Latest / Scripture Central / ”Stand Forever” Ep. 9 | Christ—the Way, the Truth, the Life | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge

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”Stand Forever” Ep. 9 | Christ—the Way, the Truth, the Life | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge · Scripture Central

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Do you want to be whole? We are essentially in the same
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position as Adam and Eve. We are told not to violate the
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commandments of God, but for whatever reason we do.
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We can either believe and be born again by water and the
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Spirit and enter the Kingdom of God, or not and remain us with
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the foolish virgins outside the door.
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Jesus Christ is the solution. The essential problem in life is
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separation from God our Father, resulting in chaos, darkness and
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death. Jesus Christ bridges that gap.
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He is the way offsetting chaos, the truth offsetting darkness,
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and the life offsetting death. Hello, my name is Larry
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Corbridge and welcome back to the Stand Forever series.
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This is episode 9. In the last several episodes, we
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considered what I just mentioned as the essential problem,
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problem in life. This and many of the coming
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episodes will focus now on the solution again, the essential
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problem. Problem in life is separation
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from God our Father. We are essentially in the same
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position as Adam and Eve. We are told not to violate the
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commandments of God, partake of the fruit of the tree of good
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and evil. But for whatever reason we do,
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we suffer the same consequence cut off from the tree of life as
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we gain the same benefit, the knowledge of good and evil, and
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we must discover the same and only solution.
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We can't partake of the fruit of the tree of life without going
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through Christ. Jesus Christ is the solution.
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He alone bridges the gap. He said I am the way, the truth
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and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
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but by me. Again, He is the way, offsetting
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chaos. He is the ideal to which every
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human heart and mind should aspire.
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He is the truth offsetting darkness.
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He reveals how to realize those aspirations.
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He is the life offsetting death. He provides the power to do it
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and the reward when you do. He is the why, the how and the
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what. He is Alpha and Omega, the
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beginning and the end and the course in between.
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He is the destination, the route and the outcome.
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Every good thing can be ours only because of him.
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As Aaron, the son of Mosiah said, since man had fallen, he
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could not merit anything of himself.
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But he continued, the sufferings and death of Christ atone for
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their sins through faith and repentance, and so forth, And
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that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have
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no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up
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in the hopes of glory. Paul declared that in the
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dispensation of the fullness of times, our God and Father might
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gather together in one all things in Christ which are in
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heaven, and which are on earth, even in him.
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In a similar vein, King Benjamin proclaimed and and saying this,
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And moreover, there shall be no other name given, nor any other
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way, nor means, whereby salvation can come unto the
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children of men, only in and through the name of Christ the
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Lord Omnipotent. And then ether urged saying, And
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now I would commend you to seek this Jesus, of whom the prophets
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and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and
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also the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, which beareth
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record of them, may be and abide in you forever.
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As with all of Scripture, the Gospel of John points to Christ
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and engenders faith in him. But John especially reveals the
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Christ who is the Way, the truth, and the life.
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So consider this. Let's start with John chapter 3.
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Imagine this. It is dark in the night.
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A man quietly makes his way through the streets of
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Jerusalem. He is well dressed.
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He is a powerful Jewish official of high rank and esteem.
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He finds the house and it and is shown to the chamber or court,
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where at long last he stands before this unusual man.
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Never has he felt at such a loss.
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Never has he felt such a presence as he feels now he is
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invited to sit. He gathers his wits and says,
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respectfully, Rabbi, we know that thou art to teach you come
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from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
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except God be with him. And then Jesus replies saying,
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Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he
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cannot see the Kingdom of God. Puzzled, Nicodemus says, how can
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this be? Jesus says, Verily, verily, I
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say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
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he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
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John chapter 4. Jesus and his disciples travel
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nearly 100 miles from Jerusalem back to Galilee.
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They pass through Samaria, an area which Jews generally avoid
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because of their disdain for the Samaritans.
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They arrive in a city known as Saikhar or Sikhar.
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There is a famous whale there known as Jacob's Whale.
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It is midday. Jesus sits alone at the whale,
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resting from the journey. His disciples have gone into the
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city to buy food. A woman approaches.
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She is a Samaritan. She comes to the well to draw
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water. She looks at Jesus and sees that
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he is a Jew. She says nothing and as she
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draws water from the well, Jesus speaks.
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Give me to drink, He said. The woman is surprised that he,
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a Jew, would speak to her, a woman and a Samaritan, for any
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reason, much less ask drink from her.
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She says, How is it that thou being a Jew, asketh drink of me,
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which I am a woman of Samaria, for the Jews have no dealings
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with Samaritans? Jesus replies, If thou knewest
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the gift of God, and who it is that sayeth to thee, give me to
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drink. Thou wouldest have asked of him,
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and he would have given thee living water.
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She is puzzled. She says, That has nothing to
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draw with, and the whale is deep.
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From whence then hast thou living water?
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Jesus answers, Whoso drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
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But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
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shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him
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shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
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life. She then says, Sir, Give me this
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water that I thirst not, neither come hit her to draw.
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Jesus tells her to find her husband and return with him, and
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she says, I have no husband. He replies, Thou has well said,
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I have no husband, for thou has had five husbands, and he whom
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thou now hast is not thy husband, and that saidest thou
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truly? She, of course, is astounded and
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disturbed that Jesus knows the sorry and secret details of her
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adult life, and in one breath relates them to her.
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The disciples return and they're surprised to see Jesus speaking
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to a Samaritan woman, but no one says anything.
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She's unsettled by what has transpired, and she feels the
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disapproval of these other men. She leaves and returns to the
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city, where she tells others, Come see a man which told me all
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things that I ever did. Is not this the Christ?
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Think. Think about what is transpiring
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here. Think of what Jesus offers and
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to whom he extends the offer. She is a woman and women at this
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time have no social status. Samaritans are despised.
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She has been married five times and is living with yet another
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man who is not her husband. Jesus offers living water and
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the promise of eternal life to her, a woman, a Samaritan, a
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person with a sordid past, even now living in sin.
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In dramatic fashion, Jesus declares His offering of living
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water and eternal life is to all and for all who are willing to
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drink, including those of lowly stationed, those with a sordid
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past, and those currently living in sin.
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Those who partake of the water he offers will have in them a
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well of water springing up into everlasting life.
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Those who drink from any other source will thirst again.
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John chapter 5. We're making our way through the
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Gospel of John. Jesus returns from Galilee to
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Jerusalem, another 100 miles along dusty roads.
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An old man waits by the side of the pool.
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The air is filled with the noise of the bleeding of sheep from
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the nearby market, and with the clamor of hordes of people
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pushing and jostling, jostling their way through the nearby
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streets of Jerusalem. An old man hopes for the Jewish
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festival to pass quickly, because so many more people now
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crowd the edge of the pool, and his chances for reaching the
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pool in time are hopeless. Still he waits.
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Still he watches for the movement of the water.
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Still, he hopes in quiet desperation in the heat of the
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day. There is a a porch of stone
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around the edge of the Pool of Bethesda and the porches,
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divided into 5 parts. Each part has a set of columns
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that rise to sustain a roof, which gives some shelter to the
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sick. Infirmed, deformed and disabled.
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They wait each day for the movement of the water.
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They believe that when the water moves, the hand of an Angel
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causes the movement and the first to reach the healing
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waters will be healed. For 38 years the old man has
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been unable to move without great effort and pain.
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For 38 years he's been virtually disabled and nearly immobile.
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And for many years he has come to the pool, desperately
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waiting, watching and hoping each time to reach the waters
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1st, and each time he is disappointed.
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As he lies by the edge of the pool, he hears people coming
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toward him. Some of the voices seem excited
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as he painfully shifts his way to turn and look in the
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direction of the commotion. They're standing before him is a
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man. A man unlike any other.
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There is no sign of threat in his face, and yet there is
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something, a power in his presence.
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It startles him, and he withdraws a bit.
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At first the stranger says nothing.
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The old man nervously looks into the eyes gazing upon him, and
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then the man speaks to him and asks, Wilt thou be made whole?
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The question floods him with yearning to behold again, to
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stand tall and walk among men. He's overcome with surprise that
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one would ask, and with the hope that this one can help him reach
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the water. He says, Sir, I have no man when
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the water is troubled, to put me into the pool, but while I am
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coming another step of down before me, then Jesus says,
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Rise, take up thy bed and walk. Before he fully understands what
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is said, strength begins to return to his legs and arms,
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sensations which he has long since forgotten.
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With his heart pounding and his thoughts in a swirl, he can only
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think to do is commanded. And this man, who for nearly 40
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years has been a helpless in village, stands and without
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pain, lifts his palate and walks away.
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Will thou be made whole? Do you want to be whole?
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Think of what transpires here. Jesus travels from from Galilee
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to Jerusalem and enters the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath.
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In most other instances, Jesus responds to the faith of those
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who seek him and request a blessing at his hand.
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Here Jesus seeks out the lame man who does not understand what
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Jesus offers when he asks if he would be made whole.
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And after performing this unsolicited miracle, Jesus walks
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out of Jerusalem and returns the long distance back to Galilee.
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Why? Why travel that long way to heal
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a man who has no knowledge of him?
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Was there not sufficient sick in Galilee to heal?
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Could there be a greater purpose?
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I don't know, but I wonder, could it be he does this
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deliberately on the Sabbath to dramatically place and stark
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contrast the living power of his ministry against the Jews?
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Ritualistic observance of the dead Law.
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Blessings come by him, from him, and because of him, even more
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than the Law. Stay with me.
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We're now at John chapter 6. Jesus returns to Galilee one
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day. He climbs a mountain and sits
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with his disciples. Thousands of people gather.
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They press to be near him, to hear him, to see him.
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The time of the Passover feast is approaching.
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As the multitude gathers, Jesus says to his disciple Philip,
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Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?
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Jesus knows that they do not have sufficient money to buy
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bread for this crowd. He says this to test Philip, and
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Philip immediately considers what little money they have
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between them. He instinctively looks to the
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resources of the world for a solution rather than to Christ.
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He says they have not nearly enough to purchase food for the
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several thousand people who are now congregating.
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Andrew says there is a young boy in the crowd who has five
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loaves, loaves of bread and two small fish.
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But what is that for a crowd such as this?
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Jesus takes the loaves and offers thanks and divides the
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bread among his disciples. They in turn divide the bread
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among the people. Likewise the fish are divided
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and distributed to the crowd. Everyone is offered food.
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They all eat. They are all filled.
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No one is left hungry. They gather up the fragments
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which are not consumed. 12 baskets are filled.
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Nothing is wasted. The Lord amply and generously
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provides what neither man nor the world can provide in greater
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abundance than what can be consumed.
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His provision, offered through His disciples, is sufficient for
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all, no matter how many. The well in Samaria is the
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prelude to Jesus offering living water.
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Feeding 5000 on the heels of Galilee is now the prelude for
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Jesus to teach that He is the bread of life.
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Those who partake of the bread he offers will be sustained,
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have strength and life forevermore.
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Those who are sustained by any other source will hunger again.
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His words can be incorporated into the soul as literally as
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bread becomes the bone and sinew of the body.
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John Chapter 7. Jesus lead leaves Galilee
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forevermore one last time. He makes the trip back to
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Jerusalem. We find Him in the temple.
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The people are sharply divided about Him.
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There are many who are hostile and seek his life.
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Others believe in him but are afraid to publicly express their
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belief in the Temple. Jesus is challenged by certain
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Jews regarding his standing to teach.
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After all, who should listen to him?
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What is there to recommend him? He has no position, no
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authority. He's not a learned rabbi.
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He has no home, no property. He said he had nowhere to lay
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his head. He comes from an obscure
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village. Why would anyone listen to him,
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much less the hordes of people that press about him to see him,
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hear him, touch him? Why they say that is those that
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challenge him. How knoweth this man letters,
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having never learned? Jesus replies, saying, My
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doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
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If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine,
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whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.
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Jesus is in the temple on the last day of the Feast of the
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Tabernacles. As part of the ceremony, the
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priests carry water from the Pool of Siloam in golden
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vessels, who then place the water on the temple altars.
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This offering is made as a petition to God for rain and
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good crops. As this happens, Jesus stands
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and cries out. If any man thirst, let him come
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unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
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Scripture have said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
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living water, meaning the spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.
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John chapter 8. We're getting there.
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It is very early in the morning on the Sabbath day.
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It is still dark. One man descends from the Mount
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of Olives. He crosses the little valley
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floor and ascends the heel on the other side to the eastern
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wall that surrounds Jerusalem. He enters the Temple.
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People are waiting for him there.
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He sits down and begins to teach.
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As he teaches, there is a commotion across the courtyard.
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A group of people, including scribes and Pharisees, move
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toward him. They hold a woman.
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Their intent is to cause Jesus to say something that will
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condemn him. They burst in on him and his
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small group and roughly placed the woman before him, saying
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this woman was taken in the very act of adultery.
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The Law of Moses demands she be stoned.
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What do you say? Jesus ignores them.
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He Stoops stand, and with his finger writes on the ground as
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if he does not hear. Hear them.
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They persist, they press for an answer.
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Finally Jesus stands and he looks at them and says, He that
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is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
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Those who brought the woman look at each other.
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Then they look down. They say nothing.
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They are unsure what to do. The tension of the air begins to
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dissipate as he again Stoops down and again writes on the
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ground. After some moments of awkward
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silence, they leave. One by one they go away.
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Jesus then stands again and looking on the woman asks woman,
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Where are thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?
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She says, No man, Lord, he replies, neither do I condemn
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thee. Go and sin no more.
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John Chapter 9. Later in the same day as Jesus
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leaves the temple, he passes by a man who is blind from birth.
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He has never seen the light of day.
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The disciples asked if this man was born blind as as punishment
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for sin of the man or his parents.
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Jesus explains neither this man nor his parents sin and among
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other things declares I am the light of the world.
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He then does this amazing thing. He then spits on the ground,
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Stoops down and makes clay out of his spittle.
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He places the clay in his hands and then on the eyes of the man.
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He tells the man go wash in the pool of Siloam.
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The blind man obeys. Surely he does not understand,
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and yet he obeys. None of this makes any sense.
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He finds his way to the pool. He reaches out in the darkness
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and feels the cool water in his hands.
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He washes the clay from his eyes.
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And then, for the first time in his life, darkness gives way to
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glorious life. He was blind, and now he sees
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John chapter 10. Jesus teaches that his sheep
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hear his voice and follow him, for they know his voice.
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He says that he is the door of the sheep, saying, I am the door
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by me. If any man enter in, he shall be
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saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.
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Now listen to this, He says, I am come, that they might have
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life and that they might have it more abundantly.
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I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his
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life for his sheep. John Chapter 11 Jesus approaches
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Bethany a short distance from Jerusalem.
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Mary and Martha are despondent. Lazarus is dead.
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Why had Jesus not come three days ago when first summoned?
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As Jesus approaches Bethany, Martha goes out to meet him.
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Mary stays in the house. Had he come, their brother might
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have lived. Now he is dead and there's
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nothing to be done. Martha finds Jesus on the
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outskirts of Bethany. She bluntly says if you would
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have been here, my brother would not have died.
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She also declares she is certain her brother will rise in the
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resurrection. Jesus replies, I am the
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resurrection and the lion. He that believeth in me, though
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he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and
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believeth in me shall never die. Martha goes back to the house.
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She tells Mary that Jesus waits for for her.
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Mary leaves quickly and is followed by many of the mourners
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who are gathered at the house. House.
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She goes to where Jesus is waiting.
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She falls at his feet and flatly says, as Martha had said, if
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thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
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Jesus is saddened and weeps. Some of the people, seeing him
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weeping, comment on his love for Lazarus and say, could not this
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man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that?
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Even this man should not have died.
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Little do they know what it's about to transpire.
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No one imagines it. Jesus goes to The Cave where the
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body of Lazarus rests. Others follow.
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He commands the stone to be removed from the entrance.
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Martha objects. She warns him not to enter
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because now the body is decaying and the smell of death will fill
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the tomb. Tomb.
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It is too late to do anything. He says, said I not unto thee,
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that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of
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God. The stone is removed, He stands
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at the entrance of the tomb. He lifts his eyes heavenward and
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says, Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me.
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And with a loud voice he cries. Lazarus come forth, and he who
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was dead comes forth. Most of the miracles recorded by
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the apostle John are those miracles which symbolize A
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redeeming truth about Jesus Christ and His mission on earth.
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Out of the exchange exchange between Christ and Nicodemus
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comes the foundational truth that one must be born again to
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enter the Kingdom of God. We can either believe and be
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born again by water and the Spirit and enter the Kingdom of
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God, or not and remain us with the foolish virgins outside the
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door. Jacob's well in Samaria provides
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the setting for Jesus to declare that he has living water to
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offer and that whosoever drinks of it will never thirst again.
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Either we believe and drink and never thirst more, or we don't
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and thirst still at the pool of Bethesda, he asks, Will thou be
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made whole? As with the lame man, we can
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either believe and seek his healing power and be made whole,
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or not and remain broken and incomplete.
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On the heels of Galilee, Jesus declares, I am the bread of
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life. If we partake of the bread he
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offers, we shall not not want. Either we believe and partake of
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the bread, His bread, the bread of life, and hunger no more, or
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we don't and hunger still. He gives sight to the blind man,
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blind from birth, and declares I am the light of the world by his
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power. We who are blinded and deceived
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by the world, by ignorance, deception, and sin, may come to
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see clearly, come to see things as they really are by the light
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of Christ. Either we believe and see
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clearly, or we don't and stumble in the dark.
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He is the door and the Good Shepherd.
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Either we believe and pass through the door into His fold,
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or we don't and we remain outside the door.
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He raises Lazarus from the dead and declares that He is the
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resurrection and the life. Either we believe and have life
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more abundantly, or we don't and remain dead still.
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The essential problem in life is separation from God our Father.
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That is the disparity between who and where He is and who and
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where we are. Jesus Christ alone bridges that
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gap if we will believe and follow Him to the end and help
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others do the same. Again, He is the way, the truth
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and the life in His holy name, Jesus Christ, Amen.