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Looking for jesus according to John

JLG

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1) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 2: Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Passover. In the temple merchants are selling animals to make sacrifices and there are also money brokers. With a whip Jesus drives them out of the temple.

- Corruption everywhere!

- Everything was normal!

- Turning God’s word upside down!

- And Jesus has to do that! And the religious leaders haven’t done anything!

- What about today?

- What do you think he will do when he comes back because he will find the same situation?
 

JLG

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2) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 3: Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, comes to Jesus at night and he tells him they know he comes from God because of the signs he performs!

- Is that religious leaders know what they want to know and don’t what they don’t want to?

- They know who Jesus is right at the beginning!

- Nicodemus doesn’t want the other Pharisees to know he comes to see Jesus!

- He is afraid of the other Pharisees!

- LIGHT VS DARKNESS
 

JLG

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3) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 3:

- Jesus explains that to see God’s Kingdom it is necessary to be born again!

- Nicodemus doesn’t understand!

- And Jesus keeps on explaining it is necessary to be born from water and spirit!

- But Nicodemus still doesn’t understand!

- So Jesus asks him how he can be a teacher of Israel not knowing these things!

- Thus he won’t understand if he tells him about heavenly things if he can’t understand earthly things!

- Knowledge vs Ignorance

- Inability to understand because of man’s tradition: is it different today?
 

JLG

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4) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 5: Jesus cures a paralytic who has been ill for 38 years on the Sabbath.

So the Jews begin to say to the cured man: “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”

- In fact they are only interested by man’s tradition when it is good for their own interests but when it is not they don’t care especially when nobody is there.

- It is also clear they have no heart, they are completely closed to man’s pain and suffering and are only looking for their own interests. They think that religion is a business and also a way to control people and maintain them in ignorance.

- They have no respect for this man who has been a paralytic for all his life, they are disgusting and spiritually dead!
 

JLG

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5) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 7:

- Jesus teaches in the temple!

- The Jews are surprised because he has not studied at the schools!

- If you don’t belong to the same mafia, they can’t accept you because you are different. Jesus is different, it has always been so in this world that’s why we are where we are and it also explains the impossibility to adapt and to stay close to man’s tradition! That’s why we get empty speeches! Of course, Jesus teaches but we have many examples of his dialogues with different types of people and he has always an answer and he always tries to make people think!
 

JLG

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6) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 7:

- Jesus explains to them that his teaching is from God the one who sent him!

- And Jesus is seeking the glory of the one who sent him!

- Yes, Jesus seeks God’s glory while the religious leaders seek their own glory!

- To understand that, we just have to think about Jesus’ life with nothing for him and about how the religious leaders live!
 

JLG

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7) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 7:

- People usually judge according by the outward appearance!

- They should judge with righteous judgment!

- Here we get the real conclusion of Jesus vs the religious leaders

- And in this world, it’s not going to change unfortunately, that’s the root of badness, the impossibility to judge with righteous judgment, really boring, and it’s everywhere the same story!
 

JoelJedediah

New Member
"Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
 

JLG

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8) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 7:

- The chief priests and the Pharisees ask the officers why they haven’t brought Jesus with them!

- They answer by saying no one has ever spoken like him!

- When you know someone and you know about his life and he says what he lives, his words are powerful otherwise it is only empty words! Then you can compare it to what you live and it makes sense otherwise it is nonsense!
 

JLG

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9) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 7:

- The Pharisees ask the officers if they have not been misled adding not one of the rulers or of the Pharisees has put faith in him!


- And they add that the crowd do not know the law and are accursed people!

- Nicodemus tells them they can’t judge a man without hearing from him and learning what he is doing!

- They answer by saying no prophet is to be raised up out of Galilee!

- Religious leaders use intimidation to force people: if Pharisees don’t put faith in Jesus, it is because it is against their own interests and power but they know who he is!

- They think that the normal people who are not like them are ignorant and accursed people, so they are conceited!

- They are supposed to be the teachers so if the people they are supposed to teach don’t know the Law, it means they are teachers good to nothing!

- Nicodemus went to see Jesus at night that’s why he speaks that way in favor of Jesus!

- They don’t know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, what a shame, they don’t even check the facts, they are not serious but ridiculous!
 

JLG

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10) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 8: Jesus tells them he is the light of the world!

- On the one hand, light, on the other hand, darkness: apparently, the choice is easy, but people often prefer darkness!

- He also tells them they judge according to the flesh whereas he does not judge any man at all. And if he does, his judgment is truthful, because he is not alone, but God is with me!

- Good judgment vs bad judgment and partiality!
 

JLG

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11) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 8: Jesus tells the Pharisees they are Abraham’s offspring but they are seeking to kill him, because his word makes no progress among them!

- Jesus teaches about God whereas the religious leaders teach man’s tradition!

- We must be careful about what we learn: the way leading to God or man’s tradition which goes nowhere!

- Jesus tells us not to be blind followers!

Some may prefer John, some may prefer another Gospel! In fact, there are four Gospels and each one enhances certain points! I would give the image of the hand: it has five fingers, some may be more useful than others, when someone loses one, he realizes it is better to have five fingers and losing one is a great miss!
 

JLG

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12) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 8: Jesus tells them God is not their Father because they don’t love him!

- But he comes from God!

- And he has come because God sent him!

- So why don’t they understand him?

- Because they can’t listen to his word!

- Because they come from their father the devil!

- And they want to do his will!

- He started as a murderer and against the truth!

- He is a liar and the father of the lie!

- On the contrary, Jesus says the truth and they don’t believe him!

- Truth vs lie!

- God vs the devil!

- The religious leaders don’t really care about God and about the truth!

- We can’t look for your own interests and God’s interests: we need to make a choice!

- They can’t understand Jesus because he speaks the truth!

- Which example do we want to follow?

- The choice we make is essential and we must be careful doing it!

- We can’t accuse others because of our own responsibilities!
 

JLG

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13) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 8: Jesus tells them that the one who is from God listens to his sayings!

Thus they don’t listen to him because they are not from God!

- Once again God’s Word vs man’s tradition!

- Both are not complementary: we have to make a choice!

- How is it possible to listen and follow those who believe in man’s tradition instead of God’s Word!

- Is the difference not so evident?

- And if it is not, it means that we don’t study enough!

- We must be careful: it is a question of life or death!

- We must get away from appearances and keep digging, otherwise we will stay at the surface!

- There is a big difference between activity and inactivity!
 

JLG

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14) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 9: Some Pharisees say that Jesus is not a man from God because he does not observe the sabbath!

- Others wonder how a man who is a sinner can perform such signs!

- As a consequence there is a division among them!

- It is always a dilemma: even if they know they are wrong, they are used to look for their own interests!

- It is difficult to change when you have been doing something for a long time!

- Humility vs pride!

- Life vs Death!
 

JLG

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15) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 9: His parents say so because they fear the Jews have decided to expel from the synagogue anyone acknowledging Jesus as Christ!

- The religious leaders have power and they use it or better said abuse it to threaten ordinary people!

- They don’t care about the truth or better said they tell about their own truth which is the opposite of God’s truth because it serves their own interests!

- Thus how can they serve ordinary people’s interests?

- They don’t want people to know the truth!

- They like darkness and work in darkness!

- Jesus always warns us against them!

- We must open our eyes and ears!

- It is a question of life or death!
 

JLG

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16) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 9: The man says how it is possible that they don’t know where he is from whereas he opened his eyes!

- Thus he can only be from God!

- The Pharisees answer him he was born in sin thus he can’t teach us!

- So they throw him out!

- The former blind man tricks the religious leaders at their own game!

- Of course, it is against their own interests!

- Thus they deny the obvious!

- But it is a dangerous game because it shows their real nature!

- And it is not from God!
 

JLG

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17) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 9: Jesus explains that he has come so those not seeing might see and those seeing might become blind!

- Some of the Pharisees ask him if they are blind!

- Jesus answers saying that if they were blind, they would have no sin!

- They say they see so their sin remains!

- Jesus is clear the religious leaders are blind because of their attitude and their pride (we can say the same of kings).

- They don’t want to listen!

- They prefer to defend their own interest!

- They are condemned!

- No way to escape their judgment!

- Their guilt is double because they mislead the people who follow them!

- So many bad examples!

- They are deaf and blind!

- They will never understand!
 

JLG

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18) Jesus vs the religious leaders

John 10: Jesus speaks about the one not entering into the sheepfold through the door but climbing in by another way is a thief and a plunderer!

- Jesus compares the religious leaders to thieves and plunderers!

- When we remember that they are only looking for their own interests, it makes sense!

- So many people died or became slaves because of them when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans!

- How many will follow the same end because of them when God puts an end to this world?
 
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