Jesus vs A picture of our society
John 5:1-15
Bethesda means pond of mercy. 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 (4).
This place looks promising the healing but the condition of the healing is limited to the ‘first’ person into the pool when the waters are stirred by an angel of the Lord.
This Bethesda is a picture of the society where people would compete each other for the chance that gives luck to the only one and best person. People in this society compete each other and everyone becomes loser except one winner. Because of the competition, people become selfish. During the competition, people may be hurt, despaired and devastated.
A 38-year invalid man was waiting for healing opportunity in Bethesda. He would have no chance in such a competitive environment without someone’s help.
But John 5 shows the most hopeless man like him can have hope in Jesus.
When everyone was enjoying the festival, Jesus visited this place full of disabled people who could not join the joy of the festival. And Jesus asked the man, “Do you want to get well?” This is the voice of God, that gives him the hope of healing.
Jesus also asks you, “Do you want to get well?”
Even if you are the most miserable person in the society, you have hope in Jesus because He can heal your problem.
The invalid man thought Jesus might help him to win the competition. But Jesus was the game-changing healer right now right there.
See v8 and v9.
When Jesus said to him “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk”, the man was cured at once; he picked up the mat and walked.
What can we learn from this?
You will be better off to live wholesome life in Jesus than competing in Bethesda and filled with complaint and despair for whole life.
If you put your hope in this world, your heart will be filled with complaint and despair regardless how long you may try (refer to v7).
You will be better off to put your hope in Jesus – In Him everyone is the winner at once.
If you don’t believe this, you trust yourself too much or you put your hope or trust in this world too much.
Do you know why we are hopeless in this world? It is because this world is like environment around Bethesda. When the invalid man lost his hope there, Jesus came over to ask “do you want to get well?” to give him hope. Don’t wait till the hopeless moment of the life.
Do you know Jesus knows all your needs and He has all power to take care of you? Jesus knows you need study, job, health, rest, food and more. You will be better off in Jesus than in Bethesda without Him. We have hope in Jesus but hopeless in this world. John 5 tells us that.
Study the Bible. And learn what His commands & promises are, do His will (obey them) and live on His promises. Do your study also as His will, not as your own will without Him.
Jesus – The Light of the World
John 9:1-12
See v1.
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
There are many types of handicaps – lame, deaf, blindness, and others. Lame man is miserable because he cannot climb rocky mountains. The deaf are miserable because they cannot hear birds’ singing. But blind man is more miserable because he cannot see the wonderful nature God created. Moreover this blind man Jesus saw was born blind. This means he could never see anything since his birth. So he couldn’t know how his mother looked like. In addition, he was poor. He was a beggar based on v8. See v2.
2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Disciples of Jesus asked Him the cause of the misery. They thought the cause was basically ‘sin’. So they asked Jesus whose sin caused the misery. The thought of disciples was based on retribution, which is typical way of thinking in many cultures in the world. Retribution is embedded in the conscious of human beings. The point of view based on retribution makes the misery a fate. The person with this point of view would think the miserable man is the sinner who deserves the misery and condemn the miserable person. This will make the miserable person even more miserable. But what was the view point of Jesus? See V3.
3“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Jesus’s view point on the misery was ‘The glory of God’. Jesus says the misery was not because of sin, but the misery happened for the glory of God. This means when the miserable person overcomes the misery, that person will glorify God by his victory. More miserable person can give God more glory through his victory over his misery. While retribution is negative, Jesus’s view point is bright and positive.
Do you have any misery in your life? People might condemn you for the misery, but Jesus is different. He says to you that your misery is for the glory of God. Amen.
See v4 & 5.
4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Now Jesus explains how the misery can be transformed to the glory to God:
This is how: by doing the work of God who sent Jesus (4a). Jesus says we must do the work of God during the day (4a). Without Jesus, it is night (darkness) and no one can work (4b). Jesus declared that He is the light of the world (4b).
In the other words, we must do the work of God while Jesus is with us in the world. And this will transform the miserable people and it will glorify God. See v6 & 7.
6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
Now Jesus performs the transformation: Misery to Glory.
First of all, he mixed his saliva and soil to make mud and then paste it on the man’s eyes.
Mud could make him blinder because mud would block sunlight. Mud could cause discomfort as the blindness did to his life. Therefore mud might mean further difficulty during misery. But this further difficulty was just before the healing. So this calls for patience during the misery. For the further difficulty may mean that healing and the glory of God are near.
Are you facing difficulty that deepening your misery even though you are in Jesus? If you understand the good purpose of God for you, you will thank for them. In such situation, simply obey the command of Jesus.
Secondly, Jesus commanded him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. Jesus let him involved in the healing process. Here, we learn that misery2glory requires our involvement during the process. And the blind man obeyed Jesus and healed.
This blind man accepted further difficulty (mud) given by Jesus. And he had trust in Jesus and was obedient to Him even during blindness. We can learn that Jesus expects us to manage any further difficulty and obey Him during our misery. Be patient and be obedient – until the work of God may be displayed in your life through Jesus. See v8 & 9.
8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
As a result of obedience, the born blind man opened his eyes. And the result of the obedience surprised others. Now people couldn’t believe their eyes. But he himself insisted that he was the beggar. It is not easy to admit the past. But this man did. It is important to admit the past to glorify God for what you are now.
See v10 – 12.
10“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
11He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12“Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
When people asked him how his eyes were opened, he testified what Jesus did for him. We can learn how we should testify what Jesus did for us.
Hallelujah!
Jesus is the light of the world! In Him, our negative and dark mind can become positive and bright, and misery can become glory to God!
I pray we all experience this transformation in the light of the world, Jesus.
Also let us transform people’s life as well as ours by doing the work of God who sent Jesus.
Amen.
The Chapter of Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15
The Gospel of Salvation
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
……
There is resurrection of the dead
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
……
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
……
Mystery: Transformation to Heavenly Body (The Body of Resurrection)
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
The LORD is my Shepherd
Psalm 23:1-2
Sheep need green pastures because the grass is their food. As sheep eat the grass, the grass gets shorter. As time flows, sheep will be getting harder to eat from short grass and become hungry and tired. So shepherd regularly needs to take sheep to new green pastures where the grass is long enough so that sheep can eat them with ease. If the grass is long, it not only is easy to eat but also provides a good cushion to lie down on them.
Higher ground has more grass and freshwater. So shepherd needs to take the sheep to higher land. It is hard for the sheep to follow the shepherd to go higher ground of the mountain. It may be steep. It may be far. But the shepherd knows that there are better grass and water over there.
Sheep are stubborn animals. In the middle of the way to the higher ground, sheep may insist not to go further. Also, when sheep feel thirsty and find water on the ground, sheep may insist to drink from it. But sheep do not know it is deadly. Dirty water on the ground has many harmful and deadly bacteria that make sheep seriously sick or dead. So the shepherd forces the sheep not to drink from the dirty water and drag them to the higher ground.
Sheep are short-sighted animals. So the sheep get lost without the guidance of the shepherd. It may walk far away in the wrong direction. So shepherd may walk far to look for it here and there, find it and take it back to where it should be. Sheep would be content with what they have nearby. Only the shepherd can see far away and know there are wonderful green pastures and fresh waters on the hill and guide them there.
Sheep falls down and is flipped upside down easily and cannot get up by itself. Shepherd needs to raise it up otherwise sheep cannot get up by themselves and could die in that condition.
Once they arrive at the higher ground of the mountain, the shepherd needs to pour out waters from the river so that the sheep can drink from it. Now how much water the sheep can drink totally depends on how much water the shepherd draws out from the river. Now we have Jesus as our shepherd. And we are His sheep. He knows what is best for us. If we continue to follow Jesus, we will see the best plan he has for each of us to come to reality.
# Read “Shepherd looks at Psalm 23” by Phillip Keller
There shall be one flock and one shepherd
The Good Shepherd Jesus (John 10:11, 10:14) said in John 10:16.
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Here “this sheep pen” means “believers among the Jews”. “Other sheep that are not of this sheep pen” is “believers among the Gentiles”. They are like wild sheep without shepherd or lost sheep under false owner. Jesus is the true owner and good shepherd. He doesn’t say He will have them but He have them already. He must bring them also. They too will listen to His voice. Believing Jews and Gentiles will make up one flock under one shepherd.
Who Jesus Is
The Holy Bible says Jesus is the Creator.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3)
# Please read Colossians 1:15-20 for further reference.
The Holy Bible says Jesus was refused by humanity, His own creature……
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:9-11)
…… with the reason of the refusal being “loving darkness instead of light”.
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
This rejection was foretold in Isaiah 53:1-12.
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Whoever lives by the truth comes to Jesus.
21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:21)
And there is the promise to the believer.
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
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How to overcome temptations?
Young people may be familiar with temptation from within. But there is temptation from without.
Some examples of temptation from without: Genesis 39:1-23, Proverbs 7:1-27
Are you able to overcome temptations?
Our Bible Conference will answer to this question based on the Holy Bible.
% Warning against ‘tempter’
Matthew 18:6-7, 2 Timothy 3:1-9
About our Club
When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said,
“The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
(Judges 6:12)
God sees your potential you don’t see and calls you “mighty warrior”. Never limit God who can do great thing through you.
Join Elite Corps in Jesus Christ.
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In Come & See
- You will not only read but also write!
- You will not only learn but also teach!
- You will not only listen but also preach!
Come & See evangelizes UNSW campus through creation of media, active invitation & presentation. Our evangelism is firmly based on the Holy Scriptures, which we research in deep.
Our aims are developing presentation skills in Christianity, cultivating evangelical, spiritual & caring leadership skills and researching the Holy Scriptures in deep to make all our activities & lives firmly based on God’s Word.
When the Bible says ‘Do not …’
Proverbs 9:8 8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
An example can be found in Matthew 14:3-12, where Baptist John rebuked King Herod.
The following verse teaches us a similar principle.
Proverbs 7:6 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
‘what is sacred’ and ‘pearls’ represent ‘The Truth of God’.
Then, when does the Bible say ‘Do persistently’? Luke 18:1-8 answers ‘Prayer’.
Persistent prayer to God will get better result than pressing mockers, dogs, and pigs hard. Let us pray persistently. On the contrary, if we don’t pray, we ourselves are in danger to be tempted (this includes being like dogs and pigs) (Matthew 26:41).
And, let us focus on disciple (the wise) training as it is shown in the life of Jesus and Proverbs 9:8b says “Rebuke the wise and they will love you.”
The pattern of the world vs. The transformation by renewing of your mind
Romans 12:9 – 21
The following is a scrap from the article: The New Mind (Romans 12) by Bob Deffinbaugh
The Grace of God Reflected in Relationships
Nowhere does the contrast between the world’s way of thinking and the transformed mind become more apparent than in verses 9-21. Here we see the new mind illustrated in Paul’s pointed guidelines for human relationships.
True Love (Romans 12:9-10). The love of the world seems to be amoral, often immoral. The love we see reflected in the television screen is a love of infidelity. This is not true love at all. True love is not divorced from morality. True love clings to what is good and hates evil. Situation ethics informs us that pre-marital sex is good if practiced in love. The biblical kind of thinking tells us that it cannot be love if it is outside the bonds of marriage.
Love expresses itself in the church by devotion to one another. It holds the other in honor, and gives to the other the place of preference. True love seeks the good of our brother, even at our own expense. The world’s love seeks personal gratification, even at the expense of others.
Endurance and Diligence (Romans 12:11-12). Christian character is contrasted with that of the world in that it endures hardship and difficulties. “… not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,” (Romans 12:11,12). There should be a diligence and zeal in our lives not typical of others. While Christians serve God with zeal, the world-at-large views them as fanatics. The Christian is characterized by hope; the world by despair. The Christian holds up in trials and tribulation; the unsaved folds up. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” is the motto of the world. The Christian is diligent in his prayer life, while the unbeliever thinks it is a waste of time.
Sensitivity to People and Their Needs (Romans12:13-16). The way of the world is to look out for old number one. As in the story of the Good Samaritan, the world walks on by the person in need, for he only represents a liability, a demand on our time and money. The world suggests we spend our time and money with those who can further our own interests. But notice the way of the Christian:
… contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation (Romans 12:13-16).
The Christian observes a material need and meets it (verse 13). The Christian opens his home to those who need hospitality. The way of the world is expressed by this ancient proverb: “A guest is like a fish. After three days he stinks.”
The Christian responds to ridicule and rejection by speaking a word of blessing, rather than a curse. The Christian is at ease with those of humble means and does not cater to the affluent.92 The Christian knows himself, his sinfulness and the waywardness of his heart. He is not proud, but humble.
Absence of Vengeance (Romans 12:17-21). The way of the world is all too evident in terms of our response to those who caused us hurt. Sock ’em!
“We communists have many things in common with the teachings of Jesus Christ,” Nikita Krushchev, ex-premier of Russia, once stated to American pressmen. He continued, “My sole difference with Christ is that when someone hits me on the right cheek, I hit him on the left so hard that his head falls off.”93
As Dr. MacIver, professor of political science at Columbia University, put it, “In war the principle must be, do to the enemy as he would to you, but do it first.”94
As Augsburger rightly comments, “That’s merely the savage law of retaliation. ‘Do back to others as they have done to you.’ Or even worse, ‘Do to others as you expect them to do to you.’”95
There is no place for this kind of thinking in the Christian’s life. We are to strive for peace to the extent that it depends upon us (verse 18). We are to recognize that vengeance is the Lord’s prerogative, not ours (verse 19).96Our response should be to repay good for evil, not in order to cause our enemy torment, but to bring him to repentance and restoration.97
92 “The vice against which the exhortations are directed is a common one and gnaws at the root of that community in the church of Christ on which the apostle lays so much emphasis. There is to be no aristocracy in the church, no cliques of the wealthy as over against the poor, no pedestals of unapproachable dignity for those on the higher social and economic strata or for those who are in office in the church (cf. I Pet. 5:3).” Ibid., pp. 137.
93 Nikita Krushchev, as cited by Steward Meachem in address given to Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship, Bluffton College, Bluffton, Ohio, March 31, 1960. Quoted by David W. Augsburger, Seventy Times Seven, The Freedom of Forgiveness (Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1970), p. 118.
94 Earnest Trice Thompson, Sermon on the Mount and Its Meaning for Today (Richmond, Va.: John Knox, 1946), pp. 117-118, as quoted by Augsburger, p. 111.
96 “Here we have what belongs to the essence of piety. The essence of ungodliness is that we presume to take the place of God, to take everything into our own hands. It is faith to commit ourselves to God, to cast all our care upon him and to vest all our interests in him. In reference to the matter in hand, the wrongdoing of which we are the victims, the way of faith is to recognize that God is judge and to leave the execution of vengeance and retribution to him. Never may we in our private personal relations execute the vengeance which wrongdoing merits.” Murray, II, pp. 141-142.
97 “Rather, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by doing this you will heap up burning coals upon his head.’ Again Paul turns to the LXX (cf. Prov. xxv. 21f.). In view of v. 21, it can scarcely be doubted that the ‘burning coals’ are the fire of remorse. If an enemy is treated in this way he may well be overcome in the best possible fashion—he may become a friend.” Barrett, pp. 242-243.
