God's Fame or My Name

The Pharisee and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away. (Matthew 16:1-4 [NASB])

Consider a boat. What makes it seaworthy? Does the name of the company that owns it give us confidence in the boat or its actual construction? We must consider that with our lives and people who teach us in our world.

The main question that arises from this passage is for what kind of sign are we looking? Do we want a sign so we can tell others the meaning and gain recognition and followers? Or, do we seek a sign so we can praise God and lead others to Him? Jesus raised this question in Matthew 16:1-4.

In this passage, we need to consider two things, the people of the story and the signs of which each speaks. The people include the odd joining of Pharisees and Sadducees to remove Jesus’ power over the people, and then Jesus Himself. The signs in this passage speak of how this group of men sought to trick Jesus and what they themselves did not understand of Jesus’ purpose on earth.

The Pharisees were the Law givers and upholders of the Jewish Law. They believed God provided the Jews with the written Law and the oral Law. The Pharisees were known for their personal piety and their teaching Jews should obey all 600+ laws in the Torah. They were a minority in the Sanhedrin (the Jewish council) yet they seemed to control the decision-making because they had popular support among the people. Because the Pharisees considered the oral tradition as equal to the written tradition, it evolved over the centuries as they added to God’s Word, which He forbade in Deuteronomy 4:2. In Matthew 9:14, 15:1-9, 23:5, 16, & 23, and Luke 11:42, the Gospels give examples of the Pharisees considering their traditions as equal to God’s Word. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and an afterlife. They believed in the Messiah setting up His kingdom on earth. Because Jesus came to earth not to set up the earthly kingdom with power and might that would overthrow their current rulers, the Romans, and because His teachings were contrary to theirs, the Pharisees feared Jesus decreased their power and leadership among the Jews, and so wanted Him gone.

The Sadducees were a part of the Jewish leaders and of the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin. They were the aristocrats of the Jews and known for corrupting their religious devotion. The Sadducees controlled the Jerusalem Temple, known as Herod’s Temple. They only accepted the written word of Moses. The Sadducees rejected the oral tradition as being equal to the written word. They rejected the supernatural, including angels, demons, heaven, hell, and bodily resurrection. The Sadducees believed the soul died with the body. They held strongly in ritual purity as prescribed by God through Moses. Because the Sadducees didn’t believe in a heaven, hell, or bodily resurrection, they had no need for a Messiah as spoken of in the works outside the written tradition and as Jesus preached.

With this understanding of the actors in these four verses, let’s consider closer what these men said. The group of men confronting Jesus asked for a sign from heaven. Jesus challenged them on that and spoke of the sign of Jonah. Were these men speaking of the same thing? The answer comes from the ultimate motive of the questions. The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. Were they testing Him to determine if He was blaspheming? Jesus will show us the truth of that in verses two and three.

First, consider what the Pharisees and Sadducees asked. They asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. This word for sign comes from the same Greek word for sign as Jesus spoke of in verses three and four, semeion, which typically means a miraculous sign to confirm or authenticate something. The motive of these religious leaders was overtly to prove Jesus was a blasphemer, but by doing that, it would prove their authority as the religious leaders of the Jews. The covert reason, Jesus would bring to light with His statement.

What was the real reason for the religious leaders asking for a sign from Jesus? In verses two and three, Jesus asked them, while the surrounding crowd listened, if they knew how to read the sign in the sky telling people when it would rain or be a fair-weather day, how did they not know how to discern the sign of the times? Jesus basically said these leaders of the Jews could read the physical signs of earth, but even as spiritual leaders, they were unable to discern the spiritual sign of the times. This statement by Jesus proved the sign for which the Pharisees and Sadducees asked of Jesus was a way people used to prove the cause they pleaded was God’s when actually they did not do that. The religious leaders asked the question to put them in an exalted place where people would continue to look at them as their leaders for disclosing Jesus as a non-Messiah and a blasphemer.

Jesus’ statement continued in verse four. He not only showed the Jewish leaders’ covert question, but He labeled them for the people who could not see what they did. He said in verse four, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” First Jesus revealed the leaders’ covert motive for the question, to raise themselves in the eyes of the Jews as spiritual leaders, and then overtly called them evil and adulterous. These Pharisees and Sadducees were evil and adulterous and leading the Jews to be the same. Jesus made the Pharisees and Sadducees a lesson for the crowds that followed Him and heard about His teachings and signs.

A lesson comes in this sign of Jonah of which Jesus spoke. The only sign the evil and adulterous would get would be what happened to Jonah. What happened to Jonah? Jesus explains this sign in Matthew 12:39-41. He said,

But He (Jesus) answered them (Pharisees and scribes) and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it because they )the Ninevites) repented at the preaching of Jonah; and something greater than Jonah is here.” [NASB]

The sign of Jonah, Jesus said, was his coming back to life three days after being taken into the deep. Jesus, like Jonah, would be dead for three days and then come back to life. He would be bodily resurrected. Jonah was a sign for the Ninevites sent by God and they repented, though later reverted to a wicked life. Jesus challenged the Jewish religious leaders. He asked how they could be spiritual leaders of God’s people when they could not read the spiritual signs of the time. They we so afraid of losing their fame and followers that they did not see the sign of God in front of them and lead the people to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. The Ninevites who repented would judge the Jews, who though they had the Messiah in front of them did not believe.

The sign of which Jesus spoke was a sign given to confirm His authority to preach, teach, heal, cleanse, and forgive. Its end purpose was to exalt the One giving the sign, God the Father. It authenticated Jesus and His eternal purpose by doing what man could not replicate or that for which man could not take credit. The Jewish leaders asked for a sign to authenticate Jesus as a blasphemer, not to exalt God but themselves so the Jews would continue to follow them. These leaders asked for signs to tell others about their abilities and greatness instead of seeing God and praising Him.

We have that choice to make every day, too. It comes down to what makes our boat seaworthy, the name on it or its Workmanship?

Will we ask so we can tell or see so we can praise?

Not all asking brings seeing God, but all seeing of God comes from asking of Him.

Likewise,

Not all telling brings praising of God, but all praise of God brings telling about Him.

Lord, so often I ask for You to show me Yourself, but then I don’t proclaim Who You are or what You’ve done. Please forgive me. Sometimes, if I am completely honest, I even claim a new insight learned, but don’t give you credit. Forgive me, LORD. I am not so smart to tell of You from my earthly insight. Help me always to see You to proclaim You. Help me realize I am but a created being who always needs to You to keep from sinning. I am weak and You are strong. If it were not so, I would not be saved now and able to proclaim Your goodness, mercy, grace, and love. You, oh Lord, are almighty and I am not. Thank you for Your love of me from the beginning of time. Thank you for Your plan to save me and for saving me from myself, my sins, and my due judgment. Lord, all I can do when faced with Yourself is prostrate myself on my face and praise You. I love You, Lord. Amen.

Are You Listening?

On April 16^th this year, I wrote an article called “FIRE: It’s a Relationship.” Since then, people have asked me more about FIRE and the basis for it. This article is an expansion on that article.

            John, in his gospel, writes many things. His whole book is written with the sole purpose being “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31 [NASB]). John showed throughout his book ways that we as hearers and readers could know Jesus as the Son of God. He told us his personal testimony. He told of the testimony through Jesus’ signs and miracles, through the Spirit, and through the Word (God’s inspired Word). Yet, there is something we must do. Paul in Romans 10:14-15a states it this way, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent” [NASB]? Unless we who know God personally tell others about Jesus, the salvation of the world, most will not know Jesus.

            In John 13:15, Jesus used the word “example” only once to His disciples. After being with the disciples for almost 3 years teaching them by word and action, before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He took His tunic off and wrapped a towel around Himself as a servant would. This is the example Jesus gave His disciples; they are to be servants to each other. Jesus reinforced this "example" He showed and spoke. Later in chapter 13, Jesus told the disciples in verse 34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35, [NASB]). Previously, Jesus said He was the fulfillment of the Law but stated that they must follow the Shema. The Shema is a Jewish Law combining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” (Luke 10:27 [NASB]). This Jesus called the greatest commandment. At the end of His time with His disciples, He added another, John 13:34-35, they were to love each other so that all people will know they are His disciples. These two commands cover love of God, love of others (outside the faith), and love among disciples.

            How are people to know Jesus? They are to come to know Jesus by us coming to know them. In the gospel of John, John states many times that Jesus knew what people were thinking, what their past was, that they were grumbling or complaining, and that certain persons needed a miracle or sign so they could believe. Jesus knew and knows all people. Jesus spoke into their lives at the point of their need. Consider Mary and Martha. Jesus could have gone to their home in Bethany before Lazarus died, but He knew them and He wanted God to receive glory. Mary and Martha believed Jesus is God’s Son and believed there would be a resurrection on the last day. They did not know that Jesus had power over life and death. By waiting until Lazarus was truly dead (4 days after his death), Jesus’ power over life and death would not be doubted, God would be given the glory, and Mary and Martha’s faith will have grown. You can look at other miracles in John and see this same thing occur – Jesus’ power over that part of life would be revealed, God would receive glory, and the faith of people would increase or occur for the first time. Jesus knows people and what they need. He meets people at the point of their need, when they are at the end of their understanding and knowledge, so that any good/miracle that occurs can only be explained as being from God. The question remains: how are people to know Jesus?

            More often than not, people come to know Jesus through His disciples speaking truth into their lives. Let me say it again; people come to meet and know Jesus through us getting to know them. By getting to know them, we hear them tell us about themselves, their families, their interests, and their religious experiences. We listen intently and we hear where they are hurting. We hear they are human, too. We hear with our ears and with the heart that Jesus regenerated in us through His love. We hear their physical and spiritual needs. In the process of listening, we earn that person’s trust. In the process of listening to them, we remember where Jesus met our need, physically and spiritually. We remember where Jesus came to us, met us, healed us, and forgave us, and where we gave our lives to Him. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:26 that the birds of the air wear beautiful plumage, have their food requirements met, and are sheltered in God’s beautiful trees and bushes. The birds did nothing; God provided for their needs. God will provide more so for the needs of His created people. Jesus stated that in Matthew 6. God provides for spiritual needs as well as temporal needs. Jesus built relationships or strengthened them at the point of a person’s need. He wants to be the provider of everything humankind needs. We must also build relationships and through building these new relationships and listening, we are given the opportunity by the other person to speak about Jesus and show how He has changed our lives, how He has met our needs, temporal and spiritual, and how He can be the fulfillment of all their own needs now and for eternity.

            Consider the I AM statements in John’s gospel. Jesus said seven things that John recorded. Jesus said, I AM the Bread of Life; I AM the Light of the world; I AM the gate for the sheep; I AM the good Shepherd; I AM the resurrection and the Life; and I AM the True Vine. Each of these has a temporal and spiritual element to it. Jesus came to be everything a human being ever needs –bread, light, shelter, guidance, life and hope, and eternal sustenance/salvation. Jesus is the fulfillment of all our needs before we ever know we have the need for them. God provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites to feed them for a day. Jesus became the Bread that would feed our spiritual need forever. God gave a light of fire before the troops of Israelites as they found their way to the Promised Land. Jesus is the Light to lead us to eternal life in God’s Kingdom. God provided a gate by which to keep out the wolves. Jesus is the gate that keeps the devil and his demons out when we have given our lives to Him. God provides shepherds for the sheep who protect them, such as David was for the actual sheep of his father and for God’s people Israel. Jesus is the Shepherd who will not run away but will fight the wolves to keep us protected in His hands. He protects those who are His own. No one before Jesus had ever beaten death and come back to life. Jesus died to be victorious over death so His children would be resurrected from the grave at the end of the time. Death does not have any hold on those who call themselves His disciples. Jesus gives eternal life to His disciples. God provides sustenance and guidance now to His children. He also provides eternal life forever. God provides the eternal guidance and remembrance of all He has taught us through our lives and the ones who have gone before us through His indwelling Holy Spirit. He gives us hope and guidance as the True Vine. We are His, adopted by Him, and grafted into His vine so that nothing can separate us from Him. This is what Jesus gives us for now and eternity and what He stated in the seven I AM statements.

            We must get to know people as Jesus knows people. We must hear them express themselves, their life, and their beliefs. Only be listening will we gain their trust to speak into their lives. Only by listening will we be able to contextualize the message of Jesus’ salvation for that particular person at that specific moment in their lives. This is relationship and our telling the gospel to them after hearing is contextualizing the Gospel for them. That is how FIRE helps us. FIRE is Family, Interests, Religious experiences, and Evangelism. FIRE makes us intentional in getting to know Jesus better each day, to have a growing relationship with Him. We must have a daily relationship with Jesus where we are learning more through His Word and through prayer with Him. Without this daily relationship, we may not know a passage of Scripture a person needs to hear as they are speaking to us. FIRE lets us know a person’s thoughts on their needs so we can show them how Jesus can fill their needs here and eternally. FIRE is how Jesus met us through others and it is how He will meet other people more often than not.

            The questions now to consider include the following. How is your relationship with God? Are you close or has it been a while since you read His Word or prayed to Him? How are your listening skills? Are you a keen listener and often hear a word from God? Are you a listener of other people or do you hear some of what they say and then begin thinking about what you will say also? We must be in an active vertical relationship with God. We must also know how to have a horizontal relationship with other people. This is what Jesus did well. He was very relational and showed us by example how to be in a relationship with God ( vertical relationship) and with one another (horizontal relationship). (These two relationship beams make a cross.) Jesus died on the cross because of these relationships, obedience to the Father and love for us created human beings.

Each of us has to make a decision: are we willing to get to know people like Jesus knows each of us so we can tell them the great news of Jesus Christ?

How Can You Learn to Believe?

          John chapter 5 ends with Jesus main question of the resistant unbelievers, the Pharisees. The main question.

How is it possible for you to believe [how can you learn to believe], you who are content to seek and receive praise and honor and glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise and honor and glory which come from Him Who alone is God?” (John 5:44, AMP).

This chapter begins with Jesus going to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival. While in the city, He noticed a man at the pool of Bethesda, which means “mercy,” who was lying on a pallet waiting for the angel of God to stir the curative waters. In this way, we hear from Jesus regarding who He is and what His purpose is. In this chapter, Jesus moved from one witness/testimony to another and ended with a searching question to the religious leaders.

            Jesus’ encounter with the sick man began with Him noticing the man and asking him, “Do you want to become well?” (vs.6, AMP). We notice that the man did not answer that question but answered with a reason why he had not become well. He replied with a statement of disbelief in his ability to get to the curative waters because no one helped him. Jesus did not ask why he was not well. He knew why the man was sick and what kept him from being well. Jesus asked if he wanted to become well. After the man’s response, Jesus commanded strongly, “Get up! Pick up your bed (mat) and walk!” (vs.8). Jesus left him with no excuse but unbelief. The man chose to believe, get up, and walk. Jesus walked off after that and the man did not know Jesus performed the miracle. The previously ill man encountered Jesus again in the temple a while later (vs. 14). The man identified Jesus. Jesus told the man, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Jesus knew this man, though the man did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God. After the second encounter, the man may have begun wondering more about Jesus. What is more important is that, with Jesus’ second comment to the man, we see the possibility that the man was ill because of God’s disciplining him for some sin in the past. Jesus, by making the man well, showed that He has the power to judge, give mercy, and offer pardon. Jesus also stated a warning to the man.

            The Pharisees entered the scene after the man was healed by Jesus. Notice they did not ask who made him well. Instead they confronted the man about his working on the Sabbath by carrying his mat. They chose not to confront the man about his healing, a miracle, but about his working, a man-made rule. The man then passed the blame for his “working” on the Sabbath back to the unknown man. The man did not declare the miracle of his health either. It was only after he learned of Jesus’ name that he told the Pharisees who made him well. The man was no longer thinking in terms of blaming someone since Jesus approached him about his sin. This man now admitted that Jesus healed him.

            After this healing and admission that Jesus was the One who did it, the Pharisees were more determined to persecute and kill Jesus because He was “working” (healing) on the Sabbath (vs. 16). This feels a bit of an extreme reaction for just healing someone. These Pharisees were brewing over something far bigger than this issue. The next encounters with the Pharisees show us their hearts and minds. In verse 18, John tells us that they were willing to kill Jesus. He was working on the Sabbath and He was making Himself out to be equal with God, to be God’s Son. Verses 19 and 20 state that Jesus can only do what the Father does, as He learns from the Father. Jesus even went so far as to say He would do even great work so they (the people) would marvel. He was able to do this because He and the Father are one and love each other. The next statement by Jesus irritated the Pharisees more. Jesus said that just as the Father gives life to the dead, so the Son gives life to whomever He wills. Jesus was claiming power over life and death. (The Pharisees only heard the literal side of this.). Jesus next stated that the Father does not judge, but Jesus has the sole responsibility to judge. There are three things Jesus has already said to the Pharisees: 1) Jesus is equal to the Father because Jesus is the Son; 2) Jesus has power over life and death; and 3) Jesus has the sole responsibility of judging people.

            Why are these three facets of Jesus’ so difficult for the Pharisees? Let us start with the first one. Jesus equating Himself with the Father, that He is the Son and has the same power and authority, was difficult for them because that meant the Pharisees  would have to honor and praise Jesus, this man from Galilee. Remember, it was said that no good thing came from Galilee . (John 1:46). They looked down on people from Galilee. In actual fact, they looked down on anyone who was not a Pharisee and they built themselves up. They did not want someone to usurp their power and authority. If they recognized Jesus as being special, then they would have to honor and praise Him, which meant they would get less praise and would not be the leader of the Jewish people. That just could not be.

            Second, Jesus statement that He has power over life and death was significant because it definitely showed His authority is from God. Who, in their knowledge, could bring someone back from the dead except God? This was testified in Ezekiel with the valley of dry bones returning to life. It also occurred when God created Adam and Eve; He formed them out of nothing, ex nihilo, and blew His breath, His Spirit, into them. Here Christ goes farther than the Pharisees were willing to understand. Jesus said that He will give them Life, eternal life. For this to occur, that meant Jesus has to be the Messiah, the Savior, because the Pharisees knew that no one would have eternal life until the Messiah came. This they did not want to acknowledge for the same reason as number one above. Also, they did not want to recognize it because it meant they had to acknowledge that Jesus is what He stated next, the judge of mankind.

            For people to have eternal life through Jesus, they must pass through judgment by Jesus. Jesus stated in verse 27 that God gave Him the sole task of judgment. If the person believed Jesus is the Son of God, then he or she would have forgiveness for their sins and eternal life in heaven. If, however, they did not believe Jesus is God’s Son, then they would also have eternity, but one of unforgiveness, one of eternal punishment. Jesus is the judge. He has provided the forgiveness for sins to those who believe He is the Son of God. For those who do not believe, there is no forgiveness of sin and they cannot be in the presence of God for eternity. They must go to eternal hell.

            These three things Jesus brought immediately to the attention of the Pharisees. Jesus did not dance around the topic. He was pointed with them. The question though is why does He do it this way. Well, the reason is Jesus knows the urgency of people needing to believe He is God’s Son. He stated it Himself in verse 34, “I simply mention all these things in order that you may be saved.” (AMP). In just 15 verses, Jesus made it plain so they could not say they did not know. What is difficult comes next; they chose not to believe. In verse 31, Jesus stated, “If I alone testify in My behalf, My testimony is not valid and cannot be worth anything.”

            From this statement by Jesus, He set forth how they can know He is who He says He is. Also from this statement, He put holes into their faith in themselves and humanity. Jesus gave four ways people could know He is the Son of God: through John the Baptist’s testimony, through Jesus’ works, through the Father, and through Scriptures. Jesus went from least important to most important. Basically, Jesus told them to put less weight on the testimony of man and the works/signs of which they hear and put more weight on what the Father and Scripture say. This will be a common theme throughout John’s writing.

            First, John states in verses 33-35 that John the Baptist was the voice in the wilderness. Jesus called John the Baptist a lamp in the wilderness in whose shine they delighted (AMP). Jesus stated that their faith should not rest on the testimony of a mere man.

            Secondly, Jesus said that the works to which the Father called Him are witness to who He is. He said that this witness was greater than that of a man, even John the Baptist (vs. 36). The testimony of man is good and Jesus encouraged us to go and preach the Gospel in Matthew 28. Even better is witnessing the signs that Jesus performs. These signs point to something, as all signs point to something. That something is Someone, Jesus Christ.

            Third, the testimony of the Father is even greater than the signs, because the Son can only do what He has seen the Father do (vs.19). Jesus said,

And the Father Who sent Me has Himself testified concerning Me. Not one of you has ever given ear to His voice or seen His form. And you have not His word  living in your hearts, because you do not believe and adhere to and trust in and rely on Him Whom He has sent. (vv.37-38, AMP)

Jesus basically stated that the Father told mankind about Jesus, His Son, but because they did not hear the Father and they did not have His Word living in their hearts, they did not believe in whom He has sent, Jesus. I am sure this came as a slap to their faces. Jesus was saying they, the Jewish religious leaders (Pharisees) did not know Yahweh or His Word. They did not have His Word in their hearts. When we jump to verse 42, Jesus told them they do not have the love of God in them. This most likely was an affront to their sense of esteem as religious leaders and as men who are supposed to be part of the chosen children of God. No wonder they wanted to kill Jesus. He was attacking their faith, their personal integrity, and worth.

            The fourth testimony comes through Scripture. Jesus said they pore over Scripture as if it will give them eternal life, when it is those Scriptures that testify about Him. The Scriptures speak of the Messiah as being the One who brings eternal life. The Scriptures cannot give eternal life. Isaiah, Moses, and David, as well as others of Old Testament times, prophesied of the Messiah’s coming to earth and in what manner. They also spoke of what He would do and how the people would know it was Him. The Pharisees chose not to acknowledge these or that they pointed to Jesus. Instead, they would rather  have been seen poring over the Scriptures.

            From this point in John 5, Jesus pointedly showed that Jesus did not come in His own name, but in the Father, nor did He do miracles in His own power, but the Father’s. The Pharisees and other people chose not to believe He is the Son. Yet, if another man arrived talking about himself and touting his abilities, the Pharisees and people believed him and flocked to hear and see him. Jesus told them that their seeing him showed they accepted and approved him, but they would not approve Jesus who is witnessed of and testified to in these four ways, not by Himself. Jesus said then, “How is it possible for you to believe; you who receive praise and honor and glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise and honor and glory which come from Him who alone is God?” (vs.44, AMP). How will you be able to believe if you do not trust the testimony of these four witnesses, but will trust the testimony of a person for himself? What will it take for you to believe that I am God’s Son? If they would not believe in the Son, then they knew from the Scripture that Moses would judge them. Moses believed that Jesus would come. Why could they not? It would be Moses who judges their unbelief because they did not believe his testimony either. (See Genesis 3:5, 12:3, Deuteronomy 18:15.) By their not believing Jesus is the Messiah, they were not believing Moses whom they hold up as their standard. It will be Moses who will accuse them. If they cannot believe the man who testified to them, who led them out of Egypt, who spoke with God for them, and who brought the Ten Commandments to them, how would they believe Jesus with all those witnesses?

            It all comes back to that one verse. Verse 34 brings it all back to the main point. Jesus says, “I simply mention all these things in order that you may be saved.” Jesus, like the Father, does not want anyone to be lost to eternal hell. He made each of us so we could be in relationship with Him. He desires to have a relationship with us. Yahweh provided a way for us to return to Him through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. Through the witness of these four, Jesus tells us three things about Himself: 1) Jesus is equal to the Father because Jesus is the Son; 2) Jesus has power over life and death; and 3) Jesus has the sole responsibility of judging people. The question comes to each of us in Jesus’ own words in verse 44, “How is it possible for you to believe?” (AMP). What will it take for you to believe?