Chapter # 2 Paragraph # 3 Study # 1
July 16, 2023
Broadlands, Louisiana
(Download Audio)
Thesis: That Jesus gives the privilege of the identity as children of God to those who have serious problems with their perceptions of Him is a testament to the extraordinary reach of His grace.
Introduction: John, the author of this Gospel, is in the habit of throwing curve balls, i.e., unexpected declarations that challenge us to think as well as believe. Last week we saw that Jesus deliberately informed the corrupt leaders of Judaism of a truth of which they were totally ignorant and, consequently, did not even understand. It was the kind of curve ball that even the disciples could only swing at and miss. They didn't even understand that Jesus had come to be put to death and rise on the third day ... even though they had been exposed to "lamb of God" terminology their entire lives. Their ignorance was so great that it did not even matter that Witness-John had pointedly made Jesus' identity as "The Lamb of God Who Takes Away The Sin Of The World" his central focus.
This morning we are going to face another "shocking reality".
- I. What Did John Record Here?
- A. "Now as He was..."
- 1. This is a time marker.
- 2. It makes the narrative distinctive.
- B. "...in the Jerusalem, in the Passover, in the feast..."
- 1. The distinctives begin with being "in the Jerusalems" in contrast to being "in Galilee", and, specifically, "in Capernaum". John typically uses the plural form of "Jerusalem", I cannot accept the notion that this is hermeneutically insignificant, but this may have to be a study for another day.
- a. The "in Galilee" and "into Capernaum" geographical/timing markers have their focus upon the "sign" of "water to wine" which generated "faith" in His disciples.
- b. The "water to wine" "sign" was accomplished in Cana, just prior to the move to Capernaum.
- 1) The significance of this shows up in 4:46 where the link between Cana and Capernaum is reestablished and is "linked" to John's "signs" message in that the healing of the man's son is called, in 4:54, "This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee".
- 2) John is deliberately keeping his "signs", in respect to his purpose as given in 20:30-31, separate from "the signs which He did" in Jerusalem in the Passover, in the Feast (2:23).
- a) This text clearly declares that Jesus did "signs" that led to "faith" in Jerusalem.
- b) But the specific "signs unto belief" are, first, deliberately numbered ("This beginning of the signs did Jesus in Cana...", and "This is again a second sign that Jesus performed..." in Galilee), and, second, are disconnected from the "problem" in Jerusalem that kept Jesus from committing to those who believed there.
- c. The focus upon Jerusalem in Author-John's record begins with 1:19 where it is recorded that it was "The Jews sent to [Witness-John] priests and Levites from Jerusalem..."
- 1) The significance at this point is that the "officials" who resided in Jerusalem had taken a specific interest in Witness-John in terms of his "identity" and his "purpose for baptizing". This interest was focused upon how John was mixed up with Biblical revelation regarding both the doctrines and practices of "Official Judaism". It would be these officials who would make the definitive declarations of doctrine and practice regarding the significance of Witness-John's "witness regarding The Light" for the nation and all of practicing Judaism.
- 2) Author-John's next two references (2:13 and 2:23) both turn our attention to the "main doctrine" of Judaism that had allowed the wholesale distortion of "The Truth" that was made manifest by the twisting of the point of the Temple into "an emporium" (i. e. "a place of commerce for material profit").
- a) The "main doctrine" was that "The Lamb of God was not to be considered valuable beyond its ability to bring in the money".
- b) This "main doctrine" was the direct outcome of the "the Love which The Pharisees pursued with a vengeance" as recorded by Luke in 16:14-15.
- 3) We do not run into any further reference to "Jerusalem" until 4:20.
- d. The Point: Judaism had been completely subverted by the installation of The Idol: Money.
- 2. These distinctives continue with "in the Passover".
- a. This is the chief of the Feasts of Israel in that its focus puts God's willingness to forgive and cleanse men of their sins for participation in the "Relational Universe" that He had created and established to be far superior to any/all of the aspects of His "Physical Universe".
- b. In the midst of the Passover, Jesus did "signs" that were effective in getting "many" to "believe into His name," which, according to 1:12-13 is the condition of becoming a child of God.
- 3. Then, "in the feast".
- a. This is Author-John's first (of fifteen) reference to a "feast".
- b. All of Author-John's references to "feast" have to do with the official "feasts of the Jews" (which is the terminology in 5:1) and indicate that his audience may not have had much awareness of that aspect of the Jewish culture.
- c. In each case, however, the use of "feast" is linked to the reason for Jesus' presence in the city, and is also somewhat linked to "signs" which He did to stimulate "faith" in the hearers/observers.
- C. The next thing John tells his readers is that "many "believed into His name".
- 1. This "believing" was occasioned by the "seeing" of "the signs which He did".
- 2. This is a major sub-set of Author-John's entire record: believing because of "signs".
- D. But, then Author-John deliberately sticks into his narrative a rather remarkable "revelation": Jesus, Himself, "was not committing Himself to them."
- 1. John's deliberate use of the same Greek word (pisteuo) is his way of telling us what his concept of "believing" was.
- a. The idea of Jesus' refusal to "believe Himself to them" is revealed further along in his record in the text and context of 6:15: He refused to "turn His future over to" men who had no understanding of what that future was to hold.
- b. This does not mean that He had not accepted their "believing into His name" -- i.e., their turning their future over to Him.
- c. His "acceptance of them because they "believed into Him" was enough to underwrite His alteration of their identity from "children of Adam" to "children of God" even though a great deal of their "faith" was significantly distorted. [What if this were not so? Where would we be if our "faith" had to be rooted in all that Jesus is rather than simply rooted in the willingness of the "believer" to turn his destiny over to the Jesus of the particulars of what they witnessed?]
- 2. It is significant that Jesus exercises this "restraint" in the light of "Jerusalems, Passover, Feast" context.
- a. It is highly likely that this context made the "faith" of those "believing" a hodgepodge of Truth and Error.
- b. It is not "faith" in errors that saves; it is "faith" in "Truth": everyone has an amalgamation of Truth/Errors in their view of God, Jesus, and The Gospel, but it is "faith" in the "Truth Part" that God accepts. [He then spends the rest of our lives weeding out the errors.]
- ii. Why Did John Record That Here?
- A. His goal in writing this Gospel is clear: He sought to convince his readers that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ.
- B. His goal is not to be frustrated by the complications of the reality of "Faith" in "Truth" while the believer is in the mixture of ignorance and misplaced confidences.
