Return Ticket on a Runaway Train (John 20)

Right way on a one way track. Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

The penultimate study in the "Just Looking" series on the Gospel of John.

John 20
Q: What event occurs in this chapter?
Jesus is raised from the dead.

Q: From last study, we know that Jesus really died. How do we know he really rose from the dead?
Tomb emptied under unusual circumstances - in itself sufficient for belief (John 20:8)
Appearances to eyewitnesses
Not a ghost but solid flesh still bearing marks of crucifixion. (And certainly not a metaphysical, metaphorical, "Jesus lives on in our hearts" resurrection.)

Q: Resurrection was not a cool party trick, nor a shock and awe tactic to gain friends and influence people. Why does Jesus have to rise again from the dead? (John 20:9)
Because Scripture had spoken hundreds and thousands of years ago about a promised king who would rule forever and also that God's suffering servant would rise from the dead. Therefore, if Jesus was these promised people rolled into one, he needed to do so.
[Because it was not possible for Jesus to be held by death since he was sinless and therefore did not deserve the judgement of death.]
Isaiah 9:6-7 as well as the numerous times God tells David that he will establish his throne forever.
Psalm 16 (cited Acts 2:25-31, Acts 13:35)
Isaiah 53:10ff.

Q: What message does Jesus tell Mary Magdalene to convey to the disciples?
'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' (John 20:17)

Q: Why is it important for them to know that Jesus is ascending to God?
Q: What has Jesus told them previously about his coming to earth and returning to the Father?
John 3:13-16 - "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 13:3 - "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God..."

John 16:28 - "I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

John 17:4-5 - "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."

Q: What does Jesus' ascension demonstrate about him?
What he says came true - he is not a false prophet. And so what he says about the condition of men, about himself being the only way to be saved, about how his death pays for sins, about his divinity (being equal to the Father) is all true. Jesus' work on earth was done and he would now be glorified.

Q: What does Jesus' ascension tell us about the Father?
That God really loved the world. Jesus' death was the accomplishment of his eternal plan to rescue his people.

Q: What does Jesus' ascension mean for his disciples and the world?
That all who believe in him will have eternal life.

What word does he use to describe his disciples?
brothers

Q:Why does Jesus call them "brothers"?
Q: If brothers, who is their Father?
"my God and your God, my Father and your Father". Not only is there merely salvation from judgement to eternal life, there is also intimate relationship with God! Mindblowing bonus! See John 14, John 16:25-27.

[Q: What is the significance of Jesus' greeting?]

Q: When Jesus appears, what does he give the disciples (John 20:21-23)?
Sending out - commission, Holy Spirit

Q: Jesus promised the Spirit several times while he was alive. Why would the disciples need the Spirit?
To be reborn, to not be condemned, to enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3).
John 14:26 - "the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

John 16:13-14 - "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

Q: How will the disciples be able to carry out their commission?
Q: What exactly were they sent out to do?

Q: Why do we now, more than two millenia later, not need to see Jesus' physically resurrected body or his miracles to believe?
John 20:28-31

Q: How do we know that John the disciple's testimony is true?
Because it is Spirit-aided.

Q: Why do you not believe these words of eternal life?

Where else have we to go
We have come to see,
To know and understand
Things the very angels long to see.
God, who owed us nothing,
Has spoken to us all.
Christ the word of God himself has been.

Chorus
Where else have we to go,
When you alone have words of eternal life?
Where else have we to go,
When you alone have words of eternal life?

2. Words of truth passed down
To those entrusted few
Who witnessed and proclaimed him,
‘Christ the Lord’.
We are their descendants
On us the light has dawned,
Standing in the gospel we first heard.

3. Come all you who labour,
You who are weighed down,
You who thirst and hunger for the right
There is truth and meaning,
Mercy, rest and hope.
True salvation comes through Jesus Christ.

Words and Music: ©1998 Nicky Chiswell

Just Looking Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Matcha Pudding and the Promised Saviour Proved (John 19:16b - 42)

While working through the Gospel of John again, it gave us shivers to think what an incredible few years John must have had with Jesus (cf John 21:24-25) - following him from place to place, hearing him preach but not understanding his full meaning, believing yet not having complete faith, the horror of Jesus being taken away by his people the Jews, hoping perhaps that Jesus might save himself, then faced with the shocking, crushing reality of Jesus, whom he called his teacher and lord and even saviour in whatever sense he could have understood, hanging, dying on a Roman cross.

Yet what shivers it must have given John later on when, recalling the details of Jesus' crucifixion and death, he realised how perfectly events beyond the control of any human comported with Scripture written by disparate authors over thousands of years, and so how, in a mind-blowing way that could not have been conceived by pea-brained humans, God had planned his Son's death before the beginning of the world.

Intro question: What do you/your friends/relatives think of Jesus' death on the cross some 2,000 years ago?

John 19:16b - 42
Q: What happens in John 19:16b - 42?
........

We remember the purpose of John's Gospel. It is not an ad nauseum of everything that he saw and heard while he was with Jesus, he chose only some to put in his book, so that his readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing we might have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

Q: Name the people at Jesus' trial, crucifixion, death and burial.
Trial - Pilate, soldiers, chief priests, Jews
Crucifixion and death - soldiers, chief priests, Jews, mother, mother's sister Mary wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, John
Burial - Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus

John 19:16b - 30
Q: With all these people present, how can we be sure it was really Jesus who was crucified, who died and was buried?
Pilate, soldiers - Romans were professionals. They were not easily hoodwinked.
Chief priests, Jews - They really wanted Jesus dead and would have made sure that it was really Jesus on the cross. Their only protest was the signage on Jesus' cross (19:20-21).
Relatives and followers - They would have known if it were not Jesus. And an imposter would not have taken care to ensure that Jesus' mother was taken care of, not while he was suffering on a cross (19:26-27).

John 19:31 - 42
Q: How do we know that Jesus really died and didn't just faint away?
- the soldiers who probably had seen many crucifixions saw that he was already dead (19:33)
- blood and water poured from his side (19:34) - when a person has been dead for some time, blood serum and platelets separate.
- he was wrapped with 75 pounds (about 28 kg) of spices and left for a few days. If he wasn't already dead, he would have died from blood loss and dehydration.

John 19:35 - 42
Q: How do we know this whole account is true?
- John was an eyewitness
- John names prominent people - it would have been easy to check if this was true

Why is it important to know that it was really Jesus on the cross and that he really died?
Jesus' claims.

While it is important to establish that it was really Jesus on the cross and that he really died, why does John give us all these details?
To show that this was not a tragic failure. but that all this was in fulfilment of Scripture (19:24, 28, 36), God's eternal plan for rescuing his people from the just consequences of sin. God is in control, having planned and communicated his plan (albeit piecemeal) thousands of years before.

John 19:28-30
The words "finished" and "fulfilled" are translations of the same Greek verb "to accomplish". What has Jesus accomplished?
cf John 17:4. Same word used by Jesus in prayer. Jesus' death is not the sizzle of a damp squib that once held so much potential; rather, it is the climax and fulfilment of all Scripture. Jesus' cry is a cry of victory!

Look at Psalm 22. It is a psalm written before 400 B.C. about God's servant suffering at the hands of his enemies. But he is ultimately vindicated.
Q: What does the fulfilment of Psalm 22:18 in John 19:24 tell us about Jesus' death?

[Q: Look at Psalm 69:21.]

Look at Exodus 12:46 which was written between 1446 - 1406 B.C. and Numbers 9:12. God instructs Israel on keeping the Passover.
Q: What was the Passover supposed to commemorate?

Q: What do these verses say about the passover lamb?

Q: So what is the significance of Jesus' death on the cross?
Jesus is the true passover lamb - without blemish and broken bones. Just as God gave the Israelites a means of being spared the judgement on Egypt by the blood of passover lambs, so through Jesus' death on the cross, God gives all humankind a way of escape from his coming judgement.

Q: Look at Zechariah 12:10 - 13:1 written in 6 B.C.. For whom are the people mourning?
The one whom they have pierced = me (God) = him!

Q: Yet, what will happen on that same day?
Fountain for God's people to cleanse themselves from sin and uncleanness opened (Zechariah 13:1).

Q: What is the significance of Jesus being pierced in the side? (John 19:34,37)
He is God. His death will allow God's people be free from the boggy mire of sin and uncleanness!

Q: How much more does this add to your understanding of Jesus' cry of victory in John 19:30?!

Jesus' death is neither a tragic end to a young life so full of potential or promise, nor is it such an orgy of gore and pain (a la Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ) that we are emotionally arm-twisted into believing in Jesus "since he has gone through so much for us". Rather, John tells us of God's sovereign control throughout history. Every detail in the death of the King of the Jews occurred in accordance with God's will, not least the robustness in the execution of God's mercy mission to provide a way out from the coming judgement of our sins and a means by which we can be cleansed from our sins.

Q: John wrote all of this so that we may also believe (19:35). How does this account enable you to believe and go on believing in Jesus and his good news?


"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Wake me up when September ends. John 18:28 - 19:16a.

Green day.

A thin but meaty section in this particular "Just Looking" series.

John 18:28 - 19:16a

Jesus' innocence
Q: By whom was Jesus arrested? Why?
John 18:14, 11:45-57, 18:35

Q: What accusation did the chief priest and officers of the Jews bring against Jesus?
18:30 - nothing specific at first

Q: What was Pilate's verdict? How was this emphasised?
Jesus was innocent (18:38, 19:4, 19:6, 19:12).

Guilt of the Jews
Q: What do the accusers know about Jesus' claims?
All too aware that he claims to be king and to be the Son of God (18:33, 19:7).

Q: Yet how do the chief priests and officers respond each time Pilate pronounces Jesus to be innocent?

Q: How can we tell from this passage that the chief priests and officers were not looking for a fair trial?
They just wanted Jesus killed by the Romans (18:31, 19:6, 19:15).

Q: What occasion were the Jews celebrating?
Passover (18:28).

Q: In what way were their scruples about cleanliness (18:28) ironic?
Concerned about ritual uncleanness but are getting their hands/hearts very filthy indeed.
Passover itself is about to be made redundant by slaughter of true Passover Lamb which they are in process of engineering.

Guilt of Pilate
Q: How does Pilate react to Jesus' claims?
Nonchalance, then some fear (but not enough to overcome his fear of Caesar) (18:38, 19:8-13).

Guilty parties
Q: Even though Jesus seems to be on trial, it is actually his accusers and Pilate that are on trial. How so?
18:37 presents all with a choice.

Q: In this scene, who are the guilty parties?
Pilate, accusers, who put to death an innocent man. Perversion of justice.
Pilate, accusers, who reject their real king.

[Q: When will they be judged?
Not in this world (but one assumes in the next where Jesus is king).]

Q: Even though Jesus' kingdom is in the next world, how do we know that he/God is in control even in this world?
18:32, 12:32-33

Q: The choice presented to us then is stark. We are either on the side of the false accusers and perverters of truth (of which the postmodern passiveness of Pilate is complicit) or we can choose to acknowledge Jesus as king. Just as the chief priests, the officers and the rest of those who were meant to be God's people could not see that Jesus was king in their time, because his servants did not fight for him in the present, so it is not explicitly obvious to us that Jesus rules. How do we know that he is king? How do we choose to listen to Jesus' voice now?

Q: History tends to depict the leaders of the Jews as the baddies. Yet, perhaps one could argue as one says of many of one's compatriots in church that "they had a good heart". After all, they were trying to protect their nation. What was the tragedy? How can we avoid the same fate for ourselves and our friends?


"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Hopes and Expectations. Black Holes and Revelations. John 5:1-29.

As we work through the Gospel of John, we are in awe of the persistence and insistence of God in calling people to himself, and so simultaneously, the great tragedy that the Jews, to whom were given the promises of blessing and the symbols of future rescue would be the ones who would kill the promised Christ.

But perhaps even now, anywhere in the world and at any point of time, people can gather united in the name of God, yet the great tragedy might be that even a premier bible-teaching church may reject the very Saviour they claim to proclaim.

Read John 5:1-29
Q: It's a remarkable thing to heal a man who has been lame for 38 years with just a word. But what was the special significance of the healing of the lame man to a Jew?
Read Isaiah 35:3-7. Isaiah prophesised that when God came to rescue his people, inter alia, the lame man would leap like a deer. This was a sign that God's Saviour had come.

Q: What was significant about the day on which the healing took place?
Read Deuteronomy 5:12-15. Sabbath was a day of rest instituted by God when God's people were meant to remember God's rescue of them from slavery in Egypt (and a future rest/rescue). It should have been doubly significant for them that the sign of the Messiah should occur on the day set apart by God to point to his past (and future) rescue.

Q: Remember that John wrote his Gospel so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ and by believing have life in his name (John 20). How does this convince us that Jesus is the Christ?
.....

Q: But how did the Jews respond instead?
They wanted to kill him (John 5:18).

Q: What did the Jews find so offensive?
Healing on the Sabbath and making himself equal to God (John 5:18).

Q: What was so tragically ironic about what they found offensive?
They were offended by the very thing they claimed to be waiting for, the person whom all this pointed to.

Q: Jesus explained why they should not be offended. Why did Jesus do what he did?
The Father commissioned him to do this work. He is acting in imitation of and obedience to the Father. (John 5:19-23)

Q: We have seen in past studies that Jesus was with God in the beginning and that he is the only one to have seen God. What else do we know about his relationship with the Father from this passage?
Close, open (to each other) relationship. Obedience from Jesus. Love from Father.

Q: The miracle that it was, the healing of the lame was nothing compared to two greater works that God has given Jesus to do. What are they?
To give life and to judge the world.

Why did God give Jesus this work to do?
So that they would honour him like they honoured the Father (John 5:23). Because he is the Son of Man (John 5:27) - not a new commission but because of who Jesus already is.

How should people honour God?
Believe him. (John 5:24)

How should people honour Jesus?
Hear his words (John 5:24-25) - believe him.

[Q: Who has the right to give life and to judge the world?
Only God since he created life and since he is the one sinned against.]

Who is Jesus that all people should respond in this way?
.....

Was this good news or bad news for the Jews?
Supposed to be good news but their response makes it very bad news indeed.

What are the consequences of not believing God/Jesus?
Judgement, death. (John 5:24-28)

What was going to happen to those Jews who were so zealous in defending God's rest day and God's name?
Judgement, death.

Even as people who call ourselves Christian, our response to Jesus is very important. We can be enthusiastic about church, serve in many ways, lead ministries, give to the poor etc but without a saving relationship with Christ, we will still face judgement and eternal death.
Q: Think through a typical day in your life. How have you believed God/Jesus from the time you got out of bed until you climbed back in at night?
Q: How have you believed God/Jesus in participating in abjectly Christian activities?

Breakfast - Dinner

"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

MoominValley under the Pink Cloud of Rainbow Sprinkles and "Just Looking" Study 3 (John 4:1-30)

Even this cheerful scene is far too banal to accompany the loveliness of J.S. Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, a work of such (probably very subjective) intricate beauty that one might weep on first listen. Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh have a nice saw-through of it here, here and here.

In John 4:1-30, God does a far greater and infinitely more wondrous thing (that can be appreciated by a much wider audience).

Quick notes for study with someone brought up in a Christian family.

Intro Questions
Q: What sort of people do you think God saves?
Q: What is the proper worship of God and what is the wrong worship of God?

Read John 4:1-30.

1. What we can tell about the woman at the well?
- from her heritage

Samaritan - Jews have no dealings with Samaritans (John 4:9). Later in John 8:48, the Jews intended to insult and discredit Jesus by calling him "a Samaritan".

From 1 Kings 16:24, we know that King Omri named the new capital of the northern kingdom "Samaria". From 2 Kings 17:24 – 31, we know that the king of Assyria brought foreign people to settle in Samaria in 722 B.C.. Over time they intermarried with some Jews who remained in the area.The Samaritans, of partly Jewish and partly Gentile ancestry, were disdained by the Jews. The Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch, their own temple on Mount Gerizim (see John 4:20), and their own rendering of Israelite history. Tensions often ran high between Jews and Samaritans - Josephus recounts fighting between Jews and Samaritans during Claudius's reign in the first century A.D. being so intense that Roman soldiers were called in to pacify (and to crucify) many of the rebels (Jewish War 2.232–246).

Woman had somewhat suspect heritage.

- from her actions
Sixth hour refers to noon, when it would have been hot and time to rest. Normally, women would draw water in the morning or evening when it was cooler (Gen. 24:11; cf. 29:7–8). That the woman was drawing water at noon when there was one else around suggests that she was trying to avoid being seen and/or interacting with other people. Her marital status tells us why.

- from her marital status
The woman had had five husbands who had either died or divorced her. When Jesus says the one you now have is not your husband, he implies that they were merely living together immorally.

So this woman is not only of a despised race, but even other members of that race considered her despicable. Lowest of the low, scummiest of the scummy.

2. What is so surprising about Jesus' interaction with Samaritan woman
- Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Samaritans would have been considered unclean. Drinking water from this woman's water jar would have been Jesus ceremonially unclean. Horrors.

- a single man speaking to a single woman at the well (cf John 4:27)

3. What amazing gift does Jesus offer her?
...

4. What do we know about this "living water"?
- Jesus in John 7:37–39 identifies this “living water” as the Holy Spirit dwelling within a believer. He will never be thirsty again because person's deepest spiritual longing to know God personally will, amazingly, be satisfied forever (cf Ezekiel 47:1-12, 43:1-12).
- "will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" is reminiscent of Isaiah 12:3 (see also Isaiah 44:3; 55:1–3).
- eternal life and the pouring out of God's Spirit in the day of God's salvation (Isaiah 44:3, 55:1-3)

5. What did Jesus say Nicodemus needed? What is similar about the Samaritan woman's needs?

Yet, what a contrast to the very respectable Nico! Nico male, learned, powerful, respected, training, a Pharisee, member of ruling council. Night and day! (geddit?)

By placing one episode after another, John is showing that offer open to both.

6. John 4:26 - Who does Jesus say he is?
Messiah, the Christ.

7. How did Jesus demonstrate this to the Samaritan woman?
Inside goss on her deepest darkest (John 2:27).

8. So in what way is "salvation from the Jews"?
God promised salvation through Abraham's offspring. Very specific promise. And so the whole world is taught about salvation through the Old Testament, which was from the Jewish people. The Messiah himself came from the Jews and not from the Samaritans or from the Gentiles.

9. Read Ezekiel 37:15-28. On what authority is he offering the gift of God, the living water?
He is the Messiah, the Christ. The king promised by God - one king to rule them all, one king to find them; one king to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

(Joseph, as father of Ephraim (see Genesis 48:5, 8–20), here represents the northern kingdom of Israel (where Samaria was). Judah represents the southern kingdom (cf. Psalm 78:67–68).)

10. John 4:4 - Why Jesus as Messiah have to pass this way?
- geographically shortest route (see Josephus).

- “had to” translates Gk. dei, “to be necessary,” which always indicates divine necessity or requirement elsewhere in John: 3:7, 14, 30; 9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9. Because he is the Messiah and his work is to unite and save his people from backsliding and cleanse them, and enable them to obey God.

11. Whom does God seek?
True worshippers, whatever their race or background, who worship in spirit and in truth.

12. What does worshipping "in spirit and in truth" mean?
Not separate characteristics.

truth:
- worship centered not in a place but in a person - Jesus, in all places and at all times
- worship not based on something they thought up ignorantly but based on what has been finally and ultimately disclosed by God through Jesus (cf first two studies on John 1 and 3 - no one has seen God...)

and so spirit: anywhere, since God is spirit

13. How would the "living water" offered by Jesus fulfil God's purposes?
Living water = Spirit -> enabled to worship in spirit and truth

Jesus is the Christ - Spirit given through him to enable true worship
Jesus is the Christ - God seeks true worship focused in him

Jesus also = God, Word of God, life, light, Son of the Father, rabbi, Son of Man.

(Q: How does unity of all God's people come about from true worship?
...
NB: it's not unity that makes community. Rather, when people were gathered and enabled by the Spirit to worship God truly, unity was a natural consequence.)

So...
Q: What sort of people is God's offer of salvation open to?

Q: If we say we have the Spirit, how can we go about truly worshipping God in spirit and truth?
- what are the implications for church life, church buildings, services?
Worship without necessary ties to particular holy places

- what are the implications for time at home, in office, at school?

Not being the dreaded "Sunday Christian" isn't merely about not being hypocritical. If we have had such a drastic thing to have happened to us as having been born again, if we have been cleansed and given living water - the Spirit to enable us to not to sin (John 3:6) and to truly worship God in spirit and in truth as God intended long ago, then why aren't we?


Just Looking Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Death And Jay Chou In The New Year and Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)

So the new year began with the reminder that both life and death are unpredictable. 生死難猜.

My father was always grateful to his old teacher who had been magnificently magnanimous to him in the years after World War II in Singapore, when education was a luxury a family, who hadn't even enough to survive on, could barely contemplate. To demonstrate his lifelong gratitude, my father would visit this teacher every Chinese New Year with gifts of oranges and sweet meats. The Chinese/Confucian demonstration of gratitude being not in close relationship but in constant remembering.

A few days after the start of the new year, we found out from national media that the teacher was 82 years old. His decomposing body was discovered along with that of his daughter in a rubbish-strewn flat after neighbours complained of a terrible smell of rot emanating from within.

This is the cumulation of the teacher's 82 years of hopes and dreams and big-heartedness and kindness; this is the remembering the general public will do: a rotting corpse, a nuisance to neighbours, a decomposing hazard to public hygiene, fodder for maybe only 1 day of coffeeshop talk ("middle class lah," it is said with some disappointment,"no money problems"). The futility and the indignity.

Of all 周杰伦 (Jay Chou)'s songs[1], I like the ones about the conquering of kingdoms and the pugilistic world best. 千军万马. 军队蜿蜒如龙. 横刀立马. 马蹄上的尘土. 一统江山. They are full of troops and horses. And troops like dragons. And weapons being wielded and horses charging. And the dust on hooves. And unifying the country. And yet, pathetically, all that bravery and courage, all that blood-rusted armour and flashing swords, is with a view to posterity, to history, to their own memory. 历史留下谁在乱箭之中潇洒.

Perhaps some would-be poet, also with a view to his own legacy, might pen a pretty verse about a fallen warrior, comparing him to a flower that has loses its splendour at nightfall. 花已向晚飄落了燦爛. Life and death are but a scar, 生死不过 一刀的疤, some pseudo-philosopher might add.

But really.

If this life is all there is, then whatever good we think we did in our lives, however many of our achievements are noted in the record books that will soon be eaten by moths, whether anyone thinks we deserve it or not, all we have to show at the end is a file of bloodthirsty ants drawn by our rotting flesh. 一群嗜血的蚂蚁被腐肉所吸引.

*************

Interestingly, we did a Just Looking Study on death and a certain rotting corpse the weekend after:

Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)

Read John 11:1-57.

Q: What does Jesus do when he hears that his friend Lazarus is sick? (John 11:4-6)
He stays in Jerusalem for 2 more days! Bethany was only 2 miles from Jerusalem. Not far at all, even by sandal.

Q: What does Jesus say about Lazarus' illness?

• That "his illness does not lead to death".
  
• That "it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (11:4).

Q: Lazarus eventually dies. What does Jesus say about Lazarus' death?
That he is glad that he was not in Bethany then, so that his disciples might believe (11:15).

Q: So Jesus eventually goes to Bethany and Lazarus has been rotting in his tomb for four days. He is met by Martha, Lazarus' sister. What does Martha believe about Jesus? (11:20-22)
That if Jesus had been around, Lazarus would not have died. That Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus.

Q: What does Jesus say is deficient about Martha's belief about him? (11:23-26)
She doesn't realise that Jesus can do more than heal. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus has power over life and death and that the power of resurrection (vs mere resuscitation) has now come with Jesus. Whoever believes in Jesus, though he dies, shall have eternal life, and everyone who lives and believes in Jesus shall never die.

Q: Well, Martha didn't quite get the full impact of what Jesus was claiming (11:39-40). What does Jesus do to back up his claim?
Jesus resurrects Lazarus, he raises Lazarus from the dead. (11:38-44)

Q: What reasons does Jesus give for raising Lazarus? (11:40-42)

• because he told his followers that if they believed in him, they would see God's glory (ties up with what he said in 11:4)
  
• to demonstrate to everyone that he was sent by God the Father

Q: Right. How does the raising of Lazarus reveal God's glory? And how does it glorify God's son?

• death was not in God's original plan for the world. It came about as a result of man's wrongful rebellion against God (Genesis 3:19). Therefore by raising Lazarus from the dead, God is showing through Jesus that he has the power to reverse the rightful curse of death on mankind. We eventually find out, in the rest of the Gospel of John, how God manages to remain just by punishing sin with death and also to be merciful by sparing mankind from eternal death. The glory of God. Akan datang.
  
• Jesus is glorified because it will be through him and him alone that eternal life and resurrection from the dead will come to humanity. Also akan datang.

Q: Faced with the Lazarus raising, what were the two reactions of the crowds of witnesses?

• many put their faith in Jesus (11:45)
  
• others told on Jesus (11:46) to the Jewish authorities who plotted to have him arrested (11:57) and killed (11:50,53).

Q: Let's first have a look at the people who've put their faith in Jesus. What do you think it means to "put their faith in him" (11:45)? What's the difference between believing in something and believing something about something?

• it means they put their trust in Jesus. They've committed, they've stuck their neck out about his trustworthiness and the integrity of his person and his claims.
  
• believing something about something is non-committal. No action or response is needed.

Q: Did the people have "blind faith"?
nope. They heard Jesus' promises, then they saw that what he promised did come through so they trusted in him based on sound evidence.

Q: Let's now look at the people who snitched on Jesus to the Jewish authorities. What was the reaction of the Jewish authorities? Why did they react in this manner? (11:47-48)
They probably recognised that Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead was a major miracle and feared that everyone would believe in Jesus. Then the Romans would come and remove them from their nice cushy positions. And of course, they feared for the future of their nation.

Were these reasonable reasons for rejecting Jesus?
Erm, like, if this was a major miracle, then maybe Jesus is who he claims he is - you know, like, "the Resurrection and the Life" and not believing in him, therefore, would have crap consequences?

In what way is their reaction a warning to us today?
It is often not lack of evidence that stops us from believing in Jesus but fear of the implications for ourselves.

Caiaphas says in 11:50 that it is better for Jesus to die than for the entire Jewish nation to perish through being crushing by the Romans. So the Jews plot to kill off Jesus. But John tells us that God uses Caiaphas' words to prophesy what Jesus' death will achieve. What will it achieve according to 11:51-52?

• that through his death, Jesus would die for all nations and bring people back into relationship with God.
  
• that Jesus' death would achieve this through its substitutionary work for us on the cross, his death taking the punishment for what we rightfully deserve for our rebellion against God and in so doing, free us to get back into a relationship with God. Not totally clear here. Akan datang, really.

Summary
Death is the right punishment for our rebellion against God our Creator. It was not part of God's design for the world.

But death in this life is not the end. And those who believe in Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, the one with power and authority to raise people from the dead and give eternal life, can partake of the benefit of his substitutionary death on the cross on our behalf. They can be restored to perfect relationship with God. If God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world, it would be much better to live as his friend than as his enemy for all eternity.


"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

[1] Don't laugh. Is 'cos got free ticket to his concert hor. Second row is apparently within sweat-flinging distance so maybe I'll pack a brolly, collect the precipitation and sell small bottles on ebay.

A Cracking Good Weekend with "Just Looking" Studies

A cracking good weekend. The bee's knees indeed.

Saturday, we were completely knackered from banging up nosh for a DG social. (At 1am, not only do the cashiers at the 24-hour Cold Storage at Holland Village hand you Marlboro Lights without your asking and for free, but you also walk out with oregano in your pocket and don't find it until, legging it back to the kitchen, you wonder what could possibly be prodding at you in the most uncomfortable of places.)

However, it was well worth it for the happy bellies, fellowship and buckets of laughter, and there was a lovely apple spice cake and rootbeer floats for afters.

Later, a birthday surprise where the birthday boy surprised the birthday surprise planner. And a wee nipper had a go at the birthday cake.

Later later, racing round sharp bends, the Dino 246 GTS was a real slowcoach and the F50 - a Speedy Gonzalez. But the Testarossa, when floored, smirked,"Eat my fine dust particles, me lads."

A few games of pool later, it was Sunday, a real scorcher.

Time enough for late brekkie and bubble tea after church and then a session of Just Looking.

Six hours of tripartite chin-wagging and I was most pumped for the glories of frisbee in the wide open expanse of Bishan Park. (Unfortunately, not all was well with my soles.)

Just Looking is supremely chuffable. It is excellent stuff for demonstrating the claims of Jesus and showing how it can be seen from a plain reading of Scripture. And the guys were simply brill - enthused about the awesomeness of God's reality and passionate about helping their mates come out from the darkness into the saving light. Time went like a very good cuppa'cha. God's word is amazing. Must have done this passage a double dozen times over the last 4-5 years and every time, another piece of the multi-dimensional jigsaw falls into place, strobelights strobing in the darkness of my mind.

Since I can't seem to get me mitts on them notes when they're most needed (on account of forgetting whom they've been lent to), will be storing a copy on this site. The Shadow version.

Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Just Looking Study 2 : (John 3:1-21)

From A Cracking Good Weekend with "Just Looking" Studies.

How can one enter the Kingdom of God?

Re-cap:
Q: From our last study, does the Bible claim that God exists?
Duh. Yes.

Q: If we assume that God exists, how can anyone know God?
• only one way: through Jesus.
• because he is the only one who is qualified to tell us about God. No one has seen God but Jesus (John 1:18)
• Jesus is God, Creator, was there in the beginning with God
• Jesus has come to earth as a man (John 1:14) to reveal God to us (John 1:18)
• Jesus is called the "Word" because he is God's communicative tool to man; or God's Word to man
• Jesus is the true light (John 1:1-9)

Q: How does this affect us?
demands a response
• Jesus offers people the right to become children of God if they believe (John 1:12-13)
• if reject Jesus, the consequences are unknown for now. But we will see in this study why it is so important to believe in Jesus.

[Aim:
(1) To show that no one can enter the Kingdom of God (Heaven) unless he trusts in what Jesus has done on the Cross
(2) Rejection of Jesus shows that we are rebellious and do not want Jesus to rule over us]

Ice-breaker: (write down answers on a big piece of paper)
(1) What do you think is wrong with the world?
(2) Assuming there is such a thing as heaven and hell, what do you think determines if a person goes to either destination?
(3) Why do people (not just you but also other people) reject Jesus?

Read John 3:1-21

Terms to explain:
• Pharisees - Jewish sect of religious teachers
• Rabbi - Jewish term for a religious teacher
• Son of Man - a term Jesus often used to refer to Himself; it is also an Old Testament term referring to the person who will rule over all creation at the end of time (Daniel 7:13-14)

1. What do you learn about Nicodemus from v1-2?
• A Pharisee - Jewish sect that welded an enormous influence in those days. They were authoritative in the teaching of Jewish texts.
• Member of the Jewish ruling council (v1).
• In other words, Nicodemus is equivalent to the most religious person that we can think of in today's world.
• Came to Jesus at night; called Jesus "Rabbi"; thinks Jesus is from God (v2).

2. According to Jesus in v3 & v5, how can one see/enter the Kingdom of God?
• No one can enter it unless he is born again (v3)
• Jesus expands on this and says that this means that no one can enter it unless he is born of water and the Spirit (v5)

3. The Kingdom of God is a term that needs some unpacking. What are the different elements that make up any kingdom?
Elements of Earthly Kingdoms:
King
Subjects
Place/Territory

So what do think are the elements which would make up the Kingdom of God?
Elements in the Kingdom of God:
God
Believers/Those who are born again
Heaven/Where God dwells

4. So what is Jesus saying in v3 & v5 about how Nicodemus and we can qualify to be subjects in the Kingdom of God?
• People who are born again (v3); born of water and the Spirit (v5)

5. In the light of who Nicodemus is, why is what Jesus saying to Nicodemus in v3 and v5 is shocking?
• Because Nicodemus is a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council - If anyone should know how to get into heaven, if anyone could be good/qualified enough to already have gained entry into the Kingdom of God, it would be Nicodemus.
Even Nicodemus needs to be born again!

6. Jesus uses a harsh term - "born again". In using this term of total rebirth in order to get into the Kingdom of God, what do you think Jesus is saying about Nicodemus'/our current state?
• That there must be something seriously wrong with us at the moment.
• Born again does not mean turning over a new leaf but a complete overhaul - throwing away the old and starting over with the new.

7. How does the fact that we need to be born again of "water" and the "Spirit" add to our understanding of our current state and what needs to be done to make us fit for the Kingdom of God?
• Water: suggests that we are unclean and need to be cleansed.
• Spirit: suggests that we are not born of the Spirit and need to be.

What is the default position?
• there is something wrong with us
• we are unclean
• we are not born of the Spirit
• we cannot get into the kingdom of God
*We do not have a choice. We have a problem. We are already in trouble. We are going the wrong way. We are already drowning.

[This problem isn't new. God already told his people that this is what was needed to enter his kingdom. Look up Ezekiel 36:24-32. What three things did God promise that He would give to His people in the future in v25-27? What is the significance of each promise?
Verse: V25
Promise: Sprinkle clean water
Significance: Cleanse from all impurity and idols

Verse: V26
Promise: Give new heart
Significance: Remove heart of stone (hardened hearts) which was unable to obey God

Verse: V26-27
Promise: Give new spirit
Significance: To follow God's decrees and keep His laws

*Note how God's people will obtain these things.

How do the promises in Ezekiel help us to see what Jesus is promising in John 3:5-8? What does it show about our state before God?
• Jesus is fulfilling all that God had promised He would do in Ezekiel
• It also serves to underline our total inability to follow and obey God unless we are cleansed and made new by Him.]

8. Looking at v6, two different types of birth are mentioned. What are they? (write out on a piece of paper in a table format)
First Birth=Flesh=Physical (v6)
Second Birth=Spiritual (v6)

Who is born physically?
• Everyone

Where do we end up after we are born physically?
• This world

Do we have any choice in being born physically?
• No

According to v3-6, who is born spiritually?
• Only those who are "born again"; in other words, not everyone

According to vv3-6, by being born spiritually, where does one gain entrance to?
• The Kingdom of God

John 1:12-13 refers to the same idea of spiritual birth. Looking at John 1:12-13, do we have any choice in spiritual birth?
• Yes, it is based on whether we believe in Jesus
(born again = born of the Spirit = receiving Jesus (remember first study) = believing in him.

9. Why should we trust what Jesus says? What right does Jesus have to say such arrogant things? Look at vv10-13.
• Jesus speaks of what He KNOWS (v11)
• Jesus testifies to what He has SEEN (v11)
• Jesus claims His authority to speak from being the ONLY PERSON to have ever seen Heaven because He comes from Heaven (v13)
[Son of Man - Jesus' most common description of himself. In the Old Testament, it is a reference to the glorious heavenly figure who will rule over creation at the end of time, forever (Daniel 7:13-14)]

10. All well and good. Very interesting stuff. But why should this affect us? Why can't we just mind our own business, God can mind his own business. If we don't worry about God, God shouldn't worry about us. Why can't we just ignore each other?
remember that having to be born again suggests that our present situation is dire. Something is wrong, seriously wrong, with us at the moment. Something so wrong that requires a complete overhaul, replacement of the old with the new.

We will understand the danger of our situation with a narrative that Jesus draws attention to from the Old Testament (Numbers) in v14. Read Numbers 21:4-9. Context: God rescued the Israelites from Egypt by parting the Red Sea (remember Prince of Egypt?) to bring them into the Promised Land. But the Israelites grumbled against God and as a result, had to wander in the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. Numbers 21:4-9 is set in this time when the Israelites are wandering in the desert on the way to the Promised Land.

11. Looking at Numbers 21:4-9, why did God send the snakes to the Israelites?
• Because they spoke falsely against God.
• They doubted God and His character. So they doubted his word. They didn't trust that he would protect and care for them. They were sure that he meant to harm them instead by rescuing them from Egypt.
• So God was judging them for their sinful behaviour. Rebellion against God is sin (Numbers 21:7). Sin is not just murder, adultery, jealousy, lust or theft. It is more than that (those are just symptoms of sin): it is not acknowledging God as God who is the epitome of good; it is doubting his character and not taking him at his word.

12. What does this show about the character of God?
• God is holy. He cannot tolerate sin.
• God is just and righteous and so his must punish sin.

13. Why does God provide a way out for them? What more does this show about the character of God?
• The people called for God's help; God is merciful

14. What must an Israelite do in order to be saved from the snakes?
• They must trust in God's word/solution by looking at the bronze snake to be saved.
*Note that there is nothing in the Bible that is magical. The bronze snake is not a magical object.

15. What is the difference between what the Israelites asked for and the solution God provided?
• They asked God to remove the snakes but instead he asked them to look upon the bronze snake.

16. Why do you think God does this? What does this show us about God?
• But He saves us on His terms, not theirs (or ours).
• God alone provides the solution, not the effort of the Israelites.
• God does not remove the snakes because the Israelites sinned and deserved to be punished; he is just and righteous so he cannot take away the punishment and still be true to his own character.
• But God is also merciful and provides a way out for the Israelites if they trust in the solution He has provided (the bronze snake).
*Note that this is repentance, doing the opposite of what they were doing when they sinned. The solution is to now trust in God's character and take him at his word that looking at such a stupid thing as a bronze snake will save them if they have been bitten.

17. Jesus likens the lifting up of the snake to the lifting up of Himself on the Cross in John 3:14-15. In so doing, what is Jesus saying about our problem?
• That we have sinned and rebelled against God like the Israelites. We have doubted God's character and word.
• That the consequence of sin is that God must punish sin against him because he is holy and because he is just and righteous.
• All of us stand condemned already. We are not a clean slate. We are not at a fork in the road when we can choose to go either on the road to heaven or the road to hell. We are already on the road to eternal condemnation. We stand condemned already (v18).
* There is a real God, real anger (v36) and real punishment. This is death beyond death (Revelation 20:14), eternally separated from all good things (2 Thessalonians 1:9). It is not a Halloween party.

18. By alluding to Numbers, what is Jesus saying about the solution to the problem?
• That God will provide the solution. It will not be our own work. We cannot work our way out of hell and into heaven.
• That we must believe or trust in God's word that his solution is that Jesus' death on the Cross will save us from our sins.
• If Jesus did not die on the cross, we would have no way of being saved from eternal death and destruction.
*We always see signs that say "Jesus saves". But what does he save us from? This is what he saves us from! Not from poverty or from bad relationships. He saves us from eternal condemnation.

[Why did God send his Son into the world to die for us? (v16)
because he loved the world (v16)

What does this say about God's character?
• He is holy and just and righteous: so he doesn't take away the punishment for sin.
• He is loving, merciful and compassionate.
*God's character is trustworthy and consistent through the ages!]

19. Look back at ice-breaker questions. What is the most major thing that is wrong with the world?
Sin - eternal destruction.

20. What determines if people go to heaven or hell? Why is belief in Jesus necessary and important to people?
• Because rejecting God's solution would mean that we have rejected the only way that we can be made right with God (v16-18)
• Because if we do not trust in what Jesus has done for us, God's condemnation and wrath (John 3:18, 36) is already on us and remains on us

21. What do you think the Bible means by "believe" or "faith"?
• Trusting in a SPECIFIC and OBJECTIVE act of rescue by God which really happened in history
• It is NOT some inner feeling but a Real Trust in the Real Work of a Real Person which has Real Consequences

22. Since God has given a way out and for free, it seems silly for people to reject God's salvation. According to v19-21, why do people still reject Jesus?
• Because we are naturally evil, our instinct is to run from God and not let our deeds be exposed.
• We are rebellious and we want to remain rebellious even to our own detriment. So we reject God's solution.

23.What do you find difficult to accept about what we've learnt today? Why do you find it difficult to accept it?
• When we still do not accept Jesus, it just shows that we love evil more than good and do not want God to be in charge of our lives


"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)

From A Cracking Good Weekend with "Just Looking" Studies

Q: How can anyone know God?

Introduction
Read John 20:30-31
1. Why did John, the author of John's Gospel, write his book?

• To convince people that Jesus was the Christ, God's Son and that by believing in Jesus we can have everlasting life
• (Note: "Christ" means the messiah, the anointed one, the one predicted by the OT prophets and for whom faithful Jews are waiting)

2. What did the author John record for us to convince us of who Jesus is? How should this influence the way we read John's Gospel?

• Miraculous signs
  
• [Q: What are signs for? They point us to something. So in this case, the miracles aren't circus acts for our pleasure or so that we ooh and aah at the performer but they are signs to point us to something, someone - Jesus.]
• This means that we will have to pay attention to the signs recorded because these signs will help to point us to who Jesus is.
  
• In the Just Looking series, we will be examining some of these miraculous signs recorded for us. When we look at them, we must remember what they are there for.
  

3. Do you think that this is an objective account of Jesus' life? Why or why not?

• No, of course not! Don't have to be politically-correct about it. Don't shy!
  
• John himself says that his account of Jesus is not exhaustive as he has not included all the miraculous signs performed by Jesus.
  
• And he also states his aim: he writes to convince us of who Jesus is.
  
• But this does not mean that we should discount the book entirely. After all, all history/biographies, even the newspapers, are written with some kind of bias. Just because someone is biased doesn't mean that what he records is necessarily false. What we need to do is to examine what is written and to see for ourselves if the evidence is convincing.

[Context
John 1:1-18 is known as "The Prologue" to John's Gospel. It acts like an overture that introduces many of the key themes that will be raised and developed throughout the rest of the gospel.

Aim:

1. To teach that Jesus - God's Word to man - became a man to reveal God fully to all mankind.
   
2. We need to pay attention to Jesus because no one has ever seen God but Jesus, who came from the Father's side.

*the aim is not to introduce Christian vocabulary like some Christian language class, but to introduce the good news, the real world, God's worldview and the concepts of who Jesus is and what he has come to do. So there will be much that will not be understood from this passage. No worries. Just like as Christians we grow deeper and deeper in our understanding of even the basics of salvation, so knowledge and understanding is necessarily progressive. Just ensure you keep the aims as the main points.
*don't brush off questions, but don't let them disrupt the flow of the study. Write them down on a piece of paper and answer them at your leisure over a cuppa after the study.

Ice-breaker: (write down the different answers on a piece of paper)

1. Do you believe there is a God? What do you believe about God?
2. What is God like and how do you know? Where do you get your beliefs from?]

Read John 1:1-18
1. Look at vv1-4. What do we learn about the "Word"?
There with God in the beginning
• Was with God
• Was God
• Made everything
• Had life within himself

2. Look at v14. Who do you think the "Word" is and why?
• Jesus...because the Word took on human flesh and lived with human beings
• Jesus...because we know that he was supposed to have come from God the Father
• Note: If it is still not clear that the Word is Jesus, then compare John 1:15 with John 1:29-30. John the Baptist points Jesus out very clearly in these verses.

3. Now replace "Word" and "him" with "Jesus" and re-read v1-4. What then is John the author claiming about Jesus?
• There with God in the beginning
• Was with God
• Was God
• Made everything
• Had life within himself

4. Let's try to understand why Jesus is called the "Word". What do we use words for and what purpose do they serve?
• We use words to talk and communicate our thoughts/ideas to other people.
• Sometimes, our words can even reveal a little about who we are and what we're like.

5. Why then do you think Jesus is called the "Word"?
• Jesus is God's Word to us. He reveals God to us and shows us what God is like and what He thinks
• Jesus is God's communicative tool to mankind

6. Looking at vv4-9, what other words or ideas are associated with Jesus and what do they imply about Jesus and what he offers?

• He is the light (as opposed to the darkness) - Light often has good connotations while darkness is associated with ignorance and evil.
  
• [Q: How is this light described?] Jesus is called the TRUE LIGHT - This implies that all other religions (other "lights") are false.
  
• [Q: If Jesus is the light, who can take advantage of his light?] Jesus is the TRUE LIGHT that gives light to EVERY MAN - So what Jesus offers is open to everyone

[Note: Can just put aside John the Baptist for now. If you really need to explain who John the Baptist is at this juncture, don't spend too much time. The three crucial things to point out about John the Baptist are:

• He is different to John, the author of the Gospel.
  
• He's purely human but appointed by God.
  
• His role is to go before Jesus be a witness to Jesus, testifying to who Jesus is.]

7. Look at vv10-13. What two different reactions to Jesus are mentioned and what do we learn about the consequences of each reaction?
Response: Rejection (vv10-11)
Result:
[• in darkness]
• consequences unknown for now
• does not become a child of God

Response: Believe in Jesus (vv12-13)
Result:
[• in light]
• given the right to become a child of God

8. According to v12, what is the ONLY WAY to become a child of God?
Through believing in Jesus, receiving him. This connotes accepting him and being in some kind of relationship with him.

[Q: Why would you want to bother being in relationship with him? Well, what do we know about Jesus so far? He is the Word - God's communicative tool to us. He is also the Light - he illumines the darkness.

We are always eager to go and see people who can do something well. Play the piano, sing, juggle, swing 100 metres in the air, sports. We are always eager to have a listen to self-promoting gurus who promise to make your life better in some way.

But Jesus is more than that...]
9. Look at v18, what are we told about God and Jesus? Has anyone seen God?
• God - No one has ever seen God
• Jesus - Only Jesus (Note: "God the One and Only" is a term used for Jesus in v14) has seen God; Jesus is at God the Father's side; Jesus has made God known

10. How does this fact that Jesus is the only one to have seen God and makes God known add to what we said earlier about why Jesus is called the "Word"?
• Because only Jesus has seen God.
• Therefore Jesus is God's communicative tool because only Jesus is qualified to reveal God to us.

Why then is it important to pay attention to Jesus?
• If I told you that God wanted to tell you something, wouldn't you want to listen? Especially if you weren't a hoodwinking me?
• If God is so great etc, why would he want to talk to me unless it was really important?

Summary and Application
1. What have we learnt about the following: (write on a big piece of paper in a table format)
God
• God was there in the beginning with Jesus
• No one has ever seen God, except Jesus

Jesus
• There with God in the beginning
• Was with God
• Was God
• Made everything
• Had life within himself
• He's the True Light that gives light to all men
• He became a man to reveal God to us
• The only person to have seen God
• You can become a child of God if you believe in Jesus

Us
• Made by God/Jesus
[• can choose to be in darkness or in the light]
• can only become a child of God if we accept, believe in Jesus

2. "I like to think of God ..." is a common statement we hear. If we want to know what God is like, where should we look?
• We should look to the person and words of Jesus because only he has seen God and therefore only he is qualified to tell us anything about God

3. How has what you've learnt today challenged your view of God?
(Compare with initial answers to the ice-breaker questions. The key point of contrast is that God EXISTS and can ONLY be known through Jesus. This is because only Jesus has seen God and only Jesus reveals God to us when he became a man.)

Most religions know God by thinking about him intellectually, or feeling him experientially. But if God is really God, the greatest being in the universe, we cannot ever use our human faculties to understand him. Instead, he must reveal himself to us, through a trustworthy communicative tool, in a way that we, finite beings, can understand.

4. Jesus claims to fully reveal God to us. What difficulties have you got in understanding or accepting this? What holds you back from believing this for yourself?

Onward to
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)