A Beloved’s Witness pt 3

On an expedition, that was the
illustration that I used three weeks ago, four weeks ago now,
when we opened this section. I shared with you that I had
gone to a presentation by a friend of Barry’s that spoke of his
expedition to K2 and of the arduous journey that it was just to get
to the base of the mountain. You fly into Afghanistan. The
first you take a bus to a city where you board jeeps. Then you
drive these jeeps back up into the back country. You get out
of the jeeps. You go as far as the jeeps can
go. You get out of the jeeps and begin an 80-mile trek to
the base of the mountain. One gentleman had 10 porters
just carrying his supplies that he would need for this expedition.
And I use that as an illustration to let you know we’re not even
climbing yet. We haven’t even really begun
the Gospel of John. We haven’t even begun, to use
that metaphor, of climbing the mountain. And so people keep
asking me, so where exactly are we? People, we just landed the
plane. We’re just getting started in
our study of the Gospel of John. We began by looking at kind of
the the characterization of the Gospel of John, that it is absolutely
invaluable. One described it as the most
literary production ever composed. It is dynamic. It is something
that a believer, a new believer, can read and understand and grasp
and know that they are interacting with the very truth of God. And
it is also, even for the most mature Christians, something
that must be studied and deeply pondered. It is beloved, it is
many people’s favorite gospel, for many people the very source
of their salvation. We started our study by looking
at who wrote the gospel, and at first we we considered this
kind of a silly question although it’s never mentioned specifically
that uh… by anyone that uh… they claim
authorship of this gospel and yet as we began to look uh… that it was a good question that
it has been disputed for hundreds of years and yet from the very
earliest days of the church uh… the gospel was attributed to
the apostle john uh… from the very earliest days of
the church. And it has been consistently
held that it was the Apostle John, but there are many clues
even in the passage or in the text itself that point ultimately
to John. The author was Jewish. We saw
that the author was from Palestine. He was almost certainly an apostle.
having that intimate knowledge of even conversations that could
have only been known by an apostle. The author was almost certainly
an eyewitness. He has an uncommon intensity,
as we saw. And then he identifies himself
only as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And the more we looked
at that, we came up with the conclusion that Really John is
the author of the gospel and only John fits the details that
are all laid out there. And so with that in hand we wanted
to know who is John and we began to look briefly at John. John was a member of a four person
family. Father was Zebedee, of whom we
know almost nothing other than the fact that he was a well-to-do
fisherman. Salome, his wife, almost certainly sister of Mary,
the mother of the Lord Jesus, which would make the Apostle
John also, in addition to John the Baptist, a cousin of Jesus,
even if a second cousin. We know that John had a brother,
often named first any time they are presented, and so because
of that, it is assumed, really, that James was the older of the
two. We saw that this family was a
fishing family, and likely they were even in a partnership with
Peter himself. They were from the Galilean era
or area rather. John though not an educated man
according to the Jewish standards would have been educated in the
school system that was very common of that day including intensive
spiritual training. We saw that John’s faith Began
first with a repentance according to John’s preaching John the
Baptist that he was baptized that he was Essentially prepared
for the Messiah to come and as soon as he met the Messiah he
began to follow wholeheartedly there were There was that twofold
call of his life where John eventually, the apostle, began to follow
faithfully in the steps of his master, the Lord Jesus. We saw
that John’s nature was also complex, that he could be very quiet and
contemplative and he could be fiery and intense. One described
him said that the two sides of his character were tender love
and stern intolerance. He was a passionate man. Jesus
himself named he and his brother the sons of thunder, passionate,
fiery men. We looked at a number of different
examples. But in the midst of all of those examples of intensity
in John, we saw at the very last moment of Jesus’ life, We saw
that tender contemplative side when he was entrusted into the
care of Jesus’ own mother there at the foot of the cross. Well,
all that just as kind of a review, but I want to resume and finish
our consideration of John, kind of his biography, if you will.
I want to look at his ministry, the ministry of John the Apostle,
following Christ’s resurrection. We touched briefly, even last
Lord’s Day, in the context of the resurrection, how Jesus presented
himself even to the apostles. But what happened after the resurrection?
How did John’s ministry proceed from there? What you have, essentially,
is a slow fade of John’s ministry from the pages of Scripture.
He’s associated with Peter, but he’s never even recorded as speaking. If you keep your finger in the
Gospel of John, flip over, if you would, to the book of Acts. And I just want to give you the
sense of this slow fade that John undergoes in the pages of
scripture. It doesn’t mean that he’s not
important. It doesn’t mean that God didn’t use him. It’s just
that by God’s purposes, John was going to fade from prominence
here, at least in what is recorded in scripture. Look at chapter
three. Now Peter and John, that is absolutely John the Apostle,
were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
A man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried
along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of
the temple, which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms for those
who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John go
into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. He wanted basically
a handout. But Peter, along with John, fixed
his gaze on him and said, look at us. Again, it isn’t recorded
that John said anything other than he stared at the man. And he began to give them his
attention, expecting to receive something, but, and you know
the passage, but Peter said, I do not possess silver or gold,
but what I do have, I give you in the name of Jesus Christ,
the Nazarene, walk. So John was present there at
that Miracle, flip over to chapter four. In chapter four, we have another
mention of John, but it really is just a passing mention. Verse
one, they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain,
the guard, the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed
because they were teaching the people and proclaiming Jesus
the resurrection, proclaiming Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until
the next day, for it was almost evening. But many of those who
had heard the message believed, and a number of the men came
to be about 5,000.” So the gospel is flourishing, and John is there
in Jerusalem. And we know that John would eventually
become a leader of that church, but this just renders him as
being present. Go on with me, if you would,
in verse five. On the next day, the rulers and elders and scribes
were gathered together in Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest was
there, Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of
high priestly descent. That is not our John. When they
had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, by what
power or what name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with
the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and elders of the people,
if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man
as to how this man became well, let it be known to you and all
the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the
Nazarene whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead by this
name this man stands here before you in good health he is the
stone which was rejected by you the builders which became the
chief cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else for
there is no one under any name under heaven that has been given
among men by which you must be saved now as they observed the
confidence of Peter and John They understood that they were
uneducated and untrained men. They were amazed and began to
recognize them as having been with Jesus. They’re just, as
I say, a passing mention of John the Apostle. We have another
mention in Acts chapter eight. By the time you turn there, I’ll
be gone. They sent to them Peter and John who came down and prayed
for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. And so you basically
have this slow, fade of the Apostle John from the pages of Scripture.
The last real reference of him isn’t even in the book of Acts,
it’s in the book of Galatians where Paul writes, and speaking
to the Galatians, he just mentions John in passing, that James and
Cephas and John, who were refuted reputed rather to be pillars,
gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. So there
you have Peter and James and John as pillars of the Jerusalem
church. And that really is the extent
of the mention of the Apostle John in the scriptures. We know
that his position must have grown somehow, some way, At least for
a time that he became a pillar there in the Jerusalem church. And really the next that history
records of the Apostle John is Ephesus. Ephesus which we just
happened to study in our consideration of Acts chapter 20. where Paul
had a lengthy ministry, a ministry of more than three years there,
grounding that church and establishing that church, not just in Ephesus,
but even in the surrounding regions. And with Paul’s departure and
ultimately, we believe, his martyrdom, there was a vacuum of leadership
there that it’s quite evident from what history presents, John
filled. Let me talk just a moment about
tradition. We’ve talked about it a little
bit so far, that tradition is one of those things that we have
to be very careful about taking extra biblical accounts. And so tradition being the historical
testimony of the church tells us that John eventually left
Jerusalem and relocated to Ephesus, but we don’t know when, we don’t
know why he left Jerusalem, we just know that he did. And that
history records him as residing and leading in Ephesus. Evaluating
reports from what is referred to as tradition, reports that
are generated and communicated down through history necessitates
or requires a reasoned discrimination. We have to be very careful about
receiving these reports and I’ll give you some examples in a moment.
We have to determine what is fanciful fiction and what is
plausible history. We need to We don’t need to throw
out all oral history or tradition as a whole, but we have to evaluate
it carefully and retain only what might be reasonably held
to be possibly true. This isn’t divine revelation
that we’re dealing with. And even then, we have to maintain
such information humbly, that this is what we believe happened. We believe it to be only possibly
genuine or likely true. One historian records that after
Christ’s ascension, John became one of the pillars of the church
in Jerusalem, easily supportable, Galatians 2.9. He is mentioned
three times by name, Acts 3.1, 4.13, 8.14, each time in association
with Peter. Tradition says that John later
went to Ephesus. He was eventually exiled by the
Romans for a time on the Isle of Patmos. That’s the kind of
general report that you get regarding the Apostle John’s post-resurrection
ministry. We can’t ignore that, and part
of our study of the background of the Gospel of John is interacting
with that tradition. Ephesus was a crucial city, as
we’ve already seen from our study, an area that was literally the
thoroughfare between two different worlds, the East and the West,
We don’t know exactly when, as I said, John went to Ephesus. One oral tradition says that
he left Jerusalem 12 years after the death of Christ. We have
no way to verify that. And what you get out of this
tradition is understandable but completely speculative thoughts. Here’s one of them. The conjecture
that John lived at Jerusalem until the death of Mary, the
mother of Jesus, and that this set him free is unsupported by
evidence. What they’re basically saying
is that John was supposed to care for Jesus’ mother, and he
did so in Jerusalem until the time that Mary died. Well, that
is conjecture. We don’t know that to be true.
We don’t know exactly when Mary died or whether John maybe stayed
in Jerusalem for many years after that. Here’s one likely tradition. Tradition is unanimous, said
one, in giving Ephesus as the place where John resided during
the latter part of his life. It’s very apparently an ancient
tradition. One said it so strongly, he said,
nothing is better attested in early church history than the
residence and work of John of Ephesus. But the dates of his
commencement and close are alike unknown. Most people would agree
that John ended up in Ephesus and he spent a lengthy season
ministering and overseeing the church there in Ephesus. Very likely after the death of
Paul. So John is in Ephesus overseeing the churches there. We know that
from the book of Revelation that he was exiled to the island of
Patmos for a time. He was banished under the reign
of Domitian, and we know the dates of his reign, so you can
reasonably put John on the Isle of Patmos in particular years
that are really unimportant for me to even mention this morning.
I’ll get to those next week. So that’s John’s ministry following
the resurrection. We know very little about it.
The pages of Scripture, he fades. Church history says that he ended
up in Ephesus. We have no reason to argue against
that. The last real feature that we come to is John’s death. We
looked at his life, we looked at his family, we looked at his
ministry, we looked at his personality, if you will, we looked at his
post-resurrection ministry, his death. Tradition, the consistent
report of the early church fathers is that John eventually returned
from exile to Ephesus and that he lived to a very advanced age. There are some historical statements
from early church fathers. Irenaeus says that he lived until
the time of the Roman emperor Trajan, which would be AD 98. According to Jerome, he died
weighed down by old age, 68 years after the Lord’s passion, that
is about the year 100. Another said that he died last
of all the apostles judged about 100 years after the birth of
Christ We know that he was about 100 years old. That’s what we
know. All of those statements are plausible. At the other end
of the spectrum, though, is this idea that developed, and it developed
into a full-fledged position regarding John that was almost
superstitious. Ridiculous, really, as you interact
with this data. A full-fledged position that’s
centered on the words which Jesus spoke to Peter at his restoration
to ministry. If you would turn to John, the
end of John, you should be close, I left you in Acts 8, I think.
John chapter 21. Watch what happens here. And
watch what history does and this conjecture. This is the dangerous
side of tradition. Remember, Jesus’ purpose here
is restoring Peter to ministry, and we pick it up in verse 18.
Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to
gird yourself and walk wherever you wished. But when you grow
old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will
gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this
he said, signifying by what kind of death he, that is Peter, would
glorify God. And when he had spoken this,
he said to him, follow me. In other words, he’s issuing
Peter marching orders, saying that your life is going to be
one of difficulty, even martyrdom. Start now by following me. Peter,
turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. We’ve already
determined that that is John, the apostle. Peter looked, saw
him, and like a child said, what about him? I told you Peter is
so much like us. Peter turning around saw the
disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had also leaned
back on his bosom at the supper and said, Lord, who is the one
who betrays you? So Peter seeing him said to Jesus,
Lord, and what about this man? How come he won’t have to suffer? How come he doesn’t have to have
the same fate that I’m going to face? Jesus said to him, If
I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow
me. This reminds you of, remember
the parable of the servants, where some were hired at six
in the morning, and then some were hired at nine, and then
11, and then three, and then some in the late afternoon, and
they all got paid the same, and they wanted to complain. Peter’s
question is, is so oriented in how we are, isn’t it? How come
he doesn’t have to suffer? And so this idea developed that
the apostle John had this charmed life and that he never suffered,
that he never died, that he never endured any hardship, and it
got to the point of being absolutely ridiculous in the early church.
They thought that poison couldn’t affect him. That no form of death,
they looked at the Apostle John, that no form of death could come
upon him because he had lived for so long. Augustine, the early
church father addressed this when he said, this idea, he was talking about
this foolish idea, this is not Augustine proposing it. He said
that John would be exempt from the necessity of paying the common
tribute to death According to some, the apostle was still living,
peacefully sleeping in his grave, the proof of which was furnished
by the fact that the earth was gently moved by his breathing.
They said that when the trees moved, that was an indication
that John the apostle really was alive in his tomb, but he
was exhaling. And so from the far end of fantastic
to even the ridiculous. Isidore of Seville. relates that
when he felt that the day of his departure was come, John
caused his grave to be dug. Bidding his brethren farewell,
he laid himself down in it as if in a bed, which he says led
some to allege that he was still alive. So it comes up with this
fanciful notion that John digs his grave, lays down in it in
this kind of morbid scene. And that’s where you have to
leave tradition and say, come on. What’s the purpose? I think
what we can safely conclude is that John lived a long, extremely
old age. There’s nothing in scripture
that points to immortality for John. John was likely approximately
25 years old when Jesus called him into the ministry and those
ensuing years, 65 to 70 years, would put him at about age 100.
Other than that, we really have nothing from scripture. We’ll take up next week the question
of when did John write this gospel? And this is a question that’s
been kicked around for years. And it flares up every once in
a while, this incredible fight over exactly when John wrote
the gospel. And there are some factors that
influence that, understanding why it even is a question that
needs to be considered. There are some implications as
to when John wrote his gospel. And I’ve been studying this thing
for about six weeks. And I think next Lord’s Day,
safely, I will be able to tell you exactly when John wrote his
gospel. In the meantime, if you would
turn to John chapter five in our continued reading of this
incredible gospel. John chapter five. After these things, there was
a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem Now there
is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called
in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticos. In these lay a multitude
of those who are sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for
the moving of the waters. For an angel of the Lord went
down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water.
Whoever then first, after the stirring of the water, stepped
in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. A man was there who had been
ill for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition,
he said to him, do you wish to get well? The sick man answered
him, sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water
is stirred up. But while I am coming, another
steps down before me. Jesus said to him, get up, pick
up your pallet and walk. Immediately the man became well
and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the
Sabbath that day. So the Jews were saying to the
man who was cured, it is the Sabbath and it is not permissible
for you to carry your pallet. But he answered them, he who
made me well was the one who said to me, pick up your pallet
and walk. They asked him, who is the man
who said to you, pick up your pallet and walk? But the man
who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped
away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward, Jesus
found him in the temple and said to him, behold, you have become
well, do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to
you. The man went away. and told the
Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason,
the Jews were persecuting Jesus because he was doing these things
on the Sabbath. But he answered them, my father
is working until now, and I myself am working. For this reason,
therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because
he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but was calling God
his own father, making himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus
answered and was saying to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the
son can do nothing of himself unless it is something he sees
the father doing. For whatever the father does,
these things, the son also does in like manner. For the father
loves the son and shows him all things that he himself is doing.
And the father will show him greater works than these so that
you will marvel. For just as the Father raises
the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to
whomever He wishes. For not even the Father judges
anyone, but He has given all judgment into the Son, so that
all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He
who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent
Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears my word and believes
him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment
but is passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to
you, an hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the
voice of the son of God and those who hear will live for just as
the father has life in himself, so he gave to the son also to
have life in himself. and he gave him authority to
execute judgment because he is the son of man. Do not marvel
at this. For an hour is coming in which
all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come
forth, those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge. And my judgment
is just because I do not seek my own will, but the will of
him who sent me. If I alone testify about myself,
my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies
of me and I know that the testimony which he gives about me is true.
You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. But
the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these
things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning
and was shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while
in his light. But if the testimony which I
have is greater than the testimony of John, For the works which
the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I do testify
about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent
me, he has testified of me, and you have neither heard his voice
at any time nor seen his form. You do not have his word abiding
in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent, You search
the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal
life. It is these that testify of me.
And you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men,
but I know you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
I have come in my father’s name and you do not receive me. If
another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can
you believe when you receive glory from one another, and you
do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do
not think that I will accuse you before the Father, the one
who accuses you as Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
For if you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he
wrote about me. But if you do not believe his
writings, how will you believe my words? After these things,
Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. A
large crowd followed him because they saw the signs which he was
performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the
mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover,
the feast of the Jews was near, therefore, Jesus lifting up his
eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him said
to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these may eat?
This he was saying to test him for he himself knew what he was
intending to do. Philip answered him, 200 denarii
worth of bread is not sufficient for them for everyone to receive
a little. One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, there is a lad here who
has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for
so many people? Jesus said, have the people sit
down. Now there was much grass in that place, so the men sat
down in number about 5,000. Jesus then took the loaves and
having given thanks, he distributed it to those who were seated.
Likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when
they were filled, he said to his disciples, gather up the
leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost. So they gathered
them up and filled 12 baskets with the fragments from the five
barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
Therefore, when the people saw the sign which he had performed,
they said, this is truly the prophet who has come into the
world. So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and
take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain
by himself alone. Now when evening came, his disciples
went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started
to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and
Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up
because of a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had
rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the
sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened. He said
to them, it is I, do not be afraid. So they were willing to receive
him into the boat. And immediately the boat was
at the land to which they were going. The next day, the crowd
that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was
no other small boat there except one. And that Jesus had not entered
with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples had gone
away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberias to
the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given
thanks. So when the crowd saw Jesus, that Jesus was not there,
nor his disciples, they themselves got into the small boats and
came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other
side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you get
here? Jesus answered them and said,
truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs,
but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work
for the food which perishes, but work for the food which endures
to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on
him the Father has set his seal. Therefore they said to him, what
shall we do so that we may work the works of God. Jesus answered
and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe
in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, what then
do you do for a sign so that we may see and believe you? What
work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the
wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread out of heaven
to eat. Jesus then said to them, truly,
truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread
out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread
out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down
out of heaven and gives life to the world. They then said
to him, Lord, always give us this bread. Jesus said to them,
I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not hunger. And he who comes to me will never
thirst. But I said to you that you have
seen me and yet you do not believe. All that the father gives me
will come to me. And the one who comes to me I
will certainly not cast out. For I have come down out of heaven
not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the
will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me,
I lose nothing, but I raise it up on the last day. For this
is the will of my father, that everyone who beholds the son
and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will
raise him up the last day. Therefore the Jews were grumbling
about him because he said, I am the bread that came down out
of heaven. They were saying, is this not
Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How
does he say, I have come down out of heaven? Jesus answered
and said to them, do not grumble among yourselves. No one can
come to me unless the father who sent me draws him, and I
will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard
and learned from the father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen
the father except the one who is from God. He has seen the
father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal
life. I am the bread of life. Your
fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread
which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and
not die. I am the living bread that came
down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. And the bread also which I give
for the life of the world is my flesh. Then the Jews began
to argue with one another saying, how can this man give us his
flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, truly,
truly, I say to you, unless you eat of the flesh of the son of
man, and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. He
who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and
I will raise him up the last day. For my flesh is true food
and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood abides in me and I in him. As the Father sent me, and
I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also will
live because of me. This is the bread which came
down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who
eats this bread will live forever. These things he said in the synagogue
as he taught in Capernaum. Therefore, many of his disciples,
when they heard this said, This is a difficult statement, who
can listen to it? But Jesus, conscious of his disciples,
grumbled at this, said to them, does this cause you to stumble?
What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he
was before? It is the Spirit who gives life,
the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken
to you are Spirit and life, but there are some of you who do
not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were,
who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.
And he was saying, for this reason I have said to you that no one
can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this, many of
his disciples withdrew and were not walking anymore. So Jesus
said to the 12, you do not want to go away also, do you? Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life. We have believed and have come
to know that you are the holy one of God. Jesus answered them. Did I myself not choose you,
the 12, and yet one of you is the devil? Now he meant Judas,
the son of Simon Iscariot. For he, one of the 12, was going
to betray him. Let’s pray. Our merciful king. We humble ourselves before you
first. Desiring to give honor to your
word by hearing it in full. Before we ponder even the first
syllable. Lord, we thank you and praise
you for using this servant of yours,
John, to pen down his eyewitness account. And, Lord, we thank you for this
powerful testimony that has led so many to faith. And our great
plea before you, even this morning, is that in the course of our
study of this great gospel, if at any point unbelievers walk
into our midst, we pray, we plead with you. that your spirit would
use your word to stir the hearts of those who do not know you,
to bring them to repentance, to open their eyes to the Savior
that you have already provided. Lord, we love your word. We thank you for who you are,
and we pray that you would grant us the grace to be pleasing to
you in the week ahead. It’s in Jesus’ name that we ask.
Amen.