Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of Who Is This Jesus? in this second episode. We begin by noting that Jesus referred to Himself as the Messiah or the Christ on numerous occasions and once in prayer. He used picturesque terms as well such as the door of the sheep, the bread of life and three more that we looked at. He also referred to Himself as simply I AM. We discuss the significance of this term. We look at a number of times that His enemies in the Jewish religious establishment spoke of Him in different ways and why they did so. We close out this episode by looking at some of those who had the closest contact with Jesus and what they said about Him. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript available of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.
Arnie and Fred continue their discussion of Who Is This Jesus? in this second episode. We begin by noting that Jesus referred to Himself as the Messiah or the Christ on numerous occasions and once in prayer. He used picturesque terms as well such as the door of the sheep, the bread of life and three more that we looked at. He also referred to Himself as simply I AM. We discuss the significance of this term. We look at a number of times that His enemies in the Jewish religious establishment spoke of Him in different ways and why they did so. We close out this episode by looking at some of those who had the closest contact with Jesus and what they said about Him. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript available of this Buzzsprout episode for your convenience.
This is a presentation of the Woodland church of Christ meeting at 3370 Broad Street in Sumter, South Carolina. We meet for worship on Sunday at ten thirty am and five thirty pm. We meet for bible study at nine thirty am on Sunday, and seven pm on Wednesday. If you have questions or comments on this lesson, you may email them to Fred Gosnell at fgosnell@ftc-i.net Or to Arnie Granke at agranke440718@twc.com.
Arnie:And this is Arne Granke and Fred Gosnell, this is what does the Bible say, brought to you by the church of Christ at Woodland in Sumter South Carolina. Fred and I are both members of that congregation, we would love to see you, meet you if you happen to to be in Sumter, perhaps touring or in the military and and assigned to here, either temporarily or, or permanently. We'd love for you to worship with us and and join with us in studying Bible. Last week, Fred and and I were talking about who is this Jesus? Jesus, in fact had asked the question one time Who do men say that I am?, Matthew chapter 16, for example, is is one of the places where that was under discussion. So we were we were looking at some of the names that Jesus has and of course, Jesus was a popular name in in his day in Israel. So there are a number of passages of Scripture where the name Jesus appears, that isn't a reference to him. It's a reference to other individuals that were named by that name.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, later, on several occasions, Jesus identified himself as the Messiah, of course, the Messiah is the Old Testament reference to him. When you see the word Christ in the New Testament, that would be the same name for Jesus the Messiah. And in John four 25 and 26, we find the occasion there, there's a woman that he is speaking at speaking with that, at the well. And the woman said to him, I know that Messiah cometh which is called Christ. When he is come, he will tell us all things. He saith unto her, t that speak unto thee am He. Of course, she, she knew about Messiah, and she knew that the Greek word for it is Christ. Then again in John 10, 24, and 25. There it says that, Then came the Jews around about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ? Tell us plainly. He answered them. I told you and you believed not. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of Me. Of cource Jesus performed a lot of miracles, and providing the evidence that yeah, he, he was the Messiah. But they just simply didn't believe it, because they were looking at another, at another kind of individual. They weren't looking at an individual that was going to die for them. They were looking at an individual that was going to defeat the Romans. So they didn't they didn't want to hear that. So, so so then also, he, he referred to himself one time, in prayer, in John 17, verse, verse three, there, he says, This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ who thou hast sent. Of course, he added his common name, he was known as Jesus to the term Christ as well.
Arnie:That was at the Last Supper, wasn't it, he that he did that. He described himself also, it's a rather picturesque terms in a manner of thinking. For example, he spoke of himself as the bread of life in in John chapter six, and in verse 35. Jesus said to, to those that were his listeners, he said, I'm the bread of life, He that cometh to me shall never hunger, He that believeth on me shall never thirst. And he's not talking about physical hunger and physical thirst. He's, he's talking about spiritual hunger and and spiritual thirst, but very clearly those that were followers of his understood what that what that meant. He even even referred to himself in John chapter six, as as being the living bread, beginning of verse 35, Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me, shall shall never thirst. And, and I think I just repeated myself didn't I? So so let's go down to verse, verse 51, is where we're actually intended to, to go. And it's part of what Jesus, what we speak of as Jesus' Bread of Life sermon. In John chapter six verse, verse 51. He said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven, If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. So, so here Jesus is spoken of as not only the bread of life, but also the, the living bread.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And on another occasion, he, of course he was. In the next passage after this one, he'll talk about the good shepherd. But in John 10, seven through nine, he refers to himself as the door of the sheep, we begin in verse 7, and Then said, Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I'm the door of the sheep, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door by me, If any man enter in, he shall be saved, and he shall go in and out and find pasture. Of course, He's not talking about sheep here. He's talking about men who would follow him. And then in John 10, 11, through 13, there, of course, he, he then refers to himself, he says, and beginning in verse, verse 11, I am The Good Shepherd, the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But he that isn't hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth. And the wolf catches them and scatters the sheep. The hireling flees because he is an hireling and cares not for the sheep. Of course, Jesus is, is the Good Shepherd, he's the one that would give his life for the sheep. The individual is paid by somebody else to watch after the sheep, he doesn't want to get hurt by the wolf. So he runs away, and leaves the sheep to themselves. But Jesus is a good shepherd, and he's the door for the sheep. Course the sheep are the people who, who follow him.
Arnie:So he's, he's the way the truth and, and the the life. He spoke of himself also, in terms of thinking of, of agricultural things, grapes and whatnot, that that he was the true vine. In John chapter 15. And, and verse one, he said, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. And then down in, in John chapter eight, three times here in a row in John chapter eight, Jesus speaks of himself simply as I AM. And when you when you look at that present tense, passage three times there, the I AM is not I was, and it's not I will be, it is present tense and, and suggests the idea of being eternal there. Verse 24, is is one of the passages where that appears in John chapter eight. I said therefore unto you, That you shall die in your sins, for if you believe not that I AM, you shall die in your sins. Incidentally, the King James Version and possibly some other translations as as well, add some words to some of these passages. So you want to be careful about that. Usually, the King James, italicizes added words that you can recognize them, and Jesus is not saying I am he, I am who? Yeah, he's saying, I AM; He's showing himself to be eternal there is, is the point of of that. And then down at verse 28, of of the same chapter, chapter, chapter eight, Jesus said unto them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you shall know that I AM and that I do nothing of myself. But as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And then down closer to the end of the chapter in verse 58. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Well, that obviously created quite a stink among the among the Jews, Jesus is apparently in the, in the treasury of the temple. So there were there were a lot of Jewish scholars that were that were probably there, Pharisees, Sadducees, probably some, some scribes that were there. People that knew the scriptures pretty well and or thought they did anyway. And so I imagine that that was quite a rou that Jesus raised by identifying himself that way and showing, showing the fact that before Abraham was, he was,
Fred Gosnell:He AM
Arnie:He AM.
Fred Gosnell:So. So that was the problem that his enemies had in the Jewish religious establishment. They didn't believe him to be the Messiah, they didn't believe him to be eternal. He didn't, they didn't believe him to have existed before Abraham did. So generally, they they just spoke of him as a man. And we find that in John 10, 30 through 33. There, Jesus says, I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. He answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father for which of those works do you stone me? Jews answered him saying, For good work, we stone thee not but for blasphemy. And because that thou being a man maketh thyself God. Of course, they recognized what he was saying, he made himself as God, and that they didn't believe it, so that they kept referring to him as a man. And then, of course, again, in John 6, 41, and 42, they would, of course, they would look at Jesus Father, supposedly his father, God was his father. But they would say that, well, you know, you're just a man, you're the son of Joseph, John 6, 41, and 42. There. It says, begin in verse 41, The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven. Of course, Jesus had provided miracles that he had done, they'd say, seen them, they didn't accept the evidence, and they just saw him as nothing more than just a man. Nothing more than that.
Arnie:Yeah, Joseph, Joseph's son back in, in that culture, there were not many people that had surnames or last names like we like we have. And so you in place of a last name, you could be identified as to which Jesus or which John or which, Peter, or whatever your name happened to be, by who your father was. Bar Joseph, in Jesus' case. So they, they thought of him as Joseph's son. They couldn't identify with the concept of, of him being the son of of God. And, of course, here here he is, he's, He's there speaking of the, as a part of what he had to say, there in the portico, of of the temple. And so there there are a lot of a lot of Bible students there. They think they know it all. And they're pretty outraged by what, by what Jesus has, has to say. I'm looking, looking at John chapter seven. In fact, I think they that's a passage where they, they called him a deceiver. He was in the temple, and had just healed a man who was blind. And he's in in the, in the temple during the Feast of Dedication and and if you happen to know Jewish people, you'd be familiar with the term Hanukkah. That's the that feast. He's there for, for that occasion in John chapter seven. And in verse 40. Many of the people therefore, which heard him, which heard this saying said, Of a truth, this is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David out of the temple, out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people, because of of him. So it's kind of an interesting situation, the the place where he, where he came from. They didn't identify Nazareth as being one of the terms that that's actually used in, in prophecy. We might talk about that sometime in a little more detail. In that same chapter earlier in in that chapter, while he's, in John chapter seven, and in verse nine, verse 19, it's during the, during the Feast of Tabernacles, which would be more in the fall a little earlier than the feast of, of dedication. They called him a demoniac, they thought he was demon, demon possessed or argued that he that he was. And in verse 19, Jesus said, Did Moses give you the law? And yet none of you keepeth the law? Why do we? Why go ye about to kill me? And the people answered and said, Thou hast demon. Who goeth about to kill thee? Well, as a matter of fact, that's exactly what they were,they were doing. And especially the the higher level Jewish official sought to slay him. And that's that's emphasized throughout the New Testament.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, they continue to add even up to the time of his trial before Pilate, as they were trying to get Pilate to convict him, and sentenced him to to crucifixion. So in John 18, 29, and 30, so, Pilate, then went out unto them and said, What accusation bring you against this man? They answered and said unto him. If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up onto thee. And of course, they were accusing him of being an evil doer. So then they continued in verse 31, Pilate said unto them, Take him and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, it is not lawful for us to put any man to death. That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which He spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of ourself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I z Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? So, so again, they had been delivered, he had been delivered by the, by the Jews, as a revolutionary as a traitor. And, of course, they couldn't put him to death. So they were going to manipulate Pilate to do so. They knew that he had the authority to. So they continue to accuse Jesus, of being all of these evil things and a traitor to the Empire. And, of course, their real, all they wanted was to have him put to death. With what they considered him being a violator of the Divine Law and calling calling himself the Son of God and God. So they continued that and never quit. Still trying to get Pilate convinced.
Arnie:It's interesting that they that they try to pull that off. Now, Pilate doesn't care about Jewish law, he doesn't care about the old, the Old Testament and, and whether somebody was supposed to be stoned or not. So that they they are charging him with a with a violation of the Mosaic Law and wanting Pilate to execute Him as if He violated the law. And he never, he never did. So that was kind of a kind of a strange thing. And it sounds like Pilate was pretty unhappy with it with that idea. So, John chapter five, and verse 15, places Jesus at the pool of Bethesda. Bethesda was a mikvah, it was one of the places where Jews could, could bathe and become spiritually clean, before entering into, into the temple. And, of course, that was that was the place where, where the water would be riled up and, and it was believed that the first person into the water would be healed. And this one man that was crippled, couldn't, couldn't get there in time, somebody also always beating there. And so Jesus had had healed him and then and told him to take up thy bed and walk and the man did. And the Jews were outraged by that, that he was carrying something that probably weighed a pound or two at the most under his arm. And so in John chapter five and verse 18, Therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath. Well, he hadn't. But it said also, that God was his Father, making Himself equal with God. That I think is the real thing that outraged them. And then coming back to John chapter 10, where, where Jesus is there at the temple during during the dedication during Hanukkah, there, and he's, and he's in Solomon's portico, and Jesus is speaking to them. And he said, Many good works have I showed you from my Father, for which of these works do you stone me? And the Jews answered him, saying, For a good work, we stone, thee not, but for blasphemy, because that thou being a man, makest thyself, God. They couldn't identify from the things that Jesus taught, and the things that Jesus truly did, they could not make the connection with him being the Messiah, and, and still cannot 2000 years later,
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, they continued that. When we get John 19, to verse seven, and Pilate has, I think, three times that he had nothing that he could sentence him to death on. And they find this, they answered Pilate in John 19, seven, The Jews answered him, and said, they said, We have a law and by our law, He ought to die because He made Himself a son of God. And of course, Pilate was in the position now that he was afraid he was gonna have a riot on his hands, and him being a politician, he didn't want to be accused of allowing people to riot. So he went ahead and said, Okay, take him out and crucify him. And so they were able to manipulate Pilate into doing what they wanted to be done to Jesus, because they believed him to be blasphemous and a violator of Jewish law.
Arnie:So, so far, Fred, you and I have been talking about adversaries that Jesus had to had to cope with and those that that wanted to kill him. But there is another class of people you might say that were in Jesus company very often. And they seem to have recognized exactly who Jesus was. Others with various circumstances, you know, had closer contact as a matter of fact, then then many of these officials and and usually were witnesses to the experiences that theatJesus was portraying. And they recognize that there were special attributes that were unique to him. And so that makes him a, you might say, a prospect, at least and possibly even even more firm than that, to understand him as being as being the Messiah, and distinctly different conclusions that they that they read regarding his his identity, John the Baptist is a good illustration of, of that in, in John chapter one beginning in in verse 26. And about 10 or 12, verses that follow that you'll notice as we read this, that John speaks about him as being the, the Lamb of God, and Jesus appears as the Son of God here in in this passage. John answered them saying, I baptized with water, but there standeth among ye, one among you whom you know not. He, it is who cometh after me. He who cometh after me, is preferred before me, whose shoes latchet I'm not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara, Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John, seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John understands exactly who Jesus is. And of course, you recall that there had been a sign given to John, and that helped him to, to recognize even what he suspected, and knew from from other information that he had. This is he, in verse 30, This is he, of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me. For he was before me, Well, how could that be unless Jesus was eternal? Because John was older in this life, then then Jesus, and that's what he's referring to. And I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore, am I come, baptizing with water, John bear record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit. And I saw, and bear record, that this is the Son of God. So John, John sees the evidence. And then he declares that to every one, and some of those, some of those that were there within hearing knew knew John well enough to know that he's speaking the truth. And they understood that Jesus was in fact the Christ, others did not.
Fred Gosnell:Yeah. And another witness that provided us with some information was a Simon Peter's brother, Andrew. So the text continues in verse 35, of John chapter one says, Again, the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold, the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and saith unto them, What seek ye?, I said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted Master, Where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with Him that day, for it was about the 10th hour. One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, he first which is being interpreted, he first finds his own brother, Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is been interpreted the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah, thou shall be called Cephus, which is by interpretation, a stone. So Simon saw, saw John heard, heard what John spoke, what John had to say. And he, he concluded, well this is there's there's a witness and there's there's the evidence, and this is the Christ that they had been looking for.
Arnie:We're out of time? Yes, we are out of time. Let's hold Nathaniel and Phillip till next week, and and let's discuss them at that point. In the meantime, be reading in in John chapter one. And beginning in verse 43, and on down to 50. That will cover both Philip and Nathaniel there. Lord willing, we'll be with you again next Lord's day. We look forward to to that occasion.