 Yeah, so before the break, we were looking at Jesus' statement that verse 54 specifically. It says, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise them up at the last day. So Jesus says, you are longing for the mana of Moses' physical bread, which can temporarily meet your needs. But he says, I am the bread of life. If you believe in the words that I am speaking and you believe in me, that I am from the Father and that I am the promised Messiah, then I can impart eternal life to you. So it's what he says. So he says, therefore, you must eat my flesh and drink my blood in the sense all that I am saying, absorb it into your innermost being. Let it become a part of how you live, what you choose to do. So let it become the very core of your being. Everything that I am saying to you and all that I am, accept it, believe it, is what he says. So some people they misinterpret it and they say, oh, he's asking us to eat his flesh. But then there are others who grumble and they say, like we saw in verses 41 and 42, they say, is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, I came down from heaven? So he's just a human being. So why should we eat and drink what he's telling us and make it a part of us? Why? Because he's just a human. So why should we do that? And so, Jesus says that he is not just from the earth. He says that he is from above. Maybe we could look at verses, we already looked at verse 32. Okay, we did not read it out. But then if you look at verse 32, it says, Jesus said to them, very truly, I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. So Jesus is making the point that he is not just a human born from Joseph and Mary, but rather he has come down from heaven. So he says, if you accept this, if you believe that I am from above, then I can impart eternal life to you. So this other set of people who are not willing to accept what he says, because they are only looking at his human origin. So to them, he says in verse 61 and 62, he says, a way that his disciples were grumbling about this Jesus said to them, does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? Okay, so here when it says the term disciples, it's not just referring to the 12 persons who generally travel along with him and spend all their time with him. It's talking about all of his disciples, all of his followers, many of whom had in fact now joined Jesus because of the spectacular miracles that he was doing and especially because he started providing them with food. So Jesus is addressing these people and he is saying, you are grumbling because I am saying that you must feed on me. You are grumbling because you're saying I'm just of human origin, but I am declaring to you that I have come down from heaven because in verse 58 he says this is the bread that came down from heaven. So he's repeating that he is from above and not just of human origin and so he says in verses, so the people grumble in verse 60 on hearing it, many of his disciples said this is a hard teaching who can accept it. So these people are finding it a hard teaching not because they have misunderstood and they are thinking that he expects them to actually eat his flesh. They have understood the metaphor that he has used. For them it is a hard teaching because he is saying believe that I am from above and accept that all that I am saying is true and submit to it. So he is saying they are saying they'd rather not submit because they still look at him as just the son of Joseph. So Jesus says to them, does this offend you? What I'm saying does it offend you? What is going to be your reaction when you literally see the Son of Man ascending to where he has come from? So who knows on that mount of olives later when Jesus is ascending literally, he rises up off the ground and moves heavenward. So at that point of time, maybe some of these people were actually there watching. So they would have remembered his words. This verse 62, they would have remembered where he says, then what if you see the Son of Man ascended to where he was before? So some of them at least might have witnessed the ascension of Jesus after the resurrection. So the main point that he brings out here is that I am not just a human being, I am from above. So this is the heavenly bread that the Father, the heavenly Father is sending all of you. He is sending you this heavenly bread so that if you feed on me, if you literally absorb everything that I am saying and make it a part of your being, then you will have eternal life because of what I have spoken. So are you willing to believe or not? And many of his disciples, it says, they say, this is a hard teaching. We can't accept this. They are willing to accept him as a prophet because he is doing miracles and they like that. They like their needs being met. So they are willing to accept him as a prophet, but they are not willing to accept him as the Son of God and to submit to him in that manner. And so it says in verse 66, from that time onwards, many of them leave him. Many of his disciples, the ones who called themselves his disciples, they abandon him and they no longer follow him. But Jesus says this in verse 63, he says, the Spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the Spirit and life. One of the most important, helpful scriptures that you can absorb into your heart. As believers, where it says here that the words which Jesus speaks to us, they are full of the Spirit and life. So these words that we see in the Bible, because Jesus is literally the Word of God, these words that we see in the Bible, they are full of the Spirit of God himself and they are full of life. These are not just ordinary words. And so when we take our stand and place our faith on these words and hold on to them, we will see the supernatural taking place in our lives, because these are not natural words. These are words which literally have the Spirit of God himself in them. These are words which literally have eternal life in them. So when we take a stand on these words, no matter what circumstances we are facing, no matter how big the ministry challenges are, if we take our stand on these words in the Word of God and say they are full of Spirit and life, so I know that they will come to pass. Nothing can stand in their way. And in Jesus' name, we cancel whatever is standing in our way. These words will be fulfilled in our lives. It's a fact. So this is a very useful verse. If we can remember this, hold on to this and in our times of hardship during our challenges, if we can claim this and say, this is what Jesus said, the Spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing. It's true. In our own flesh, there's really nothing much that we will ever accomplish. But when we take our stand on the words which Jesus has spoken and those words which have the know that they are full of the Spirit of God and full of eternal life, if we stand on those words, then whatever the challenge may be that is standing in the way, it has to fall away because these words of God, they literally have the Spirit of God in them and whatever he wants shall be fulfilled. And so when many of these disciples, even after hearing this, they choose to turn away and reject him, Jesus turns to his 12 and he says to them, what about you? Do you want to leave as well? He says that in verse 67 and verse 68 Peter responds so correctly. He says, lot of whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Just now you explained to us that your words are full of life and the Spirit. So obviously, you're the one that we are going to hold on to. I mean, where else will we go? Who else can give us this eternal life? Only you. So yes, we're going to stick with you. We are not leaving. And then, you know, Jesus says there is one who is off the table. So 11 of them, they eat and drink of Jesus. I mean, they still are not aware of how he's going to give us a body on the cross and all of that. They do not know those details. But at least in whatever sense they have understood this eating and drinking of him, they actually absorb him into their being and they become part of his family. For this 12th one, he only keeps listening to these words at an intellectual level. He hears them. He sees the things that Jesus is doing, but it never becomes a part of him. He never eats and drinks of Jesus. He only observes. He only hears, but he never really takes it into his being. And so it says in verse 70, Jesus says, yet one of you is a devil. So because he does not choose to eat and drink and make what Jesus is saying a part of his being, he remains a devil, an opponent of God. So how do we avoid that by eating and drinking of him daily? We choose to absorb his words into us. We choose to stand on them. We choose to obey them. They literally become a part of us. By doing this, we abide in him and he abides in us and we bear much fruit. So these are all the learnings which come out from this passage. Now we will have to move into chapter 7. So chapter 7 we see begins with the Jewish festival of tabernacles and most of the godly people would go to Jerusalem for this feast to celebrate it over there. So Jesus' family also gets ready to go to that place and they observe that Jesus is not getting ready along with them to go. So they kind of make a sarcastic remark. They say in verse 4, no one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. So they're all getting ready to go over there. Jesus is not getting ready. He's just continuing to wait. He's just continuing to stay there at home in Galilee. So they say to him, what happened? We thought you were very big. You're saying all this great grand things about yourself, about how you've come down from heaven and all of that. So why are you hiding over here? Why are you not coming along with us to the feast? Because over there at the feast, it's where you would have the big people, the public figures. So indirectly, what are they saying in verse 4? No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. Indirectly, they're saying to him, in a small place like here, in this small town of Galilee where we are living, in Nazareth, it's easy to pretend to be big. But when you go over there to Jerusalem, where all the big figures are going to be there, there we will know for sure whether they really are big or not. So over there, will people accept you as someone, as this person who's come down from heaven? So those are the mocking words which they use against him. And we see that they continue this attitude right up to the time of his death. But then after he's resurrected, we learn in, I think it was in 1 Corinthians or 2 Corinthians where it says, 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 7, Jesus personally comes to James and appears to him. And maybe after that, maybe he even went to the other brothers and shows himself to them. Then when they literally see him come back from the dead, then they believe that he indeed is from above, from heaven. And then they place their faith in him. So at this point of time, they still do not believe in him. And so they are saying, when we all are getting ready to go to the feast, why are you not joining us? Why are you hiding over here? Is it because you are a fake? Is it because you are a fraud? But Jesus says to them, my time is not yet here. The reason that he's holding back is not because he's afraid to go there. He's holding back because it's not yet time for him to go. So the brothers go on ahead. He goes a little later when God tells him to go. At that point of time, he goes. But he continues remaining silent for half the feast. The feast goes on for, I think, two weeks or so. So Jesus does not speak up. Only halfway through the festival, after almost half the festival is finished, that is when he actually begins to preach in public. So Jesus chooses to stay submissive to God's divine timing. Even though his brothers mocked him, he does not change his timetable. He continues to follow the timetable set for him by the Lord. And so he just ignores all the negative comments that are being passed. When he goes to the feast in secret, because that's what it says in verse 10, that he goes over there in secret. When he goes over there, he hears all these discussions which are going on. People are talking about Jesus. The in-topic of that particular feast was Jesus. Everyone wants to know where he is. When is he going to come? Is he going to say something? Is he going to do some miracle? A lot of discussion is going on. But Jesus does not speak a word. He continues to remain silent until half the feast is over. And then in verse 14, it says, not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. That is when he speaks up. And so let us look at some of the things that he says. Maybe we can look at verses, maybe verse 17 to verse 24. If someone could read out for us, John chapter 7, verses 17, up to verse 24, please. If anyone wills to do his will, he shall know concerning the doctrine whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority. He who speaks for himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true. And no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me? The people answered and said, you have a demon who is seeking to kill you. Jesus answered and said to them, I did one work and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers, and you circumcised a man on the Sabbath. If a man received circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with me because I met a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to their friends, but judge with righteous judgment. Yeah, so here they all are a large crowd here at this very important feast and the people are discussing Jesus. They're asking each other, when is he going to come, when is he going to speak? Who do you think he is? Is he the expected Messiah? And when the leaders see how popular Jesus has become and everyone is talking about him, they start making plans to kill him and Jesus is aware of this and so Jesus says in verse 17, anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own because you see those who wish to hear from the father and genuinely do what the father is saying, they will have hearts which are open to what Jesus is saying because he says earlier in, I think probably it was in the last chapter, he says you know, whoever, I think it was in this chapter, in chapter 6, yeah, whoever accepts the father accepts me. So those who are open and whose hearts are right and who are willing to believe the truth, they will automatically be open to what Jesus is saying because they are for the truth. It's the ones who are hypocrites, the ones who are pretending to be spiritual but in reality they do not want to know the truth, they do not want to follow the truth, they do not want to obey the truth, for such people automatically what Jesus is saying will sound, it will not sound logical, their minds are blocked to these things because in their heart they really do not want to know the truth. So Jesus says, the reason that you people are finding it so difficult to believe in what I am saying is maybe because you are not even open to doing God's will, maybe your entire heart attitude is wrong, which is why the things which I am saying are not getting through to you and he in fact makes it very plain in case they have not clearly understood what he is indicating, he goes on to say in verse 19, he says, you know, you talk about the law of Moses and how you want to keep it and all of that but you people are not keeping the law of Moses because the law of Moses says you are not supposed to kill but here you are making plans to kill me. So it shows that you are not really interested in doing the will of God, you are not interested in keeping the law of Moses and yet here you are making accusations against me, immediately the crowd responds and says you must be demon possessed, who is trying to kill you, why are you saying that you are trying to kill and PC that confirmed later in verse 25, you know, at that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask isn't this the man that they are trying to kill, here he is speaking publicly and they are not saying a word to him and the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah, so it's basically public knowledge, everyone knows that now they are doing, you know, conspiring to try and kill him, it's a known fact and so Jesus just goes on to say, you know, rather than addressing the accusation which they make about him being demon possessed, he just simply says this, he says in verse 21, I did one miracle and you're all amazed and he goes on to say in, maybe we should actually read out these verses, if we can have someone read out for us, John chapter 7 verses 21 to 24 please, 21 to 24, oh, we actually had, you know, sister reading out for us, so yes, you already looked at these verses, so let me just get into the explanation, yeah, so Jesus says, so much opposition has started because I did a miracle which was a sign to show that I am from God and that I am divine and that has led to so much opposition but why are you amazed, you know, when Moses gave you the command that you should be circumcised, you have followed that commandment strictly, so according to the law of Moses on the eighth day, you know, the male baby would be circumcised and so if the eighth day happens to be a Sabbath day, even though it's a Sabbath day, they'll go ahead and do the circumcision ceremony because, you know, circumcision is basically how you kind of formally become an Israelite, you know, now you're regarded as part of the community of God, so for them it was a very, very important thing and so they were willing to do that ceremony even on the Sabbath day and Jesus says, I didn't just simply, you know, circumcise somebody, I in fact healed that entire man's body when I healed him on the Sabbath day and that has led to so much controversy and you're all so angry about it, why? When you're willing to keep something, a small commandment like the circumcision and do it on the Sabbath day, I have done gone further, I have not only healed that particular man's heart, not only circumcised his heart, I have circumcised and healed his entire body, so you should in fact be glad that I know I have followed in your footsteps in the same way you have done good on the Sabbath, I have done a greater good on the Sabbath, so why are you amazed? Why are you planning to kill me? So Jesus very directly answers them, you know, back and he says in verse 24, stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly. All the facts are before you, so he says, judge correctly, you know, rather than judging in the wrong manner. So here we see Jesus, you know, counteracting all that they are saying, the accusations which they have been making and now this is the response of the people after Jesus has spoken these things. Maybe if we can read out verses 27 to 29, yeah, if someone could read out for us, I was just 27 to 29. Person 7 to 29, but we know where this man comes from and when the Christ appears, no one we know where he comes from. So Jesus proclaims, and he stops in the temple, you know me and you know where I come from, but I have not come from my whole accord. He who sent me is true and him you do not know. I know him, why I come from him and he sent me. All right, so the words that Jesus is speaking sound very convincing, the arguments are very logical. You know, he's taking things from their own law, from the law of Moses and he's, you know, proving his case. So everything that he's saying is so convincing and now the people are very confused because they have all this half baked ideas about who the Messiah will be and how he will appear and all of that. And so when they just look at Jesus and listen to him, whatever he's saying is just kind of piercing their hearts and it's so believable. But when they start considering other factors, they're a little confused because you have some people over here, you know, who are saying, oh, they were trying to kill him. So maybe, you know, he's a fake person. And then there are other people who are saying, no, no, when the Messiah comes, nobody will know from where he's going to come. On the other hand, this person we know from where he is, you know, he's from Nazareth. We know him. But actually, you know, they have their facts wrong because verse 27, the statement that is made over there, very defective sentence, we know it's here, the people are saying, but we know where this man is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from. That's a very wrong statement, right? Because if you remember the, you know, the Christmas story, you know, the, the wise men have come and they do not know where to find the Messiah. And so they approach the, the leaders, the chief priests, the chief priests tell Herod very clearly, this is exactly from where the Messiah will come. So here you basically have a crowd, which is saying different things. They don't have full knowledge. They have some wrong ideas about the Messiah. And they're having these discussions between them and saying, oh, but the Messiah will be from an unknown place, which is not true because very clearly the chief priests tell Herod exactly from where the Messiah will come. And in fact, later on, we see in the same passage, you know, some people say, oh, the Messiah supposed to come from, you know, from the line of David, but this man is from Nazareth. So, you know, all these different opinions are being, are being expressed by the crowd. And so to clear the air, to clear all the doubts, Jesus literally stands in the temple courts and cries out. He says, yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. But you know, he's saying this more to me than that. He says, I'm not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me. So Jesus is saying, yes, you're all aware that I'm from Nazareth. You're all aware that I know I live in the home of Joseph. But I'm not here on my own authority. Someone has sent me from above. So he says, I know him because I have come from him and he's the one who sent me. Now, how many of you are willing to believe this and accept this? You know, it's the statement that Jesus is making. So when Jesus clearly speaks these words and, you know, tries to clear the doubts which the people are having, the leaders try to seize him. That is what it says in verse 30. At this, they try to seize him. But no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. So I'm not sure what kind of conspiracy they tried to hatch at that particular point of time, but it did not succeed. Okay, so then Jesus goes on to say some more things. Maybe we could look at verses 33 to 36. Yeah, if someone could read out for us, verses 33 to 36. John 7, 33 to 36. Then Jesus said to them, I shall be with you a little while longer. And then I go to him, who sent me. He will seek me and not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. Then the Jews said among themselves, where does he intend to go that we shall not find him? Does he intend to go to the desperation among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that he said? You will seek me and not find me. And where I am, you cannot come. Okay, so when they try to arrest him, but they are unable to, whatever conspiracy they come up with at this particular point of time, it does not succeed. And so at that time, Jesus announces in public and he says, now I'm openly here. I'm openly sharing who I am. And I'm giving you a chance to place your trust in me. And this is a short time offer. You can say that for these particular people, these leaders, this chief priest and Pharisees who are actively trying to bring him down. He says to them, I'm openly among you, announcing to you who I am, offering myself to you, giving you a chance to believe in me. Take it while it's still available. Because he says, a day will come when you will look for me, but you will not find me. And where I am going, you will not be able to come there. Even if you call yourself sons of Abraham, you will not be able to come over there. Now is the time when my offer is open and available, that you should accept it. And they are confused and they say, why, where is he going to go? Is he going to go to the Egypt and Babylon and all these other places where you have some of the Jewish community living? Is he going to go over there and start preaching over there? It's what they say among themselves. But of course, Jesus was indicating that once he has finished his task over here, he will be ascending back to where he has come from and they will not be able to follow him over there unless they have placed their faith in him. So that is what Jesus is referring to. So he probably continues to go on saying these things through all the days of, the remaining days of the feast. And then finally on the last day, this is the proclamation that he loudly makes. And so if we can look at verses 37 to 39, please, verses 37 to 39. On the last day that would be the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this is for concerning the spirit whom those believing in him would receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Yeah. So a lot has happened during this festival at the beginning of the festival. People are eagerly waiting for him to appear. They're very curious to see what's going to happen next. And finally halfway through the festival, Jesus speaks up. He starts telling, this is who I am. And that leads to a lot of discussion. And then the leaders try to arrest him. They're unable to do it. Then Jesus very plainly says, this is the time that you should be receiving me. If you don't do it, there's going to come a time when you will not be able to come where I am going. So all of this Jesus has said and he probably continues to say those things for the remaining days of the feast. And now finally we have come to the last day, which is like the finale, the greatest grandest day of the festival. And on this day, Jesus stands there, probably right there in the middle of the courtyard, you know, and everyone is very eager to see him, to hear him. So he has everyone's attention. And this is what he says in a loud voice. He says, let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. All the things that Jesus says over here are very, very significant. Because this festival, tabernacle festival, there were three main ceremonies involved. One, of course, you know, the people would, some of them would build small tabernacles, small tents, and they would live in that as a memorial of what God did for their ancestors. You know, long back. So that would be one of the ceremonies, you know, where people would build small tents, small tabernacles to remind themselves that once upon a time, they didn't have a land of their own. They were wanderers living in tents, going from place to place. And then finally one day God gave them their own land. So that was one main ceremony in this festival. Second, they would draw water from a well and they would pour it out on the altar. This was supposed to be a reminder to them of how God provided water to them in the wilderness when they, you know, when they had no regular sources of water. So miraculously, again and again, God provided water for them. That was the second important ceremony. The third one would be, you know, in the temple court of the women. Over there, they would light up that entire place with lots of candles, some modern words, they didn't have candles. You know, they had those, what do you call them? You know, those traditional lamps which they lit. So that they would have lots of those with which that entire temple, the temple court, which is called temple court for women, that would be decorated. So these are the three main things. So Jesus is basically actually touching upon all these three main ceremonies and he's pointing out that those, all the three are met in him. So in the same way, you know, in the earlier time of the Israelites, God dwelled among them and he brought them into the promised land. Now he has again come down to be with them. You know, he's come down from above to be among them. And now he's saying the ceremony that you do regarding the water, drawing the water from the well and pouring it onto the altar. It is a reminder to you of how you had physical water being given to you by God. But now here is somebody who can quench not just your physical thirst, but even your spiritual thirst. And then later on when we go to the next chapter we see, he also refers to the third ceremony, you know, which is the lighting of the, you know, of all these lamps and he says, I am the light of the world. So in fact, indirectly Jesus is pointing out that all these things which they are doing in this festival, they're actually fulfilled in him. They're all pointing towards him. So right now he's taking up one particular point regarding the water. So he stands there and in a loud voice he says, let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. In other words, he's saying, back then Moses gave you physical water. But now if you come to me, I can quench your spiritual thirst forever because he says, whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. They will receive the Holy Spirit, you see, and that Holy Spirit who is within them will always be there to quench their spiritual thirst. So they will never have to run dry ever again and they will always have eternal life because of him. So these are the things which Jesus proclaims to them and the only requirement that they need, you know, from their side is they need to place their faith in him. If they choose to believe in him, choose to believe that he has come down from above and that he is the living bread. If they can take his words and absorb them into their being and follow him, then they will have eternal life. If they're willing to accept these things, then automatically their spiritual thirst will be quenched. Their spiritual hunger will be satisfied. So this is the proclamation that Jesus makes on the last and final day. And it says in verse 40, on hearing his words, some of the people said, surely this man is the prophet. Others said, he is the Messiah. Still others asked, how can the Messiah come from Galilee? Should he not grump? You know, it goes on to say in the next verse, you know, he should in fact be a descendant of David from Bethlehem and they are not aware of the fact that yes, Jesus was very much, you know, he was taken over there. I mean, before he was born, Joseph and Mary go over there, you know, to give their registry for the census in Bethlehem. So yes, very much Jesus is very much from Bethlehem. So they are not aware of that fact. And so they say, shouldn't the Messiah actually be from Bethlehem? So there's a lot of talk again going on and the temple guards who have been sent to arrest him, they come back to the leaders, empty handed. And then the Pharisees say, why didn't you bring him? And the people say, how could we do that? You know, everyone is supporting him. Everyone is speaking favorably about him. So we were unable to, you know, arrest him. And then it's interesting what the Pharisees say. I think we should read this portion. If we can have someone read out for us versus 47, up to verse 52. Yeah, John chapter 7, from 47 up to verse 52, please. Then the Pharisees answered them, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that doesn't know the law is a curse. Nicodemus, he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them, said to them, does the law judge a man before it pierces him and knows what he is doing? They answered and said to him, are you also from Galilee? Search and look for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. And everyone went to his own house. So the crowd, a lot of them seem to be convinced that this is the true Messiah. The words which Jesus has spoken has pierced their hearts and they are willing to believe. And the the temple guards who were sent to do the arrest, in fact, felt afraid because the crowd is so much on Jesus' side that they are hesitant to make a public arrest because probably the mob would have attacked them. So they come back empty handed and they say, everyone is speaking in favor of him. So there was nothing that we could do and we had to come away and the leaders mockingly they say, oh so what just like the crowd, like the ignorant crowd, you also got deceived is it? And then they say in verse 48, have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him? Look at us. None of us have believed in him. We are the rulers because most of the rulers of the synagogue were chosen from among the Pharisee community. So they say, look at us. None of the Pharisees have believed. We the rulers of the synagogue, we also have not believed. And right there sitting among them is Nicodemus, who is a ruler of the synagogue and he is a Pharisee and he actually has placed his trust in Jesus. So they are not actually aware of this pact as yet. So it looks like Nicodemus has not revealed his faith at this point of time. And so they say, you know, none of us have believed. It's only the ignorant crowd which has believed him is what they say. But Nicodemus in fact is a ruler and a Pharisee who has believed and he says, he speaks up and he says, does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing? You know, is what he says. So they are very upset when Nicodemus speaks up for Jesus and they say, oh what, you also have become a Galilean, is it? Because those Galileans, they don't have much knowledge about the things of God. So are you like that? Are you also ignorant? And they go on to say something which actually exposes their ignorance. They say, look into it and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee. Very, very wrong statement because Jonah was a prophet who comes out of Galilee and we see this in 2 Kings chapter 14 verse 25. He was from a place called Gath Hefair which was just three miles north of Nazareth. So just in the previous sentence, they said the crowd is ignorant. They don't know anything and they got deceived. Now we are the rulers of the synagogue. We don't get deceived. We have all our facts right. And then they go on to say, you know what, look into it. Look into the scriptures. You'll discover that no prophet ever came out of Galilee. But the point is, Jonah actually came out of Galilee. So even they actually did not know their facts. There's a lot of irony in this passage which comes out even as we are reflecting on these things. So this I think was one main occasion where Jesus very quietly waited until he got the green signal from heaven to speak out. And then he began to speak out with such power that a large amount of the crowd which heard him got to have a clear presentation of facts. Jesus was saying, this is who I am. Yes, it's true that I am from Nazareth, but it's also true that I am from above. And he placed the facts very clearly before them. Everyone got a chance to hear the entire crowd that had come. They got a chance to hear exactly what Jesus is saying about himself. So now the decision rested in their hands. So I think this was one very important occasion where Jesus got to minister to a large crowd, to very important people who would have been present and he gives them the facts very, very clearly. And he says to them, I am the bread. I am the living waters. So now it is up to the people to take their decision. So these are all the things that we could very briefly look at. These were very lengthy chapters. So I'm very sorry it was impossible to go through it verse by verse. So I just kind of picked out the main things and hope to get the main facts across. So I hope you found the class helpful. Let's just close with a word of prayer. Lord, we just thank you so much for all that we could learn today in our class. Yes, Lord, your words are full of spirit and life. If we choose to believe in these words, if we choose to obey them and submit just as Nicodemus did, then, oh Lord, our lives can be changed and transformed. We can be like Jesus who even though had limited resources at hand, you know, when he was with that crowd, he was able to perform a great miracle that met every need, oh Lord, of that large crowd. So we pray, oh Lord, that you would help us to stand on your words which are full of life and spirit. And I pray that you would help us to obey them and submit to them and follow your divine timetable and do everything that you're asking us to do following every word so that Lord, we can have that same authority and power which Jesus did so that it will not matter a lot whether the resources in our hands are less or large. It will be adequate. We will be able to do what we have been sent forth to do, oh Lord, in the places where you have established us. So we pray, oh Lord, whether we are in the secular field or whether we are in the full-time ministry, you would help us to be people who can walk in power because we have chosen to believe in you and submit to you. Oh Lord, help us to live in a way that honors you. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you. We'll meet again next class.