When challenged by the religious elite of His day, Jesus defended His messianic identity with claims that infuriated His enemies but won the hearts of His followers. Jesus claimed to be equal with God, the giver of life, and the final judge.
To defend His messianic claims, Jesus called five irrefutable witnesses: God the Father, John who spoke of Jesus as the Lamb of God, Jesus’ own works, the Scriptures, and Moses. Why don’t people accept the witnesses? They see and hear, but their hearts are unmoved and unwilling to believe.
We live in an era of specialization. Specialists occupy every field from medicine to law to education. No human, however, qualifies as an expert in impossibilities. Only God can solve an unsolvable problem.
In the Bread of Life discourse, Jesus contrasts physical and spiritual hunger. We work for bread to feed our bodies, but to feed our souls, we need God’s gift of life. The Jews sought proof—bread supplied from heaven like manna in the wilderness. But Jesus offered a better provision: Himself. “I am the bread of life.”
Jesus faced His attackers, including the Jewish leaders, the Jerusalem crowds, and even His own brothers. Although some opposed His ministry, Jesus offered Himself like water in a barren wilderness: “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!” (John 7:37). Believe in Him, and receive Christ’s living water.
A tour of the Holy Land is not just about what you see, it’s also about experiencing God and His Word in a whole new way. As I reflect on my own experience in Israel I note three things that occurred for me.
Truth gives stability to your faith, strengthens you when you’re tested, enables you to handle the Bible accurately, equips you to detect and confront error, allows you to live with confidence, and releases you from all fears and superstitions. Truth sets you free.
Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their own law when they brought an adulterous woman to Him. Jesus, the one true judge, forgave her: “Go and sin no more,” He said (John 8:11). Whenever we confront, condemn, and correct wrong, we must demonstrate humility, righteousness, and a spirit of forgiveness.
The Pharisees reacted to Jesus over His claim, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Their hostility escalated from opposition to insult to violence, displaying traits of those who reject Jesus—a lack of knowledge, perception, and humility.
At one time, I assumed that “victory in Christ”—or living a victorious Christian life in the middle of our sinful, messed-up world—meant having victory in my own life, as I chose to define it.
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