Why the Pharisees Rejected Jesus — John 7-8

0:00 Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. It's a pleasure to be here and it's as always a privilege to share god's word with you. My family sends their greetings and Cleveland can be a ways away from Detroit so they opted to sit this one out but they wish they were here.

0:23 Alright. You Pharisee. You Pharisee. Today, those are fighting words. Whatever a Pharisee is, you don't want to be one.

0:43 We've just come to assume that Pharisee equals bad guy. And whatever Phariseeism is, it stands for hypocrisy and is the opposite of genuine biblical religion. Nothing could be further from the truth in the first century when the Lord Jesus conducted his ministry. In contrast to the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection and did not believe in angels. The Pharisees were for all intents and purposes, the good guys.

1:18 They were the right wing conservative Bible thumpers. They were the people that we probably would have gotten along with when you survey the theological landscape back then. John then, in writing what we call the Gospel of John, has a real problem. His purpose is to persuade people that Jesus is the Messiah. But back then you have your your conservative Bible teachers who have spent the better years of their life pouring over the Hebrew scriptures and coming to the conclusion that whoever Jesus of Nazareth is, he's not the Messiah.

2:03 In fact, he deserves to be condemned as a blasphemer, as a pretender, as a charlatan. And a person back then could very easily think, well, who am I to disagree with the experts? We're going to be studying John Chapter eight this morning. And in John Chapter eight, this is the first time that the Lord Jesus goes toe to toe with the Pharisees. This is these this chapter contains three encounters between the Lord and the Jewish leaders.

2:36 And this is the first time in the Gospel of John that he confronts them and has any real discussion with them. And boy, the sparks fly. These three encounters serve more than just a narrative purpose laying the foundation for why the Lord Jesus will eventually be put on trial and then crucified. John being the experienced evangelist and the excellent communicator that he was knows this problem that would have confronted his readers. How can we overcome the obstacle of the Pharisees and the scribes and the chief priests rejecting their Messiah?

3:21 Of the Lord coming to his own and his own receiving them not. And so the polemic in John Chapter eight, the way that this chapter functions is to show us again why the Jewish people should believe in Jesus as their Messiah, but also to explain why they didn't. And each three of these encounters will bring to our attention with increasing clarity the answers to those questions. Again, the main two questions that I'd like for us to focus on is, why should the Jewish people believe in Jesus? For that reason, why should anyone believe in Jesus?

4:03 And secondly, why didn't they believe? Why didn't they, particularly the Bible scholars, believe in Jesus? Now, I've decided to talk about all 59 verses, which which is a lot. I know it's a lot. I did it on purpose.

4:25 And the reason I did it is because the whole thing just sticks together so tightly. And it all leads as a crescendo to the very climax right there at the very end where he claims before Abraham was I am and they pick up stones to stone him. So what we're going to do is we're going to unpack these main three encounters and the first one is chapter eight, verse one and it extends through verse 11. But Jesus went to the Mount Of Olives. Now early in the morning, he came again into the temple and all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them.

5:44 But Jesus stooped down and he rode on the ground with his finger as though he did not hear. So when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and he said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it being convicted by their conscience went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst.

6:24 When Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.

6:46 Again, we're going to consider each of these three encounters in light of the questions, why should the Jewish people believe in Jesus and why didn't they believe in Jesus? Because remembering that the Pharisees rejection of Jesus would have been a major problem for the readers of this Gospel. But before we jump into all that, time is short and there's a lot before me, but I need to say something about whether this story belongs in the Gospel of John. I have to. If you have, depending on what edition of the Bible you have, you probably have a footnote there that says the earliest manuscripts do not include John seven fifty two through eight eleven.

7:34 You have that in there? You should always read your footnotes. They put those in there hoping against hope that somebody will read those footnotes. They're good. And it's true.

7:46 A lot of our earliest manuscripts don't have them. And that stinks. I like this story. And I'm sure you like it too. On the one hand, we can't think of this book as just a collection of nice stories that inspire me and I find enjoyable.

8:09 Our concern should be what really did God inspire? What actually is his word? And let bygones be bygones. I'm going to stick with what God actually inspired the apostles to write. That should be our attitude.

8:21 On the other hand, despite what some editions may say in the bottom of their footnotes, it's not an open and shut case. It's a very complicated issue. Some of the very earliest manuscripts do not have this account in there, but some other very early ones do have it in there. There are there are four from Egypt that don't have it in there from the second and third and fourth century, but there are others from the fourth century which do have it and a lot of other translations. In fact, if you just care about numbers, 900, about 900 out of our nine twenty five manuscripts that contain this passage of the Bible or this contain the Gospel of John do contain this account.

9:00 So the scholarship is divided both ways. If you are interested in it, you are probably a Bible nerd, which is great. And I've got some material I'd like to give you later on. But because I'm mindful of the clock, I'm going to proceed on. But that's just a little bit of the issue.

9:16 Some of the manuscripts don't have it, but a lot of them do have it and some of them are very, very early and from a wide range of places they do have it. So I'm going to proceed with the assumption that it does belong in there. The best reason that I can give you for why this actually belongs is that it fits so beautifully with what John is arguing in the rest of John chapter eight. This story really is a fascinating story. The more you think about it, it's incredible.

9:45 The leaders come with this woman whom they claim is caught in the very act of adultery. What are the coincidences? That here you have these Bible teachers walking down the street talking and they just open the door to the wrong house and there's this woman caught in the very act of adultery. I think possibly be what happened. So, whole wholesome question come up with, was she paid?

10:13 Was she seduced? How did she get in this situation? How did they, of all people, find her caught in adultery? And on top of that, adultery isn't the sort of sin that a person commits in solitude. It gotta be the man.

10:32 Where what happened to him? The Pharisees, they didn't care nothing for this woman's soul. They've got, they've got their agenda. And so they drag her shame, perhaps half naked and they throw her down in front of the Lord Jesus. And then they have the audacity to bring up this topic of conversation.

10:54 What is true justice? Now, the lord doesn't respond. He just simply draws. He writes actually on the ground. But the people, rulers care nothing for her.

11:28 And while accusing and vehemently blaming another, he forgets his own evil. Now, the Lord Jesus rightly sees through this facade and he so poignantly puts his finger on the real issue. And he says he was without a sin cast the first stone. And one by one being convicted, their consciences are too strong and they have to leave. The Lord Jesus is the only one left.

11:58 And although he doesn't condone her lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination, he says, go and sin no more. Presumably they were right and she was caught in the very act. He nonetheless forgives her. But though the Lord Jesus correctly points out what's really going on there, to be honest, there's part of me that has to wonder, can he really do that? Is that any way for a system of law to operate?

12:28 Should any person on a jury think, well, the evidence is pretty good that this guy broke into this house and killed that woman, but you know, I've had problems too. So let's let him off the hook. That's not a really good way to conduct law. What was the effect of the Lord Jesus saying this? I believe the answer is found in his stooping down and writing on the ground.

12:56 I wonder if that sounds familiar to any of you. People have theorized countless guesses as to what he might be writing. My idea, crazy as it is, is that it's not really all that important or else John would have told us. But what is important is that he stooped down and he wrote with his finger. Now, are there any other Bible stories that come to your mind when we talk about sexual immorality, the law, Moses, the finger of God writing twice.

13:32 It's a very giving of the law on Mount Sinai. Perhaps that's what this is an allusion to, although I'm not going to go to the stake for this. But you remember that whole scene, there God is giving the law on the tablets with his very finger and Moses comes down from the mountain and the great sanctified people, the people of God, what were they doing? They're worshiping the golden calf and the Bible says, and rose up to play. Some sort of sexual immorality was going on.

14:09 Perhaps a large scale orgy of the pagan religions. And do you remember Moses? Do you remember what he says when he meets God and when he talks? Now when he sees it, he's very angry. But when he meets God, what was his attitude?

14:26 This whole story so beautifully showcases what a man of God is like. He comes before God and he says, God, you've got to forgive him. And if you don't, block me out of your book. Take my life if it would mean anything. And that's what he want.

14:49 And that's the same story when Moses wants to see the glory of God. So God hides him behind the rock and he proclaims the name of the Lord. And he says, I am the gracious God and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. It is God's divine right as the lawgiver to dispense mercy whenever he sees fit.

15:17 All that from Jesus writing on the ground, maybe. But one thing is clear. The reason that this woman should be forgiven lies in Jesus's unique identity functioning in the place of Yahweh himself. Now all of these things are a little bit opaque and each of these episodes will bring into further clarity exactly who the Lord Jesus is and the deficiency in those who try to oppose him. So let's read the next account here, starting in verse 12.

16:20 But you do not know where I came from and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, my judgment is true for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.

16:38 I am one who bears witness of myself and the father who sent me bears witness of me. Then they said to him, where is your father? Jesus answered, you know neither me nor my father. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as he taught at the temple and no one laid hands on him for his hour had not yet come.

17:05 The last time I was with you, we believe it or not, we were just starting the Gospel of John and we're talking about chapter one of the introduction. And there John says, speaking of the word in him was life and that life was the light of men and the light shown in the darkness and the darkness, yeah, maybe you remember this. They grasped it not. It couldn't overpower it. And here we have the darkness doing their best to grasp that light to catch him in his words, but they can't do it.

17:51 And here we have the light being the one who produces life. He is the light of the world. He, the one who follows him will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. And here we have the Lord Jesus functioning as the light, as the one who is grace and truth incarnate, judges no one and yet shines the light on other sin. The thrust of the Lord's argument here is that if his leaders were tuned into God's voice, right, they want to attack him on the issue of testimony.

18:35 Now, who did John, Chapter five? Do you remember? Well, whoever it did, I hope they talked a lot about testimony because that's one of the main themes there in John Chapter five, the four different things that testify to the son. So the Lord has been through this material all before. But here the Lord puts his finger on the most important piece of testimony, and that is the Father's testimony.

19:02 And his argument in a nutshell is this, is if you Bible teachers were really in touch with God's voice, that would be all the testimony you would need because the father testifies of the son. And what other evidence would you need other than God telling you, this is my beloved son. However, as we will find out later, they were completely out of touch with God's voice and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We're going to continue on for the sake of time into this third encounter. It extends quite a ways from 21 to the end of the chapter 59.

19:47 And remember, keep your eye out for these two questions. Why should the Jews believe in Jesus and why don't they believe in Jesus? Starting in verse 21. Then Jesus said to them again, I am going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.

20:10 So the Jews said, will he kill himself? Because he says, where I go, you cannot come. And he said to them, you were from beneath, I am from above. You are from this world. I am not from this world.

20:27 Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, notice here that he is an italic. So the Greek is literally, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Then they said to him, who are you? And Jesus said to them, just what I've been saying to you from the beginning.

20:56 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true and I speak to the world those things which I heard from him. They didn't understand that he spoke to them of the father. Then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the son of man, then you will know. Here it is again. Then you will know that I am and that I do nothing of myself.

21:20 But as my Father taught me, I speak these things. And he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him. As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed.

22:07 Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you're Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with my father and you do what you have seen with your father. Well, I answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

22:33 But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham didn't do this. You do the deeds of your father. Then they said to him, we were not born of fornication. We have one father, God.

22:53 Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God, nor have I come of myself, but he sent me. And why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father, you want to do.

23:17 He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources. For he is a liar and the father of it but because I tell you the truth, you don't believe me. Which of you convicts me of a sin? And if I tell you the truth, why don't you believe me?

23:42 He who is of God hears God's words. Therefore, you do not hear because you are not of God. Then the Jews answered and said to him, don't we rightly say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, I don't have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me. And I do not seek my own glory.

24:07 There is one who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death. Then the Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead and the prophets. And you say, anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death.

24:25 Are you greater than our father Abraham, is dead and the prophets are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father who honors me, of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known him, but I know him.

24:47 And if I say I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you. But I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old. And you have seen Abraham?

25:07 Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Then they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. There's a whole lot in this chapter, a whole lot of what I just read. But hopefully you were able to catch the main ideas and you were looking for the answers to that question.

25:44 Why should these Jewish leaders believe in Jesus? Of course, the Lord could have given his messianic credentials. He could have said, you want to know why you should believe that I am? Okay, get out your pens and paper, get out your wax tablets and write some of these down. Okay, let me share with you my genealogy.

26:08 That was the issue in chapter seven was we know that when the Messiah comes, he will be from Bethlehem, but this man's from Nazareth. So how could he be the Christ? The Lord could have just very easily just said, Oh, well, that's an easy one. That's an underhand pitch. Okay, I'm from Bethlehem.

26:23 Let me talk to you about it. He's not concerned about that. He's concerned about a bigger issue. He could have produced more miracles. He could have given all sorts of other things by way of messianic validation to prove that he was who he claimed to be.

26:42 But in this courthouse, the Lord Jesus presents one piece of evidence, exhibit A, and it's the only thing that he thinks is necessary in this conversation. Now I'm a big believer in the value of apologetics and the value of Christian evidences and the Lord Jesus fulfilling prophecy and, specifically the incredible nature of the resurrection. And the only explanation of that being that Jesus is who he in fact claimed to be. But there's another side of things that we sometimes can not stress enough. Here the Lord Jesus cuts through all that and he puts his finger on the biggest issue with these leaders.

27:23 Here's why you should believe me and here's where you're thinking goes wrong. As we go through, obviously he gave them something because we read in verse 30 that as he spoke these things, many Jews believed in him. So he must have said something persuasive. I mean, warns them about the dangers of unbelief that if you don't believe in me, you're going to die in your sins. But he does say something positive by way of persuasion to convince his listeners that he really is who he claims to be.

27:55 And as I scan this chapter up to the point of verse 30 in this discussion, there's one thing that stands out, one piece of evidence. He says in verse 29, and he who sent me is with me. The father has not left me alone for I always do those things which please him. This same reasoning is there throughout the rest of the stuff that we read. No one could convict him of a sin.

28:37 His life was a holy life devoted to God. He's saying in so many words, in contrast to you all slaves to sin, I am the son who does not sin and I remain forever. That's my proof that I'm from God. No charlatan or huckster consider my life of complete devotion of honoring God and all that I say and do. I think here of C.

29:30 And here in John, a deceiver, a liar. And here in chapter eight, say that he has a demon. And the Lord says, these things can't be true. You really think that after considering my life, have a demon. Let's not forget what just happened.

29:46 I raised the issue. He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone. And remember, you left. You all dropped your stones and had to walk away being convicted by your own consciences. But I stayed the sinless one who cannot be convicted of a sin.

30:11 The Lord Jesus stands in a category completely all by himself. The one devoted to the will of God. This coupled with the fact that he does claim to be the I am, that he does claim to be the Messiah, that he does claim to be God in the flesh, the word incarnate. There's only one explanation is that he's telling the truth, that he's not saying these things to make life easy for himself or to become popular because it's because this is what the father told him to say. This is his great proof.

30:46 But if Jesus truly had this credential of a holy life, that he really is the servant of the Lord par excellence. And so we need to believe what he has to say. Muslims, for example, think that he's a prophet because who after a sober evaluation of this man's life could say that he's an evil man? Fact is an interesting point of interest. They also believe that he's the only sinless prophet.

31:15 Even Mohammed sinned, but not Jesus. Who could convict him of a sin? But they don't understand what he said. But if you understand what he said and you understand the kind of person he is, then the conclusion is inescapable. And this, this sheds light by the way on, let me backtrack just a little bit.

31:39 He says later in or he said earlier in verse 28, when you lift up the son of man, then you will know that I am and that I do nothing of myself. The lifting up, that's a figure of speech that will explain in chapter 12. This Jesus said, speaking about what about the death that he would die. The lifting up of the son of man is the greatest piece of evidence that he did not come to do his own will, that he does not seek his own glory, but the glory of him who sent him. And when they do that, it'll become crystal clear that he is a man of God.

32:20 Later in the upper room discourse, again, John chapter in the Gospel of John, this time, chapter 14, right there at the end of chapter 14, he says, the evil, the prince of this world is coming and he has nothing in me, but that the world may know that I love the father as he has given me commandment, even so I do arise. Let us go from here. So if his devotion to God shows that he really is of God, a man of God, if that is persuasive evidence, why didn't the Jews as a whole believe in him? Why not? Well, he explains this several times in his conversation with them.

33:15 In verse 39, If you were Abraham's children, you do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, I heard from God. Abraham didn't do this. In verse 42, if God were your father, you would love me. In verse 43, why do you not understand my speech?

33:36 Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are of your father, the devil. It doesn't get any stronger than that. And it doesn't get clearer than this in verse 47. He who is of God hears God's words.

34:22 They can have eternal life by believing in him. Then, they place their faith in the lord Jesus Christ and then they become of god. Then, they're in the family of god. First comes the faith and then they are part of the family of god. That's not the order of things here.

34:38 He says, because you're not of god. If god was your father, then you would love me and that's the problem is that you're not a part of the family of god. How can this be? Well, recall the historical situation of what's going on. Were people, this is a rhetorical question.

34:58 Were people part of the family of God before Jesus began his earthly ministry? Of course they were. We have several examples, Simeon and Anna and the temple. Or we have here in the Gospel of John. People like John the Baptist, let's just stick with him.

35:22 Here is a man who is of God. And so when the Lord Jesus walks out on the scene, he is of John the Baptist is of God. So he hears God's words and he says, there he is. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Apologetics class is necessary.

35:41 He sees him and he knows. He had the testimony of his heavenly father. That's all he cared for. And there were many people who were part of the family of God and so when the Lord Jesus arrives on the scene, it's very clear to them that this man is of God. This is this is God's only begotten son.

36:00 I can see that very clearly. And if we were to go back into that day, we would assume, of course, the people who were a part of that number, the family of God, surely they would be the Bible thumpers. Surely, they would be the Bible teachers and scholars, the Pharisees, and the scribes. Of course, they would be children of god. But the reason that they reject him is because they're not in touch with god's voice.

36:29 Their problem is not an intellectual one. Their problem is not that they had a lack of evidence or that, you know, the textual manuscript problems just are too heavy and too weighty and we have to remain undecided on this Jesus question. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He had all the credentials necessary. Like the Lord Jesus says in John chapter three, he who does evil does not come to the light because he hates the light.

37:03 He won't come to the light less his deeds be exposed. And here we have the light of the world. And the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the pious and holy looking ones are revealed as cockroaches. Those who hate the light and hide from it. Now, this doesn't mean that the Lord wants them to stay in that state.

37:27 When, when Nicodemus, for example, comes to the Lord Jesus at night, he urges him, you must be born again. In fact, that's the plural there. You all must be born again. You have a problem. You're not of God, but I want you to be saved.

37:44 But the reason they rejected him is because they were not in tune with God's voice. Again, their spiritual, their, their, their rejection of him was not for spiritual reasons, but for it was not for intellectual, but for spiritual reasons. The problem was not that Jesus was not who he claimed to be. The problem was that they were not who they claimed to be. They were not pious and humble Bible students.

38:19 They had their own agendas and just wanted to make their own coverups to protect their own skin. This is all incredibly relevant. It was relevant for John in the first century and it's incredibly relevant for us today. I am privileged. I recently started a PhD program and I have the ability to, there's a station in life to, I have to actually to study a lot of Bible scholars who have some very strange, weird things to say about the Bible.

38:51 And a lot of people are very intelligent and very smart and have incredible credentials and somehow or another, I can understand there are some things that are debated in the Bible, but some things, some issues people come to in the Bible and these people have all sorts of letters after their name. They're far smarter than I'll ever be, and they read the Bible and they say, No, Jesus never claimed to be God. Or that I call these people the History Channel professors because that's where you see them. And they're there they get a lot of attention because they're shocking. They study the Bible and they're so smart and they say Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah.

39:33 That's something that Mark and the other disciples made up later. Jesus never claimed to take away his death wasn't about taking away sin. He scratched your head. You're wondering what Bible are you reading? And perhaps it bothers you more than that.

39:49 Perhaps it bothers you more than that. You think well, these people are quite smart. How could it be that someone like me, how can I, who am I to go against the opinion of the scholars? Jesus's words remain as true today as they did two thousand years ago. He who is of God hears God's voice.

40:11 He hears God's word. It's like what he says to Pilate. You rarely say that I'm a king and for this cause I have come into the world to testify unto the truth. Then you remember what he says next? He who is of the truth hears my voice.

40:26 That's the question. Apologetics and scholarship certainly has its place. But nobody will stand before God at the great white throne judgment and say, Lord, I wanted to be saved, but there were just so many insurmountable scholarly opinions. I didn't know which one to choose. Now the Holy Spirit is still in the world, convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, drawing all people to himself.

40:55 People's problem is not primarily intellectual, it is spiritual. And if you are this morning if I don't know where each and every person is here in your spiritual life. I don't know if you have come to the place where you have accepted the Lord Jesus. If you've come to believe in him for his free gift of eternal life. If you have done what John has sought out to do, be persuaded that Jesus really is the Messiah and that by believing you might have life in his name.

41:29 But if you haven't come to that point, please don't be like the Pharisees and come to the evidence with your mind already made up, willing to do whatever it takes, willing to throw anyone you need to under the bus to stick to your old conclusions. If you come humbly, if you come with a willingness for God to if you come actually seeking God, you will find him and you will find him in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Holy Spirit will draw you to that conclusion. If you are of God, you will hear this man's words and you will come to the right conclusion. In the quietness of your heart and sincerity and openness and honesty.

42:26 You'll have to agree with Jesus here. You know what? I'm a slave to sin. That's me. I'm in the darkness.

42:37 I don't have life, But in Him is real life. That's He's who I need. This is God speaking. He really is the light of the world who gives that light of life to all who come to Him. Let's pray.

43:43 He tells her to leave and leave her sinful lifestyle. And this kind and gracious one, however, still does not shy away from calling things the way they are. People without him are of their father, the devil, children of God or children of the devil. We thank you for that great truth that to as many as received Him, To them, he gave the right, the power to become the children of God, even to those who believe on his name. Our heavenly father, we pray that you would strip away any hypocrisy that might be in our lives.

44:33 Any pretense or or a desire to care about what our family thinks or what our friends think or what our neighbors or what the recent scholarly fad has to say about Jesus and that we would be most concerned only concerned with what you have to say about him. We seek your truth. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth. We ask that you would convict us and convict anyone here who is not saved of their need to believe in this one. For those of us who have believed, we pray that we would continue in his words and truly be his disciples.

45:22 We ask these things in his name. Amen.