How to Come to Jesus Part 2: From Those Who Would Not Come - John 6:41-51

2:33Last week, we spent our time looking at lesson one from those who would not come. And in verses 41 through 44, we observed the first characteristic, really, of those who do come. So by looking at what the Jews didn't do, we want to learn what we should do. And the first characteristic of those who come to Jesus is that they are humble. They are humble. And Jesus gives us some really good, a really good reason in verse 44 to be humble. It says, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. The one thing that every citizen of heaven will have in common is that we all needed to be drawn because none of us would come to him on our own. And that is a very humbling truth for all of humanity. And God is going to glorify himself uniquely through each individual, but we will never be tempted to glorify or to worship the creation because it is the creator's work. And each of us, as he perfects himself and he perfects his reflection in us, we still come back to this one reality that we were all drawn and all in need of being drawn to him. Because none of us in our sinful nature were going to come to him. In fact, our sinful nature was that force that drove us away from God. And except for the drawing power, no one comes. This is an extremely humbling truth. And I hope you will be like, not like those Jews who wouldn't accept Jesus' teaching, but I hope you're here. With a humble heart and are willing to let him teach you.

4:36Well, that was last week. This week, we want to look at the second characteristic, the second characteristic, and that is to be teachable. The next two verses, verse 45 and 46, is where we want to spend our time today. It is written, verse 45, in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. So, how do you come to Jesus? Obviously, the Father is drawing people to himself. The Father is giving a gift from himself to the Son, and that gift involves us. It is us. And yet we come to him. And we come to him.

5:33We come to him by being humble and by being teachable. And Jesus makes this link between those who are humble and those who are teachable. Being teachable is a mark of true humility. But it's also, Jesus also makes a link between the drawing power of God and the teaching ministry of the Spirit. You see, those who are taught by God, the ones who are open to the teaching of God, these are the ones that are drawn by the power of God, direct connection.

6:17And if you'll notice, he articulates this truth in an Old Testament passage. And so we'll look at that here in a minute. So, how do you come to Jesus? Well, you come by being humble, you come by being teachable. I'm going to talk to you about two aspects of being teachable and why. Why you should be teachable. Number one, being teachable is your greatest treasure. Being teachable is your greatest treasure. Jesus, look back at verse 45.

6:55He articulates an Old Testament truth. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Now, whenever Jesus refers to an Old Testament scripture or thought, it's important for us to take some time and to understand what's happening in the passage that he is referencing and specifically how he relates it to this current situation. And that's what I want us to do. I want us to look at this passage or this thought from the Old Testament. And where I believe it comes from, and understand what was going on in Christ's mind and how that connects to the current situation with these grumbling Jews. Well, there is, I would say, a small debate as to which Old Testament scripture Jesus is referring to here.

7:53It is possible that Jesus is referring to a general summary of truth that's communicated by many Old Testament prophets. You look back, it is written in the prophets, and the thought that he paraphrases here is, and they shall all be taught of God. Now, I believe Jesus has one particular verse in mind, even though this same truth is communicated in a number of places. Like many truths, they're articulated, they're said in certain ways, in different ways, and certainly one as important as this, and certainly one that Jesus would pick up and communicate, is no different. It is taught in many places, but I believe he has one verse, one passage that he particularly goes to, and I'm going to come to that in a minute. But I want to look at some of the other passages where this thought is expressed. The same thought is expressed, maybe, in different words. But it's a thought that communicates the teaching ministry of God in the Old Testament. God was very much active with the teaching ministry throughout both Testaments, and specifically, as Jesus is referring back to the Old Testament prophets, they are speaking about the teaching ministry of God. And I want you to understand a couple of elements from the teaching ministry of God as it's revealed in the Old Testament. And I think it'll help you put some things in place in the New Testament as well. Well, Ezekiel 36 and verse 24, God says these words, for I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. And I believe he is speaking about national Israel here. Now, certainly there is application to God's people of all time, but certainly in this context, I believe he's speaking about national Israel and what he's going to do in the heart of these people, even though they are estranged from him here in Ezekiel. He says, I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

10:30I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances. And you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers, so you will be my people, and I will be your God. Now, some important links that Ezekiel makes here: there is the cleansing work, that is, we need to be cleansed. It's not just by water, it's certainly the only cleansing agent you have in the scripture is that of blood. Speaking more metaphorically, that which cleanses from filthiness and from sin is blood, accordingly, the blood of the perfect lamb, blood of Christ, as it will be further revealed. I will put my spirit within you. So, there is not only a cleansing, but there is an empowerment to new life. And this internal spirit will bring about internal obedience to God's ways.

11:31So, being taught of God involves, here in Ezekiel, the internal teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ways. So, being taught of God involves this internal teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. Spirit. Jeremiah will articulate this truth. Jeremiah 31. In fact, the opening of the chapter of 31, read these words in verse 1. At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Again, I believe, speaking to national Israel who has undergone judgment, specifically Babylonian judgment. He says, at one time, I will be the God of all the families of Israel. Of course, even though he's speaking about them, there's certainly application to how God deals with all of his people. But then he says this in verse 3: The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, I have drawn you with loving kindness. It is my covenant faithfulness to you, Israel, that draws you. That will draw you to myself. That is the way God works. He draws. And then he goes on in verse 33, but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law within them, and on their heart I will write it. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will not teach again each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for For they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. And the important connection that we need to observe here in the Jeremiah passage is the drawing power of God, the drawing power, and the internalized law that will be upon their heart.

14:00It's interesting to note that Jeremiah sees the end of the teaching ministry. At one point, there will not be a need for teachers. Why? Because all will know the Lord. There is a day when we will all know the Lord. And there will be no need for a teaching ministry. I want you to turn to Isaiah. I want you to turn really to Isaiah 40. And I want to walk through this with you because the passage that I believe is in Jesus' mind in John 6:45 is Isaiah 54, 14. It is unquestionably the closest grammatical equivalent in the Old Testament, both in the Greek Septuagint and in the Hebrew. It is the closest grammatical equivalent. Equivalent, and that's why I believe, and thematically, I believe why this is the verse. Let me just read it to you.

15:12All your sons will be taught of the Lord, and the well-being of your sons will be great. Now, just to give you a little bit of a context of what's happening here, I want to give you an outline of Isaiah, a very broad overview of Isaiah, and I want to work our way to this context so you can get an appreciation for what's going on in Isaiah's mind, and then that way we can have a good idea of what's going on in Christ's mind as he articulates this truth that is articulated in other places as well. But broadly speaking, and I mean very broadly, you can really break Isaiah up into three parts. First, the first 35 chapters are really all about judgment, main theme, but it's judgment. Judgment is coming. Isaiah is exhorting, judgment is coming. And then in verses 36 through 37, 38, and 39, there's this historical interlude. Remember Hezekiah and the Assyrian army, and how God just steps in the nick of time as really the Assyrian army has come up to the neck, O Emmanuel. And is threatening the capital city. And here it's there that God shows his power to save in an unmistakable and mighty way. The angel goes out, destroys the Assyrian army, and then, beginning in verse 40 through 66, it's all about salvation. Salvation in large part. It's about the comfort that turns to glory. So Isaiah is broken up judgment and salvation, really the main parts. And then right in the middle, there's this little interlude just demonstrating God's power to save. And it's, I'm going to take you through the flow of this last part, beginning in verse 40, or chapter 40. And just turn to chapter 40, and we'll see this movement. Look how this chapter 40 opens up. There's a movement that goes from comfort to glory in these chapters, last chapters of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 1. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. After all that they've been through, all the talk of judgment, all that's come upon them, comfort them, comfort them, O my people, says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received double. From the Lord for all her sins. And then verse 3, a voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness. Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.

18:14And who said those? Who are those words referred to? Yeah, you remember in the New Testament, John the Baptist picks these up. In fact, John's gospel begins with this thought in Isaiah. Right after his introductory remarks in the first 18 verses, John the Apostle begins immediately with John the Baptist's ministry, and he anchors John the Baptist's ministry right here on Isaiah 43. You remember the words. Remember in verse 19 of chapter 1, right after the introduction to John, the Apostle John starts with this. This is the testimony of John, speaking of John the Baptist, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? Who are you, John the Baptist? And this was John the Baptist's response in verse 23. I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. So the whole opening scene of the Gospel of John is anchored in Isaiah 40, verse 3. With this comforting ministry, comfort my people, your warfare is over.

19:39So, at the very outset of John's gospel, he has Isaiah in his mind. Now, if you turn over a couple of pages to Isaiah 43, 22, and I just want to show you a few things just to get a flow of the thought in these verses. In chapter 43, verse 22, you see that Israel still has a problem. They still have a problem. Look at verse 22. You have not called on me, O Jacob, but you have become weary of me. So, Israel's problem is they have not called. Look at Isaiah 45, 22. Look at a couple more chapters. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. And salvation is for all. For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by myself, the word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and will not turn back. That to me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. They will say of me, only in the Lord are righteousness and strength. Men will come to him. Men will come to him. And all who were angry at him will be put to shame. So salvation is for all. And the glory of Israel is this glory will be in the Lord. As in verse 25, all the offspring of Israel will be justified and will glory. It is in their justification, coming to this one, where righteousness and strength, where every tongue will bow and everyone will swear allegiance to this one. Salvation for all, and especially including Israel. But then you turn over to page 51, verse 4. There's still, you see, this problem.

21:42You hear the exhortation of God: pay attention to me, O my people, and give ear, O my nation, for a law will go forth from me, and I will set my justice for a light of the peoples. Saying, listen to me, pay attention. This is what Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Spirit, is calling out, pay attention, pay attention. He will set his justice for a light to the people. Then coming into Isaiah 53, you get this whole scene of this suffering servant who is going to accomplish a lot, so much for The nation of Israel and for all peoples.

22:34At the end of verse 12, we read this last week. I won't read it again, but just to bring back your mind, verse 12 of Isaiah 53: Therefore, I will allot him a portion with the great, and he will divide the booty with the strong, because he poured out himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors, yet he himself bore the sin of many and interceded for transgressors. And then, right after that, right after the accomplishment, right after all that's said about this suffering servant in Isaiah 53, then immediately the next verse, Isaiah 54:1 says this: Shout for joy on the merits of this suffering servant. Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child, break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed, for the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman, says the Lord. Now, in that culture, if you were childless, if you were a woman who is childless and husbandless, you really had no security, no social security, okay, and no glory. And so God starts speaking to Israel in. These terms, you barren one, no child, no security, no one in your life, no glory. Rejoice, rejoice, shout for joy. And then turn over to verse 11, and this will take you to the text that Jesus quotes: O afflicted one, still speaking of Israel, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony. That's a beautiful stone. And your foundations I will lay in sapphires. Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies and your gates of crystal and your entire wall of precious stones. Think for a moment. Think about a city where their battlements are of rubies. Okay? Their gates are crystal. Your foundations, sapphires, your entire walls, precious stones. That is a glorious city, right? I mean, if you've got that kind of wealth, you're pretty rich, right? And that's the external beauty that Isaiah is seeing. It's going to happen to this city as he is comforting. Comfort, comfort, my. People. Your external beauty is going to be extravagant. It's going to be glorious.

25:40But then look what he says in verse 13. All your sons will be taught of the Lord, and the well-being of your sons will be great. As beautiful as this external city will be, there is a beauty that surpasses it. The internal glory of your sons is going to excel or going to match be a reflection of the external beauty. You see, I think D.A. Carson says it very well. The greatest spiritual wealth that Isaiah is able to imagine for God's people is that all of their children will be taught, that is, become disciples of the Lord. In this way, the inner glory of Zion's sons will correspond to its external beauty. End quote.

26:47You see, for Isaiah, being taught also has its conclusion, right? That conclusion of being taught is righteousness. An inner righteousness. That matches or exceeds the external beauty of the city. You know, Proverbs 11:22 flips it around and says it like this: like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion. Though she is beautiful on the outside, if she lacks discretion, she's like a ring in a pig's snout. Totally out of whack here, right? But what makes a city truly beautiful is not its exterior walls, but the internal beauty and glory of its citizens. And so, Isaiah, as he's looking forward, he's looking forward to this beauty, and he can think of no greater wealth that any body of people can have than to be taught of God.

27:54It is the greatest possession. When all is said and done, what you have been taught by God is your greatest treasure. So, why should we be teachable? Because being taught by God is our greatest treasure. There's a second point as we come back to John chapter 6, verse 45. Being taught by God leads to Christ. Being taught by God leads to Christ. Isaiah saw this beautiful glory of being taught by God. And the result of being taught by God is that it leads to Christ.

28:47So look at how this. Now we've looked at Isaiah. Now coming back to John chapter 6, I want you to get a sense on how Jesus used this truth as he is dealing with the Jews. I'll just pick it up back in verse 41, just to bring it back to your mind, the context. Therefore, the Jews were grumbling about him because he said, I am the bread that came down out of heaven. They were saying, This is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. How does he now say, I have come down out of heaven? I mean, we know this guy. How can he come down from heaven? We've watched him grow up. Jesus answered and said, Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. And then he quotes the prophets. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God.

29:43And then he applies it, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. So Jesus goes from one of the most humbling truths to one of the most exclusive truths. This is a clear revelation. You know, just clear, eternal axiom. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. The one who has heard, the one who has learned, look at the verbs, is the one who is coming to Jesus. Very simple. Those who receive this, the Father's inner illumination, the Father's inner instruction, they respond to it by coming to Christ.

30:40And by coming to Christ, they demonstrate that they have been taught of God. And this is very exclusive, right? Because all world religions that do not come to the Christ of Scripture have not been taught by God. That's what Jesus is saying. If at the end of the day they do not embrace the Christ of Scripture, they have not been taught by God. They have been taught by man or worse. But by coming to Jesus, they demonstrate that they have been taught by God.

31:21And this sets something up for John as he's looked at the inner illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The teaching ministry of God in the Old Testament. He's going to carry this forward, not only in this gospel, but also in his letters. And I just want to take a couple of moments so that you can get a sense for the teaching ministry of God in the New Testament. There's a teaching ministry of God in the Old Testament. We've seen that through the prophets. And there's the teaching ministry of God in the New Testament, and you'll see they are very much in agreement and parallel.

32:03Well, just remember a couple of elements of the teaching ministry of God in the Old Testament. God's statutes, His ways, His laws, and His directives, His wisdoms, all that were central. They were instilled upon the heart of man by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit empowered man to love and to live by them. So He takes the laws, He puts them there, and then He empowers and gives a love and a desire to obey and the ability to do so. And I want you to see how John develops these same concepts in the New Testament. Now, just, and this will be, this will go quick, but just to give you a sense, in John chapter 3, John showcases the new birth or the new birth role of the Holy Spirit. Remember that? He's talking with Nicodemus. Remember in 3:8? Jesus says this, the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. So the Spirit has this role of this birthing role.

33:17But he doesn't just stop there, he also has a teaching role. And in John chapter 14, in John 16, John prominently showcases the teaching role of the Holy Spirit. Remember, in John 14, 26, as he is comforting his disciples, he says this, but 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. And then in chapter 16, 12, Jesus says these things to his disciples. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

34:00But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. Therefore I said that he takes of mine and will disclose it to you. You see, John sees the teaching ministry of the Father as an inner illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, whereby one is drawn to Jesus. Just like Isaiah. An inner illuminating work of the Spirit, drawing people to Jesus.

34:511 John makes this a little more clear. Have you ever heard the expression, the anointing of the Holy Spirit? The anointing of the Holy Spirit. What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit? You can probably get a whole bunch of different definitions floating around out there today. But when you anchor it in John's mind, it's not hard to understand. John is very clear what the anointing of the Holy Spirit is. In 1 John, he refers to this anointing of the Holy Spirit as the inner illuminating teaching ministry of God. That's what the anointing of the Holy Spirit is. 1 John 2:20, the Apostle John says this, but you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. And he goes on in verse 26, these things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, you're not going to be deceived. Why? The anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to. To teach you, but as his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie, and it is just as it has taught you, you abide in him. Now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming. So, what does this anointing of the Holy Spirit involve? It involves inner illumination to the truth of God, the empowerment to carry it out, and the insatiable desire to abide in Christ. That is the work. That is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It will give you an understanding of the truth, an empowerment to live it out, and an insatiable desire to come and to abide in Christ. That is such is the teaching ministry of the Father.

36:59So, coming back to John 6:45, look at that again. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. The Father is giving a gift to the Son, all those who will come to him, and he will influence them by his drawing power, by his teaching ministry, to bring them to Christ. Such is the teaching ministry of the Father. But we've got to hear. We've got to hear. If you look back to think hearing and learning, right? There's a whole bunch of different kinds of hearing. If we're going to come to Jesus, we need to be humble, we need to be teachable, and we need to be taught by God. And in order to be taught, we have to be hearing.

37:57And hearing with the idea of learning. You know, there are different kinds of hearing, isn't there? There's the kind of hearing that try to find fault with, right? There's a hearing with criticism, right? Hopefully none of you are doing that right now, right? Hearing, I'm trying to catch him with a room. No, you didn't say this, right? No, you bobbled there. You didn't get that right. No, there's that critical hearing. That's not listening. That's not listening. That's that, there's a finding fault. It could be academic or it could be personal, right? And it gets very personal. Then the kind of listening is coupled with resentment, right? There's the kind of listening that I'm against you and I'm looking to find fault so that I can hold it against you, right? That kind of listening that comes with resentment, right? And then there's that kind of listening that comes with superiority, right? We listen in many different ways. I mean, just watch yourself listen. And just see how, and there'll be some occasions where there's that listening. Listening with superiority, right? Yeah, no, I got that figured out. You've already been through this several times. Yeah, no, I got it. I got it home. Yeah, I'm glad, right? We can do that, right? But then there's that listening with indifference. Like, yeah, whatever you say, sweetheart. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Yeah, that's fine, whatever. Don't know what you said, but I'm with you, right? There's that kind of hearing, right? And then there's that hearing that happens in my house quite a lot. There's that kind of hearing because you don't get a chance to speak yourself, so you're just waiting for them to finish your sentence. Yeah, now I'm in here, right? You know, you've got to jump in. Family as big as mine, sometimes grabbing the floor, you have to jump in and you have to listen for a little bit, but you're really not listening. You're just waiting for your opportunity to jump in and speak. Right? Well, the kind of listening that Jesus has in mind here is the only kind of listening that's worth having, and that is the kind of listening with the intent to learn. I want to learn. The kind of listening to learn.

40:04Next verse there shows us the role of Jesus. Why does the Father want us to be coming to Jesus? Why does the Father want us to be abiding in Jesus? Concepts are going to be very closely related. Well, there's many. We already talked about one. He wants us to come because we are gifts from the Father to the Son, and He wants us to come not out of coercion. But out of a genuine, transformed desire. He wants us to come out of our own volition. He wants us to come willingly.

40:42And the miracle is that he makes us willing by his drawing power. But there's a second reason, a second reason, a second role of Jesus, why the Father wants us to come to Jesus. Only Jesus can make the Father known to us. Only Jesus can do that. Look at verse 46. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. Incredible statement. Only Jesus has seen the Father. That makes Jesus the only one who's competent enough to explain him to us.

41:21And so those who disregard the Christ of Scripture have no clue what God is truly like. You see, the teaching ministry of the Father is to bring us into fellowship with his Son. And by doing so, he brings us into this unique relationship with himself. By knowing the Son, we know the Father. There is a reflection, there is a connection, not just a reflection, there is a oneness of essence and being. us into the unique relationship with himself. He marries us to his son, and by doing so he has a relationship with us through his son and always through his son. And think about this. I've got six kids. I hope they all get married someday. I hope they marry well, marry well. But you've got to understand something that when one of my children marries, all of a sudden who they marry are brought into a closer relationship with me and Nancy. Right? It's not hard to understand. They are brought nearer to me and to Nancy by virtue of being in union with our children. Right?

42:51That's the same that happens with us as we come to relationship with Christ. We come to a closer, near relationship with the Father. This is how John started the gospel, right? Nobody perfectly knows the Father except the Son anyway. And so John, in John 1, verse 18, he says, no one has seen the Father at any time. The only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained him. So those who disregard Jesus don't know God. Our goal, we want to receive instruction. On how we are to be coming to Jesus, how we can come. And we can come to Jesus. We need to learn by observing the failures of those who wouldn't. And so far, we have witnessed two failures of the Jews. First of all, they were not humble.

43:48And therefore, they were not teachable. And because they were not teachable, they were absolutely, totally unprepared for what Jesus was going to say next. And we're going to look at that next time. Eating flesh, drinking blood. How can we have this mass defection? But you know, if they had been humble and if they had been teachable, they would have seen in Jesus' words about eating flesh and drinking blood, not something offensive, but something incredibly glorious. We'll look at that some more next time. We can learn from their mistakes. We need to be humble. We need to be teachable. And in closing, I want to ask you, I want to exhort you to be teachable. I don't want to leave here without some kind of practical exhortation. Just, are you teachable? Let me ask you, let me give you some advice on how to be unteachable, okay? I'm going to give you some advice. If you want to be unteachable, this is how I want you to live. And I got these thoughts from a book. Blog. I thought they were appropriate, but I'll tell you how you can be unteachable. First of all, don't take notes, don't read books, or learn anything unless it's the bare minimum. Go through life just learning the bare minimum to get by.

45:14If you want to be unteachable, don't ask questions or attempt anything that might reveal your ignorance. Let everybody think you have got it all figured out and that you know it all, okay? And if you want to be unteachable, don't accept responsibility for your failures. Always blame somebody else. Figure it out. Nail it to someone else, right? Now, how else? If you want to be unteachable, don't seek or accept one-to-one personal guidance or mentoring from parents, teachers, pastors, elders. Just relegate them to a bunch of buffoons, okay?

45:55That's a good way to be unteachable. Here's a good one: don't listen, but talk, talk, talk. Talk about yourself, especially when you're with somebody who could teach you something. Make it all about yourself, and that way, guaranteed, you can go through life not learning much at all. Another way to be unteachable: don't take criticism or correction without resenting or retaliating against those who give it to you. If you want to be unteachable, don't read, listen to, or learn. Anything that challenges existing presuppositions or your practices or your prejudices. In other words, do not let the Jesus of Scripture shape your theology about God.

46:45But in contrast, I'm going to give you some practical ways to be teachable. For those of you who don't want to be teachable, go do those things. For those of you who do want to be teachable, I'm going to give you a few. First of all, be aware of the limitations of your own knowledge and your own abilities. You have limitations. Second, regularly ask God for help. Pray. Ask Him for guidance, for advice. Third, learn from anyone and everyone you can. And sometimes the greatest tutors may not be those you think can teach you anything.

47:22You want to be teachable, then listen to others carefully and patiently with a desire to learn. You want to be teachable? Be prepared to move out of your comfort zone, try something different, make some mistakes, look stupid, answer wrongly, and on and on. If you want to be teachable, be willing to change your views and practices when convincing evidence is presented to you, even if it means admitting you're wrong. If you want to be teachable, come to Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Father, thank you for the truth of your word and how it speaks to the very core of our being. Father, forgive us, forgive our pride, forgive our unwillingness to be taught by you. Forgive us for all the times when we've tried to put you in a box, when we've tried to relegate your majesty into a few frameworks of our own constructs. Father, forgive us. And above all that, Father, forgive us for rejecting the plain evidence, for at times just not believing the words of your Christ. Father, forgive us, and Father, draw us more. Father, may we be humble. We're never going to be humble unless you communicate to us and show us reasons why we are to be humble. Father, we just ask right now that you would draw us by your grace, by your covenant faithfulness to us. Love us, draw us, and may we respond in a way that totally glorifies your Son. Thank you for this awesome, awesome privilege of being drawn through the teaching ministry of your word. Help us, Father, not to harden our hearts, but to soften and come to you in Christ's name.