Remember each of the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were recounting the life of Jesus and in particular the ministry of Jesus on earth. Each Gospel writer was writing from a different perspective and to a slightly different audience. The first three Gospels cover approximately the same materials and are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels. The word synopsis means a summary. John’s Gospel is unique in that it is not so much a summary of Jesus’ life and ministry but is a clear look at Jesus as God incarnate. In other words that Jesus is God! Show More
John focuses his writing on the miracles of Jesus not as events but as a sign of Jesus’ power and authority over nature and life. All of the signs point to the fact that Jesus must be God in the flesh.
Now we will continue to look at the miracles of Jesus. I discussed the first four miracles in the last post. I will continue with the next three.
Five – John 6 Jesus Walks on the Sea
Jesus showed that He had control over the physical laws of nature by walking on water.
15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.
Six – John 9 A Man Born Blind Receives Sight
Jesus demonstrated His authority over congenital defects, by healing the man who was blind from birth.
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
Seven – John 11 Lazarus Raised from the Dead
The greatest miracle was shown by Jesus’ authority over death itself.
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Conclusion
- Jesus showed that He had control over the physical laws of nature by walking on water.
- Jesus demonstrated His authority over congenital defects, by healing the man who was blind from birth.
- The greatest miracle was shown by Jesus’ authority over death itself.
What is very true of our God is that nothing is impossible with Him and that everything seen, and unseen was created by Him. Link that with the fact that God loves you and you have a God that will move Heaven and earth for you!
John 21:25 “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen”.
The Trinity
I’ve been trying to show that John’s Gospel points to the fact that Jesus is God. In my effort to emphasize Jesus’ deity I may have given the idea that Jesus is God alone. That is not what I am saying. I am a strong Trinitarian, I believe in the Trinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. they are co-equal and One. This is a faith issue. The human intellect or mind cannot fully comprehend it, but it is essential to coming into a relationship with God.
Someone sent me a comment that “Jesus is not God; He is the Christ”. That is true the word Christ is not Jesus’ last name; it is His title. Christ is Greek and means Savior in English, and Messiah in Hebrew. However, the evidence is overwhelming that Jesus is God.
The Apostle Paul said that Jesus as God laid His Deity aside to live among us as a human being. Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men”. The Bible says it, that settles it!
God’s Covenant Name – “I AM”
In Exodus 3:13-14 a profound change in the relationship between God and man takes place. Up to this time in history, the Israelites or Hebrews would refer to God as El or Elohim; this was the general name used for God. As God prepares to use a reluctant Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, God reveals His personal name, indicating His desire for a covenant relationship with the Hebrew people. “Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-14).
“I AM” can be translated as the “ever-existent one” and is God’s personal name. Before this time God describes Himself as Elohim a general name for God, note that Elohim is also a plural name, further evidence that God is Three-In-One. [Gen 1: In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth].
God’s Personal Name
The Ten Commandments forbid taking God’s name in vain. The very religious Hebrews were very afraid of misusing God’s name so they would avoid saying the name of God; instead, they would “refer to God as “Ha Shem” which means “The Name” or Adonai which means Lord. The early Hebrew writings had no vowels so when writing God’s name, it was spelled YHWH; this is called the Tetragrammaton. Latin translations of the Hebrew texts used the letters JHVH because they had ho Y in their alphabet. When the Hebrews would read YHWH, out loud, they would substitute the Hebrew word “Adonai” which means Lord, for fear of using God’s name in vain.
Later when the Hebrew language developed vowels, Hebrew scholars called Masoretes substituted the vowels of Adonai (Lord) into YHWH and got YaHWeH or YaHoVaH which later became JeHoVaH (Latinized because Latin had no “y” letter). Modern Christian Bibles use Yahweh, Jehovah or LORD (note the uppercase letters in LORD), to denote the personal name of God.
Different Bibles use different conventions in the choice of this word. As a side-note the Hebrews do not use any of these conventions; they still refer to God as Ha Shem or Adonai.”
[That was an excerpt from my book called, “Seeing the Forest for the Trees: God’s Promises Revealed.” Which is available at Amazon.com].
Descriptive Names of God
In the Bible God, the Father has many descriptive names, I have included the most familiar ones below. Notice that each name means something about the nature of God.
- The Great I AM is also called El Shaddai (Lord God Almighty) It was used in establishing of the Covenant of Law- Gen 17:1, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless”.
- The Great I AM is also called El Elyon (The Most High God) Psalm 73:35, “Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High Godtheir Redeemer”.
- The Great I AM is also called Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner) Jehovah-Nissi Jehovah my banner, was the title given by Moses to the altar which he erected on the hill on the top of which he stood with uplifted hands while Israel prevailed over their enemies the Amalekites (Exodus 17:15).
- The Great I AM is also called Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals) In the wilderness the people began to complain about the water, and God made the bitter waters sweet. Exodus 15:25-26, “There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”
- The Great I AM is also called Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord My Righteousness) Jeremiah 23:5-6, “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS”.
- The Great I AM is also called Jehovah Jira (The Lord Will Provide) Genesis 22 13, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So, Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son Issac. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
- The Great I AM is also called Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace) Judges 6: 22, “Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the Lord. So, Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face.”23 Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace.
The Seven “I Am”s of the New Testament
Just as the Old Testament Covenant uses descriptive names of Yahweh or Jehovah God, the New Testament Covenant uses names to describe Jesus’ identity with Father God. Jesus uses the phrase “I AM” seven times in the Gospel of John. Remember the number Seven is the number of completion or perfection in the Bible, and “I AM” is God’s name. These seven “I AM”s represent signs that identify Jesus as God”.
- “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51) As bread sustains physical life, so Christ offers and sustains spiritual life.
- “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as a light in the darkness.
- “I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.
- “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Death is not the final word for those in Christ.
- “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14) Jesus is committed to caring and watching over those who are His.
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the source of all truth and knowledge about God.
- “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5) By attaching ourselves to Christ, we enable His life to flow in and through us. Then we cannot help but bear fruit that will honor the Father.
The only names of Jesus’ character that you need to know are that “He is the way-maker, the miracle-worker, the promise-keeper and the light in the darkness”. Let those truths become a reality in your life and you will experience a fresh new overcoming relationship with the Lord your God!