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Proverbs 16:11-21
11 Honest weights and scales are the LORD's; All the weights in
the bag are His work.
12 It
is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is
established by righteousness.
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.
14 As messengers of death is the king's wrath, But a wise man
will appease it.
15 In the light of the king's face is life, And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And
to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps
his way preserves his soul.
18 Pride goes
before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to
be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the
proud.
20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good,
And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is
he.
21 The wise in heart will be called prudent, And
sweetness of the lips increases learning.
Father God, we pray for a healing of those we love whether
family, friend, or neighbor. Heal them physically and spiritually. Let them be
a testimony to your Greatness! In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Gospel of John 6:60-71
NKJV
Last week the lesson was all about the
eating of Jesus flesh and drinking His blood which signifies the atonement of
our sins with Jesus dying on the Cross. Some believe this to be literal and
this is why this week Jesus listeners find the saying difficult to accept and
leave Him. Jesus is speaking spiritually and they are thinking carnally. Jesus
perceives their thoughts and is the reason He explains what He is saying.
60 Therefore
many of His disciples, when they heard this,
said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
Therefore many of His disciples; Usually when we hear the word “disciple”
in scripture we think of a Christian or Apostle. But one of the definitions is
this; to teach; to train; bring up; to convert to doctrines or principles;
which is the case here. These disciples/people were being taught by Jesus; they
were students of Jesus. Were they saved? Only God knows that.
When they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it; The word “hard” here means “offensive,
disagreeable”, which they could not accept. Some have understood it to mean
“difficult to be understood,” but not in this case. The doctrine which he delivered
was opposed to their beliefs and laws; it seemed to be absurd, and they
therefore rejected it.
These doctrines have always
been among the most offensive that men have been called on to believe, and
many, rather than trust in them, have chosen to draw back to perdition. This doctrine
Jesus taught, Him being the atoning sacrifice, was so offensive, and that it
was necessary to partake of through faith to be saved; they could not agree
with. This teaching of eating flesh and drinking blood is not to be taken
literally. It is all about living by faith by understanding why Jesus died and
rose from the dead for us; it is walking in Jesus shadow in all aspects of our
life here on earth; it is reading and absorbing the Word of God; it is breaking
bread/communion in remembrance of what Jesus did for us on the Cross. These
followers/disciples were not thinking spiritually, this is why it was a hard
saying to them. 1
Corinthians 11:24-25 and when He
had given thanks, He broke it
and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is
broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the
same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as
often as you drink it, in
remembrance of Me."
61 When
Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to
them, "Does this offend you?
Being
God and knowing all things Jesus knew there was rebellion starting deep within
the hearts of the people, therefore He asked the question; "Does
this offend you”?
Preachers
love to preach to a full house, but when they preach the true Gospel it offends
people and as a result the people leave, which is the same here for Jesus. Whenever
the message of the Cross is preached, people find it hard to accept. Two
thousand years ago it wasn’t accepted and also today. For a church to keep its
members a watered down message is preached. (Matthew 16:21; I Corinthians 1:23;
Galatians 5:11)
62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
Jesus
does not say that those who were then present would see him ascend, but he
implies that he would ascend. They had taken offence because he said he came
down from heaven. Instead of explaining it that away, he proceeds to state
another doctrine most offensive to them, that he would ascend back to heaven.
Only the apostles were present at his ascension, Acts
1:9. As Jesus was to
ascend to heaven, it was clear that he could not have intended literally that
they should eat his flesh.
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
It is the Spirit who gives
life; The word
“Spirit,” here has a twofold meaning. It is the Holy Spirit that gives life and
that life is a spiritual everlasting life. Secondly, “The words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit,” meaning the doctrine which He was teaching in
opposition to their notions and desires was spiritual; it quickens and nourishes
the soul; it is from heaven. Your doctrine or your views are earthly, and may
be called flesh, or fleshly, as pertaining only to the support of the body. You
place a great value on the doctrine that Moses fed the body; yet that did not
permanently profit, for your fathers are dead. You seek also food from me, but
your views and desires are earthly.”
The flesh profits nothing; The “flesh” meaning carnal views and desires, or the literal understanding of Jesus
doctrine, will not produce eternal life. This would be human works or man alone
trying to achieve Heaven. The bread that Moses gave, which is the food they
sought, would not be of value to their spiritual well being.
The words that I speak to you
are spirit, and they are life’ Jesus is saying His words are spiritual.
They are not to be understood literally, as if to really eat His flesh, but
they are to be understood as spiritual food for the soul which God has made by His
coming into the world. They are
fitting to produce or give life to the souls dead in sin.
64 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
would betray Him.
Jesus
is speaking about the people in the crowd that He is speaking to
(followers/disciples), and also referring to Judas Iscariot that would hand Him
over to the Jews for Crucifixion. This shows He is omniscient.
65 And He
said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one
can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."
We are drawn by the Father
through the working of the Holy Spirit, for faith in Christ is the gift of God.
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual life, without the work of the Holy Spirit, we
cannot even see our need for new life. All spiritual renewal begins and ends
with God. He reveals truth to us, lives within us, and then enables us to
respond to that truth. John
14:17
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He
dwells with you and will be in you.
66 From that
time many of His disciples went
back and walked with Him no more.
The
doctrines Jesus was teaching were so overwhelmingly different from what they anticipated
and knew, they now refused to accept Him at all.
What
causes many of his followers to desert him? Was it because they realized that
he wasn't going to be the conquering Messiah/King they expected; was it because
He refused to give in to their self-centered requests; was it because He
emphasized faith, not deeds; was it because His teachings were difficult to
understand, and some of his words were offensive? For some it may have been all
of these reasons and for others it may have been one or two of these reasons. As
we grow in faith, some lessons are difficult to accept, but instead of giving
up, ask Jesus to show you what the teachings mean and how they apply to your
life.
67 Then
Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go
away?"
With
this question that Jesus asks the twelve Apostles, tells us there is no middle
ground with Jesus; there is no walking the rail, you’re either on one side of
the fence or the other. When He asked the disciples if they would also leave, He
was showing that they could either accept or reject him; claim the Father or
the Devil as their father.
Just
as the Father tests our faith from time to time, here Jesus is testing the
faith of the Apostles. “Do you also want to go away,” presents a choice, free
will to follow Jesus whether saved or not saved. God compels none to remain
with him against their will, and the question in such trying times is submitted
to every man whether he will or will not go away. If a person is saved, it is
their choice to remain in God’s Grace.
68 But Simon
Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life.
In
his straightforward way, Peter answered for all of the Apostles and for us, there
is no other way. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes were corrupt,
and unable to guide them. Although there are many philosophies, religions, and
self-styled authorities Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. People look
everywhere for eternal life and miss Christ, the only source.
The
doctrine which leads to eternal life may be mysterious, difficult to understand,
but we should not reject them. Nothing would be gained by rejecting them. The
atheist, the infidel, and the philosopher believe, or professes to believe in
something, so why should we not believe the mysteries of the Bible. The poor,
lost, sinful man has nowhere else to go but to Jesus. He is the way, the truth,
and the life, and if the sinner goes any other way than to Jesus he will wander
and die. We should, therefore, put all our trust in all the words, in the teachings
of the Son of God. The words that He speaks are spirit and are life.
69 Also we
have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God."
This
verse is the rest of Peter’s answer. He is still speaking for himself and the
other 11 Apostle and being very bold and positive, but the next verse Jesus
cautions him. Peter’s bold positive answers come from being with Jesus, seeing
the miracles, listening to Jesus, and realizing through these things, Jesus is
the Messiah.
Have
you come to believe through the Word of God? Are you solid in your belief like
Peter or are you still on the fence? Jesus is
the only way to Heaven. We have to go through Him via means of repentance (not
wanting to live the way we are), confessing our sins to Jesus, asking Him to
forgive us for living for self and worldly things, and then ask Him to take us
by the hand and lead us through life here on Earth from this day forward till
the day we leave this earth.
70 Jesus
answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve,
and one of you is a devil?"
Jesus
answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve; This question Jesus asks of the Apostles
proclaims far more than random selection, but rather specific direction as
given to Him by the Father. In fact, Jesus prayed all night long seeking the
Will of the Father respecting the choice of these men. Did you know Jesus
prayed all night over who to chose to be His Apostles? What an example for us
to include Jesus in all that we do. Luke
6:12-16 Now it came to pass in those
days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in
prayer to God. 13
And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named
apostles: 14
Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip
and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot
who also became a traitor.
And one of you is a devil;
Meaning is a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer, just as the devil is from the
beginning. Judas was all of these things in the betraying of his master. Jesus
is giving Judas ample time to repent of his devious intentions, but his fleshly
wants of money won. Judas, stayed and used Jesus for personal gain. Many people
today turn away from Christ. Others pretend to follow, going to church for
status, approval of family and friends, or business contacts. But there are
only two real responses to Jesus, you either accept him or reject him.
71 He spoke
of Judas Iscariot, the son of
Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon; Judas was a man of Kerioth from the
tribe of Judah. Joshua 15:25 Hazor, Hadattah, Kerioth, Hezron (which is Hazor). Of the twelve Apostles, he was the only
one from the tribe of Judah, the tribe that Jesus was.
For it was he who would betray Him,
being one of the twelve; Jesus
didn’t expose Judas at this time, do you have any thoughts as to why? I believe
it was for them to check their confidence; to put them on guard; to lead them
to self-examination. It may have been due to the way Peter was speaking??? It
is a lesson for us also not to get bold and brazen, but to remain humble like
our Lord.
This concludes Chapter 6 which has been
a very spiritual chapter, a chapter that is all about the Gospel and why we
need Jesus in our life. Without Jesus we walk in darkness.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that
are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
The Lighthouse
Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John
3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8;
10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10;
1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal.
5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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