John 21:18-19 – “‘I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.  Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’”

In this passage, we see Jesus talking to Peter after restoring him.  Peter had failed, denying three times that he even knew Jesus.  WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER – In the Bible, youth sometimes symbolizes spiritual vigor.

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John 18:38-40 – “What is truth?”  Pilate asked.  With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.  But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover.  Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”  Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

Pontus Pilate, the Roman Governor who presided over Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, had a custom of releasing a prisoner as a gesture of good will on the Passover, an important Jewish holiday.  On this occasion, he presented a choice to the crowds gathered outside the Governor’s Palace, letting them decide which of two prisoners he would release.  The choice was between Jesus and Barabbas, a Jewish rebel leader and murderer.  The people chose Barabbas, exactly as Pilate expected.

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John 15:1-6 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

In John 15, Jesus describes himself as the VINE, and explains that we are branches of the Vine (that is, of Him).  The teachings in this passage took place at the Last Supper, the night they arrested Jesus and took him away to his trial.  What is the meaning of the statement that Jesus is the Vine?

Jesus uses the image of the Vine and branches to make four basic points about our salvation:

1)     God expects and requires that we are spiritually fruitful

2)    Close connection – we “remain in him” and he “remains in us,” sharing the same spiritual life and sustenance from eternity, in the same way that a vine and its branches share the same life and are part of the same organism

3)    Absolute dependence – we can accomplish nothing (fruit) on our own, but only through our close connection with Him

4)    If we lose our close connection with him, there are dire consequences – lack of fruit, and eventually, permanent severance and judgment.

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John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

God’s plan for his people is for them to have abundant life. He challenges us to give Him the opportunity for this by putting Him first, before everything else in our lives. God does not ask us to ignore or neglect our families, or jobs, or personal needs.

He only asks that we put Him first, and then attend to these other things. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.”

Abundant life includes two types of “abundance.” There is material abundance and spiritual abundance. The second type is much more important, but many churches unfortunately focus on material abundance instead.

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John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This story takes place during Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  This was either on the last day of the festival (see John 7:37), or the next day (see John 7:53-8:2).

“I am the Light” – This is a main theme of the Gospel of John (review John 1:4-9; John 3:19-21; John 11:9-10; John 12:35-36; John 12:46). Jesus is not talking about physical light, but rather spiritual light. In Genesis 1:3, “light” existed for three days before the creation of the sun itself (Genesis 1:16-18).  Spiritual light is part of God’s essence – revelation, truth, and clarity.

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John 7:37-42 - On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.”

Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?“

This took place during the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the main annual religious holidays for Israel. Originally, it was supposed to be a time when the Israelites remembered the 40 years in the wilderness when they lived in tents and encamped from place to place as the Lord led them.

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John 7:37-39 - On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The infilling of the Spirit in us is an important dimension of the “salvation” that Christ gives us. This is more than merely quenching our spiritual thirst – this is enough water for daily cleansing of our hearts and lives (purification, holiness). It is enough to bring abundant life. It is enough to overflow and provide a blessing for those around us. Each of us should become like a small fountain or spring, a source of this “living water” that flows fresh every day. John adds some comments that teach us a few other doctrinal points about the Holy Spirit:

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John 6:48-51 - “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Jesus fed a large crowd at the beginning of this chapter, miraculously multiplying five loaves and two small fish into enough food to feed several thousand people (John 6:1-13).  The crowds then started following him asking him to do more miracles, especially ones that involve the provision of free food for everybody, like the miracle of “manna” that had occurred centuries earlier.  Jesus rebuked the crowd for focusing on their material and physical needs instead of the spiritual or eternal things (John 6:26-31).  Even today, many people focus on God’s healing power or seek other miracles, but show no real interest in spiritual things, eternity, sanctification and holiness, or learning to hear God’s voice.

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`John 6:14-24 - After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum.  By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading…

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Ê-XƠ-TÊ 2 – GIA THẾ và GIÁO DỤC của HOÀNG HẬU Ê-XƠ-TÊ

Ê-xơ-tê 2:7 “Người bảo dưỡng Ha-đa-sa (tức là Ê-xơ-tê) con gái của cậu mình, vì nàng không có cha mẹ. Người thiếu nữ ấy là tốt tươi hình dạng, đẹp đẽ dung nhan. Vậy, khi cha mẹ nàng đã qua đời rồi, Mạc-đô-chê nhận nàng làm con gái mình.”

Ê-xơ-tê là vợ của vua A-suê-ru cai trị đế chế Phe-rơ-sơ; cô là một biểu tượng cho nàng dâu của Đấng Christ. Nàng dâu của Đấng Christ chính là Hội Thánh Trung Tín (Ê-phê-sô 5:25-27; Khải-huyền 19:7; 21:2; 21:9; 22:17).

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