John 17: 1-26

Yesterday evening our Life group studied John 17, which is often called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. Eight attended, including two new members. Although the chapter can be divided into three parts: Jesus Prays for Himself (vv. 1-5), Jesus Prays for His Disciples (vv. 6-19), and Jesus Prays for All Believers (vv. 20-26), The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use in small group Bible study, doesn’t divide its questions on the chapter into parts. Here are the questions from it which we discussed, my answers to them, and what I can remember of how others in the group answered them.

1. What event is it now “time” for (v. 1; 12:23-24)?
   The event that it is now time for is Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection and ascension.
2. What does it mean to “glorify” someone (vv. 4-5,10,22,24)? How is Jesus’ deity emphasized here?
   To glorify someone means to exalt and honour him or her. Jesus’ deity is emphasized here by Jesus’ saying that he was with the Father before the world began.
3. Who or what is the focal point of Jesus’ prayer in verses 6-19? Why?
   The focal point of Jesus’ prayer in verses 6-19 is the twelve (or, not counting Judas, eleven) disciples. He prays for them because he will be leaving them.
4. What is Jesus’ concern in verses 11 and 15? [4 has two more questions, but they depend on the identification of “the name you gave me” with “I AM,” which not all commentators agree with.] Jesus’ concern in verses 11 and 15 is that the disciples will be one and the Father will protect them from the evil one (Satan).
5. What does Jesus mean by his request in verse 17? What is its purpose?
   What Jesus means by his request in verse 17 is that the Father will make the disciples holy by the word of God so that they will minister to the world as Jesus had done.
6. Who or what is the focus of Jesus’ prayer in verses 20-26? Toward what end?
   TThe focus of Jesus’ prayer in verses 20-26 is on all believers toward the end that they may be one.
7. How does the unity between believers in God affect others (vv. 21,23)?
   The unity between believers in God causes others to believe that the Father sent Jesus and loves them.
8. What does Jesus’ ultimate desire (v.24) reveal about his love for us?
   Jesus’ ultimate desire that believers will be with him and see his glory reveals his love for them.
9. How do verses 25-26 sum up the major concerns of Jesus in chapters 13-16?
   In verses 25-26 Jesus tells the Father what he has done, including things that he had prayed about in chapters 13-16. Thus it is possible to think of the verses as a summary of those chapters, which ones in the group explained in different ways. However I said that I considered the verses a climax to chapters 13-17 rather than as a summary of chapters 13-16.

Reflect. How are your prayers like and unlike Jesus’ prayer? Do your prayers reflect the short-term urgent or the long-term important needs that people have?
We gave different answers to the first question, my saying that Jesus’ prayer was mainly for others but my prayers are mainly for myself. We agreed that our prayers should reflect both the short-term urgent needs that people have and their long-term important needs, depending on the circumstances.

John 16:5-33

Yesterday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with five members attending. We studied John 16:5-33 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, had given me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

The Work of the Holy Spirit (16:5-16)

1. What are the disciples feeling now?
   The disciples are sorrowful because Jesus has told them that he is going to leave them.
2. How would you paraphrase the three goals of the Spirit’s work given in verses 8-11? What other roles does the Spirit play (14:16-17,26-27; 16:13-15)?
   I had, “The three goals of the Spirit’s work given in verses 8-11 are convicting people that they are sinners because of their unbelief in Jesus, revealing to them the righteousness brought about by faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, and demonstrating to them that Satan has been defeated. Other roles that the Holy Spirit plays are leading the disciples into all truth, reminding them of what Jesus told them, and giving them peace.” The others in the group had similar answers except for their paraphrases of the second goal of the Spirit’s work in verses 8-11. Mine was adapted from the comment in the NIV Study Bible. I can’t remember what the others in the group had. The ESV Study Bible has, “Jesus will no longer be in the world to teach about true righteousness, and so the Holy Spirit will come to carry on that function, through illumination (v. 13) and through the words of believers who bear witness to the gospel.”
3. If you were a disciples, how would you feel after hearing verse 16?
   I had, “If I were a disciple, after hearing verse 16 I would likely feel as confused as [the disciples] did.” Another in the group said that she would feel hopeful because of the promise that Jesus made in the verse.

The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy (16:17-33)

1. What tones of voice do you hear in verses 17-18? If you were there, would Jesus’ answer (verses 19-28) encourage or confuse you more?
   I had, “I hear a confused and questioning tone of voice in verses 17-18. If I were there, Jesus’ answer would likely encourage me as it encouraged them.” The others had similar answers.
2. What event is Jesus referring to in verses 20-22?
   Jesus is referring in verses 20-22 to his death and resurrection.
3. What characterizes the relationship we can have with the Father because of Jesus (vv.23-27)?
   Because of Jesus we can ask the Father for anything in Jesus’ name and He will give it to us.
4. Do you think that the disciples truly grasp what Jesus says in verse 28? Why?
   Most in the group thought that the disciples grasped what Jesus said in verse 28, but I said that didn’t think that the disciples truly grasped what Jesus says in verse 28 because they deserted him when he was arrested (Mark 14:50).
5. Why would the disciples be both alarmed and confused (vv.29-33)?
   We gave different reasons for why the disciples would be both alarmed and confused, mine being that they didn’t really understand Jesus’ relationship to the Father.

Reflect

Serendipity Bible asks these Reflect questions about 16:17-33. Answer question 1 or questions 2 and 3.
We had different answers to these questions. These are mine:

1. Both Jesus and the world offer a form of peace (14:27; 16:33), joy (15:11; 16:22-24) and love (13:34-35; 15:9-19). Have you experienced each type? What is different between them?
   I’ve experienced each type. The difference between them is that what the world offers I external and temporary but that what Jesus offers is inner and permanent.
2. How do you deal with change? Moves? Job transfers? Transitions from one stage in your life to another? How has “pain” helped you to grow up?
   In my younger years I had several moves and job transfers but didn’t deal well with them.
3. From your experience, how could you comfort someone going through change?
   From my experience I could comfort someone going through change is that God will be with him or her throughout the change.

John 15:1-16:4

Wednesday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with four members attending. We studied John 15:1-16:4 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

The Vine and the Branches (15:1-17)

1. If vine branches were human, what pain would be associated with pruning? With tools? How does the disciples’ experience illustrate this process (see 13:18-21,36-38; 14:5-8)?
   We found this question hard. One of us identified the Word of God as the tool used in pruning and another identified pain and suffering as the pain associated with pruning. We noted that two of the three references to the disciples’ experience referred to Jesus’ predicting Judas’s betrayal of him and Peter’s denial of him.
2. Jesus repeats remain in me, love, and bearing fruit. How are these words related? What is the “fruit that will last” (v.16)?
   Remain in me, love, and bearing fruit are all qualities that Jesus attributes to his disciples and thus that should characterize us. We spent some time discussing the implications of remaining, basically agreeing with our church’s Pastor Ryan that although no one could remove a Christian from the body of Christ, he or she could leave it. The “fruit that will last” is either the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) or converts or both of them.
3. How do verses 9 and 12 tie together? How do verses 12-13 take Jesus’ command to love even further than 13:34-35?
   Both verses 9 and 12 refer to Jesus’ love for his disciples. 13:34-35 refers to Jesus’ love for his disciples, and verses 12-13 extend that love to his laying down his life for them.
4. What is the link between obedience and prayer (vv.7,16; see 14:13-14)?
   The link between obedience and prayer is that God will answer our prayers if we obey Jesus.

Reflect. Do you feel more like Jesus’ servant or his friend? What helps develop the friendship?
I said that I felt more like Jesus’ servant than his friend. We said that reading the Word of God and prayer help develop the friendship.

The World Hates the Disciples (15:18-16:4)

1. Since the emphasis in 15:9-17 was on love, why does Jesus now talk about hate? How is the relationship of the disciples to the world like Jesus’ relationship to it? What does Jesus mean here by “the world”?
   We gave different reasons for why Jesus switched from talking about love to talking about hate. The world hates the disciples because it hates Jesus. By “the world” Jesus means nonbelievers.
2. What lesson did Jesus teach by the phrase “no servant is greater than his master” in 13:16? How does the lesson here compare to that one? What do you see in the relationship between the Father, Jesus, and the disciples?
   In 13:16 Jesus meant that servants should be willing do whatever tasks their masters are willing to do. Here he says that as his servants the disciples should expect to be persecuted as he was. We gave different answers on the relationship between the Father, Jesus, and the disciples; I said that I saw the same relationship between Jesus and the disciples as between Jesus and the Father.
3. How has Jesus’ coming highlighted the reality and evil of sin (vv.22,24)?
   We gave different answers on how Jesus’ coming highlighted the reality and evil of sin. I said, “Although Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned, John 15:22, 24 says that the people to whom Jesus came would not have been guilty of sin if Jesus had not spoken to them and done works among them that no one else did. Their rejecting and crucifying him despite hearing his words and seeing his works shows how real and evil sin is. Although the verses seem to suggest that the only sin that counts as sin is that of unbelief in Jesus, Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin, which I understand to mean all sin not just unbelief, is death.”

Reflect. When have you found that speaking truth and showing love can lead to hostility from others? How do you explain that?
None of us had found that our speaking truth and showing love led to hostility from others.

John 14:1-31

Thursday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with four members attending. We studied John 14:1-31 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

Jesus Comforts His Disciples (14:1-4)
Jesus the Way to the Father (14:5-14)

1. What comfort does Jesus offer his disciples?
   Jesus comforts his disciples b telling them that he is going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s place and will come back to take them to be with him there.
2. Look at the questions asked by Peter in 13:36, Thomas in 14:5, Philip in 14:8, and Judas (not Iscariot) in 14:22. What problems are the disciples struggling with?
   The problems that the disciples are struggling with are: (13:36) where Jesus is going, (14:5) where Jesus is going and how to get to there, (14:8) what the Father looks like, and (14:22) why Jesus will show himself to them but not to others.
3. What is the force of the claims Jesus makes in 14:6-7?
   In 14:6-7 Jesus claims to be the only way to and the revealer of God.
4. How does 1:18 relate to what Jesus says in 14:9? What evidence does Jesus give for his claims?
   In both 1:18 and 14:9 Jesus claims to have such a close relationship to the Father that anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father. The evidence that he gives for his claim is his works.
5. Do you think that the promises Jesus makes in verses 12-14 are “blank check” promises about prayer? Or that there are conditions to them? If there are conditions to them, what are they? Does Jesus mean that the church will do works greater in power? Greater in scope? How could this be? We had different answers. I think that the promises Jesus makes in verses 12-14 have conditions, “in my name” meaning being consistent with Jesus’ character and will (see 1 John 5:14). I don’t think that Jesus meant that the church would do works greater in power (Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been dead for four days), or in scope except collectively. Perhaps he was referring to the church’s bringing forgiveness of sin through its preaching of the Gospel.

Reflect. In light of 14:6, how would you respond to someone who says, “There are many ways to God”?
In the light of 14:6 I would respond to someone who says, “There are many ways to God,” by saying that the only way to God is through the crucified and risen Jesus. Other verses affirming this are Acts 4:12 and Hebrews 10:19-21.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit (14:15-31)

1. How are the disciples to show love to each other (13:34)? To Jesus (14:15)?
   The disciples are to show love to each other in the same way that Jesus showed it to us, serving each other, and they are to show it to Jesus by keeping his commands.
2. How does Jesus set the example for us in verse 31?
   Verse 31 tells us that Jesus sets the example for us by doing exactly what the Father commands him.
3. What do you learn about the Spirit in verses 16-17 and 25-27?
   We learn in verses 16-17 that the world doesn’t see or know the Spirit but he lived with and would live in the disciples, and we learn in verses 25-27 that the Father would send the Spirit in Jesus’ name and that he would teach them all things and remind them of everything that Jesus had said to them.
4. What is the difference between how Jesus gives peace and how the world gives peace?
   The world gives peace from external conflict, but Jesus gives inner peace.
5. Since Satan has no power over Jesus, why must Jesus die (see 3:14-15; 6:53-54; 10:15-18)?
   Jesus had to die to bring eternal life to those who believe in him.

Reflect. How “at home” are the Father, Son, and Spirit in your life? Are they more like owners, or temporary guests?
I said that I viewed them as owners of my life but that sometimes I act as if they aren’t there.

John 13:1-38

Yesterday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with five members attending. I opened by observing that John 13-14 occurred at the same time as the Last Supper in which the Holy Communion was instituted but that they don’t contain an account of that event. We discussed possible reasons why John omitted an account of it. I also observed that John 15-16 probably occurred on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane and, although the accounts of the other Gospels don’t include it, Jesus probably prayed the High Priestly prayer of John 17 in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We then studied John 13 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet (13:1-17)

1. What things does this passage say that Jesus knew that his disciples didn’t know yet (vv.1,3,11)?
   Things that the passage says that Jesus knew that his disciples didn’t know yet are that he was going to leave this world and go to the Father (vv.1,3), that the Father had put all things under his power (v.3); that he had come from God (v. 3), and who was going to betray him (v.11).
2. While Peter is taking the washing of his feet literally, what do you think Jesus meant by his statement in verse 8? In verse 10?
   I said, “I think Jesus meant in verse 8 that Peter couldn’t belong to Jesus unless he received a spiritual cleansing, in the first part of verse 10 that although those who have received a spiritual cleansing should confess their sins (symbolized by feet washing) they don’t need to have the spiritual cleansing repeated, and in the second part of verse 10 that one of them (Judas) wasn’t spiritually clean.” The others in the group had similar answers.
3. How does Jesus challenge the disciples’ idea of what it means to be the chief followers of the Messiah (vv.12-17)?
   Our answers varied. I said that the disciples thought that as chief followers of the Messiah they should have special privileges, but Jesus demonstrated and told that they should be willing to do the most menial tasks (like washing of the feet) for one another. See also Mark 10:35-45.
   Reflect. How will you put Jesus’ teaching into practice in at least one relationship this week at home, work, or church?

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal (13:18-30)

2. In foretelling his betrayal, what do you sense in Jesus: Resolution? Resignation? Restlessness? What do you sense in his disciples? In Judas?
   All of us included resignation as at least one of the things that Jesus felt in foretelling his betrayal. Our answers for the disciples and Judas varied, my saying that I sensed astonishment and confusion in the disciples and determination in Judas.
3. Is Judas to be excused or held responsible when “the Devil made him do it” (v. 27; also 6:70; 12:4-6; 13:2)?
   We disagreed on this. I said that I thought that Judas was to be held responsible even though “the Devil made him do it it” because in 6:70, which is before John says that Satan entered into Judas (13:27), Jesus referred to Judas as “a devil.”
4. How are the references to “the poor” and “the night” (vv.29-30) ironic?
   Our answers varied, my saying, “The reference to ‘the poor’ is ironic because 12:6 says that Judas didn’t care about the poor but helped himself to what was in the money bag, and the reference to ‘the night’ is ironic because it can refer to the darkness of Judas’s action (compare Luke 22:53).”
   Reflect. Given three years of very intimate fellowship with Jesus, how could Judas turn around and betray him?
   Some think that Judas betrayed Jesus because of his love of money (see Matthew 26:14-16). Others think that Judas was disappointed by Jesus’s lack of action against the Romans and hoped to spur him to take action by betraying him.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial (13:31-38)

2. What does Jesus call his disciples to do?
   Jesus calls his disciples to love each other.
3. What type of person is Peter (vv.6-9,36-37)? How do you think he felt after verse 38?
   Our answers to the first question varied. The NIV Study Bible says in its note on 13:8, “[Peter’s] actions reflect a mixture of humility (he did not want Jesus to perform this lowly service [foot washing] for him) and pride (he tried to dictate to Jesus; see also Mt 16:21-23).” Our answers to the second question also varied, including that Peter felt shocked after verse 38.
   Reflect. On a scale from 1 to 10, how does your spiritual community rank against the standard of love? How could you increase its score?
   We had a lengthy discussion of the love and lack of love in our church and how we could increase it.

John 12:1-50

John 12:1-50

Thursday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with five members attending. We studied John 12 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

Jesus Anointed at Bethany (12:1-11)

All four Gospels contain an account of a woman anointing Jesus. Despite differences between John’s account and the accounts recorded in Matthew 26:6-13 and Mark 14:3-9, they seem to describe the same event. However the account in Luke 7:36-50 is probably of a different event.

1. [Although John records Judas Iscariot as objecting that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor, Matthew says that it was “the disciples” who made the objection and Mark says that it was “some of those present.”] Given the value of the perfume (v.5), how would you have reacted as you watched Mary?
   Our answers varied. I said, “I probably would have reacted the same as the disciples did, their doing so after having travelled about with Jesus for two or three years, hearing his teaching and seeing his miracles.”
2. How does Jesus describe Mary’s action?
   Jesus describes Mary’s action as preparation for his burial.

The Triumphal Entry (12:12-19)

3. Why a lowly donkey for Jesus (see Zech 9:9)?
   On the basis of notes in our study Bibles we said that this was a suitable choice because the donkey was a lowly animal of peace as well as a princely mount before the horse came into common use.
4. How would the crowds, the disciples, and Jewish leaders be feeling now?
   The crowds would be feel excited, thinking that Jesus was about to declare himself to be the Messiah; the disciples felt confused and frightened; and the Jewish leaders felt threatened (verse 19).

Jesus Predicts His Death (12:20-36)

3. Jesus said several times that “my time has not come” (2:4; 7:6,30). What regarding the Gentiles’ request caused him to say that now it has come?
   Jesus came to die for the world, not just for the Jews, and the Gentiles’ request indicated they were interested in him.
4. In Jesus’ parable (v.24), who is the kernel of wheat? How is this related to the Gentiles’ request?
   The kernel of wheat is Jesus, and this is related to the Gentiles’ request because Jesus’ dying would result in many, Gentiles as well as Jews, receiving new life.
5. In verses 27-32, what is about to occur “now”? How does this affect Jesus?
   What is about to occur is Jesus’ crucifixion. Thinking of it troubles Jesus, but he also looks forward to it because it will glorify God.

The Jews Continue in Their Unbelief (12:37-50)

1. How do the prophecies from Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10 account for the people’s disbelief despite Jesus’ miraculous signs?
   The prophecies from Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10 attributes the people’s disbelief to God’s blinding their eyes and hardening their hearts. I observed that the NIV Study Bible note on “could not believe” in verse 39 says, “Does not mean that the people in question had no choice. They purposely rejected God and chose evil, and v.40 explains that God in turn brought on them a judicial blinding of the eyes and hardening of hearts.” It continues, “Yet many Jewish leaders did believe in Jesus as the Messiah (see v.42).”
2. What inhibits the leaders who believed in Jesus from speaking up?
   The leaders who believed in Jesus didn’t speak up because they were afraid that they would be put out of the synagogue (9:22 states that the Jewish leaders “had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue”).
3. What does Jesus emphasize in verses 47-50?
   Our answers varied. I had, “In verses 47-50 Jesus emphasizes the importance of accepting and keeping Jesus’ teaching.”

Reflect Questions

• Where is Jesus calling you to die so that you might live? What do you tend to hold on to rather than follow Jesus?
• What have you found most helpful in letting people know where you follow with God?

John 11:1-57

Thursday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with five members attending. We studied John 11 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

The Death of Lazarus (11:1-16)

1. Why does Jesus deliberately delay (v. 6)?
   In The NIV Application Commentary Gary Burge explains that when the messengers from the sisters reached Jesus he knew that Lazarus was already dead and buried. He comments, “If Jesus has this knowledge … his delay serves not to promote the death, but to heighten the significance of his own miraculous work. Jesus is proceeding with his own sense of timing, in which he can say again and again that the urgency felt by others is not necessarily the same as the divine timing within which he works (2:4; 7:5-9). His aim is to reveal the glory of God’s work in him and thereby to promote the faith of his followers (11:15).” The members of our group and the other commentaries that I consulted said much the same.
2. Why is Jesus returning to Lazarus at this time (vv.11-15)? What do the disciples fear instead (vv.8,16)?
   Jesus is going to Lazarus at this time to raise him from the dead, but the disciples fear that if they go both he and they will be killed.

Jesus Comforts the Sisters (11:17-37)
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead (11:38-44)

1. How long had Lazarus been dead by the time Jesus arrived?
   Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days and thus had been dead for at least that long.
2. What do you learn about Martha from the way she talks with Jesus in verses 21-27?
   In verses 21-27 we learn that Martha thought that if Jesus had been there he could/would have prevented Lazarus’s death (21), that if Lazarus was dead Jesus could restore life to him (22), that there will be an end-time resurrection (24), and that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God, and the promised deliverer (27).
3. What does Martha’s statement (v.27) sound like to you: (a) Stab in the dark? (b) Hope against hope? ( c) Intellectual assent? (d) Active commitment? Why do you think so?
   We gave different answers., mine being (d) active commitment. I don’t remember the reasons that we gave for our answers.
4. How is Mary’s greeting like and unlike Martha’s?
   I said, “Both Mary and Martha said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,’ but only Martha added, ‘But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’” However others in the group included Mary’s and Martha’s actions as well as their words, Martha’ going out to meet Jesus, but Mary’s remaining at home when Martha went but later going quickly to him and falling at his feet.
5. How does Martha’s objection in verse 39 contrast with her confidence in verse 22?
   Martha’s comment in verse 39 indicates that she thinks that Lazarus is dead and will stay dead, but in verse 22 she seems to think that God would raise Lazarus from the dead if Jesus asked Him to.

The Plot to Kill Jesus (11:45-57)

1. What responses does the Lazarus miracle produce? Why?
   Many believed in Jesus, but some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. I don’t remember the reasons that we gave for our answers.
2. What are the chief concerns of the leaders?
   The chief concerns of the leaders are that if Jesus keeps performing miracles everyone will believe in him and the Romans will take away their temple and their nation.
3. How does Jesus respond to this new situation?
   Jesus responds to this new situation by no longer moving about publicly among the people of Judea and withdrawing to a region near the desert.

Reflect Questions

• Have you ever felt like God was not listening when you prayed? How did you deal with this? How does the way in which Jesus postponed his response to the sisters’ request help you in understanding your own prayer life?
  Our group said that they hadn’t felt that God wasn’t listening when they prayed but that they had felt that God sometimes had answered negatively to their personal requests.
• What death of a relationship, emotional scars, or other practical concerns, and past hurts now block your faith in Jesus?
  Our group said that none of these now blocked their faith in Jesus.

9. Spinoza’s Ethics

In my rereading of selections from Great Books of the Western World guided by The Great Ideas Program, I’ve reached Spinoza’s Ethics. The ninth reading in the eighth volume of The Great Ideas Program, Ethics: The Study of Moral Values by Mortimer J. Adler and Seymour Cain (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1962) considers Part V of Spinoza’s Ethics.

Adler and Cain compare Spinoza to Epictetus, Aquinas, and Hobbes (introduction); consider the geometric style of Ethics (I); describe Spinoza’s view of the whole of reality, of the ways of knowing, and of human nature to help us understand his view of ethics (II); examine Part V of Ethics (III, IV, and V); and ask five specific questions on it (VI). Here I’ll sketch Montaigne’s life, summarize Part V of Ethics guided by Adler and Cain’s examination of it, and share the questions which Adler and Cain ask it.

Montaigne’s Life

Benedict de Spinoza was born of Jewish parents in Amsterdam in 1632. Although he was educated in the Jewish schools, he early acquired unorthodox opinions for in 1656 he was excommunicated by the Jewish authorities for “abominable heresies which he practises and teaches.” The next four years he spent in or near Amsterdam studying Latin, Greek, and other humane sciences and becoming expert in grinding lenses, which provided him with a means of support throughout the rest of his life.

In 1660 Spinoza retired to Rijnsburg, a small village near Leiden, where he devoted himself to the study of philosophy. During his three years there, he wrote two treatises and an exposition of Descartes’ Principles and seems to have begun work on what became the Ethics. In 1663 he moved to Voorburg, near The Hague. While continuing work on the Ethics, he began in 1665 composing the Theological-Political Treatise, which was published anonymously in 1670. Condemnations of it came thick and fast.

In 1670 Spinoza moved to the Hague, where he spent the rest of his life. He completed the Ethics and sought to publish it, but was discouraged by the complaints aroused by the mere rumour of its being on the press. In 1677, he died, only forty-four years old. After his death his manuscripts were published by his friends.

Ethics, Part V

Spinoza called Part V of Ethics “The Power of the Intellect, or of Human Liberty.” In the preface he says that it “concerns the method or way which leads to liberty” and identifies its two main topics as “the power of reason, showing how much reason itself can control the effects” and “what is freedom of mind or blessedness.” His argument in Part V is based on these two axioms:

1. If two contrary actions be excited in the same subject, a change must necessarily take place in both, or in one alone, until they cease to be contrary.
2. The power of an affect is limited by the power of its cause, in so far as the essence of the affect is manifested or limited by the essence of the cause itself.

Proposition 1 of Part V establishes the power of the mind over the affects, on the principle that the order in which thoughts and ideas of things are arranged in the mind exactly parallels the order of the affections of the body. Thus the mind, through ordering of ideas, can bring about a right order of the emotions connected with the body. Propositions 2-20 prescribe twenty practical “remedies.” Spinoza sums them up thus: “It appears therefore that the power of the mind over the affects consists–

1. In the knowledge itself of the affects.
2. In the separation by the mind of the affects from the thought of an external cause, which we imagine confusedly.
3. In duration, in which the affections which are related to objects we understand surpass those related to objects conceived in a mutilated or confused manner.
4. In the multitude of causes by which the affections which are related to the common properties of things or to God are nourished. [Spinoza equates God with Nature rather than viewing God as the personal being of Judaism and Christianity.]
5. In the order in which the mind can arrange its affects and connect them one with the other.”

Spinoza sums up what he demonstrates in Propositions 21-40 thus in the Scholium to Proposition 40 (although many Propositions consist of only a Demonstration, some also contain a Corollary and/or a Scholium): “These are the things I proposed to prove concerning the mind, in so far as it is considered without relation to the existence of the body, and from these , taken together with [various] propositions, it is evident that our mind, in so far as it understands, is an eternal mode of thought, and this again by another, and so on ad infinitum, so that all taken together form the eternal and infinite intellect of God.”

Spinoza concludes by demonstrating the primary importance of Piety and Religion and claiming in Proposition 42, “Blessedness is not the reward of virtue, but is virtue itself; nor do we delight in blessedness because we restrain our lusts; but, on the contrary, because we delight in it, therefore are we able to restrain them.”

Adler and Cain’s Questions

• If all things are determined, how are we to throw off the yoke of the passions?
• Is love towards one’s fellows essential to Spinoza’s ethical doctrine?
• How does Spinoza’s “blessedness” compare with Aquinas’ “beatific vision”?
• How does Spinoza’s analysis of the effect of thought on our judgments of good and veil compare with Montaigne’s?
• What would Spinoza think of the following statements from a contemporary “mental health” psychologist?
• What would Spinoza think of “The Spinoza of Market Street”?

John 10:1-42

Thursday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with six members attending. We studied John 10 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use, and had lunch. Here are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

The Shepherd and His Flock (10:1-21)

I prefaced the questions on 10:1-21 with these quotations from my study Bibles:
The NIV Study Bible introduces 10:1-30 thus: “Should be understood in light of the OT … concept of ‘shepherd,’ symbolizing a royal caretaker of God’s people. God himself was called the ‘Shepherd of Israel’ (… see Ps 23:1 …), and he had given great responsibilities to the leaders (‘shepherds’) of Israel, which they failed to respect (see … Eze 34) and promised to provide the true Shepherd, the Messiah, to care for the sheep (Eze 34:23).” (Zondervan, 2011)
The ESV Study Bible says this on 10:1: “The sheepfold was commonly a courtyard near or beside a house and bordered by a stone wall, in which one or more families kept their sheep, although caves and other natural formations were also used. Such sheepfolds may or may not have a formal door [or gate] and would be guarded at the entrance by a ‘gatekeeper’ (v. 3), who would be hired to stand watch, or by the shepherd himself (cf. vv. 7-10). The word thief may focus on entering by covert means and robber by the use of violence.” (Crossway Bibles, 2008)

1. What do the sheep and the shepherd represent?
   The sheep represent us, the followers of Jesus, and the shepherd represents Jesus.
2. What is the relationship of the shepherd to his sheep?
   The shepherd and his sheep know each other, so that the shepherd calls his sheep by name and they follow him because they know his voice.
3. What does Jesus mean by likening himself to a gate for the sheep?
   By likening himself to a gate for the sheep, Jesus means that his followers will be saved only through him and that he will protect them.
4. How does Jesus identify himself with the “good shepherd” (vv.11-15)?
   Jesus identifies himself with the “good shepherd” by laying himself down for the sheep.
5. Who are the “other sheep” Jesus must also bring?
   The “other sheep” that Jesus must also bring are the Gentiles.
6. What final claim does Jesus make (vv. 17-18)?
   The final claim that Jesus makes is that he will rise from the dead.

The Unbelief of the Jews (10:22-42)

1. Given the meaning of Hanukkah (when Jews celebrate their deliverance during the Maccabean revolt), what might be the real intent of the Jews’ question in verse 24?
   The real intent of the Jews’ question in verse 24 is to find out if Jesus plans to lead them in a revolt against the Romans.
2. How does Jesus diagnose their problem?
   Jesus diagnoses the Jews’ problem as their not being his sheep.
3. How do the Jews interpret Jesus’ claim to be one with God?
   The Jews interpret Jesus’ claim to be one with God as a claim to be God and thus blasphemy.
4. How does Jesus sidetrack them (v.34; Ps 82:6), and what evidence does he offer?
   Jesus sidetracks the Jews by observing that in Psalm 82:6 God told Israel that their rulers were “gods, Sons of the Most High” and thus that it was appropriate for him, whom God had sent into the world, to call himself “the Son of God.” The evidence that he offers is his miracles.

Reflect Questions

1. What turning point was significant to you in terms of hearing “God’s voice” and responding?
   We shared what led to our getting saved.
2. What difference does it make that Jesus is God and not just man?
   The group referred to the miraculous things that Jesus did, but since God enabled others to work miracles it wasn’t necessary for Jesus to be God to work miracles. However his being God and not just man makes a difference. Wayne Grudem gives these reasons why if Jesus wasn’t God, we have no salvation: “(1) only someone who is infinite God could bear the full penalty for all the sins of all those who would believe in him–any finite creature would have been incapable of bearing that penalty; (2) salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2:9), and the whole message of Scripture is designed to show that no human being, no creatures, could ever save man–only God himself could; and (3) only someone who was truly and fully God could be the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), both to bring us back to God and also to reveal God most fully to us” (Systematic Theology, Zondervan, 1994).

John 9:1-41

Thursday evening our Life group held its weekly meeting with six members attending. We studied John 9 using questions from The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups, which Serendipity House, Littleton, Colorado, 1988, gave me permission to use. These are the questions and a combination of my answers to them and what I can remember of the others’ answers to them.

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (9:1-12)

DIG

1. What idea lies behind the disciples’ question (v. 1): Curiosity? Guilt-tripping? A Trap? Compassion?
   All in the group except me said that the idea that lies behind the disciples’ question is curiosity, but I said that it is guilt-tripping and they agreed that guilt-tripping is also involved.
2. What does Jesus’ answer (vv.3-5) reveal about the man’s pain?
   Jesus’ answer reveals that God allowed/caused the man’s main to display His works and glory (11:4,40).
3. In this story, what is the “work of God” (v.3)? The “night” that is coming (v.4)? The “light of the world” (v.5)? How are sin and suffering related (also 5:14)? How are faith and action related?
   The “work of God” is the healing of the man’s blindness. The “night” that is coming is Jesus’ bring taken away in death. The “light of the world” is Jesus. Sin and suffering aren’t necessarily related, but (5:14) sometimes sin causes suffering. Because of the man’s trust or faith in Jesus, he did what Jesus told him to do (action) and was healed.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing (9:13-34)

DIG

1. What convinces some of the Pharisees to stand against Jesus (v.16; see also 5:9-10,23)? What question bothers others? Why does Jesus keep healing on the Sabbath when it upsets the Pharisees so much?
   Some of the Pharisees stand against Jesus because he healed the man on the Sabbath. Others ask how a sinner should perform such signs. Most of the group said that Jesus kept healing on the Sabbath although it upset the Pharisees because his hour has come, but I said that it was because he thinks that it is good to do works of mercy on the Sabbath.
2. In light of their divided opinion, why do the Pharisees question the man’s parents? How would you feel if you were his father or mother?
   The Pharisees question the man’s parents to see if the man was actually born blind. If I were the man’s father or mother, I would feel threatened with excommunication from the synagogue.
3. Note the conflicting claims to knowledge and certainty on the part of the Pharisees, the parents, and the man born blind. What is each party sure of? Not sure of?
   The Pharisees are sure that Jesus is a sinner (verse 24), but they aren’t sure if the man was born blind (verse 19) or where Jesus came from (verse 29). The parents are sure that the man is their son and that he was born blind (verse 20), but they aren’t sure how the man had received sight and who had opened his eyes (verse 21). The man who was born blind is sure that he had been born blind and could now see (verse 25) and that God doesn’t listen to sinners and thus Jesus must be from God (verses 31-33).
4. In the course of this investigation, what is the man able to see about Jesus ( vv.12,17,25,27,30-33,also 36,38)? About the Pharisees? How is his attitude changing as well?
   In the course of the investigation, the man sees Jesus as a man called Jesus (verse 11), a prophet (verse 17), as one who could have followers (verse 27), as being from God (verses 30-33), and as the Son of Man and Lord (verses 35-38). He comes to see that the Pharisees are opposed to Jesus and so won’t accept what he says about Jesus. His attitude changes from recognizing Jesus as the man who healed him to recognizing Jesus as one to be worshipped.
5. What is the Pharisees’ real motive in questioning the man (vv.28,34)? What in the man’s response finally puts them “over the top”?
   The Pharisees’ real motive in questioning the man is to cast doubt on his account of how he was healed. What sends them “over the top” is the man’s asserting that Jesus is from God.

REFLECT

1. Who has been the toughest person for you to explain your faith to? Why? What have you found helpful in dealing with people who ridicule your faith?

Spiritual Blindness (9:35-41)

DIG

1. Why does Jesus wait until now to fully present himself? How is the man, only now, able to affirm Jesus as Lord?
   Jesus waits to fully present himself until the man is ready to believe him. We didn’t answer the second part of the question.
2. How has this chapter illustrated verse 39? What blindness is the result of sin (vv.39-41)? How do such guilty people “see” again?
   In the chapter the blind man receives physical and spiritual healing, but the Pharisees who thought that they could see are shown to be spiritually blind. Spiritual blindness is the result of sin. Such guilty people can “see” again if they recognize their spiritual blindness,

REFLECT

1. How would you rate your own spiritual sight: 20-20? 20/800? A few “blind spots”? Why? What could correct this?
   Most in the group said that they would rate their spiritual sight as 20/20, but I said that I would rate mine as a few “blind spots” because of my bad habits and my doubts. However I acknowledged that I answered the question as if it said “life” instead of “sight.”