John: Gospel According to John's Questions and Answers
Question 1
What comparison can be drawn from Moses lifting up the serpent and Jesus being lifted up?
Answer
The core is belief, beholding what God had caused to be lifted up and accepting God's provision of deliverance through what/who was lifted up. As those who had been bitten and were dying received life by looking up and beholding the bronze serpent that was lifted up, even so, we receive life, eternal life, by beholding and believing in the name of the Son of God. In the name of the Savior who was lifted up on the cross for our sins.
As stated in 1 John 5:11-13:
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Question 2
From John chapter 4, what did Jesus mean by living water?
Answer
Water springing in to everlasting life, with joy at its core as stated in Isaiah 12:3:
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”.
Further in John 7:37-39, living water comes through having the Holy Spirit. This is the water (spring) of life that gives life. Life (the nature of God, life of God, healing, deliverance, the way of eternal life) can be manifested to others through believers.
Question 3
Why were the Jews trying to stone Jesus when He referred to Himself as 'I AM’?
Answer
In Exodus 3, God Almighty referred to Himself as 'I AM THAT I AM’. When Jesus stated that He is ‘I AM’, He was stating that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Jews. The Jews found this difficult to swallow, that the man they are seeing before them is God.
Similarly, the world may not comprehend that we are children of God (came forth from God with the DNA, nature and characteristics of God as stated in 1 John 3:1-5, Psalm 82:5, John 10:35). Notwithstanding, we must still operate as God's children and keep ourselves pure and unspotted in this present age (1 John 2:6).
Question 4
John 19:23-24 fulfilled which scripture when the soldiers they parted garments of Jesus and casts lot for his tunic?
Answer
The event fulfilled Psalm 22:18 which states:
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”
Question 5
In John 20:19-31, Jesus appeared twice in the midst of the disciples in a closed room, without walking through the doors. Which scripture(s) tells us that we will have a body like that of Jesus?
Answer
In Philippians 3:21, the Bible tells us that our bodies will be changed:
“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Further, in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, we are informed that:
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.’
Question 6
God allows bad things to happen to good people. What is the point then of believing when even bad things happened to the people Jesus loved in the Bible, like Lazarus? How come I am going through all these problems and difficult situations, it seems and I am almost convinced that God no longer loves me? Is this the case? Refer to John 11 in your response.
Answer
Mary had served and contributed to the ministry of Jesus yet her brother died. Making sacrifices in ministry is not necessarily a barricade against afflictions. Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus, yet they went through a harrowing experience of deep pain, the pain of losing a loved one. Their knowing and loving Jesus and Jesus knowing and loving them did not prevent the problem(s) from coming. Jesus did not love them less.
This is a lesson to us current day believers that the afflictions we go through does not mean God loves us less. However, that was not the end of the story. Lazarus was raised from the dead, hr came out of the grave.
Jesus can raise us up out of every grave situation (loss, shame etc.) as we continue to believe and trust in Him - the Resurrection and the Life.
Question 7
In John 9 Jesus said sin was not the cause of the blind man's affliction. Does it mean sin does not results in afflictions?
Answer
Sin definitely results in afflictions as stated throughout the Bible, starting with Cain in Genesis 4, the blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 28 to the final punishment of liars, adulterers in the lake of fire as documented in the book of Revelation.
In John 9, Jesus was saying that the core reason the man was born blind was not the sin of the man or that of his parents, but the situation exists for God to be glorified. This means, even when the devil brings about his activities of stealing (eyesight in this case), killing or destruction, God can be glorified through it and His purpose in our afflictions is that the end result will give Him glory. This happened in the case of the man who was born blind and can and will happen to us as we commit our situations into the hands of the Light of the World who can make the blind to see and raise the dead.
In the case of Job, sin was not responsible for his afflictions as well.
Therefore, sin leads to afflictions, but afflictions are not necessarily a result of sin.
Notwithstanding, we should not be committing sins or being disobedient. God's words are clear. In Job 36:11-12, the Bible states:
“If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.”
Question 8
What is the significance of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples in John 13:1-16?
Answer
Jesus showed an example of humility and service. He was teaching that instead of fighting for seniority and domineering authority, we as His followers should seek to serve others. This includes serving people who ordinarily we would have thought should be serving us.
In John 13:13-15, Jesus stated:
“Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you.”
The significance therefore is that we have been called to serve in humility like our master and Lord.
