Sent from the Father

The One the Father Sent

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Jesus sent the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam, and John tells us the name is “translated, Sent” (John 9:7). Jesus Himself is the One who was sent. Just before, He said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day” (9:4).

Him who sent Me. In John's Gospel, Jesus talks about the Father as the One who sent Him again and again. He wanted everyone to know where He came from and why He came.

Sent from heaven. Jesus did not begin when He was born in Bethlehem. He was with the Father first, and then He came. “I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me” (John 8:42).

He knows the Father. “But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me” (John 7:29). No one knows the Father the way the Son does.

Sent with God's words. “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me” (John 7:16). Doctrine means teaching. “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God” (John 3:34). When Jesus teaches, we hear the Father's own words.

Sent with God's works. “The very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36). Opening the blind man's eyes was one of those works.

See Jesus, see the Father. “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me” (John 12:45). When we look at Jesus, we see what the Father is like: kind, holy, strong and good.

Why was He sent? Jesus said, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12:47).

Love that sends. “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). Manifested means shown for everyone to see.

Sent to the cross. The Father sent the Son all the way to the cross for us. He “was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25). Justification means being made right with God.

What we learn. Jesus is not just a good teacher who decided to help people. He is the Son, sent by a Father who loves you. Listen to His words, trust Him and thank the Father for sending Him.

“Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent) (John 9:7). The pool's name points straight back to the One giving the command, the Son whom the Father sent.

Apostello. The word John uses for Sent comes from apostello (say: ah-pos-TEL-loh), to send someone out on a mission. Our word apostle comes from it. Jesus uses the same verb when He says, “I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me” (John 7:29).

Pempo. In 9:4 Jesus says, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me.” Here the word is pempo (say: PEM-poh), the ordinary word for send. In John's Gospel Jesus speaks of “Him who sent Me” again and again (7:16, 33; 8:26; 12:44-45), and of “the Father who sent Me” (8:16, 18; 12:49).

From the Father (7:28-29; 8:42). “I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true.” “I proceeded forth and came from God.” The Son was with the Father before He was sent: “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven” (John 3:13).

The Father's words (3:34; 12:49). “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God.” “The Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.”

The Father's works (5:36). The works “bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.” The healed man reasoned the same way: “If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing” (9:33).

The Sender seen (12:44-45). “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” Jesus is not only a messenger. He is the Son who shows the Father perfectly.

Sent in love, sent to save. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law” (Galatians 4:4-5). Redeem means to buy back. “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). He “was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25).

Why it matters. Every word and work of Jesus carries the Father's authority and the Father's love. To come to the Son is to come to the One who sent Him.

Believe the One He Sent

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Once some people asked Jesus, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28). Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (6:29). What God wants most is for us to believe in the One the Father sent.

Not a list of chores. The people wanted a list of things to do for God. Jesus gave them one: believe. To believe means to trust Jesus with your whole life, not to earn God's love by doing enough good things.

Believing Jesus is believing God. “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me” (John 12:44). You cannot trust the Father and turn away from the Son He sent.

Not willing to come. Jesus told some leaders, “whom He sent, Him you do not believe” (John 5:38). They studied the Scriptures, and the Scriptures pointed to Jesus, but “you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (5:40).

The man who believed. In John 9 Jesus found the healed man and asked if he believed (9:35). He answered, “Lord, I believe!” (9:38). He trusted the One who was sent.

Life from the Sent One. “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me” (John 6:57). To feed on Jesus means to trust Him and depend on Him every day, the way you depend on food.

Now He sends us. After He rose from the dead, Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). The Sent One sends His people.

With the Holy Spirit. Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). The Holy Spirit lives in every believer and gives power to live for Jesus and tell others.

Welcomed with Jesus. “He who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (John 13:20). When we go in Jesus' name, people meet Him through us.

Like the man at the pool. Jesus sent a blind man to Siloam, and he went. Jesus sends you to your home, your school and your friends. Go and obey Him, and trust Him with what happens.

What we learn. First, believe in the One the Father sent. Then go wherever He sends you, with His love.

The work God wants (John 6:28-29). The crowd asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” They asked about works; He answered with one work, and it is God's own: faith in the Sent One.

Faith rests on the Father (12:44). “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.” Faith in Jesus is never a step away from God. It is the only way to come to Him.

Unbelief toward the Sent One (5:37-40). “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.” Yet “whom He sent, Him you do not believe.” “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” Knowing the Scriptures well did not help while they refused the One the Scriptures pointed to.

The healed man (9:35-38). He did not know who the Son of God was until Jesus told him. Then his answer was immediate: “Lord, I believe!” His faith rested on the One who was sent, not on how much he knew.

Life through the Son (6:57). “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” The life the Father gave the Son, the Son gives to all who receive Him.

Sent ones (20:21). “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” In this one verse John uses apostello for the Father sending the Son and pempo for the Son sending the disciples. The mission of the Son becomes the mission of His people.

The Spirit for the sent (20:22). “He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” The Holy Spirit lives in every believer and gives power to live for Jesus and to tell others (Acts 1:8).

Received with Him (13:20). “He who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” The sent ones go in His name, and people meet Christ through them.

Why it matters. The order matters. First we believe in the One sent for us; then we are sent by Him. No one is sent to earn salvation. Forgiven people are sent to share it.

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Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.