The Book of John 3 by Edgar Parkyns

1986-1987 Pinecrest Bible Training Center Salisbury Center, New York Tape 3 of 9 – [Labeled] John Chapters 2 & 3 (But it also covers Chapter 4 and Part of Chapter 5) Transcribed July and August, 2004 Note from the transcriber: April, 2004 Although every effort was made to transcribe this work accurately and to convey the original intent of the speakers, due to the very poor condition of the source tapes, it was an impossible task. The tapes were made 18 years ago and they sound like they were made on a standalone tape recorder sitting somewhere in the room, rather than directly off the amplification system. The transcriber was not working from the master tapes, but was working from tapes that are at least third generation copies. There were sections that were so muffled, it was impossible to tell if it was part of the class or just some side conversation or noise in the room. Even though the tapes were listened to over and over again, many words still could not be made out. If it was an adjective or something that seemed to enhance the verbiage, but that didn’t seem to be essential to it’s meaning, it was usually omitted. If it was determined that a word or statement was there and that it might be meaningful, an underscore was added to indicate its presence. Sometimes a word was inaudible or only partially audible. In those cases, if the meaning was clear, a word was usually substituted to complete the sentence, even though it might not be the one originally spoken. Sometimes the best guess was better than no guess at all. Most of us, when we speak, start sentences and then backtrack and reword them. Most of that sort of thing was eliminated in the transcript. Tape 3, side 1 CONTINUATION OF CLASS 4 – JOHN CHAPTER 2 There is the _________. That has to be broken through. And different evangelists try different methods of breaking through. In fact that’s one of the reasons why I have a song service. So far this cure has to be pure praise. Wonderful! But very often in evangelistic outreach, the great idea is to wake people up and get them in acceptance in life here for song service. I’m not sure if it’s the best way, but that’s the idea. There’s nothing complicated. Halleluia. Methodology is dealing with stubborn human nature. Student: _________ the Holy Spirit leads in whatever direction because no matter what our methods might be they are dead and they’re infected. You can try to stir people up. Or you can just try to enter into pure praise even though a takes a while to get there. Edgar Parkyns: Yes. But I think that’s the ideal when God sees men enter into pure praise. Praise the Lord. We can get hold of somebody in that atmosphere, which can’t be accomplished by any other performing. But we are very human and our physical and natural state does need a little _______. For instance, if you’re all sitting on thorn pins, you wouldn’t pay as much attention as you are doing now. You would have something to distract you. And anything that can deal with that and free you from distraction and enable you to turn your eyes upon Jesus is the better. For in the midst of it, the line between man and what God does [Bell rings] you’ll have that indicated in…. So they went everywhere – God working with man and confirming the word with signs following. So that there is the effective Christian work, not all God, not all man, but God is working with men. So that will save you from the extremes. Halleluia! Well, I believe I’m supposed to be taking the next period with you, too. So that gives us a lot of great happiness….. [Tape turned off] END OF CLASS 4 CLASS 5 – JOHN CHAPTER 3 NICODEMUS John 3:1-3 ….account of Nicodemus, possibly the ruler of the Jews. There’s a definite answer to all that. He was probably someone quite high up in the synagogue system. And it may have been his high reputation that made him come to Jesus by night. He didn’t want to have anything to spoil the situation. And so he came along just in case things should be wrong. JESUS HAD A MINISTRY BEFORE MARK 1 John 3:2 The first thing he spoke of was the impact that Christ’s ministry had already had down in Jerusalem. This is one of the indications we have that there was a ministry, which began before Mark chapter 1. And Nicodemus says to Him, “We know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. [John 3:2]” NICODEMUS MUST BE BORN AGAIN John 3:3 Jesus sees right through the façade of his approach and He sees a hungry heart that wants personal and living truth. And so He brings him right to the point of his own secret. “Truly, truly, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,” born from above, “he cannot see the kingdom of God [John 3:3].” RELGION WON’T SAVE YOU All your religion, Nicodemus; all your training and background; all your synagogue service, it is not sufficient. Jesus doesn’t say it’s bad; He just says there’s something else and that is birth from above. So there is the difference between being religious and coming into the newness of life. A lot of cheap evangelism, I think, reduces what Jesus is saying. But there is a renewing of the Holy Ghost, which changes a person right from the inside. It’s not imitated; it’s genuine. YOU CAN”T GO BACK TO THE WOMB, BUT THERE IS A WAY FORWARD John 3:5-6 As Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [John 3:6].” It is perhaps a little guide to us that is at the very beginning of the gospel story the Son of God was incarnate and was introduced to this world experience and disorder in the humble process of the virgin birth. In fact Nicodemus is conscious that there is a link here and so he comes up in verse 4 and asks, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” I dare say Nicodemus wishes he could. He had spent his life in religion and it never satisfied Him. He had tried. He had served. He had gained a decent reputation. But there was something in him, which knew that reality hadn’t been reached yet. And I believe there might have been a great longing in his heart to come fresh from the womb and make a new beginning. And he knew that the thing he longed for was in the gospel. The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on. Not all your piety nor wit can lure it back to cancel half a line, nor tears wash out the words. The river has gone under the bridge. Your life has built in experiences and results, and there’s no way backwards. But Jesus presses on that there is a way forwards. Halleluia! “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God [John 3:5].” THE WASHING AND RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST (WASHING DEALS WITH THE PAST; RENEWING DEALS WITH THE PRESENT) Titus 3:5-7 I think it is Peter who speaks about the washing [He starts writing on the blackboard] of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost in St Matthew [Actually, it’s Paul in Titus 3:5]. The washing deals with the past. The renewing deals with the present. The washing of regeneration shows there is a washing here which is not quite the same as that which John speaks about when he says the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin. This is a washing and not a judicial forgiveness, but of inward renewing. Praise the Lord. You can understand that there is more to it than mere evangelical response. Yes. [Student: Titus 3:5] Thank you. Titus 3:5. Good. GRACE IS THE GIFT; FAITH IS THE HAND THAT GRANTS IT Let’s have a look at the context. Titus 3:5. Someone read it out for us, please. Halleluia! “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” And the next verse says, “Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour [Titus 3:6].” You might as well have the next verse, too. For isn’t it logical? He builds up his case verse by verse. “That being justified by his grace [Titus 3:7],” Elsewhere he speaks of being justified by faith [Romans 3:28; Romans 5:1; Galatians 3:24] and rightly so. Faith is the hand that grants the gift. The gift is the grace, the free offer of God. God offers us the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost and the little response from you is faith. Praise the Lord. “By grace are ye saved through faith [Ephesians 2:8].” And then Paul says in Romans [He meant Ephesians], that faith isn’t even of yourselves. “It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]” STANDING IN STATE: BRETHREN COMPLETE IN HIM We move into a new dimension when we touch Christ and when Christ touches us: the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So there is a justification of grace. Is your standing written in like this? [He thumps the podium] Who knows about the brethren? Do you know? Standing. [He’s writing on the board again.] And what’s the other word? Do you remember? [Student: I don’t.] Edgar Parkyns: State. Standing in state. If you are really His, your standing is “you are complete in Christ”. Your great elder Brother and your Great High Priest stands there as your representative, and you are complete in Him. Even God isn’t ashamed of you and Jesus is not ashamed to call you his brethren. Standing, not because you’re so wonderfully holy or because you all wear sober garments and things like that. But your standing is in Christ. In Christ. But that’s not the whole picture. Your state is regeneration. Halleluia! New birth, like the new standing. A new heart. Praise the Lord. REGENERATION RECEIVED THROUGH THE WORD John 3:5 So Nicodemus is puzzled by this tremendous challenge of Jesus. And he longs for a new beginning, but he doesn’t see how he can get it. Jesus continues in verse 5 to press the point. “I say unto thee.” “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” The washing of regeneration – I think there’s another scripture around here – is the washing of regeneration by the Word. That’s the agent. It’s the received word, the believed word, the promise of God in Christ Jesus, which is the cleansing agent. The washing of the word. YE (EVERYBODY) MUST BE BORN AGAIN John 3:7 And then verse 7, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” I’m glad sometimes for the good ole KJV for it does sometimes bring to us hidden nuances tucked away there in the Greek. “Marvel not that I said unto thee,” Singular, Nicodemus. “Ye.” That’s plural. That’s not Nicodemus. That’s the whole lot of you. “Ye must be born again.” None of your wonderful religion, even though God made it in the first place, is good enough. Ye must all, the whole lot. Ye must be born again. THE WIND BLOWS AND SO DOES THE SPIRIT John 3:8 And Nicodemus is still puzzling about “how can it be?” Maybe this conversation reminds me that wasn’t I [? He’s coughing], wasn’t it? It’s quite likely they were outside in a garden or on a rooftop. And perhaps at that very moment a wind is blowing through the garden disturbing the trees. When I was a kid, I thought quite a bit about cause and effects. But I thought that when a tree waved its branches, the wind began to blow. I got my cause and effects mixed up. And so Jesus uses this illustration and He says, “The wind blows where it wants to go and you hear the sound. You can’t tell whence it cometh and whither it goes.” It’s there. It happened. It changes the tree. It turns the leaves silver in the moonlight. But you don’t know where the wind came from. It’s just indefinable. THE CRY OF DESPERATION And so He says, “Everyone that’s born of the Spirit, it is not accomplished by reading a theological text book. And it isn’t always accomplished by quoting a text of scripture.” And yet somehow God meets the hungry heart. Praise the Lord. He hears the cry. He hears the cry of desperation. Sometimes it seems dreadful to be an area in us, which can register despair, but thank God for it. If it wasn’t for despair no one would ever get born again. HE QUOTED A JOHN WESLEY SONG YESTERDAY It has the power to. I think I quoted John Wesley yesterday, didn’t I?. “Yield to me now, for I am weak.” His song is based on Jacob wrestling with the angel. And he fixes that Old Testament experience and he relates it to his own struggling in the things of the Spirit. “Yield to me now, for I am weak, But confident in self-despair, Speak to me now in blessings speak Be conquered by my instant prayer; Speak or thou never hence shall move, And tell me if thy name be love.” Oh, God, bring me out of this self-centeredness into an awareness of God. Halleluia. The new birth. Tell me if I’m __________ enough. And then the next verse comes to my mind. “‘Tis Love! 'tis Love! thou diedst for me! I hear thy whisper in my heart; The morning breaks, the shadows flee, Nor wilt thou with the night depart, To me, to all, thy mercies move; Thy nature and thy name is Love.” Praise the Lord. The discovery of the awakened spirit. (THE ENTIRE SONG (Found on the Internet by the transcriber): From: Collection of Hymns, for Use of the People Called Methodists, by John Wesley 1889 “Wrestling Jacob. Genesis xxxii. 24 - 31. (Hymn 140) 1 COME, O thou Traveller unknown, Whom still I hold, but cannot see! My company before is gone, And I am left alone with thee; With thee all night I mean to stay, And wrestle till the break of day. 2 I need not tell thee who I am, My misery and sin declare; Thyself hast called me by my name, Look on thy hands, and read it there; But who, I ask thee, who art Thou? Tell me Thy name, and tell me now. 3 In vain thou strugglest to get free, I never will unloose my hold! Art thou the Man that died for me? The secret of thy love unfold; Wrestling, I will not let thee go, Till I thy name, thy nature know. 4 Wilt thou not yet to me reveal Thy new, unutterable name? Tell me, I still beseech thee, tell; To know it now resolved I am; Wrestling, I will not let thee go, Till I thy name, thy nature know. 5 What though my shrinking flesh complain, And murmur to contend so long? I rise superior to my pain, When I am weak, then I am strong And when my all of strength shall fail, I shall with the God-man prevail. The Second Part (Hymn 141) 1 YIELD to me now, for I am weak, But confident in self-despair; Speak to my heart, in blessings speak, Be conquered by my instant prayer; Speak, or thou never hence shalt move, And tell me if thy name is Love. 2 'Tis Love! 'tis Love! thou diedst for me! I hear thy whisper in my heart; The morning breaks, the shadows flee, Pure, universal love thou art; To me, to all, thy bowels move; Thy nature and thy name is Love. 3 My prayer hath power with God; the grace Unspeakable I now receive; Through faith I see thee face to face, I see thee face to face, and live! In vain I have not wept and strove; Thy nature and thy name is Love. 4 I know thee, Saviour, who thou art. Jesus, the feeble sinner's friend; Nor wilt thou with the night depart. But stay and love me to the end, Thy mercies never shall remove; Thy nature and thy name is Love. 5 The Sun of righteousness on me Hath rose with healing in his wings, Withered my nature's strength; from thee My soul its life and succour brings; My help is all laid up above; Thy nature and thy name is Love. 6 Contented now upon my thigh I halt, till life's short journey end; All helplessness, all weakness, I On thee alone for strength depend, Nor have I power from thee to move; Thy nature and thy name is Love. 7 Lame as I am, I take the prey, Hell, earth, and sin, with ease o'ercome; I leap for joy, pursue my way, And as a bounding hart fly home, Through all eternity to prove Thy nature and thy name is Love.” JESUS JABS HEAD KNOWLEDGE John 3:9-10 Nicodemus is still puzzled. Blessing is honest. His pharisaical training doesn’t render him impervious to truth. There’s still a longing in his heart for reality. So he says, “How can these things be?” And Jesus comes right back at him in the area of his old self-confidence and gives a little thrust. “Art thou a master,” or “Art thou the master,” perhaps, “in Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, ‘We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.’” JOHN WAS AN EYE-EITNESS Edgar Parkyns: Who’s the “we”? Student: ________________ . Edgar Parkyns: No, I don’t think so. I don’t think so. You may. You may think so. I don’t think so. Another student: He’s talking about John the Baptist. Edgar Parkyns: No, but you’re getting there. Student: Jesus. Edgar Parkyns: Jesus and John, [The bell rings] the man who wrote the gospel. As for the meeting by night…. and John is able to recall the whole conversation. So he was an eyewitness of it. How nice of Jesus to include him and say, “We know. My John. My John here with me and I… we both know who touched God.” So when you read John’s epistle you’ll understand he has a very special relationship to Jesus. We speak that we do now testify that we have seen. I think this morning’s chapel service emphasized the glorious possibility of knowing God in an intimate and vital way. Praise the Lord. Don’t smooth it over. Don’t brush the question under the mat. Bring it out and don’t be satisfied until you know, for you shall know. “Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled,” said Jesus. And so if you’re the most dried up and desperate artificial Christian for miles around, if you hunger and thirst you shall be filled. Praise God. OLD TESTAMENT ILLUSTRATION OF THE NEW BIRTH John 3, 14-17 Our Lord is going to bring two demonstrations from…. Let me see. Is it two? Another demonstration. Not now from that which is local and immediate, but from the scripture. And he’s going to talk about it. Verse 14: most of the most powerful demonstrations of the mystery of new birth in the whole Bible. So have a look at it. Verse 14, 15, leading to 16 and 17. There is a cord, this chapter. Come up with a little résumé of Moses and the serpent in the wilderness: a God-prepared and a God-chosen illustration of new birth. Praise the Lord. I didn’t make it up. Even Jesus didn’t, may I say? originate it in that sense. It came away from a thousand years before as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. HOMEWORK So have a look at it and in our next meeting, come and give us a good contribution. I think that’s our time, isn’t it? [Tape turned off] END OF CLASS 5 CLASS 6 – JOHN CHAPTER 3, CONTINUED, AND JOHN CHAPTER 4 AND 5 AN OLD TESTAMENT PICTURE OF THE NEW BIRTH: MOSES LIFTS UP A STAFF WITH A SERPENT John 3:14-17 Moses lifting up the serpent. Do you remember the occasion on which it occurred? [Student: People getting bit by snakes.] Yes. And why were they getting bitten by snakes? [Student: The wrath of God.] Yes, it was the wrath of God against their unbelief and rebellion. And they brought the inevitable obverse of God’s image, God’s…. upon them. The coin of mercy has an obverse in judgment. One way it’s mercy; the other way it’s judgment. And God had shown mercy upon mercy in bringing them out of Egypt, but they had been so obstinate, so persistent in their continued grumbling born out of unbelief that at last God had to act in judgment. And it was terrifying. There was no remedy for it. The snakes were too manifold. I have no doubt but when the snakes first appeared, they killed a few with a stick or two or something. But eventually the disaster was too great. And God gave Moses a ridiculous remedy. Halleluia! Make a serpent of brass. And I guess Moses and his metal workers got to work at top speed. The brazen serpent. And he lifted it up on….a sign of near the end of the age [laughter. The chalk broke or something.] He lifted it up on a pole. And the pole was a banner pole on which they hung their banners. [He’s drawing on the blackboard] Had a little thing sitting after the wilderness [?]. And he lifted up a serpent on the pole for a symbol. JESUS WAS MADE SIN I had a young friend who just converted. He said, “That’s not a picture of Jesus. [Whatever he drew on the blackboard.] That’s ugly.” But he soon learned that the beautiful Son of God was made sin for us. Halleluia! I take it to children sometime, because we might as well complete the picture. [Still drawing] He was made sin for us. Praise the Lord. He didn’t just die as an example or to give us a moral uplift. He was identified, totally in the mystery of God’s dealings, totally with human sin. He became the elder brother, the head of a new race. And the beautiful spotless Jesus was made sin. Student #1: Brother Parkyns. Edgar Parkyns: Yes. Student #1: Was it that He was actually made to be sin or was He a sin offering for the sin of the whole world? Edgar Parkyns: Sin offering and sin are the same word in the Hebrew. So you’re at liberty to see what you can see. We’re touching the borderland of the deepest secrets of God and man. And, let me put it this way, Moses raised up the serpent on the pole. And the remedy was quite ridiculous: that whoever looked would live. And that was not common sense. It was super sense. Halleluia. Student #2: Do you think that bronze could be symbolic of redemption? Edgar Parkyns: Bronze is often the symbol of judgment. Student #2: Judgment? Edgar Parkyns: Yes. Student #2: Is that right? Yes. He was lifted up in divine judgment. You’re going to have the great privilege of listening to a solo. [a song] Don’t run away, just….. [Tape Turned Off Briefly While Edgar Parkyns Sings] …..you’d stay, I suppose, a long, long time meditating around that. But that’s not my job. NO CONDEMNATION John 3:17-18 We’ve got to move on and try get John’s gospel well into our hearts. And then the little word in verse 17 is one we should bear in mind. “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” So if you find yourself drifting into an exaggerated note of condemnation in your preaching you may be getting off track. Try and keep the saving mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ central in your word. We’re here to proclaim him. “God sent not his Son into the world to…. [He starts coughing. A student asks, “Do you want a glass of water, sir? He answers, “No. That little frog will die down presently.” Laughter] And then the lovely word of no condemnation in verse 18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned.” There was simplicity in the gospel, a heart-simplicity, a central thing. And that little song I hear myself croaking just now has a bearing. There is a life for a look at the Crucified One. The law tells you all about what’s wrong with you and what you should do right. But then comes this super beaming New Testament revelation concerning Jesus Christ. “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” And that amazing verse 18, verse of assurance. “He that believeth on him is not condemned.” Praise the Lord. You can’t take it unless you stop comparing other people. You jam the works up somewhere. I don’t know quite how it is. But there has to be a channel of mercy which starts at its source and flows right up without hindrance. Edgar Parkyns: Yes. Student: Can I ask you a question about… Edgar Parkyns: Hmmm. Student: _____ that key verse about, ah, where it says in the Old Testament we’re to be watchmen? About, you know, it says…. can you… Edgar Parkyns: Wait a minute. Let us find the verse you’re talking about. Student: I’m not sure what number it is. I think…. I’m not real sure. But I know it’s something about when ye watchmen. If they send them, the blood will be on you. Edgar Parkyns: All right then find it. Student #2: Ezekiel 33? Edgar Parkyns: Hmmmm? Student #2: Ezekiel 33? Edgar Parkyns: Ezekiel 33. Student #2: Ah, 6. Edgar Parkyns: All right. Um. “See, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman,” verse 7, “over the house of Israel.” Is that where he set you? Student: _______________. Edgar Parkyns: Then the verse applies. Ordinary believers are just set to be a light in the world. So be careful if you have a critical spirit that you don’t put yourself in a false position. Not everybody is set to be a watchman over the house. They have their own particular setting and calling. Your major task is to let the light of Jesus Christ shine out through you. An oil lamp is not usually intended to burn the house down. It is just intended to give light. So be careful in this area. So if thou art, O, son of man, a watchman, fine. You’re responsible to God. But as far as I can see our major call is to be a light. So, every scripture doesn’t apply to every one of us. But there are some things that do. And Jesus said, “Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works: [Matt. 5:16]” your loving kindness, your sweetness, your Christ-likeness, and not say what a wonderful chap you are; but you’ll be so genuine that they’ll glorify your Father in heaven. Halleluia! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a company of believers like that? All right. Does that answer your question? Praise the Lord. Natural priorities. REAL CONDEMNATION: WE RUN FROM THE LIGHT John 3:19 John Chapter 3 then. Ah, the great no condemnation verses 17 and 18. And then the real condemnation: “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [John 3:19]” So real condemnation is when the light comes in and people run away from it. I’m reminded of a visit I paid to my friend’s parents. They had bought an old inn, which had a bakery. And do what they could, there were certain inhabitants they hadn’t succeeded in disposing of. He said to me, “Come down in the basement.” And there he put on the light. Whoa!! Beetles everywhere running for shelter. They couldn’t stand the light, and in about 5 seconds there wasn’t a beetle to be seen. I remember it. Hid in the shadows. But there it ‘tis. We love the darkness; run for cover. THE CORE OF THE GOSPEL: FORGIVENESS But forgiven sinners don’t need to run. Praise the Lord. Paul could say, “Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” [I Tim. 1:15] He was a forgiven sinner. And he didn’t have to run. Halleluia! So that’s the core. This gospel is a gospel of forgiveness, so that you don’t have to run from the light, but run to the light. Halleluia. BAPTIZING IN AENON John 3:22-24 John 3 and verse 22. Jesus, as you can see, did quite a bit of traveling up and down Palestine. Now He knew just what to do; he moved south into the land of Judea and he baptized with them. And John is also “baptizing in Aenon near to Salem,” I’ve been there to the…. “because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.” I’ve been to the place, which is thought to be Aenon. It’s not on the Jordan at all, but on a very healthy, fresh tributary to the Jordan and about 5 miles from the [Jordan] river. And there’s a delightful, clean pool there to this day about twice the size of this room, I suppose. Sweet and fresh and clean and still it flows abundantly. And it’s the ideal spot for a baptism. You’d need to jump to it if you saw it. “John wasn’t yet cast into prison.” [John 3:24] JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS CONTENT IN HIS PLACE John 3:25-36 Verse 25 is an argument, question, between John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And some people came to John where he was baptizing and he says, “He that was with thee beyond Jordan is now come over this way, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men are come to him. [John 3:26]” You’re losing your following, John. And dear John wasn’t upset. He knew his place and he knew his calling and there was no false ambition in him. Praise the Lord. What a difference there is between human ambition and divine calling. Very often the two are mixed up, and the Lord has to sort them out. But don’t go into a profound sulk just because the Lord told you off for being proud, and say, “Well, I’m no good. I can’t do anything. So there.” And walk off. Keep your heart open to God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness. So John said, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. [John 3:27]” You heard me and I said, “I am not Messiah. I am sent before Him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom [John 3:28-29].” Good ole John is moving ahead. He’s anticipating the highest…. End of Side One Beginning of Side Two JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS CONTENT IN HIS PLACE, continued John 3:25-36 “…the best man would stand and rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. [John 3:29-30]” Praise the Lord. What a lovely spirit is in their hands. But isn’t it a shame his reward was to be put in prison and eventually beheaded. God doesn’t set forth all of His accounts in ____________. But praise the Lord for that blessedness. “He that cometh from above is above all,” says God. “He that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. [John 3:31-32]” Dear John, filled with the Holy Ghost speaking of mighty things of celebration. “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. [John 3:33-34]” TWO JOHNS SPEAKING I don’t know if these last two verses are John the Baptist or John the Evangelist. Supposedly, the last three verses are John the Evangelist. You see, there are two John’s in this gospel speaking: John the Baptist and John the Evangelist who writes the book. And every now and again you flip from one to the other. There are no quotation marks in the Greek, so you can just put them any way you feel led on. Verse 34. This might be John the Evangelist coming. “He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. [John 3:34-36]” That sounds to me like the comment of John the Evangelist, when you look at his epistles and compare them to a few pieces of what we call Johani [?Spelling?] language. But I can’t be quite sure about that, because there are Johani [?Spelling?] passages in the other evangelists. Did you know that? I think Luke 11 will provide us with one. Halleluia! Hmmm! No, Luke 10. Luke 10:21. You would think this was written by John. If you held up the gospels and compared them and felt the atmosphere you would say here is one of those that John had ________ in Luke 10. “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, ‘I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my father, and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.’” Doesn’t that sound like John’s gospel? People who look into these things like to call it Johani [?Spelling ?] passages. And it looks as though John is recording more the intimate conversations of Jesus, whereas the other evangelists usually speak of his public utterances. And here is a little passage that gives away a little _______ and the structures. So look behind the text and see where the wind blows. JOHN CHAPTER 4 JESUS DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST John 4:1-3 Now we’re through with John chapter 3. Now let’s move on to chapter 4. And here’s another journey that Jesus made. “When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. [John 4:1-3]” He didn’t want to spoil the field for John. John hadn’t many more months in which to give a testimony. Before long, He knew, he would be imprisoned and wouldn’t escape. And so his head was delivered to the daughter of Herodias on a plate. He knew what was coming and He didn’t intervene to deliver him. Odd, isn’t it? I’m sure John would rather it had been different. But God doesn’t always do things fair in real life. JESUS GOES THROUGH SAMARIA John 4:4 So Jesus leaves the area of Judea and moves up north again, “And He must needs go through Samaria [John 4:4].” Usually when you travel from the south to the north and you’re a Jew, you went down to Jordan and crossed the Jordan and went up the east side so as not to contact Samaritans. The Jews hated them. You know who they were, don’t you? They were an imported group – way back 400 years before. They were imported and tried hard to be Jews and the Jews wouldn’t receive them. And so they set up their own temple up on Mt. Gerizim. And the Jews hated the sight of Samaritans. Student: When Jesus was baptizing, was he doing a baptism of repentance or was it a baptism into good works? Edgar Parkyns: I think it was still baptism of repentance. That’s why He would get out of John the Baptist’s way. Because they were soaking in the same thing and there would be no need for John’s ministry. I don’t think the baptism in Jesus’ name was inaugurated until the Church age. [An inaudible minor dialogue – he’s setting up and pointing out things on the map.] He left Judea. Normally – Here’s Jerusalem – Normally to avoid the Samaritan villages here, you went down to Jordan, crossed it at the falls of Jericho, and came up this way. And when you reached the Galilee area, you came back again. The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. So it was somewhat of a surprise when Jesus did not go that route, but went direct. I don’t know if he went up by Jordan or over the hill. But He went up direct. I think it must have been that ____ route to Samaria, quite contrary to the normal Jewish practice. And there at Samaria – how wonderfully these John’s chapters work out. In John 3, Jesus speaks to the High Pharisee. In John 4 He speaks to this sorry Samaritan woman. Wonderful! THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL – THE SIXTH HOUR John 4:6 And John said he sat back on the well. I don’t know where John’s writing, but great isn’t it? John [He meant Jesus], right at that moment, was giving a demonstration to whoever was there. He sat right on the well. A little demonstration of _______. There cometh the woman from Samaria to draw water. Probably she comes near mid-day instead of the early hours of the morning, because Samaritans are very punctilious about matters moral, because they were trying to out-rival the Jews in being holy. And so this poor woman came apparently toward the middle of the day. The sixth hour is probably the middle of the day. Their methods of counting time varied. Sometimes they started time from sunrise and sometimes from sunset. Here the sixth hour indicates they were reckoning from sunrise. And she comes there in the middle of the day. Jesus is weary; sits on the well. A POINT OF CONTACT – “GIVE ME.” John 4:7-9 And as the woman approaches to let down her water pot, Jesus, who has turned around, having sent His disciples into the city, speaks to her and makes her a simple request, “Give me.” The woman looked at him and He’s obviously Jewish. His appearance, his clothing marks Him as Jewish. And she sort of shrinks back from Him, and she says, “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. [John 4:9]” Now I’m sure that Jesus could have gotten a drink several other ways, but He was making a contact, wasn’t He? And one of the good ways to make a contact was to ask a favor. It is the most disarming way. Jesus is an expert at ______. And He finds a point of contact. At the well, He’s there with no vitals. He’s a stranger on the way. His disciples have left the scene and He’s made His point of contact. And so He gets the woman who normally would not a approach him, being a man and a Jew, to come and talk. This is one of the great secrets, isn’t it? Talk to people; give them a point of contact. And there it was. LIVING WATER John 4:10-15 And so Jesus answered and said, “If thou knewest the gift of God.” Gift of God was one of the names for good drinking water – Gift of God. So He’s still playing to fish. “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, ‘Give me to drink;’ thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. [John 4:10]” There’s this intrigue. “Thou hast nothing to draw with and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? [John 4:11]” And she looks at him and a kind of suspicion crosses her sinful mind, and she says, “Are you greater than father Jacob? [John 4:12]” Our father Jacob. You see how the Samaritans wanted to get in on it because they were a mixed people. “which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children and his cattle? [John 4:12]” It must have been some well. My. And the well was deep. “Jesus answered and said, ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water’ – indicating the well – ‘shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him,’” And I think probably here He indicated Himself, “‘shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ [John 4:13-14]” You might intrigue a puzzle, but she might not entirely there [?]. And so she says, “Give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. [John 4:15]” Oh, the conversation is clinging. And now the caldron is stirred. GO CALL THY HUSBAND John 4:16 Jesus says, “Go, call thy husband and come back again. [John 4:16]” He’s perfectly correct . As a man, He’s not supposed to be talking to a woman like this. He certainly could say, “Go, call thy husband and come to me.” And He had cast an arrow a little bit too close to an old wound. And she said, “I have no husband.” He said, “That’s right. You have had five husbands, and the man you’re living with now is not your husband.” Whew. Now she’s really in a trap and she would like to wiggle herself out. [Laughter] And quickly changes the subject neatly. CHANGED SUBJECT: WORSHIP John 4:19-24 She said, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in the mountain,” Mt Gerizim that rises above the village to this day, “and ye say that in Jerusalem…” Ye. That’s plural. Now this is the good ole King James and lets you check to see whether it is plural. “Ye”, that’s you Jews, “say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said, “Woman, Believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye who worship at Mt. Gerizim know not what.” My goodness. And it’s true. They were often confused. And the Jews used to play with them as if they were an ________________ up on their cheribims. __________________________. Ye worship ye know not what. We Jews know what we worship. For salvation is of the Jew. Make no mistake, turning to Mt. Gerizim is only a substitute. It’s not real. “Salvation is of the Jews. “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. [John 4:22-24]” HE SPEAKS OF THE HIGHEST THINGS TO A SIMPLE WOMAN Isn’t it a simple word, a revelation like that? It doesn’t make sense, does it? That’s the sort of dissertation you should get an offence on. In the temple He told everybody off and then turned them over. And here is a simple woman with a rotten history and He talked to her about the highest spiritual things. Amen. Wonderful. There’s a flame stirring up from amidst the ashes of the most corrupt heart. And we should note that and not write people off because we know that they’ve sinned. Praise the Lord. Very often there is a preparatory work of the Holy Spirit: stirring, moving a little flame in the hearts of the most unlikely people. Praise God. Man will get loosened up; realize how wide God’s love is. JESUS REVEALS HE IS THE MESSIAH TO THE LOWLY SAMARITANS John 4:26 And the woman is moving along now wonderfully and she responds and she says, “I know the Messiah, the Christ, is coming. And He will tell us all things.” And Jesus said, “I that speak unto thee, I am He. [John 4:26]” Wonderful! He didn’t show these things to great, wonderful people, to the synagogue rulers and such like that. To Nicodemus He said, “You must be born again,” and upset the poor fellow totally. But to this woman He opened it up – the secret of His faith. Halleluia! And this message, New Testament faith of ours, is not just a code or series of rules, it’s _________________. Halleluia! You can finally stand up. “Yes. I didn’t ask any questions.” And the woman walked off. She didn’t want any more __________. But she went back to the town and said, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did. He looked right into my heart and he knows all about me. Is not this the Christ []?” And the men came out. Well, well, well. Wonderufl! Came out to see Jesus. This simple woman has become ______ for the gospel, crying, “Have mercy.” And they came out. And He spent some time with them.

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The Book of John 3

Edgar Parkyns

Edgar F. Parkyns (1909 - 1987)

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