Who was Jesus still with during his earthly ministry in John's Gospel?
In John’s Gospel, during His earthly ministry, Jesus was still with the nation of Israel. The context stresses that He dealt primarily with Israel, including the Jews and Pharisees of His day, who were proud of their Abrahamic lineage rather than recognizing the spiritual birth of God.
Les teaches that as Jesus was dealing in John’s Gospel, He was still with the nation of Israel in His earthly ministry. John 1:13 describes believers as born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The great opposition to Jesus of Nazareth during His earthly ministry came especially from the Jews and Pharisees, who were proud of their lineage and genealogy. They were not children of Esau or Ishmael, but children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.