understood his claim. In John chapter 10, in verse 30, Jesus said, I and my Father are one. And again, the scripture says they took up stones to stone him. You see, long before they actually crucified Jesus, the Jews saw his death. They knew what he was claiming to be. Christ the Son of God. In fact, in John 10 and verse 36, he said, Do you say of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent him to the world thou blasphemous, because I said I am the Son of God?

You see, Jesus Himself said, I said it. I am the Son of God. Is that the reason you would stone me? In John chapter 14 and in verse 9, Jesus said, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip. He that has seen me hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then show us the Father? If you’ve seen Christ, you’ve seen the Father. Oh, throughout the book is sprinkled the testimony of the claim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That if you want to know the Father, then come to know Jesus as the Christ. But somebody says, Well, how could you testify to that? How could you prove Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? And so the Gospel of John really supplies us some answers for that.

5. These Signs Are Written That Ye Might Believe

In John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31, we pointed out how that John himself tells us the purpose for his writing. We said many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. Now, these signs are written. You see, the gospel of John is a selective gospel. In that John has taken certain miracles or signs or powers that Jesus worked, and that showed the Father’s testimony that Jesus is the Christ. The works that Christ did, he said were the works of the Father, that the Father gave him to do. And as John chapter 3 and verse 2, Nicodemus came to Jesus and he said, No man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him.

And so the very miracles that he worked testified that God be with him. But look at the signs. As we’ve gone through the study of the Gospel of John, there were seven particular signs that seemed to be selected by John. And each one signifies a different characteristic of his power. For example, in John chapter 2, the first miracle that Jesus worked, verses 1 to 11 of John 2, is a time where he came the water into wine at the marriage feast. And the significance of that was a statement when the governor of the feast came and talked about how good the wine was. He said, usually you’ll save the you’ll save the best wine first and save the poor wine to last, and he said, It’s just been the reverse.

Power over quality. But then as we proceed through the John, in chapter 4, verses 46 through 54, there was the healing of the nobleman’s son. A son who was some uh day’s journey away, at least some twenty miles away from where Jesus was. The son was at Capernaum, and yet Jesus didn’t have to go to his side. He had power over distance. In chapter 5 of John, we noted the miracle in verses 1 through 9, where he healed an afflicted man, a man who’d been afflicted for some 38 years, laying at the pool of Siloam. And Jesus told him to rise up and walk. It didn’t matter how long he’d been ill, and it didn’t take several weeks or months for him to regain his strength and health.

Miracles happened immediately. They happened instantaneously. The Bible kind of miracles. They were such signs that that removed all doubt, but that God had worked that miracle. And so this man immediately was made whole, took up his bed and walked. Now the Jews, they didn’t uh deny that a miracle had been worked. They denied that the source was of heaven, but they couldn’t deny the miracle. And yet this miracle showed Jesus had had power over time. Power over quantity or quality, power over distance, power over time. But as we pursued through the book of John and chapter 6, verses 1 through 14, we observed where the scripture says that he took five loaves and two fishes and fed the five thousand beside women and children. And and even after they had eaten sufficiently, they were able to take up twelve baskets full of food.

Power over quantity. Jesus could take the little and feed the multitude and still have plenty left over. And in the same chapter of John chapter six, in verses sixteen through twenty-one, Jesus came to his disciples at night walking on the water. Jesus walked on water at night. Indeed, Jesus had power over nature. In John chapter nine, there was a sign in verses one through twelve, where the man who had been born blind. He he took clay and and rubbed his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man was given sight. A great story in John chapter nine. The rulers of the synagogue tried to find some means to to distort the facts. But Jesus Christ had proven himself to be the Son of God.

And even as the blind man later testified, Lord, I believe. When Jesus said to him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? And this is the very one thou hast foreseen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. It was the blind man who said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. The sign convinced this man who had been born blind, that now he could see a great and powerful sign, and indeed sign of a power over darkness. But in John chapter eleven, one of the greatest signs was at the grave of Lazarus, where Lazarus had been dead yet some four days. But when Jesus called unto him, Lazarus come forth, he immediately came forth. For Jesus Christ is the resurrection and a life.

And Jesus said, He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Power over life and death. These signs that John has selected indeed are great signs. And it tells us something about the nature of miracles too. But miracles happened immediately. But miracles were such works that no man could deny that God be with him. While these are written to testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, perhaps we ought to learn a lesson today. There’s so many who claim to work miracles today. And sometimes you hear people say that Jesus promised that we work greater signs than he worked. I ask you, what is a greater sign and what that than Jesus worked that men are working today? In fact, some today can’t even do what Jesus did.

They do not try to walk on water. They cannot take five loaves and two fish and feed the five thousand. They don’t even try to raise someone from the dead. They can’t work with signs that Jesus worked.

6. The I Am Claims

Remission of sins through Jesus Christ, preparation for life eternal, not miracles today like Jesus worked, for none work even where he worked, much less greater than he worked, as far as miracles go. But Jesus worked these signs as a testimony that he is the Christ, the Son of God. Now look as we go through to John one more thing, and that is the claims that Jesus made, the I am claims. Seven times Jesus made the claim I am in John chapter six, verses thirty-five and forty-eight. He claimed to be the bread of life. If you want to overcome uh hunger, if you want spiritual food that will satisfy the soul and will save eternally, then Jesus said, You must eat my flesh and drink my blood.

And as a figure of speech of saying, Come unto me and believe in me, and you’ll hunger no more or thirst no more. In John chapter 8 and verse 12, and John chapter 9, verse 5, he said, I am the light of the world. You want to have vision. If you really want to see clearly those things of how to live this life and how to prepare for life everlasting, then come unto Jesus Christ. In John chapter 10 and verse 7, and also in verse 9, he said, I am the door of the sheepfold, the way of airing into the service with God. In John chapter 10 to 11 and verse 25, I am the resurrection and the life. And then in John chapter 14 and verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Conclusion

And chapter 15 and verse 1, I am the true vine. All of these are significant and powerful statements. You cannot come to the book of John and read it, and with the claims that Jesus made and the I ams that he affirmed and say he’s just a good man. He is the Son of God. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John three sixteen. As we’ve observed, this belief in the Christ, though, is the kind of belief that will hear him, will follow him, will obey him. What do you think about the Christ? Is he your Lord? Have you proven it by obedience? Jesus said, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Obey him today and crown him your Lord. May God be with and bless you.