So, the Samaritans were the underclass and the royal official mentioned here is, well, royal. Couple that with Jesus saying it’s better to be poor because then it’s easier to have faith, and we come up with an application that, generally speaking, we should want to be poor. I’m not real crazy about that application, but I must say that I’ve learned to be closer to God during my need than I have been during my abundance.
On to Ch. 5: v. 2 “there IS in Jerusalem…” The sheep gate is an entry into the temple – showing that this was written before Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. No big deal, but some people seem adamant about this being written when John was in his 80’s while in exile on the island of Patmos.
v. 6: After throwing rocks at my NASV translation not adhering as close to the majority text as the NKJV, I have to point out a benefit. Most translations give the past tense, since these events happened in the past. My translation does too, but it will also give an asterisk when: “Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurrence.” When I see an asterisk I read it to myself in the present tense, which is fun AND it’s like the suspenseful music in a drama show: when it cues up, you know something good is about to take place.
v. 29: Believers aren’t saved by good works, we are capable of doing good works because we’re saved. Nonbelievers do only evil works.
v. 36: Jesus says here and elsewhere that His miracles are the reason people should believe in Him (so I guess I shouldn’t put down the above royal official’s needing a miracle too much). It’s odd that we in the church today don’t use the miracles to convince people to believe, instead we use John 3:16 and other verses that say believing in Him is how to have eternal life and then we don’t give the proof. Some churches do point to the cross to say that Jesus died for our sins, and that’s the reason we can believe in Him. However, the real proof is on the 3rd day afterward when Jesus resurrected Himself, as well as all the other miracles. After all, if Jesus couldn’t save Himself, how could we expect him to save us? But He did save Himself and proved that He can save us, too.
