GOD’S WILL AND THE BIBLE    

Bookstore shelves (where they still exist) are full of books claiming to guide us and show us what to do. Pick a subject, and someone is ready to give you direction on the matter. This is nothing new. Solomon said, “There is no end to the making of many books” (Eccl. 12:12). The ultimate guidance we need comes from God, and one of the ways He has revealed His Will is through the pages of Scripture. Remember in last week’s lesson notes I said that to knew God’s Will it could begin by being in God’s Word. In Psalm 19:7 it states, “the instruction of the Lord’s perfect”.  Another new statement from this week’s lesson is “God gives us direction through His Word.”

Read Psalm 19:7-10

From the author of several Christians books -C.S. Lewis- he is quoted as saying-

“In memorizing the second half of Psalm 19 I wanted to get a good understanding of the terms used for God’s revelation of Himself through the many facets of his instruction to us. I don’t own a commentary on the Psalms in book form but the commentaries from Matthew Henry, John Gill, Adam Clarke, Charles Spurgeon, Keil & Delitzsch, John MacArthur (from a sermon) and Derek Kidner (from the library) more than suffice. Even after reading through all of them I still feel like I’m still just beginning to mine the depths of what this text offers (not to mention Psalm 119!). So I would like to write down a synopsis of just these verses based on commentaries and my own thoughts and observations to further embed these ideas in my brain and cause me to ponder further.”

The instruction of the Lord is perfect!

The HCSB uses the word instruction for tôrâh instead of the usual law here so as not to confuse it with only the law of Moses or the Decalogue (ten commandments) [tôrâh] does not in itself mean the law, but a pointing out, instruction, doctrine or teaching”. It’s a complete divine instruction of God’s will for man’s life and conduct. On a side note, the Bible isn’t just an instruction manual for us. It’s so much more than that. It’s God revealing Himself, His purposes, how He has dealt with people and His redemption story. How much more wonderful this is than a mere instruction manual.

Since God does not reside in our constraint of time, His law is timeless and includes the gospel message and all of His revealed word to us, not just the law as it was revealed up to the time of David when he wrote this Psalm. It’s somewhat prophetic in that way. Regarding the word perfect John MacArthur says, “I remember the first time I studied Psalm 19, many, many years ago, I wanted to really know what perfect meant. So I went back and I got all the Hebrew lexicons off my shelf and I remember spending several hours chasing this word ‘perfect’ all over the place, trying to wring out of it everything that I could so I would have a grasp of it. And after many hours of study, I came to the conclusion that what it means is perfect. A bit disappointing after all the effort, but that’s

exactly what it means…perfect.” He qualifies that as meaning–not as opposed to imperfect but as opposed to incomplete.

The law of the Lord is sufficient for “everything we need for life and godliness”. (2 Peter 1:3). Psalm 19:7b Reviving the soul; Restoring, reviving, refreshing, or converting; turning to God or back to God. In any case, transformation takes place. Psalm 19:7c
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, I think that some of the obvious examples of His testimony are what He has said audibly about Himself and His Son. But more comprehensively it is God disclosing His character, His will and His nature–who He is. (cf. 1 John 5:9). You can know that what He says about Himself is trustworthy. Believing He is who He says he is–this is vital for trusting Him and making it through hard times. (Psalm 119:92).

The precepts of the Lord are right (19:8a).

Precept  In a general sense, any commandment or order intended as an authoritative rule of action; but applied particularly to commands respecting moral conduct. The ten commandments are so many precepts for the regulation of our moral conduct. Synonyms for precepts would be commandments, decrees or statutes, which many other translations use. All of His precepts are always right and always leading people in righteousness and in the right path. (Proverbs 8:8) They are always well meaning and for our well-being.
Making the heart glad (19:8b).

Having His precepts written on our hearts leads us to a right mind which gives us joy. They satisfy our desire for morality. Retire and read thy Bible to be glad (Charles Spurgeon).
The commandment of the Lord is radiant (19:8c).

HCSB and TNIV use the word radiant, some clear, most others pure. The commandment itself is pure, not adulterated by any person. It also purifies us. The word radiant is used because light is pure. It may also be looking forward to the next line.
Making the eyes light up (19:8d).

His commandment gives us discernment to see what’s earthly and what’s spiritual; what is of the world and what is of true value. It gives us understanding not only externally but internally–showing us our own sin. (Proverbs 6:23)
The fear of the Lord is pure (19:9a).

His instruction taken to heart causes us to fear, venerate, reverence and be in awe of the Lord. Its purpose is to purify (John 15:2-3), as purified silver or gold.

Enduring forever (19:9b)

The fear of the Lord is perpetual. The coming of Jesus does not and should not alter our fear of the Lord, even though Jesus calls us friends. (John 15:14) The fear of the Lord is in opposition to all false ways of reverencing (or not reverencing) Him.
The ordinances of the Lord are reliable (19:9c).

The ordinances or judgments of the Lord are unquestionable and need no excuse to justify them. All that He has decided is right and proper.

Altogether righteous (19:9d).

Any one of them or all of them together are righteous. They are all alike in their righteousness. Clarke would say that, “they are truth [reliable] and righteousness united.” Spurgeon, “no exception may be taken to a single clause separately, or to the book as a whole.”

They are more desirable than gold- than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter

than honey- than honey dripping from the comb (19:10)

Here obviously each idea is intensified. Here the Psalm author *David) likely thinks of them as being not only more valuable than money, but more money than we would know what to do with. Obviously, honey is sweet. Honey dripping from the comb is very different than the honey we would get at the store. It is said that honey from the comb has, “a sweetness, richness and flavor, far beyond what it has after it becomes exposed to the air.” God’s instruction is more satisfying than any earthly pleasure we can imagine. This is the truth. Is this the estimation of God’s Word? We should pray that it will be, and more and more so.

Read Psalm 19:11-14

God’s word warns the wicked not to go on in his wicked way and warns the righteous not to turn from his good way. There is a reward, not only after keeping, but in keeping God’s commandments. Religion makes our comforts sweet, and our crosses easy, life truly valuable, and death itself truly desirable. David not only desired to be pardoned and cleansed from the sins he had discovered and confessed, but from those he had forgotten or overlooked. All discoveries of sin made to us by the law, should drive us to the throne of grace, there to pray. His dependence was the same with that of every Christian who says, Surely, in the Lord Jesus have I righteousness and strength. No prayer can be acceptable before God which is not offered in the strength of our Redeemer or Divine ..Kinsman, through Him who took our nature upon him, that he might redeem us unto God, and restore the long-lost inheritance. May our hearts be much affected with the excellence of the word of God; and much affected with the evil of sin, and the danger we are in of it, and the danger we are in by.

Who can understand his errors? – It is not possible, without much of the Divine light, to understand all our deviations from, not only the letter, but the spirituality, of the Divine law. Frequent self-examination, and walking in the light, are essentially necessary to the requisite degree of spiritual perfection. .Cleanse thou me from secret faults – David says from those which I have committed, and have forgotten; from those for which I have not repented; from those which have been committed in my heart, but have not been brought to act in my life; from those which I have committed without knowing that they were sins, sins of ignorance; and from those which I have committed in private, for which I should blush and be confounded were they to be made public.

From presumptuous sins – Sins committed not through frailty or surprise, but those which are the offspring of thought, purpose, and deliberation. Sins against judgment, light, and conscience. The words might be translated, Preserve thy servant also from the proud; from tyrannical governors, i.e., from evil spirits. Let them not have dominion over me – Let me never be brought into a habit of sinning. He who sins presumptuously will soon be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Then shall I be upright – Let me be preserved from all the evil that the craft and malice of the devil or man work against me, then shall I continue to walk uprightly, and shall be innocent from the great transgression – from habitual sinning, from apostasy, from my easily-besetting sin.

  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart. David asks still more expressly to be fortified by the grace of God, and thus enabled to live an upright and holy life. The substance of the verse is this: I beseech thee, O God, not only to keep me from breaking forth into the external acts of transgression, but also to frame my tongue and my heart to the obedience of thy law. We know how difficult it is, even for the most perfect, so to bridle their words and thoughts, as that nothing may pass through their heart or mouth which is contrary to the will of God; and yet this inward purity is what the law chiefly requires of us. Now, the rarer this virtue — the rarer this strict control of the heart and of the tongue is, let us learn so much the more the necessity of our being governed by the Holy Spirit, in order to regulate our life uprightly and honestly. By the word acceptable, the Psalmist shows that the only rule of living well is for men to endeavor to please God, and to be approved of him. The concluding words, in which he calls God his strength and his redeemer, he employs to confirm himself in the assured confidence of obtaining his requests.

        David uses three titles for God: My Lord, My Rock, and My Redeemer.  David’s earnest desire was to be blameless and cleansed, and acceptable to the Lord. He knew that all those conditions would come as he was dependent upon God and obedient to God’s Will as was revealed in His Word. We must depend on God the same way.

GOD’S WILL AND THE GLORY OF GOD    

Describe any awe-inspiring experience that surprised your or took your breath away.

When we view a beautiful sunrise or sunset we marvel at the beauty of creation and glorify the Creator who made it.  We bring glory to God when we obey His Will. Different world religions offer wrong perceptions of how God works in the world. Some see His acts as capricious and seemingly on a whim. Others view God as distant and uncaring. Many think our God is the same as theirs- which is very wrong and causes much concern. But the Bible reveals the true nature of God: the all-powerful God who acts in holiness and love on a personal level. Jesus also showed us the death of Lazarus that God always works for His glory.  Reminder: one of the real reasons we were created and exist is to glorify God daily.

Read John 11:1-4

Lazarus, of Bethany – John, who seldom relates anything but what the other evangelists have omitted, does not tell us what gave rise to that familiar acquaintance and friendship that subsisted between our Lord and this family. It is surprising that the other evangelists have omitted so remarkable an account as this is, in which some of the finest traits in our Lord’s character are exhibited. The conjecture of Grotius has a good deal of weight. He thinks that the other three evangelists wrote their histories during the life of Lazarus; and that they did not mention him for fear of exciting the malice of the Jews against him. And indeed we find, from John 12:10, that they sought to put Lazarus to death also, that our Lord might not have one monument of his power and goodness remaining in the land. Probably both Lazarus and his sisters were dead before John wrote. Bethany was situated at the foot of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Several have observed that “there is a large gap in John’s history of Christ in this place. What is mentioned in the preceding chapter passed at the feast of the dedication, John 10:22, about the middle of our December. This miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead seems to have been wrought but a little before the following The Passover, in the end of March or April. This seems to be close to the time at which Jesus was crucified, as may   be gathered from verses 54 and 55 of this chapter, and from John 12:9.” John has, therefore, according to the commentary’s calculation, omitted to mention the several miracles which our Lord wrought for above three months after the things mentioned in the preceding chapter. This entire chapter deals with the resurrection of Lazarus.

The town of Mary – The place where she lived. At that place also lived Simon the leper Matthew 26:6, and there our Lord spent considerable part of his time when he was in Judea. It was that Mary which anointed – There is much disagreement between learned men relative to the two anointings of our Lord, and the persons who performed these acts. The various conjectures concerning these points the reader will find in the notes on Matthew 26:7, etc., but particularly at the end of that chapter. Why should Bethany be called the town of Martha and Mary, and not of Lazarus? The reason appears to be,, that Martha and Mary had been well known by that anointing of our Lord, which is mentioned Luke 7:37; but the name of Lazarus had not been mentioned till now. So, there being no transaction by which he could properly be brought into view. Therefore that the anointing, should have its full force, thus thinking seems  to have been the reason of that familiarity which subsisted between our Lord and this family; and, on this ground, they could confidently send for our Lord when Lazarus fell sick. This seems a very reasonable conjecture; and it is very likely that the familiarity arose out of the anointing.

He whom thou loves is sick – Nothing could be more simple, nor more modest, than this prayer: they do not say, Come and heal him: or, Command the disease to depart even where thou art, and it will obey thee: – they content themselves with simply stating the case, and using an indirect but a most forcible argument, to induce our Lord to show forth his power and goodness: – He is sick, and thou loves him; therefore thou canst neither abandon him, not us.  They believed that he had power to heal him John 11:21, though they did not then seem to suppose that he could raise him if he died. Perhaps there were two reasons why they sent for him; one, because they supposed he would be desirous of seeing his friend; the other, because they supposed he could restore him. In sickness we should implore the aid and presence of Jesus. He only can restore us and our friends; he only can perform for us the office of a friend when all other friends fail; and he only can cheer us with the hope of a blessed resurrection.]

This sickness is not unto death – The word “death” here is equivalent to remaining under death, Romans 6:23. “The wages of sin is death” – permanent or unchanging death, opposed to eternal life. Jesus evidently did not intend to deny that he would die. The words which he immediately adds show that he would expire, and that he would raise him up to show forth the power and glory of God. Compare John 11:11. Those words cannot be understood on any other supposition than that he expected to raise him up. The Savior often used expressions similar to this to fix the attention on what he was about to say in explanation. The sense may be thus expressed: “His sickness is not fatal. It is not designed for his death, but to furnish an opportunity for a signal display of the glory of God, and to furnish a standing proof of the truth of religion. It is intended to exhibit the power of the Son of God, and to be a proof at once of the truth of his mission; of his friendship for this family; of his mild, tender, special love as a man; of his power and glory as the Messiah; and of the great doctrine that the dead will rise.

Read  John 11:38-43

During a good portion of my lifetime, science has been used to oppose the Bible and the Christian faith. In thousands of classrooms across our country, professors and teachers have asked their students, “Does anyone here believe in the Bible?” or “Is anyone here a Christian?” There is an all-too-often story of a little girl  who was in such a class in a secular university, and one of a very few (if, indeed, there were any others as so many are against the Bible) who raised her hand, acknowledging her belief in the Bible and her faith in Jesus Christ. The professor responded by sneering at her as though she was ill-informed and ignorant, or, at best, naive.

For too many years now, unbelieving scholars and teachers have been scoffing at Christians and their faith, hoping to shame us into silence. They wish to convince themselves and others that faith is “believing in what isn’t real or true.” Is our faith ill-founded? Does our faith hang by an intellectual thread? Is faith required because there is too little evidence to support the claims of the Bible? Not at all!  In this Scripture, I am going to suggest something absolutely amazing, at least in the light of those scholars who are also scoffers. I am going to suggest that faith in Jesus Christ is the only reasonable response to biblical revelation. I will further say that it is unbelief that is unbelievable, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only “reasonable” response to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In our text, Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave with a prayer and a shout. Providentially, a crowd is present at the grave sight, not only to witness this miracle, but to participate in it. As a result of this amazing miracle, many of those who are there come to a faith in Jesus and the Messiah. Some do not, and these folks report what has happened to the Jewish religious leaders, who set in motion a plan to arrest and kill Jesus. By their own words, these leaders of Israel reveal that their unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence, but stems from their desire to protect their own selfish interests. Let us look carefully at this amazing event and its aftermath to learn the lessons God has for us in this text

Serious opposition to Jesus in Jerusalem begins in chapter 5, when Jesus heals the paralytic on a Sabbath, instructing him to take up his bed and walk, and defending His actions by claiming to be God. Jesus retreats to Galilee in chapter 6, where He feeds the 5,000 and teaches that He is the “bread of life.” In chapter 7, Jesus returns to Jerusalem once again for the Feast of Tabernacles. The issue of the healing of the paralytic on the Sabbath is once again raised (see 7:23), and soon the Pharisees and chief priests send out the temple police to arrest Jesus. They return, but without the Master. These men explain that they did not arrest Jesus because they have never heard anyone teach as He does (7:45-46). In chapter 8, Jesus claims to be the “light of the world” (8:12), and then in chapter 9, He undergirds His claim by giving sight to a man born blind. When Jesus claims to be the good Shepherd in chapter 10, He clearly implies that the Jewish religious leaders are “thieves and robbers,” who abuse the sheep. The Jewish religious leaders react by seeking to kill Him, but they fail, once again. Jesus therefore leaves Judea once again, establishing His base of operations at the Jordan River, where John the Baptist formerly carried on his ministry (10:40-42). It is the life-threatening illness of Lazarus which results in a desperate message from Martha and Mary, urging Jesus to come back to the little village of Bethany, just a stone’s throw from Jerusalem. Jesus deliberately delays His journey to Bethany until Lazarus dies. When He finally arrives near the home of the two sisters He loves, Lazarus has already been buried for four days. Both sisters are perplexed by our Lord’s delay, but both nevertheless reaffirm their faith in Him. By the end of verse 37, Jesus has just arrived at the tomb where Lazarus is buried. It is here that we take a few lessons from Jesus.

During a good portion of my lifetime, science has been used to oppose the Bible and the Christian faith. In thousands of classrooms across our country, professors and teachers have asked their students, “Does anyone here believe in the Bible?” or “Is anyone here a Christian?” My daughter was in such a class in a secular university, and one of a very few (if, indeed, there were any others) who raised her hand, acknowledging her belief in the Bible and her faith in Jesus Christ. The professor responded by sneering at her as though she was ill-informed and ignorant, or, at best, naive. For too many years now, unbelieving scholars and teachers have been scoffing at Christians and their faith, hoping to shame us into silence. They wish to convince themselves and others that faith is “believing in what isn’t real or true.” Is our faith ill-founded? Does our faith hang by an intellectual thread? Is faith required because there is too little evidence to support the claims of the Bible? Not at all!

In this message, I am going to suggest something absolutely amazing, at least in the light of those scholars who are also scoffers. I am going to suggest that faith in Jesus Christ is the only reasonable response to biblical revelation. I will further say that it is unbelief that is unbelievable, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only “reasonable” response to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In our text, Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave with a prayer and a shout. Providentially, a crowd is present at the grave sight, not only to witness this miracle, but to participate in it. As a result of this amazing miracle, many of those who are there come to a faith in Jesus and the Messiah. Some do not, and these folks report what has happened to the Jewish religious leaders, who set in motion a plan to arrest and kill Jesus. By their own words, these leaders of Israel reveal that their unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence, but stems from their desire to protect their own selfish interests. Let us look carefully at this amazing event and its aftermath to learn the lessons God has for us in this text.

Serious opposition to Jesus in Jerusalem begins in chapter 5, when Jesus heals the paralytic on a Sabbath, instructing him to take up his bed and walk, and defending His actions by claiming to be God. Jesus retreats to Galilee in chapter 6, where He feeds the 5,000 and teaches that He is the “bread of life.” In chapter 7, Jesus returns to Jerusalem once again for the Feast of Tabernacles. The issue of the healing of the paralytic on the Sabbath is once again raised (see 7:23), and soon the Pharisees and chief priests send out the temple police to arrest Jesus. They return, but without the Master. These men explain that they did not arrest Jesus because they have never heard anyone teach as He does (7:45-46). When Jesus claims to be the good Shepherd in chapter 10, He clearly implies that the Jewish religious leaders are “thieves and robbers,” who abuse the sheep. It is the life-threatening illness of Lazarus which results in a desperate message from Martha and Mary, urging Jesus to come back to the little village of Bethany, just a stone’s throw from Jerusalem. Jesus deliberately delays His journey to Bethany until Lazarus dies. When He finally arrives near the home of the two sisters He loves, Lazarus has already been buried for four days. Both sisters are perplexed by our Lord’s delay, but both nevertheless reaffirm their faith in Him. By the end of verse 37, Jesus has just arrived at the tomb where Lazarus is buried. It is here that we take up the account.

Jesus, intensely moved again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.) 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, because he has been buried four days.” 40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. 42 I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.” Twice already, John has written of our Lord’s deep emotional response to the death of Lazarus, and more specifically, in response to the sorrow of Mary and those gathered there with her at the tomb of Lazarus. A sob erupts from Jesus, trembling as He continues to sob inwardly (verse 33). As He draws near the tomb where the body of His friend lies, Jesus bursts out in tears (verse 35). Now, in verse 38, John tells us that Jesus is “intensely moved again.” Jesus is truly touched with compassion as He enters into the grief of those gathered there to mourn the death of Lazarus.

Lazarus is buried in a cave, with a stone covering the opening. This sounds strikingly similar to the burial sight of our Lord (e.g. Matthew 27:60). The raising of Lazarus almost looks like a dress rehearsal for the resurrection of our Lord in the near future. Jesus orders the stone to be rolled away. We can’t be sure who Jesus orders to move the stone, or who actually does move it. It could be the disciples, of course, but it may just as well be others, such as some of those who have come to mourn with Mary. I am inclined to think that Jesus deliberately employs those other than His disciples to remove the stone. Doing this would seem to require some measure of faith on their part. Such personal involvement in this process makes these participants even better witnesses to the miracle which is about to occur.

It is Martha, however, who objects to our Lord’s instruction to remove the stone. She protests that too much time has passed. The body will certainly smell very bad, she explains. But beyond this, it just seems to reopen a very painful wound. It seems quite obvious that Martha is not expecting Jesus to perform any miracle here, and certainly not the raising of one who has been dead for several days. Earlier, Jesus assures her that if she believes, she will see the glory of God (verse 40). By calling this to her attention once again, Jesus is seeking to stretch her faith. Martha relents, and the stone is removed.

Our Lord then lifts His eyes to heaven and begins to pray to His heavenly Father. This is one of the few times in the Gospels that a public prayer of our Lord is recorded. Earlier He warned about the misuse of public prayers, which are only for show (Matthew 6:5). But Jesus consistently claims that He does His Father’s work, and that He works with God (see John 5:17, 19-23, 30, 37, 43). Martha has just testified that she believes whatever Jesus asks of the Father, He will give to Him (11:22). Our Lord’s prayer is intended to demonstrate that the miraculous raising of Lazarus is something that the Father does through the Son. It is a public testimony to the fact that the Father hears the Son, demonstrating His power and glory through Him. Jesus does not pray this prayer for His own benefit, but for the benefit of the crowd looking on (11:41-42). His prayer does not specifically petition the Father to raise Lazarus. Jesus does thank His Father because He hears His prayers. Our Lord’s petition here is that men might believe that He has been sent from the Father, and we know that this prayer was answered (see verse 45).

Having prayed in this manner, Jesus now cries out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (verse 43). It has quite often been observed that if Jesus had not specified “Lazarus,” every dead body in the region would have arisen from the dead. In shouting with a loud voice, Jesus reveals His confidence that the Father will hear Him, and that Lazarus will rise from the dead.

Read John 11:44-45

“Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.” Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what He did believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.  (John 11:43-46)  All quibbles about how Lazarus might have been able to walk while still wrapped in the grave-clothes are on the same level of questions of how the dead in their tombs shall rise in judgment with all that weight upon them. It is not stated that Lazarus “walked out,” but that he “came forth.” The fiat of a divine commandment brought Lazarus out of the grave even if both of his legs were bound  together, and not separately in the manner of the Egyptians. The separate binding of Lazarus’ legs has been supposed by some commentators in their gratuitous efforts to help the Lord (!) get Lazarus out after raising him FROM THE DEAD! Loose him, and let him go … Lazarus was still bound and could not “go” unless released. See under John 11:39.

Whatever similarities exist between Lazarus’ resurrection and the resurrection of all men at the last day, there is one great difference. Lazarus did not rise “through the tomb” as Jesus did but came forth out of it horizontally to the same life he had before, still cumbered with mortality, still subject to all conditions of earthly life. The holy record makes no concession to human curiosity. Enough for all men to know that the deed here recorded was an actual historical event, memorialized in the name of the village where it occurred, reported by those who saw it as a FACT, acted upon by the highest court in the Hebrew nation as an EVENT impossible of denial, and judged by them as so powerful a wonder that they decided to slay Jesus to keep everyone on earth from believing on him! This points to the glorious display of power and love that God has shown forth in Jesus. The truth of what Jesus did makes salvation possible for all who repent and believe in Jesus.