Thursday, April 13, 2017

John Bible Study: Chapters 8-9 Three Judgments



John 8-9 Jesus the Light of the World and Three Judgments

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Jesus and the woman taken in adultery 8:1-11

Many newer versions of the Bible reject this event or mark it with footnotes saying it is not in the oldest translations. Can you imagine a Bible without the story of the Woman Caught in Adultery? The oldest manuscripts are riddled with mistakes and this is one of the most glaring.

Vs. 3-5 Read the following passages, Leviticus 20:10; Deut 17:6-7 and then answer the following question.  Were the Pharisees really acting according to the Law?
No, they did not bring the man be stoned also.

How do you think the Pharisees might have caught this woman?
She was set up by her lover or she was a prostitute that the Pharisees knew they could trap.

What was the trap the Pharisees were laying for Jesus?
If he said, “Don’t stone her” He would be guilty of ignoring the Law. If he said, “Stone her” then He would be accused of rebellion against the Roman government since only Rome could execute a person.

Why do you think Jesus wrote upon the ground? What do you think He wrote?
He wrote to give time for conviction and thought. We don’t what he wrote or even if it was words or a picture. What He wrote isn’t important, the fact that He wrote is.

Vs. 7-11 What life-lessons did Jesus teach when confronted by the woman caught in adultery?

The law condemns all guilty of sin. Romans 3:23, 5:12
Love of the sinner without condoning the sin.
Christ is the only one able to justly condemn and to forgive this woman. 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22



Jesus: the Rejected Light 8:12-59

Vs. 30-33, 59 Did these Jews believe in Jesus as Lord, Savior and God?  Why or why not?
They do not believe they are in bondage vs. 34.
They believe their lineage will save them. Vs. 39
They do not believe the truth. Vs. 45
They call Jesus derogatory names and claim he is crazy or possessed. Vs. 48
They do not know God. Vs. 54-55
They try to kill Jesus vs. 59

Is everyone who claims to believe in Jesus today saved?
No, we must accept Jesus fully or not at all.  He must be Lord, Savior and God for belief in anything less will not save us.

What great truth is taught in 8:58, for which the Jews then try to kill Jesus?
The deity of Jesus is proclaimed.  He uses the same title that Moses hears from the burning bush in Exodus 3:13-14

Jesus and the man born blind.  9:1-41

Read 9:1-3. What did the disciples think might be the reason this man was born blind?
He had sinned before he came to earth or his parents had sinned and God had punished them for their sin with a blind baby.

Do we still think like this?
Yes, all the time.  Examples: Why did God cause the tornado in OK?  Why did God take my child?  God gave AIDS to the homosexuals.

Is there a purpose in God’s allowing sorrow and pain?
According to Jesus, God can use these things to reveal His power and glory.

What did Jesus see in the blind man?
An opportunity to do the works of God.

What lesson can I learn about Jesus example?
The catastrophe, the pain, the sorrow of others that I observe may be an open door of service to God.  God may then use this service or kindness to manifest Himself to the hurting person through me. 

Why doesn’t Jesus reveal Himself to this man?
There was more to be done in this man’s life than just a healing?

Is faith necessary to be healed by God?
No, this man didn’t even know who put mud in his eyes and tell him to go and wash.

Vs. 30-34.  What does the man mean when he says, “God heareth not a sinner?”

He is using the Pharisee’s own teaching in refuting them.  He means that God does not act on a sinner’s behalf, will not use a sinner to accomplish such miracles.  He is not saying that God can’t hear a sinner pray.

When the Pharisees cast out the once blind man, they tell him, “Thou wast altogether born in sins…”   What did they mean?
That his blindness was proof of his sin, God was punishing him with blindness because of sin in his life or his parents.

Vs. 39 –41 What was Jesus’ point when he said, “For judgment I am come into this world”?

He was and is the sole point of judgment.  Belief or rejection of Jesus is the only reason for going to heaven or hell.

Is this taught elsewhere in John
Yes, Read John 3:18-21; 12:48; 15:22-25.

In light of these passages what must be the message we take to a lost world.
Acts 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Conclusion:

Three cases of judgment are presented in John 8-9
The adulteress woman
The Pharisees
The Man born blind.

In each case our judgment, that of mankind, our experience and our logic is challenged. We see the woman is guilty yet Christ does not extract the just penalty. In the eyes of society, the Pharisees were guiltless and yet Christ condemns them harshly. The man born blind or his parents must be guilty in order to explain his terrible lot in life and yet Christ ignores that idea and instead heals him in order to show God’s glory.

Considering all these situations my greatest responsibility is not to determine guilt or consequence but to proclaim Jesus as the central point of all judgment and to see opportunities for God’s mercy and grace wherever there is pain, suffering and sin.

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