Chapter 20
THE NARROW GATE
(Matthew 7:13-14)
Before we begin our study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Father, please open our ears, our eyes and our hearts so we can come to a better understanding of Your Word. Father, we also ask that as we read Your Word that You would please strengthen our faith, belief and trust in You and in Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin this study by reading the Scriptures from its theme. They are found in,
Matthew 7:13-14
""[13] Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. [14] But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Since each one of us does not want to be destroyed but have eternal life, the question arises as to: "Who or what is this narrow gate?" In reading the New Testament and especially the Gospel according to John we find that,
JESUS CHRIST IS THE NARROW GATE
To see this we must remember that the Bible teaches us that for a person to enter into the Kingdom of God and have eternal life, they must pass through or enter by way of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ made this clear by stating that He,
Jesus Christ is the way to the Father
To see this let us read the following excerpt of what Jesus said to His disciples to comfort them for His upcoming ordeal of the crucifixion. The passage of interest for this study is,
John 14:6
"[6] Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
In other words, Jesus is the gate by which we enter into Heaven or God's Kingdom. In fact this is exactly one of the truths Jesus that taught. To see this let us read from,
John 10:7-10
"[7] Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. [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."
Let us notice the following verses,
7 … Jesus said that He is the gate of the sheep. NOTE: The phrase "the Sheep" refers to those who are His disciples or followers.
8 … In other words, those who came before Jesus Christ or even those come now to offer a different avenue other than Jesus Christ by which we can be saved from our sins and enter into eternal life have come to take us away from God's gracious Mercy and Grace. Also, note that the true disciples of Jesus Christ will not listen to or follow anyone else other than Jesus Christ.
9 … Anyone who enters into the sheepfold, that is God's Kingdom, through Jesus Christ, who is the Gate, will be saved. Thus, those who come to God the Father through Jesus Christ will have eternal life with Him.
As one reflects upon the above truths one might ask as to: "How and why is Jesus the "Narrow Gate" into God's Kingdom?"
To answer these questions, the remainder of this study is structured for us to explore the following attributes of Jesus Christ:
With this introduction in mind we begin our study by exploring the fact that<
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR OF MANKIND
To see this we begin by noting that the main reason Jesus Christ came to this earth was to give you and I eternal life. He did not come to condemn us, but to save us. Jesus made this truth very clear during His conversation to a Jewish ruler named Nicodemus. To see this let us read the following excerpt from Jesus' conversation,
John 3:16-17
""[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
What did Jesus mean when He said that He came to save you and I? From what or from whom is He saving us from?
In studying the New Testament further we find that without Jesus Christ you and I are
DEAD IN OUR TRANGRESSIONS AND SINS
In other words, before I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior I was living my life in accordance with the lusts and desires of my flesh. Hence, I was following the course or direction of this disobedient world. The end result of this activity would have been for me to receive God's wrath, that is be cast into the Lake of Fire (see Revelation 21:8). This truth is clearly documented for us in the following excerpt from Paul's letter to the Ephesians,
Ephesians 2:1-3
"[1] As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, [2] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. [3] All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath."
However, because of God's great love for you and I He, through Jesus Christ, has extended His Grace and Mercy to you and I. Thus, the New Testament teaches us that,
IN JESUS CHRIST WE HAVE BEEN SAVED FROM GOD'S WRATH
Yes, in Jesus Christ we are saved from the resulting punishment we deserve for violating God's laws and commandments. In addition, in Jesus Christ we are no longer spiritually dead. The Bible teaches us that in Jesus Christ we have been made alive so we can now do the good works that He prepared beforehand for us to do. In other words, not only did Jesus Christ save us from the consequences that was waiting for us because our sins, but He also delivered us from the power of sin and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, who is Satan. To see this let us now continue reading the passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians and read from,
Ephesians 2:4-10
"[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
This raises the questions of: "How did Jesus save us" What did He do?" Jesus provides us with the key to the answer for these questions in His conversation with Nicodemus. To read what He said, let us go to,
John 3:14-15
"[14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
To better understand what Jesus meant by lifting up the snake and how it applies to His saving us from our sins, let us go to the Old Testament and read about the incident He referred to.
The incident concerning the snake occurred during the later portion of Israel's exodus from Egypt. At the time of the incident the people of Israel had been travelling in the desert for many years. In fact, by this time Aaron, Moses' brother, had already died. Their journey had been a very difficult one. The majority of the time the only solid food they had for nourishment was the thin wafers of manna that each morning God miraculously provided for them. With this background, let us now read what happened.
Numbers 21:4-9
"[4] They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; [5] they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" [6] Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. [7] The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. [8] The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." [9] So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
Let us notice the following verses,
4-5 … The people grew impatient and sinned against God and Moses. Rather then believing and trusting that God delivered them from Egypt to save them from Pharaoh’s tyranny, they believed God brought them to the desert to kill them with starvation. Not only did they lose faith in God, but they also felt He meant to harm them.
6 … Because the people spoke evil of God, He became angry and sent poisonous snakes to them. In other words, because of their sin, God judged them.
7 … The people confessed their sin, that is they admitted that they were in grave error, and asked Moses to ask God to have mercy and forgive them.
8 … God responded to Moses’ prayer and told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. He also told Moses that whoever would look up at the snake would live.
9 … Moses followed God’s command and God fulfilled His promise to Moses.
How does all this relate to us and Jesus? To see the analogy, let us remember that because of the people’s sin, they were bitten by a snake and would die. The same with us when we are bitten by sin … we die,
Romans 6:23
"[23] For the wages of sin is death … "
In the above incident, after the people confessed their sin and asked for mercy, Moses was told to put a snake, that is a symbol of their sin, on a pole for the people to look at. When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and lifted up, it was our sin that was placed upon His flesh for us to see.
1 Peter 2:24
"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, …"
In returning to the incident with Israel, remember that when they looked upon the snake they were healed. The same with us. When you and I, through faith, see Jesus on the cross bearing our own personal sins we too are healed. To see this, let us return and complete our reading of,
1 Peter 2:24
"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
With all this background, let us now return and read more of the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus.
John 3:14-17
"[14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. [16] "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
In reflecting upon the above incident with the snake, it is important to remember that the people confessed their sin and through Moses, called upon God to save them from the deadly bite of the poisonous snakes.
Thus, to receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us with His own blood we,
By Faith We Must Pray To God For Help
In other words, as the Israelites, we too must confess to Jesus Christ that we are a sinner. We must confess to Him that we have transgressed against His commands and laws. We must be so sorry for this condition that we not only ask Jesus Christ to forgive us but also save us from the power that sin has over us. In other words, we are to be so fed up and horrified with our unrighteousness that we submit to Jesus Christ's lordship and ask Him for forgiveness and to save us from our sins.
When we do this, Jesus Christ promised that He will send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell inside us. This is the new birth, that is born again of the Holy Spirit. When this happens, we become a child of God and by His Grace and Mercy are saved. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus told the Jew people during the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.
John 7:37-39
"[37] 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. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…"
Let us notice the following verses,
37(a) … "If anyone is thirsty". This is not the thirst for physical water but is the thirst for righteousness, holiness and for God.
If you thirst for these things, that is repented or sincerely want to live a life away from your sins, then
37(b) … go to Jesus and drink! Cry out to Him for this spiritual water.
38 … If we believe and have faith in Him and go to Him to quench our thirst for righteousness and holiness, Jesus promised that He will provide you streams of living water to flow from within you.
39 … This living water is not physical water but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the new birth!
As we carefully reflect upon the above conditions necessary for our salvation, we find that they are beautifully summarized in,
Romans 10:9-13
"[9] That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. [11] As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." [12] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, [13] for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.""
Thus, we find that Jesus Christ is the way or gate by which we are saved from the consequences of our transgressions and sins.
In Jesus' sermon on the mountain He stated that the gate to God's Kingdom was a narrow one. In fact, as we read the Bible we discover that the gate to eternal life is extremely narrow. The reason for this is because,
JESUS CHRIST IS THE "ONLY" SAVIOR OF MANKIND
To see this, let us read what the Apostle Peter said to the rulers, elders and scribes of the Jewish people when he explained to them why he was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His remark of interest for this study is recorded in,
Acts 4:12
"[12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.""
Up until now we have seen that Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior who can and, through faith in Him, will save us from our sins. Now we will discover that,
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE AND ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD
To see this we will,
To find out who Jesus Christ really is, let us begin by reading about His miraculous birth.
THE BIRTH Of JESUS CHRIST
The Old Testament teaches us that the Messiah was to be born of a woman and be a man. Since the woman, by whom the Messiah would be born from was to be a virgin, the Messiah's birth would be a miraculous one. These prophecies were given through the prophet Isaiah in approximately 734 BC
1. They are recorded for us in,Isaiah 7:14
"[14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Each year at Christmas when we celebrate the time that Jesus Christ was born into this world, we celebrate the fulfillment of this prophecy. To remind ourselves of this, let us read about His birth from,
Matthew 1:18-25
"[18] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. [20] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." [24] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
18 … Mary was with child before she and Joseph came together, that is had intercourse.
20 … An angel told Joseph that what was conceived in Mary is from God, the Holy Spirit. In other words, the angel told Joseph that this was a miraculous conception.
21 … Note that Jesus’ purpose was to save His people from their sins.
25 … Joseph and Mary had no union till after she gave birth to Jesus.
In addition to being miraculous, the significance of the virgin birth is that Jesus did not inherit the sin nature of Adam. In other words, His birth came outside of the natural course of things. More specifically, the Bible teaches us that Jesus was begotten of God not man! Thus,
JESUS WAS NO ORDINARY MAN
As we prayerfully reflect upon the virgin birth we begin to realize that Jesus was not an ordinary man. This realization becomes clearer when we read about all the miraculous things Jesus did during His stay upon earth. To get a flavor of these works and the authority that Jesus Christ has, let us read a sample of the things He did. First let us see that,
Jesus Has Authority Over Sickness And Disease
As we read the Gospels we can not help but notice all the times that Jesus healed the sick and afflicted. A good summary of these works is provided to us in the account of what Jesus did while traveling throughout Galilee.
Matthew 4:23-25
"[23] Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. [24] News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. [25] Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."
Jesus Has Authority Over The Demons
In addition to having authority over sickness and disease, we also find from the above account that He cast out demons. To expand upon this a bit, let us read about the time when He healed the two demon possessed men in,
Matthew 8:28-33
"[28] When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. [29] "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" [30] Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. [31] The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." [32] He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. [33] Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men."
Pretty awesome isn’t it? However, there is much more.
Jesus Has Authority Over The Physical Elements
We also find that Jesus has authority over the physical elements. We see this authority when, on His way to the region of the Gadarenes, He calmed a severe storm.
Matthew 8:23-27
"[23] Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. [24] Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. [25] The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" [26] He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. [27] The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!""
Notice that in verse 27 we read that, at this time, His disciples came to realize that Jesus was no ordinary man. However, more was to come. In addition to having authority over sickness, disease, the demons, the physical elements and the forces of the earth, we find that He could even raise the dead!
Jesus Has Authority To Raise The Dead
To see this, let us read about the time when He restored to life a widow’s son,
Luke 7:11-17
"[11] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. [12] As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. [13] When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." [14] Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" [15] The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. [16] They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." [17] This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country."
Jesus Has The Authority To Forgive Sin
In addition to all the signs and wonders that He performed, the most glorious thing that Jesus Christ did, while He was here on earth, was to clearly demonstrate to us that He has the authority to forgive sin. To see this, let us read the account where He forgave the paralytic of his sins in,
Matthew 9:1-8
"[1] Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. [2] Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." [3] At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" [4] Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? [5] Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? [6] But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." [7] And the man got up and went home. [8] When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men."
With the above observations in mind, Jesus Christ was clearly sent by God and is someone very, very special. Was He a great prophet as some said? (or) Is Jesus Christ much greater? As we read the New Testament we find that Jesus Christ is indeed much greater than a prophet. In fact we discover that,
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD
Previously, we read that the demons acknowledged Him to be the Son of God (Matthew 8:29)! Were they right? Did they understand correctly? To find out, let us read about the time when Jesus asked His disciples this very same question … namely, "Who am I?" We find it in,
Matthew 16:13-15
"[13] When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" [14] They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." [15] "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?""
Let us notice the following verses,
13 … Jesus asked His disciples who the people think He is.
14 … The disciples responded and told Jesus the various beliefs the people had.
15 … Jesus now made the question more personal and asked them, " Who do you say I am?" So it is with us. We too must come to grips with this question. As it was with His disciples, Jesus is not only concerned about what others think of Him but is very concerned about what you and I think and believe on who He is.
Let us now move on and read Peter’s response in,
Matthew 16:16-17
"[16] Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [17] Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."
Let us notice the following verses,
16 … Simon Peter recognized who Jesus Christ really is … "The Son of the living God."
17 … Jesus now told Peter that he did not learn this from man but from God the Father.
In other words, what Jesus told Peter and is now telling us, is that it is God the Father who reveals Jesus Christ to us. The saving knowledge of Jesus Christ does not come from the wisdom of man or his intellect but from God Himself. It is a miraculous gift from God! If you have not recognized who Jesus is, please stop reading for a moment or two and ask God the Father to give you this same revelation .
In addition to the Apostle Peter, we find that John the Baptist also bore witness to Jesus’ true identity. To read what he said, let us go to,
John 1:29-34
"[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' [31] I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." [32] Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. [33] I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' [34] I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.""
Finally and most important of all, we find that God the Father, Himself, bore witness to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. To read what the Father said about Him, let us first read what happened after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. To do this let us read from,
Matthew 3:13-17
"[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. [14] But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" [15] Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. [16] As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.""
Let us notice the following verse,
17 … God the Father proclaimed Jesus to be His Son.
This was not the only time God the Father bore witness to Jesus Christ. He also bore witness to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is recorded for us in,
Mark 9:2-8
"[2] After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. [3] His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. [4] And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. [5] Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." [6] (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) [7] Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" [8] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … He became dazzling white. In other words Jesus’ true nature was revealed.
7 … God the Father bears witness to Peter, James and John that Jesus is His Son.
So we see that Jesus is indeed much greater than a prophet. In fact, He is the one and only Son of God!
Thus, we find that not only does the Bible teach us that Jesus Christ is the only and only Savior of mankind but, as we just discovered, it also teaches us that Jesus Christ is the one and only begotten Son of God. Since it is only through faith and belief in Jesus Christ, that is in who He truly is and what He did, that we are saved from our sins and can enter into God's Kingdom, the gate or entrance into Heaven is indeed narrow. For as the Holy Bible says it is through Jesus and Jesus only that we can come to God the Father (see John 14:6).
Before we close our study there is one more question to be addressed. Specifically: "What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?" Actually we were provided a glimpse of what it means when, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus became dazzling white. As we continue to read the Scriptures, we find that Jesus Christ is really God come in the flesh. Specifically, He is the literal fulfillment of all the promises God made about His coming to save us from our sins and restore us to His Kingdom. As we saw earlier, this is the significance of the virgin birth and is why Jesus is called Immanuel, which means, "God with us." In other words,
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LORD AND OUR GOD
To see this a bit more clearly, let us read about the birth of Jesus Christ as given through the Apostle John in,
John 1:1-4
"[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of men."
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … The Word was God.
3 … Through Him all things were made.
4 … In Him was life.
Let us now skip a few verses and read from,
John 1:14
"[14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Let us stop for a moment and reflect upon what we just read. Just think of it, the Lord Jesus Christ set aside His preeminence, humbled Himself and took upon human flesh. He did this to come into the world we live in and save us from our sins and restore us to His Kingdom. Oh my, what great love our God has for us!
Now some skeptics have said that Jesus never claimed to be God. It turns out Jesus made it very clear to the Jewish people then and now us on exactly who He is. To see this, let us read what happened, between Jesus and the Jews, during one of the feasts of Dedication. We find it in,
John 10:22-30
"[22] Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. [24] The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." [25] Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, [26] but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. [27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. [30] I and the Father are one.""
Given the above discourse, the following question comes to mind: "Did the Jews really understand what Jesus was telling them?" To find out, let us continue our reading from,
John 10:31-33
"[31] Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, [32] but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" [33] "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.""
In other words, the Jewish people knew exactly what Jesus was saying. Notice the reason they went to stone Him was that He claimed to be God.
So that there is no doubt in our minds with respect to who Jesus Christ really is let us read the testimony of the Apostle Thomas. This testimony was given when Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to Thomas for the specific purpose of showing him that He, Jesus, was not dead but alive! We find it in,
John 20:24-28
"[24] Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." [26] A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" [27] Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." [28] Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!""
CLOSING
In closing let us summarize this study by reading the following passage from the Gospel according to John.
John 10:1-9
""[1] I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. [2] The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. [3] The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. [5] But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." [6] Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. [7] Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."
Shall We Pray?