Jesus the Alpha and Omega of Bible Study - Chapter 5

1:52But it actually took the whole thing in a different direction. So we've got the double negative in there. We reject any interpretation that renders an author ineffective. Does that make sense? So we're going to reject when we come across scripture and that can have an interpretation that goes one of two ways. If one interpretation makes the whole purpose of the author's book ineffective or contradicts it, then we're going to reject that interpretation. I'm going to try to explain this, but that's what we're doing. Here's the basic principle: an interpretation that advances the overall purpose of a biblical author is to be preferred over one that diminishes it. Think about that. We prefer the interpretation that advances the purpose of the author, not diminishes it, not cuts the legs out from under it. Really simple when you think about it. When I prepare a sermon, I don't prepare a sermon that's going to contradict myself. I have a purpose for a sermon, and I don't intend to say one, two, three, or four things that totally contradict everything that I set out to say. Well, it's the same way with an author.

3:26But I want to make sure we get this. And so think about this, kids. Think about this. Think about mountaineering. I want to see if you can get this concept, okay? It should be pretty straightforward. But suppose you know a guy that's going to climb a mountain, okay? He wants to climb a mountain. He says, I want to introduce you. Let me just introduce you. Here's a big mountain. Any of you guys ever been climbing on a mountain?

3:56Some, we live in Texas, right? Well, big mountain, mountain to climb, right? Well, I'm going to introduce you to a climber here in a minute. His name's Bob, okay, climber Bob. Now, if I told you Bob's a really good mountain climber, would you believe me? Okay, let me give you a picture of Bob. There's Bob. Can you see him? You can't see him very well? Okay, sorry about that. I can't tell how big these. Can somebody explain what's Bob up there?

4:41He just shot a hole in his foot. Now, do you think Bob's a good mountain climber? What if I said he shot himself on purpose? Is that what a mountaineer does right before he tries to climb up a mountain? That doesn't make any sense at all, does it? Okay, so think about it. A mountaineer doesn't shoot himself in the foot while attempting to climb a mountain. That'd be silly, right? I'm going to go climb a mountain, but before I go, blam. And say, okay, you're not climbing a mountain. You're not really serious about that. So a mountaineer doesn't shoot himself in the foot while attempting to summit a mountain. Neither does a biblical author contradict his own purpose for writing. That makes sense. A biblical author isn't going to sit down to write a book and then say things throughout that contradict it. He's not going to shoot himself in the foot. He wouldn't be writing, right? Well, that's the idea. We're going to reject any interpretation that basically where the author shoots himself in the foot.

5:56That's what this chapter is about. There's a real case, did you not? A real case, court case. And here's the question: Do we move the schoolhouse? It's about a schoolhouse. The zoning ordinance said no drinking saloon may exist within a mile of a schoolhouse. Pretty simple, right? There's a school that's built already existing, and the law is that no drinking salon may exist within a mile of a schoolhouse, of any schoolhouse. This is Old West, this is older, okay, old West saloons and all that kind of stuff. What's the purpose of this law? Somebody protect the school, right? So the saloon wants to come to town, and they want to, they've got a piece of real estate that's close to this schoolhouse that they feel is prime, so they want to build their saloon next to the schoolhouse.

7:11Do you know what the officials decided in this case? The judge decided: move the schoolhouse. Yeah, so the judge looks at the law, looks at the desire for the saloon. To go next to an existing school and says, Move the school. Is that the purpose of the law? No, what was the purpose? Protect the schoolhouse, right? The judge did exactly the opposite. That is a classic example of what not to do. And yet, many times when we read scripture, and many times people will argue that in defending physicians, well, here's the need. Often, we'll come to a biblical text with language that can be interpreted two different ways. One will defeat the author's purpose, and another that will affirm it. Which one do you think is preferred? The one that will affirm it, right? An author isn't going to shoot himself in the foot. Okay.

8:33So, what we seek to do by this principle, and what Christ, I believe, shows us is we seek to give the scriptural principles their full jurisdiction by not rendering any part of scripture ineffective. All of the scripture, every word that an author uses, admits. Advances his purpose, it does not defeat it. That is the principle. And we get this from Jesus himself. Jesus honored the intention of Scripture. One of the very first lessons that Jesus taught his disciples was that he did not come to render any part of scripture ineffective. In fact, let me just turn to Matthew chapter 5. It's one of the very first things he tells them in chapter 5 and verse 21, or even, I'm sorry, verse 17. He says, do not think I came to abolish the law and the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. What Jesus is, and it's very important that one of the very first things he does with his disciples is teaches them how to relate to Scripture. That was most important in his life, and that is going to be most important in his disciples' lives. So, right out of the book of Matthew, right at the very beginning, Jesus is talking about Scripture and showing how to relate to it in the Sermon on the Mount.

10:23So, he doesn't come to abolish it. In fact, By this statement, abolished, he's basically, I do not come to set aside the principles of Scripture. I do not set them aside, contradict, negate them, systematically dismantle. That is not my intent. Don't think I have come here to systematically dismantle the law that Moses wrote. Say, get that out of your head. I didn't come here to set it aside. Rather, I came to fulfill, to advance what is there. And that is Jesus. And he wants his disciples to know that right off the bat. And he judges people. It's interesting to see that Jesus judges people by the way they honor the intent of Scripture. Let me read to you. Let me see if I verse 19. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven. So those he has three categories. Jesus judges people by the way they judge. Relate to Scripture. And there's those categories of the people outside of the kingdom. And these include those scribes and Pharisees who he will say in Mark chapter 7, they are experts at setting aside the intent of Scripture. That's what Jesus said. You guys are experts at getting around the intent of Scripture. And you are therefore outside.

12:29He's going to say in verse 20, you're not. I mean, you're going to be outside. They're not going to enter. They lacked. Now, so here's the problem. They didn't study the scriptures. They didn't give the intent. They didn't honor the intent of Scripture. So they lacked the righteousness that the Scriptures revealed. And that righteousness is what's necessary to enter the kingdom. So there are those, if you don't honor the intent of Scripture, you're not going to have the righteousness that it speaks about. But then there's, he refers to the least in the kingdom of heaven in these verses. And the least in the kingdom of heaven are those who are in the habit of releasing themselves and others from scriptural obligations. They get in that habit of just dismissing and releasing, lowering, lessening. These are least in the kingdom of heaven. And the great in the kingdom of heaven are those who grow in the direction of keeping the precepts of Scripture. And teaching them. So he honors those who honor the intent of Scripture.

13:38And so as Jesus is relating to the law, he makes it very clear that the purpose of the law was to reveal God's standard of righteousness and to promote movement to that standard. He's not coming to dismantle the law. The law declared a righteousness, and he reveals God's righteous standards, and Jesus came to promote movement to that standard. That was the purpose of the law. That's how he saw the law: it's good, and it reveals God's standards, and the law itself promotes righteousness and movement to those standards. Any questions so far?

14:32So Jesus gives us an example in Matthew 5:21. Talked a little bit about his approach. He's going to advance what's there. He's going to take a precept, principle of Scripture, and he's going to advance what's already there. This is really what you see in the Sermon on the Mount. And we'll just walk through one of these. Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:21. Let me just read to you Matthew 5.21. We'll See it. I'll put it on the screen in a minute. You have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. Okay, so there's he's going to expound Matthew 5:21. And so it's a very simple exposition. First of all, what does he do? He cites a portion of scripture from the law. He expounded on its meaning, told you what it meant, and then he applied it to his audience. That's what Bible teaching is about. Take a portion of scripture, expound on its meaning, apply it to the audience. That's what Jesus does. And right here, he gives us a good example of his approach to scripture and his disciples. So here's the principle: murder must be punished. That's the principle. You have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. Simple. And this is a very, nobody's going to really argue with this one, right?

16:21You shall not commit murder. It's one of the big ten, right? No one is going to dispute this. Murder is. Wrong. And really, if you think about it, I bet many people in the audience thought this was a pretty easy command to keep. Wouldn't you say, do not murder? Have you ever killed anybody? You ever murdered anybody? I think most people would say, you know, I'm clean on that one. But by the time Jesus gets through with it, he realized that there's something far more than just physically killing somebody. So that's the principle. Murder must be punished.

17:15So then he goes on to the exposition and what this means. He expounds on this. Murder must be punished. But what it is, is that murder involves a spiritual progression, a spiritual progression of hostility. That's what murder is about. Look at Matthew 5:22. Can you guys read that up there? Or if you have your Bible, I'm just going to be going right through what Jesus went through. 5:22. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. And whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. And whoever says, you false. Fool shall be guilty enough to go into fiery hell. I don't know, that's a see the Jesus made it clear that there's other expressions of hostility. If you think about it, murder is just a final step, maybe, or an extreme step of getting rid of a person in your life, right? If you shoot somebody instead of shooting your foot, Bob shot somebody instead of it, he wants somebody out of his life, right? Well, that's a pretty extreme example. But we can systematically get rid of somebody in our life a lot easier than that. We don't have to go to the extreme of actually stopping their heart from beating, right? I mean, we can display a hostile aversion to people by the way we talk, by the anger we hold. Murder is basically wanting to get somebody out of your life, being content with a broken relationship, being content with growing distance.

19:22And so hostile aversion can be displayed by anger, by despising somebody, by Disparaging words like you good for nothing, you fool. Those are expressions like, I want you out of my life. That's what murder is about. It's wanting people out of your life. I want nothing to do with you. Right? So then, so he takes that principle of murder and he moves on with it. So he's explained, yeah, no, murder's over here. What trajectory are you on? A trajectory to murder is equivalent to murder. See, the problem with human courts is that we can't measure what's going on in the heart. God can. And long before you pull a trigger, there's already murder in your heart. You want that person out, but God has something else in mind. So how do you live in a world full of murder? And so that becomes the application. Remember, he's taken the scripture, then he expounds on it, and then he's going to apply it. He's going to apply it on two levels.

20:45First of all, first, you need to seek to release others from holding grudges against you. And this is funny because we don't really think of it this way. Let's just read this, look at. Verses 5, 22, 23. I'm sorry, therefore, 23. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. So that's the first example.

21:33What could possibly be more important than making your gift or bowing down at the altar and presenting your gift? What could possibly be more important? Jesus said, reconciling with your brother. And if you notice, he's saying, if you are there and you remember that your brother has something against you, this isn't, he's not saying, look, if you're there and you have something against your brother, you get up and go. But no, it's if you are aware that your brother has something against you, or if you are aware of an offense that is causing a separation, that's a little different, right? You're there and you are to leave your offering and come. And so.

22:30What the scriptural prohibition against murder tells us, it tells us something about God. Why does God not want us moving in a direction of murder? Why does he not want us moving in a direction of separation from people? Because he's a God of love and reconciliation. And he wants us on a trajectory of growing oneness, of love, of reconciliation. That's the way he is. And so the law itself, do not murder, was not so that you could run right up to the line and not cross it. It was to say this is the completely wrong direction.

23:17And Jesus is just simply bringing that out. I remember, you see what a murderer does, a murderer seeks to terminate relationships. A murderer is content to let relationships be terminated. That's what a murderer does: death of relationship. That's what Satan did in the garden: separate, separate, put separation between man and God. And then from the man and the woman, you see, just he, Cain and Abel, he loves to separate, bring division. I have. Years ago, a married couple, I remember, said, This woman, this man comes in after having offended his wife. And I was close enough to the relationship to know that the man had offended his wife. And so, what does he do? He comes in with a bunch of flowers, comes in au suave, comes in, and if you're just watching this from the extra, it's shocking. He comes up with these flowers, and in a great act of romance and love, he presents them. She takes the flowers and throws them down and says, You know exactly what I want. Stomps off. Whoa, what's going on there?

24:46And this guy was ready to smooth things up. He wanted to smooth things over, right? That's not necessarily what Jesus is saying here, right? Just smooth it over. Let's go on. I don't like this uncomfortable feeling, you know. So, so, what is, but what had happened, what was she saying? She was saying, Look, I'm struggling with murder in my heart. You have offended me, and I want you to care enough about the relationship to come and own up to it and release me of this burden. The flowers aren't going to, you need to own up. You need to make this right. And it's not about flowers, it's about owning up.

25:32This happened to me, and I remember telling the story one time here, but Nancy and I were at a restaurant, a cotton patch over here, and we were having a lunch, and I had my tea, and I was about empty, you know. And there comes a time when if you want to get the tea right, you got to pour it up just at the right time, get the right ice ratio. And I hadn't passed that ratio, and ice was melting, and you know, so I was kind of in one of those tea crisis moments, and I was thirsty. And the waitress, she had come around, she was this most, she was the most friendliest waitress.

26:18We connected well, she smiled, was very helpful, and then all of a sudden she disappeared. And then she's coming by, and somebody in town that saw me, and we started talking. And I want to catch her attention, but I'm in this conversation, so I can't really break this relationship to go talk over here. So I'm in one of these weird moments, and it all happens really fast. I want to get her attention, but I don't want to be rude to the person I'm talking to. So I did the absolute unthinkable. She's going by. I'm looking over there.

27:00I snapped my fingers at a waitress. Okay, yes. So I see the expressions out there. No, you didn't. Yes, yes, I did. I said, can I have some tea? Sure. So she comes around with the tea. She wouldn't look me in the eye. She, I could tell our whole relationship had changed. And I sat there and I'm thinking, trying to enjoy my meal now. I've got this broken relationship, and I'm thinking to myself, well, she should have got my tea to me. This is her fault, not my fault. You know how the Lord starts sitting on you, and you're just like, so finally, I'm like, okay. So she comes back around. I said, did you come here for a second? I didn't.

27:57A second ago, I was in a stressful situation, and I snapped my fingers. Please forgive me. I was not trying to demean or anything. And all of a sudden, she just got this big smile on her face. You're good. No problem. And our relationship was back to the way it was. But that's really what Jesus is talking about. If somebody is holding a grudge against you, you go to them. That person was holding a grudge to me, and I knew how to release her from it. That's the loving thing to do to promote a relationship that is to go to her and to make this. Okay, so that is what murder. Then there's a second application of this, a second application of this that Jesus goes into.

28:51How do you live in a world filled with murder? Well, first, you want to release others from holding grudges against you. Second, you seek to release yourself from the hostility of your adversaries. And look at what in verse 25: make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly, I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last cent. So, here's a courtroom situation. And here is the situation not with somebody who has something against you. This is somebody, I mean, not somebody who's content to go away or whatever. This is somebody who is not just holding a grudge, but is actively retaliating against you. This person is coming against you. What is the murderous thing to do? To retaliate, right? To destroy them before they destroy you, to respond. What's the loving thing to do? It's to make friends, even if it involves. Taking a loss. Make friends. And in this context, Jesus is also making it clear that the loving thing to do is the wise thing to do. Or you're going to end up.

30:13But all this to just point out Jesus and this principle. He rejected a principle that the law was somehow ineffective. No, the law that he gave, do not murder, was effective. It produced, it declared a righteousness and was for the purpose of promoting movement to that. So God intended the prohibition against murder to be a means to set people on a trajectory to unity, not separation. And Jesus's interpretation fits better with the law's overall purpose of promoting love for one another. Murder isn't about just running up to the line, getting rid of people in your life in all sophisticated manner. No, it's about promoting love. In fact, Leviticus 19:17, 19, 17 says this: You shall not hate your fellow countrymen in your heart. You may surely reprove your neighbor, but you shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love the neighbor, your neighbor, as yourself. I am the Lord. The Lord. That's the purpose of the law. And so, this purpose not to murder is just one of the laws that is promoting movement to this standard. But that's how.

31:45Any questions on that? Yes? Well, Jesus shows those who are experts in setting aside the commandment, they're not even in the kingdom. And the scribes and Pharisees specifically, he's dealing with, but you don't have to be a scribe or Pharisee. Just if you're skilled at putting aside the word of God, then you're outside. You're going to lack the righteousness. The least in the kingdom of heaven are those who are going to not seek to reconcile. The great are those who are really actively trying to move to that standard and to, okay, I don't want to murder. I don't want to move in a trajectory of murder because God is a God of love. So all of my trajectory, I want to be moving to reconciliation and unity and oneness, certainly in the body of Christ.

33:00And but even beyond, you know, where so does that answer your question? Right. Yes. Yes, and I'm not sure, you know, those outside the law, those outside the kingdom, they were like, yeah, I've never killed anybody. And what they had done is they had taken this principle and reduced it down to just physically killing somebody. That makes this one of the easiest commands to keep, right? You just, it makes it very easy, but it reduces what's there. And so, yeah, the line between outside and the least, I wouldn't spend too much time trying to figure that out, just run the other direction practically. Practically speaking, let's move in the direction and make sure we're seeking to be great. That's the admonition there. He's saying, I want you on this trajectory. I want you growing and giving scripture its full jurisdiction. Yes, sir.

34:25So, what you've said about the principle is derived from this. Specific law, especially other laws make sense. But I I forgot here that when he says the consequences of being angry with your brother, that if you say, I guess my translation says whatever, you're subject to just a sin each. Would that be the conclusion from studying the Old Testament that deserving of hell? But is that I'm trying to understand, is he really saying that there would be judicial consequences before the Supreme Court, and then it's like whoever says you fool, you are guilty enough to go into fiery hell. And so he gets to the end, and certainly that's in God's eyes. He's the one casting judgment, and he's and then, yeah, that Supreme Court, is he talking about that maybe a slander or whatever? You may be guilty before the Supreme Court, but that Supreme Court very well may be God's court, but certainly, certainly, when you get to hell, he's talking fiery hell. And this says something about God. Those who want to get rid of people, guess what God's going to do? Get rid of them forever. If this is your disposition toward one another and you are content in murdering relationships, then you will, you may be guilty enough to go into God wants to get rid of those who want to get rid of people. So the law is saying, don't want to be somebody that gets rid of people. Don't be somebody that seeks to get rid of people. Whether your speech, whether in your feelings towards people, don't be a person who wants to eliminate people.

36:36But all this is to look at the principle. I mean, I know we're going through this to try to, there's a lot of truth there, right? Just in Jesus' how he handled that, and certainly as a murderer, you know, it's like, oh, that's convicting, right? We got to move because we can murder all the time, and we've got to be careful. But why we're looking at this is to figure out, okay, what's the principle? Like, and take this principle and apply it. And so I want to apply this principle to probably one of the biggest interpretive issues in the Gospel of John. So this principle of rejecting authority ineffectiveness. So let's just go to.

37:31John 6:53. Here's the principle. Here's the verse. So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. Okay, so the question becomes: is he talking literally or a spiritual consumption of Jesus's flesh and blood? Okay, so that's the question. Have you guys heard that before? Yes. The idea in Roman Catholicism is what? Transubstantiation, right? And what are they saying?

38:12It literally becomes his blood and flesh, and you are to consume it, right? And so they would look at this verse and they say, see, Jesus is talking about a literal consumption. And so you need a priesthood that can bring that literal flesh and blood to the table so that you can consume it. That's a pretty, you can see how that's a watershed moment, right? You're going to end up with some two very different theologies and systems of religion. So we want to ask the question, what fits best with John's overall purpose? And we'll work that way. And so, I guess so. We're looking at: is it a mountain? We look at the mountain, or is John over there shooting himself in the foot? So, John's writing the purpose of his gospel, right? And you can see that purpose in John chapter 20 and verses 30 and 31. Therefore, and this is, John tells you why he wrote his gospel right there in chapter 20, verse 30. Therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. So, what is John's purpose? If you're thinking about the mountain, what is his whole purpose for writing the book?

39:47He wants you to do what? Believe. He wants you to believe that Jesus is the Christ. And why does he want you to believe? So that you may have life. Believe, right? So that's his goal, right? Now, the question is: any interpretation, or just looking at Jesus' principle that we've looked at, any interpretation of any portion of John's gospel should not diminish this purpose, but advance it, right? He's wanting to promote faith, believing, and that by believing you will have life in his name. And so. The question is: Does John go a literal interpretation or a spiritual interpretation? Does he end up shooting himself in the foot? Does one interpretation cause John to shoot himself in the foot? And the answer is most definitely. So, question that the people ask: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? And so, Jesus, this is in 653.

41:06So, and by the way, this is a before this teaching, Jesus was really popular. After this teaching, a whole lot of people left. And so, they ask him, How can Jesus give his flesh? How can this man give us his flesh to eat? And Jesus doubles down and he gets even more graphic. He says, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. Okay, that is offensive. All right, and he goes on and he expresses, For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink, and he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

41:53So, oops, sorry, but the answer, well, it's clearly. As you start looking at John's overall purpose and even going through the text, you start realizing that it can't possibly be the literal body and blood of Jesus, or else John has rendered ineffective his whole purpose for his gospel and has contradicted and has undercut his purpose for writing in the first place. Jesus' words make a literal interpretation impossible. Look at what he says in verse 63: It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

42:45So what's wrong with that statement? If it's the literal interpretation, what's wrong with that statement? It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. And if you are saying you have to eat the flesh of Christ to enter heaven, what's happening to this verse? If the flesh profits nothing, guess what? Even Jesus' flesh doesn't profit nothing, right? And so if you're talking about a literal consumption here, you've got a problem with verse 63. The life, the flesh profits nothing. Well, okay, what if he says there's an exception? Well, except for Jesus's flesh. Okay, but what's the problem with that?

43:47It doesn't say that, right? It doesn't say that. It doesn't say that, well, there's an exception to Jesus' flesh, but then you've got a problem. There's an exception, right? There would be an exception. So if the flesh profits nothing, then even consuming Jesus' flesh profits nothing. And even the statement, the flesh profits nothing except for Jesus' flesh, would have an exception, and therefore that statement wouldn't be true. So either way, you've got a problem that has to render some portion of this ineffective.

44:27Not to mention undercut his whole purpose for writing. So then we're talking about spiritual consumption. So spiritual, what is it then? Well, feeding on his flesh involves believing in him. That's what Jesus says here. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. John 6:47. Then in John 6:51, look at what he says. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, He will live forever. Okay?

45:04Now, who is the one that lives forever in John 6, 47? The one who does what? And who is the one who lives forever in John 6, 51? The one who does what? Eats. Eats, right? They both live forever, right? So it's one and the same. It's a metaphor. The one who eats is the one who believes. And so, and you think about, you know, what is eating? It's taking something outside the body and taking it in, right? What is drinking? Doing the same thing, taking that into the physical body, right? What is spiritual? How does a spiritual being take something in? You don't just eat something and it goes into your spirit, right? No, it's part of your body. No, you take in something into your spirit by believing. So a metaphor for eating and drinking is believing, taking in, just as eating and drinking is taking into the physical body, so believing is taking into the spirit. And so spiritual consumption is in view. Feeding on Jesus involves believing him to be the Son of Man, Son of Man. And won't go into. To Daniel 7, verse 13 and 14, but that's all about the Son of Man coming in glory and power, right?

46:38And but it's having him, there wasn't a problem with understanding that, okay, the Son of Man is going to come, he's going to rule, reign according to Daniel's prophecy. But blood is an image of death, isn't it? And there's probably nothing more shocking to a Jew than drinking blood, and especially the Messiah's blood. Remember, the Messiah is supposed to come in power and glory. They did not see a need for his sacrifice. They did not see that they needed a Messiah to come and die for them. That's not the kind of Messiah that they needed, or they thought they needed.

47:34And so feeding on him involves believing in him, but believing not just the act of believing, but believing something specifically about him. This is the king, this is the ruler, this is the son of man, and he is going to sacrifice for his people. He's going to die. It also involves him being the flesh over the Passover lamb. Feeding on Jesus involves him being the Passover. This whole John chapter 6 is all in the context of the Passover. And the concept of eating flesh and drinking blood should not have been at all that shocking to the Jews that day.

48:15How did the Passover, you know, the Passover was a memorial to deliverance, but it also pointed to the reality of a future and greater deliverance, that from the second death. And how? And the question becomes: how does one get the doorpost, to get the blood on the doorposts of his or her life? And the answer is by feeding one's soul on Jesus. How do you get the blood of the perfect sacrifice on the doorposts of your house, on the doorpost of your soul? How do you get it there? You get it there by believing in the reality of what took place. So it's through faith it gets there.

48:58Yes. Oh, I thought you had a question? Okay. I know we're getting close on time. I just want to. But feeding on Jesus also believes believing in him. Feeding on Jesus involves believing in him. Feeding on him to be the son of man, to be the Passover lamb. There are certain spiritual benefits. I'm sorry, here we are. Lost my place there. But in John, John 6, 54 and 55, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. So there's a benefit of eternal life, the benefit of the promise of a future resurrection, true sustenance, union with Christ. All of that comes out of feeding, taking in the reality. And the whole word there, the whole idea changes there. He who eats, the idea is chewing. The whole word there is the one who is constantly chewing, not somebody who takes every once in a while, but somebody who is constantly feeding on and drinking in the reality. We never outgrow the cross, you often hear me say. It is spiritual supply. In fact, the Passover, the lamb's blood was spilt, protected, and then they were to take the lamb inside and eat the lamb. So they were to feed upon the lamb, the blood protected, and then the body nourished. So the whole idea of eating and drinking the Passover lamb should not have been as shocking as it may seem. But the overall purpose of John's Gospel speaks of a spiritual interpretation and spiritual intake of the reality of the sacrifice of Jesus. So, feeding on Jesus involves believing in him, believing him to be the Son of God, believing in him to be the Passover Lamb, and it brings spiritual benefits. So, just real quick, let me just finish up this and we'll open up to some questions.

51:30So, the principle I've tried to explain tonight is that the principle of rejecting authorial ineffectiveness assumes that every word a biblical author used was effective to advance his purpose. And ultimately, God is the author of Scripture, and He moved men in such a way to write a coherent and consistent message so that they did not defeat their own purpose by contradicting it. Very simple, very simple principle, but you'll be surprised at how often it comes up. And if you'll abide by it and realize that Jesus Himself related to Scripture this way, it'll make sense out of a lot of difficult passages.

52:30Interpretation begins with the assumption that every sentence a biblical author writes furthers his evident purpose rather than hinders it. Remember when I was working through 1 and 2 Peter, some people say some of the most difficult interpretive issues, Luther threw up his hands in one passage, says, This text is the most bizarre in all of Scripture. And certainly, if you get detached from the big picture, what the purpose of the, but as long as you can understand what the big purpose is and that everything that a writer is doing is advancing that purpose, some of the, it doesn't make the difficult issues become easy, but it does give you a good framework for understanding. And even this morning, as we're working through John and two really big interpretive issues this morning, right? Do you remember, right? The John's Pentecost, the giving of the Spirit in John chapter 20. How does that relate to Acts chapter 2? And then also the giving the forgiveness of sins. Has he given that to people? And those two, but if you start looking at the big picture of John and relating it, it helped bring a valid interpretation. Any questions on that? I know that's.

54:02Yes. Well, I'll say this. Some gospel writers, like John, or some writers, tell you their purpose very clearly. Others, not so. Some, and so understanding the big, the picture or the purpose sometimes in some books can be a little more challenging. But in some, where it's some of them, like John, it's sitting right there. He tells you Peter does the same thing and others. So at some point, if it's difficult to find out, if it doesn't just explicit, if it's not explicitly stated, then you've got to be a little more careful because then that's going to drive a lot of other interpretations if you get the big purpose wrong.

55:03Well, I'll tell you what. Why don't we just go ahead and close? I know I've kind of we can go ahead and close. I was going to allow, I'll just close out tonight. And then maybe our music team can come up here and sing us out the door. Can you do that? So sorry about that. But let's close. Heavenly Father, thank you that you gave us. The example of how to relate to Scripture when you walked among us.

55:38We are thankful that you, the Logos, showed us how to interpret the Lagoy. You taught us how to teach, you, the Incarnate Word, taught us how to interpret the written word and help us to live out your principles, to love your word, and to approach Scripture the way you have. And thank you for the truth. Thank you for being a God who speaks to us, who loves us, and cares for us. In Jesus' name, amen.