(Audio version; Music: "Until Your Will Is Done" by Todd Smith, Ed Cash, & Nikita (of Everfound) and "New Every Morning" by: Audrey Assad)
Introduction
If you are a Christian, do you ever
feel like the unbelieving world is working overtime to find new ways to pollute
God’s design for humanity? Do you feel like the world you once thought was so
easy to live in is becoming more and more Uncomfortable every day? Are you
daily fighting against a decaying culture; decaying socially, politically,
economically, and spiritually? Every time we have to engage the culture with
biblical truth, it is Uncomfortable. Think about it,
doesn’t this define the life of a true Christian—Uncomfortable? Living in
what I have called the already/not yet of the promised Kingdom. Living as saved
and still being saved at the same time. Living as sinner and saint at the same
time. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, about living the Christian faith
is comfortable if we are to be a light in a dark world. I see it all the time
in friends who give up their personal time to care for family, friends, and
neighbors—they are Uncomfortable. I see it in my wife who brought a biblical
worldview to her secular university setting—she was Uncomfortable. I see it
in Christian parents who are purposely out of step with the popular culture so
they can show their children a better way—they are Uncomfortable. I see it
in people (especially young people) who refuse to compromise their sexual
purity until they are officially married—they are really Uncomfortable. I know it
exists among some of you who live in countries hostile to Christianity yet you
cling to your faith—you are Uncomfortable. I am encouraged by
all believers and leaders who are committed to following Jesus even when it is Uncomfortable;
Uncomfortable
in the face of criticism from foolish unbelievers and biblically ignorant
Christians (also foolish); they have sold-out to following Jesus and have abandoned
all other options. Nevertheless, Jesus has always had an amazing ability to
make people Uncomfortable with His teachings and I’d like to look at one of
those moments for this week’s lesson.
Subject Text
John 6:53-69
53Jesus
said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I
will raise them up at the last day. 55For my
flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father,
so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is
the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but
whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59He said this while
teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60On hearing it, many of
his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61Aware
that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62Then
what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have
spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64Yet
there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the
beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He
went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to
me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66From this time many of
his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67“You do
not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68Simon
Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. 69We
have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Context
As always,
the context here is critical to understanding what Jesus is saying in our Subject Text. Earlier in Chapter 6, Jesus’
disciples began rowing across the Sea of Galilee at the end of a day that saw
Jesus feed 5,000 people with just five small loaves of bread and two little
fish. As they rowed toward Capernum, they were engulfed by a strong storm.
After battling the storm for three to three and a half miles, they saw Jesus
walking toward them on the water! When Jesus got into the boat, the text says
they immediately reached the other side. Well the people that Jesus fed knew He
didn’t leave with the disciples so the next day, they went looking for Him.
Finally, they got into boats and rowed to the other side where they found
Jesus. Knowing that no other boats travelled across the lake after the
disciples left, they wanted to know how long Jesus had been there. Not an
unreasonable question if you think about it but Jesus got to the root of why
they came looking for Him in the first place. Jesus confronts them with the
true motivation behind their interest in Him; they weren’t following Him
because He fed 5,000 people with a few small loaves of bread and a couple of little
fish, they were following Him so He would feed them again! That’s when Jesus
teaches them an important lesson about Himself. If we are always going to seek
Jesus for what He can give us, we miss His entire purpose; Jesus doesn’t want
to give us stuff, He wants to give us Himself! Jesus tells the people that
while Moses provided their ancestors with bread from heaven to eat, Jesus
describes Himself as the bread of God who has come down from heaven to give
life to the world. Jesus tells them that whoever comes to Him will never go hungry
and whoever believes in Him will never be thirsty. It doesn’t appear that
anyone at this point believes that Jesus is a literal piece of food to be eaten
or a drink to be consumed but by the time we get to our Subject Text this seems
to change for some reason. However, before we get to that point, the Jews enter
the discourse and begin to “grumble” about Jesus’ claim to be the bread that
has come down from heaven because they claim to know Joseph and Mary to be His
parents. Jesus admonishes them with one of His clearest claims to divinity when
He says that He is the only one that has seen the Father because He came from
the Father and that those who believe that will have everlasting life. Jesus
reminded them that the manna that was consumed by their forefathers served to
feed them; it couldn’t save them. His flesh, on the other hand, was the bread
that would give life to the world if eaten. It is at the point where Jesus
makes the correlation between eating bread and eating His flesh that things
become Uncomfortable and we run headlong into our Subject Text.
Text Analysis
53Jesus
said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I
will raise them up at the last day. 55For my
flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Jesus has
clearly landed on something that has irritated the Jews specifically when He
refers to Himself as the bread of heaven that should be eaten and then tells
them that His flesh is that bread. To this point everyone seems to understand that
Jesus is not referring to Himself literally as food but that Jesus’ reference
to being the bread from heaven is a symbol of divine provision not for what
will sustain their bodies in this life but what will sustain their souls for
eternity. Nevertheless, they have gotten themselves twisted around the idea
that Jesus wants them to eat His flesh. So Jesus uses the opportunity to turn
up the pressure in vv. 53-56 when He
says that unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood then there is no life
in them; they do not have eternal life. Jesus has made a transition from eating
bread to eating flesh but is He saying something different than He was earlier
and what exactly is He saying? Although the event has not occurred yet
chronologically in John’s gospel, we
know what Jesus is saying, don’t we? Think about it; I’ll bet you know it—“While
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my
body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to
them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of
the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Mt
26:26-28). Ah yes, Jesus’ words at the last supper with his disciples! But try
not to read into Jesus’ words in our Subject
Text an understanding from a later
text if you want to try and understand where Jesus’ critics were coming from in
our Subject Text. Nevertheless, it’s very difficult, maybe impossible, to
“unknow” what we know Jesus is
saying; there can be no half-hearted commitment to following Jesus—He must
become part of our lives in the most intimate ways possible! “This passage
should be read as a call to follow Christ even into places of suffering and
death…The context of John 6:51, where Jesus has just spoken of giving his flesh
for the life of the world through his own impending passion and death, creates
a similar setting for reading these verses as a discussion about discipleship.
Eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood then would be related to the
appropriation of his sufferings in some way.”[1]
Additionally,
Jesus’ reference to the drinking of His blood has special significance in
relation to our individual sins. “Blood is sometimes used [figuratively] for
the atoning work of Christ (Rev. 19:13; Jn. 6:53-56), the part being used for
the whole saving act and work of Jesus (Eph. 1:7). In most of the passages that
have been cited one cannot, however, simply substitute the death of Christ for
the blood of Christ. ‘The blood of Christ means more than this. It stresses the
close links between the death of Jesus and both his life and his triumph in his
resurrection and exaltation.’ The blood means the application of the death of
Jesus to the individual…In the OT community this was carried out visibly with
the blood of an animal. In the NT church it is an invisible spiritual reality
through the blood of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:2; Heb. 9:13f.; 10:22). As the believer
appropriates the blood of Jesus, the power of his sacrificial death becomes his
in all its effects.”[2] Although the full extent of Jesus’ reference to the appropriation of
his blood as the atonement for our sins is not fully developed in our Subject Text, it is important not to overlook Jesus’ resurrection promise
in v. 54 and what the Jews understood
Him to be saying about Himself. “Jesus is presented in the Gospel against the
backdrop of the Jewish concept of agency and, furthermore, against the
understanding that there is one chief agent through whom God acts…Clearly the
Word [Jesus] is understood as God’s chief and exclusive agent in creation (Jn
1:3). He is shown exercising the divine prerogatives in judging, in raising the
dead (Jn 6:54), and in working on the Sabbath, deeds which, according to
various Jewish authors were permitted to God alone. Because Jesus is the chief
agent of God, when one confronts him, one confronts God.”[3]
It is only after Jesus’ blood is shed on the cross for the sins of humanity
that His words in our Subject Text come into sharper focus.
57Just
as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who
feeds on me will live because of me. 58This
is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but
whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59He
said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
In v. 57 Jesus is extending the offer of
life in relation to Him analogous to His life in relation to the Father. There
is a continuum of life that flows from the Father, through Jesus by the power
of the Spirit. As the Father is the author of life so Jesus likewise becomes
the author of life through this continuum. “The Father sent Jesus, and he is the living
Father, the God who has life-in-himself (as in Jn 5:26). This living God,
in sending the Son, established that he would also have life-in-himself…Jesus
lives because of the Father, i.e.
because of the Father’s determination that Jesus should have life-in-himself
(5:26); those who feed on Jesus live (Jesus says) because of me…Clearly, they
live because of the Son’s determination, but unlike him they never have
life-in-themselves, but only in him. For the Christian, eternal life is always
mediated through Jesus.”[4]
Finally, Jesus, teaching in the synagogue (v.
59), the place that should have been the first to recognize Him as the one
the Scriptures foretold of, circles back to referring to Himself once again as
the bread of heaven in v. 58 that
paves the way to eternal life unlike the manna provided by God to their
forefathers that served only to sustain them during their short years of life
on earth.
60On
hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can
accept it?”
Is it
really any surprise that in v. 60 we
see some of Jesus’ followers (“disciples”) complain that Jesus’ teaching is too
difficult to accept? Remember, these “disciples” are not “the Twelve,” these
were the same people that came looking for Him after He fed more than 5,000
people with a few loaves of bread and couple of fish. Do you see the irony?
They have no problem accepting Jesus’ blessings but when it comes to hard
truths, they suddenly find it hard to accept him. We find ourselves wagging our
fingers and shaking our heads at “those” people. But we know “those” people
don’t we? Some of us are “those” people! “Those” people: Accept that God exists
but won’t accept that Jesus is God; They believe in heaven but not in hell;
They believe God only loves and never judges; They believe right and wrong are
relative unless you disagree and then you’re absolutely wrong; They accept blessings
as the way of faith but not suffering; They accept that those who believe in
Jesus will be saved but won’t accept that those who don’t believe in Jesus
won’t be saved; They absolutely believe there are no absolutes; They want to
hear the truth but not if it is Uncomfortable. In v. 60, “The motive behind Jesus’ harsh
words is not difficult to see—he wanted people to count the cost of following
him. His words shocked and challenged. They were not comfortable half-truths,
but hard-edged truth. Those who follow Jesus in hopes of feeling good will
always be disappointed sooner or later. Only those who find in Jesus the
rock-solid truth will be able to weather the difficulties of living in this
fallen world.”[5]
61Aware
that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?
As usual,
Jesus knows in v. 61 that His
disciples are having trouble accepting what He has said about Himself. The
Greek word that is translated as “offend” is more literally translated as
“stumble” so that the text would literally read “Does this cause you to
stumble?” It is a word that is used to describe someone who falls away into
unbelief (cf. Matt 13:21; 24:10; Mk 6:3; Rom 14:20-21). I generally prefer this
translation as it is more consistent with Jesus’ teaching about Himself that He
would be the stone/rock over which people would stumble and smash their lives
(1 Pet 2:8).
62Then
what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
Jesus asks
an interesting question in v. 62
when He asks those who doubt if it would make any difference in their ability
to believe if they saw Him ascend back to the place where He came from. I don’t
think Jesus was all that interested in what it would take to make them believe.
I think it was a rhetorical question intended to show that even if they saw Him
ascend to heaven, they still wouldn’t believe. Of course history has proven
Jesus to be correct (again!). Don’t believe me? Let me illustrate: Jesus really
existed; Jesus really did perform countless miracles; Jesus really was
crucified; Jesus really died; Jesus was really placed in a tomb; Jesus really
rose from the dead; Jesus really ascended to heaven; Millions of lives have
been transformed by their faith and trust in Jesus. All these things are true
according to the biblical and extra-biblical record and eyewitness testimony,
yet countless millions did not/cannot/will not believe in Jesus. “They who
stumble at the doctrine of the descent of one who calls himself the Living
Bread, who gives himself for the life of the world, are to be confronted with a
terrible and awesome phenomenon: they will see the Son of Man ascend where he
was before. We have learned about this earlier. The Son of Man is to be ‘lifted
up’ (Jn 3:14), and the world will be divided before him (Jn 12:31-32). They who
deny the descent will look upon it as the final ground of rejection, whereas
they who can ‘see’ signs may see in this event the ultimate sign which
illuminates all their problems; for that ‘lifting up’ by human hands of Jesus on
the cross will be recognized as the exaltation by God of the Son of Man, via
resurrection, to the throne of God, so making a blessed eating and drinking of
the flesh and blood of the Son of Man.”[6]
63The
Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to
you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64Yet
there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the
beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65He
went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to
me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66From this time many of
his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Jesus’
reference in v. 63 to the Spirit as
the one that gives life and that the flesh counts for nothing seems
inconsistent with what He said previously that He was the one that gives life and specifically to those who
partake in His flesh. So what is He saying now? The key is in the second part
of what He said. Specifically that He was talking about being connected to Him
to receive spiritual life not physical life. Jesus’ primary concern is our
eternal; spiritual life, not specifically our temporal; physical life. For
those who had ears to hear what Jesus was saying, this answered the Jews’
question in v. 52: “How can this man
give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus wasn’t talking about physically eating His flesh
but becoming connected to Him spiritually for eternity. “For John ‘eating the
flesh’ and ‘drinking the blood’ of the Son of man is the continuing sign of
participation in his life by faith and to share in it is to continue to
acknowledged the full reality of the incarnation of the divine Logos [Gk. ‘Word’].”[7]
Jesus goes on to confront the continued unbelief of some in v. 64. We shouldn’t breeze over this
portion of our Subject Text too quickly because it sets up
Jesus’ teaching in the verses that follow. I have yet to meet a believer who
has faithfully shared the gospel with unbelievers who hasn’t been frustrated
with people who stubbornly cling to their unbelief in the face of a mountain of
evidence to the contrary. If that’s you and you’re frustrated that your efforts
haven’t yielded much or any fruit, consider the fact that there were countless
people who were first-hand witnesses to Jesus’ life (miracles and all!), death
and resurrection who still didn’t believe! How is this possible?
Jesus reminds us in v. 65 of something He said right before
our Subject Text in v. 44: “No one
can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Let me just say that
there is an entire lesson contained in this one statement. Some use this as
support for their position that only some people, those called by the Father,
are “predestined” to be saved. However, I believe that is reading something
into the text that doesn’t really exist; it is using a text to support a
position that has been established in advance. Does God take the initiative in
the life of humanity to enable belief? Yes! Does God only initiate this in a
select few? I don’t think so. Let’s use the text that compliments our Subject Text and this lesson which occurs later in John’s Gospel that I
referenced earlier. Specifically, in Jn 12:32 Jesus says that when He is
“lifted up,” a reference to His crucifixion, He will draw all people to Himself. Does God take the initiative in the
life of humanity to enable belief? Yes, and He did so at the cross. It is now
up to us, as believers, to point people to the cross and then it is up to those
who hear the message of the cross to either believe and be saved or not. “The limits
of human knowledge are recognized in the New Testament. It is not through
wisdom that the world knows God, but rather through the divine initiative (Gal.
4:8-9). It is through the kerygma [Gk. Proclamation of the gospel message of
salvation through Jesus Christ] that humans can know God (1 Cor. 1:20-25).
Spiritual discernment is not the result of profane reasoning (1 Tim. 6:20).
God’s revelation in Christ has made knowledge of him possible.”[8]
Nevertheless, even though we can
know God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, some will still refuse to
keep following as we see in v. 66 where
many of Jesus’ disciples turned away and no longer followed Him. It is
interesting to note that we sometimes picture these “disciples” as never really
being followers to begin with because real followers would never stop following
would they? I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there are countless people
who have stopped following Jesus sitting right next to you in church every
Sunday. People who don’t serve others have stopped following; People who expend
most or all of their resources primarily for their own enjoyment have stopped
following; People who refuse to condemn leaders who support killing babies have
stopped following; People who are sexually active outside the context of
marriage have stopped following; People who accept homosexuality as an
acceptable lifestyle have stopped following; People who are afraid to stand up
for Jesus Christ and biblical truth have stopped following; People who can’t
accept outsiders to the faith have stopped following; People who won’t share
the gospel with unbelievers have stopped following; People who willingly remain
biblically ignorant have stopped following and there are countless others who
have, for countless reasons, stopped following Jesus even as they sit in church
singing praises to Him. “I am naïve if I think that the confusion, anger, and
outrage of the disciples at the end of the chapter is something unique to them,
as if they have some deficit, some blindness, or some spiritual malady that
makes them incapable of embracing the profundity of Jesus’ revelation. Hearts
that are religiously inclined can become angry when the formulas change, when
things don’t show up as predicted, when conventions become upset. It is
religious rebellion that in some fashion disguises itself as piety, as
light—but in the end is darkness nonetheless.”[9]
67“You
do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68Simon
Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. 69We
have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Seeing some
who were following Him turn away, Jesus turns His attention to “the Twelve” in v. 67 and asks them if they planned on
leaving as well. Jesus answers His own question at the end of the chapter when
He reminds them that He chose them, they did not choose Him. Peter, always the
brash and the brave one, is the first to speak up and confess in vv. 68-69 that they have nowhere else
to turn. They have committed to following Jesus and were convinced that He was
not just someone important; not just a wise man; not just a good man; not just
a good teacher; not just a prophet; He was the “Holy One of God.” Nevertheless,
“Jesus knew their weaknesses and how little they really understood. He knew
that one of them would not only go away, but betray him also…We can’t stay on middle
ground about Jesus. When He asked the disciples, ‘Are you going to leave, too?’
He was showing them that He was not taking their faith for granted. Jesus never
tried to repel people with his teachings. He simply told the truth. The more
people heard Jesus’ real message, the more they divided into two camps—the
honest seekers wanting to understand more, and those rejecting Jesus because
they didn’t like what they heard.”[10]
Peter says something else very important in v. 69: They “believe and know” that Jesus is the Holy One of God.
“Faith and knowledge (Jn. 6:69), knowledge and faith (Jn. 17:8; 1 Jn. 4:6), are
not two processes distinct from each other, but instructive co-ordinates which
speak of the reception of the testimony from different standpoints. Faith alone
which receives the testimony possesses knowledge; he who knows the truth is
pointed to faith…The hearer should understand that both are involved in
salvation; acceptance of the testimony as well as personal response and
reformation that conforms to the testimony.”[11]
Application
Dr. Larry
Crabb writes, “The more clearly you see Christ, the more willing you will be to
suffer any loss for His sake. Kingdom living consists of radical servanthood
(the end of entitlement to personal comfort) and self-denying suffering with
the hope of joy forever.”[12]
As many of you know, I love books. One particular genre that is very dear to me
are books that tell real life stories of believers who have endured terrible
physical, mental and/or emotional suffering as a result of their faith. I know
that describes some of you out there and I want you to know that I recognize
that and I praise God for you. There is something very, very special about you;
you are a shining example of a faithful follower of Jesus Christ! Here in
America, and many other places in the world, Christians are free to worship and
practice their faith without much, if any, interference or oppression. You
would think that this freedom would provide the perfect environment for the
intelligent, bold and faithful proclamation of biblical truth (kerygma). But
nothing could be farther from the truth. Instead, this freedom from oppression
and suffering has had exactly the opposite effect—an environment of ignorance,
passivity and compromise. But why? The answer is very simple—people want to be
liked; people want to be comfortable.
What’s wrong with being liked?
What’s wrong with being comfortable? Nothing, in and of themselves, but I
challenge you to take a long look at Jesus’ teaching and show me where He
expected or told His followers that they would be liked or comfortable. You can
search, but you’ll search in vain. Jesus told His followers that they would
have trouble in this world; that they would be hated; that they would be put to
death. Jesus was right. All but one of the Apostles were martyred and millions
of Christians since have also been martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. I
can describe their faith and obedience with one word—Uncomfortable! When they were
ridiculed, they were Uncomfortable. When they were hated,
they were Uncomfortable. When they were oppressed, they were Uncomfortable.
When they were imprisoned, they were Uncomfortable. When they were
tortured, they were Uncomfortable. When they were dying, they were Uncomfortable.
What would it take for you to become an Uncomfortable follower? You have
countless opportunities and I’ll bet you don’t even have to go to extremes to
exercise those opportunities.
I want to challenge you this week
to do at least one thing that is Uncomfortable and then next week do
another and then another until your life is no longer marked by the desire or
the pursuit of personal comfort. Here’s a really easy one that everyone can do—share
this website with as many people as you can, not just believers but unbelievers
as well. Some of you are already feeling your anxiety increase at the thought
of doing that; you’re becoming Uncomfortable. Go visit a neighbor
you have never or rarely talked to and ask them how they are doing and if
there’s anything you can do for them. If you have a neighbor you don’t
particularly like, pick them and you’ll be Uncomfortable. Speak up to defend
someone who cannot defend themselves; there are many that qualify but try
something other than the politically safe ones like the poor, or minorities. There’s
nothing inherently wrong with defending the poor and minorities. In fact, doing
so was highly prized by Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, in our
modern American culture, it has become a means to become popular and well
liked. How about if you allow yourself to be labeled a kook or a religious nut
and defend the unborn; then you’ll be Uncomfortable. Use the majority of
your resources from the week, (i.e. time, talents and especially money) and
invest them in someone not in your immediate family; that will be Uncomfortable.
Take the opportunity to stand up for the biblical truth of marriage between a
man and woman, sexuality within the context of marriage, or salvation through
Jesus Christ and no one or nothing else and you’ll be Uncomfortable. Share the
gospel message with someone in your life; a stranger, a friend or a family
member. Tell them your story of salvation. Tell them why you put your faith in
Christ even if it is sad, tragic or embarrassing; you might be very Uncomfortable.
If you are in a relationship that you know does not conform to biblical truth,
change whatever you have to so that that relationship and your behavior
conforms to what you know to be biblically correct; that will be Uncomfortable.
Be willing to stand up for biblical truth at any expense to yourself. This
week, be a radical, be a revolutionary, be a real and faithful follower of
Jesus Christ—be Uncomfortable!
[1]
David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the
New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation, (Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 429.
[2]
Colin Brown, ed., New International
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1986), p. 224.
[3]
Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1992), p. 377.
[4]
D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament
Commentary: The Gospel According to John, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991), pp. 298-299.
[5]
Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman,
Life Application New Testament Commentary,
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 402.
[6]
George R. Beasley-Murray, Word Biblical
Commentary, John, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), p. 96.
[7]
Colin Brown, ed., New International
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1986), p. 535.
[8]
Walter A. Elwell, ed., Baker Theological
Dictionary of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), p. 458.
[9]
Gary M. Burge, The NIV Application
Commentary, John, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), p.
215.
[10]
Bruce Barton, et al., Life Application
Commentary, p. 402.
[11]
Colin Brown, ed., DONTT, Vol. 1, p.
603.
[12]
Dr. Larry Crabb, 66 Love Letters, A
Conversation with God that invites you into His story, (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson, 2009), pp. 214-215.
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