Miraculous sign at Bethany (John 11) By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce

Miraculous sign at Bethany (John 11)

By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce                                                                                      2/2/2026

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music            

Pastoral ministry & counseling

 

Scriptures reading John chapter 11

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So, the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When He heard this, Jesus said, “this sickness will not end in death; No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (John 1-4) …On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem… Lord, Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 17-26) …

 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled… Jesus wept…(vv.32-35)

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone.” But, Lord, said, Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? (vv.38-40).

So, they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here. That they may believe that you sent me. (vv.41-42).

When he had said this Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of line, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (vv.43-44).

 Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in Him…but the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him. (vv.45,57).

 

In the verse 4 Jesus said, “this sickness will not end in death; No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” The resurrection of Lazarus would demonstrate the glory of God even more than restoration from a sick bed. 

In the verse 8, the Lord had left Judaism and had come to a place from which He could proceed to Bethany, which was an early miniature of the church. In chapter 5, Jesus healed a man paralyzed 38 years at Bethesda (the house of mercy). At Bethany, Jesus raised a man from dead. Bethany means house of affliction.  In the eight foregoing cases, in chapter 3 to 10, religion was the main frustration to and opponent of life. Here, outside religion and on the new ground, life was going to raise a dead person. Here, life no longer faced religion with its rituals, but it was frustrated by many human opinions. The disciples’ opinions (vv.8-16), Martha’s opinion (vv.21-28), Mary’s opinion (vv.32-33), the Jew’s opinion (vv.36-38), and again, Martha’s opinion (vv.39-40.) opinions, which come from knowledge, belong to the tree of knowledge, but the Lord here was actually the tree of life for people to enjoy.

Verse 14 In the Lord’s salvation He does not merely heal the sick; He also gives life to the dead. Hence, He remained two days until the sick one had died (v.6). The Lord does not reform or regulate people – He regenerates people and raise them out of death. Therefore, the first of the nine cases in chapter 3-11 was a case of regeneration, and the last was a case of resurrection, revealing that all the aspects of Christ as life to us, as unveiled in the other seven cases, are in the principles of regeneration and resurrection. This last case was the actual changing death into life.  

In verse 24 The Lord told Martha, “Your bother will rise again” (v.23). This meant that the Lord would raise him immediately; but Martha expounded the Lord’s word so as to postpone the present resurrection to the last day. What an exposition of the divine word! Some of the knowledge of fundamental teaching is truly destructive and frustrates people from enjoying the Lord’s present resurrection life.  

Verse 25 He who believes in Me, even if he dies physically shall live spiritually and eternally. Whoever lives physically and believes in Me will never die spiritually and eternally.

In verse 27 the Lord said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and asked her, “Do you believe this?” She answered, “Yes, Lord, I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Her reply did not answer the Lord’s question. Her old, preoccupying knowledge covered her, preventing her from understanding the Lord’s new word. Man’s old knowledge and old opinions are coverings that keep him from knowing clearly the Lord’s new revelation. In verse 28 this might have been Martha’s opinion and not the Lord’s command.

Verse 35 Jesus wept. This word differs from the word translated weep and weeping in vv.31 and 33. Here it means to shed tears to wee silently. This is the only time the word is used in the New Testament.

Verse 41 their taking the stone away and loosing Lazarus were their submitting to and cooperating with the resurrection life.

Verse 52 the phrase gathers into one the children of God mentioned in this chapter implies that not only the Lord’s death but also the Lord’s resurrection life is for the building up God’s children. By His death the Lord released His life so that it could be imparted into those who believe into Him. This life is experienced by us in His resurrection. It is in the Lord’s resurrection that we grow together into one by His life to become His body.  

Bibliography,

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 

Jesus’ healing miraculous sign changing death into life in Bethesda (John 5: 1-30) By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Jesus’ healing miraculous sign changing death into life in Bethesda (John 5: 1-30)

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music

Scriptures reading John 5: 1-30

Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades (five porticoes). Here a great number of disabled people used to lie---the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty –eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (John5:1-9a).

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, “Pick up your mat and walk.” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” the man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again, Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (vv.9b-15)

So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (vv.16-18)

Jesus gave them this answer: “ I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does (v.19)…for just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it (v.21)…

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he had crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. (vv.24-25) For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And He has given him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man.  Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing, I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.  (vv.26-30).

              

 The Sheep Gate signifies the door to the sheepfold of the religion of law keeping (10:1). Bethesda means house of mercy, signifying that the people who practiced law keeping needed the mercy of God because they were impotent, weak, and wretched, as portrayed in Rom.7:7-24.  Porticoes (colonnades) signify the shelter of the religion of law keeping, a shelter like that provided by a sheepfold. The number five signifies responsibility.

In the verse 3 signifies that under the shelter of law keeping, in the sheepfold of religion there are many who are blind, unable to see; many who are lame, paralyzed, unable to walk; and many who are withered, lacking the life supply.  In the verse 4 the angel here signifies the agent through which the law, which could not give life, was given (Gal.3:19, 21). The stirring up of the water to make people well signifies the attempt to make people perfect by the practice of law keeping. Verse 5 with this sick and impotent man there was no happiness, even on the joyful day of a feast (v.1), and there was no rest, even on the Sabbath day.(v.10)

The verse 6 Jesus saw this one lying there and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, so He said, “Do you want to well?” this sign signifies that when the practice of law keeping in the Jewish religion became an impossibility because of the impotence of man.  “For that which law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sins in the flesh.”(Rom.8:3 ). the Son of God came to enliven the dead (v.25). The law could not give life (Gal.3: 21), but the Son of God gives life to the dead (v.21) while we were yet weak (Rom.5:6), He came to enliven us.  

Verse 7 there was a means for healing in the religion of law keeping, but it did not profit the impotent man because he had no strength to fulfill the law’s requirements. The law keeping in religion depends on man’s effort, man’s doing, and man’s self-cultivation. Since man is impotent, the law keeping in religion becomes ineffective. The holy city, the holy temple, the feast, the Sabbath, the angels, Moses, and the Scriptures are all good things of this religion, but they could no nothing for this impotent man. In the eyes of the Lord he was a dead person (v.25), in need not only of healing but also of enlivening. With the Lord’s enlivening there is no requirement. The impotent man heard His voice and was enlivened (v.25). Formerly, the mat carried the impotent man, but now the enlivened man carried the mat. This is the changing of death into life as the principle set forth in chapter 2.

Verse 10 Life’s enlivening broke religion’s ritual. Religion was offended by life and began its opposition to life from this point (vv.16, 18). The Sabbath is for man (Mark2:27) and should be a rest to man. Religion’s law keeping did not bring rest to this man who had been sick for thirty-eight years, but life’s enlivening did. Yet the religious cared only for their ritual of Sabbath keeping; they had no concern for the sick man’s rest.

             Verse 14 Jesus said to the sick man, sin no more so that nothing worse happens to him. This indicates that the man’s former sickness was due to his sin.

 Verse 17 God’s work in creation was finished (gen.2:1-3), but the Father and the Son were still working for redemption and building.

 Verse 18 On one hand, the Jews religious people kept the Sabbath, but on the other hand, they sought to kill Jesus. How could they have had rest? Because of their religious concept, they thought that to kill those who would not keep their religious ritual was to offer service to God (16:2). This is Satan’s poisoning of people with religion, causing them to murder, just as he poisons people with sin.

 Verse 24 the source of death is the tree of knowledge, and the source of life is the tree of life (Gen.2:9,17). Hence, to pass out of death into life is to change the source of one’s living.

 Verse 25 Not those who are dead physically but those who are dead in spirit. In accordance with Eph.2:1,5 and Col.2:13, hence, in this verse to live means to be alive in spirit.  It does not signify resurrection of the physical body, which is mentioned in vv.28-29.

 Verse 27 The Lord is the Son of God (v.25); hence, He can give life (v.21).He is also the Son of Man; hence, He can execute judgment. Verse 28 referring to those who are dead physically and are buried in a tomb. Hence, their coming forth from the tomb in v.29 is the resurrection of the physical body.

 Verse 29 This is the resurrection of the saved deliverers, which will take place before the millennium (Rev.20:4, 6; 1 Cor.15:23, 52; 1 Thes.4:16). At the Lord Jesus’ coming back, the dead believers will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life; hence, this resurrection is called the resurrection of life.

 Verse 29 This is the resurrection of the unbelievers who have perished; it will take place after the millennium (Rev.20:5,12). All the dead unbelievers will be resurrected after the thousand years to be judged at the great white throne (rev.20:11-15). Hence, this resurrection is called the resurrection of judgment.

In John chapter 5 vv. 24-26 speak concerning the enlivening of the spirit.  vv. 28-29, concerning the resurrection of the whole being, including the body.

 

Bibliography,

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Jesus is the door (gate) for the sheep (John 10:1-30) By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce

 

Jesus is the door (gate) for the sheep (John 10:1-30)

By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music; pastoral ministry & counseling

 

Scriptures reading :John 10:1-30

 

“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”(John10:1-5) Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore, Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate (door) for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.(vv.7-8) I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (v.9). The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. (v.10) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (vv.11). 

The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So, when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me (John10:12-14) Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. 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. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. (vv.15-17)….

At that time the Feast of the Dedication occurred in Jerusalem, and it was winter (v.22)….the Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. (vv.24-26) My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; No one can snatch them out of my hand. (v.28). My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. (v.29-30).

 

 The sheepfold (sheep pen) signifies the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God’s chosen people were kept and guarded in custody until Christ came. Thieves and robbers (v.8) signify those who came into Judaism, but not through Christ. The blind man who received sight in the chapter 9 was such a sheep. He was led by the Lord out of the Judaism –fold. Chapter 10 is a continuation of ch.9.

        Verse 9 Jesus said, “I am the door (gate). Christ is the door (gate) not only for God’s elect to enter into the custody of the law, as did Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah in the Old Testament time, before Christ came, but also for God’s chosen people, such as Peter, John, James, and Paul, to come out of the fold of the law now that Christ has come. Thus, the Lord indicated here that He is the door not only through which God’s elect may go in but also through which God’s chosen people may go out. 

       The pasture here signifies Christ as the feeding place for the sheep. When the pasture is not available (in the wintertime or at night), the sheep must be kept in the fold. When the pasture is ready, there is no further need for the sheep to remain in the fold. To be kept in the fold is transitional and temporary. To be in the pasture enjoying its riches is final and permanent. Before Christ came, the law was a ward, and being under the law was transitional. Now that Christ has come, all God’s chosen people must come out of the law and come into Him to enjoy Him as their pasture (Gal.3:23-25;4:3-5). This should be final and permanent. Because they did not have such a revelation, the leaders in Judaism considered the law, on which Judaism was based, as permanent. As a result, they missed Christ and could not participate in Him as their pasture.

 Verse 11 Jesus said, I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. Greek. Psuche, soul., soul-life and so in the succeeding verse. As a ma, the Lord has the psuche life, the human life, and as God, He has the zoe life, the divine live. He laid down His soul (His psuche life, His human life), to accomplish redemption for His sheep (vv.15,17-18) that they may share His zoe life, His divine life (v.10b), the eternal life. (v.28), by which they can be formed into one flock under Himself as the one Shepherd. As the good Shepherd, He feeds His sheep with the divine life in this way and for this purpose. 

Verse 16 Jesus mentioned about the other sheep are the Gentile believers (Acts 11:18). The one flock signifies the one church, the one Body of Christ (Eph.2:14-16;3:6) brought forth by the Lord’s eternal, divine life, which He imparted into His members through His death (vv.10-18). The fold is Judaism, which is of letter and regulation, and the flock is the church, which is of life and spirit.

Verse 22 the Feast of the Dedication occurred in Jerusalem, and it was winter. From 170 B.C. to 168 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, invaded Jerusalem and looted the temple. Moreover, on December 25, 168 B.C., he sacrificed a sow (pig) on the altar and set up an image in the temple, thus defiling and damaging the temple. Three years later, in 165 B.C., Judas Maccabeus, a strong man of Judah, purified and restored the altar and the temple. He set December 25 the day on which the altar and the temple had been defiled as the beginning of a sacred feast that was to have eight consecutive days of rejoicing to celebrate the great achievement of the purification and restoration of the altar and the temple. This sacred feast is the Feast of the Dedication mentioned here. It called the Feast of Light and Hanukkah. 

 

Bibliography,

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 

 

Bible study: Blind man received sight (John 9:1-41) By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Bible study: Blind man received sight (John 9:1-41)

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce          Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel music

Scripture reading John 9:1-41

And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind? Jesus answered, neither has this man sinned nor his parents, but he was born so, that the works of God might be manifested in him. (vv.1-3)…while I am in the world, I am the light of the world.(v.5) When he had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed his eyes with the clay. And He said to him, go; wash in the pool of Siloam (which is interpreted, sent). He went therefore and washed and came away seeing.(vv.5-7)…the neighbors then and those who previously saw him as a beggar said, is not this the one who used to sit and beg ?...he said, I am the one. They said then to him, how then were your eyes opened? He answered, the man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me, go to the pool of Siloam and wash. I went therefore and washed, and I received my sight.(vv.8-11)…

now it was the Sabbath, on which day Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. And he said to them, He put clay on my eyes, and I washed and I see… whether or not He is sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see (v.25)…we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.(v.31) Since time began it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind. If this man were not form God, He could do nothing. They answered and said to him, you were wholly born in sins, and you are teaching us? And they cast him out. (v.14-15, 25-34). Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and He found him and said, do you believe into the Son of God? He answered and said, and who is He, Lord, that I may believe into Him? Jesus said to him, you have both seen Him, and He is the One speaking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe; and he worshipped Him. (John 9:35-38)

                     This case in chapter 9 is further proof that the religion of law could not in any way help a blind man. But the Lord Jesus, as the light of the world, imparted sight to him in the way of life. Blindness, like sin in the previous chapter, is a matter of death. A dead person surely is blind. “The god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers.” Therefore, they need “the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ” to shine on them (2Cor.4:4) “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). In the principle set forth in Chapter 2 this also is the changing of death into life.

 In John 9:2 disciple’s question, like those in 4:20-25 and 8:3-5, was a matter of yes, or no, which belong to the tree of knowledge, the result of which is death (Gen.2:17). But the Lord’s answer in v.3 pointed them to Himself, the One who is the tree of life, which results in life.(Gen.2:9).

Clay in verse 6 as in Rom.9:21, signifies humanity. Spittle as something that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord (Matt.4:4), signifies the Lord’s words, which are Spirit and are life (John6:63). The Lord’s making clay of the spittle signifies the mingling of humanity with the Lord’s living word, which is the Spirit. The word anointed proves this, because the Lord’s Spirit is the anointing Spirit (Luke 4:18; 2Cor.1:21-22; 1John2:27). Here the Lord anointed the blind eyes with the clay made of His spittle, that they might have sight. This signifies that by the anointing of the mingling of the Lord’s word (which is His Spirit) with our humanity, our eyes, which were blinded by Satan, can have sight.

 Verse 7 to wash is to cleanse away the clay. This signifies the washing away of our old humanity, as experienced in baptism (Rom.6:3-4, 6). His going and washing indicates that he obeyed the life –giving word of the Lord. So he received sight. If he had not gone to wash off the clay after having been anointed with it, the clay would have blinded him even more. Our obedience to the Lord’s anointing cleanses us and brings us sight.

It seems that the Lord again purposely did a sign on the Sabbath to expose the vanity of religious ritual. In any case, this strengthened religion’s opposition, for He had already done a sign on the Sabbath in the Bethesda, (John5:10, 16) Jesus said to a lame rise, take up your mat and walk. And immediately the man became well, and he took up his mat and walked…the Jews said to the one who had been healed, it is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your mat…and because of this the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because He did these things on the Sabbath. (John5:8-10, 16). In chapter 9 the man was blind, restored the sight by Jesus on Sabbath, Pharisees cast him out. To case him out was to excommunicate, to ostracize him from the Jewish synagogue. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and He found him and said, do you believe into the Son of God? He answered and said, and who is He, Lord, that I may believe into Him? Jesus said to him, you have both seen Him, and He is the One speaking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe; and he worshipped Him. (John 9:35-38).

Pharisees cast him out; this was to put him out of the sheepfold, as spoken by the Lord in John10:3-4. Religion’s persecution of the Lord’s called one did nothing but fulfill what the Lord intended for him. The blind man was a sheep. He was led by the Lord out of the Judaism- fold. The sheepfold signifies the law, or Judaism as the religion of the law, in which God’s chosen people were kept and guarded in custody until Christ came. Christ is the door not only for God’s elect to enter into the custody of the law, as did Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah in the Old Testament time, before Christ came, but also for God’s chosen people, such as Peter John, James, and Paul, to come out of the fold of the law now that Christ has come. Thus, the Lord indicated that He is the door not only through which God’s elect may go in but also through which God’s chosen people may go out. (John 10:3-4).

 

Bibliography,

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 

the truth (Jesus Himself) shall set you free (John 8: 1- 59) by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Truth (Son - Jesus Himself) shall set you free

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce    Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts &Gospel music

Scriptures reading John 8:1-36

Jesus said to those Jews, who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly my disciples and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free… If therefore, the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:31-32, 36)

 In the Gospel of John nine cases have been selected to prove that the Lord Jesus is the life and the life supply to people. The first six cases in chapter 3-7, form a group of signs signifying that, on the positive side, the Lord is the life and the life supply to us for regenerating , satisfying, healing, enlivening, feeding, and thirst  quenching. The last three cases, in chapter 8-11, form a group of signs signifying that, on the negative side, the Lord is life to us to deliver us from the three main negative things: sin, blindness, and death.  

The case in chapter 8 reveals all the matters related to the problem of sin.

1)      The source of sin- the devil.

2)      The three main items of sin-adultery, and fornication, murder, and lies (vv.3,41, 44).

3)      The bondage, or slavery, of sin.

4)      The issue, or result, of sin – death.

5)      The One who is without sin- the Lord.

6)      The One who is qualified to condemn sin –the Lord.

7)      The One who is qualified to forgive sin –the Lord.

8)      The One who is able to set people free from sin- the Lord.

The Lord is the ever- existing God, the great I AM, who became to the Son of Man and was lifted up on the cross to bear our sins; therefore, He is qualified to forgive our sins. Furthermore, the Lord, being the eternal God, can come into us to be life and light to deliver us from the bondage and darkness of sin.

The case in chapter 8 shows also that the religion (represented by the temple –vv.2,20 ) of law (vv.5.17) cannot set people free from sin and death; but the Lord Jesus, the I AM, who became the Son of Man and was lifted up on the cross for the serpent poisoned people, can do what religion and law cannot do. John chapter 8 shows us that Christ, the great I AM, not only is versus sin and death but also is versus religion and law.

John 8:5 their question here, like those in 4:20-25 and 9:2-3, was a matter of yes or no, which belongs to the tree of knowledge, the result of which is death (gen.2:17). But the Lord’s answer in v.7 pointed them to Himself, the One who is the tree of life which results in life (Gen.2:9).

Verse 6 the Lord Jesus’ stooping down was a sign done to humble and calm the proud and self-righteous scribes ad Pharisees. It might be that He was writing, “Who among you is without sin?”

Verse 11 the scribes and Pharisees could not condemn the woman, because they were all sinful. Only the Lord Jesus was without sin, and only He was qualified to condemn the woman, but He would not. Verse 12 the Light of life (1:4) shines within man by the inner sense of life to deliver man from sin.

Verse 16 this proves that when the Son was on the earth, the Father was with Him on the earth. The Father can never be separated from the Son, and the Son can never be separated from the Father. When the Son was on the earth, He was still in heaven with the Father (3:13). This proves that when God became flesh (1:14), it was the Son with the Father, the Father with the Son, in the Spirit (that is, the entire God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) who became flesh (1Tim.3:16).

Verse 24 I AM (vv.28, 58) is the meaning of the name Jehovah (Exo.3:14) or Heb. Yahweh and Jehovah is the name of God (Gen.2:7), the One who is and who was and who is coming, the self-existing and ever-existing One (Rev.1:4:Exo.3:14-15). This name is used in speaking of God in His relationship with man. Therefore, it indicates that the Lord is the ever-existing God who has a relationship with man. Any man who does not believe that He is this very God will die in his sins.

Verse 25 the Lord’s speaking reveals what He is, in particular His eternal divinity, as the I AM spoken of in the foregoing verse. This is the basic element revealed in the Lord’s word.

Verse 28 the phrase lifts (or lifted) up is used also in 3:14 and 12:31-34. In 3:14 the Lord as the Son of Man was to be lifted up in the form of the serpent to bear the judgment of God for the serpent –poisoned people. In 12:31-34 the Lord as the Son of Man was to be lifted up for the casting out of the old serpent, Satan, the ruler of the world. Hence, in this chapter 8 the Lord, as the Son of Man lifted up, can deliver the serpent –poisoned people from sin, the serpent’s poison.

Verse 32 in Greek the same as reality in 1:14, 17. The truth is not the so-called truth of doctrine but the reality of the divine things, which is the Lord Himself (ch.14; 1:14, 17). This verse says that “the Truth shall set you free” whereas v.36 says that “the Son sets you free.” This proves that the Son, the Lord Himself, is the truth. Since the Lord is the embodiment of God (Col.2:9), He is the reality of what God is. Hence, reality is the very divine element of God realized by us. When the Lord as the great I AM comes into us as life, He shines within us as light, bringing the divine element as reality into us. The reality, which is the divine element imparted into us and realized by us, sets us free from the bondage of sin by the divine life as the light of man. When the Lord as the Word of God became flesh (1:14), He brought God to us as this reality, that God might be the grace for our enjoyment (1:17).

Scriptures reading John 8:37-59

“Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” Said Jesus, “Then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.” (vv.39-41) “We are not illegitimate children, they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (vv.42-47)

 Verse 44 because the devil is the father of sinners, sinners are the children of the devil (1John3:10). The devil is the old serpent (Rev.12:9;20:2) and sinners also are serpents, the generation of vipers (Matt.23:33;3:7) Hence, they need the Lord in the form of the serpent to be lifted up for them on the cross (3:14) to save them not only from sin but also from the source of sin. The devil (Heb.2:14).

The Lord’s word here revealed that in the devil, the father of lies, there is a particular wicked thing that caused him to become the source of sin. This thing is something of his own, his private possession, and it is something that other creatures do not have. Father of lies. Since the devil is the father of liars, he is the sources of sin.

 The divine element of God, working as life and light within man, sets man free from the slavery of sin. But the evil element of the devil, working as sin through death, and darkness within man, enslaves man to sin. The devil’s nature is a lie and brings in death and darkness. With darkness is falsehood, the opposite of the truth.

The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon possessed?” (v.48) “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “But I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” (vv.52-53)

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” (vv.54-56) “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” (v.57) “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “Before Abraham was born, I am!” (v.58) At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (v.59)

           Verse 58 the Lord as the great I AM is the eternal, ever-existing God. Hence, He was before Abraham and is greater than Abraham. (v.53) In verse 55 the Lord Jesus told the Pharisees that they had not known God the Father, even in the outward, objective knowledge, but that He knew the Father in the inward, subjective consciousness.

 Bibliography,

Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV). Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.