Month: <span>January 2016</span>

In the Farewell Discourse, Jesus prepared His disciples for the formation of a new community. Toward that end, Jesus commanded them to pursue the closest possible union with Himself, to love one another, and to be strengthened by the ministry of the Spirit. In John 15-16, Jesus taught about Himself, the Father, and the Spirit in light of God’s instruction to Israel in the Old Testament.

(1) In John 15:1-17, Jesus described Himself as the vine, reflecting Old Testament imagery that portrayed Israel as the vine God planted in Canaan. God established Israel in Canaan so that they would bear fruit to Him there and reveal His greatness to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:1-8; Psalm 67). In Psalm 80, the psalmist described Israel as the vine that the Lord uprooted from Egypt and planted in Canaan. But the psalmist lamented that the Lord broke down the barriers protecting the vineyard, allowing foreigners to ravage Israel. The psalmist cried out, “Return, God of Hosts. Look down from heaven and see; take care of this vine, the root Your right hand has planted, the shoot that You made strong for Yourself” (Ps 80:14-15). Isaiah prophesied that though God had given Israel all the nation needed to thrive as a fruitful vine, Israel yielded only worthless grapes for the Lord (Isa 5:1-2; 27:2-6). Jesus’ point in the metaphor of the vine was that whereas the descendants of Jacob had failed to maintain covenant loyalty to God’s expectations, He Himself had been faithful. Jesus thus presented Himself as the source of true spiritual fruitfulness. Jesus exhorted His disciples to value Him and His teaching and to bear fruit—not the least of which would be answered prayer (John 15:7-10). Having disclosed Himself and the Father’s will to the disciples, Jesus addressed them as friends and commanded them to love one another (John 15:15-17).

(2) In John 15:25, Jesus quoted Ps 69:4 to express that the world unjustly hated Him and the Father. In Psalm 69, the psalmist cried out to God to deliver him from those who opposed him with mocking and insults and hatred. Because zeal for God’s house consumed the psalmist (Ps 69:9a; John 2:17) and he bore the reproaches of those who spoke against God (Ps 69:9b; Rom 15:3), he cried out to God for help. The psalmist’s opponents hated him without cause (Ps 69:4). Jesus told the eleven that because of identification with Him, the world would hate them (John 15:18-25). The world would treat Jesus’ followers just as they did the Son and the Father—hating them for no reason (John 15:25; Ps 69:4).

(3) In John 15:26-16:15, Jesus described the ministry of the Spirit in accord with the personification of wisdom in Proverbs 8. In Proverbs 8, Solomon portrayed wisdom as God’s active agent revealing the right path for His people. Wisdom’s lips speak truth (Prov 8:7). Wisdom provides instruction from God (Prov 8:10). Wisdom was present when God established the limits of the ocean (Prov 8:27-29; Gen 1:2). Jesus said that the ministry of the Spirit would include counseling the disciples, reminding them of His truth, and convicting the world of sin (John 15:26-16:15). Jesus told the disciples that in light of the difficulty that would come upon them for identifying with Jesus, “It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Jesus promised that the Spirit would declare to the disciples the truth of the Son—which Jesus had received from the Father (John 16:12-15).

John signified that the final stage of Jesus’ ministry was about to begin as Jesus washed His disciples’ feet just before the Passover Festival. The foot-washing episode anticipated the Passover meal, where Jesus taught the disciples to follow His pattern of self-sacrificial love. Passages from the Old Testament cast a framework for understanding Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and Jesus’ command that His disciples love one another.

(1) In John 13:18, Jesus said that Ps 41:9 was fulfilled when Judas betrayed Him. In Psalm 41, the psalmist recounts how his enemies have risen up against him, plotting deceitfully to cause him harm. In Ps 41:9, the psalmist lamented that one of his own friends—one with whom he had enjoyed table fellowship—had turned against him. After Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet and taught them that they should follow His example of loving, servant leadership (John 13:1-17), Jesus said that He was not speaking to all of the twelve gathered there but only to eleven of them. “I know those I have chosen,” Jesus said, “But the Scripture must be fulfilled: ‘The one who eats My bread had raised his heel against Me’” (John 13:18b). Troubled in spirit, Jesus stated plainly that one of the twelve would betray Him. All of the disciples became troubled as well, wondering who it would be. Jesus identified His betrayer by dipping bread into the cup and giving it to Judas. Satan entered Judas and Judas departed the room at night to betray Jesus (Matt 26:20-25//Mark 14:17-21//Luke 22:21-23//John 13:21-30).

(2) In John 13:34-35, Jesus elevated the standard of the love command in Lev 19:18. In Leviticus 19, Moses commanded Israel to represent God in their ethical and cultic practices. They were to have integrity in how they dressed, farmed, and treated one another. In Lev 19:18, Moses said, “Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community but love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus’ teaching in John 13:34-35 reflected Lev 19:18 but also expressed the new covenant He would establish in His forthcoming death and resurrection. First, Jesus instituted a new standard for love amongst His followers saying that they should love each other just as He loved them. Second, Jesus stated that as His followers demonstrated sacrificial love for each other, all peoples would recognize that they were followers of Jesus.

(3) In John 14:2-4 and 23, Jesus stated that He and the Father would dwell with those who believed His word and obeyed, reflecting Moses’ statements that God would dwell among His people in Canaan. In Deuteronomy, Moses summarized and applied the covenant God made with Israel on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-31. In Deut 4:1-9, Moses told Israel that God had given them the law so that they would go into Canaan and dwell there to represent Him in the eyes of the nations. As those nations observed Israel living according to the old covenant, they would recognize God’s presence among His people. In Jesus’ final address, He did not promise His disciples a plot of land on earth, but God’s presence with them wherever they would go, saying, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Jesus promised His followers an eternal home in heaven, announcing, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-4).

Jesus demonstrated His deity by raising Lazarus from the dead. Despite Jesus’ greatness, the Jewish leadership sought to destroy Him. Taken together, statements from the Psalms, Isaiah, and Ezekiel portrayed the Messiah as One who was powerful over life and death yet rejected by His people—and the events of John 11-12 brought the psalmist and two of Israel’s prophets together in concert, proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah.

(1) In John 11:25, Jesus proclaimed that He was the resurrection and the life, describing Himself as the agent of regeneration in accord with Ezek 37:1-14. Ezekiel prophesied of the Lord’s grace that would come upon His people to forgive their sins and awaken them to new spiritual life. The Lord brought Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones and commanded him to prophesy to the bones that they would come alive by his word. While Ezekiel spoke, the bones were animated with tissue. When the prophet commanded the four winds to give breath to the bodies, the bodies came to life. The Lord told Ezekiel that He was going to open graves so the dead of Israel would come out alive. He said, “You will know that I am the LORD, My people, when I open your graves and bring you up from them” (Ezek 37:13). When Jesus learned that His friend Lazarus had died, He wept (John 11:35). But this was more than an emotional moment for Jesus. If Jesus were merely filled with compassion for His friend, He could have healed Lazarus from a distance. The resurrection of Lazarus is an illustration of Jesus’ sovereignty to give life. When Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life” in John 11:25, He clarified that He was capable of what the Lord proclaimed of Himself in Ezek 37:13.

(2) In John 12:13, the crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem by proclaiming Ps 118:25-26. Psalm 118 portrayed the psalmist’s thanks to the Lord for empowering His people to victory over their foes. The psalmist described the celebration that took place in Jerusalem after the gates of the Lord’s city were opened wide (Ps 118:19-20). Though the nations had rejected Israel, the Lord chose to build His kingdom through Israel, His cornerstone (Ps 118:22-23). The psalmist described God alone as the Savior of His people. It was thus altogether right for the psalmist to say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD” (Ps 118:26), heralding God’s salvation. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds rejoiced (John 12:12-19). To Jesus, the crowds exclaimed Ps 118:26, waving palm branches in their hands (Matt 21:8-9//Mark 11:8-10//Luke 19:36-38//John 12:13) and proclaiming Jesus the King of Israel.

(3) In John 12:15, John interpreted Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey as a fulfillment of Zech 9:9. Zechariah proclaimed that God wanted the hearts of His people and he urged the returned exiles to repent. The prophet announced that the Lord would avenge the sufferings of His people by judging their foes and setting a mighty king over Israel. In Zech 9:9, Zechariah said, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, Zechariah’s prophecy was realized (Matt 21:5//John 12:15). But the disciples did not connect Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem with Zech 9:9 until after Jesus was glorified (John 12:16), underscoring Jesus’ death and resurrection as the interpretive peak upon which the New Testament writers understood the Old Testament.

(4) In John 12:37-41, John fused Isa 53:1 and 6:10 to explain why so many had rejected Jesus despite the signs He did before them. In Isaiah 53, the prophet described the ironic state of the Lord’s servant. He was God’s chosen, wise leader but He was not attractive in appearance and was rejected by the people. So, when the people rejected the Lord’s Servant they were rejecting the One through whom God had willed to reveal His power (Isa 53:1). John noted the connection between Isa 53:1 and 6:10. Though God revealed Himself through Jesus, through Jesus’ ministry God blinded the hearts of many of the Jewish people so that they would not believe. Isaiah’s ministry experience in Isa 6:10 anticipated Jesus’ ministry. In this way, Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory and prophesied of Him (John 12:41).

John arranged his Gospel such that the miracles Jesus performed were a springboard for His messages about His redemptive mission. Jesus’ portrayal of Himself in John 9-10 fulfilled prophesies of Israel’s Messiah in the Old Testament.

(1) In John 9:5 Jesus said that He was the light of the world, echoing expectations that the Messiah would bring light and salvation to both Israel and the nations. During Ahaz’s crisis due to the Assyrian advance, the Lord promised that after judging His people, he would “bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations” (Isa 9:1b). There the Lord would send a great light so that the people of the north—those who had walked in the darkness of the Lord’s discipline—would experience renewal (Isa 9:2). When Isaiah prophesied of the Lord’s coming Servant, he said that the Lord would make His Servant a light for the nations, to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Isa 49:6). In Isa 51:4, he exhorted Israel to pay attention to the Lord because the Lord was about to make His justice a light for salvation to the nations. In John 9:1-2, Jesus’ disciples asked Him to explain the cause of the man’s blindness. Had this man sinned to deserve the physical challenge or was it the sin of the man’s parent that caused the blindness? Jesus said, “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him. We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:3b-5). In John 1:5, John noted that Jesus was the light shining in the darkness. Though Israel loved darkness rather than light and rejected Jesus’ teaching (John 3:19-21; 8:12-13), Jesus was yet revealing God through His miraculous signs like the healing of the blind man.

(2) In John 9:35-41, Jesus described Himself as the Son of Man in language Daniel used to describe the Son of Man in Dan 7:13-14. In Daniel 7, the Lord gave Daniel a vision of the kingdoms that would rule the earth in the days to come. After the fourth kingdom, Daniel saw the Ancient of Days take His place as ruler of heaven and earth (Dan 7:7-12). Then Daniel saw the Ancient of Days give ruling authority to one like a son of man who would rule with complete dominion over every tribe and people forever (Dan 7:13-14). The Son of Man in Daniel’s vision exhibited divine authority to rule and judge. After the Pharisees interrogated the man born blind, Jesus found him in the temple and revealed Himself as the Son of Man. And the man who was blind worshipped Jesus (John 9:35-38). Some of the Pharisees heard Jesus’ conversation with the man and scoffed. Jesus demonstrated His authority as the Son of Man, judging them for their sin (John 9:40-41).

(3) In John 10:11, Jesus proclaimed that He was the good shepherd, reflecting shepherd imagery of the Old Testament. In Num 27:17, after the Lord forbade Moses to enter the Promised Land, Moses asked the Lord to raise up another leader for Israel so that the people would not be like sheep without a shepherd. Joshua shepherded Israel and after the period of the Judges, the Lord established David as His anointed shepherd (1 Sam 16:12-14; 2 Sam 5:1-5; Ps 89:19-37). In Psalm 23, David proclaimed that the Lord was his shepherd, and Ezekiel described the Lord as the ultimate shepherd of His people (Ezek 34:7-31). When Jesus proclaimed that He was the good shepherd who would lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), He portrayed Himself as the embodiment of all that Moses, Joshua, and David exhibited in their leadership, but also more. Jesus’ self-offering reflected the Lord’s zeal to rescue His people in accord with Ezek 34:12. By rescuing the man born blind in John 9, Jesus showed His zeal to save and He would show it finally at the cross—as the lamb of God (John 1:29).

(4) In John 10:34, Jesus quoted Ps 82:6 to argue for His deity. In Psalm 82, the psalmist described God as the ruler of a divine assembly. God confronted the rulers around Him because they were judging unjustly, ignoring the needs of the oppressed and the poor. Though God had addressed the rulers around Him as gods, sons of the Most High, He proclaimed that they would die like any other ruler (Ps 82:6-7). Jesus took the psalmist’s phrase, “you are all Gods,” and applied it to the people of Israel who had received God’s word. The people of Israel were to be God’s ruling partners over creation, as the Lord had said in Psalm 8, but Israel failed in their stewardship. Jesus thus argued from the lesser to the greater: if the people of Israel could generally be addressed as gods, how much more could Jesus—God in the flesh, the One sent from God—proclaim His deity? The Jews responded by attempting to seize Jesus, but He alluded their grasp (John 10:39).

Each Gospel writer noted that as Jesus’ ministry progressed, the Jewish leadership opposed Him more sharply. The Jewish leadership saw Jesus as their opponent because Jesus presented Himself as the fulfillment of Judaism itself. In Jesus, a new era had dawned in which the very fabric of Judaism would be woven together around Himself. In John 7-8, John structured Jesus’ message at the Feast of Tabernacles—including His analysis of the patriarch Abraham—so as to portray Jesus as the focal point of Israel’s faith.

(1) In John 7:10, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Festival of Tabernacles where He described the work of the Spirit in terms used also by the prophets. Along with Passover (Exod 12:1-28, 43-13:16; Lev 23:5-8; Deut 16:1-8) and Pentecost (Exod 23:16, 34:22; Lev 23:15-22; Deut 16:9-12), Tabernacles (also called the Festival of Booths or Ingathering) was one of the major festivals Jews celebrated according to the Mosaic law (Exod 23:17; 34:22). The Festival of Tabernacles celebrated God’s provision as Israelites brought the first of their produce as an offering to the Lord (Exod 23:16; Lev 23:34-36; Deut 16:13-17). “On the last and most important day of the festival” (John 7:37), Jesus cried out for those who were yet hungry and thirsty to come to Him. Even after days of reflecting upon God’s providence to the wilderness generation and in their own day, some who gathered in the temple were yet empty, unsatisfied. Jesus said that what He had to offer was greater than anything that they had been known before. “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him” (John 7:38). Isaiah prophesied of God’s grace upon His people saying in Isa 55:1, “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat!” In Ezek 36:16-37:14, Ezekiel prophesied that the Lord would renew His people by cleansing them and placing His Spirit upon them. “I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live” (Ezek 37:14), he said. In John 7:39, John said that Jesus’ promise of streams of living water flowing out of those who believed in Him was a reference to the Spirit. Jesus’ description of the Spirit’s ministry anticipated His further teaching on the Spirit where Jesus informed His disciples that He would send them another Counselor to help them after He departed (John 12:23; 14:15-26; 16:5-15; 20:21-23). Jesus and the Spirit could satisfy the spiritual hunger and thirst that no Jewish festival could quench.

(2) In John 8:39-58, Jesus portrayed Abraham as a witness to His mission and eternality. In Gen 12:1-3, the Lord called Abraham and promised him both land and lineage. The Lord affirmed these promises in a covenant ceremony in Genesis 15. Throughout the history of Judaism, Abraham was seen as a paramount figure, the father of the people of God. Jesus’ comments about Abraham in John 8 established Abraham’s greatness only in relation to Jesus. Jesus proposed that although His opponents were physical descendants of Abraham, they were yet enslaved to sin—a claim they considered an oxymoron (John 8:31-34). They understood that being in the family line of Abraham was inextricably linked with spiritual freedom. God’s covenant of land and lineage to Abraham implied that Abraham’s descendants were the true heirs of Canaan—despite the contemporary Roman domination or historic lapses of national independence. For the Jews of Jesus’ day, being in the line of Abraham was the basis of spirituality, salvation. They were frustrated when Jesus proclaimed in John 8:55 that His Jewish opponents had never known God. Jesus did not disparage Abraham but described Abraham’s pivotal role in the storyline of Scripture. “Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day; he saw it and rejoiced!” (John 8:56), Jesus said, and told His opponents, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

References to the Old Testament punctuate Jesus’ miracles and sermons in John 6. Jesus fed the 5,000 (Matt 14:13-21//Mark 6:30-44//Luke 9:10-17) just as the Lord fed Israel with manna in the wilderness. But Jesus promised that the food He had would provide eternal life. On foot Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (Matt 14:22-36//Mark 6:45-52) to escape the crowds that sought another meal. When they found Him, Jesus proclaimed that if anyone listened to God, they would listen to Him.

(1) In John 6:30-31 the crowds following Jesus after He fed the 5,000 asked Him for another sign and cited Ps 78:24 to imply they wanted more food. Psalm 78 recounts Israel’s wilderness wanderings and sin. Though God’s people failed to heed His word, the Lord remained faithful. After Israel entered Canaan, the Lord gave David to Israel so that he would be their king and expand Israel’s territory in Canaan. When the crowds found Jesus, they quoted Ps 78:24, “He rained manna for them to eat; he gave them grain from heaven,” to justify their demand for another sign (John 6:31). Since their fathers had enjoyed such miraculous verification of God’s blessing upon them in the wilderness, should not Jesus—who claimed to be sent from God—provide the same to His followers? Jesus said, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32-33). Jesus expanded the crowd’s view of Ps 78:24, urging them to look beyond even the profound miracles of old and to look to Him as the true bread from heaven.

(2) In John 6:45, Jesus quoted Isa 54:13 to argue that one could only understand the Old Testament by heeding His teaching. Predicting the future glory of Jerusalem, Isaiah said, “Then all your children will be taught by the LORD, their prosperity will be great” (Isa 54:13). In John 6:45, Jesus capitalized on Isaiah’s prophecy that in the future day of grace, the descendants of Jacob would receive direct instruction from God. Jesus had been sent from God as the bread of life (John 6:35). But Jesus quoted Isa 54:13 as a validation of not only His role as the teacher sent from heaven, but also the fact that only those who are drawn by God respond to His teaching. Jesus said that His ministry was in full accord with the work of the Father.

(3) In John 6:49, Jesus told the crowds that the manna their fathers ate in the wilderness did not sustain them unto eternal life. After the exodus, each day the Lord provided Israel manna to eat as they traveled toward Canaan (Exod 16:12-36). The daily provision of manna was the Lord’s means of testing His people and reminding them that they needed to walk by faith in His sustaining power. But Israel failed to walk by faith when the scouts grumbled that the people in the land were too strong for them or the Lord (Num 13:1-14:38). Israel even complained about the manna the Lord provided each day (Num 21:4-5). Manna did not sustain the people to eternal life but testified that, though God was gracious and faithful, Israel was hard-hearted. Among those registered by Moses and Eleazar, only Joshua and Caleb would enter the land; everyone else died in the wilderness (Num 26:63-65). Jesus said to the crowds who were chasing Him for another meal, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:51).

References to Old Testament events and individuals in John 4-5 reinforced that Jesus had a distinct perspective on Israel’s history. The Samaritan woman and the Jewish leadership confidently cited the Old Testament to explain their actions. Jesus stated that He was greater than Jacob and free to operate at full vigor on the Sabbath. In Jesus, a new day had dawned.

(1) In John 4:12, the Samaritan woman asked Jesus if He thought Himself greater than Jacob. After Jacob peacefully departed from Esau in Genesis 33, he purchased a section of land in Canaan and set up an altar to God to acknowledge God’s power in bringing him safely back to the land (Gen 33:16-20). God had shown Himself faithful to Jacob just as Jacob hoped when he swore to the Lord that he would make the Lord an altar after returning from Padam-aram in pursuit of a wife (Gen 28:18-22). The Samaritans cited the Lord’s blessing on Jacob outside of Jerusalem to reinforce their claim on God’s blessing even though they lived north of Jerusalem. For the Samaritan woman and her people, the land of Jacob was the land of promise. When the Samaritan woman asked Jesus if He considered Himself greater than Jacob, Jesus replied that those who drank of Jacob’s well continued to thirst, “but whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever!” (John 4:14). Jesus promised that the water He gives would become a source of water springing up for eternal life. Jesus’ statement to the Samaritan woman anticipated His teaching in the temple when He said, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within Him” (John 7:38).

(2) In John 4:21-24, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that worship of God was not bound to Jerusalem, referencing Jerusalem’s importance as the center of worship in the Old Testament. Israel’s religious life was centered on the tabernacle that Moses constructed according to the word of the Lord in Exodus 33-40. The tabernacle provided a mobile worship center for Israel as they traveled to Canaan and took the land. Israel set the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant in Shiloh. When Samuel judged Israel, Shiloh became the center of Israel’s worship (1 Samuel 1-2). After the Philistines captured the ark, the Lord intervened and compelled the Philistines to return it to Israel and it was brought to Kiraith-jearim (1 Sam 5:1-7:1). David brought the ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam 13:1-16:6). After David took the military census in 1 Chronicles 21, the Lord confronted David and the angel of the Lord exacted God’s wrath on the people. The Lord told David to set up an altar and offer a sacrifice to atone for his sin and appease God’s wrath. David did so on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The Lord’s wrath ceased while David sacrificed there and David said, “This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel” (1 Chron 22:1). David instructed Solomon to build the temple in Jerusalem. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he asked God to hear the petitions His people prayed toward the temple in Jerusalem, establishing Jerusalem as the center of Israel’s worship (2 Chron 6:12-42). But when the Assyrians destroyed Israel and repopulated the land with foreigners, the cities of Samaria were filled with mixed races and mixed religion (2 Kgs 17:24-41). The people in Samaria began to worship the Lord away from Jerusalem and it was in Samaria at Jacob’s well that Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman in John 4. When Jesus told her that the hour had arrived when true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and truth without regard to Jerusalem or the northern Samaritan worship center (John 4:21), He established a new viewpoint on Israel’s religious practices.

(3) In John 5:1-15, Jesus healed a lame man on the Sabbath and then described the Sabbath as a day when He and the Father were working. The Sabbath commands of the Old Testament were based upon God’s creative power and perfection in Gen 2:1-3. As Israel rested on the seventh day, they would show the world that the Lord cares for His people (Exod 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15). Therefore, those who violated the Sabbath defamed God and were to be executed (Num 15:32-36). The Jewish leadership confronted Jesus for healing the lame man and telling him to carry his bedroll on the Sabbath (John 5:16). Jesus challenged their notion of God’s creative activity and what they believed about Him, saying, “My Father is still working, and I am working also” (John 5:17).

(4) In John 5:41-47, Jesus told His opponents that they should listen to Him since Moses wrote about Him. On the plains of Moab, just before Israel entered the Promised Land, Moses said, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him” (Deut 18:15). In John 5:41-47, Jesus concluded His self-defense before the Jews by stating that Moses spoke of Him. God had raised up a prophet from among Israel; Jesus came to His own, John said, but His people did not receive Him (John 1:11).

In John 3, Jesus referenced the Old Testament to articulate the forthcoming works of God. Jesus told Nicodemus that only those born of the Spirit will enter the kingdom of God. Jesus’ statement anticipated His teaching on the Spirit in John 7:37-39; 14:15-26; and 16:5-15. After Jesus was raised, He breathed the Spirit on the apostles (John 20:22-23). Jesus also prophesied to Nicodemus that the Son of Man would be lifted up just as Moses’ snake was lifted up in the wilderness. Jesus’ statement foreshadowed His death on the cross—of which Nicodemus was an eyewitness.

(1) In John 3:5, Jesus described new birth by water and the Spirit in language Ezekiel used to describe God’s sovereign regeneration of Israel. Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews and a prominent Pharisee, came to Jesus one night to inquire of Jesus’ status. Nicodemus, whom Jesus called “the teacher of Israel” (John 3:10), lacked understanding about the means by which one comes into the kingdom of God. When Jesus told Nicodemus that one had to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, Nicodemus was confused. Jesus said, “Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). In Ezek 36:16-37:14, the prophet announced that the Lord would renew His jealousy for Israel and glorify Himself through them by sprinkling them with water to cleanse them from their wickedness (Ezek 36:25). The Lord also said, “I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statues and carefully observe My ordinances” (Ezek 36:27). The Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy to the valley of dead bones and said that He would put His Spirit in them that they would live (Ezek 37:14). Jesus was helping Nicodemus understand his true condition. Since he was not sure about Jesus and His miraculous power, Nicodemus was not born again. Nicodemus, like his Pharisaic contemporaries, had rejected Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God on earth. Unless Nicodemus was born again, he would have no hope of understanding Jesus’ crucifixion and gift of eternal life for all who believe (John 3:14-15). Birth from above, by the cleansing of the Spirit, was Nicodemus’ only hope for assurance about the kingdom of God. John described Nicodemus’s spiritual awakening, noting that during the Feast of Tabernacles Nicodemus confronted some of the chief priests and Pharisees for not giving Jesus a fair hearing (John 7:45-52). After Jesus was crucified, Nicodemus supplied spices to embalm Jesus and assisted Joseph of Arimathea in burying Jesus in Joseph’s tomb (John 19:39).

(2) In John 3:14, Jesus said that He would be lifted up just as Moses lifted the snake in the wilderness and the people who looked upon it were saved from God’s wrath.

After wandering for almost forty years, Israel had migrated from Mount Sinai to an area less than forty miles south of the Dead Sea. Israel was approaching Canaan. But the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, denied Israel direct passage to the settlements on the far side of the Jordan river. There Israel became impatient because of the journey and complained against God and Moses. They longed to return to Egypt and grumbled that they were still having to eat manna (Num 21:5). The Lord responded by sending poisonous serpents among the people and many died from the snakebites (Num 21:6). When the people repented and cried out to Moses, the Lord instructed Moses to craft a snake and lift it up on a pole, saying, “When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover” (Num 21:8). Jesus told Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). What Moses offered temporarily; Jesus offered permanently.

In the first two chapters of his Gospel, John presented Jesus’ ministry within the backdrop of multiple Old Testament themes, allusions, and quotations.

(1) In John 1:1-5, John described Jesus’ activity in the creation account of Genesis 1. In Genesis 1, God is presented as an eternal Being. God’s activity at the beginning of creation assumes that He had no beginning—and John presented Jesus in the same category of Being when he opened his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). John presented Jesus as the agent carrying out God’s creative word in Genesis 1, writing, “All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:3). While God created human life on the sixth day of creation (Gen 1:26-30), life was in Jesus (John 1:4).

(2) In John 1:11, John wrote that Jesus came to His own people, but they rejected Him, reflecting Isaiah’s prophecy that the Lord’s servant was rejected. Isaiah announced that though the Lord’s servant would be raised up and exalted (Isa 52:13), the servant had no quality of appearance that might attract the masses. Rather, “He was despised and rejected by men” (Isa 53:3). John spoke prophetically in John 1:11, later recounting the various ways that the Jews and the leaders would spurn Jesus until the time when they handed Him over to Pilate to be crucified.

(3) In John 1:17, John wrote that the law was given through Moses, recalling God’s means of revealing Himself to Israel in the Old Testament. At the burning bush, God called Moses to reveal His great power by leading Israel out of Egypt (Exod 3:1-10). The Lord continued to reveal Himself through Moses, giving Moses the law on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-31). In John 1:17, John contrasted God’s revelation through Moses with God’s revelation in Jesus. After the Lord told Moses that—despite the people’s idolatry with the golden calf—He would accompany Israel to Canaan, Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory. The Lord allowed Moses to only see the remnants of His glory as Moses hid in a rock and the Lord passed by Him (Exod 33:12-23). But the Son, John said, has revealed God for all to see (John 1:18).

(4) In John 1:23, John the Baptist confessed that he was the voice crying out to prepare the way of the Lord, as Isaiah predicted. Beginning in Isaiah 40, the prophet proclaimed God’s grace upon His people noting that God would restore them after a season of disciplining them because of their sin. In Isa 40:3, Isaiah cried out preparing the way for the Lord to come and be gracious to His people again. Because many of the Jews were curious about John the Baptist’s ministry, some of the leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to inquire of John directly, asking, “Who are you?” (John 1:19). John denied being the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet. John claimed that he was one sent from God (John 1:6) to cry out, “Make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23) in accord with Isaiah’s prophecy in Isa 40:3 (see also Matt 3:3-6//Mark 1:2-6//Luke 3:1-6).

(5) In John 1:29, John pointed to Jesus and announced that Jesus was the lamb of God, reflecting Isaiah’s prophecy of the Lord’s suffering servant. In Isaiah 53, the prophet described the Lord’s servant as one who would be rejected and despised by people. Isaiah stated that the Lord would punish his servant “for the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6b). The Lord’s servant would be like a lamb led to the slaughter (Isa 53:7). After John endured a round of questioning from the priests and Levites the Jerusalem leadership sent to inquire about John’s identity, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).

(6) In John 1:49-51, Nathanael and Jesus proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah. When Jesus told Nathanael that He saw him even before Philip called him, Nathanael confessed Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel (John 1:49). Nathanael’s conflation of divine sonship with royal authority reflected Psalms 2, 45, and 110 as well as the Davidic covenant recorded in 2 Samuel 7. Jesus affirmed Nathanael’s confession, saying, “I assure you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). Jesus’ statement recalled the Lord’s appearance to Jacob in Gen 28:10-22. When Esau recognized that his younger brother Jacob had swindled the blessing from him, he was angry—and Isaac was concerned that Esau might seek revenge. Isaac sent Jacob away to find a wife amongst his family members. One night as Jacob stopped to rest, the Lord appeared to Jacob in a dream. Jacob saw heaven opened and ladder reaching to heaven with angels going up and down on it as the Lord stood beside him. By citing this story, Jesus presented Himself to Nathanael as God in the flesh, acknowledging Nathanael’s confession of faith.

(7) In John 2:17, John described Jesus’ cleansing of the temple as a demonstration of Jesus’ zeal for the Lord, according to Ps 69:9. The psalmist’s cry for deliverance in Psalm 69 anticipated Jesus’ suffering. The psalmist sought God’s aid both because he had sinned against the Lord and because he had endured shame for God’s name (Ps 69:5-8). The psalmist proclaimed that zeal for God’s house consumed him (Ps 69:9). John wrote that after Jesus cleansed the temple of those buying and selling in the courtyards, Jesus’ disciples remembered that Jesus’ zeal for God’s house reflected that of the psalmist. The psalmist’s opponents gave him gall and vinegar to drink (Ps 69:19-21), just as the soldiers gave Jesus on the cross (Matt 27:34//Mark 15:23).