"If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own (v17)". What is God's will in this case? Verse 6:40: "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Truly, we will find out. The first step is faith, believing Jesus. Believing that his "teaching comes from God". Believing in his sacrifice to save us from our sin. After this, we find out that his words are truth when we receive the Holy Spirit. When we see our life slowly transformed. As we trust God and depend on Him and see Him working. When we see the work of the church, blessed by God and changing the world. Ultimately, we find out when we die.
Verse 7:19, "Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?" I always found that last question to be a rather strange, abrupt transition. From preaching and teaching the crowd to Jesus' own perilous situation. But as I read it now, I see that this question is an example of not keeping the law. We tend to elevate some sins over others ("Well, at least I am not a murderer!"). Here, there are Jews in the crowd who are nursing murderous thoughts about Jesus, but seeing themselves as righteous because they have the law of Moses. The very law that condemns murder! Jesus keeps trying to reach them, but their hearts are hard to him.
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(v6-8) I like that Jesus says "no" to His disciples. Jesus sets a great example here that His time (our time) should not be driven by those around us, BUT by the will of God. It's another great example of how in "tune" with God's will Jesus was.... He knew this was not His time and not only not His time but also not His way of arriving (v10, 14).
ReplyDelete(v17) (NASB) "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself." In Rob's translation and the NASB I like both words "willing and chooses" They are not quite action verbs... They speak to, as Rob points out, Faith. Faith first then the enlightenment of God's will. I also think they are "intentional" words almost directional. Once we "turn" to look for God's will we can find it. Yet sadly people still think they must "cleanup" before coming to Jesus. Can we not express Romans 5:7-9 loud enough.