John 5:31-47

 John 5:31-47

It seems, at times, that Jesus's words were targeted at the church today but spoken in ages past. Jesus says that the Jews were willing, for a season, to accept the message of John the Baptist. There was a fleeting enthusiasm about John. John was, for a while, a great show and an exciting event. For the Jews he was a fad. Few words describe American Christianity programming better than the word fad. From passing out ear plugs because of loud music volume, to tattoos, un-tucked shirts and particular clothing styles to haircuts that are clones of popular preachers, many leaders in American Christianity are herd animals caught in fads.

In verse 39 Jesus speaks to other churches today, what we might call “study churches”. Exhaustive scripture study is wonderful so long as we understand the purpose of scripture, which is to bring us to Christ. When we study to find proof that we are right and so that we can argue more our pet doctrine more effectively with those with whom we disagree we have missed the point of scripture.  The Holy Spirit did not inspire Holy Scripture so we could bludgeon someone with it but so that we can know and love the Son and share that love with others. It is not to absolve us from the responsibility for careful study but it does address the motivation to study.

Jesus also addresses our insatiable appetite for our own glory in this passage.  The Jews received their “glory from one another”.   It was true of them, it is true of us.  Never in the history of mankind have we had greater opportunity to give full vent to our hubris and self-aggrandizement. People have not changed, we have always been stuck on ourselves. But we live in an age of self-aggrandizement. The appeal for the praise of men is the backbone of our social media driven culture. We actually asked people to like our post. We write things for the purpose of getting a “click”, a “like”, or a “follow”. Pride, self-assertion and self glory are virtues in the social media age.

Anything, fad, Pet Doctrine, praise of our ‘friends’ on our apps that pushes Jesus out of the center of our lives is toxic to our soul. Our fallen nature is attracted to these things and in the moment they can seem helpful or even holy.  But we must return to the core test, the core question: “Does any given activity cause the place of Christ to grow in our lives or to diminish?”

“Grant,  Lord, that my life in every aspect will be built around and upon You. AMEN”

John 5.15-30

 John 5.15-30

This amazing discourse is in response to the attack of the religious leaders because Jesus healed on the Sabbath.  It turns out that Jesus' authority over the Sabbath was just the tip of the iceberg of His power, plans and authority.  Jesus sees Himself equal with God.  Jesus sees the Father at work and joins in that work.  Jesus is the object of the Father’s love.  Jesus has complete access to the Father’s knowledge.  Jesus is the source of life from the Father.  Jesus judges on behalf of the Father.  

We have all heard the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. Something like that can happen to us as we consider who Jesus was and is.  Jesus; God made flesh, was fully human, no doubt.  Sometimes we focus so much on His humanity that we believe we can treat Jesus as a peer and we forget that He is fully God. We began to treat Jesus with familiarity rather than reverence, as a personal spiritual valet rather than God. This manifests itself most clearly and the worship of the church which can at times degenerate into a concert to entertain us, a therapy session to fix us, or a drug to make us feel better about ourselves. Any model of worship that is focusing on us and our wants and agenda is misguided and if it goes on long enough will end up in ruin. We will do well to remember, “He created all things and they were created for Him” that includes the church, worship, and us. Jesus is no genie that is here to do our bidding. Rather we exist to bring Him glory.  As we do that our lives will reflect a pattern of holiness and will be fully manifested in the resurrection of life on the last day.

“Lord, forgive me when I treat You with anything other than absolute reverence and worship. AMEN”

John 5:1-15

 John 5:1-15

Thirty-eight years is a long time. Where were you thirty-eight years ago? In thirty eight years we can establish some very consistent and deeply rooted habits, patterns, and expectations. It is truly wonderful that after thirty eight years of defeat this man was not defeated. Jesus asked this man “Do you want to get well?” The man's answer is neither negative nor positive but an explanation. “Here's the reason I can't get into the Healing Waters”. Reasons and excuses can be similar; they can even be identical twins. The reality was that this man could not get into the waters first.  That was his reason; it may have been his excuse. Jesus asked the man the question to get him to confront himself.

That confrontation involves asking ourselves: “What do we really want?”  The Lord will not violate our freedom and our choice. For example while He wants holiness for us He will not impose it on us. When we plead, “Why am I not able to overcome sin in my life?” We have to ask, “Do I really want to overcome sin in my life?”  “Have I given authority in this matter to the powers of the world, the flesh or the devil so that my will and my wants are bent?” The first step toward holiness is to understand that this is a cooperative effort. The Lord will not do the good for us that He wants if we do not want that good as well. Jesus doesn't do any ice breakers or casual comments. It was the beginning of the core of divine-human interaction. The prayers for holiness or ministry or guidance are nothing if they are parrot talk. lip service, or mindless repetition. The real question with which Jesus consistently confronts us is “What do you really want?” We don't have to be perfect but we have to have a start or at least the start of the desire to start.

“Lord, help me to want or at least begin to want what You desire for me?”

John 4:43-54

John 4:43-54

Six words is all the man got for his trouble. But that was enough. While Jesus was in Cana of Galilee a man came to Him from Capernium this was a 20 mile trip one way. Having heard of, or perhaps seen some of Jesus's power he goes to plead for his boy’s life. Desperation is a powerful motivation and often the precursor of faith. Having pleaded with Jesus to come and heal his son this official gets a less than hoped for response. Jesus rebukes him, and in him all those who are wanting a miracle show. People like Herod; who wanted to sign from Jesus on the occasion of Jesus's trial. Faced with this rebuke what would the man do? The skeptic, the doubter, the show seeker could easily walk away. But this man presses on, his determination shows that  this is not about a show, this is about the word of the Lord.

Sometimes the Lord closes doors and is apparently unresponsive, not because He can't do what is asked or is unconcerned about our situation, but so that we can discover our own motives.  So we can see into our own hearts. We might paraphrase and expand this conversation this way.

Royal official: “Jesus come to my house and do a miracle for my sick son!”

Jesus: “Are you just wanting a show like so many other people and your son just happens to be the convenient occasion?”

Royal official: “Jesus please come down and help You are the only hope for my son!”

Seeing Jesus do a miracle would have been good. Having Jesus heal your son would have been better. Taking Jesus at His word is the best.

One of the challenges we have in our own hearts is to answer this question honestly, “What do I really want?” Are we wanting Jesus for Himself or what He can do for us? What is the deepest desire of our heart? Do we want a faith that exists because we've seen a miracle or do we want a faith that is based on the words and the person of Jesus? The rebuke, resistance, or rebuttal of God has more to do with our own searching of our hearts than God's giving or withholding good from us. “What do I really want?” We must answer that question honestly without religious jargon or artificial rhetoric.

“Lord, help me want You because of who You are.  AMEN”

John 4:27-42

 John 4:27-42

Often in the church there is a resistance to outsiders especially those who are notorious. Many churches say they want to grow, but within there is a subconscious desire that all the new people will be like those already in the church. People who seem different from us, especially those of morally questionable past, are a threat. Pimps, drug dealers, strippers, homosexuals, drunks, etc. tend to make us very uncomfortable. We prefer to see the conversion of nice people who, at their worst, would not worry us. That is perhaps one of the reasons that revival has not taken hold of the American Church recently. We don’t want genuine Revival, we only want mildly renewed interest. 

John makes a dramatic and uncomfortable point in versus 28-29. This woman of noteworthy bad moral character goes to the “men”. There has been a tendency, especially in recent times, to paint this woman as a victim. She is pictured as  an oppressed individual who has suffered at the hands of a patriarchal culture through five marriages and a cohabitation. There is some truth to that. But maybe we have downplayed her culpability a bit too much. Maybe she was a woman of failed marriages because she was so promiscuous. Perhaps she is more of a Messalina (Roman Emperor Claudius’ wife whose promiscuity was famous) then she was a victim. We have heard over and over she was at the well at noon to avoid the company of the women. Maybe she was at the well at noon because she was turning tricks to the very late hour the night before. This woman does not go to family or friends but to “the men of the city” and says, “come see a man who told me all the things I have done”. With whom had she done these things?

The church’s resistance to the notorious may have more to do with our desire to protect our own reputation and sense of propriety than anything else. If I'm sitting with the drunk, the whore, the cheat, the liar or any other vice I must either be convicted  by my sin and repent, or be convicted by my sin and made miserable by my guilt. Wanting neither of these we choose not to be with people like that, people like us. Perhaps the greatest indictment for any church is it has no formerly notorious sinners and it's misted.

“Grant to me Lord the grace of repentance, and the grace to love those who need Your grace. AMEN”

John 4:15-26

 John 4:15-26

People are profoundly religious.  They are also profoundly aware of their moral condition. Our religious inclinations and our moral conscience are bound together. In the course of the conversation Jesus brings to light this woman's moral condition. She was five times divorced and was currently cohabiting with a man outside of marriage. Often we have looked at this passage with an emphasis on pity for this woman. She is seen as a victim, and no doubt she was to some degree. But we should not neglect the fact that she was also a participant and had her own moral responsibilities. There is a dreadful tendency to direct blame to some unidentified and vague “other”.  Jesus would have none of that.  She carried a distinct burden of guilt and it was hers justly. She was not a wholly innocent victim.

Confronted with the reality of the immorality of her life she turns the conversation to a question of religion. Many argue that this is an attempt by the woman to change the subject to take attention off her personal situation and move it onto a discussion of the vagaries of the locale of sacrifice. That may be misguided. She didn’t need to ask questions about where sacrifices should occur.  Every Samaritan knew how Jews would answer this question and every Jew knew how Samaritans answered this question.

What if this question was about “How do I effectively deal with my guilt?” Perhaps she was, by the realization that Jesus was special, was compelled to face the core issue of her life. Confronted by guilt perhaps she wants an answer to the question “How can I become un-guilty?” Sacrifices on Mount Gerizim haven't worked. Would sacrifices on Mount Zion be more effective? Guilt can be a wonderful thing. It can turn us and compel us to find a real solution, not just a cover up. It must never be used as a way to manipulate people, but like any real thing it can have value.  And guilt is very, very real. We are reluctant to be frank and honest with people when they feel guilty. It is easier to patronize them with vague spiritual delicacies so we will not have to get into the nitty-gritty of what makes us feel guilty. We are afraid they will say we are judgmental. But an important distinction needs to be made, we are judged by our own hearts, guilt is just the reminder. A reminder we want to avoid. It is better that we face it.

“Lord, send your conviction on me so that I will always seek Your forgiveness.  AMEN”

John 4:1-14

 John 4:1-14

As is often the case there's a powerful message in a little-noticed phrase of scripture. This one sentence can have very profound meaning for us. In verse 4 John tells us “He had to pass through Samaria”. He “had” to! Jesus is God made flesh what can compel Him to do anything? Additionally Jews who traveled from Galilee to Judea had alternative routes that allowed them to avoid Samaria. Going through Samaria was by no means a geographic necessity. In fact, since Jesus and his disciples were baptizing in the Jordan then the route through Samaria was out of the way. The “had to” was not geography.

What was the compelling force that called Jesus to go through Samaria? The expression of necessity is descriptive of the will of God. What took Him to Samaria was that it was what the Father wanted. Did Jesus know He would encounter this woman there? Did He have a foresight of the universal and positive reception of the people of Sychar? Perhaps He did perhaps not but He was responding to the will of the Father  and that is what we need to take away from this verse.

How did Jesus know this was the will of God? Did He interpret circumstances correctly? Was there an inner conviction? Perhaps a voice, dream, or vision prompted Him? We don't know but whatever the means the message got through and that was because of the closeness of the Son to the Father. In Discerning the will of God more important than all other factors is the intimacy with the Father! All other factors or guides can only be meaningful when a disciple is close to the Lord.

“Lord, prompt me to stay so close to You that in every moment I will understand and know Your will.  AMEN”

John 3:16-21

 John 3:16-21

I killed a roach yesterday and I just don't care. I have no emotions about it one way or the other. Till it served as an illustration I did not think about it at all. In my emotional universe that roach was very far from the center.  As such, what happened to it had no bearing on my life or attention. Yesterday I also received some bad news, not devastating news. It was bad because it was about an organization I cared about but not devastating because this organization is not at the center of my emotional universe. The nearer someone or something is to the center of our emotional universe the more we care about what happens to it. As a parent or grandparent the least little thing that touches our child or grandchild is immensely important.

In versus 16 we see two powerful pictures of the center of God's emotional universe. First is the world,  “For God so loved the world...” We have said, read and quoted this verse so much that we may have lost the emotional power and passion of this verse. The grammar of the word “loved” indicates a supreme act of love that can never be repeated or superseded. These words are more than a doctrinal truth; they are a picture into God's passionate heart. The ‘giving’ here is not just the birth of Christ in Bethlehem but the whole plot of God's plan to send the Son to be our sin-bearing sacrifice.

The second picture of God's heart universe is the description of Jesus as the “only begotten”. Begotten is a word that we only use when we quote John 3:16 and so we may not understand it. Heretics claim that Jesus was less than God, in every heresy of all ages the heretics teach that the Son was made when He was begotten. In this understanding  the heretics are completely wrong. The word translated begotten would better be translated to describe the quality of Jesus as “absolutely unique” and not a sort of “becoming or beginning”.   Begotten also expresses the idea of “only” and “precious”. The love of a Father expressed for Jesus is as the unique and precious Son. Jesus is eternally begotten, eternally passionately loved.

John 3:16 expresses great theological truth about Redemption but that truth is in the two great loves of God the love for the Son and the love for the world.

“Lord, help me to live in the reality of Your Love.  AMEN”

John 3:22-36

 John 3:22-36

We live in a world in which everyone is not only allowed to be but actually encouraged to be narcissistic. We are all told to have or create our own brand, to brand ourselves to be famous, and to make ourselves famous. One person described her career as an “Internet personality”. With the use of social media we can build for ourselves the illusion, or perhaps a better way of saying it, the delusion that our place is at the center of the social media universe. We imagine that our lives are so compelling that people will want to know what we are doing. Our thoughts are so profound people will want to know what we are thinking, and our appearance is so magnificent that people will want to look at us. We think that if we can have our own universe with ourselves at the center we will have all that we want.

John the Baptist was nearly the perfect opposite of this kind of thinking. His statement and vs 30 is profound and ought to be the theme of every disciple’s life. As we are making  new disciples they ought to grow so that they are more and more attracted to Jesus and their focus on us ought to decrease. John wanted to become invisible to be unseen so that all focus and attention would be on Jesus. John's role as the “friend of the bridegroom” was significant but no one believes that a wedding is about the best man. The best man’s real importance is to point to the real priority of the couple's wedding, the couple. John's light would grow dimmer and dimmer Jesus's light would grow brighter and brighter.

Most people do not believe that Jesus was born on December 25th. That date was chosen for the Feast of the Nativity for, among other reasons, because of the winter solstice when the days begin getting longer the light begins to increase. The church also set the celebration of John’s birth for June 24th the summer solstice when the days begin to get shorter and the light decreases.

One of the great tragedies of the last generations is that many in ministry have shifted the focus to themselves and have grown their church as a cult of personality. The very root and center of hell is the attempt to move God from the throne at the center of the universe and take that seat for ourselves.

“Lord, forever keep in awe of Jesus, may I be invisible so I will never distract anyone from looking at Jesus.  AMEN”

John 3:1-15

 John 3:1-15

We are here today because at some point in the past our biological father and our biological mother shared a moment of physical intimacy.  The result of that physical act is our physical presence. While reproductive science has explained much of the event of conception it is nonetheless a marvel and a mystery. For the ancients it was even more mysterious, not having our scientific explanation. In parallel to the wonder of physical birth and conception our spiritual birth is easier to see and experience than it is to explain, it is a great mystery.

Why is it that sometimes a husband and a wife will conceive a child and other times they will not? Why is it that some people will hear the call of Jesus and become disciples and others will not? These are both mysterious. We sometimes treat evangelism and soul winning as a mechanical process. We present the “Roman Road”, the “Four Spiritual Laws”, “The Two Diagnostic Questions” or “The Five Finger Exercise” as mathematical problems that if followed properly will end up making disciples. We fail to consider the unfathomability of the Spirit.

There's a play on words in verse 8 that does not show up in English. The Hebrew word for Spirit and Wind are the same. The sound of the wind was the voice of the Spirit. How easy is it to capture control and direct the wind? Even the advances of science can't fully explain the wind. What voice or message is hidden in the Wind? Why does it blow in one place and not in another? The wind is better known by experience than by the textbook. Better to fly a kite, sail a boat, or watch clouds race overhead than to sit in a classroom and listen to a lecture on meteorology, even if that lecture was a wonderful lecture of great value. Better to live in the reality of the Spirit’s leading, direction and prompting than to absorb the dry intellectualism of a Pharisee knowledge such as Nicodemus had.

“Lord, keep me attentive to the breeze of Your Holy Spirit. Amen”

John 2:12 - 25

 John 2:12 - 25 

The last three verses of this passage exist in the shadow of the temple cleansing and the conversation with Nicodemus. During this first trip to Jerusalem Jesus apparently did a number of signs or miracles. When Jesus performed miracles it was always for the purpose of pointing toward the Father. These acts of wonder and power did not happen for themselves, but had a greater purpose than just the event. We're not told what are how many miracles Jesus did but there were enough to create a stir or a buzz in the city.

It would seem that this would have been a great time for Jesus to have mass teaching or large event in order to gather a following. But we see Jesus doing the opposite. Before long Jesus will leave Jerusalem and Judea and go back to Galilee. Why, at this moment of popularity, did Jesus walk away? There is an interesting contrast in this passage. In verse 23 we see “Many believed in His Name beholding His signs.” Then in verse 24 “But Jesus, on His part was not entrusting Himself to them for He knew all men.”  These people had faith in Jesus but still Jesus did not trust them. The signs excited the people. They were enthusiastic about the show and what they saw. But Jesus puts no confidence in excitement and enthusiasm. These two are wonderful by products of a commitment to the person of Jesus, but they can never be the substance and core of that commitment. The people believed in the signs and were exhilarated by the show but were not ready to take up a cross. They were glad to see the spectacular and receive the benefits.  But to die to self and serve, to give up their agenda was unthinkable. Jesus knew the difference between large crowds of self-interested fanatics and faithful to the point of death disciples.  Jesus rejected the opportunity to have a great following and huge numbers. 

In too many cases the church fails to reject the shallow enthusiasm of the mass crowd. In fact because the “scoreboard” we watch most carefully is the measurement of attendance we often embrace shallow enthusiast. We justify this by saying we will get people to come to grand exciting events and they will mature in their faith later. But this has two problems.  First Jesus’ is pattern was for men to count the cost before they committed themselves to follow. Second in practical terms we rarely see the growth into maturity that we say will eventually happen. Always looking for one more person our churches almost never provide the substance needed for growth. Jesus would have been a terrible Church growth Pastor but He was an excellent disciple maker 11 of the 12 first disciple were faithful till death.

“Lord, protect me from shallow excitement and grant me complete dedication. AMEN”

John 2:1 - 11

 John 2:1 - 11 

After turning the water to wine John tells us this was the first sign Jesus did and He "...manifested His glory and His disciples believed Him".  The disciples would have an imperfect faith. They would misunderstand what Jesus intended as far as His kingdom was concerned. They would have moments of fear and doubt, times of pride and ego, and occasions of denial but at least faith had begun.

John the eyewitness is writing this record of the event 60 to 70 years after it occurred. Sometimes memories are lost, faded or confused. But some occasions are so momentous that we can recall them and dynamic and vivid detail for the rest of our lives. This memory is a recall of a moment where everything changed. It was a instant that meant nothing would ever be the same again. John the author had apparently been a follower of John the Baptist. He had heard the soul-stirring preaching. He had seen the people come in droves to hear the prophet. He was intrigued by the promises and warnings of the coming of God's judgment and the call to repentance. He had also paid close attention to John the Baptist directing his disciples to Jesus.

To this point we have no indication that Jesus had done any of these things. There were no mass gatherings of crowds there were no fiery sermons or calls for a life changing repentance. If the timeline is correct this is the first week of Jesus’ Ministries.  To this point John the disciple may have had only a few quiet conversations with Jesus. Then came the wedding feast, the wine shortage, and the first miracle and after that nothing would ever be the same.

We use markers AD and BC to make dates on our time scale.  Secular people are more likely to use BCE and ACE for the demarcation of time. For John the time line may have been marked with BW and AW, “Before wine” and After Wine”. Today may be the day when we experience a moment that will change everything, a moment that will mean greater ways than ever before we will focus our attention on Christ. And these days most often come without any warning.

“Lord, change my world Your servant awaits Your call.  AMEN”

John 1:43-51

 John 1:43-51

Remember the old saying “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet”. that might be an appropriate description of this passage. Jesus found Philip! The fact that God was looking for someone should cause our hearts to explode with the idea of being called by God. Then Philip found Nathaniel. The message of the Gospel has always been more effectively communicated in the personal connections of our natural affections and relationships.   This ought to serve as a reminder of the preiority we need to have in making disciples. but when Nathaniel comes to Jesus, Jesus begins telling Nathaniel about himself and about how long he has known him. Jesus knows Nathaniel better than Nathaniel knows himself.

That was apparently a shocking moment for Nathaniel. Because it was enough for him to have faith that Jesus was in fact the Son of God and the king of Israel. This great confession predates Peter's confession by several months. Nathaniel is overwhelmed by the knowledge the power and the person of Jesus Christ. That's when we come to the “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet” moment. Nathaniel was impressed by a very small expression of Jesus's supernatural knowledge. Then Jesus says, “you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”. In other words Nathaniel, “you ain't seen nothing yet”.

We have not seen anything yet either. As we are prepared to go deeper and deeper and our relationship with Christ, He is prepared to show and do deeper and greater things with us. Unfortunately, often, we are content with a little bit of Jesus in our daily life and a routine mundane service on the weekend. In the three years that will follow Nathaniel have his mind blown over and over and over again. It will be beyond his comprehension what happens at Calvary and on Easter morning. The experience of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost the birth of the church the expansion of the Gospel around the world were all more than Nathaniel could have possibly imagined in this moment.  So with us, if we will begin to glimpse who Christ is then go a little deeper in our relationship with Him the things He has in store for us are  far beyond the Trinkets and Treasures of this world, and the experiences of this lifetime and the pathtic self image we have.  I can promise you if you will live as a disciple of Jesus, “You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet”. 

Lord, grant that I will be ever growing in my relationship with Jesus. AMEN

John 1:35-42

John 1:35-42

Jesus asked a question of two who followed Him “What do you seek?” The word “seek” means more than meets the eye. “What do you want?” is not enough.  “What are you looking for?” gets a little closer. One ancient reading asked “Whom do you seek?” This is a question about the core issue of life. We might ask the question this way, “What is the deepest desire of your heart? At the foundation of your being what are you hoping to find?” We can never be true to Jesus until we know what we want. Jesus deeply desires that we know what we really want. Vague generalities are never enough when it comes to our relationship with Christ.

Part of our problem is that we have so many benefits and blessings in Christ then we can easily begin to want Christ for the benefits He provides. We can slip into thinking of and treating Him as a means to an end. This is a dangerous path to tread. There are blessings, benefits, mercies, and gifts a plenty for those who follow Jesus. But there are also hardships, sufferings, dying to self and crosses. If we are following for the blessings at the moment when being a disciple calls us to sacrifice we will opt to walk away. Jesus has no interest in being a means to our ends.

So it comes back to, “What is it that you are really after? What is the deepest desire of our very being?” It cannot be found in a cost-benefit analysis of “blessing” versus “the cost of discipleship”. That will end in either a denial of Christ before some cross or a self-righteous legalism by which we think we earn the blessings. The answer to the question “What do you seek?” is found in the answer “Rabbi where are you staying?” Rabbi or teacher is more than an educational opportunity it is a personal commitment to the great one or the master. The query “Where are you staying?” carries with it the idea of being or staying with you. More than an interesting conversation is about a life commitment to a master. “What is the deepest desire of the heart?” 

Lord, help me so that my greatest desire is that Jesus will be my master and I will always be with You whatever that may bring. AMEN

John 1.29–34

 John 1.29 – 34

The eyes of John

Every morning the day begins with two competing agendas.  First, there is the desire to stop and in the quiet hear the Lord’s voice, to encounter Him in a personal, profound, and life changing way.  The second agenda is the busyness of the day; it is the agenda of the lists.  There is the ‘must-do’ list, there is the ‘need-to-do list’, there is the ‘would-nice-to-be-done list’ and there is the ‘want-to-do list’.  All these lists scramble through our minds demanding attention.  The first agenda is orderly and quiet; it is practiced in calm, beauty and peace.  It enjoys a richness of heart that invites us to linger for the whole day in serene quietude.  The second is the chaos in which time and resources are not nearly adequate for all that is expected or needed.  This second agenda is lived out in functionality that is devoid of joy or passion.  How exciting can one really be about the dreariness of car service, errands, chores and all the other functions the suck up time; the most non-renewable, natural resource.  

We crave for the sublime moment where our encounter with the divine is like John the Baptist’s description: “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of Heaven, and remained on Him”.  But wait.  Jesus has just returned from the trials in the desert.  He is about to call His first disciples and dive headlong into three years of the chaotic life of ministry.  Jesus was serene, but His life wasn’t.  We may have missed something that will help us.

“When the Spirit descended like a dove” needs to be understood from the Jewish perspective.  Jesus and John were Jewish as were John’s original audience.  In the Jewish mind, what did this “descended like a dove” mean?  In Genesis 1:2, we learn that over the formless, void, waste and emptiness that was initial creation the Spirit of God hovered over the chaos.  The Rabbis saw the Spirit fluttering like a dove over the face of the waters.  They saw in this passage the Spirit breathe into the chaos beauty, order, purpose, direction and reason for being.  The Spirit did not obliterate chaos; it was shaped to conform to the will of God.  While this is not the whole meaning of the decent of the Spirit it would have been part of the Jewish mindset.  

Order that pleases God can come out of the chaos of busy days.  Jesus’ life did not, at this moment, become more quiet and reserved.  He didn’t go off to a retreat center for three years of Bible reading, journaling, and quiet study.  Instead, He waded into the chaos of life and the order that would please the Father emerged.

The chaos of our days is still before us.  Our “must-be-done-by-noon” list could easily fill a whole day.  Some things simply will not get done and that will mean loose ends- read chaos-to be dealt with later.  But in cooperation with the Spirit of God this chaos need not distress us; in fact, we may see God at work in it.  If only we can develop the eyes of John.

“Lord, help me see You at work in each moment. AMEN”

John 1:19-28

John 1:19-28 

John the Baptist's ministry created quite a stir in and among the Jews. The number of people coming out to John was large enough that it could upset the status quo. Two groups sent delegations to see if this dessert preacher posed a threat. The priestly delegation would have represented the temple authorities while the Pharisees would have represented the synagogue authority. In verse 19 the author uses the term “the Jews”.  This term will be a recurring theme in this gospel and represent the antagonist in the story, and become closely associated with institutional powers. 

When the people of God morph into an institution that institution becomes self-protective. The preservation of the status quo takes precedence and priority over everything else. Institutions can't help themselves that is their nature; it is what they always become. But the people of God are not an institution and as such they are flexible and responsive to what God is doing at the moment. 

The Jews asked John who he was regarding three specific prophecies. John denied all three. He affirmed he was not the Messiah. But his denial implied that the Messiah was very near. He affirmed that he was not Elijah resurrected from the dead, but later he would be identified as an Elijah-like profit. He also denied that he was “the prophet”. This is the prophecy about the Messiah from Deuteronomy 18.15. John is essentially says “I am no one special as far as you are concerned”.

The problem was the Jews were obsessed with title, power, and possession. Institutions are almost always obsessed with these three things. John instead focused on his task and calling. What he was instructed to do was get things ready for the Messiah. John was content to be the “voice”. One thing about a voice it never lasts longer than an echo. Once the words have entered the ears the voice no longer has an independent presence. One might say that John wanted to be heard and not seen or even remembered. When we remember that the hero of the story, the main act of all history and be the only purpose of life is to know Jesus we tend to focus on our task and calling and not so much on title, power, position or institutions.

“Lord, let me be such a person that those with whom I speak will have an unobstructed view of Jesus.  AMEN

John 1:1-18

 John 1:1-18

It might be possible to focus a lifetime of study on the verse that open John's gospel and never reach the depth of all they have to offer. This is one of the places where Jewish and Greek thought intersects most dramatically. The common Jewish people lost the Hebrew language that was reserved for scholars. Instead they spoke and read Aramaic. In the translation of the Hebrew scripture into the common language of Aramaic in order to avoid dishonoring God they would translation anything that sounded like an anthropomorphism with “the word”. So the Hebrew text that reads, “My hand laid the foundation of the Earth” was translated into “By my word I have founded the Earth”. In the scripture of the common people hundreds of references to God became “the Word”. This was especially true of the wisdom of God.

The Greeks came to “the Word” from a different perspective. The Greeks believed that life, nature, and the whole universe was in a state of flux or constant change. So what kept this state of flux from spiraling out of control and into total chaos? “The word” which was the logic, or wisdom, or reason of the supernatural divine. The guiding force for the universe was “the Word” and “the Word” would bring all things to their appropriate conclusion.

John opens his gospel with the intersection of Jewish and Greek thought by staying the activity and reality of God (the Jewish understanding) and that which gives purpose and guidance to the universe (the Greek understanding) became human in the person of Jesus. It is easy to read this passage and fail to take in the marvel of God's providence in bringing these two languages to this place to communicate such wonder.

But this is more than a fascinating historical moment of language or a philosophical religious statement. Verse 16 is a fantastic statement; “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace”. Literally this can be translated we have received “grace for grace”. It is by God's grace that we can even receive grace. One moment of grace leads to another moment of grace. We have grace for every circumstance and every occasion. Just when we think we have plumbed the depths of grace we discover beyond that there is still more grace. As marvelous as this the intersection of Jewish and Greek thought and language there is a greater moment. Overshadowing all else is our intersection with grace for this is a personal, individual, and relational grace from God.

“Lord, open my eyes to the constant of Your grace. AMEN”