BIBLE STUDY LESSON 02

SERIES S --- THE SON OF YHVH

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

YESHUA THE SON OF YHVH

From John 8:2-59

Early the next morning Yeshua returned to the temple, where crowds gathered once more to hear Him teach. The scribes and Pharisees were trying to trap Yeshua, so they brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placed her before Yeshua in the sight of the crowd. [This woman was caught in adultery, so we know she is guilty,] they said. [The Law of Moses Commanded that such a person be stoned to death. What do You say to that?] It was a clever trap. If Yeshua said to stone her, His compassion and mercy would be questioned by the crowd. If He said to free her, the scribes and Pharisees would charge that He violated the Law of Moses. Without saying a word, Yeshua stooped down, and with His finger wrote in the dust of the ground. The accusers persisted in their questions, demanding an answer from Him. Quietly Yeshua arose and looked at the accusers. [Let the sinless man among you throw the first stone,] He said. Then He stooped again to write in the dust. One by one, from the oldest to the youngest, the accusers left, for their consciences bothered them. At last Yeshua and the woman were left alone in the centre of the crowd. [Where are your accusers?] Yeshua asked as He arose. [Wasn’t there one to condemn you?] [No, not one,] the woman answered. [Then I will not condemn you either,] said Yeshua. [But when you leave here, stop sinning!] Once again, Yeshua began teaching the crowds. [I am the Light of the World,] He said. [If you follow Me, you will have light for your walk and will not stumble through life.] [You are talking about Yourself, and what You say is not true,] the Pharisees complained. [Yes, I am talking about Myself, and it is certainly true,] Yeshua responded. [You do not know where I came from or where I am going, but I do. You judge with the limited knowledge of a man, which I would never do. The judgment which I give is by YHVH’s standards, for I came from Him. Doesn’t the Law say the witness of two is acceptable? I have the two witnesses, My Father Who sent Me and I.] [Where is this Father of Yours?] they asked. [Since you don’t know Who I am, how can you expect to know My Father?] Yeshua asked. [If you did know Me, you would know My Father!] Yeshua was in the treasury, or Court of the Women, at this time. No one dared to arrest Him, for YHVH’s appointed time had not yet come. Later Yeshua talked with the leaders again. [When I leave you will look for Me, but you cannot go where I am going, so you will die in your sins,] He said. [Will He kill Himself?] the leaders wondered. [Is that what He means when He says we cannot follow Him where He is going?] [You are from below, in this world,] Yeshua told them. [I am from above, and therefore not of this world. I told you that you will die in your sins, for if you refuse to believe in Me as the Moshiach, that is what will happen.] [Who are You?] they asked Him. [I have told you for a long time Who I am,] Yeshua said. [I could teach you much and judge much in your lives, but since the One Who sent Me has not told Me to do this, I will not. He is true, so I will tell what He wants Me to say.] The leaders still did not understand that Yeshua was telling them about YHVH. [When you have crucified the Moshiach, you will Understand that I am He,] Yeshua continued, [and that I have told you His teachings, not My own. The One Who sent Me has not left Me alone, but remains with Me, and I continue to do what He desires.] Many of the people who heard these things believed in Him. [If you live by My teaching, you will be My true disciples,] Yeshua told them. [You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.] [But we are Abraham’s descendants,] they said. [We have never been slaves. What do You mean when You say we will be set free?] [Whoever practices sin is a slave to sin,] Yeshua replied. [A slave doesn’t have the right to live at home forever, but the Son has this and all other rights. If the Son sets you free, you will certainly be free. I realize you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are still trying to kill Me, for you reject what I teach, even though I am telling you what I have seen while with My Father. You follow your father.] [Abraham is our father,] they argued. [If he were, you would be trying to follow his example,] Yeshua answered. [Certainly, you would not be trying to kill Me, Who has brought you the truth from YHVH. Abraham would not have done that. No, you are following the example of another father.] [Are you suggesting that we are illegitimate children?] they said. [We are YHVH’s children!] [If so, you should love Me,] said Yeshua, [for He has sent Me. I am here because He sent Me. Why don’t you understand what I am telling you? Is it because you don’t want to listen? The devil is your father and you try to please him for he was a murderer from the beginning, without a speck of truth in him. He is completely at ease when he lies, and is even the father of liars. So how can you respond to the truth which I bring to you? Tell Me one sin I have committed! Since you can’t, why don’t you believe Me? You can’t be YHVH’s children, for His children gladly listen to His Words.] [We were right! You are a Samaritan, a foreigner with a demon!] the leaders snapped back. [There is no demon in Me,] Yeshua replied. [I honour My Father, but you do not honour Me. I do not try to honour Myself, but YHVH brings honour to Me and judges those who try to dishonour Me. I tell you sincerely that whoever obeys Me shall live forever!] [That proves that You have a demon,] the leaders shouted. [Abraham and the prophets died, but You claim to keep Your followers from dying. Are You greater than Abraham or the prophets? Whom do You claim to be?] [If I am merely trying to bring honour to Myself, what I say is unimportant,] Yeshua said. [But the YHVH Whom you claim as your YHVH brings honour to Me. I know Him but you do not. If I said that I did not know Him, I would be lying as you are doing. But I do know Him and keep His Word. Your father Abraham longed to see the day when I would come. He delighted to know that I would come to earth someday.] [You are less than fifty years old,] the religious leaders scoffed. [So how could You see Abraham?] [I was alive before Abraham was born,] Yeshua replied. When the leaders heard that they picked up stones to kill Him, but He walked through the crowd and left the temple.

COMMENTARY

JERUSALEM’S WATER SYSTEM -- SOLOMON’S POOLS

In New Testament times, the people of Jerusalem stored water for their households in small tanks. These were usually kept in the courtyards of their homes. The water for the tanks was brought from the many large pools in the city. The pools themselves were supplied with water piped from springs many miles away. The water came to Jerusalem through aqueducts, long channels or pipes made from rock. Ten miles south of Jerusalem, below the village of Bethlehem, four springs of water surface in the Valley of Etam. During the time of Yeshua, these springs were collected in large pools and their water piped to Jerusalem by way of two channels. The upper aqueduct supplied several public pools, as well as Herod’s palace. The lower aqueduct followed a different route to a large stone tank beneath the temple mount. Today, these three large man-made reservoirs, called Solomon’s Pools, still supply water to the city of Jerusalem. Although they were built almost a thousand years after Solomon’s death, their impressive size is a fitting memorial to Jerusalem’s great king. Because they had no pumps, the builders of Solomon’s Pools had to rely on the force of gravity to move the water through the aqueducts. Since the sources of the four springs in the Valley of Etam are two hundred feet higher than the level of the temple platform, the water continuously flows down toward Jerusalem, aided by the stair-step arrangement of the three pools. Such a carefully engineered water system displays the skill of its ancient builders.