Gospel of John I — Stephen Kaung

Gospel of John I — Stephen Kaung

This is Sunday evening, September the 10th, 1972, in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kahn. May we look to the Lord in prayer.

Lord, how we praise and thank Thee, because Thou art so faithful. Thou art so merciful. Thou art so loving. How we praise and thank Thee for all the past. How we praise and thank Thee for the present.

And we can thank Thee even for the future. Lord, we can trust ourselves to Thee completely, because Thou art so trustworthy. We gather together this evening because of Thy faithfulness. Because of Thy mercy and Thy love.

And we do open ourselves to Thee, Lord. Lord, we desire to be filled by Thyself. Deliver us from ourselves. Deliver us from anything, everything that would distract us. But Lord, we want Thee. We want to exalt Thee.

Thou dost say, if Thou be lifted up, Thou would draw all men to Thee, Lord. Thou art lifted up in our hearts, and we are drawn unto Thyself. We pray that at this moment, may Thy Holy Spirit breathe upon Thy Word.

Make it living and operating. We ask that we may not only hear, but we may see. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen. Thank God for gathering us together here tonight. Unto the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the name that we love.

John’s Witness to the Lamb of God

I have so many verses to read that I think I have to pick a few. Will you please turn to the Gospel according to John. John chapter 1. The Gospel according to John chapter 1. We'll read from verse 35.

Again on the morrow, there stood John and two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as he walked, he says, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus. But Jesus having turned and seeing them following, says to them, What see ye?

And they said to him, Rabbi, which being interpreted signifies teacher. Where abideth thou? He says to them, Come and see. They went, therefore, and saw where he abode. And they abode with him that day.

It was about the tenth hour. Matthew chapter 4. Matthew chapter 4. Verse 21 and verse 22. And going on things, he that is our Lord, saw other two brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the ship with Zebedee their father, mending their trawnet.

And he called them. And they having left the ship and their father, immediately followed him. Mark. Mark chapter 3. Verse 17. You know the Lord called disciples to him. Chapter 3 verse 17. And James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, and he gave them the surname of Bernerges, that is, son of thunder.

Luke chapter 9. Verse 49. Luke chapter 9 verse 49. And John answering said, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in thy name, and we forbade him, because he follows not with us. And Jesus said to him, Forbid him not, for he that is not against you is for you.

And it came to pass, when the days of his receiving up were fulfilled, that he set his face to go to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers before his face. And having gone, they entered into a village of the Samaritans, that they might make ready for him.

And they did not receive him, because his face was turned as going to Jerusalem. And his disciples James and John seeing it said, Lord, wilt thou that we speak, that fire come down from heaven, and consume them, as also Elias did?

But turning he rebuked them, and said, Ye know not of God's Spirit, but ye are. Matthew again, chapter 20. Verse 20. Matthew, chapter 20, verse 20. Then came to him the mother of the sons of David, with her sons, doing homage, and asking something of him.

And he said to her, What wilt thou? She says to him, Speak the word, that these my two sons may stick, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left, in thy kingdom. And Jesus answering said, Ye know not what he asked.

Can ye drink the cup which I am about to drink? They says to him, We are able. And he says to them, Ye shall drink indeed my cup. But to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared of my Father.

The gospel according to John. John, chapter 19, verse 25. And by the cross of Jesus stood his mother, and the sister of his mother, Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and Mary of Magdala. Jesus therefore seeing his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, says to his mother, Woman, behold thy son.

Then he says unto the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. And finally, chapter 21, of the gospel according to John. John, chapter 21, verse 20. Peter turning round, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned at supper on his breast, and said, Lord, who is it that delivers the yoke?

Peter seeing him says to Jesus, Lord, and what of this man? Jesus said to him, If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. This word therefore went out among the brethren, that disciple does not die.

And Jesus did not say to him, he does not die, but if I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee? This is the disciple who bears witness concerning these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his witness is true.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, these which if they were written one by one, I suppose that not even the world itself would contain the books written. We have mentioned several times in the past that the gospel of Jesus Christ is only one.

There is only one gospel. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But this gospel is presented to us by four evangelists. The gospel of Jesus Christ is so rich and full that it takes four evangelists to present that gospel.

And in each of these four gospels we find a different emphasis. In the gospel according to Matthew we find, out of Matthew's own experience, Christ is the King. And how he calls us to obey him, that we may be his kingdom.

The gospel according to Mark, Mark as a young man, is being trained to be a servant of the Lord. So he can see our Lord Jesus as the servant of God. The model perfect servant. Who comes not to be ministered to, but to minister.

And to give his life a ransom for man. The gospel according to Luke. Luke is a physician. He is always interested in men. And there he discovers the man of men. Our Lord Jesus Christ. The man after God's own heart.

The Son of Man. And finally we find the gospel according to John. Now dear brothers and sisters, in order to have a better understanding of the gospel written by each of these evangelists, it will help us if we know something of what has happened to the lives of these evangelists.

Because they are not just presenting Christ to us as an objective history. They are presenting Christ to us as a subjective experience. Out of their own experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, they share with us the Christ that they know.

Because of that, we would like to spend some time in going together through the life of the evangelist, John. And probably that will occupy our evening tonight. Now our purpose is not that we may know John.

Our purpose is we may know the Lord of John. But John as a channel will help us to know better the Lord that he knows so well. Of course we all know that the gospel according to John is written by John the brother of James.

Although he has never mentioned that in his writings. He is so humble. He always tries to hide himself. So he never mentioned that this is the gospel that I write. He just mentioned that the one whom Jesus loved.

The one whom Jesus loved. But we all know that's John. The youngest of the twelve. We do not know too much about his background. All we know is he and James are brothers. And their father is called Zabadee.

Their mother most likely is Salome, the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. So according to the flesh, John and James are cousins to our Lord Jesus Christ. Evidently this man Zabadee was a well-to-do person.

Even though they were fishermen. Now brothers and sisters do not think that fishermen must be very poor. This fisherman Zabadee seemed to be well-to-do. Why? Because he had hired hands. He not only fished himself with his two sons, but you'll find he had hired hands.

So a fisherman that could afford to hire people to help them fish must be quite a big business. Must be well-to-do. And not only that, but we also know that Salome was one of the sisters who supplied our Lord Jesus and his disciples with material things.

Now you have to have something to minister to the Lord and to his disciples. And moreover, you'll find they seem to have a house in Jerusalem. Now to have a house in Jerusalem, not being their native town, you can maintain a house in Jerusalem, the capital of that time, you must be someone with means.

Otherwise you are not able to maintain two houses and especially in the capital. Just like people live in Richmond and maintain another house in Washington, D .C. It costs something to do that. And somehow you'll find they had a house in Jerusalem.

Even though James and John had never been to school. By that it means that they'd never been to the school of rabbis. They were never trained as Pharisees. Never trained to be rabbis. And yet they seemed to know the high priestly family very well.

Because you remember when our Lord Jesus was taken to the house of the high priest, John was able to go right in. Why? He knew the high priest. And Peter, he had to come out and tell the maid that this is my friend, let him in.

And they let Peter in. So evidently you'll find this family seemed to be well connected with the high priest family. Anyway, it seemed to us that this family must be a very devout. They must be very pious Jews.

You see many Jews at that time they embraced Judaism as a religion. But few among them were really serious. And evidently you'll find the Zebedee, his wife and his two sons seemed to be quite serious in the things of the Lord.

John’s First Encounter With Jesus

The first time we met John was we saw he was one of the two disciples with John the Baptist. John the Baptist came out as the forerunner of Christ. And as he preached repentance you'll find those who responded to God they came to him and were baptized.

And among them were John, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee. Now John was such a person that once he took a step he was very thorough. He was never a person that would go into anything half-heartedly.

He was of such a temperament. Either none or all. There was no in-between to him. So you'll find that after John received the baptism of John the Baptist you'll find he became a true disciple of John the Baptist.

He stayed with John the Baptist. He not only received his baptism but he stayed with him. You know many people may receive the baptism of John the Baptist but they went home. But not with John. He stayed with him.

And because he stayed with him something happened. Now brothers and sisters of course in the first chapter of John he didn't mention his name. He only mentioned his companion, Angel. Angel! And this one, they were with John the Baptist.

But we all know it was John. It was John. So one day John the Baptist testified. Behold, this is the Lamb of God. He pointed to the Lord Jesus and said, Behold, this is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of this world.

But then the next day when John the Baptist and his two disciples were standing there Jesus. And as Jesus passed by John the Baptist said it the second time. Behold, the Lamb. This is the Lamb of God.

He said that. His two disciples left. They went after him. And Jesus turned around and said, What do you want? What are you seeking? And you notice the most unusual answer. When the Lord said, What are you seeking?

The answer was, Where do you live? We will say the answer is so different from the question. But dear brothers and sisters do you know that? This is the best answer to that question. The Lord said, What do you seek?

What do you want? And they said, Where do you live? The Lord said, Come and see. So they went with the Lord. They saw where the Lord lived and they lived with the Lord for that day and through that night.

And because they lived with the Lord that day and that night something tremendous happened. Why? Because the next day you remember, Angel went to find his brother Peter and said, We have met the Messiah.

Now if Angel did that certainly John did that too. He went to his brother James. This was the first encounter of John with our Lord Jesus. When he met the Lord Jesus he was already prepared. So far as his heart was concerned so far as his spiritual condition was concerned he was a ready vessel for the Lord.

He didn't know that but the Lord knew. Dear brothers and sisters, do you know that you are chosen before the foundation of the world? Do you know that before you are born you are known? Do you know that after you are born until the time you met the Lord for the first time the Lord knew all along about you?

In other words, there was nothing lost. Even before you knew the Lord the Lord knew you and everything that came into your life was arranged. He was just preparing you for the day, that's all. Nothing was lost.

It will really strengthen our faith. Here was John, a prepared vessel. And then you'll find the Lord. Oh brothers and sisters, sometimes we think this was rather strange. Because John followed the Lord before the Lord called him.

It seems as if John was seeking the Lord instead of the Lord sought him. But actually it wasn't that. You know that morning John the Baptist and the two disciples who were standing there and they saw Jesus walk by.

Was it by accident? Or did our Lord pass by purposely? There was John the Baptist and the two disciples. And the two disciples were ready for him. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. He just walked by.

Showed himself to them. That's all. Without saying a word. And he let John the Baptist get the talking. John the Baptist said, this is the Lamb of God. In other words, he was driving his disciples away and said, you go away from me and you'll follow.

John the Baptist did not draw people to himself. He pointed people to the Lord. So far as his ministry was concerned, he was very successful in the beginning. But he was not out for success. He was out to point people to Christ.

So there he was. As if he was driving his two disciples away and said, now you were my disciples but that was just for a preparation. Now the Lamb of God has come. Go and follow him. And these two disciples understood.

Unfortunately, many of John's disciples continued to follow John and did not follow Jesus. They thought that they were doing a service to John but actually a disservice. Dear brothers and sisters, how we need to be delivered from all man, from any instrument of God, to follow the Lord.

The Lord may use certain men or women. The Lord may use certain instruments to help us along. But certainly, it is the pleasure, the delight of God's servants to drive you away from them that they may drive you to the Lord.

If anyone will keep you to themselves, promise me. But here you'll find John the Baptist, he drew, literally, drew these two disciples away. And you know, these were the two best disciples. In a sense, you'll find, it was the Lord who drew them.

The Lord passed and drew them. When the Lord said, What seeketh ye? Their answer was, Where do you live? Dear brothers and sisters, I think there is no answer better than this answer. Why? Because lots of people, they follow the Lord.

For what? Lots of the Jews at that time, they follow the Lord because they want to. They are willing to cross the sea to find the Lord. Why? Because the Lord just performed a miracle. Five loaves and two fishes and feed so many people.

So they wanted to follow Him for bread. And the Lord said, Labor not for the bread of this world. But, now other people may follow the Lord. Why? Lots of people follow the Lord in the beginning of a ministry because they saw wonders and miracles.

They were attracted by these wonders and miracles. But John, he followed the Lord. Not for the sake of any physical gain. Not even for the sake of miracles and wonders. He followed the Lord because he wanted the Lord.

Where do you live? I do not care about bread. I do not care about miracles. But I want you. Where do you live? I want to live with you. Brothers and sisters, can you find a better answer? Whom are you really speaking for?

Why do you follow the Lord? Is it because you want the Lord? It is the person of the Lord. Not even. And that was John. If you read the gospel according to John, you will find that is very true. He wanted the Lord and the Lord alone.

He wanted to have fellowship with the Lord. He wanted to know the Lord. He wanted to abide with the Lord and the Lord abide with him. He wanted to be one with the Lord. Wherever the Lord was, there will be.

And brothers and sisters, because his heart was completely occupied with the Lord, the Lord revealed himself. And the next day, he could go out like angels said, we have seen the Messiah. That was his first encounter with the Lord.

From Galilee to Jerusalem: John’s Early Discipleship

Now, if you read the gospel according to John, you will find there is something different from the other three synoptic gospels. You see, all the other three gospels, the gospel according to Matthew, the gospel according to Mark, and the gospel according to Luke, they record, or they start recording the ministry of our Lord from Galilee.

Our Lord began to minister, but they began with our Lord's ministry in Galilee. John was the only one who wrote the record of the Lord's ministry in Jerusalem. In other words, he was with the Lord from the very beginning.

From the very beginning. He was one of the earliest disciples. So there he was. After his first encounter with the Lord, after he knew the Lord, there he followed the Lord. He was with the Lord. When the Lord went to Jerusalem, cleansing the temple, he was there.

When the Lord went to that wedding in Cana, he was there. When the Lord met that Samaritan woman, he was there. So here you will find he was familiar with what happened to the ministry of our Lord in Judea before he began his ministry in Galilee.

He was with the Lord from the very beginning. But, strange to say, when you come to Matthew chapter 4, you find John the Baptist was in prison. And because John the Baptist was put in prison, now the ministry of our Lord Jesus seemed to be the only ministry existing now.

So our Lord Jesus, as he began his earthly ministry after John was put in prison, he started that in Galilee. That's where all the other Gospels began. So he walked by the Sea of Galilee. And there he called.

As he passed by, you remember, he passed by and he saw Peter and Andrew. They were casting the net. And the Lord said, Come and follow me. So they left the net and followed the Lord. He walked a little distance and he saw the two sons of David with their father and the high workers.

They were mending the net. In other words, they had already had a catch. And now some nets had broken. So they were mending the net by the shore. And the Lord said, Come and follow me. And they left the net and their father and the ship and the high servants and they followed.

After that first encounter with the Lord, John seemed to spend lots of time with the Lord. Because he was a witness to all the things that happened during the early days. And he gave us a record in the first few chapters of the Gospel, according to John.

But, even though he followed the Lord as if automatically, for a time, and yet, in a sense, there wasn't a clear cut following the Lord. In other words, he followed the Lord most of the time. He was a companion of the Lord.

So, he saw all the things that happened. And yet you find when the Lord began to call disciples, he was mending the net. He was home again. It was an on and off, off and on thing. And I wonder, how many of our experiences seem to fit in with that kind of situation.

After our first encounter with the Lord, dear brothers and sisters, automatically, we are following him. But, probably to many of us, it was a matter of on and off, off and on business. We seem to follow the Lord for a while and then we disappear for a while.

And then again, we seem to be following the Lord. There wasn't yet that clear cut understanding. In other words, we do not understand the Lord's calling. To believe in the Lord Jesus is one thing. To hear the call of discipleship is another thing.

Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus, more or less, is a disciple. But it's an on and off business. Unless you do not believe in the Lord, then you will not follow him. Period. But if you are a believer of the Lord, it cannot help that you follow him sometimes.

In other words, discipleship is there. But somehow, we are not too clear, too certain about it. It is gray. It is in the borderline. Not too clear. And one day, we need to hear a call from the Lord. It is the call of discipleship.

The Absolute Call to Discipleship

The Lord does not want us to be believers only. We must be believers, yes. But we must be disciples. In other words, we must follow the Lord. Not only believe in him, but to follow him. To be an apprentice of him.

To learn of him. So the call came to John when he was nameless. And when the call came, the Lord said, Come, follow me. But the call was so strong, John left everything and followed. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the call of discipleship.

Sooner or later, every one of us who have trusted in the Lord will hear that call. As a matter of fact, the sooner the call comes, the better. As a matter of fact, the call should come at the time you are saved.

They should come together. But to the experience of many people, it seems as if there is a gap. You believe in the Lord Jesus, you receive him, you have him, and you like to be with him, and in many respects, you like to follow him, but still you are holding back something.

You haven't yet come to a place where you have heard the call in such a strength that you forsake everything and follow him. Brothers and sisters, that call will come. Will come. And when it comes, there is only one answer.

And only one way to answer that call. And that is forsake all and follow him. That may not mean physical leaving. Like John, you know, he physically, he left the ship. He left the nets. He left his father.

He left his pious servant. He left everything and followed the Lord. It was physical even to John. But there is something more basic than the physical. And the basic is spiritual. Dear brothers and sisters, what is the call of discipleship?

The call of discipleship is come, follow me. How can we come? How can we follow him? We must leave all. If we hold back anything, we are not able to come. We are not able to follow him. The call of discipleship is absolute.

I do not know how you feel. One day the Lord will come to you and say, come and follow me. Then probably you will discover there are many things you are holding on. You want to follow the Lord and yet you will not let go of these things.

It may happen physically or it may be a heart attitude. In your heart, do you respond and say, Lord, I believe this is the only way. Anyone who has not come to this place, shall we say, he is half and half and he is not able to follow the Lord to the very end.

It is something that we have to decide in the early days of our Christian life. Do you know why? Many Christians seem to have a good beginning but they do not come. Why is it that you find many Christians seem to have a good beginning but they do not grow as they should?

And when you come back you will find the reason is the call of discipleship isn't a clear issue. Is the call of discipleship a clear issue in your life? Again I say, it may not mean that you have to leave your home or your school.

Probably the contrary. God wants you to stay in your school and study. God wants you to stay in your home. But there must be a clear cut. The Lord. You have to leave everything and follow Him. And that's why He answers the Lord in the matter of discipleship.

But to be a disciple of the Lord is not an easy thing. You know, sometimes today we always present Christianity in such a rosy picture. You know? So people expect when they come to the Lord the Lord would just lift them up and put them in the third heaven.

Discover it wasn't so. It was a shock to them. As a matter of fact, to be a disciple of the Lord is the most difficult thing in this whole world. It wasn't easy. The Lord called John and James to Him.

The Sons of Thunder and the Transformation of Temperament

And then the Lord gave John and James a name. The Lord called them Bernigas, which means son of thunders. Isn't that a strange thing? We often in our mind think of John as personal. Oh, His love is such of almost family.

You know? So, in all the pictures of the artist, if you see any picture drawn by an artist, there was no photograph at that time, you know. So we don't know exactly how they look. But to the artist concept, you know, when they draw a picture of John it's almost like a woman.

White love. So full of love. So gentle and so weak. Family. But dear brothers and sisters, you're wrong. The Lord called Him son of thunders. There is no family in thunders. What is thunder? Climax. Because He is to be a living stone.

A material for the building of God's house. So in the Bible you'll find whenever the Lord gives a new name it seems as if He is looking forward to the future of what the Lord will do in that life. That's true.

Now, in the case of John, probably it's done. And we have some, some evidence of it. You know? Probably by temperament. John is such an intense person. You know, he is built as a very intense person. And his temperament is intense, absolute, thorough, yes, meditative, introspective, reserved, but you know, a person that is very introspective and maybe quite reserved and very intense, when that person is really disturbed it comes out like thunder.

Oh, by the way, our natural temperaments are all different. God loves us. Look at your face. Only a few things on your face. Just two eyebrows, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, and two ears, that's all.

But God can so use these few items and create such variety that no two faces are exactly alike. Not even the three. God does love variety. That's all. Variety is bringing fullness. Otherwise, it will be monotonous.

Now, if God makes our physical situation as such, certainly you'll find in the matter of temperaments, God makes us all with different temperaments. Some people are naturally born extroverts. Other people are introverts.

Some people are naturally born very cautious and other people are very aggressive. Some people are born very quick. Other people are born very slow. Brothers and sisters, do you know that? That's variety.

That's fullness. Temperament is neutral. To be an extrovert, there is no virtue in it. To be an introvert, there is no shame in it. To be quick or to be slow. As a natural temperament, there is nothing wrong or nothing right in it.

It is morally neutral. It is just like God makes us all different physically. Our natural temperament never changes. I hope it's not a shock to you. I hope you hope that your natural temperament will change.

If you're very quick, you hope that you'll get very slow. You want that change. But look at Peter. He never changes. Never changes. This formation doesn't mean that your natural temperament is changed.

This is created by God. Just like your faith will remain. What has changed is the life that is controlling your temperament. It is your self-life that is using your temperament. So your temperament manifests you.

And that's very ugly. Whether it's quick or slow. Extrovert or introvert. Aggressive or reserved. Ugly. But transformation comes when the Christ life takes hold of your temperament. And dear brothers and sisters, even your slowness is a beauty.

But of course, under His control, it's purified, it's regulated, it's under His control. So there is a little bit different. You know? In other words, temperament does not change. But it is a little bit different in its expression.

Why? It is now under a new management. John, by nature, temperament was like a son of thunder. You do not hear thunders every day. But when you hear it, it's loud. A person like John, who was so intense, so absolute.

With John there was nothing in between. Either this or that. He became a disciple of John the Baptist and he was 100 John the Baptist's disciple. Then he left John the Baptist completely behind him and became a disciple of the Lord Jesus, 100%.

And if you read all his writings, the gospel according to John, the first, second and third epistles, and the book of Revelation, you'll find in all his writings it is absolute. No compromise of any kind.

He was that absolute intense person. And when that light was under his own control, what a trouble. Let us hear the thunders, you all. You know, how did a thunder happen naturally? Some disturbance in the air.

And then electricity would build up until finally the lightning strike and the thunders roll. Right? And here you find John as he followed the Lord time and again. But the Lord, one day you remember, the disciples, they were arguing among themselves again, you know.

Yes, they did. Almost. Every day probably. They were arguing among themselves as who was the greatest. Now do not think that John drew back and said, all right, you go ahead. You go, I'm the youngest.

Never. They were all arguing among themselves as to who was the greatest. And just after they finished their argument, John came to the Lord and said, Lord Master, I saw someone casting out demons in your name.

And I forbade him because he did not follow. And the Lord said, He that is not against you is for you. Now, brothers and sisters, you know what? And casting out demons in the name of the Lord. And evidently the demons were cast out.

But he was not happy about it. Why? Because this man did not follow with him. He was the Lord's chosen disciple. The orthodox. The regular. And here he saw someone irregular. Now if you want to follow the Lord, you have to be with us.

Because we were the irregular. And in a sense he was right, you know. He got so exclusive in his thinking. So narrow-minded. If you do not follow with us, you are not following the Lord. He did not know how great, big, and intense person can to be narrow, you know.

Why? Because she was so intense. Well, brothers and sisters, probably you will say now, do I remember that there is another verse say in Matthew chapter 10 I think. The Lord said, he who is not with me is against me.

Now is there any contradiction here? Here the Lord said, he who is not against you is for you. And yet in the other time the Lord said, he who is not with me is against me. Now how do you reconcile these two things?

Now remember, you have to read the context. If you read the context you will find when the Lord said, he who is not with me is against me. He is referring to the world. So far as the world is concerned, he that is not with the Lord is against.

But when he said, he is not against you, is for you, he is referring to those who are the Lord. Among the believers, he who is not against you, the Lord enlarged the heart of John. You are the regular, yes.

But don't be jealous. The Lord is great. He is able to bless even if it's a little bit irregular. And do not be jealous about it. Yes, it doesn't mean that you should leave me and go off like that other person.

Of course not. You have to follow me continuously. But do not learn to allow brothers and sisters. This was not natural. John was a person who can love only one, maybe two, I don't know, probably only one.

But the Lord enlarged his heart. All who are the Lord. And you see what has changed later. It was John who insists again and again, love. He learned his lesson. Immediately following this, you know, the Lord was going to Jerusalem and opposing to the custom of his time.

The Lord travelled through Samaria. The Jews always escaped Samaria because they had nothing to do with the Samaritans. So they would ride across the river Jordan to the east side and travel on the east side and across back.