Year 2, Day 261: John 13

Focused Love

As we begin this chapter, I’m going to really risk pushing the envelope today.  In the first verse, we are really challenged by John’s description of Jesus’ love.  John specifically says that Jesus loved His own.  The Greek is even more specific.  The Greek says that Jesus loves the ones who were His own who were in the world.  Jesus’ love is a focused love.  Jesus loves His own.

Now, the reason this pushes the envelope is because it is easy to push this idea too far and say that Jesus did not love anyone but His own.  That isn’t what the text says.  In fact, John 3:16 is clear in that God so loved the world.  Jesus – being God – loved the world.  But His focused and intentional love is upon His own within the world. 

Washing The Feet

Then Jesus begins to wash His disciple’s feet.  Jesus knew He was about to be handed over to death by one of His own.  Jesus knew He was about to meet the roughly hewn wood of the cross.  He knew that He was about to experience the most violent and despicable side of humanity as the mob mentality is brought out against Him and people cry out to have Him crucified.  Jesus knew that His disciples would all panic and flee for their lives.  Jesus knew this was imminent.  How does He respond?  Jesus washes the feet of His disciples.  Jesus serves the very humanity who was deep in sin.  That’s God.

Jesus does the unthinkable.  Jesus puts Himself in the place of service.  Jesus – as He is about to do in an even more incredible way as He goes to the cross – puts aside His agenda and His needs and instead elevates the disciples into the position in which they need to be.  This is really what makes Jesus such an incredible person.  Story after story is not actually about Jesus.  Story after story is about putting people in a place to relate with the Father.  Jesus does not pursue His own needs.  Jesus pursues the needs of the disciples {and humanity!} to connect with the Father.  Jesus demonstrates how the call of the Christian is to remove their own agenda and for the sake of others help connect them to the Father.  That’s the servant mentality.

When it comes to the church, I often mess this up.  I really do.  So often I buy into the “I want it this way” mentality.  But that’s just not right.  I’m already in Christ.  I’ve already received the Holy Spirit.  While I should want to grow in Christ always … I know that’s going to happen if I practice my discipleship.  So when it comes to public gatherings, I should be less interested in what I need and more interested in what the people around me need to become closer to God.  It sounds so simple.  It is the servant’s mentality that I need to embrace.  But it’s so easy to get wrapped up into what I want and what I desire.

Judas

Then we turn to the fateful display in Judas Iscariot.  I always mourn for Judas when I read about him.  He was a disciple; but he wasn’t able to let go of his own agenda.  He was looking for the Messiah; but he wanted the Messiah that he believed in rather than the Messiah God sent.  Judas always reminds me of what it looks like when we try to follow both God and our own agenda at the same time.  God ends up being sacrificed.

The neat thing about this story is that Jesus knows the plan.  He knows what Judas is up to.  He knows, but even still Judas has free will.  Jesus does not forbid it.  Jesus tells Judas to do what his heart desires.  Even if it means rebellion, God will not remove us from our free will.  Judas could have repented.  He could have come to grips with what he was doing and I’m sure Jesus would have forgiven.  But Judas does not do this.  Judas goes about his human plan of rebellion.  Judas wants to try and force the hand that he believes in.

God does not desire to force us to come to Him.  He does not desire to force our love.  He can get pretty forceful in revealing our sin, but ultimately it is up to us to come to terms with it and repent of it.  God does not want robots worshipping Him.  God wants us to see our nature and choose Him instead.  The story of Judas always reminds me about this fact.  As I write this while texting a spiritual friend, I can’t help but thinking that Judas reminds me of how we are all really just one self-mongerish belief away from being Judas.  It is only by the grace of God that we can let go of our self-monger and embrace God’s agenda.

For the record … and I’m not going to dwell on it … notice that the rest of the disciples still don’t get it.  They can be so dense sometimes.  We can be so dense when it comes to God’s agenda sometimes.

Love

Jesus then says two really important things.  The first is that Jesus gives them a command to love one another.  Jesus knows He’s about to die.  He knows that He is about to be taken physically from this world.  They are going to need one another.  They’re going to need to see Christ in one another – especially in their love for one another.  We recognize Christ most in the love we display for one another.

You’re Not Ready

The second really cool thing that Jesus says here is that the disciples are not ready to follow Jesus.  But Jesus also says that one day they will be ready.  Peter will learn the hard way through the crow of the rooster that he’s not ready now.  But there will come a day when they are ready and willing to follow Jesus.

The reason that this is neat is that it shows us that we are a work in progress.  One does not usually wake up one day completely transformed into the perfect God-following disciple of Jesus Christ.  It is a work in progress.  It is totally a process.  Granted, there is an expectation that one day we will arrive.  In fact, the sooner the better!  But we are still a work in progress.  It is okay to be growing towards God for a time before we are ready to sacrifice all for Him.  Jesus did not forsake His disciples while they were growing.  Jesus will neither forsake us.

But when the Holy Spirit genuinely comes upon us, watch out.  Then it is time!  When the Holy Spirit comes upon us and we are genuinely sealed with the guarantee of our salvation – watch out!  From that moment, you will find yourself following Jesus wherever He leads.  That’s when life really begins!

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Year 2, Day 260: John 12

Dichotomy

John 12 carries the intensity of John 11 one step further.  In John 11 we had the story where the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.  The very next story involves the beginning of one of Jesus’ own disciples turning against Him.  From a worldly perspective, Jesus ministry is really beginning to come undone.  His own disciples – His closest ones! – are experiencing doubts.  But from God’s perspective, salvation is literally on the brink of coming into the world! What a great chapter from the perspective of the divine.  What a scary chapter with respect to the world.

Mary, Jesus, and Judas

Jesus picks up the final path to the cross where He had left it for a little bit: in the house of Martha and Mary and Lazarus.  He returns to the point of no return – the point where Lazarus had been raised from the dead.  When He comes into the house, the host family provides a meal and Jesus reclines at the table with His followers.  Then Mary takes a “litran” of expensive oil and begins to anoint Jesus’ feet with it.  {A litran is a Roman unit of measure that was pretty close to 11.75 ounces or roughly 325 grams}.  Judas begins to complain.

Let’s take a moment here and compare the three perspectives that we have in this story.

• Mary simply wants to show appreciation for Jesus’ presence.  After all, it was through Him that her brother was restored to her life.  Why wouldn’t she want to shower Jesus with this incredible blessing?  Why should any of us have any different of a perspective?  We can learn so much about gratitude towards god from Mary’s example.
• Jesus is focused on the work of God – upon which He has been focused all along.  He takes Mary’s gift and applies it in a direction that she could not fathom.  Jesus takes her anointing and projects it to a week or so from the present when He will be dead and buried.  Isn’t this pretty much the case for all of us?  Do we not all find God taking what we give Him and then transforming it into something far greater?
• Judas is focused on Himself.  He knows that Jesus has been talking “crazy” lately and he’s not all that happy about it.  Judas doesn’t want a leader like Jesus to be “wasted” on the cross; nor does Judas want something that has such a high monetary value to be “wasted” on a moment that will never be able to be reclaimed.  For Judas, it is all about his agenda and his way of thinking.

Aren’t those three really interesting perspectives?  The Son of God shows us what it means to take up the cross of God and focus on God.  Mary shows us the perspective of the servant who is learning but not quite there with respect to understanding the breadth of God’s plan.  Judas shows us the person who may be going through the motions but who is really just focused on his own agenda.

They Plan Lazarus’ Death, Too

Quickly, let me move into a story that is so often forgotten.  The Jewish leaders plan on killing Lazarus because of the testimony that His resurrection brings to the power and identity of Jesus Christ.  Learn this lesson, too.  Proximity to Jesus increases danger.  The world hates Jesus.  The closer you get to Jesus, the more the world will look at you through the same eyes that they look upon Jesus.  Nobody ever said following Jesus would be easy.  In fact, I’m pretty sure Jesus consistently taught about how difficult it would be and the sacrifices that we would have to make.

Triumphal Entry

Then we have the triumphal entry.  We know the story.  What struck me today – especially after focusing on Mary’s act above – was just how clear John is about the disciples not understanding what was going on until after Jesus was raised in glory.  Jesus had to know that they weren’t “getting it.”  But Jesus also knew that they would get it in a few more days.  Jesus isn’t afraid to work with and through us in spite of our shortcomings so long as we are on the trajectory of arriving at understanding and being fully committed discipleship.

Greeks

After the triumphal entry, some Greeks approach Jesus.  These people would likely have been “God-fearers.”  These are people who heard about God and were in the process of learning more about God and dedicating their life to Him.  But these were also people who had not yet made that full commitment.  They were probably in Jerusalem at this time so that they could investigate the Jews and their God in great depth during this time.   They see and hear the commotion over Jesus and they want to meet Him.

It is during this conversation that we have another powerful image of what it means to be Christ – and therefore what it means to be a follower of Christ.  “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”  What an incredible set of verses. 

Think about it.  A grain of wheat that never is planted is destined for uselessness.  Jesus even gives that uselessness a title: alone.  When we pursue our own agenda and put ourselves first in our life, what fruit will we ever bear?  We will be alone.  But when we put our own agenda aside and pick up the agenda of God – in other words, crucify ourselves with Christ so that Christ lives within us – then look at the fruit we will bear!  We will be united with the people of God and find community.  We will bear much fruit, fruit that God will be able to use for His purposes.  Christ had to die so that the fruit of salvation would come to us.  We too must crucify our own agenda so that we will genuinely pass along to others the fruit that God has given to us. 

Many More Depart

Jesus then teaches about His time being short and the urgency that people should have in their life to walk in the light while the light can be seen.  In spite of this, we have another sad passage from John.  Many who had been following Him departed from Him.  They still did not believe.  His teaching was hard.  They abandoned the savior when salvation was at their door!  Even though the power of God was literally on display before their very eyes … they chose their own path and their own agenda rather than embracing the agenda of God. 

This is so sad; yet it is also so true in the world.  Many people see the power of God on display in their life and instead choose to follow their own agenda.  It is reality.  We cannot hide from that truth any longer and not expect to reap the consequences of denying this truth.  For too long we have chosen to make excuses for those people who walk away from God instead of choosing to see their actions for what they really are.

Receive The World

The last passage in this chapter is Jesus’ last public teaching.  From here on out all of the teaching that Jesus gives will be to the small group of disciples and loyal peripheral followers.  Take a good look at these last public words of Jesus.   The one who believes in Jesus does not remain in darkness.  The one who believes in Jesus receives His Word. 

The word “receives” here means “to hear with an acceptance of truth.”  Jesus’ disciples do not look to escape His truth.  Jesus’ disciples do not look to hear the truth but live their life according to their own logic.  Jesus’ disciples embrace God’s Word and long to change their life in order to follow God.  Jesus’ last public words are a warning to the world to not reject Him.

That causes me to pause today.  What are the places in my life that I am not quick to long to receive Jesus’ Word?  What is my rebellion?

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Year 2, Day 259: John 11

Background

John 11 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole of the New Testament.  In this chapter we have John’s perspective about the straw that broke the camel’s back with respect to Jesus’ story.  It is in this story that we hear the Jewish leaders finally decide to do what they were not willing to do up until now.  It is in this story that they concretely vow to find a way to kill Jesus.  This is a very sad and difficult chapter, but it is an exciting chapter at the same time.

Before I get into the story, let’s talk a little Biblical scholarship.  In John 11:3 we hear about the sisters sending word to Jesus that the “disciple whom He loves” is ill.  We know this description to refer to Lazarus.  However, traditional Biblical scholarship teaches that the description “the disciple that Jesus loves” refers to the disciple John when used elsewhere in this Gospel.  When you consider that the description never occurs in the Gospel of John until after this story is told and after Lazarus is introduced as such, the possibility that this description refers to Lazarus and not John makes even more sense.  It doesn’t really change anything, but I do personally believe that the description “the disciple that Jesus loved” really refers to Lazarus throughout this Gospel.

Jesus’ Delay

Having said that, let’s do some genuine theology.  Jesus hears word that Lazarus is ill.  Stop for a second.  We know that Jesus can heal from a distance.  Think about it.  The centurion comes to Jesus in Matthew 8:5-13 and his servant is healed without Jesus needing to go to the centurion’s home.  This should make us pause for a moment.  This means that Jesus knew that Lazarus was ultimately going to be healed.  Although he could have healed Lazarus from a distance, Lazarus died anyway.  What does this say about Jesus?

What’s worse is that even after Jesus hears that Lazarus is ill, he waits for two more whole days!  Jesus waits for Lazarus to die before heading to Jerusalem.  If this story is really about Lazarus’ healing, then Jesus is not painted in the best of lights.

What it means is that Lazarus’ healing – or resurrection, if you will – is not actually about Lazarus.  If the point of this story is that Lazarus is healed, then Jesus is cruel.  If the point of this story is that Lazarus will be back to good health, then Jesus allows Him to suffer into death for no apparent reason.  This is not true; therefore the healing must not actually be about Lazarus.

The Point Of The Story

Yes, Lazarus is restored to health.  Yes, that is an incredible thing.  Yes, Lazarus gets to reap an incredible benefit.  But, this story – and all healing stories – are about God.  This story is about God’s incredible power.  This story is about glory being given to God.  If Jesus healed Lazarus from a distance, it would have been a miraculous event.  But when Lazarus is raised from the dead, what is on display is the raw power of God destroying the illusion that death is the final answer.

Furthermore, because this story about Lazarus is about the raw power of God it sets up the conflict between Jesus and the Jews.  From John’s perspective, this story is the first story in crucifixion event of Jesus.  This perspective gives Jesus’ words in John 11:4 a whole new layer of meaning.  In John 11:4 Jesus says that this story will not lead to death.  We traditionally understand this verse to imply that this story will not lead to Lazarus’ death.  However, we can also hear these words of Jesus to imply that this story will not lead to Jesus’ death but rather to His resurrection!

Jesus And The Sisters

So Jesus comes to Jerusalem.  Martha tells Jesus that had Jesus been there her brother wouldn’t have died.  She also says that she believes that her brother will rise again into eternal life.  Jesus then says one of the most quoted passages of all time.    “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”  What an incredible promise.  Whoever lives and believes in Jesus Christ will live even if they should die.

Isn’t that an incredible promise?  We don’t have to fear death.  We don’t have to worry what the time after death is like.  We don’t have to spend our time trying to get as much out of this life as possible.  We can put our emphasis on the life to come – which will be far greater than anything we can get in this life.  He who lives in Christ and believes in Him shall live even if they should die.

Mary then comes to Jesus.  Jesus is deeply moved by the crowd and Mary and Martha.  He weeps.  The crowd noticed His compassion.  Jesus orders the tomb to be opened; Martha reminds Jesus that he’s been dead for a while and there will be a stench.  Jesus orders the tomb opened anyway.  He prays to God in order to put the focus of glory upon Him.  Jesus commands Lazarus to come out.  Lazarus does come out and Jesus orders the grave clothes to come off.  Jesus has proven that His promises are good.  God is more powerful than death.

Fireworks

Then the fireworks begin.  The Jews are concerned.  Too many people believe in Jesus for them to ignore Jesus any longer.  They fear revolt.  Caiaphas has a plan.  They believe it is better for Jesus to die and save the country from the Roman force that would come should the revolt develop that they think Jesus is trying to accomplish.  So they plan to kill Him.  Jesus can no longer walk openly among the Jews.  The Passover is at hand, and the Jewish leaders suspect that Jesus will appear again for Passover.  The stage is set.  Jesus will die.  But as with Lazarus, God will demonstrate that He is more powerful than death.

No, this story is not about Lazarus.  This story is about Jesus and His crucifixion.  Lazarus’ resurrection is the moment when Jesus’ fate is sealed from a human perspective.  This is the first event in Jesus’ final move to fulfill what the Father has asked Him to come to do on this earth.

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Year 2, Day 258 : John 10

Continued From Before

The first story in John 10 is really a continuation of the teaching that Jesus does in the prior chapter.  We know this because at the end of the chapter people are still arguing over Jesus and one of the reasons some hold fiercely to Jesus’ claim is because He opened the eyes of the blind man.  That healing story is still fresh in the minds of those who are questioning themselves and searching for truth.

The Good Shepherd

As I have studied this chapter in the past, it has led me to a conclusion that is not popular among other pastors: I don’t particularly care to be referred to as the “shepherd” of a congregation.  Certainly I don’t consider it wrong; there are places in the Bible where people like the priests and the prophets were referred to as shepherds.  So it isn’t wrong to refer to one’s pastor as a shepherd.  But I don’t care for it.  I don’t care for it because of the points that Jesus makes here in this passage.

First, Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd.  His sheep know Him.  His sheep follow Him.  To quote a very popular camp song among children and youth, “I just want to be a sheep.”  Jesus is the one who laid down His life for our sins; He’s the shepherd.  Jesus is the one who calls people in the world to come to Him; He’s the shepherd.  Jesus is the one who leads people forth into pasture; He’s the shepherd.  Sure, I may be the tool in His hands, but He’s the one doing it.  He’s the one setting the agenda.  The less I think of myself as a shepherd and the more I think of myself as a sheep the easier it is for me to remember that it is about His agenda, His plan, and His Gospel.

Second, Jesus makes this point immediately after fighting against the Jewish leaders.  He tells them that they are guilty after insinuating that they are blind.  I think part of what Jesus is saying here is that He is the shepherd, not these Jewish leaders that are blind and guilty of missing God’s hand at work in the world.  These Jewish leaders want to focus on themselves and their righteous understanding of the Law, so Jesus comes to the people and talks about why He is the good shepherd.  I think we should pause here and think about the fact that all human beings are prone to points of life where they are blind, sinful, and self-centered.  Only Jesus is perfect.  Therefore, He is the shepherd.  I just want to be a sheep!

The Door

I also like the analogy that Jesus uses about being the door.  “If anyone enters by me he will be saved.  He will go in and out and find pasture.”  I love this quote because it makes it clear what Jesus taught.  He alone is the door.  There is one way to pasture: Jesus.  In a day full of pluralism, this is a verse we need to remember.  In a culture that asserts individualism, this is a verse to which we must cling.  It is so easy to listen to the logic of the world and care most about what I think and what I believe and what I need.  But what is of ultimate importance is to recognize that Jesus is the door.  Life is about what God thinks, what God teaches as true, and what God wants for us.  Jesus is the door.  We enter into pasture by humbling ourselves to Him and His truth.

More Conflict

In the second half of this chapter we have more conflict between the Jews – quite possibly the Jewish leaders, really – and Jesus.  You can feel the tension building in the story.  The public is quick to stone Him now.  They are just waiting for any excuse.

Last time they tried to stone Jesus it was about eternal life.  Now it is about the claim that Jesus is one with the Father.  Yes, Jesus talks about eternal life and the fact that Jesus’ works are from the Father.  But this time the offense increases when Jesus says that He is one with God.  Jesus claims divinity in their midst.

Now, of course we believe Jesus in hindsight.  All of us reading this today can look back on this story and we can talk about the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  None of us balk at the idea that Jesus says He is one with God.  It is easy for us to judge the Jewish leaders.  But I don’t want to be quite so quick to judge. 

After all, what if someone came today claiming to be the Son of God?  Would we not be equally as quick to want to stone Him and cast Him out?  Sure, we might believe that the person has to be an imposter because we already know Jesus as the Son of God, and for the record, I believe we’d be right!  But we would be using the same human logic that the Jewish leaders used against Jesus.  My point is not that we are wrong; my point is that we need to learn the lesson of the Jewish leaders and not be quite so quick to be close-minded.  God works in mysterious ways.  If studying the Gospels teaches me anything it is that God often works and fulfills His Word in ways that make sense only in hindsight.

In fact, this is really the point of Jesus’ teaching.  Towards the end Jesus essentially says, “If I am not doing the work of God, then don’t believe me.  But if I am doing the work of God, then at least consider the work as a testimony to who I am in God.”  So often we as human beings get so wrapped up in our own belief that we alone understand scripture and we alone have made it make sense.  We have the tendency to fall into close-mindedness because we would rather believe the thoughts in our heads than the witness of God in the world around us.

I do believe we should study God’s Word and I do believe we should have a strong faith that we proclaim in boldness to the world around us.  I absolutely believe that we should have a sturdy theology built upon that strong faith from God.  But I also think that we can learn from modern engineering.  When we look at a skyscraper, it is actually designed to have a certain amount of flexibility.  If it was completely rigid, every earthquake and storm with strong winds would be a threat to topple it to the ground.  Although they are built on a very firm foundation, they are built to be flexible.  I think the same should be true about us.  We should be built on a strong foundation.  We should be firm and confident and strong.  But we should also have some flexibility in us, too.  We should be able to see God’s genuine work in the world and embrace it – even when it heads into a direction that we might not expect.

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Year 2, Day 257: John 9

Classic

This is a classic chapter in the Gospel of John, although it is admittedly not a chapter that is taught very often.  Here we have all of the classic interactions between Jesus and the world.  Jesus teaches His disciples.  We also have Jesus teaching the willing but the uninformed (blind man).  We have the wrongly informed (Jewish leaders) mocking the newly informed (blind man).  We have Jesus teaching the unwilling and wrongly informed (Jewish leaders).  We have the wrongly informed (Jewish leaders) putting fear into the weak minded (blind man’s parents).  In the end, we ultimately have the classic rejection of truth (Jewish leaders).  Indeed, this is a classic chapter in the Gospel of John.

The Healing

Let’s start where the chapter starts.  Jesus is with His disciples.  They see a man born blind, so they ask Jesus about sin.  In those days – much like today – people believed that bad things happen to people because they deserve it.  Jesus teaches them differently.  It isn’t sin that brought about this man’s condition – well, it’s not a specific sin from the man or his parents, at least.  Simply living in a world corrupted by the touch of original sin is enough to bring about bad things.  Sometimes bad things just happen and they aren’t the result of any specific evil.

So Jesus plans on using this point to teach a lesson – and it is a lesson far too few Christians actually learn.  The presence of bad things does not have to be viewed as evil in our life.  A bad thing can be viewed as an opportunity for God to demonstrate His grace to us.  Bad things can be an opportunity for God to be glorified.  That doesn’t mean that God plans or desires the bad things at all.  But it does mean that He is willing to take the bad things in life and use them for His plan.  All we need to have is the proper perspective.  As they say, perspective is everything.

So Jesus heals the man.  Think about this for a second.  Had the man not been born blind, would he have had this experience with Christ?  Had the man not been in a position of needing Christ, would he have been as open and as sensitive to the presence of Christ as he is while being blind?  I’m not saying the man was born blind so that Jesus could work this miracle.  What I am saying is that this man’s condition is actually a blessing in his life because it is something God can use to reveal His glory.  As I said, it’s all about perspective.  Humanity can learn much about learning to appreciate adversity, suffering, and unfortunate events.  I’m not saying it’s easy; but I am saying that God often brings about incredible good from events in our life that seem quite bad at the time.

Before The Religious Elite

At this point the man is brought before the Jewish leaders.  The Jewish leaders look straight past the miracle and get angry at Jesus.  Never mind that a person who once was blind can now see; all they see is that Jesus “worked” on the Sabbath.  Again, sometimes perspective is everything.  Human beings are really good at seeing what they want to see instead of seeing what God is really doing.

Fortunately, there are a few who realize that if Jesus was such a sinner that He wouldn’t be able to work incredible miracles through the power of God.  Although many of the Jewish leaders do not see, at least a few are willing to try and perceive.  Thank goodness that there are the Nicodemuses and the Josephs of Arimathea out there.

The Simple Parents and Their Poor Perspective

Then the parents of the blind man get involved.  The Jewish leaders don’t believe the blind man’s testimony, so they call in his parents.  Here’s where the fun begins.  Notice how afraid the parents are of the Jews.  They don’t want to do anything that might result in them being shunned from their community.  They take no stance whatsoever.  Peer pressure and power are horrible social dynamics when used by the unscrupulous and the “blind.”

At the same time, I don’t really want to cut the parents any slack, either.  They display the typical human knack of “passing the buck.”  They could have said, “Yes, he was born blind.”  They could’ve stood up for their son.  They could’ve stepped forward in faith and used this unfortunate incident of examination as a great first step in faith.  But they don’t.  They tuck their tails.  To use a war analogy, they sink deep into their foxhole and keep their heads low.  This is clearly a missed opportunity for them.  They could have been known as the parents who stepped out and supported the faith of their son.  Instead they will be remembered as the parents who hung their son out to dry to save their own social status.  I know that sounds a bit harsh, but that is precisely what happens in this part of the story.

The Blunt Blind Man

A second time the blind man is called in to see the Jewish leaders.  This time, he is prepared.  The blind man is able to stand up to their questions with more strength.  He confesses that he is not qualified to speak to Jesus’ status of sinfulness.  When the Jewish leaders press in on him, he snidely asks if they are so curious about Jesus because they want to become Jesus’ disciples.  When they recoil in horror, the blind man continues the assault by telling them how ironic it is that the man who was once blind can see Jesus for who He is while those who can see are proving how spiritually blind they actually happen to be.  What an incredible step in bold faith.  Clearly this blind man did not learn this from his parents; this is a part of the man that is changed through an encounter with the living God in the form of Jesus Christ!

Notice that he is cast out.  I seem to recall Jesus speaking fairly frequently about the world’s desire – or lack thereof – to endure truth.  Here we see it again.

Jesus Comes

When the man is cast out on account of his faith, notice who it is who comes to his side: Jesus.  He does not abandon us.  He does not forsake us.  When the world forsakes us because of Him, He is there.  What a powerful testimony to the ability of Jesus to come to us in our moment of need!

Finally, we have a minor confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leaders.  Notice that Jesus is bold.  His time is quickly approaching.  It is time to profess truth and not hold back.  Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that if they are so bold as to claim that they can see, then they are also able to be held accountable for their actions.  Their guilt remains.  Conflict is imminent.

John 9:39

I’m going to leave with one final thought – and this thought is completely separate from the rest of the thoughts that I have in this post.  We often hear John 12:47 quoted, which is where Jesus says, “for I did not come to judge the world but to save it.”  We hear that lifted up again and again as proof of God’s “universal” love.  {I put universal love in quotes there because many people use that quote in an effort to express some kind of thought along the lines of universal salvation.}  Yet, we seldom if ever hear John 9:39 quoted.  Here Jesus says, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind.”  Isn’t it interesting how we as human beings gravitate towards the words of Jesus that promote feelings of peace and reduce our internal angst?  Isn’t it interesting that we gravitate towards words that allow us to focus anywhere except for the reality that one day Jesus will judge the world?

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Year 2, Day 256: John 8

The Trap Of The Adulterous Woman

John 8 begins with a story that the earliest of manuscripts do not include.  However, we have such overwhelming evidence from the later manuscripts that we include it in our Bibles with a special note to indicate that the early manuscripts do not include this story.  Whatever the case, this story gives us a really neat avenue for thought.

First, you will notice that a woman is brought before Jesus.  The Jewish leaders push her to the front – even seemingly interrupting Jesus in His teaching!  They remind Jesus that the Law says to stone a woman who is adulterous.  However, you will notice that they don’t actually obey the Law themselves.  See Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22.  In both of the passages from the Old Testament, it is clear that both offending adulterous parties should die.  Where is the man?

What is sad about this story is that the Jewish leaders are not looking to obey the Law, they are just looking to trap Jesus.  This is so true of many people who would interact with people of faith in the world today.  They aren’t actually looking to believe; they are simply looking to demonstrate their own cleverness and “win the day.”  Think about it.  If Jesus says, “Stone her, she’s guilty,” then what happens to His reputation as a “friend of sinners?”  If Jesus says, “Leave her alone,” then they can accuse Him of disobeying the Law.  So what does Jesus do?

Pay close attention here.  This is where we as human beings do not often follow the example of Jesus.  Jesus acknowledges the sin of the woman.  Jesus commands the woman to go and sin no more.  But Jesus also reminds the accusers that they are not without sin, either.  To the sinner, Jesus says, “You need to repent and change.”  To the accuser, Jesus says, “Don’t you dare be the judge over her until you have dealt with all of your own sin.”

This is where we mess up:

• Sometimes we want to be judgmental and judge everyone else in their sin.  When we do this, we fail to act in love.  Remember that none of us can live perfect lives.  None of us have the right to look at another person and say, “You’re not worthy to be here.”  As human beings we want to do that all the time, but Jesus tells us quite clearly that judging others is not our place!
• On the other hand, sometimes we are so afraid that we will judge someone else that we actually never stand up and point out the errors of the ways of people to whom God actually wants us to speak.  Sometimes we feel the need to be so permissive that we don’t actually end up actually helping people.  Remember that Jesus tells this woman to go and sin no more.  Jesus is interested in revealing the woman’s sin to her and encouraging her to live a better life.

What is the answer?  We must not be afraid to talk to those to whom God has called us to talk.  But, we must talk to them in love.  If we cannot talk to them as Jesus talks to this woman, then either we aren’t actually the ones that God has called to help them or we are not in the right spiritual place to be obedient to God.  When we cannot talk to people in love about their sin, the problem is not with the other people; the problem is with ourselves.  Either we’re not right spiritually with God or we’re not discerning God correctly.  If we are doing both of those things, then we should be able to talk to other people about their sin in love.  That’s a fundamental lesson of this illustration with the woman.

Jesus’ Discourse

Jesus then begins a long discourse with the Jews around Him.  Let me talk briefly about some of the neat points of the theology that comes out of what Jesus says.  First of all, notice the comment into which Jesus flows naturally.  “Whoever follows me will walk in light.”  Jesus makes that comment with respect to the woman’s condition as well as with respect to the people who would judge her.  Both parties erred.  Both parties need to alter their approach to life if they should desire to follow Jesus.

Jesus then spends quite a bit of time talking about His testimony.  While much of His speech is very interesting – and far too deep to get into over a blog – I can summarize a good bit of what he is saying fairly quickly.  God has not left Jesus.  When Jesus is dying on the cross, God’s witness about Jesus will be plainly made known.

I think that point is really pretty cool.  Jesus is basically saying the same advice to the Jews as the Old Testament prophets said to the kings.  Jesus is saying that when the future events unfold, it will be clear who is right.  Everyone can debate right now and have their opinion.  But the future will tell who is right.  Jesus knows how the future will pan out.  For the sake of the Jews, He wants them to be thinking about it beforehand so that when the future does pan out they might recognize the error of their ways.

More Disciples Leave Jesus

As we move into verse 31, notice that this actually a fairly sad story.  As these verses unfold, we discover that it is not actually the Jews who are the debaters in the verses that follow but the Jews who believed Him!  Even the Jews who believed Him take up issue with Jesus’ teaching.  This is a sad revelation, but it is unfortunately true.  Many come to Jesus for a while but do not have what it takes to stick with Him.  Many come to Jesus until Jesus begins to talk about things that take effort to think about or change and then they abandon Him.  It happens all the time.  It is sad.

In this particular chapter, the argument is over freedom.  Even the Jews who believed Jesus – not to be confused with His disciples, though – have the wrong perspective on freedom.  They believe themselves to be free.  They believe themselves to be their own masters.  They are blind to the fact that no man is free.  We are all slaves to our fleshly desires.  We are all slaves to our nature.  We all need to be set free – and only God can set us free.

Then Jesus gets pretty blunt with them.  Jesus says to them that they cannot bear His teaching.  It isn’t that they aren’t smart enough – certainly they are!  It is that they are unwilling.  They do not wish to genuinely follow the desires of the Father.  Instead they wish to follow the desires of their flesh.  They prefer to do and think the things that make sense to them.

That Which Should Bind Actually Separates

At last we reach the point at which they pick up stones to throw at Him.  The Jews – some of whom were even Jews who had believed Jesus and had been following Him – turn on Him.  What is it that pushes the conversation over the edge?  Eternal life.  The thing that should be our greatest treasure becomes the stumbling stone upon which many people fall.  Ultimately the question that we face is a simple one: do we actually believe that Jesus was, is, and is to come?  Do we actually believe that Jesus is the source of life?  Do we actually believe as we heard in the beginning of the Gospel – that through Him all things were made?  If we believe it, do we live like it?

This is a tough chapter, full of many pools of deep theology.  But ultimately this chapter is about the identity of Christ and whether we really desire to follow Christ and believe in who His is.

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Year 2, Day 255: John 7

All For The Wrong Reasons

People followed Jesus, but not for the right reasons.  Even here in John 7 we have His own family who miss the boat.  Jesus’ brothers are walking with Him.  They are even headed to Jerusalem to try and be spiritual – albeit through the Law!  But even in their attempt to be spiritual they miss the Messiah.  They think that Jesus is using His gifts all wrong.  Instead of dealing with the small country folk – among whom Jesus has been ministering in order to avoid premature conflict with the Jewish leaders – His brothers think that Jesus should head to Judea.  They think that if the people of Judea – especially Jerusalem – could see Him at work then He’d be much more popular and attract a much bigger crowd.

All the wrong reasons.

Jesus is not looking for quantity.  Jesus is looking for quality.  Jesus is looking for people who will follow Him for all the right reasons.

The Right Reason

Jesus does head up to the feast – but in private.  Jesus cannot head into Jerusalem in public, because He knows that the Jewish leaders are trying to kill Him.  He cannot go up to Jerusalem and do miracles, but He can go up and do a little teaching.  He can do enough to get people to marvel at Him.  He can plant seeds of faith even if He can’t do grand demonstrations of God’s power.  There is always a place for planting seeds.

Then Jesus says something really profound.  Jesus says that it is simple to tell the person who speaks falsehood from the person who speaks truth: where is the glory going from what is being said?  If I say something and the glory ultimately falls to my shoulders, then am I speaking God’s truth?  No!  If I speak and I am the beneficiary of the glory of my words, then I am a self-monger.  But if I speak and God is glorified, then I am speaking truth.

I am absolutely stunned by the profoundness of the truth in this statement.  Think about all the things that people say today.  Ever hear a pastor give a sermon that was more about glorifying themselves than God?  That’s not truth in preaching.  Ever hear a church member speak or act in such a manner as to fish for compliments or praise?  That’s not truth in mission.  Ever hear someone try to get you to buy something so they can profit but they do it by trying to convince you that you absolutely must have it?  That’s not truth in any shape!  Ever listen to a politician speak about how great they are and how much better the country will be with them as the leader?  I don’t care what side you are on … if a politician is self-glorifying they are not speaking the truth.  The only one who speaks the truth according to Jesus is the one who seeks to glorify God.  That’s what verse 18 is all about.  What a profoundly sage piece of wisdom in this age.

Of Course There is Debate

Naturally, people begin to debate about Christ.  They question His authority.  They even question His origin.  They think they know where He came from.  Sure, they may know He was born of Mary.  As Jesus hints at, they may know that He was raised by Joseph and Mary.  But do they really know where He came from?  Do they really know that He came from God?  Do they really know that Jesus is fully human and fully divine?  Clearly not, because they sought to arrest Him.  Yet they couldn’t arrest Him because God knew that the time was still not right.

I love the double entendre of Jesus words when the Jewish leaders do send people out to try and arrest Him.  “You will seek me and you will not find me.”  They will seek Jesus, but again – for all the wrong reasons.  They will seek Him to persecute Him and His followers.  But they will not find Him because He will not be present in the flesh.  They will not find Him because in order to find Christ one must seek Him spiritually.  They miss the boat both now and in the future because their hearts are set of worldly things and not spiritual things.

Again, there is more division.  People argue about Jesus.  This is no surprise.

Nicodemus, Part II

What is neat is that we get a second glimpse into the mind of Nicodemus.  We can see as this chapter ends that Nicodemus’ perspective on Jesus is changing.  Nicodemus’ earlier conversation with Jesus in John 3 has been working on him.  Nicodemus is not so quick to condemn Jesus as the other Jewish leaders.  He at least calls for a trial.  He wants to hear what Jesus has to say for Himself.  He wants Jesus to have an opportunity to face His accusers.  Nicodemus is looking to judge Jesus based on how He handles Himself.

This is such a cool setup for the rest of the story.  We know how Jesus responds when arrested.  In Jesus, Nicodemus is going to see a man who lays down His life.  In Jesus, Nicodemus will see a man who truly does turn the other cheek.  Oh that we would all judge Jesus based on how He acted.  He gave His life willingly, like a lamb led before the slaughter.  What’s not to love?

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Year 2, Day 254: John 6

God Sometimes Loves The Absurd

John 6 is one of the beloved Bible stories.  We love to think of this story as an ultimate sign of God’s grace, love, mercy, and compassion.  But the feeding of the 5,000 has a dark side.  It has a side we would rather prefer to ignore.  So for now, let’s do just that.

A large crowd follows Jesus.  He looks out upon them.  He recognizes that they need to be feed, so He begins to ask His disciples for some ideas.  Philip doesn’t have a clue, but he knows for certain that they don’t have near enough money to even buy bread for this crowd.  Andrew, on the other hand, is at least willing to try.  He knows that it is a humble beginning, but he mentions that he knows a boy who has a few fish and some small barley cakes. 

For the record, the loaves of barley that Andrew is talking about were one of the lowest forms of food that you could find.  Barley was cheap, easy to grow, and didn’t taste all that good.  But you could make it into nutritious cakes very easily and sell them cheaply, so although they were a low form of food, people – especially the poor – ate them regularly.

Jesus takes Andrew’s suggestion and runs with it.  I love this part of the story.  It’s like God looks to Andrew and says, “You weren’t afraid to bring up even the most absurd idea.  Because you weren’t afraid, I’m going take your idea and show you what God can do with people who are unafraid.”  I love that God doesn’t require us to understand, He simply requires us to believe that He can do.  I think that is one of my favorite aspects of this story.

Jesus and the Crowd

But then we get to the dark side of the story.  How do the people respond?  Well, they started out by following Jesus simply because of the things He did.  They were looking for the show.  They wanted to follow the spectacle.  Sure, Lord willing some of the people genuinely found truth and faith instead of the motivation to watch the show.  But this passage doesn’t give us a tremendous amount of hope for that interpretation. 

How does verse 15 begin?  “Perceiving that they were about to come and take Him by force in order to make Him king…”  Jesus knew the heart of the crowd.  They weren’t looking to follow.  They were looking to satisfy their own desires and free themselves of the Roman Empire.  They weren’t interested in the bigger picture – freeing themselves from sin – at all.  They wanted to be free from the Romans.

Let’s skip the walking on water story for just a second so that we can interact a little more with Jesus’ perception of the crowd.  Verse 24 tells us that Jesus wasn’t going to get away that easy.  The crowds were still seeking Jesus.  Jesus accuses them of as much in verses 26-27.  Jesus accuses them of chasing after their own desires – specifically the desire to be able to eat free of oppression or having to work for their food.  Then, Jesus invites them to believe.

What is the response of the crowd?  They ask Him what sign He is going to perform.

*Face-palm*

Are you kidding me?  Jesus just fed 5,000 people with an incredible source of food.  Not only do they miss the boat and seek after their own desires instead of falling into the line of genuine discipleship, but now they have the gall to ask for a sign?  Another sign?  No wonder Jesus prayed a lot.

Bread From Heaven

Jesus talks about Himself being the bread from heaven.  He talks about Himself as being the one in whom we believe in order to receive eternal life.  He tells the whole plan to these people!  But here is the scary part.  The Jewish leaders didn’t get it a chapter ago when Jesus told them.  Now the crowd starts to grumble against Jesus as well.  The leaders have their chances.  The crowd has their chances.

How does this chapter end?  Many turn around and stop following Jesus.  Note that word.  Many.  A great deal of people.  The majority.  People abandon Christ because they don’t want to hear what He has to say.  They don’t want to follow anyone’s desires but their own.  This is the dark side of this story.  We like to remember the feeding of the five thousand as this wonderful story of God’s miraculous grace.  It is that.  But it is also a horrible story that begins the revelation of the dark side of humanity.  Even in spite of God’s miracles, we still turn our backs to God and follow our own desires.  That is humbling for me to write.

But there is hope.  There is a shining glimmer.  Jesus turns to His disciples and asks if they will go.  Peter gives us this incredible response: “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  Peter sees what the crowds cannot see.  Peter knows that even if he doesn’t understand it all, following Jesus without grasping everything is better than returning to self-mongerism.  Following Jesus’ hard teaching is far superior than trying to do the impossible and satisfy the desires of our own heart.  It is scary to follow Jesus.  But it is impossible to satisfy ourselves.

The disciples learned the lesson of the boat that I passed over earlier.  When we are afraid because we do not understand what is going to happen to us, we should heed Jesus’ words.  “Do not be afraid.  It is I.”

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Year 2, Day 253: John 5

Not a Healing Story

Things are going to really heat up as we go through this passage.  Jesus heads to Bethesda, which is a place just outside of Jerusalem that is known to have a pool that was thought to have special healing capabilities.  Jesus takes a look around, finds a man that will serve His purpose, and asks Him if He wants to be healed.

You’ll notice that I specifically said that Jesus finds a person who can serve His purpose.  Yes, the man is healed.  He does get that benefit.  But ultimately, this is a story about the purposes of God.  This is a story about God’s agenda being completed.   This is not a healing story; this is a story about God’s agenda in which a person is healed.  We’ll get to that as we go through this story.

Jesus asks the man if he wants to be healed.  Clearly the man doesn’t understand what Jesus is asking or perhaps even who Jesus is because the man responds by telling Jesus that he can’t get into the pool.  The man doesn’t really have a clue about what Jesus is up to.  This is the first point to remind us that this is a story about God’s work.  The man has absolutely no clue as to what is about to happen.

This is followed by Jesus making an interesting statement.  Jesus tells the blind man that since he has been healed he should pick up his mat and walk away.  Here’s the interesting point.  Jesus tells the man to take up his bed.  This is the first thing that irritates the Jewish leaders.  They don’t argue about the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath – at least not in this story.  What they argue about is that the man picked up bed.  They argue about the work that the man does on the Sabbath!

What is remarkable about this whole story is that the man is simply just following Jesus’ command.  Jesus’ words put the man directly in the line of fire.  Clearly this is not a story about the healing of a man as much as it is a commentary on Jesus’ perspective on the use of the Law.  Jesus knows that the Law is good in that it reveals our sinfulness.  But Jesus is clearly making the point that the Law should not be something that keeps us from seeing God’s will, either.  Jesus’ command puts the healed man in the line of fire from the Jewish leaders in order that He can later make a greater comment about the use of the Law among humanity.

Thus, we can see this story serving a greater purpose.  The Jewish leaders are observant of a break to their legal code.  They immediately begin to investigate.  The man is at first unable to tell them who did it.  If Jesus wanted to, He could have walked away cleanly!  But again, this story is not about the healing of a man.  This story is about Jesus advancing the plan of God.  Jesus finds the man again.  Jesus certainly clearly identifies Himself – although the text doesn’t confirm that fact.  But since we know that the man can go away and tell the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who healed him, Jesus must identify Himself.  That is quite significant to Jesus’ agenda.

Work

The Jewish leaders begin to persecute Jesus because He is advocating for people to break the Jewish leader’s understanding of the legal code.  In fact, Jesus Himself is breaking the Jewish leader’s understanding of the legal code by working on the Sabbath.  When they confront Him, Jesus gives a great response.  “My Father has been working until now, so there is no reason that I shouldn’t work, too.”  Note, however, that Jesus isn’t talking about the same kind of work as the Jewish leaders.  The work that Jesus is up to is God’s work.  Jesus is up to spiritual work.  Essentially, Jesus is absolutely giving permission to do spiritual work on the Sabbath.  In fact, He implies that it should be done.  After all, if God is at work ... shouldn’t His disciples be at work, too?  What does it say about us if we aren’t up to spiritual work on the day that the Lord has set aside for it?

Equality With God

In doing this, Jesus calls God “His Father.”  As Christians, we hear this and think nothing of it.  Jesus called God His Father.  Jesus even teaches us to call God our Father as well.  After all, through Jesus we are given the right to become the children of God.  But to the Jewish mindset – to call oneself family with God is equal to calling oneself God.  Of course, we believe that Jesus was God, so we don’t see a problem with this. But to the Jew, this is blasphemy.  Therefore, the Jewish leaders begin to persecute Jesus.

Getting Around to God’s Point

Look at what comes out of this event.  Although it is antagonistic – it was doomed to be antagonistic anyway – Jesus is able to have conversation with the Jewish leaders.  Jesus is able to tell them the plan.  Jesus tells them that God is going to raise the dead and that God is going to give that same power to His Son.  Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that all authority for judgment has been likewise given to the Son.  He tells the Jewish leaders that those who hear and listen to the words of the Son will pass from death into life.

But Jesus goes further than that.  Jesus tells them the difference between them and Him.  Jesus can absolutely put aside His agenda and pursue the agenda of God.  No other human being can do this.  Pay attention here.  This is fundamental truth about humanity in contrast of the divine.  Jesus can put His agenda aside and pick up the agenda of God.  We can do that to some extent … but ultimately we eventually fall back into pursuing our agenda.

This is the absolute point of the healing story with which we began this chapter.  The Jewish leaders were not willing to follow the agenda of God.  They wanted to follow their own desires, their own rules, and their own agenda.  Instead of pursuing the work of God, they put aside the agenda of God and lived by restrictions under the Law.  Unfortunately, to some level every one of us is the same.  None of us can say that we have lived by completely putting our agenda down and following God’s way.  The only person who can make that claim is Jesus.  And make that claim He does.

Jesus’ conclusion is long, but apt.  The Jewish leaders on the whole will not come to Him.  They will not listen.  They will not read God’s Word with the influence of the Holy Spirit.  They are going to pursue their own desires.  They are going to pursue the power and control that they want.  They will not humble themselves to God’s agenda.  Again, though, this is what the whole healing was all about.  The Jewish leaders weren’t willing to humble themselves to God’s work.

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