they testify — John 5:30-47 — January 26

There is this essential unity of purpose about the Scriptures, and Jesus speaks about it here.  From Genesis to Revelation, from the Old to the New Testament, from the Hebrew to the Christian Scriptures, all of it points to Him, to Jesus.  He said, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf (John 5:39).  It’s not the Bible that save us; Jesus does.  It’s not the Bible that gives life; Jesus does.  It’s not Jesus who testifies on behalf of the Bible; it’s the Bible that testifies on His behalf.  And indeed, there may be some who, as in Jesus’ day, have the priorities flipped.  The Bible has become for them the saving book of rules, the guide to living and to eternal life.  And, in a sense it is, but only in a secondary sense, for its purpose is to lead us to a place of abject dependency on God, and in particular, God as He’s revealed in Jesus Christ.  As John will put it later, speaking of what he put in his gospel, these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in His Name (John 20:31).  The same could be said of the Scriptures as a whole:  they testify on [His] behalf.  Learn to see the Bible, not as an “owner’s manual”, but rather as a “love letter” from God to You, so that you might get to know His Son, and so that you might live a life pleasing to Him in every way.

And yet, in a day and age when many people are more enamored of Jesus than they are of Christianity, when believers are more interested in the New than the Old Testament, when followers of Jesus focus more on particular parts of the Bible than on the whole, it’s instructive to take in what Jesus is saying here:  they testify on My behalf.  Jesus was referring, of course to what we call the Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures.  And though He was indeed dismissing the “bibliolatry” of His day, He would equally dismiss the biblical ignorance of our day.  He’s reminding us here that, if we’re ever going to hope to know or understand Him Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the only One through Whom we can get to know God (John 14:6), we must get to know the Scriptures, as a whole, in their entirety.  For it was Jesus who once said, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished (Matthew 5:17-18).

Get to know the Bible, thoroughly.  Develop a pattern or thorough Bible reading and study which will expose you to the breadth and depth of God’s Word, so that you can get to know Him more thoroughly than you ever thought possible, and so that His heart, His mind, and His will may literally life and act through you.

not on my own — John 5:19-29 — January 25

Many years ago, Anacin (a now-defunct pain reliever) ran a series of TV ads featuring people who were in distress because of headache pain.  The most famous, and most-often pilloried, featured a man working on some difficult project, while being nagged by his mother who was making unhelpful suggestions.  The man explodes, saying, “Mother please!  I’d rather do it myself!”, and then, remorsefully, in that inner stage voice, says, “you’ve got a headache, you’re upset, you don’t have to take it out on her!”  The solution was, of course, two Anacins, but the key line was “Please!  I’d rather do it myself!”

Thankfully, in the relationships in the Trinitarian Godhead, we hear nothing of that line of “solo” thinking.  In fact, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, the Son of God, says very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing (John 5:19).  He continues to describe how there is this “like Father like Son” characteristic to the works of God, and then flips the procession, saying that the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father (John 5:22-23).  There is this amazing deference that exists in God.  So different from what we hear coming from ourselves as we say, in a million ways, to our own pain and detriment, “please, I’d rather do it myself!”

Having just heard the U.S. President’s State of the Union speech, though I’m pleased to hear him say that he wishes to work together with Congress, nonetheless the undertone of both his speech and the Republican response to the American people is “please, we’d rather do it ourselves!”  These days there is such a lack of deference one to another, in Congress, and in the neighborhood, such a difficulty in our working together, side by side, under the leadership of the God Who does the same within Himself.

We who claim the Name of Jesus Christ can do better than that.  We can acknowledge that, like the Son of God, truly we can do nothing on our own.  Not only are we desperate for the influence and power of God Who alone enables us to take the filthy rags we bring to the table to turn them into a beautiful tapestry, but also we are always in need of assistance to do the good work of God.  We remember that Jesus never sent anyone to do His work on his or her own, but that He always worked with pairs, or groups, or teams.  So, whereas others encourage further polarization and anger, we can, in God’s Name, both in the church and in the greater society, promote real unity, cooperation, and mutual progress in order to get good work done.  In emulating the loving Life of God in our life with one another and with all people, we can be part of encouraging the loving environment of God to be more present here on His earth.  How might you and I emulate the Trinity in our relationships today?

If we did so, wouldn’t that relieve alot of our headaches?

no honor — John 4:43-54 — January 23

What is it about “family”?  These are the people who know you, who have your history, who remember who you once were and who, therefore, have the hardest time believing anything you might say about changes you’ve made in your life.  This can be true about personal improvements in your diet, your habits, or your attitude.  I can well remember that, though my friends and associates understood and believed that Jesus had truly changed my life, my family was another matter.  They remembered me, “B.C.”, as it were.  They were the ones who were the most worried that I’d gone off the deep end and, though they were gracious enough to accept my newfound faith for what they thought it was, an hysterical diversion, it was clear that there was no honor in their eyes for having accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

And so it was for Jesus.  Though John here describes Jesus heading home from the “foreign” country of Samaria to his home turf of Galilee, a story which normally would evoke pictures of hometown fans welcoming the hometown boy, the welcome would be far from warm.  It was in Nazareth, his birthplace, that people got so offended at Him that they attempted to throw Him off a cliff (Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:29).  Jesus got a warmer reception on the whole in Samaria than He did in Galilee, or most anywhere else in Israel.  Wherever people seemed to have a concept in their minds as to who He or the Messiah should or should not be, the lack of honor was palpable and, as Matthew notes, he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58).

So, on the one hand, if you feel as if the people closest to you don’t understand or appreciate the new life that you have found in Jesus, understand that these are the ones who have the most to get over in your past.  They’re the ones who have seen your crooked ways in the past, and who are the least likely to embrace your vision of going straight.  And perhaps God can use their unbelief in you to encourage you to go deeper with Him, not necessarily to convince them that your life with Jesus is real, but rather to ensure that your life with Jesus actually is real, and that you come to rely on Him and live for Him no matter how it plays back home.

And, a final lesson might be that you and I mustn’t become too familiar with Jesus, in terms of our thinking we know with certitude what He’s up to.  For the minute we put Jesus in a box we become like those “hometown” people who tell Jesus what He can or cannot do, just as Peter once told Jesus that He would never go to the cross (Matthew 16:22) or would never wash his feet (John 13:8).  In such a case, Jesus’ response to us, as to them, could well be, Get behind Me, satan! (Matthew 16:23).

talking with a woman — John 4:27-42 — January 21

John sums it up:  [His disciples] were astonished that He was speaking with a woman (John 4:27).  And though they were too polite, or intimidated by Him, to ask the woman, what do you want?, or to say to Him, Why are you speaking with her?, their attitude was clear: women aren’t worth His time of day.  Sadly, it’s an attitude which men have held against women ever since the beginning.  Why would anyone important, ie any man, be talking with a woman?  In fact, it’s worse than that, since it reflects a dreadful extension of the consequences of sin:  He shall rule over you (Genesis 3:16).  And it’s an attitude and a practice which continues to this day, the world over, as men rule over women in awful ways.

Some time ago, I read the book Half the Sky, which documents the plight of women worldwide, particularly in those places where the Name of Jesus isn’t regularly named as Lord and Savior.  Women are marginalized, brutalized, even vaporized, routinely.  And in those places, as a consequence, the society as a whole suffers.  Conversely, in those places where women are honored, protected, and encouraged — places where, most likely, the Name of Jesus is lifted up as Lord and Savior of all — everyone seems to win as the society as a whole prospers.

So, breaking custom here on two counts — talking with a woman, and a Samaritan one to boot — Jesus opens up the Samaritan society to His liberating influence which, if it is received, will bring salvation, not only to this woman, but also, as John shows, to her people as well:  many Samaritans from that city believe in [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony…So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believe because of His Word (John 4:39-41).  And then, after welcoming Him into their city, these Samaritans perceived the truth that would take Jesus’ disciples way longer to comprehend:  we know that this is truly the Savior of the world (John 4:42).

So today, as you and I pray, may we not only be thinking of individuals in need or in bondage, as was this woman, but may we also be praying that whole groups of people, and particularly women and children, will be saved and encouraged, and that, through their testimony, many more will believe, and, by His grace, the whole world will be saved.

Give me a drink — John 4:1-15 — January 19

Lately I’ve been impressed that God is an amazing opportunist.  We know from His Word that he doesn’t want any to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  And so, with this intention in Mind, we know from that famous verse we looked at the other day that God took action:  He sent His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).  That much is clear from history.  But also, in our own day and lives, God sets about arranging situations and circumstances to arrange our “coming to repentance”, our “believing in His Son”, our getting to the place where we make a willing choice to change our minds, to turn around, to believe in Him, to follow Him, so that we won’t perish.  And it’s been in my experience personally, and in my hearing the personal experiences of others in how they came to repentance and faith, that I notice many and various ways which God works to bring people to a place of repentance and faith.  He uses almost every conceivable opportunity to do so.  He is the Great Opportunist.

Such is the case here with the so-called “woman at the well”.  Jesus was in Judea, the central part of Israel, and he wanted to withdraw to the north, to Galilee, due to the notoriety He was gaining at the time (there would be time later, the right time, for the ultimate confrontation and loss at the hands of His enemies so that they, and we, might be saved).  The normal route north would have gone around Samaria, the home of those Jewish cousins hated for their having compromised the faith by mixing it with other beliefs and customs.  But John says that Jesus had to go through Samaria (John 4:4), apparently so that he could meet this woman, and work in such a way that she, a Samaritan, and a woman to boot, would, even from her seemingly low estate, come to the highest level of trust and change in following Jesus.

And so, in this case, the circumstance that brings all of this about is an exchange of water.  When Jesus meets her, out in the heat of the day, alone, not with the other women who would have drawn water earlier, He realizes that this well signifies the great need in her life: her need for friendship, understanding, forgiveness, human refreshment and divine approval.  So he says, give me a drink (John 4:7).  And thereafter, around a conversation about water and wells and Jews and Samaritans, Jesus works in this woman’s heart and mind in such a way that this section of the story ends with her saying to Jesus, Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty… (John 4:15).  The ordinary situation becomes an extraordinary opportunity in the hands of the Great Opportunist.

For today, I want you to note this ordinary situation in which Jesus worked, and then think about the ordinary, or extraordinary situations in which He has worked in your life, or the life of others, to bring you or them to Himself.  And then extend that out to those for whom you pray that they might repent and believe in Jesus.  Pray with confidence in God, the Great Opportunist, Who will use whatever situations He can get His hands on (ie, just about anything and everything) to lead people to Himself, since this is His stated intention, not wanting any to perish.

And, as they say, “tune in tomorrow, for the rest of the story”.

do you love me? — John 21:15-22 — January 18

On this day we remember Peter, the apostle who first confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16).  A gold star for Peter on that day and yet, shortly thereafter, Peter was hearing Jesus call him “Satan” for denying that he should go to the cross (Matthew 16:23), and much later, Peter was hearing himself deny that He ever knew Jesus (Matthew 26:72).  How the golden boy had fallen.  And so do we follow in His footsteps.

And so today’s story of Peter’s restoration is important for him, and for us.  At the very least, if it isn’t already patently obvious, Jesus forgives sinners like Peter, and like you and me.  After His resurrection, fully aware of Peter’s failure to stay true to Him in His greatest hour of human need at the cross, Jesus seeks Peter out in order to reassure Him of His love and His intention to continue to use Peter in His mission.  And the same is true of you and me, in whatever ways we believe we have let Jesus down, or whatever ways we have deliberately and consciously denied Him or failed Him.  He is before you and me this morning, seeking reconciliation and renewal of trust.

But there is a hidden piece in what Jesus says to Peter here, one which is equally important to him and to us.  It has to do with the three ways He asks what seems to be the same question of Peter, and of us.  He asks, “do you love Me?” (John 21:15&16), using the word for love which implies self-sacrificing love, the kind of agape love which God has for us.  And Peter responds that, yes, though he loves Jesus with a different kind of love, the kind of family/friendship love called fileo, Jesus knows that Peter didn’t sacrifice Himself as agape would have demanded, but that He loves Jesus with the love he does have for Him.  And, in both cases, Jesus seems to accept Peter’s level of love, and ours, as He recommissions Him to feed His lambs, His sheep.  But then in verse 17 Jesus asks if Peter indeed loves Him with the family/friendship love.  This is why Peter is hurt by the question, since Peter has already, twice, professed this level of love for Jesus.  But again, Jesus is not offended by this lower level of love from Peter, or from us: again He commissions Peter, and us, to love His sheep with the love that we do have, not demanding the love that we don’t have.  A very important exchange which reassured Peter, and us, that no matter what level of love we have for God at any particular time, Jesus will accept it, though obviously the trend in our life is to head for that level of loving God and others with which we have been loved, namely the self-sacrificing kind.

And Peter did go on to exhibit that level of self-giving love throughout the Book of Acts, and, as church history tells us, he, too, like His Master, gave his life on a cross for the cause of Jesus’ Love going worldwide.  I wonder if, as you and I try to love Jesus with all the love we do have, low-level though it may be, if, one day, we will join Peter in being so flooded with the agape love from God that it becomes the love of our life for Him and for others.

Tebow time — John 3:16-21 — January 17

So what is it about John 3:16?

For years, the words “John 3:16″ appeared behind home plate a baseball games, in the end zones of football stadiums, and behind the benches at basketball courts.  Those not familiar with the Bible must have wondered what this name and numbers meant, and why it seemed so important.  The most recent appearance was several years ago when Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow had the words painted into the ani-reflective black eye paint under his eyes, prompting a new rule prohibiting such “advertising”.

So what’s the deal with Jobn 3:16?  A big deal.  This verse, and those that follow it, though probably not uttered by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus (most modern translations omit the quotation marks at John 3:15), summarize early in John’s gospel what it, and the gospel of God, are all about.  John indicates at the end of the gospel that he wrote the gospel so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that, believing, you might have life in His Name (John 20:31).  And so here, in 3:16, John says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son [to be the Christ, the Savior of all people for all times for all the world, in His being sacrificed on the cross to atone for their sins, and in His being raised from the dead to demonstrate the hope for new life] so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish [be lost today and forever because of the cumulative effect of their sins] but may have eternal life [enjoy a wonderful life with God now, and forever].  In a very real sense, this sums up the heart of the gospel:  it begins with God, who loves us and all people so much that He sacrifices Himself on our behalf, and it ends with a proposition, that believing in Him and in what He has done for us, believing not only in heart but in mind, soul, and action, results in a whole new way of life for anyone and everyone who will do so.

Yes, this is a big deal, for the planet, and for you and me.

Has John 3:16 become important for you, in terms of your life?  Is it important for those whom you love?  And though you’re not expected to carry it to the places you live or work or play, nor are you expected to wear it on your body, are you carrying it in your heart, and can you carry it forth on your lips, and in the way you life your life?

zeal — John 2:13-22 — January 14

Zeal isn’t a word that we use much today.  Literally, it means eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something.  It also means fervor, and, in generations past, when turned in to an adjective, zealous, it was often applied to religion.  But today, we rarely hear it.

But in today’s passage, the word is applied to Jesus in John 2:17, coming from a statement in Psalm 69:9.  Jesus’ eagerness in seeing God’s house used for the purposes for which it was intended, and his ardent interest in removing anything which hindered this is clear from the story.  His fervent defense of the temple is clear for all to see, and it does seem as if this zeal will ultimately consume Him, as those opposed to Him will use it against Him.

Generally, in the Scripture, zeal is defined positively and proscriptively.  We are advised in Romans 12:11 not to lag in zeal.  In fact, in Titus 2:14 we’re told that Jesus gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all impurity and purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds.

Could you be said to be zealous in the way Jesus is?  Do you have zeal, eagerness in the pursuit of God, ardent interest when it comes to your life in Him, fervor to be engaged in good deeds?  Tonight, many of us will demonstrate our fervor for the New England Patriots (or the Denver Broncos).  I’ve already reserved my seat at a friend’s house, eager as I am to see what happens on the field, ardently interested in pursuing the ultimate goal, the SuperBowl.  Do I demonstrate similar characteristics when it comes to what happens in this life with God, and in the life to come?

Could zeal be a word that is used to describe me and you?

no deceit — John 1:43-51 — January 12

I’ve always wondered about the enthusiasm with which Nathaniel says, Rabbi, you are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel! (John 1:49).  He doth protest too much, or so it seems to me.  Though it’s obvious that Nathaniel has just seen that Jesus is way more than just another bumpkin prophet from Nazareth, it seems as if this address to Jesus is way over the top.

But as I think about it now, in the light of what Nathaniel said previously about Jesus — the caustic can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46) — and in the double light of what Nathaniel has just come to know that Jesus knows about him , ie., everything — no wonder he seems to be a little too enthusiastic in what next said about the Son of God, the King of Israel.  It reminds me of those Southwest Airline ads in which people put both feet in their mouths in one way or another, and then the announcer says, “wanna get away?”  Or it’s what it might be like when Jesus comes again, and He finds us saying or doing something that isn’t worthy of heaven, and we wonder if we’re goners as we wildly protest how wonderful He is.

Nathaniel, and we, needn’t worry.  For as Jesus, the rabbi from no-good Nazareth, approaches Nathaniel, the snob from Bethsaida, He says of him, not “can anything good come out of Bethsaida?”, but rather (and with a smile on His face, I believe), here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit! (John 1:47).  I think that Jesus is not only bemused by Nathaniel’s slur, but also genuinely impressed with Nathaniel’s honesty.  For Israel, aka Jacob, was in his unredeemed life known as “the trickster”, or the “deceiver”, conniving his way through life, including craftily swiping his brother Esau’s birthright.  And so, for Jesus to find one of Jacob’s descendants honestly expressing his feelings about Him might have been refreshing.  For if there’s one thing that Jesus seemed to hate it was hypocrisy, whether it be from the Pharisees who said one thing and then did another, or from those who said to Jesus “Lord, Lord” but did their own will rather than His, or those in the Church of Laodicea of Revelation 3 who were only lukewarm towards God, and neither hot nor cold.  Jesus would rather have us give Him the cold truth, or the warm truth, but never lukewarm deceit.

So, if you’ve got a beef with God, let Him have it.  Don’t try to hide it, or cover it up.  He can take what you have to give, and, in fact, He’d rather have your complaint, or even your disgust, because then He has the opportunity to engage you.  Or, if you’ve got a delight in God, let Him have that as well.  He welcomes it and, in fact, He’d rather have you blubber your thanks, even in groans or sighs too deep for words, because He loves to hear your praise.

Then, perhaps, by His grace, you’ll join Nathaniel in saying, honestly and truly of Jesus, “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel and world at large!”

the finger — John 1:35-42 — January 11

In Christian art, one can often identify John, the Baptist, as the one who is giving Jesus the finger.

Looking around at the often-stylized triptychs and frescoes, populated with many characters, one can have difficulty figuring out who’s who.  It can sometimes feel like an exercise in “where’s Waldo”.

But not so with John.  It’s so clear.  The guy pointing a finger at Jesus is John, in that he was not only clear about who he was and who he wasn’t (as we considered in yesterday’s post), but John was very clear about who Jesus is, and made that very clear by pointing Him out for others.  In today’s passage, he says, Look, here is the Lamb of God! (John 1:36).  John is what one could call an “early adopter”: he’s way out in front of the pack in identifying who Jesus is.  Whereas it will take half a gospel for Peter and the other disciples to identify that Jesus is the Christ, John, in his short life with Jesus’ ministry as Messiah, nails who Jesus really is.  And, with grace that seems to go at odds with his fiery reputation, John seems to be glad that his own disciples are leaving to follow the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.

Would that you and I could be so easily identified.  Though we don’t have Jesus to point out physically, we could certainly become among those who, in our thoughts, actions, and words, clearly identify who is the Lamb of God, the Messiah of the universe, the Lord of the world.  If we were to develop an inner conversation with Him whereby we sought to orient our desires and decisions so that they pointed to Him, we’d be identifying not only Him but also ourselves as His followers.  If we were to develop an outward way of life whereby we sought to honor Him in all that we do, we’d not only be highlighting Him for others, but would be highlighted as His as well.

Today, may you and I resemble John, in the many ways that we can give Jesus the finger.