In this third episode of Who Is This Jesus, Arnie and Fred continue to discuss some of the people who had the closest contact or unusual experiences with Jesus and recognized the special attributes that were unique to Him. Consequently, this led them to distinctly different conclusions regarding His identity. We begin with Philip the apostle who recognized Jesus as the individual Moses spoke of in the Old Testament. We talk about Nathaniel next who Philip sought out to tell him who they had found. We notice what convinced Nathaniel that Jesus was the Son of God and King of Israel. We next look at Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. We discuss what he had concluded about Jesus and some of what Jesus taught him. We next move to the Samaritan woman at the Sychar well and the people of Sychar who she told of her discussion with Jesus. We closeout this episode noticing those who followed Jesus from Galilee to the Golan Heights and what He said to them. 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 of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.
In this third episode of Who Is This Jesus, Arnie and Fred continue to discuss some of the people who had the closest contact or unusual experiences with Jesus and recognized the special attributes that were unique to Him. Consequently, this led them to distinctly different conclusions regarding His identity. We begin with Philip the apostle who recognized Jesus as the individual Moses spoke of in the Old Testament. We talk about Nathaniel next who Philip sought out to tell him who they had found. We notice what convinced Nathaniel that Jesus was the Son of God and King of Israel. We next look at Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. We discuss what he had concluded about Jesus and some of what Jesus taught him. We next move to the Samaritan woman at the Sychar well and the people of Sychar who she told of her discussion with Jesus. We closeout this episode noticing those who followed Jesus from Galilee to the Golan Heights and what He said to them. 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 of this Buzzsprout episode provided 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:Good afternoon. This is your Arnie Granke and Fred Gosnell with a church of Christ at Woodland, in Sumter, South Carolina. And this is what does the Bible say that is brought to you by that church. And incidentally, we hope that if you happen to be in the Sumter area, near middle, South Carolina, why we would certainly enjoy having you worship with us or study with us, on Wednesdays or on on Sundays; and let's talk a little bit about about the Bible. Let's talk about who Jesus is. Jesus' adversaries in the New Testament, and those pretty much were the priests and the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and others who comprise the Jewish establishment in those days, hated him, and saw him as a threat to their power. But common men and women who witnessed His miracles observed His righteous behavior heard his teaching, recognized him as having been sent by God, a righteous man, prophet, a, perhaps a even the long awaited Messiah. The example he set and the things he said and did persuaded many of them of his true identity. We've examined several of those witnesses that the apostle John reported in his Gospel account. Let's examine some others who reached similar conscious conclusions from what they heard and saw of Jesus.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And so let's go ahead and start with a Philip. Course Phillip was one of the apostles and John tells us the situation when Jesus selected him. So in John 1, 43 through 46, John writes, he says, The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter. Phillip findeth Nathaniel and saith unto him, We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there be any good thing come out of Nazareth? And Philip said unto him, Come and see. Of course, Nathaniel was a little bit prejudiced against against Nazareth, looked at it as kind of out of the way place, he said, Can anything good come out of there. So Phillip said, Okay, well come come check it out, basically. So, of course, Philip would be one of the apostles and another one that would have close association with Jesus and would have known some some things of, you know about him.
Arnie:Yeah. We don't have a lot of information in the Bible about the relationship between Andrew and, and Nathaniel, or rather, Phillip, and Nathaniel. And so I don't know if they were brothers, or if they were close friends, just from the same community or just exactly what. But Phillip, of course, invites Nathaniel to, to come and see. And in verse 47, of John one, Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith unto him, Behold, an Israelite, indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathaniel saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, before that Philip called thee whden thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathaniel answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw the under the fig tree believest thou? Thou shall see greater things than these. I suspect there was something miraculous in Jesus seeing Philip (Nathaniel). Philip(Nathaniel) may have been off somewhere where he had absolute privacy to pray or, you know, some kind of spiritual activity or whatever, maybe just resting or, or something. And it appears that it was miraculous, because that immediately, without any further information, persuades Nathaniel that Jesus is, is in fact, the Son of God, the king of, of Israel. So we don't know what it was that happened. But that was the proof that was sufficient proof for Nathaniel. And you have to appreciate someone like Nathaniel, who's going to demand evidence, not just not just automatically follow Jesus, without having good reason. And there were several disciples that that were similar to Nathaniel in that respect. They saw something that was, that was just unavoidably miraculous, and, and it persuaded them to become disciples of Christ and and serve him and his cause.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, John also tells us about, about Nicodemus in John chapter three verses one through eight. And, of course, the text begins in verse one, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born as a spirit of spirit. Marvel, not that I said unto thee, You must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and wither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Of course, he's talking about a spiritual birth, not a, not, not a physical birth. But Nicodemus recognized him. Jesus to be a teacher come from God. So of course he was, he was aware of, of the things that Jesus did, the miracles that he had performed, he had heard Jesus speak, and he was convicted of the fact that Jesus, he accepted to be a teacher who came from God. And of course he went, it was at by night that he went to him. He was evidently conscious of his other associates in the Pharisees who were not fans of Jesus. And Nicodemus wanted to make sure he wasn't interrupted. He wanted to talk to Jesus without interruptions. And he did so, and of course, then Jesus taught him this spiritual lesson on an individual has to be born again in order to become a member of the kingdom.
Arnie:Nicodemus is an interesting individual because he's a member of the of the highest court in the land, the Sanhedrin court. And he's even around at the time of Jesus death. So he became a disciple of, of Jesus and and he helped to bury Jesus after the after the crucifixion. I, I'm interested in, there's almost a little taste of, of sarcasm, it seems, when when he says, How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second time to his mother's womb and, and be born? It sounds sarcastic to me. Jesus, doesn't just blow him off as if his questions' not worth answering. He answers the question. And I think that the answer that he gives and and is is not at all deterred, is part of what persuades Nicodemus here to become a follower of Jesus. Let's let's go up into Samaria for for a while. John, chapter four tells about tells about Jesus going up to Sychar, The disciples went into went into town apparently to try to get a bite to eat. Jesus stays at the well just on the outskirts of, of time of town. And a woman comes to, to the well and Jesus asks her for a, for a drink of water. In John chapter four beginning in verse 13. She has made a statement to him and he's responding, he answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. So he's not talking about physical water here, obviously, she thinks that that's where he's going. But he's, he's talking about the spiritual water of of life. And the woman said unto him, Sir, give me of this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. She doesn't want to have to keep coming out there and bringing that pitcher, that jug, you know, the whole thing weighing probably 25 or 30 pounds when it's when it's full, and toting that back into the into town a couple of times, every every day. So Jesus saith unto her in verse 16. Go call thy husband, and come hither. And the woman said to him, go call thy husband and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, thou, I have no husband. For thou hast had five husbands, and he whom now now hast, is not thy husband. In that thou in that sayest thou truly. That's an interesting thought, because He had no way, at least she thought He had no way of knowing anything about her. First time she'd ever laid eyes on him. And so he doesn't know anything about herr history, does he? We guess, as a matter of fact, the Son of God knows exactly what her what her history is. So Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband, in that sayest, thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, Ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her,Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall, neither in this mountain nor at Jerusalem worship the Father, Ye worship you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and the truth for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is the spirit, they the worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh which is called Christ. When he is come he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee AM He. And upon this came his disciples and marveled that he talked with the the woman yet no man said, what seekest thou or why talkest Thou with her. The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city and saith to the man, Come see a man that told me all things that I ever did. Is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came unto him. So, you know, it might have been a moment of embarrassment for her when Jesus responded the way that he that he did but it also, He being an individual that if he was just a, an ordinary man traveling through the area, would have no idea about her personal history. And this is Christ. He knows he knows it all. And and that seems to be not that particular knowing all about the individual, but something miraculous, something extraordinary that Jesus does in each one of these cases, persuades that individual, that this is the Christ, this is the one that we've been waiting for. And he immediately has their attention.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, the woman when she was finished talking with Jesus at the, at the well, the well was in at Sychar. And, of course, she went into the city there. And she she told the people in the city there what what had transpired. So then we find the people of Sychar wanted to speak to Jesus. And of course, they are convinced as well. Our passage is John four, 39 through 43. So beginning of verse 39, says, And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified, He told me all that I ever did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them, and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word, and said unto the woman Now, now we believe not because of your saying, for we have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. And after two days, he departed thence and went into Galilee. Of course, the word Christ there, as we said before, is the is the Greek word for what we find in the Old Testament Messiah. So they are convinced that Jesus is in fact, the Messiah, the Christ. And then they they add to this the Savior of the world. So the woman told them what she experienced with him what he told her. And then they also they told her well, we didn't believe this just because of what you said. But we heard what he had to say. And we were convicted by, by his, his words. Of course, the Samaritans, the Jews were not supposed to speak to Samaritans. Samaritans were, they were of mixed, are mixed blood, I guess you might say, they were, some of them were more Israelites that had stayed and married Gentiles, and some were just strict Gentiles. And so it was amazing to her that Jesus would speak to her in the first place. And then they were amazed at what he had to say. And they were convinced by his words, that he was in fact, the Messiah, the Christ.
Arnie:The the Samaritans also were different from Jews in another way, and that was that their worship and and what they held to be scripture, were only the first five books of the old testament Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. And they they didn't, they didn't have any use, I guess you'd say, for for the historical books or for the Poetic Books, or the or the books of prophecy or any of that, just Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and, and numbers. And that was even until relatively recently, Fred, I think during our lifetimes, that may have have changed, although I'm not, I'm not sure of of that. Let's talk about another group of people, some people that we're seeing in the, in the news from time to time, up in the northern and eastern part of Israel, up around the Sea of Galilee, the the Golan Heights, we hear about the Golan Heights a lot in the in in the news. And so Jesus goes to the Golan Heights, he'd been in Bethesda, and had healed a number of people there. And John tells about that, but we'll skip past that for for right now. And, and go to the situation pretty famous. The fact of Jesus, having fed 5000 men, doesn't indicate how many women and children may have been there as as well but that occurred up in what we speak of as as the Golan. So John, chapter six, verse one, After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius, and a great multitude followed Him because they saw his miracle which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain and there He sat with his disciples. And the Passover feast of the Jews was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, he saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this, he said, to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them. That doesn't sound very much to us, as as we think of pennies as being being one cent each and two 200 Pennyworth would only be two bucks. Well, if we had a lot more value back in, in Jesus time, we can be sure of that. One of the disciples Andrew, Simon Peter's brother said unto him, There's a lad here, which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes, but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. And there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down in number about 5000. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he given thanks, he distributed it to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were sat down, and likewise, of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore, they gathered them together and filled 12 baskets, with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above, unto them that were had eaten. And apparently, the 12 baskets would be one basket for each disciple went around, you know, picking up these these remnants, and filling it, not just coming nearly to the top, but possibly even. way over the top of the of the basket. Verse 14, Then those men that had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that Prophet, which should come into the world. So so notice, again, something miraculous, something that was out of the ordinary was was the thing that finally persuaded people that this is, in fact, the Messiah, the Christ. And by the way, we talked about the words Messiah and Christ, that means anointed one in both Hebrew, for for Messiah and Greek with Christos, the word for Christ.
Fred Gosnell:Yes. And of course, the reason that they, you know, the last statement in verse 14 was, This is a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. And of course, that was prophesied in in Deuteronomy, by Moses in Deuteronomy 18, 15, through 19, Moses had written there, verse 15, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me. Unto him, you shall hearken, according to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb, the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord, my God, and neither let me see this great fire anymore, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him, And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken to my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. So so they were aware of what Moses wrote. And they were aware that there would be a prophet coming. And when they saw what he had done here, they said, Well, this is this is the prophet that Moses had talked about. He's, he's come.
Arnie:John chapter six speaks about or tells about, Jesus' Bread of Life sermon, sometimes we, we speak of that when he speaks about being the bread of life and so forth. And that that had occurred in Capernaum in in the synagogue there. John six, beginning in verse 66, verse 63, rather, The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not, for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were, that believed not, who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my father. From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the 12, Will you also go away? And and here in verse 68, is so typical of Peter, he's the person who, he doesn't hold back. You never have to say, Peter, what do you have on your mind? He tells you right away, what he has on his mind and his immediate response. Then said, Simon, then Simon, Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the bread has the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. So Jesus, Peter is very outspoken, and immediately said, we're with you. We're not leaving.
Fred Gosnell:And of course, ever there were people in in Jerusalem that had heard what Jesus had to say, they observed what he had done there. And they, they knew the things that were said about him. And of course, these people were at at Jerusalem at this time for the Feast of Tabernacles. And the John writes of that in John 7, 25, through 43. So we begin in verse 25, Then said, some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he whom they seek to kill? But lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed, that this is the very Christ. Howbeit we know this man whence he is, but when Christ cometh no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried Jesus in the temple, as he taught, saying, You both know me, and you know whence I am. And I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him, for I am from him, and he has sent me. Then they sought to take him, but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come . Many of the people believed on him and said, When Christ comweth will He do more miracles than these which this man hath done? The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him and the Pharisees, and the chief priests and officers to take him, Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I will go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me and where I am thither ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go that we shall not find him? Will he go, unto the dispersed among the Gentiles and seek, teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me and shall not find me and where I am thither ye cannot come. In the last day that great day of the feast, feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hast said, Out of his belly flow, shall flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke, he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive from, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Many of the people therefore when they heard this saying, said, Of Christ, Of a truth, this is the Prophet. Other said, this is the, 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, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. So there were those that were convinced by what Jesus had to say, what he had done. There were those that questioned it. There were those that they knew what the scripture said, because some of them quoted it, Well h's going to come out of Bethlehem. And of course, these people were close to Jesus, and they drew the right conclusion. Some of them did. And those are the ones that we have those witnesses those statements from them, to help guide us.
Arnie:This is a good stopping point. Next, Lord's Day afternoon why if they, the earth is still standing, and we're able to come and be with you, talk about Bible things, we'll look in John seven a little bit further, at some police officers that were sent to arrest Jesus, the the Levitical, the tribe of Levi was the tribe that provided things like, like various government agencies, you might say in in Israel and the police were from the tribe of Levi. What happens when the police come and they're sent by the by the high priest to arrest Jesus. It'll be interesting to find that out. We hope that you'll be with us when we talk about that. Have a good week.