The Jewish scholars marveled at Jesus' teaching, saying, "How does this man know so much about Scriptures, having never been schooled?"
In those days, the more educated Jews were taught by scholarly rabbis.
Hearing their puzzlement, Jesus replied, "My doctrine is not mine; it is his who sent me.
"If anyone really does God's will, he will be able to see whether this doctrine is from God, or whether it is merely me giving my human opinion.
"Someone who is speaking on his own authority seeks his own glory. But someone who seeks the glory of the one who sends him, that one is straight, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
"Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. So why are you plotting to kill me?"
People in the crowd were surprised or feigned surprise. "You're crazy! Who's trying to kill you?"
Referring to a Sabbath Day healing, Jesus replied, "I have done one work and you act as though I've done something strange.
"Moses gave you circumcision. Yet, you circumcise males on the Sabbath.
"If the law of Moses isn't broken when someone is circumcised on the Sabbath, what makes you angry at me when I completely heal a person on the Sabbath?"
(Jesus did not mean that Moses had initiated the rite of circumcision, but that he had affirmed its practice among the Hebrews.)
Jesus added, "Don't judge by the outward appearance, but go by what's right."
Jesus was blunt: "When you have lifted up the son of man, then you will know who I am, and that I do nothing on my own say-so but I only speak what my Father has taught me. The one who sent me has not left me alone. And I only do what pleases him."
His hecklers did not know what Jesus meant by the idea of being lifted up.
To his many listeners who put their trust in him, he said, "If you keep following my instruction, then you are really my students. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
But some of the skeptics replied, "We are Abraham's sons and were never in bondage to any person. How can you say, You will be made free?"
Jesus replied, "I mean it when I tell you: Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And the slave doesn't remain in the house forever, though the son does last forever.
"If the son makes you free, you will definitely be free.
"You say you are Abraham's sons. Yet, you seek to kill me – because my word has no place in you."
The scorners repeated, "Abraham is our father."
But Jesus replied, "If you were Abraham's sons, you would do the works of Abraham.
"But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do that. You do your father's deeds."
These seemingly pious men contended, "We were not born of fornication. We have one Father: God."
These men were referring to the belief that conception during sexual sin yields children born accursed.
Jesus answered, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.
"Why can't you understand what I say? It's because you cannot hear The Word.
"You are of your father the Devil, and you will do his lusts. He was a murderer from the beginning, and didn't abide in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own say-so. For he is a liar, and the origin of lying.
"But as for you, you're like him. I tell you the truth, but you refuse to believe me.
"Which of you can prove me guilty of sin? So, if I say the truth, why won't you believe me?
"He that is of God hears God's words. You don't hear them because you're not of God."
His accusers shrugged, "Aren't we right to call you a devil-crazed Samaritan?"
Jesus said, "I have no devil. I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
"I don't seek my own glory. But there is one that seeks and judges.
"Most assuredly I tell you, if a person keeps my teaching, he will never see death."
That clinches it, his harassers said. "Now we know you're demon-crazed. Abraham and the prophets are dead, but you say that anyone who keeps your saying will never taste death.
"Are you greater than Abraham? Who do you think you are?"
Jesus replied, "If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father who honors me – the one whom you call your God.
"But you have not known him, though I know him. And if I should say, I don't know him, then I would be a liar like you. But I know him, and keep his teaching.
"Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. And he did see it, and was glad."
The scorners reacted, "You aren't even fifty years old, and you've seen Abraham."
Jesus answered, "Most sincerely I tell you: Before Abraham was, I am."
That statement provoked fury in his interrogators, but they dared not seize him because of the admiring crowd.
Many in the crowd were impressed. "Some people want to kill this man, but he still speaks boldly and no one can do a thing about it. Maybe the elders know that this man is the Messiah."
But the rebuttal came from the scribes: "Well, how can that be? No one knows where the Messiah will come from – but we know where this man comes from!"
The fact that they said they knew he was from Galilee underscores the fact that they had no idea where Jesus was really from.
Jesus responded with a shout: "You know me and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own say-so. But he who sent me is straight. Yet you don't know him.
"I know him. I am from him, and he has sent me."
That prompted the skeptical question: "Where is your Father?"
They couldn't see him, they meant.
Jesus answered, "You don't know me or my Father. Had you recognized me, you would have known my Father also."
Continuing in a loud voice, Jesus spoke about the importance of placing trust in himself as God's man.
"He who believes in me, doesn't believe in me, but believes in him who sent me.
"He who sees me, sees him who sent me.
"I am the light of the world so that whoever believes in me will not dwell in darkness.
"If anyone hears my words but doesn't believe, I don't judge him. My purpose is not the judging of the world, but its rescue.
"He who rejects me and disregards my words has a judge: the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the Last Day.
"I have not spoken on my own initiative. The Father who sent me tells me what to talk about and how to say it.
"I know his word leads to everlasting life. That's why I only speak what the Father says to me."
Some men right then wanted to seize him, but no one dared, because it wasn't God's time quite yet.
Many people believed him. "When Messiah comes," was the sentiment, "will he do more miraculous things than this man has done?"
The Pharisees, on hearing what the people were saying, tried to have him arrested as he spoke in the Temple.
Knowing what was afoot, Jesus told the crowd, "I will be with you a little longer, and then I will go to him who sent me."
Turning to some of agents of the Temple authorities, he said, "You will seek me, but won't find me. Where I am, you cannot be."
People were puzzled. "Where is he going that we can't find him? Is he going to the Jewish colonies around the Empire? Is he leaving to teach Gentiles? What kind of saying is that, where he says you will seek me but won't find me and where I am, you can't go? Do you think he intends to commit suicide?"
Jesus had other surprising things on his mind.
He stood up and shouted, "If anyone is thirsty, come to me and drink. Scripture says, whoever believes in me, out of his belly will flow living water."
Jesus was talking about the Spirit, which believers in him would receive once he was resurrected.
People felt the impact of those words. "This really must be the Prophet."
They were speaking of the prophet foretold by Moses.
Others said, "This is the Messiah!"
The religious experts weren't agreed whether the Prophet and the Messiah were to be the same man.
"How can the Messiah be from Galilee?" came the objection. "Doesn't Scripture say the Messiah must come from Bethlehem, David's town?"
At another point, Jesus gently told his hearers, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me won't walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
One of the Pharisees pounced on that claim, arguing, "You bear testimony about yourself. Hence, your testimony is false."
He was referring to Scriptures by which a prophet was established by God and not on account of his own claim.
Jesus replied, "Though I bear record of myself, my record is true. For I know where I am from and where I am going. But you cannot discern where I am from, nor where I am going.
"You judge in accord with the flesh, but I judge no person.
"The Scriptures you cite also say that the testimony of two men is true. I am one who bears witness about myself and the Father who sent me bears witness about me."
So there was a division of opinion among the people as to who he might be.
Back in the Temple offices, the elders asked the arresting officers what had gone wrong. Why hadn't they arrested Jesus?
The Temple police responded, "No one has ever spoken like this man."
The leaders of the Pharisee faction of the ruling clique were aghast. "What?! You've fallen for this confidence trickster too?! You don't see any of the Pharisee leaders believing in him, do you? Those common people out there don't know the Law! They're cursed!"
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, moved to calm everyone down. "Listen, does our Law judge anyone before he is heard in a proper inquiry and before witnesses give an account of what he has done?"
Nicodemus later found Jesus on Olive Hill, where he was camped along with other pilgrims, and questioned him. (See the Flash forward section.)
That just irritated the others. "Are you from Galilee too? Search the Scriptures and you'll see: No prophet arises from Galilee."
Nevertheless, the leaders took no further action, and adjourned.
Next Page: Section 46
https://secretpath108.blogspot.com/2021/01/are-you-anchored-to-rock-jesus.html
In those days, the more educated Jews were taught by scholarly rabbis.
Hearing their puzzlement, Jesus replied, "My doctrine is not mine; it is his who sent me.
"If anyone really does God's will, he will be able to see whether this doctrine is from God, or whether it is merely me giving my human opinion.
"Someone who is speaking on his own authority seeks his own glory. But someone who seeks the glory of the one who sends him, that one is straight, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
"Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. So why are you plotting to kill me?"
People in the crowd were surprised or feigned surprise. "You're crazy! Who's trying to kill you?"
Referring to a Sabbath Day healing, Jesus replied, "I have done one work and you act as though I've done something strange.
"Moses gave you circumcision. Yet, you circumcise males on the Sabbath.
"If the law of Moses isn't broken when someone is circumcised on the Sabbath, what makes you angry at me when I completely heal a person on the Sabbath?"
(Jesus did not mean that Moses had initiated the rite of circumcision, but that he had affirmed its practice among the Hebrews.)
Jesus added, "Don't judge by the outward appearance, but go by what's right."
Jesus was blunt: "When you have lifted up the son of man, then you will know who I am, and that I do nothing on my own say-so but I only speak what my Father has taught me. The one who sent me has not left me alone. And I only do what pleases him."
His hecklers did not know what Jesus meant by the idea of being lifted up.
To his many listeners who put their trust in him, he said, "If you keep following my instruction, then you are really my students. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
But some of the skeptics replied, "We are Abraham's sons and were never in bondage to any person. How can you say, You will be made free?"
Jesus replied, "I mean it when I tell you: Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And the slave doesn't remain in the house forever, though the son does last forever.
"If the son makes you free, you will definitely be free.
"You say you are Abraham's sons. Yet, you seek to kill me – because my word has no place in you."
The scorners repeated, "Abraham is our father."
But Jesus replied, "If you were Abraham's sons, you would do the works of Abraham.
"But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I have heard from God. Abraham did not do that. You do your father's deeds."
Jesus is chiding his critics here by alluding to the Semitic idiom son of, which indicates type of person. A son of peace, for example, refers to a peaceable man. Thus, a real son of Abraham would be someone who adheres to Abraham's lead, as opposed to someone who is a mere biological descendent.
These seemingly pious men contended, "We were not born of fornication. We have one Father: God."
These men were referring to the belief that conception during sexual sin yields children born accursed.
Jesus answered, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.
"Why can't you understand what I say? It's because you cannot hear The Word.
"You are of your father the Devil, and you will do his lusts. He was a murderer from the beginning, and didn't abide in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own say-so. For he is a liar, and the origin of lying.
"But as for you, you're like him. I tell you the truth, but you refuse to believe me.
"Which of you can prove me guilty of sin? So, if I say the truth, why won't you believe me?
"He that is of God hears God's words. You don't hear them because you're not of God."
His accusers shrugged, "Aren't we right to call you a devil-crazed Samaritan?"
Jesus said, "I have no devil. I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
"I don't seek my own glory. But there is one that seeks and judges.
"Most assuredly I tell you, if a person keeps my teaching, he will never see death."
That clinches it, his harassers said. "Now we know you're demon-crazed. Abraham and the prophets are dead, but you say that anyone who keeps your saying will never taste death.
"Are you greater than Abraham? Who do you think you are?"
Jesus replied, "If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father who honors me – the one whom you call your God.
"But you have not known him, though I know him. And if I should say, I don't know him, then I would be a liar like you. But I know him, and keep his teaching.
"Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. And he did see it, and was glad."
The scorners reacted, "You aren't even fifty years old, and you've seen Abraham."
Jesus answered, "Most sincerely I tell you: Before Abraham was, I am."
That statement provoked fury in his interrogators, but they dared not seize him because of the admiring crowd.
Many in the crowd were impressed. "Some people want to kill this man, but he still speaks boldly and no one can do a thing about it. Maybe the elders know that this man is the Messiah."
But the rebuttal came from the scribes: "Well, how can that be? No one knows where the Messiah will come from – but we know where this man comes from!"
The fact that they said they knew he was from Galilee underscores the fact that they had no idea where Jesus was really from.
Jesus responded with a shout: "You know me and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own say-so. But he who sent me is straight. Yet you don't know him.
"I know him. I am from him, and he has sent me."
That prompted the skeptical question: "Where is your Father?"
They couldn't see him, they meant.
Jesus answered, "You don't know me or my Father. Had you recognized me, you would have known my Father also."
Continuing in a loud voice, Jesus spoke about the importance of placing trust in himself as God's man.
"He who believes in me, doesn't believe in me, but believes in him who sent me.
"He who sees me, sees him who sent me.
"I am the light of the world so that whoever believes in me will not dwell in darkness.
"If anyone hears my words but doesn't believe, I don't judge him. My purpose is not the judging of the world, but its rescue.
"He who rejects me and disregards my words has a judge: the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the Last Day.
"I have not spoken on my own initiative. The Father who sent me tells me what to talk about and how to say it.
"I know his word leads to everlasting life. That's why I only speak what the Father says to me."
Some men right then wanted to seize him, but no one dared, because it wasn't God's time quite yet.
Many people believed him. "When Messiah comes," was the sentiment, "will he do more miraculous things than this man has done?"
The Pharisees, on hearing what the people were saying, tried to have him arrested as he spoke in the Temple.
Knowing what was afoot, Jesus told the crowd, "I will be with you a little longer, and then I will go to him who sent me."
Turning to some of agents of the Temple authorities, he said, "You will seek me, but won't find me. Where I am, you cannot be."
People were puzzled. "Where is he going that we can't find him? Is he going to the Jewish colonies around the Empire? Is he leaving to teach Gentiles? What kind of saying is that, where he says you will seek me but won't find me and where I am, you can't go? Do you think he intends to commit suicide?"
Jesus had other surprising things on his mind.
He stood up and shouted, "If anyone is thirsty, come to me and drink. Scripture says, whoever believes in me, out of his belly will flow living water."
Jesus was talking about the Spirit, which believers in him would receive once he was resurrected.
People felt the impact of those words. "This really must be the Prophet."
They were speaking of the prophet foretold by Moses.
Others said, "This is the Messiah!"
The religious experts weren't agreed whether the Prophet and the Messiah were to be the same man.
"How can the Messiah be from Galilee?" came the objection. "Doesn't Scripture say the Messiah must come from Bethlehem, David's town?"
At another point, Jesus gently told his hearers, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me won't walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
One of the Pharisees pounced on that claim, arguing, "You bear testimony about yourself. Hence, your testimony is false."
He was referring to Scriptures by which a prophet was established by God and not on account of his own claim.
Jesus replied, "Though I bear record of myself, my record is true. For I know where I am from and where I am going. But you cannot discern where I am from, nor where I am going.
"You judge in accord with the flesh, but I judge no person.
"The Scriptures you cite also say that the testimony of two men is true. I am one who bears witness about myself and the Father who sent me bears witness about me."
Deuteronomy 19:15 requires that, in order to obtain a criminal conviction, two or three witnesses must provide testimony.
So there was a division of opinion among the people as to who he might be.
Back in the Temple offices, the elders asked the arresting officers what had gone wrong. Why hadn't they arrested Jesus?
The Temple police responded, "No one has ever spoken like this man."
The leaders of the Pharisee faction of the ruling clique were aghast. "What?! You've fallen for this confidence trickster too?! You don't see any of the Pharisee leaders believing in him, do you? Those common people out there don't know the Law! They're cursed!"
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, moved to calm everyone down. "Listen, does our Law judge anyone before he is heard in a proper inquiry and before witnesses give an account of what he has done?"
Nicodemus later found Jesus on Olive Hill, where he was camped along with other pilgrims, and questioned him. (See the Flash forward section.)
That just irritated the others. "Are you from Galilee too? Search the Scriptures and you'll see: No prophet arises from Galilee."
Nevertheless, the leaders took no further action, and adjourned.
Next Page: Section 46
https://secretpath108.blogspot.com/2021/01/are-you-anchored-to-rock-jesus.html
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