| Yesterday's Bible Study |
In this verse, Jesus is in the synagogue at Capernaum telling the Jews who are questioning His identity that whoever believes in Him has eternal life. He tells them that He is the Messiah and that He offers them salvation. They did not understand His words, but those words ring true to us today. We'll break down this verse to understand it better.
Jesus begins his statement with the words "verily, verily." He was trying to emphasize the truth of His words as well as their importance. If the Jews hadn't been paying attention before, they should lend Him their ears now because this is the crux of His message.
Jesus qualifies His next words by narrowing His audience: "he that believeth on me." He was saying that His words were for those who believe in Him--not those, like most of His listeners, who question Him in an attempt to prove His words false and catch Him in an error. Believing on Jesus (or in, as we say today) means that we accept His identity as the Messiah--the one sent from the Lord to set people free from their sin.
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Those who do believe, Jesus says, have "everlasting life." What does that mean? It begins with being set free from sin once and for all. Each of us, because of the work that Jesus did on the cross, has the ability to reject sin and instead live in freedom. Freedom looks like having a will that is aligned with the Lord's--we have no desire to sin because we know that what the Lord offers is so much better than the fleeting pleasures of things He hates.
Everlasting life does not begin in Heaven it begins now.
Everlasting life also means that when our physical bodies die, we will be present with God. Although we physically die, our souls will remain part of the Kingdom of the Lord. We will remain forever in His grip and in His love. This is, truly, life everlasting.
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