There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 RSV
The first verse of the book identifies the writer as the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.The son of David could refer to any descendant of David who sat on the throne after him, but this particularly relates to Solomon, as several things in the book will confirm.
Unfortunately, the translators here refer to Solomon as the Preacher, and I am sorry they used that term as it makes the book sound a little preachy at the beginning. On reading that second verse it would be so easy to affect a stained-glass voice. In a modern audience this, of course, would turn everybody off. The word translated preacher is the Hebrew word Qoheleth, which really means the one who gathers, assembles, or collects things. This is an apt title for the author of this book, who has examined and then collected together the philosophies by which people live. But I think a more accurate English translation would be the Searcher. Here is a searching mind that has looked over all of life and seen what is behind people’s actions. Searcher is the word that I am going to use wherever preacher occurs, because the writer is not really a preacher or proclaimer, but a searcher.
This is indeed a search, and if you are concerned about what the Searcher discovered, he tells us. You do not have to read the last chapter to find out the results of his search, because he puts it right here in verse 2: Vanity of vanities — that is what he found. Vanity here does not mean pride in appearance. Perhaps some people spend too much time in front of the mirror in the morning, admiring themselves a little. We call that vanity, pride of face, but that is not what this Searcher is talking about. The word here, in the original, means emptiness, futility, meaninglessness, blahness.
Nothing in itself; the Searcher claims, will satisfy. No thing, no pleasure, no relationship, nothing he found had enduring value in life. Everyone has seized on one or another of these philosophies, these views of life, and tries to make it satisfy him or her. But according to this Searcher, who has gone through it all, nothing will work. When he says, Vanity of vanities, emptiness of emptiness, that is the Hebrew way of declaring the superlative. There is nothing emptier, this man concludes, than life.
In verse 3 we have the question that he continually used in his search: What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? What is the profit of it to him? This is an interesting Hebrew word meaning, that which is left over. After he has sucked dry all the immediate delight, joy, or pleasure from something, what is left over, what endures, what will remain to continually feed the hunger of his life for satisfaction? It is the question we all are asking. Is there anything that will really minister continually to my need—that highest good, which, if I find it, will mean I do not need to look any further?
Lord, thank You for the honesty of this book, written ages ago, but still so relevant. I too have been on a search, and I have found that with You life is not futile but full of meaning and purpose.
We must humbly profess the desire of our hearts towards God, as our felicity and portion and fountain of life and all good to us.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you or in comparison with you. When my flesh and my heart fail, Lord, be the strength of my heart and my portion forever, Psalm 73:25-26(ESV) the chosen portion of my inheritance in the other world and of my cup in this; and then I will say that the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, and that I have a beautiful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6(ESV)
Your name and remembrance are the desire of my soul; my soul yearns for you in the night, and my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. Isaiah 26:8-9(ESV)
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God; my soul thirsts for God, for the living God, Psalm 42:1-2(ESV) who commands his steadfast love by day, and at night his song is with me; a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8(ESV)
O that I may come hungering and thirsting after righteousness, Matthew 5:6(ESV) for you fill the hungry with good things, but the rich you send away empty. Luke 1:53(ESV)
O that my soul may thirst for you, and my flesh faint for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water; that I may see your power and glory, as I have looked upon you in the sanctuary. Your steadfast love is better than life; Psalm 63:1-3(ESV) my soul will be satisfied with that as with fat and rich food, and then my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. Psalm 63:5(ESV)
Watching buildings under construction is an exercise in waiting. At times it seems like nothing is happening. Construction vehicles come and go but no structure rises above the ground. Finally, the building pokes out. Then things slow down again as work progresses out of sight. Suddenly, one day, people are living there!Today, we begin our journey through the New Testament. After 400 years without direct revelation, God’s plan to redeem our broken world seemed not to be going anywhere. The Jewish people had returned from exile and found themselves in their homeland, but without a king and without significant blessing. They struggled with faith. The idolatry was gone, replaced by religiosity that needed a heart change. Then suddenly, God’s plan entered its next phase.We begin the Gospel of Matthew, where the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and informed her that she would participate with God in a miraculous way. She had been chosen to give birth to a child who would “save his people from their sins” (v. 21). This is the first of many moments in the New Testament that directly answer events of the Old Testament. In Genesis, Adam and Eve sinned, plunging the world into darkness, but Jesus (His name means Yahweh Saves) will undo the consequences of that early disobedience. Sin was humanity’s greatest challenge! Prior to this moment Israel relied on sacrifices that couldn’t completely atone for their sins. Now God would offer a sacrifice that would put sin away forever.To remind his readers that this was always the plan of God, Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah who predicted that the miraculous birth of a Son would signal God’s presence with Israel to deliver them. Like the grand opening of a building, the next step was finally here!
Go Deeper How surprising was Jesus’ arrival to those alive at that time? Why is it significant that Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah? Extended Reading:Matthew 1–3
Pray with Us Lord Jesus, we rejoice that You came to earth to live with us, to walk with us, and to save us. Thank You, Almighty God, that You speak to Your people through Your Son.
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.” The angelic heavens, the sidereal heavens, and the firmament or terrestrial heavens, were all made to start into existence by a word; what if we say by the Word, “For without him was not anything made that is made.” It is interesting to note the mention of the Spirit in the next clause, “and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth;” the word “breath” is the same as is elsewhere rendered Spirit. Thus the three persons of the Godhead unite in creating all things. How easy for the Lord to make the most ponderous orbs, and the most glorious angels! A word, a breath could do it. It is as easy for God to create the universe as for a man to breathe, nay, far easier, for man breathes not independently, but borrows the breath in his nostrils from his Maker. It may be gathered from this verse that the constitution of all things is from the infinite wisdom, for his word may mean his appointment and determination. A wise and merciful Word has arranged, and a living Spirit sustains all the creation of Jehovah.
Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 27-57 (Vol. 2, pp. 105–106). Marshall Brothers.
33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. This verse implies a familiarity with Genesis 1. The “word of the LORD” is an allusion to God’s speaking the world into existence, “And God said.” The psalmist mentions only the “heavens,” because he wants to call attention to their “starry host.” But immediately 33:7 turns our attention to the earth by reference to “the waters of the sea,” using the plural form of the word for “deep” (tehomot), which along with the phrase “breath [ruah] of his mouth” (33:6) brings to mind Genesis 1:2: “Darkness was over the surface of the deep [tehom], and the Spirit of God [ruah ’elohim, “Spirit of God” or “breath of God”] was hovering over the waters.” The implication of “breath of his mouth” seems to be the creative Spirit, which we may assume operates in and through the spoken word, “And God said.” “Spirit of God” and “breath of his mouth” are equivalent terms, virtually synonymous with the “word of the LORD.”
Bullock, C. H. (2015). Psalms 1–72 (M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; Vol. 1, pp. 246–247). Baker Books.
Ver. 6.—By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. God is to be praised, not only for his goodness, but also for his greatness, and especially for his greatness in creation (see Ps. 19:1–6). The heavens were made “by his word” in a double sense—by the Word, who is the Second Person of the Trinity (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2, 10), and by a mere utterance, without the employment of any mechanical means, as we learn from Gen. 1:6–8. And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. The “host of heaven” is here, undoubtedly, the host of heavenly bodies—the sun, moon, and stars—as in Gen. 2:1. These were made “by the breath of God’s mouth;” i.e. by his simple utterance of the command—“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night” (Gen. 1:14; comp. Job 26:13).
Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 246). Funk & Wagnalls Company.
† 33:6 — By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. The Gospel of John calls Jesus “the Word” and says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Paul adds that everything was made for Him (Col. 1:16).
Stanley, C. F. (2005). The Charles F. Stanley life principles Bible: New King James Version (Ps 33:6). Nelson Bibles.
The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. (Judges 4:9)
Rather an unusual text, but there may be souls in the world that may have faith enough to grasp it. Barak, the man, though called to the war, had little stomach for the fight unless Deborah would go with him, and so the Lord determined to make it a woman’s war. By this means He rebuked the slackness of the man, gained for Himself the more renown, and cast the more shame upon the enemies of His people.
The Lord can still use feeble instrumentalities. Why not me? He may use persons who are not commonly called to great public engagements. Why not you? The woman who slew the enemy of Israel was no Amazon but a wife who tarried in her tent. She was no orator but a woman who milked the cows and made butter. May not the Lord use any one of us to accomplish His purpose? Somebody may come to the house today, even as Sisera came to Jael’s tent. Be it ours not to slay him, but to save him. Let us receive him with great kindness and then bring forth the blessed truth of salvation by the Lord Jesus, our great Substitute, and press home the command “Believe and live.” Who knoweth but some stout-hearted sinner may be slain by the gospel today!
We sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise, that spread the flowing seas abroad and built the lofty skies. We sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; the moon shines full at his command, and all the stars obey.
We sing the goodness of the Lord that filled the earth with food; he formed the creatures with his word and then pronounced them good. Lord, how your wonders are displayed, where’er we turn our eyes, if we survey the ground we tread or gaze upon the skies.
There’s not a plant or flower below but makes your glories known, and clouds arise and tempests blow by order from your throne; while all that borrows life from you is ever in your care, and everywhere that we can be, you, God, are present there.
54. What do you believe concerning the “holy catholic Church?”
That, out of the whole human race,1 from the beginning to the end of the world,2 the Son of God,3 by His Spirit and Word,4 gathers, defends and preserves for Himself5 unto everlasting life,6 a chosen communion, in the unity of the true faith;7 and that I am,8 and forever shall remain, a living member of it.9
55. What do you understand by the “communion of saints?”
First, that believers, all and everyone, as members of Christ have communion in Him and in all His treasures and gifts;1 secondly, that everyone is bound to use his gifts, readily and cheerfully, for the benefit and welfare of other members.2
1 Rom 8:32; 1 Cor 6:17, 12:4-7, 12-13; 1 Jn 1:3; 2 Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12:20-27, 13:1-7; Php 2:4-8
56. What do you believe concerning the “forgiveness of sins?”
That God, because of Christ’s satisfaction, will no longer remember my sins,1 nor my sinful nature, against which I have to struggle all my life;2 but He graciously imputes to me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never come into condemnation.3
1 Ps 103:3-4, 10, 12; Mic 7:18-19; 2 Cor 5:18-21; 1 Jn 1:7, 2:2; 2 Rom 7:21-25; 3 Jn 3:17-18, 5:24; Rom 8:1-2
The primary responsibility of every human government is to protect, defend, and maintain human life. In this sermon, R.C. Sproul continues to engage ethical dilemmas relating to civil authorities.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” (1:29–34)
The phrase the next day introduces a sequence of days, which continues in verses 35, 43, and 2:1. Apparently, the events from John’s interview with the delegation from Jerusalem (vv. 19–28) to the miracle at Cana (2:1–11) spanned one week. On the day after he spoke to the delegation, John saw Jesus coming to him. Faithful to his duty as a herald, and defining a momentous redemptive moment, John immediately called the crowd’s attention to Him, exclaiming “Behold, the Lamb of God.” That title, used only in John’s writings (cf. v. 36; Rev. 5:6; 6:9; 7:10, 17; 14:4, 10; 15:3; 17:14; 19:9; 21:22–23; 22:1, 3), is the first in a string of titles given to Jesus in the remaining verses of this chapter; the rest include Rabbi (vv. 38, 49), Messiah (v. 41), Son of God (vv. 34, 49), King of Israel (v. 49), Son of Man (v. 51), and “Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (v. 45). That was not a guess on John’s part, but was revelation from God that was absolutely true, as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus proved. The concept of a sacrificial Lamb was a familiar one to the Jewish people. All through Israel’s history God had revealed clearly that sin and separation from Him could be removed only by blood sacrifices (cf. Lev. 17:11). No forgiveness of sin could be granted by God apart from an acceptable substitute dying as a sacrifice. They knew of Abraham’s confidence that God would provide a lamb to offer in place of Isaac (Gen. 22:7–8). A lamb was sacrificed at Passover (Ex. 12:1–36; Mark 14:12), in the daily sacrifices in the tabernacle and later in the temple (Ex. 29:38–42), and as a sin offering by individuals (Lev. 5:5–7). God also made it clear that none of those sacrifices were sufficient to take away sin (cf. Isa. 1:11). They were also aware that Isaiah’s prophecy likened Messiah to “a lamb that is led to slaughter” (Isa. 53:7; cf. Acts 8:32; 1 Peter 1:19). Though Israel sought a Messiah who would be a prophet, king, and conqueror, God had to send them a Lamb. And He did. The title Lamb of God foreshadows Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the sin of the world. With this brief statement, the prophet John made it clear that the Messiah had come to deal with sin. The Old Testament is filled with the reality that the problem is sin and it is at the very heart of every person (Jer. 17:9). All men, even those who received the revelation of God in Scripture (the Jews), were sinful and incapable of changing the future or the present, or of repaying God for the sins of the past. Paul’s familiar indictment of human sinfulness in Romans 3:11–12 is based on Old Testament revelation. As noted in the discussion of 1:9–11 in chapter 2 of this volume, kosmos (world) has a variety of meanings in the New Testament. Here it refers to humanity in general, to all people without distinction, transcending all national, racial, and ethnic boundaries. The use of the singular term sin with the collective noun world reveals that as sin is worldwide, so Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient for all people without distinction (cf. 1 John 2:2). But though His sacrificial death is sufficient for the sins of everyone (cf. 3:16; 4:42; 6:51; 1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 4:14), it is efficacious only for those who savingly believe in Him (3:15–16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:40; 11:25–26; 20:31; Luke 8:12; Acts 10:43; 13:39; 16:31; Rom. 1:16; 3:21–24; 4:3–5; 10:9–10; 1 Cor. 1:21; Gal. 3:6–9, 22; Eph. 1:13; 1 John 5:1; 10–13). This verse does not teach universalism, the false doctrine that everyone will be saved. That such is not the case is obvious, since the Bible teaches that most people will suffer eternal punishment in hell (Matt. 25:41, 46; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 14:9–11; 20:11–15; cf. Ezek. 18:4, 20; Matt. 7:13–14; Luke 13:23–24; John 8:24), and only a few will be saved (Matt. 7:13–14). John for the third time (cf. vv. 15, 27) stressed his subordinate role to Jesus, the eternal Word who had become a Man, acknowledging, “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” John was created. Jesus’ higher rank was infinite. He was the One who created everything (1:1–3), including John. Though John was actually born before Jesus, Jesus existed before him. And though John was a relative of Jesus’ (probably His cousin), since their mothers were related (Luke 1:36), he still did not recognize Him as the Messiah until he baptized Him, so that He might be manifested to Israel. For that most significant of all John’s baptisms, he declared, “I came baptizing in water,” though he was reluctant to baptize Jesus (Matt. 3:14). It was at Jesus’ baptism that God, who sent John to baptize in water, fully revealed Jesus as the Messiah through a prearranged sign. John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him” (cf. Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22). That sign was supernatural proof of Jesus’ messiahship, because God had told John, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” Like Peter (Matt. 16:17), John understood who Jesus truly was only through divine revelation. That Jesus is far greater than John is reinforced in that He baptizes in the Holy Spirit. For the sixth time in his gospel (cf. 1:7, 8, 15, 19, 32), John the apostle refers to the Baptist’s witness to Christ, recording his affirmation, “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” As noted in chapter 1 of this volume, witness, or testifying, is thematic in this gospel. John’s testimony in verse 34 is a fitting conclusion to this section, as the narrative makes the transition from him to Jesus. Although believers are in a limited sense children of God (Matt. 5:9; Rom. 8:14, 19; Gal. 3:26; cf. John 1:12; 11:52; Rom. 8:16, 21; 9:8; Phil. 2:15; 1 John 3:1–2, 10), Jesus is uniquely the Son of God in that He alone shares the same nature as the Father (1:1; 5:16–30; 10:30–33; 14:9; 17:11; 1 John 5:20). To his first emphasis—Messiah is here—John added an equally compelling exhortation: Recognize Him for who He is—the Son of God, the Messiah, the ultimate sacrificial Lamb for the sin of the world.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). John 1–11 (pp. 55–57). Moody Press.
Witnessing to Jesus Christ
John 1:29–34
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
How can a believer witness to Jesus Christ? It is an important question, not only because each of us is called upon to witness (as we have already seen) but also because the expansion of the gospel in our time (as in all ages of the Christian church) depends in no small measure upon whether or not we will do it and, if we do, how well. We have already looked at the first great principle for being a witness: the witness must recognize that he has no independent importance in himself. The evangelist expresses this in the case of John the Baptist, whose witness has been the basis of our story, by reminding us that he was not the Light. This teaches us, among other things, that a Christian will never be an effective witness if he is placing either himself or his own needs first in his thinking. Our own needs possess a certain degree of importance, of course. But we will never be able to focus on the needs of others if our own needs dominate us. For one thing, there is a sense in which our own needs are already met, whether we recognize it or not, for Paul wrote to the Philippians, saying, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). Our needs are met in Christ, and we have little to testify of if we do not see that clearly. Besides, we cannot really show love to the other person, which is the essence of witnessing, if we are not placing his needs before our own. All that is true. Yet, we must go on from this point to see that our recognizing that we are not the Light is not in itself witnessing. That is only the first and preliminary principle.
A Verbal Witness
The second great principle for witnessing is that we must bear witness to the Light, and this means that we must witness verbally. Our witness must move out of the area of life and into the area of words. If it does not, we will be like the young man who went from a Christian home to a secular college. His parents were concerned how he would make out. So when he arrived home at Christmas they asked him anxiously, “How did you get along?” He answered, “Oh, I got along great. No one even knows that I’m a Christian.” I am not denying the importance of the Christian life, of course. There must be the kind of upright character and true commitment to Christ that will back up the witness by words. We will see more about this in our next study. But, important as it is, the living of the Christian life by itself is not enough for a complete witness; there must also be a verbal witness. We can easily see why this must be so. For one thing, a nonverbal witness is at best merely puzzling to the non-Christian, and it can be totally misunderstood. Some time ago, after I had mentioned witnessing in the context of a message I was giving in a church other than my own, a woman came up to me to tell how she was bearing a witness in her place of employment. She apparently worked in a large office. Just that morning, so she said, as she was going out to lunch, one of the other workers handed her fifty cents and asked her to pick up a packet of cigarettes for him. What did she do? She returned the money, saying that she did not believe in smoking. She said to me that she believed God had helped her to bear a witness for Christ in that situation. I do not want to be too hard on this woman. She had a right, if she wished, to disapprove of smoking. In view of the warnings being given in our day about smoking, probably more non-Christians than ever before are taking this position. Still, the point that I want to make here is that in this case the “witness” to Christ that the woman thought she was giving was really no witness at all. For had I been the man who had asked the favor and been refused, I would probably have considered her rude and never even have thought of her views in terms of Christianity. The second reason why a nonverbal witness is inadequate is that, if it is effective at all, it should lead to a verbal witness. That is, if you are attempting to honor Christ by the way you are living, the things you are doing should lead to conversation about Jesus Christ and what he has meant in your experience. Someone will say, “Oh, but isn’t it true that many persons have been led to Jesus Christ by means of the conduct of some Christian?” That is quite true; many have! The conduct of Christians has been an important step, even an essential step, in the salvation of many thousands of persons. But I am convinced that the matter has never stopped on that level and that these thousands would never have come to Christ unless the witness through the lives of Christians had not moved beyond actions at some point to a consideration of the person and claims of Jesus Christ as these truths were presented to them verbally. People who have greatly moved the world for Christ have been ready to speak at any opportunity. In his book Henceforth, Hugh E. Hopkins tells of Douglas Thornton, an English believer who was being seen off at a railway station in Egypt. With some difficulty his friend found him an empty compartment on the train: “An empty compartment!” Thornton exclaimed. “Why, man, I want to fish.” He moved into a crowded compartment. It is also recorded that, when exploring the Great Pyramid on the outskirts of Cairo, Thornton redeemed the time by evangelizing the guide who was then crawling up a narrow passage on his hands and knees behind him. We find another example in the conversion experience of John Wesley, the father of the Methodist church. Wesley had been a preacher for years before he was genuinely born again, and during this time (as might be expected) his ministry was a failure. After a particularly discouraging experience in the United States, as he was returning from Georgia to England by ship, he came into contact with a body of Moravian Christians. He was very much impressed with the calm they maintained in the midst of a storm at sea. It was not on the ship, however, but later at a meeting in the little chapel at Aldersgate in London, while someone was reading from Luther’s exposition of the letter to the Galatians, that Wesley “felt his heart strangely warmed” and was converted. After that he became one of the greatest evangelists in church history. A verbal witness is a true witness. Thus, throughout the Gospel of John, the stories of those who are reached by Jesus Christ almost without exception end with a spoken profession of their belief. The man born blind is last seen in an attitude of worship, voicing the confession: “Lord, I believe” (John 9:38). The woman of Samaria grows in her understanding of Jesus. At the beginning of the narrative she regards him merely as a Jew (John 4:9). In verse 12 she raises the possibility that he may be greater than the patriarch Jacob. In verse 19 she calls him a prophet. The conclusion comes in her testimony to her neighbors when she argues that he is the Messiah (v. 29). In the same way John the Baptist testifies to the One who takes away the sin of the world.
The Message
Now, if we are to bear a witness to Jesus Christ, clearly we must know something about him. And this means that we must have a message. What is our message? The major parts of the answer to this question are suggested in our story. They are: 1) a witness to who Jesus Christ is; 2) a witness to what he has done; and 3) a witness to how a man or woman can come to know him personally. First, we witness to who Jesus Christ is. John did this when he testified, “This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me’ ” (v. 30). Again, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (v. 34). This is where we begin in our witness, because most of the points of Christian doctrine gain their significance from the fact that Jesus Christ is God. If Christ were only a man, then his death on the cross might have been inspiring as an example or a means by which we are excited to good works. We might say, “I never want such a tragedy to happen again” and become a great social worker. But if this is all that Christ is, then his death was in no sense an atonement; he did not die for our sin, and we are still under the condemnation of God and are still the children of wrath. In the same way, if he is not God, then we have no living God to worship, for we cannot know God apart from Jesus Christ. As you begin to witness, let me suggest that you begin here. Begin with Christ’s claims about himself. You might refer to John 5:18, which tells us that Jesus “was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” He said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). He told the disciples: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Most non-Christians have never actually faced these claims, and many have never even heard them. Second, we witness to what Jesus Christ has done. In one sense, of course, this is an overwhelming topic. For if Jesus is God, then all that God has done, and does, Christ does. He has been active in the creation of the world, in guiding the history of redemption, in giving us the Old and New Testaments, in helping us today in temptation, and in other things. Yet there is a sense in which the work of Christ focuses on something much more limited and therefore much easier to share. The focus of Christ’s work is to be found in his death on the cross. Hence, we want to share the meaning of his death when we try to tell others about him. In his day, John the Baptist did this by reference to the Jewish sacrifices. He said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (v. 29). Have you ever given thought to what must have been involved in that statement—for John and for his hearers? For centuries Israel had known all about the sacrificial lamb. They had learned about it first from the story of Abraham, who was the father of their nation. At God’s command Abraham had been going up the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac when Isaac had turned to him and asked, “Father, … Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?” Abraham had answered, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” And God did! Israel had also known about the lamb as a result of the institution of the Passover. On that occasion the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the house was the sign for the angel of death to pass by. Moreover, they knew that daily in the services of the temple lambs and goats were sacrificed. They knew that in every instance the sacrifices meant the death of an innocent substitute in place of the one who had sinned. On this basis John the Baptist came along and exclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God.” He recognized that the sacrifices were to be fulfilled in Jesus and that he would bear our sin as Isaiah had said. “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.… he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:4–5). I like to think, as many other commentators have suggested, that as John identified Jesus as the sin-bearing Lamb, there may have been passing by the flocks of lambs that were driven up to the walls of Jerusalem each year to serve as sacrificial lambs for the Passover. The Passover feast was not far off (John 2:12–13). Perhaps John was led to refer to Jesus in this fashion because it showed vividly that he was able to deliver from death those who believed on him. Do you believe that? Jesus is able to deliver us from death today. There is that final death, the second death, which is the separation of the soul of the individual from God. He delivers from that. But there are also the little deaths that we experience daily because of our natural alienation from God. Jesus is the answer to those deaths also. If you are a Christian, it is your privilege to tell others of the means by which sin is removed—through faith in the person and death of Jesus Christ—and that the one who believes in him is given new life, peace, joy, and freedom of access to God. Finally, we also witness to the way in which a person can come to know and trust Jesus for himself. John did it by pointing to the fact that Jesus is the giver of the Spirit. He said, “I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit’ ” (v. 33). What does that mean? It means that Jesus Christ was the One who would give of his Spirit to those who should follow him. Or, to put it another way, it means that Jesus would come to live within the lives of his followers. Thus, when we bear witness to Jesus today, we talk not only of who Jesus is and of what he has done but also of how a person can come to have him enter his life and fill it.
Opening the Door
Someone will ask, “You say that Christ must enter our lives, but you have not told us how that can happen. How does that happen?” The answer is that it happens by faith as we “receive” him or “open” the doors of our lives to his knocking. One statement of that principle occurs in this same chapter in the verse that says: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (v. 12). Another verse is Revelation 3:20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” According to these verses there are two steps to the process. There is the step in which we first “hear” his voice or “believe” in him. Then there is the step in which we “receive him” or “open” to his call. We do this by praying. We say, “Lord Jesus Christ, I admit that I am a sinner and in need of the salvation that you bring to men. I believe that you died for me, so that my sin is atoned for and borne away forever. I now open the door and invite you into my life and ask that you will cleanse me and rule my life forever. Amen.” It is as simple as that, but it must be a definite commitment. The act itself is indispensable. Have you done that? If you have not, you are not a real Christian. It is not enough merely to know about Christ; you must belong to him. On the other hand, if you have done that, then let me ask whether you have ever invited another person to make the same commitment. I can tell you on the basis of my own experience—and that of many others—that there are few joys equal to that which is ours when the invitation is given to believe in Jesus and the person to whom we are witnessing responds and comes to him.
Boice, J. M. (2005). The Gospel of John: an expositional commentary (pp. 109–114). Baker Books.
Attorney, self-defense expert: Alex Pretti shooting was legally justified He also identified how “Alex Pretti interfered with the arrest of the woman” and then makes physical contact with a federal law enforcement officer. “The moment he [Pretti] makes contact with that officer, he’s just committed a federal felony, good for eight years in a federal penitentiary,” Branca said. “That’s why they were seeking to make his arrest, because they saw him commit a forcible felony against a fellow officer. Then he’s non-compliant with arrest. He’s fighting them. Then they discover he has a gun on his person,” “They hear a gunshot go off and Alex Pretti’s right hand comes from his waistline with a black object in his hand. That combination of facts is going to get you shot 999 times out of 1,000 by law enforcement—and justifiably so. With regard to Pretti’s engagement with federal officers, Branca said, “he was shot fundamentally for one reason: he violently fought the law and the law won.”
Deadly blast rips Iranian port city as Tehran plans naval drills in Strait of Hormuz An explosion at a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday killed one person and wounded 14, according to authorities. The blast came a day before a planned Iranian naval drill in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Amid frantic regional diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, President Donald Trump on Saturday said Iran was “taking to us”.
Israel’s Tel Gezer: 3,000-year-old Hebrew tablet chronicles agriculture and Canaanite history Located in the foothills of central Israel between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Tel Gezer is famous for an Iron Age relic found at the site known as the Gezer Calendar. Like a message in a bottle, the Gezer Calendar transports us back in time, allowing us to read words written in Israel when King Solomon was on the throne. What does the message say?
Remembering the Horrors of the Holocaust he deadly consequence of a pseudoscientific and spiritually corrupted racial worldview. Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed each year on January 27, calling the world to remember the six million Jews and millions of others murdered under Nazi persecution. For Christians—especially those committed to a biblical creationist worldview—this day carries a sobering relevance.
Trump: No federal police aid in Democratic cities unless they request help On Truth Social, the US president writes that federal forces should not “under any circumstances” help “several poorly run, Democrat-run cities” with law enforcement and protests until the cities explicitly ask for help. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the federal Border Patrol, led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), have been instructed to “vigorously” protect federal buildings that are “attacked by paid madmen,” Local and state property, however, is now solely the responsibility of local governments to protect, Trump writes.
Khamenei emerges from bunker to celebrate anniversary of Islamic revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared publicly Saturday at the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, his first sighting since protests erupted in late December, as Iran began commemorations marking 47 years since the Islamic Revolution, the New York Post reports. Images posted to the supreme leader’s official X account showed him praying at the shrine. The post read: “Today we mark the start of the celebrations for the forty-seventh anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, with the presence of His Eminence Ayatollah Khamenei at the holy shrine of Imam Khomeini.”
‘No one left behind’: Final Kabbalat Shabbat held at Hostages Square Hundreds gathered on Friday afternoon at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, for the final Kabbalat Shabbat Service marking the conclusion of more than two years of public vigil and struggle. Friday’s event was declared as the last, following the return of the last Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, of blessed memory. Since October 2023, Hostages Square became the heart of a nationwide effort to bring home all 255 hostages
Tens of thousands flee Pakistan’s Tirah Valley amid military action warnings Tens of thousands of people have fled a remote mountainous region in northwestern Pakistan in recent weeks, residents said, after warnings broadcast from mosques urged families to evacuate ahead of a possible military action against Islamist terrorists. Residents of the Tirah Valley, in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that borders Afghanistan, said they have moved out of the area into nearby towns despite heavy snowfall and cold winter temperatures because of the announcements to avoid the possible fighting.
Will Venezuela get the ‘Gaza treatment’ from the US? – From Washington’s perspective, Venezuela is already a failed state, and officials have proposed setting up a Technocratic Council in the South American nation, similar to that in Gaza.
IDF Strikes Hamas, PIJ Commanders in Gaza in Retaliation for Ceasefire Violations The Israeli military and security services announced a response on Saturday to a violation of the ceasefire agreement yesterday on Friday, that saw eight terrorists exiting the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah. Israeli security forces have, thus far, struck four commanders and additional terrorists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations across the Gaza Strip.
US Officials Tell i24NEWS Israeli Concerns About Gaza Board of Peace Are ‘Unfounded’ The underlying message is clear: President Trump will make the calls, and the US will ensure full implementation of all objectives of the plan, first and foremost the demilitarization of Gaza, regardless of the positions or hostile statements towards Israel coming from Turkey and Qatar.
Trump reiterates: ‘We’ll see what happens’ as US considers military options against Iran if no deal Tehran announced ‘progress toward a framework for negotiations’ but the White House reportedly fears unnecessary talks; These are the options offered to Trump, the warning a ‘decisive and swift attack’ is not possible, and Khamenei’s defiance: ‘Hiding underground? Trying to broadcast instability that doesn’t exist’ Trump himself did not express much confidence that talks would lead to an agreement. He continues to keep the threat of military action on the table, bolstered by a major deployment of U.S. forces to the Middle East—or, as he put it, “a big armada sailing toward Iran.”
Five Troubling Trends That Have Taken Today’s Churches Captive I see at least five troubling trends in churches today. They are not new, but have become more pronounced in the past two or three decades. All of the troubling trends I mention in this article find their root in the kingdom mentality of our day.
Huge Verdict Could Destroy ‘Gender Transition For Minors’ Industry A jury on Friday found a psychologist and a surgeon liable for malpractice after they convinced a 16-year-old girl to lop off her breasts. This marks the first medical malpractice case involving a detransitioner to reach a verdict – and it has huge implications. Fox Varian, who identified as transgender at the time, was awarded $2 million in damages – which includes $1.6 million for past and future pain and suffering, and $400,000 for future medical expenses. Now 22, Varian identifies as a woman. Elon Musk referred to the doctors as “modern day Mengeles.”
Iranians Seal Windows & Store Food, Water As They Prepare For Attack As night fell on Friday, a tense sense of dread settled over Iranians at home and abroad, with rumors of an imminent US military strike took hold across Iran. “I kept waiting for it to hit. I couldn’t sleep until morning. I was waking up and straining to hear any sound of explosions. Let’s see what happens tonight,” Milad*, a 43-year-old engineer living in the capital Tehran, “Because of the killings committed by the Islamic Republic, people are becoming desperate.
Latest Epstein Release Catches Goldman’s Top Lawyer In Massive Lie Ruemmler, a former White House attorney for Obama, told Goldman execs when they hired her in April 2020 that the relationship was purely professional – yet it would later become public that she not only met with Epstein dozens of times and exchanged friendly emails for years, she was listed as an executor of Epstein’s will as recently as Jan. 18, 2019 – which had been removed before he died in prison on Aug. 10 of that year.
Seattle Mayor Directs Police To Track And Document ICE Enforcement Activities Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson announced a series of steps on Jan. 30 in response to a potential surge in federal immigration enforcement, directing local police to track and document activities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents … The Seattle Police Officers Guild pushed back on the mayor’s measures, saying, “The concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous, and will not happen.” “I will not let [Seattle Police Officers Guild] members be used as political pawns,” Mike Solan, president of the guild, said in a statement.
Florida braces for coldest conditions in decades this weekend It will be cold enough to require winter clothing, have iguanas dropping from trees and farmers holding their breath for damage in the citrus groves in Florida this weekend. It could even snow in some areas. Temperatures are projected to plummet to levels not observed or experienced since 2010, 1989, 1977 and 1966 in some cases from Saturday night to Monday morning.
TSA Proposes MyTSA PreCheck Digital ID, Integrating Biometrics and Federal Databases The Transportation Security Administration is reshaping how it verifies identities of US air travelers, proposing a major update that merges biometric data, mobile credentials, and gov’t authentication platforms into one expanded framework. The notice outlines a new form of digital identification, the MyTSA PreCheck ID, which would extend the agency’s existing PreCheck program into a mobile environment requiring more detailed data from participants.
TikTok’s New US Joint Venture Expands Data Collection to Include Precise Location Tracking TikTok’s American operations are entering a new phase under a recently finalized joint venture with US investors, and one of its first moves has been to broaden the kinds of personal data it can gather. A freshly published privacy policy confirms the platform may now “collect precise location data, depending on your settings,” a marked change from its earlier limit to “approximate” location tracking.
Scientists want to insert “their mark,” be called “your creator” and “own you” When we’re modifying the genome of an organism, we can put our signature, our name, into the genome.” – “What is God? God creates. Well, we can create now.” “We deserve to be credited for our work. We have lobbyists in politics and the courts to make sure the patenting and owning of parts of the human genome continue.” Not word-for-word, but recollections of remarks made by Dr. Craig Venter of the Human Genome Project during a speech in 2014.
Biological weapons, Chemical weapons, Brain machine interfaces … and that’s just the Covid-19 injections “Neuro technologies are based upon various tools to access and affect structures and functions of the brain that may be involved in cognition, emotion and behaviors. It’s not just a question of trying to figure out what makes the brain tick and the way it’s built; it’s “can we get in there to affect the ticking and, by affecting the way that brain is built, the way it functions.”
Tim Walz Hints That Fatal ICE Shootings Could Trigger The Start Of A Civil War – Trump Hammers Him “When glib, elitist leftists fail to actually read and comprehend history, you get someone who is an incompetent history teacher and a soon-to-be former governor, like Tim Walz. The Minnesota Democrat actually had the nerve to suggest that federal enforcement of immigration laws in his state could trigger another civil war.”
HHS whistleblower Tara Rodas joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss DHS efforts to rescue more than 145,000 missing migrant children who were lost under the Biden administration.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem discusses Tom Homan’s deployment to Minneapolis, deportation operation successes, Democratic calls for her resignation and more. #foxnews #kristinoem #noem #tomhoman #borderczar #minneapolis #operationmetrosurge #dhs #ice #deportation #lawandorder #politics #breakingnews #insurrectionact #nationalsecurity
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Maria Bartiromo on FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the DOJ and FBI are closing in on “organized crime rings of leftist agitators” who are leading protests against federal immigration enforcement, which have escalated to the point that federal officers shot and killed two American citizens in Minnesota.
MARIA BARTIROMO: And I heard Tom Homan earlier this week say, look, we’re going to focus on the criminals. We’re not just getting people out as a priority because they broke the law in the first place to get in here, but we’re prioritizing first those people who are committing a crime.
So, Karoline, talk to us about what you envision here, because we’re going to talk with Eric Schmitt, the senator from Missouri, in a few moments. And he put a four-point plan out on the Senate floor last week on what to do about the debate over the immigration crackdown.
Do you expect new restrictions on Border Patrol, Karoline? What can you tell us in terms of the results here, as a result of the fact that two people are dead, even though the president is trying to weed out criminality in this country and you have seen this resistance?
KAROLINE LEAVITT: Well, the White House and the president are open and willing to listen. I know the president said aboard Air Force One last night that those conversations and discussions will continue.
Last week, the White House invited moderate Democrat senators to come to the White House and to discuss their concerns, so that we can hear them out and at least see what they are trying to put on the table. Unfortunately, that meeting was blocked by their leadership.
So these conversations will continue, Maria, and, ultimately, the president will be the decider on any policy changes. But what I know in talking with the president and seeing what this administration has done over the course of the last year is that President Trump is never going to waver in the commitment that he made to the nearly 80 million Americans who voted for him to deport illegal alien criminals who broke our nation’s laws to get here and then have committed further crimes of violence against American citizens.
And that’s why ICE and Border Patrol are true patriots. They need to be respected. The Democrats need to agree to stop demonizing them. We have heard despicable rhetoric from people on the left comparing ICE to the Nazi Gestapo, Donald Trump’s police force.
That is egregious language that has led to the increase in violence, threats and attacks against ICE agents, who are brave men and women who put on the uniform to enforce our nation’s immigration laws. So the Trump administration is always going to be on the side of law and order.
And we want to remove these illegal alien rapists, murderers, pedophiles, despicable individuals from our country to protect the homeland. And the president has done a phenomenal job at doing that. And that’s why murder rates in this country, newly released data show, are at the lowest in recorded history.
These things are not coincidental. Under Joe Biden, murders were up, violent crime was up, we had illegal aliens invading our country from all over this world. All of that has ended. So President Trump knows what works. Democrats, if they were smart, would trust him and listen to him.
BARTIROMO: Yes, it’s just very upsetting to see innocent people lose their lives. But I also recognize that you cannot resist Border Patrol and you cannot get in their faces and obstruct what they’re doing in terms of their operations.
LEAVITT: That’s right.
BARTIROMO: So do you expect any changes in that regard?
LEAVITT: Well, look, as you said, Maria, the president, nobody in the Trump administration, nor the White House wants to see Americans losing their lives.
What we want is law and order. What we want is for the brave men and women of law enforcement to be able to do their jobs and carry out lawful immigration enforcement operations without being demonized, spit on, without their vehicles being kicked in by agitators, many of whom are paid.
And I know the FBI and Department of Justice are looking into these organized crime rings of these leftist agitators who have been attacking our law enforcement in a very sophisticated manner.
BARTIROMO: Yes, that’s a very important point that you make there.
The number of Iranians killed by the Islamist regime running the country has increased, according to reports, but the people will not back down. According to some previous reports, there … Read more
President Trump has threatened to sue discredited author Michael Wolff, as well as the estate of Jeffrey Epstein — as he insists that the latest mass dump of files related to the pedophile financier absolves him.
President Trump spoke to reporters on Air Force One on Saturday night as he returned to Washington from a charity dinner in Florida. Asked about his position toward Iran, the president said: “I certainly can’t tell you that. But we do have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction, as you know. I can’t tell you anything, but I hope they negotiate something that’s acceptable… You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory, with no nuclear weapons, and they should do that. But I don’t know that they will. They are talking to us – seriously talking to us.”
About anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, Trump said: “We have the lowest crime in the history of our country. Despite the fact that our country was riddled with a lot of bad people from the Biden open border, we’ve taken a lot of them out. We have the least number of murders in recorded history. The crime-ridden cities are all Democrat-run cities. If they want help, they have to ask for it – and they have to say please.”
About the latest release of Jeffrey Epstein documents, he said: “It looks like Michael Wolff was conspiring with Epstein to harm me. I didn’t see it myself, but I was told by very important people that it not only absolves me, it’s the opposite of what the radical left hoped. Wolff – a third-rate writer – was conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to hurt me politically. That came through loud and clear. We’ll probably sue Wolff for that.”
And on the arrest of Don Lemon, Trump commented: “No, I don’t know anything about that. But he’s washed up. From his standpoint, it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to him. He had no viewers. Now he’s in the news. I didn’t know anything about it.”
The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to convert 23 e-commerce warehouses across the country, primarily in the eastern U.S., into a large-scale network of immigration detention centers aimed at expanding capacity to fulfill the mandate the American people gave President Trump to deport more than one million illegal aliens per year and restore national security. This comes after the Biden-Harris globalist regime collapsed borders and allowed a nation-killing invasion of ten million or more third-worlders.
Bloomberg reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s rapid move to build out a network of warehouses is being fueled by $45 billion from the signature “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” This includes the most recent purchases of a warehouse in Hagerstown, Maryland, and another in Surprise, Arizona, totaling $172 million. A third in El Paso, Texas, will be one of the largest of its kind, with 8,500 beds.
The ICE detention system is only growing larger and larger, with ever-greater numbers of illegals who invaded the nation being deported. The current level of illegals held in detention is at a record of 73,000. To reach a million deportations per year, ICE must have 100,000 detention beds.
Emma Winger, deputy legal director at the American Immigration Council, told the outlet that the Trump administration must expand its deportation infrastructure to meet its goal of 1 million per year.
“To reach these kinds of numbers, they’d need to go out into the communities and find people who’ve been living their lives and been here a long time,” Winger said. “They’d have to dramatically increase their presence in communities across the country.”
Unhinged leftist Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen called Trump’s deportation operations “one of the most obscene, one of the most inhumane, and one of the most illegal operations being carried out by this Trump administration at the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.”
“We do not want an ICE facility here in the state of Maryland,” Van Hollen told the outlet.
Why is that Van Hollen? Is it the fear that a future voting bloc of illegals will be deported from the Mid-Atlantic region?
However, what Van Hollen doesn’t mention is that mass migration policies supported by his own party fuel smuggling networks run by cartels and aided by dark-money funded NGOs. These smuggling networks put migrants at risk of robbery, extortion, kidnapping, human trafficking, assault, and exploitation along the way. Thousands have died along the way, but rarely do you hear Democrats raising concern about US-bound smuggling networks, only Trump’s deportation program is worse than literal ‘Nazis’…
ICE expects to hold between 1,500 and 10,000 detainees in each of these 23 warehouses at a time.
The question that should be asked is why Democrats jeopardized national security by allowing the illegal alien invasion. The answer is political, with the goal of creating a new voting bloc and entrenching long-term one-party dominance under Democratic Party kings and queens.
The Tesla and X owner reacted to a US jury verdict in favor of a woman who underwent a mastectomy at 16
US surgeons who perform ‘gender transition’ procedures on minors could face thousands of lawsuits, Elon Musk has said. He likened them to Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who carried out sadistic medical experiments on prisoners at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camp during the Second World War.
The Tesla and X owner was reacting to news that Fox Varian, who had a double mastectomy at age 16, won what is described as the first detransitioner malpractice lawsuit in the United States. Now 22, Varian said New York doctors had compelled her to undergo the surgery while she was still a minor.
Both a psychologist and a surgeon approved the procedure. A jury later found them liable for malpractice. Varian was awarded $1.6 million for pain and suffering and another $400,000 for future medical costs.
”There will be thousands of court cases of children who were mutilated by evil doctors, modern day Mengeles,” Musk wrote on X on Saturday, sharing a post about the ruling.
”The schools, psychologists/psychiatrists and state officials who facilitated this will pay dearly too,” he added.
Musk has previously spoken publicly about his own family’s experience with the radical ‘gender transition’ movement. One of his children, Xavier, came out as transgender at 16 and later changed his name to Vivian Jenna Wilson.
The billionaire has claimed he was “essentially tricked into signing documents” by doctors, calling the practice “incredibly evil.”
“I lost my son, essentially. They call it deadnaming for a reason,” Musk said in earlier remarks, adding that Xavier had been figuratively killed by what he described as the “woke mind virus,” which he vowed to “destroy.”
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has rolled back several policies introduced under his predecessor Joe Biden, including federal support for medical gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 19. Several US states have also moved to restrict or ban such treatments for minors.
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