OCTOBER 28 JOHN 6-8

October 28, 2014

John 6-8

The powerful testimony to the authority and identity of Jesus Christ of these three chapters for today is nearly unmatched in the Bible.

In John 6, Jesus first feeds the 5000 (more like 12,000—for they had only counted the men!), then walks on water, then announces to the crowd that had followed them, in so many words, “You want more bread? I am the bread of life (v. 35).

In John 7, Jesus’ brothers needle him to go up to feast, but Jesus says, “Not yet.” Have way through the seven day Feast of Booths, he shows up. On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink!” (v. 37). 

In John 8, Jesus shows divine wisdom in the handling of the “woman caught in the act of adultery.” He declares: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (v. 12). The Pharisees bristle at this, and enter into a chapter long argument that ends in their attempt to stone Jesus then and there. What begins with Jesus saying, “I am the light of the world,” ends with Jesus saying, “Before Abraham was, I am” (v. 58). What does Jesus mean?

GREEK GRAMMAR LESSON: In many of the ancient languages, pronouns are not necessary, because they are built-in to the verb. Maybe you remember Julius Caesar’s famous Latin phrase: “Veni, Vidi, Vici; I came, I saw, I conquered.” Caesar didn’t need the pronouns. The same would have been true for Jesus. He didn’t need the pronoun, “I” for any of his “I am” statements. Nevertheless, every time, he uses it. Why? For emphasis! When Jesus said “I am...” he was identifying himself as the LORD, Yahweh, who told Moses at the burning bush, “I AM WHO I AM.”

Jesus is our all in all!


Your fellow traveler through the New Testament,

Pastor Gary