PeteD

Lesson 22 q4. I've always had difficulty with this passage. It seems to me that Jesus is saying that in humans there is a pride thing - a willfulness that refuses to accept and receive help. It's a rock hard stubbornness. And it seems that people can either admit their need and dependence on Jesus and what he is offering or the defensively dig in and resist. Why some people believe - why I believe is simply a mystery to me. Here we are talking about the Spirit of God reaching our spirit.. We can receive God's gift of love or reject it. If we receive it we realize that even this is not from ourselves -it is a gift. I've come to accept this as a paradox, which is to say, I cannot get my mind around it.

Lesson 2 question 2 To be a disciple of Jesus is the follow him wherever he is calling us to go and do whatever he wants us to do. We are not our own but belong to our faithful Savior - (first question and answer - Heidelberg Catechism) . We are to give up our selves and follow him, trusting that he will faithfully lead and help us to glorify Him and the Father. - the Holy Spirit helping us. That is, we are to lose our life and make even good things secondary to the Father's will. We are to offer our lives as a sacrifice to God - this is our worship - Romans 12: 1, 2. we are to transform our live. . b. To love our life is to make our wishes the priority. c. To hate our life is to make the Father's will our priority. d. Jesus in the garden felt the extreme weight of what obedience to the Father would entail. It would not be easy. For Jesus to give himself to the Father's wishes was hard and went against his natural human desire for freedom and self will and also went against his God nature (equality with God) the thing that he in obedience would not grasp.( Phil. 2) He gave up this right for us.

22 question 1 God's glory up to this time had been shown in great miracles, particularly in the raising of Lazarus. This showed Jesus's power over death. NowJesus is referring to his own suffering and death on the cross. He is obedient to the Father. The result is our salvation from sin - the atonement, that is, the victory over death. A seed cannot produce unless it is buried in dirt and lies dormant for a time. It soon grows and produces a crop. In the same way, Jesus death produces salvation for us and the possibility of a new life. We then, in Christ, are dead to sin - and we have a new life - we are new creatures - a new creation with new life.

21 Q4 Jesus is my king and he is my Lord. This means that I must confess it and live it. To Him be the glory. I must give Him my "Utmost for his Highest". I must daily strive for complete surrender to Him, God helping me. May it be so.

Lesson 21 Q3 Q.3 That the crowd believed that Jesus was the Messiah is confirmed by their shouting from Psalm 118, "Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, and Blessed is the King of Israel. Jesus does indeed allow these phrases to be shouted about him because finally His time has come.

21 Question 2 As the lesson indicates, Jesus's entry into Jerusalem had profound Messianic significance. The Messiah was to enter Jerusalem on a donkey and is referred to as "your king comes to you, righteous, and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey." Zechariah 9:9-10 Jesus, no doubt, is declaring plainly that he is the Messiah. Jesus knows his Old Testament Scriptures. He accepts this as well as the prophecies of his impending suffering - the suffering servant prophecies in Isaiah. The effect of the crowd was that of jubilation and worship. They used palm branches to show their allegiance. What irony that a different crowd would later in the same week cry out " crucify him."

1Lesson 21 question 1 Judas misses the point. What Mary did was an act of love and worship. It was poignant because of Jesus impending death. Judas was consumed by the cost - the cost was inflated in his mind because of his greed. Jesus defends Mary because he sees her love as an act of pure worship. Mary did this out of her love for Jesus. She had save the nard for burial, sensing that Jesus was placing himself in danger. Mary's extravagant act does teach us that there are times when the extravagant acts of love and worship are acceptable and mirror the great love and sacrifice of Jesus for us. Only of late am I more generous with my money and outward manifestations of worship. For this I thank God. Extravagant worship is not being afraid of spending money and time on making worship space more beautiful. But also, extravagant worship teaches us not to hold our wealth too closely. It teaches generosity.

The mark of a real disciple is the holding (having, holding close) the teachings of Jesus and to the person of Jesus. The "holding" is a trusting and abiding in and abiding with. It is to be in a love relationship with Jesus. So its more than a pupil, student or follower relationship,. It entails a deep appreciation and thankfulness and gratitude to the Father and the Son. This abiding is not just a one time affair but an ever deepening and continuing experience What truth sets us free? That this abiding in Jesus and his teaching does indeed set us free. The teaching is that we are loved and that our sins are forgiven and we are rescued by Jesus, that is the whole gospel story. This is the truth and it sets us free- free from the 'tyranny of the devil'. Secularist lay claim to "then" part of the verse but substitute the "if" statement of Jesus with general education.

To "die in your sins" is to die without a trusting relationship with Christ and therefore to be all alone before the Father as objects of wrath. The horrible consequence of this state is that we would get our wish, that is to be separated from God. To talk and argue with Jesus is not trusting, loving and obeying Him and is not receiving Him. I do know people in this category. It's very sad. It gives me pause. I need to witness more faithfully.

a. In what sense is Jesus the Light of the World? Jesus is the Light - the truth- which illuminates our path, enables us to keep from stumbling. Light is a metaphor for providing understanding and wisdom (truth). b. What does Jesus promise concerning the Light? That he is the Light of the world. He (the person) gives this light and is the light. This light will drive out all darkness. If we follow him we will not walk in darkness. This light gives life. It enables us to live. Elsewhere this light/truth will result in our really being His disciples and that we will know the truth and this truth will set us free (john 8:31-32) c. What does this mean for the way you live? If we are obedient, that is, follow Him, hold to His teachings, we will be in the light and know the truth. It means that each day I must seek Him, look to Him and follow his commands, that is, love my neighbor as Jesus has loved me. The truth and light- is in the doing and being.

A sheep's abundant life is well described in Ps. 23: Green pastures, food, water, rest, security, a good relationship with the shepherd. Our life in a spiritual sense is abundant in that we receive: Food for the soul, water that gives life, a loving relationship with God, protection from the evil one ..... Our abundance really has to do with our relationship with God. It's spiritual, but it can produce healthy physical and psychological health - but of course this is not guaranteed as the apostle's lives showed. But even in persecution we have the word of the apostles that the Christian has the complete gospel benefit package, that is: we are forgiven, we belong to God's family, and we are part of the upside down Kingdom where our God reigns. We truly have a peace that go beyond our understanding. The unbeliever may have "fun" but they do not have the everlasting peace that only a child of God can have.

Sheep that know Jesus' voice know and trust and follow Him. There is a love relationship- the shepherd has demonstrated trustworthiness and the sheep follow Him. They know His voice; it's a voice like no other. It gives comfort, peace, safety, and nourishment - water, food-bread. The call to follow, that is to obey, promises life and light. The Holy Spirit tells our spirit that His voice is the voice to follow. If we are in the Word, we learn to recognize His voice by just being in the Word, that is studying, meditating, and praying in the Word. Fellow Christians can help us also so we are not to give up meeting together.

'Why didn't Jesus condemn the lady? Jesus was clear that he was very concerned about her sin and warned her accordingly. Yet he did not condemn her. This is mercy. He warned her not to sin anymore which is a request for her to consider her actions and repent. Was she guilty? Because of Jesus' warning we can infer that Jesus thought she was guilty even though the accusers were very hypocritical. Why is repentance necessary for salvation? Repentance is being sorry for our sins. Only then can we ask for forgiveness. If we don't emphasize repentance, grace become cheap. Repentance is knowing that we are not right. If we don't know we are messed up we won't cry out for forgiveness and change. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He came to heal the sick.

Since we are not told what Jesus was writing in the sand, if anything, we can only speculate. I think he most likely was purposefully giving the accusers some time to think about what they were doing and giving them time to examine their conscience.

Jesus in a sense reminded the accusers of the woman that they, according mosaic law, were required to throw the first stone. I expect the original intent of this requirement was to impress upon accusers the immense responsibility of throwing the first stone required a clean conscience as to their motives. Verse 7 does seem to imply that no one can judge or punish anyone for what ever if they themselves are without sin. Yet the scriptures do give the civil authorities that responsibility. So the explanation that Jesus was insisting on impartiality of the accusers makes sense. He is not insisting on perfection but rather a humble, self examining attitude. This same attitude is what Mt, 7 is seeking.

The author John states that this was a trap and as the commentary states it was a "no win situation". It seemed obvious that there was only two possible answers each of which would have been harmful to Jesus. But Jesus knowing their motives exposed them. But he also was able to teach a valuable lesson to all of us about judging, sin and mercy. He masterfully demonstrated that we all sin and that our consciences do indeed do the judging. Yet he also was able in the moment to offer mercy with the warning for her not to go on sinning.

Whom does Jesus invite to drink? Anyone who is spiritually thirsty. This could be anyone who is hungering for righteousness, anyone who is tired and weary, anyone who is empty and fed up with life as usual, anyone who knows that there has to be more, anyone who is struggling with addictions ...in short anyone who has eye to see and knows that they need healing. What does Jesus promise to the one who drinks of him? Not only rest, security, and salvation but streams of life-giving water will flow from the one who believes in Jesus. That is to say, the Holy Spirit will give him or her the power to use their spiritual gifts for the building up of the body of Christ (the church) and give them a change of character that will bring refreshment to many weary and needy people. At Pentecost, those gathered received the Holy Spirit enabling them to minister to one another. They received the power to become witnesses. For me this filling and flowing is occurring in my life to a greater degree. I have noticed a new hunger and thirst for God's word and have had opportunity to share the overflowing joy with others -- specifically in a weekly Bible study with new believers and people who have yet to commit to Christ. Thanks be to God!

Can we really know God's will if we're not really willing to obey the truth we know? Why not? No, Jesus says it quite plainly. We have to have a change of our heart. We have to will or resolve to do God's will. We have to commit to doing God's will and actually do it. Then we can know that what Jesus is teaching is the truth. Being wowed by his miracles or by his impressive learning or the style of his delivery is not enough. Our belief has to go deeper. It seems that in the thick of actually doing God's will we really learn to trust and lean on God. It's in this doing that we can come to a point when we obey to glorify God and not ourselves.

How where rabbis trained in Jesus' day? Rabbis were to taught by rabbis that preceded them with accumulated scriptural knowledge How was Jesus trained? As noted in the lesson notes: by the leaders in the Synagogue How were his disciples trained? They essentially followed Jesus where he lived and taught. They learned by observation and direct teaching - explanations of the parables, for example. What is the value of formal theological training? Much, I'm sure for all the reasons noted above by other students of this course. But it is not enough. Spiritual formation as noted in the lesson notes are is essential and vital. It has to do with walking in the Spirit. It has to do with believing and abiding with Jesus Christ. It has to do with sanctification.

Jesus' decision to stay in Galilee was not merely simple prudence or from fear but ultimately based on his obedience to the will of the Father - for the reasons given in the lesson - the timing was not right. When it comes to trying to discern God's will when making tough decisions, we have to do it with much prayer, much biblical imput, in consultation with our Christian brother and sisters when possible and appropriate and use our common sense that God gave us while trusting God will be with us.

The Twelve were the ones that Jesus chose to follow him and who accepted and committed themselves to follow Jesus. In many respects they were like those who followed Jesus more peripherally in that they had much to learn. But Jesus made it clear in John 8: 31-32 that the real disciples were the ones who held to His teachings. And this obedience would result in their knowing the truth and that this truth would make them free.

"Eating the Bread of Life" is a clarification or extension of what it means to have a believing faith). It's a way of saying we are united or dwell with Christ. Charles Williams, a friend of C.S. Lewis called this "coinherence". It certainly is a vivid metaphor. I think Jesus used this to teach that receiving and believing entail an eating (like seeing food, chewing food, digesting it, trusting its health producing properties). Jesus teaches that we have to just not know about Him but we have to receive Him. For years I was never quite clear what John was getting at when he said in John 1:12 that to those who received and believed in Jesus are given the right to be called the children of God. Now I have a better appreciation of what kind of faith is required.

Eating the bread of life means: taking it in, receiving and believing it. (John 1:12). When we eat food, we trust it will be good for us. And if it is good, it will nourish us, give energy, strength and health. But we have to eat it (chew it, swallow it, take it in) not just nibble it.

These verses (John 6: 37,44,65) certainly make the point that God initiates and effects the call to us. He loved us first while we were far from him. We are saved by grace through faith and not from our selves (Eph 2: 8-9). He draws us to Him. The Holy Spirit works in us by convicting us of sin and our utter inability to work our way to God. The Holy Spirit softens our heart - makes us more responsive. This is predestination. Even our faith is a gift from God. We can only praise God for such a love. However when we try to push the rational limits of this doctrine of predestination, we risk trying to grasp the secret things that God has not revealed. (Duet. 29:29)

People pursue "works" of many kinds to please God. Isaiah says all our good deeds are as filthy rags, however. We all strive to be good and to impress others and God. Jesus tell us the only "work" that counts is to believe--that is to have faith, - to trust in Jesus.