 into this lesson. We commit ourselves into your hand. We commit the teacher into your hand. We committed those who have not yet joined that Lord God, you quicken their footsteps. We also pray that Lord give us the best internet connection and whatever we are going to share during this Lord God let it create impact in our life and let it bear fruit. We pray and declare all this in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. So last week, if you remember, we had looked at chapters five and six. And in chapter six, we spent a little time looking at the events that took place at the Feast of Tabernacles. So we looked at some of the ceremonies that are connected with the Feast of Tabernacles. We saw the importance that was given to the water which was ceremonially poured out on the altar. And then they had a decoration of lamps in what was technically called the Court of the Women. So there would be large lamps lit up over there. And we also saw that this is the Feast where the people choose to build small tents and stay in that just to remind themselves of how God was there with them when they were traveling in the wilderness and how he provided for them. So we looked at this background and actually this chapter is a continuation of that. Because we saw that Jesus talks about how he is the water, you know, the one that can quench our thirst. They used to pour out water on the altar for the ceremony just to remind themselves of how God provided water in the wilderness. But now Jesus proclaims and says, the water which I give will provide eternal life. And so he offers spiritual waters. And now when we come into this chapter, we see him touching upon the other aspect of this Feast where he also portrays himself as the light of the world. So both of these things, him being the water of life and him being the light of the world, both these concepts are directly connected with that Feast of Tabernacles which was celebrated. It's just that the way these chapters are arranged, they kind of bring in a story right in the middle of this, you know, it kind of breaks the flow of thought and so in some Bibles, this additional passage which comes in between is placed in brackets. So if you check in your Bibles, most Bibles will show that John chapter seven, the very last verse verse 53 is put in brackets. And you have a bracket leading all the way up to verse 12, I think, isn't it? Up to verse 11. So from John 753 up to chapter eight verse 11, that is in some Bibles, it's put in brackets because there has been some controversy regarding this particular passage which deals with the adulterous woman who was brought in front of Jesus to be stoned, to be judged. Now, in many of the ancient manuscripts, which are existing even today and which we have been able to discover, in many of them, this particular portion is kind of placed in the middle of asteric marks. In some cases, they put a bracket. So it's as if these people who were copying out these ancient manuscripts, they wanted to convey the idea that this was not really the original placement of this particular passage. And most probably it should have been placed somewhere else. So maybe they began to place this particular portion here because maybe this particular incident took place at this particular point of time chronologically. We see that Jesus talks about how he is the water of life and then it says that all the people went home. So Jesus also leaves and goes. And then if you come to verse 11 of chapter eight, he says that he had dawn, he appeared again in the temple quotes. So maybe in between the earlier passage and this passage may be this particular incident regarding the adulterous woman takes place. In John chapter seven, when he's talking about how he is the water of life, we do see that it's, it describes over there and says that this was the last day of the feast. So technically the feast is now finished. And so maybe on the next day is when the event with the adulterous woman took place. We're not very sure. And maybe the day after that is when you have him talking about how he is the light of the world. So we don't really know the sequence of events, but for some reason in many of these ancient manuscripts, this particular passage has been placed in the middle of asterisk marks or bracket marks as though to indicate that this has been taken from somewhere else and placed over here. So in some of those old manuscripts, in fact, you would find this particular passage being placed at the very end of the gospel of John, after John chapter 21. In some of those manuscripts, it's placed at the end of chapter eight. So based on that, some people have said, maybe this was not really originally scripture. Maybe this was just something which people added to the scripture later on. But when we look at all these ancient manuscripts, which were so carefully copied down by hand and preserved, if these people had not regarded this as part of the original scriptures, they would not have bothered to even include it. So the reason that they have made it a point to include it and put in those bracket marks shows that they regarded this passage as being inspired word of God, but the placement probably differed. So in some places, we see it placed in a different portion of this gospel. So maybe because of that, they put in the bracket marks. So I don't really think we should be questioning the authenticity or the inspirational character of this passage. I personally believe that this passage is also very much inspired scripture, just like the rest of the other chapters that we find. I think that the brackets which have been placed in the ancient manuscripts is more regarding the placement. They were trying to maybe establish the sequence of events, which is why they bring in this passage right in the middle of the water passage and the passage which talks about Jesus being the light. So that is my belief. We will just leave it at that. Now, for those who say that this may not be genuine scripture, even if someone were to take that stand, we don't really lose any important spiritual principles because the things which Jesus said over here in this passage, we see him saying those things and doing those things even in other places, because we know how he dealt with another woman who had been involved in immoral behavior and with her as well, he shows her mercy. He gives her another opportunity to live a righteous life. So we see something similar taking place in another portion of the gospels. So the principle that comes out here in this passage is also brought out in other places. So even if we were to not wish to focus on this passage, what has been taught over here about how God treats those who have had a immoral past, how he gives them a second chance is explained in other places as well. And we also see that in this passage, it's more a trap that is being laid for Jesus and Jesus very cleverly contracts what they are trying to do. And we see the same concept even in other passages where Jesus turns the tables on these Pharisees and religious leaders. So even if someone were to say that they do not want to focus at all on this passage and meditate upon it, the things which are presented here in this passage are also repeated in other places in the gospel. So we don't really miss out on any of the important spiritual teachings. But anyway, because we do regard this as part of the inspired scriptures, we will look at this passage from 753 all the way up to 811. Maybe we could have someone read out for us 753 and then six verses of chapter eight. We'll begin with that, we'll focus on that and then we'll move on to the rest of the verses. So 753 to chapter eight verse six, please, if someone could read out for us. Yeah, if we can open our Bibles to John chapter eight and if someone could please read out for us, John chapter seven verse 53 all the way up to eight verse, chapter eight verse six. John chapter seven verse 53. And everyone went to his own house, John chapter eight. 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. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery and when they had set her in the midst, they said to him, teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do you say? This they said, testing him that they might have something of which to accuse him. But Jesus looked down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he did not hear. Yeah. So we see here in verse six, it is explained to us the readers that they have not come over here. The leaders have not brought the lady over here to Jesus because they are so concerned about the righteousness of God being preserved. Rather they have brought the lady here to set a trap for him, for Jesus because they wish to accuse him. What is the trap over here? It's pretty simple. The mosaic law taught that someone caught in adultery would have to be stoned to death. And so if Jesus were to say, yes, let's go ahead and stone her. If he were to uphold the mosaic law in that manner, then they could get him into great trouble with the Romans with the Roman authorities because actually the Israelite people no longer had the legal authority to give a death sentence to anyone. You would need Roman approval to be able to give a death sentence to anyone at all, especially if it involves something like stoning. Of course, they ignored this rule later on when Stephen was being stoned. But then of course, by then situation had heated up. There was a lot of political insurgency going on and all of that will not go into those details. But right now at this point of time, in the time of our Bible passage, there was still much peace in the land. And so at that time, the people would have hesitated to break the law and stone someone without Roman permission. So their hope was that they could get him into trouble with the Roman authorities. On the other hand, they were aware that Jesus was someone who showed a lot of compassion and mercy. So it was quite likely that Jesus would rather give this person a second chance rather than stone them. So in that case, they could accuse him and say, oh, you are breaking the mosaic law. You are not upholding the law. So whichever response Jesus takes, they would get a chance to accuse him. So we see that as the trap. Another aspect of the trap is that we see that only the lady is brought. Now, when you say adultery, it obviously means there are two persons involved. So what about the man who was involved in the adultery? Why was he not brought? So the chances are that they have conspired and this man was recruited to engage in this act of adultery so that while he is with the lady, they can come and capture her and bring her. So this is probably a pre-planned scheme. So they did not produce the man because if Jesus starts cross-questioning the man, then the entire story would come out. So only the lady is brought over here. So you see, it's a well-laid-out trap, but Jesus being all-wise and moving in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, he takes care of the situation in the right manner. What is Jesus' immediate response when this allegation is made? It says in verse six, it says that the lady trapped in order that they may accuse him. And then it says in the last part of verse six, but Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. So he just simply ignores what they are saying. He doesn't even bother replying. And then verse seven confirms that. And it says, when they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, and then you have the rest of the dialogue. So Jesus does not even bother to take their questions seriously. They continue to question him and only then he straightens up and speaks to them. So why did they have to go on questioning him? What was Jesus doing that was so important? What was it that he was writing? And then you have a lot of different theories regarding that nothing is mentioned in scripture itself. So whatever we say, it will be pure hypothesis. I have my own theory, which again is a theory. So you can either accept it or you can choose to accept the other theories which are there. It says in the first portion, in chapter eight verse two, at dawn he appeared again in the temple courts where all the people gathered around him and he sat down to teach them. So the reason that Jesus has come over here early in the morning is because people come at that time to the temple and he has come over there to teach them. And so he's probably writing something on the ground, which is connected with the things that he will teach. In those days, they didn't have a white board. They didn't have a PowerPoint. I mean, so if you want to talk about a certain passage, not everyone would have a personal scroll with them. These are all very expensive things. So the teacher would basically write on the ground. If there is sand over there, they would maybe inscribe with their finger on the other hand, if it is just a ground where something can be written, maybe they would use something like a chalk to actually write out the passage. So then when the teacher is teaching and the rabbi is teaching, everyone sees what is written over there on the ground and they would follow along while the rabbi explains to them each portion of that passage. So Jesus was probably engaged in doing this. So when they make this allegation, he ignores it, he just bends down and starts to write on the ground and he continues to do what he has come over there to do, ignoring them pointedly. And then they keep on questioning him and then he straightens up and he replies to them. So keeping this in mind, if we can have someone read out for us, maybe from verse seven all the way up to verse 10, yeah, seven to 10, if we could have someone read out, please. So when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and said to them, he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. And again, he stood down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it being convicted by the 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. Yeah. And Jesus had raised herself. Okay, yeah, go ahead, verse 10. Go ahead, go ahead, yes. Man, Jesus had raised himself up and so no one but the woman, he said to her woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Yeah, Jesus declared and then the last portion of the verse it says, go now and leave your life of sin. Thank you, thank you so much for reading out. So Jesus says, okay, fine, you're going on questioning me regarding this. This is not something that requires me to answer you. You are the leaders. You already know what the mosaic scriptures tell about this. So go ahead and do what the mosaic scriptures say. So he says, let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. What is he referring to? He's referring to the mosaic scriptures. In Deuteronomy chapter 19, verses 16 to 18, it says over there, yeah, maybe we can actually have someone read out that because that explains why Jesus says, whoever is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone. So if we could have someone read out, Deuteronomy 19 verses 16 to 18. Deuteronomy 19, 16 to 18, please. Deuteronomy 19, 16 to 18. If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. And the judges shall make careful inquiry. And indeed, if the witness is a false witness who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother. So you shall put away the evil from among you. So here we see that it's talking about a malicious witness, a false witness, someone who's giving false testimony. So when a testimony is given, the first thing which the judges would consider is, is this person a blameless witness or is he a malicious witness? So all Jesus is saying is, you don't need me to answer this question for you. You are already familiar with the Mosaic law. So, you know, those of you who are genuine witnesses, those who are blameless, you know, so that's the term that is used in the original Greek. The wording over there, it says, he who is blameless, that is he who is a true witness, a correct witness. Let that person go ahead and start the proceedings. You know, the scripture is very clear. It says that she should be stoned. So, you know, go ahead and do that is what he says. And having said that, he again bends down and continues to do his writing. So it's like he's not even taking them seriously. So now the people, these leaders who have come over there are placed in a tight spot. They were asking him to open his mouth and say, oh, stone her and all that. He has not said any of those things. He just said, you know the law? You know that whoever is a blameless witness can go ahead and start the proceedings. So go ahead, you know, if you're, those of you who are true witnesses, throw a stone. And so over here, Jesus is not denying that, you know, that this lady has been caught in adultery. Yes, she has very much been in adultery, but the motive with which they have brought her, that shows the falseness of their, you know, motives. So Jesus is in fact focusing more on that, the wrongness of their motives in bringing her. So he says, you who consider yourself blameless, whoever considers themselves a true, genuine witness, go ahead and throw the first stone. Now these people do not want to get into trouble with the Roman law. They wanted to get Jesus into trouble, but they don't want to pick up the stones and start the proceedings. And so what happens? We first see the older ones, probably the main people who had been involved in the conspiracy, they are the ones who walk away because I mean, they do not want to get into trouble with the Roman authorities. And then once the elders start walking away, the rest of the group also walks away, because obviously they were looking to the elders for the, you know, the queue to start, you know, creating trouble. So they all walk away and now only the lady is left. And so he says, he does not say to her, what you have done is, you know, not wrong or any such, you know, silly platitudes. He very openly does, you know, acknowledge that what she has done is sinful. So all he says is, go now and leave your life of sin. He does not condone what she has done. He does not support what she has done. He's basically saying, here I'm giving you one more opportunity. I can condemn you, but rather than condemning you, I wish to give you a chance to repent. So go now and leave your life of sin. So she is given a second chance. So what had been a trap set by the leaders turns into something else. First, the wrong motives of the leaders is clearly exposed. And second, a woman who had indulged deliberately in sin is given a second chance. So now the choice is up to her, you know, whether she wishes to change her ways, repent and follow the Lord, or whether she wishes to continue in her life of sin. That of course is left to her, but Jesus creates a chance for her to have a new beginning. And so this passage has been inserted over here. And immediately after that, we have the portion where he talks about how he is the light of the world. So maybe we can have someone read out for us, John chapter eight versus 12 to 18. Yeah. If someone could read out for us all the way from John chapter eight verse 12 up to verse 18. Yes, please go ahead. John chapter eight verse 12. They have speak Jesus again on today, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followed Lord me cannot work in darkness, but is, but shall we have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, thou beest record of thyself, thy record is not truth. And Jesus answered unto them, do I bear record of myself? Yes, my record is true, for I know where I came, and where wither I grew. But ye cannot tell when I come and wither I go. He judge after the flesh, I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am the Father that sends me. He also is, it is also written in your law that the testimonies of two men is true. Verse 18, I am one, a bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me, bear witness of me. Amen. Amen. So here we see in verse 12, Jesus is speaking to the people and he says, I am the light of the world. And the promise that he makes is, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So people who live in the kingdom of darkness are under slavery, they're under the control of the evil one. Even if they are trying to live a good life, because they are under the control of the evil one, he can bring a lot of destruction into their life. He can harm them. And there's not much that they can do because they are slaves of the evil one. But then those of us who become believers, we are transported from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the sun. So our lives are completely changed. So this is the promise that Jesus is making over here that if you choose to follow me, your entire citizenship will change. You will no longer be in the kingdom of darkness. In fact, now you will be in my kingdom of light. And he says, I will give that person the light of life is the promise that Jesus makes over here. So the Pharisees, they say, you're making great claims about yourself, but it's easy for you to say things about your own self. What about witnesses? Are there others who are testifying the same thing? We saw this conversation kind of happening earlier. This was in John chapter five, versus 31 to 40. So over there, Jesus in fact gives four witnesses, which testify to his divinity. So if you were to go back to John chapter five, versus 31 to 40, we see that the four witnesses which Jesus presents earlier are John the Baptist, because he says, I saw the Holy spirit come and rest upon him. Then he also refers to the works which he has done, the miraculous works which indicate that he is from God. The third witness that he refers to at that time is the testimony of the Father, because there's a voice from heaven, which says, this is my son and I'm well pleased with him. So we have the testimony of the Father also as a witness. And the fourth witness, which he gives us regarding the scriptures where he says, the scriptures testify about me. So this conversation has already happened in other settings with other people. And now the Pharisees are bringing up the same topic once again. And now this time Jesus says, in verse 18, he says, I am one who testifies for myself. My other witness is the Father who sent me. So it's a repetition of what has already been said in John chapter five. But I think over here, John the writer chooses to place this because he's trying to lead us into the next portion of the conversation where these Pharisees refer to Jesus' Father. So they say, in verse 19, it says, then they asked him, where is your father? And this in fact goes on throughout this chapter with multiple times, they keep referring to the Father of Jesus. They are actually trying to be very sarcastic. They are trying to say, you were born to a lady who got pregnant without even having got married. So who knows who your father is? Do you even know who your father is? Because Jesus is again and again saying, I am from the Father, I'm doing what the Father has asked me to do. So they are in turn mocking him and saying, you probably don't even know who your biological father is because of the situation in which you were born. So that aspect comes out in this, in their repeatedly, deliberately referring to Jesus' Father. So we will see that even as we go through the rest of the chapter. So here we have the first reference to this. So if we could just read out verses 19 and 20, please. Yeah, we are in chapter eight. Verse 19. Yeah, go ahead please. 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 20. This verse Jesus spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple. And no one let hands on him for his art has not yet come. Jesus makes a very simple statement. He ignores the, you know, the allegation which they are making. And he just simply says, if you knew me, you would know my father also. So earlier in an earlier passage, he said those who are following the father, they will automatically be willing to follow me. They'll be willing to believe in me. So the two are interconnected. If we say that we want to follow the father, we want to honor his word, we want to obey and submit to his word, then automatically we will have openness towards receiving the son as well. In the same way, if there is an openness in our hearts to believe in the son and in the works that he is doing and in the words that he's proclaiming, because of that openness which we have towards him, we will automatically be open even to the father. So here Jesus says, if you really knew me, if you were willing to be open to what I am saying, then you would automatically know the father as well. You know, we see this later on in John chapter 14, where Philip says, you know, just show us the father that's enough, because you know, these people have, these disciples are people who were eager for spiritual things, which is why, you know, they chose to come and become followers of Jesus. So, you know, in John 14, Philip says, show us the father that's enough for us. And Jesus says, you know, in John 14 verse nine, Jesus says, don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you for such a long time. Anyone who has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father? So Jesus always makes it very clear that he and the father are interconnected. They are one. If you have respect for the father, you will have respect for Jesus as well. If you believe in Jesus and the miracles that he's doing, then your heart is open towards whatever the father has to share. So, you know, this is the aspect which Jesus brings out over here. And so to these people who are rejecting him, who are not only rejecting him, but also indirectly rejecting the father, this is the word of warning that he gives to them. If we can have someone read out for us, verses 21 to 24. 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. So the Jew said, will he kill himself? Because he says, where I go, you cannot come. And he said to them, you are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. Now, again, this is a repetition because, you know, in an earlier place, he had said, you cannot follow me. You cannot come where I am. You cannot, yeah, you cannot come the place that I am going. This is something that he had said in John chapter seven verses 33 to 36. So now here again, we have Jesus saying the same thing. He says, when I go away and you start looking for me, you will not be able to find me because where I am going, you will not be able to come. And so in John chapter seven, when he had said this, that set of Jews, you know, they ask among themselves, is he going to go away to Egypt or to Babylon, you know, where you have some of the Jewish people living? So will he go over there and start preaching to the Greeks over there? It's what they ask themselves. Here they ask, here they, in fact, they make a more sarcastic remark. They say, oh, we can't go where he's going, is it? So does that mean he's going to commit suicide? You know, so they're again being mocking, but it says in verse 21, I mean, in verse 23, it says, but he continued and he said, you are from below, I am from above. And then if he goes on to say in the next verse, if you do not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins. Over there, you know, the phrase that Jesus uses, that Greek phrase, E-I-M-I, I-M-E, that I am, that is the divine I am, you know, which is generally used in their Greek Septuagint. So it's a term that they're very familiar with. So here in our English, just to kind of, you know, to make the grammar more clear, they write if you do not believe that I am he, but if you look at the actual Greek, you know, if you look at the Gospel of John in the original Greek, he just simply uses the term I am. If you do not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins. So he is actually using that term E-I-M-I, that Greek term to indicate who he is. So they are mocking and they're saying, oh, you know, are you gonna kill yourself so that we will not be able to follow you? And Jesus says to them, you know, what you're from below, but I am from above, I am the I am. So if you do not believe in me that I am, then you will indeed die in your sins. And that is the reason why you will not be able to come where I am going because you would have died in your sins rather than being forgiven of your sins. So this is the declaration that Jesus makes. And so, you know, like we had said in one of the earlier classes, even as we are reading all these things, we got to keep in mind that when John first wrote this gospel, his immediate readers would have been the people of those days when there was a lot of struggle and persecution if you became a Christian, if you became a follower of this Jesus Christ. So at that time, John writes to those people saying, these are the things which Jesus spoke. These are the things which Jesus did. Therefore believe in him. It doesn't matter even if you're gonna be persecuted because what Jesus has said is the truth. And if you believe in this truth, you know, you can have eternal life to give them this assurance, to give them this hope. He writes this gospel. So what sounds to us like, you know, repetition because we are so familiar with these concepts. When we think of it in the way the original readers would have, you know, received it, we kind of see the deep emphasis, the significance of these things which, you know, John writes over here. So the conversation here is continuing, you know, and they ask him in verse 25, who are you? They asked, so all these things, you know, for us it sounds very repetitive. We may thinking, oh, we already know Jesus is the Messiah. We know that he is divine. We know that he is the Son of God. But this entire dialogues, all these, you know, dialogues between Jesus and the people who are opposing him and asking him all kinds of questions, those dialogues are preserved over here so that the readers will be able to read this and grasp exactly how Jesus answered those people, what exactly he said about himself. These are all words of life which have been recorded so that the people who read this can believe, you know, right from their inner man and be able to accept Jesus' Lord and Savior. So here the people who are opposing and questioning, they ask, who are you? They ask. So if we can have someone read out for us, verses 25 to 30. Verse 25, then they said to him, who are you? And Jesus said to them, just what I have been saying to you from the beginning, 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 did not 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 that I am he and that I do nothing of myself. 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. It says here that now after Jesus had said these things, even as he spoke, many believed in him. Because here Jesus says, I am from the Father and he says, whatever I do, I only do as instructed by the Father, I only do what pleases him. And so the crowd which had been watching him, following his story, even as he went from place to place, they were aware of what kind of a life he led. So when he says over here, the one who sent me is with me, has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. They believed that what he was saying about himself. Nobody could find any fault in him. He was indeed living in a way which would be highly pleasing to God. He had never done anything which they can point fingers at and say that, see, this proves that this person is not from the Father. So Jesus is basically saying over here, not only am I declaring that I am from the Father, look at my lifestyle, look at the way I am living. I am genuinely living like as if I am from the Father and I am living in such a way that I only do what the Father has taught me and I only do what pleases him. So and they are not able to disprove that in any way. So when he speaks in this manner, many place they trust in him and believe him because his lifestyle speaks volumes and that should be the same even for us. When we share passionately about the things of God, about the scriptures and we talk about salvation and the salvation plan of God and we talk about these things, people are very drawn, attracted because of the passion with which we speak. They can see that we really believe what we are talking about. But then as the slowly gets out getting to know us, they also look at our actions really because of the end of it all more than the words, it's our life which speaks out. And so if the words that we are speaking are very passionate, but then our lifestyle shows something else, people kind of stop taking us seriously. The power of what we spoke out gets diluted by our actions, by our interactions because sometimes in the way we interact with people, are we being kind hearted? Are we being patient? Because people are not perfect. There will be people who would get on our nerves. There are people who would hurt us. There would be all kinds of things that would go on. So how are we in our interactions with people? How are we in the choices that we make? So people not only just listen to the words that we are speaking, they very much look at our lives and sometimes our life, our actions speaks louder than just the words which we speak. So here in the case of Jesus, His words and His actions matched perfectly. And so when He said, I only do what pleases the Father, they actually had to just admit and say, yes, what He's saying is correct because we have been watching Him and we see no defect in Him. So now we are still in the process of learning to be like Jesus and we are still in the process of getting sanctified. So yes, we have not become perfect yet, but we must make this conscious effort to always try and be more and more like Christ so that people will take the message of Christ which we are preaching seriously. They will not take our message of Christ seriously if they see that we are people who are nothing like Christ. They will just simply ignore us. They will say, okay, fine, this is just another philosophy that this person is pushing. They will not, but when we act it out, when we live out what we are teaching, they will say, oh, this person believes this to the extent that they're actually living it out, even if it involves sacrifice, even if it involves pain, and then they will take us seriously because we believe in this to that extent and then the Holy Spirit is able to work through us to convict them and help them see the truth. God uses us as His vessels to convey this truth to them because we are vessels through which He is able to flow so freely and there are no blockages. We are living in a way that pleases Him and it's so easy for Him to use our tongue, to use our actions, to use our lifestyle to convey what He wishes to convey. So the Holy Spirit does not just simply use us through our words. He in fact uses us as complete people because Paul so boldly in the epistels when he's writing to all these different churches, he says, you know the way we lived, you know the choices we made. So not only did Paul preach Jesus, he also lived Jesus where he says to the extent where he says, you can imitate me because I am like, I imitate Christ. So all these things matter. So whether we are in the secular field and we are working in schools and offices and in multinational companies, people are not only listening to the words that we are saying about Jesus, they're also looking to see whether our actions match up and that carries power because they will see that we are willing to even make sacrifices to honor our God because we really believe that He is the living God and then they start taking us seriously. So maybe with this thought, we can go into our break and then when we come back, we'll continue from verse 31 onwards. All right, thank you and let's switch it off.