Like Father, Like Son

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

John 5:16-23

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."  18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

NIV

Having considered Jesus’s short answer about working on the Sabbath we want to look at the truth as in, “I tell you the truth”. Did we expect anything less from Jesus? It is impossible for him to tell anything but the truth, the whole truth, so help him, God. But Jesus does not have to swear to tell the truth with his hand on the bible, the word of God, for he is the bible, he is the word of God, in fact, he is the truth. Yet he tells them in terms they can relate to in regards to the relationship between a father and son. In many cases in our human father and son relationship, the son does copy his father. There are exceptions, of course, but not when it comes to Jesus and the Father. There are no exceptions at all, for Jesus makes is very clear, that he does the exact same thing he sees his Father do. This has to infuriate the Jews, for they already are wanting to kill him because they think he is making himself equal with God. Now he is telling them that everything he does is because he has seen his Father do the very same thing. Then he goes on to say although they hate him, the Father loves him. What a slam! Here are Jews who supposedly worship Yahweh, which should mean they love Yahweh, they love God, and yet they want to kill the Son who Yahweh loves. How can someone who says they love God, have any hate in their heart? How can anyone who says they love God, hold any grudge or bitterness toward anyone? How can anyone who says they love God gossip, which may well be spreading lies, or at the least casting negative ideas about another person? How can anyone who says they love God, refuse to forgive someone? The only thing we can say about these Jews who professed love for Yahweh yet wanting to kill Jesus is that they were hypocrites. It seems inconceivable that love and hate can occupy the same heart. Yet it also seems we struggle with that very thing at times. How can that be? There is no other way to say it, other than it is wrong. If we love God then we have to love our neighbor as our self, and who is our neighbor, none other than all mankind. But, here is the real kicker. Jesus refers to himself as the Son, who does what he sees the Father do. Because we are in Christ, we have been given the right to be called the children of God, therefore we are God’s sons and daughters. So then we should be doing only that which we see our Father doing. Although it is true that Jesus is God, and he came from heaven, and he actually has seen the Father in person, he is still making the point that all throughout the record of the Old Testament, the Torah and the prophets and the oral record referred to as the Talmud, the Jews have enough information about Yahweh to know his character and what he does, so they could just as the Father does, as Jesus says he does. But they would rather live by their own code of law, their own code of ethics than by the word of God. We have to be careful not to fall into that same trap, but it seems this division of denominational biases may well be somewhat like those Jews. It seems we cannot agree on what God does. This great chasm between the Calvinist and Wesleyan theology regarding freewill and election proves we would rather see God as we want to instead of how he wants us to see him. The point being, we should only be doing what we see our Father doing and we cannot do anything on our own. God loves us and he shows us all he does. So then we should be like Father, like son.

My Father

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

MY FATHER

John 5:16-23

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."  18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

NIV

There is so much more to the answer that Jesus gave them, but we have to take it in smaller sections otherwise we would be overwhelmed and need to write for hours to examine all the truths within his complete answer. First, let us consider this first shorter response by Jesus about the Jews persecuting Jesus for doing work on the Sabbath. Healing someone evidently was considered work and how dare he do such a thing on the Sabbath. He should have at least waited until sundown or the next day, but curing a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years, having compassion, demonstrating grace, showing mercy on the Sabbath, how could be dare violate the law. Jesus reminds them His Father is always at work, even on the Sabbath. But what made such a stir, as he said “My Father”. This is a big problem as the Jews would not even pronoun the name of God and Jesus referred to God as His Father and making himself as an equal with God. We can just imagine how upset they were. Everything they have believed all their lives about God, about JHWH was being challenged. They were not only living under the Law given to Moses but had put additional traditions upon themselves so their form of the Law was extremely restrictive. It seems they did not actually have the love of God in their hearts, but rather they had the love of the Law in their hearts. They believed by strict obedience to the Law, they could find righteousness, but who of them was without sin? So then none of them could ever attain righteousness unless they held to their self-righteousness. It is a good thing, no a wonderful thing that Jesus fulfilled all the Law so that because we are in Christ, we too have fulfilled all the Law and therefore are indeed righteous in the sight of God. We do not live by the Law, we live in Christ, who calls God, His Father, and therefore God is our Father as well. Now, that does not mean we are equal with God, as Jesus is. But what it means is that because we are in Christ, we have the right to be called children of God, and therefore he is Our Father. We have an intensely personal relationship with Our Father. The problem which can exist, just as it did for those Jews, is we can add some of our own traditions to our religion, creating our own form of law. We label it a religion because that type of mindset is religious in nature, but it may well not have anything to do with our relationship with Our Father. Any act, even a secular act, if performed on a regular basis can be defined as doing it religiously. However, if we have a personal relationship with Our Father, then we live in his family and do what he tells us to do and have the right of being a member of the family of God. Let us not be so bold as to tell God what we can and cannot do, but simply let him tell us what he wants us to do and if he desires us to stop doing anything, he will tell us that too. Just as Jesus told the lame man, stop sinning, that pretty much covers it all.  But again, the problem, just like the Jews, we have determined what sin is, what we are not supposed to do. It simply comes down to love My Father.

Stop Sinning

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

STOP SINNING

John 5:8-15

8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."  9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." 11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."  15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

NIV

Having looked at the fact that Jesus heals, we should also consider the rest of this particular narrative. We find this healed man in the temple. John says that it was sometime later. We cannot be certain if it was later that day, or some other day later on, but the point is this man who had laid by the pool, lame, for thirty-eight plus years took the occasion to go to the temple now that he could walk. Surely, as a Jew, he had missed this opportunity to go to the temple, which is the center of everything for the Jews. This is where God’s presence resided. This man must have felt his need to go to the temple to give thanks to God for his healing and to be among the people, to walk and talk with his fellow Jews, like a normal man. We also see Jesus at the temple and he found this man and makes this incredible statement. “See, you are well again, Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” What was Jesus saying? This man had been lame for so many years. What kind of sin would he had been involved in that caused him to be lame? That is what Jesus is implying, that some sin caused this man to be lame. Jesus says that he is well again, which sort of implies that he was once well, as a youth perhaps, and his sin was so grievous it resulted in his being lame. But then does that mean there are degrees of sin, some that would cause an infirmity? Then we would have to say that anyone who has some sort of infirmity committed some grievous sin. Perhaps we should say that all sin will cause some kind of physical problem. Maybe it would be better to conclude that sin will definitely cause an infirmity in our spirit. But this man’s sin caused his physical condition and Jesus told him to stop sinning or he would experience something worse. Was Jesus saying that if he continued to sin he would be lame again but this time maybe his arms would be lame as well as his legs? Most likely Jesus was making the point that if he continued to sin as he had been, he would find himself in hell at some time in the future. But wait, does that mean the man was still sinning all the while he was lame? If that is the case, then sin has to be more then an act of the body, whatever that would be. Sin is the condition of the heart and its relationship with God. It is our heart that makes us rebel against God. We use the term heart to mean our soul, our mind, our inner self.  We rebel against God and thus cause ourselves harm in one way or another. It may well be that sin will evidentially lead to some physical disability. We know that overindulgence in smoking for years may well bring lung cancer upon a person. We know that overindulgence in alcohol may well bring liver disease or some other infirmity upon a person.  We know and overindulgence in certain foods can cause all sorts of issues, obesity, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, etc. There may be many other habits that Christians consider sinful which may cause physical problems. However, it is the sins of the heart that will cause sickness within. Once we lived in that city of sin, the city of darkness and death. Our fate in that condition was the judgment of God. We had condemned ourselves to hell. But we saw the light of Christ and we crossed over to the city of light and life, through faith in Jesus, and we found the grace of God, his mercy was bestowed upon us and we were given eternal life. Why in the world would we want to go back to that lifestyle we lived in that city of darkness and death? This is what Jesus is talking about. Having been healed, having received the grace of God, why would we want to go on sinning as we once did? Now does that mean we sin no more? How can we do that? How can we never ever commit any sin ever again? To say we never sin, would almost be blasphemous. That would be saying we are as perfect as Jesus, or that we are God, perfect in every way. No, Jesus was making the point that once we are healed, we need to remain healed. No going back to the way we once lived. No returning to the old self, we have been born again, a new creature in Christ and who in their right mind would want to give up this new birth to go back to the old life that led to death. We need to see that we should move forward with God. Those sins of the heart, anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, pride, and such will kill us, destroy us within. Those are things we should have left behind in that city of darkness and death, not just our sinful behaviors. Stop sinning.

Jesus Heals

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

JESUS HEALS

John 5:8-15

8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."  9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat." 11 But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" 12 So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" 13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."  15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

NIV

We are continuing with the saga of the lame man who Jesus asked if he wanted to get well, and who never really answered the question, but make some excuse why he could not get into the water first. However, Jesus still healed him by simply telling him to, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” It is interesting that this man’s healing had nothing to do with his faith. He was cured at once because that he what Jesus does. We often hear believers make some excuse that healing does not happen because the person did not have enough faith. That would mean Jesus is restricted by the amount of faith we have in order to perform a healing. How is that possible, that we have to power to keep Jesus from healing us? As for this lame man, it could have been possible that he could have refused to get up and continue to lay there, and then the question would have to be asked if he would have been healed. Again, although Jesus has all the power to heal and it is not dependent on our faith, it may be dependent on our obedience of acting upon the fact we are healed. What we also have to wonder, is did the man feel the difference in his legs when Jesus healed him. How did he feel about getting up, standing up, after not being able to for over thirty-eight years? We would believe he would be so overjoyed with excitement he would have gone jumping and leaping and praising God, like the man Peter and John had that encounter with, but we are not told about how he reacted to his healing. All we know is that he got up, pick up his mat and walked. Where did he walk to? We do know he walked somewhere in town, as some Jews, who must have been counting their steps because they were chastising this man for breaking the law of the Sabbath. If they were concerned about the law, they must have been counting their steps for they were only allowed so many on the Sabbath and then how could they do both, count and criticize? Isn’t that just like today? There are Christians who are so concerned about the law, or doing or not doing something that is right or wrong, at least as they see it, and judge, or criticize others who are not living under the same rules they are. This man, although he had been lame for all those years was expected to still be aware of how many steps one was allowed on the Sabbath and as to what constituted work. How did he get to the pool on the morning of the Sabbath? Did his family, or some friends carry him to the pool on the Sabbath? That would have been work too. So many things we just do not know about this situation, but what we do know is the Jews were so concerned that he was breaking the law they had to accuse him. But he tells them that he was told to do so by some man, a Jew no less who made him well. He had no idea it was Jesus, or for that matter who Jesus was. Again, we see the authority of Jesus trumps everything, our faith, our knowledge, our situation or condition. We will leave this man’s revelation to later, as this statement Jesus makes about stop sinning needs further attention. So, for now, let us simply consider that Jesus heals because he is Jesus, and it does not depend on us, but on Jesus.

"Do You Want to Get Well?"

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

“DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?”

John 5:1-9

5:1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie — the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.   5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"  7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." 8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk."  9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

NIV

This is not the complete narrative concerning this lame man at the pool of Bethesda, but it is enough to give us seeing  Jesus healing this man. What is interesting, is why Jesus went to this pool in the first place? Was he aware the pool was surrounded by the blind, the lame and the paralyzed people? We would have to believe he has this divine knowledge because he is God in the flesh and he does not do anything just for the sake of doing it, but rather for a divine reason. The other interesting point is that Jesus picked on this one lame man. John does say that Jesus learned that he had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Does that mean Jesus did not know beforehand? If that is so, then did God truly give up his divinity, his omniscience, his divine knowledge and was merely like all other men in human form, with the same mental abilities? We find that impossible to believe. Still, we have to believe the reason Jesus went to this pool was for the express reason of healing someone and he either already knew, or decided at that moment to choose this lame man. The question Jesus asked him is at the center of this narrative. “Do you want to get well?” This is the question for all of us believers who suffer from some illness, or infirmity. The particular belief in the supernatural healing powers of the water may have had validity as it would seem whoever did get into the water first was healed, although we are not expressly told anyone is healed by the water. John is the only gospel writer who includes this activity of Jesus, so all we know is what is told by John. There are some less important manuscripts, which are used in other translations, which are seen as verse 4, which the NIV omits. This verse 4 states the idea of the angel who comes down and stirs the water and the first one in after the stirring would be cured of whatever disease he had. Could this have been what Jesus went there to prove He is the power that heals and not the water of the pool, or that his power was greater? Nevertheless, the question is still at the center. This is the question it would seem that Jesus is still asking all of us today. “Do you want to get well?” We have to notice the lame man did not answer the question. Instead, he made some excuse for why he had not been healed. How did he get to that pool each day? Was it someone in his family who brought him each morning and then came back at night to take him home? Surely he had not laid there twenty-four seven for thirty-eight years. How did he eat, or who cleaned him, or took care of his human needs? Yet, after all those years of his difficult life, he makes this excuse that there was not anyone to help into the water. Where were those who brought him each day? Could they not wait with him for the stirring of the water? It seems people will always let us down and the only one who we can truly count on is Jesus. And we are back to the question. Do we want to get well? Do we make some excuse for why we are not? Do we say the doctors just don’t know what is wrong? Do we just like to complain? Why don’t we just answer the question? Yes, we want to get well! We have to believe that if we would just answer his question, he would heal us of every disease, every infirmity. So then we have to ask the question, do we really want to get well?

Take Him at His Word

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD

John 4:43-54

43 After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45 When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. 46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 48 "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."  49 The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50 Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51 While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52 When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour." 53 Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed. 54 This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.

NIV

First, we should remember that John does not record what happened for the reason he tells us what Jesus had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country. We would have to go to Matthew to get that account. However, what we want to see here is in the narrative regarding this royal official. We are not certain as to exactly who he was, nor does our scholars, however, it is most likely someone who served in the court of Herod Antipus and had a permanent residence in Capernaum. What we do not know for certain is where was this royal official when he heard Jesus was back in Cana. We do know that Herod Antipus built the city of Tiberias and perhaps this is where the royal official worked. Tiberias is about ten miles from Capernaum as was Cana. Still, the point is this royal official made the effort to go to Jesus asking him to come to Capernaum to heal his son. This is asking Jesus to make a ten-mile hike from Cana to Capernaum to touch his son. Jesus makes this astonishing statement and it is interesting he uses the plural, people, and not just addressing this royal official, about not believing unless seeing miraculous signs and wonders. He does tell the official that he can just go, as his son has been healed. It is interesting the royal official took Jesus at his word, he believed without seeing any signs of wonders. Yet John also makes the point that after the man found out his son was healed the same moment that Jesus spoke to him, he and his whole household believed. Did he not believe before? Then why did he go that distance to beg Jesus to come down to Capernaum to heal his son? What does it take to believe? What does it take to get healing? Surely we cannot go find Jesus in some town and beg him to come to heal us, or our relative. Jesus is no longer on earth, but he is still available as he sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus told us that if we ask anything in his name, it will be given. That has to include healing. So then why are we still in pain? Why do we still have sicknesses, or have some physical problem? Do we enjoy complaining to others that much, that we don’t want to be healed? Does Jesus heal or doesn’t he? Do we believe or don’t we? Have we put more faith in modern medicine, in doctors, then in Jesus? Have we justified using doctors as a method of Jesus healing us? All that is needed is for Jesus to say the word and we will be healed, just as he did for that royal official. Do we take Jesus at his word or do we really want to see some miraculous sign and wonder before we will truly believe he would or could heal us? Do we need to perform some special ritual or fervent prayer in order to summons Jesus' healing? Do we have to beg him for healing? Why can’t we just ask and believe? That is what we are going to do and we only have to believe. We say we believe, so then let us simply believe. We have to take him at his word.

His Will

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HIS WILL

John 4:31-42

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."  33 Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?" 34 "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."  39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

NIV

This idea that Jesus had meat or food they, his disciples did not know about has an interesting concept. Being in the form of man, Jesus was subject to hunger, thirst and perhaps even fatigue. It would seem this may have been the case, as John tells us this is why he was sitting waiting at the well while his disciples went on into town to buy food. We already pondered on this reasoning that if Jesus was tired why weren’t his disciples. Nevertheless, here we are at the scene of his discussion with the Samaritan woman, and she has already gone back to town to testify to the town people about Jesus. That is a whole other story, in that she did not waste any time telling about her encounter with Jesus. Should we not be that excited about our encounter with Jesus that we have to tell the whole town? But what else is interesting is what Jesus says about having food his disciples did not know about. To be so focused on bringing the good news to this woman, any hunger, thirst, or fatigue are all set aside. Wanting to do the will of God is more important than personal needs seems to be the main truth here. This whole response of Jesus to his disciples about the harvest is about the harvest of souls. He is drawing their attention to something greater than themselves, the will of the Father. So often it is so tempting to get all wrapped up in our own circumstances, our aches and pains, or some other form of suffering, or our burdens, or physical or material needs, that we lose sight of the greater plan of God for our lives and being concerned about doing his will and not ours. This is what Jesus was pointing out to his disciples and to us. Let us try to keep our focus on the will of God, and not try to fit his will into ours, but ours into his.

In Spirit and In Truth

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

John 4:15-30

15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."  17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."  19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."  25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."  27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

NIV

We are in the midst of the conversation between Jesus and this Samaritan women. Jesus had just offered her living water that springs up within to eternal life. It would seem anyone who has any common sense at all would respond exactly the same way this woman did,  “Sir, give me this water.” Although as we see, she was only looking with her physical eyes, as she was only thinking of not being thirsty and having to keep coming to the well for water. That would make her life a whole lot easier. So Jesus clears the situation up, and tells her something of a more spiritual nature in his divine knowledge of her life, having had five husbands and now living in sin with a man who she is not married to. She is quite a sinful little lady and a Samaritan to boot, and Jesus is sharing the good news with her. He did not tell her that she had to clean up her life in order to hear the truth, he just wanted her to come to the terms with the truth. After perceiving him to be a prophet, not yet seeing him as the Messiah, she started thinking more in terms of spiritual things. She makes this statement of the differences between their religious beliefs about worship. Jesus makes it clear that there is a time when the physical place we worship is not of importance, but that if we are true believers that we will worship the Father in spirit and in truth because these are the kinds of believers the Father seeks. It is interesting Jesus makes it clear we are to worship the Father, not him. We have met Christians who are Jesus only believers, which is to say they worship only Jesus because he is our Savior. However, we also should come to terms with the fact the Father is the one who sent Jesus and it is at the right hand of the Father where Jesus now sits. Yes, the Father has given all authority to his Son, Jesus, but the Father is still the Father and not the Son. Oh, here we go, into the triune Godhead. But the point is that Jesus tells her the point is to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Although it is true Jesus came to die on the cross, to be that perfect Lamb of God, that takes away our sin, he also spent his days revealing the Father to the people. He clearly said that if we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father. We wonder if we, the church, actually worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Do we sort of wrap the whole Father, Son and Spirit together by using the term, God? Of course, we do pray the Lord’s Prayer which does indicate we are praying to the Father. So then perhaps we are worshipping Yahweh, the Father, after all. But what does, spirit and truth mean? What we know is God is not in physical form, he is a Spirit and so we cannot worship him with our physical form, or with our lips, so to speak, just with words, but we must worship him with all our heart, soul, spirit and strength. It is not through rituals, or religious practices, such as certain doctrines or dogmas. It is about worshipping the Father with our whole inner being. The truth is simple, as Jesus is the truth. So then we worship the Father through the Son, or in other words, we see the Father through the revelation of the Son. We can know the true nature of the Father through all his dealings with the Old Testament people, specifically Israel, but Jesus has given us the complete revelation of the Father, his grace, his mercy, his justice, and his love. So as we worship, let us remember we do so in spirit and in truth.  

Gushing Up

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

GUSHING UP

John 4:1-14

4:1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"  8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."  11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

NIV

Having considered drinking from the same glass, let us now look at the words of Jesus, and the context of his words. Having asked her to give him a drink, and the woman being surprised that a Jewish man would even make such a request from a Samaritan woman, Jesus tells her about the living water he has to offer. Again, like many people, she was only thinking in the physical sense, of water, even living water which would be coming from Jacob’s well. Jesus makes it very clear to her that he has water available which is not about satisfying thirst, but that the living water he has to offer will actually become within a person a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The Greek word Jesus used translated welling up actually means more like gushing. This would be much like the Old Faithful geyser in Yellow Spring National Park. This is not just a little bubbling up, but a welling up, a gushing up all over so everyone can stand around and watch and if they get too close they will get soaked by all the living water that is gushing up from within us. That also makes us think that it has to almost be impossible for us to keep this spring of living water contained within us, that has to spring up, it has to well up, it has to gush up and out of us so people can see the living water, in fact, they will come just to see his spring of living water gushing up from within us.

Drinking at the springs of living water, Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy; drinking at the springs of living water, O wonderful and bountiful supply.

This is the chorus to that wonderful song about springs of living water. Indeed it does bring us eternal life and the song reflects an inward approach to this water, that is for us, but we still cannot help to think that we are now to a geyser of this living water. We cannot afford to be so conservative in our life, so sedate, as if we are unaffected by this spring of living water gushing up within us. We have to be full of this spring of living water, bubbling up within us, gushing up, flowing all over with the enthusiasm, the excitement of having eternal life. We cannot afford to stand still as though we are statues, even in the church, we have the spring of living water welling up within us. Should that not get us excited? Should that not be shaking within, just wanting to flow up, gush up, like that Old Faithful geyser? We will see just how excited this woman becomes when she realizes she has drunk from the spring of living water. Should we not have that same response? We have drunk from the spring of living water, how happy now am I. But we cannot keep it buried down inside, it has to gush up.

Drinking From the Same Glass

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DRINKING FROM THE SAME GLASS

John 4:1-14

4:1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"  8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."  11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

NIV

It is interesting that Jesus, or rather his disciples stop baptizing people just because the Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John. We are not told exactly why that would be a reason for Jesus to stop and just leave Judea and head off to Galilee. We can surmise the reason only because of our knowledge of the full story, having read all the gospel accounts, knowing the growing hatred of the Pharisees and how they were instrumental in the death of Jesus. It is also interesting that most any Jew going from Judea to Galilee would have to pass through Samaria. To avoid it, his route would have to go across the Jordan pass through Peraea and Decapolis then back again across the Jordan. That would be a much longer journey that we have to believe Jesus had something special in mind as he journeyed through Samaria. Of course, we have the complete exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman to give us the reason for this path of his journey. We have to believe Jesus does not do things by happenstance, but by the divine plan. It is also interesting John tells us that Jesus stopped to sit at the well because he was tired, but his disciples who traveled just as far as he did, went on into to town to buy food. Weren’t they tired too? Or was Jesus really not tired, but knew of his divine purpose to sit at the well so he could speak to this Samaritan woman? Again, we are not specifically told this is  why and how he knew what was going to happen, but it sure makes sense, knowing Jesus is divine and does possess divine knowledge even though he is in bodily form. He is still God in the flesh, lest we forget that. When the woman does appear to draw water from the well, Jesus asks her to give him a drink. John records Jews did not associate with Samaritans, however, that is not exactly what is going on. First, we have to know the Disciples headed into a Samaritan town to buy food, which would mean they had to have some association with Samaritans, exchanging money for food. What John was implying was that Jews did not use any utensils that a Samarian used, and here Jesus was going to drink from the same bucket and ladle this woman used. What is it that we learn from this? It this whole narrative needed in order to draw an application for our lives or can we see smaller applications from individual moments? We know the ultimate purpose was to bring salvation to this town through His exchange with this woman. But here we also can see that we should not be so aloft in our beliefs that we completely separate ourselves from unbelievers, keeping ourselves from using anything they use just because we don’t want to be like them. Jesus broke down that barrier in order to give her a divine gift, and should we not use whatever tools needed to bring that same divine gift to people? Whatever it takes to open their thinking to the truth of God seems appropriate, instead of being so stand-offish in our ways. Sure, we should not sin just to reach a sinner, but drinking from the same glass, metaphorically, should be the right thing to do in order to offer them salvation through Jesus Christ. We will see more as we go on in this narrative, but for now, let us consider how can we drink from the same glass.

Believe it or Not

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

John 3:31-36

31 "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."  

NIV

Having considered the Spirit who was given unlimited, and all that meant, we also need to ponder on this last statement about the Father placing everything in the hands of Jesus. This is somewhat like an earthly father bequeathing all his earthly possessions to his one and only son, or giving his son all of his inheritance, much like the parable Jesus taught about the prodigal son. God has given Jesus all there is, the whole of the universe, everything that exists is now in the hands of Jesus. That means we are in the hands of Jesus, our future lies in his hands. He can do whatever he desires with everything and everyone. However, Jesus has already done everything when he went to the cross. Because we believe in Jesus, in what he did on that cross, and that he is now sitting at the place of honor at the right hand of the Father, we have eternal life. It is a good thing that all we have to do is believe in order to have this eternal life. If it depended on anything we do or not do, we would be in serious trouble and would never ever qualify for eternal life. Sure, we need to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. We get that, and there are attitudes and behaviors that need to change so that we are pleasing him, but those are not qualifiers for eternal life. It is by faith we are saved, believing in Jesus, and there is nothing else, which we are grateful for, to say the least. One problem we should be cognizant of is regarding those poor souls who have rejected Jesus.  They have a problem whether they know it or not. They only do not have eternal life, but they are going to experience the wrath of God. If we know one thing for certain is that God is just, from which we get the whole idea of justice. It is really simple, believe and live, refuse to believe and die. Perhaps the more correct way to phrase that is, believe and have life, refuse to believe and do not have life. There are all sorts of ideas or theological positions regarding what happens to those who remain under the wrath of God. We do know from the parable of Lazarus and the rich man there are two destinations that are separated by a great chasm. Lazarus, who represents the believer goes to the bosom of Abraham, actually, Jesus said that he died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died, but he was buried in hell or hades where he was in torment. It is interesting that Jesus did not say Lazarus was buried. However, this parable of Jesus demonstrates the justice of God. It is up to each person to decide if they are like Lazarus or the rich man. God gives us the freedom to choose our own destination, but once we choose and if that choice remains intact at the moment of our death, our fate is sealed, justice will prevail. Now as to the final destinations of both, there still is some concern, as those who go to heaven will evidentially end up in the new city of Jerusalem on the new earth under the new heaven, while those in hades will be cast into the burning lake of sulfur along with hades itself. Nevertheless, it still comes down to believe in him or not. Believe the Bible or not. Believe God or not. It is sort of like Ripples believe it or not, but the facts are right there, the proof is right before our eyes, so we believe.

Flow Spirit Flow

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

FLOW SPIRIT FLOW

John 3:31-36

31 "The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."  

NIV

These are the continuing words or responses of John the Baptist to the comments of certain Jews about Jesus now baptizing more people than John. There is no question that men of the earth, we humans can only speak of what we know about the earth and the things which happen on the earth, either from the personal experiences of others or of our own experiences. Certainly, we have more ways in our modern culture, with its many-faceted methods of communication, we can share and know far more about the things of this earth than the people of that era in which Jesus walked the earth. Still, with all our new methods of communication, we can only speak of the things of earth. Jesus, on the other hand, was before the beginning of time, in fact, nothing was made that was not made by him. Jesus speaks from that perspective and thus he speaks of heaven, earth and all else that has ever and will ever exist for all eternity. So when it comes to accepting the words, or the testimony of either man or Jesus, it makes perfect sense to accept the testimony of Jesus. Who else can truly speak of eternal matters? It is for certain some men, if not all, makeup things or testify falsely about things, but Jesus is always truthful as he is the truth, the light, and the way. He is the only source of life eternal, the only way we will ever see the kingdom of God, wherever that is. There is some discussion among theologians of different denominations as to what the kingdom of God means. Is it a physical place, much like the Garden of Eden, or it is a spiritual place in which we can now reside as children of God? Is it the place that Jesus went to prepare for us so that where he is, we too will be? Is that place the kingdom of God? Jesus spoke much about the kingdom of God, making comparisons to things we know on the earth. He always was saying, “The kingdom of God is like” then talked about something here. He also said the kingdom of God is near, and the kingdom of God has come to you. What we do know is that our citizenship is in the kingdom of God, and that gives us something else. John makes it clear that God gives the Spirit without limit. This would mean the Spirit has no limits, he has all the power of God, as the Spirit is God. However, what appears is that we attempt to limit the power of the Spirit, by our unbelief. The Spirit comes to dwell within us, as Jesus said he would, that we would be baptized with fire, meaning the Spirit, as he was manifested in those in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. The point is the Spirit, who dwells within us, brings all his fruit and gifts with him without limits. He has no governor or restrictions on him, except what we impose by our unbelief or refusal to accept all his power. Some theologians or churches have made determinations or testify certain aspects of the Spirit are no longer valid in our culture and time, thus they have refused his unlimited power. What we have to come to terms with is whether we are going to accept the testimony of men, or of God. It would seem this is a no-brainer. We have to accept the testimony of God and thus allow the Spirit full access to our lives and do and work as he will within us. This is not a matter of theology or theological discussion. This is the Word of God and he has given the Spirit, both without any measure, which is God has given the total fullness of the Spirit, not holding any of the Spirit back, giving him or making him available to all men, and given the Spirit, not withholding any of his power. So we pray, Flow Spirit flow, fall fresh on me!

More or Less

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

MORE OR LESS

John 3:22-30

22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25 An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26 They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan — the one you testified about — well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." 27 To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.

NIV

The Apostle John takes some time to set up the scene for what truth is revealed in this conversation between some certain Jews and John the Baptist. The first truth we should deal with is this response of John, “A man can receive only that is given him from heaven”. Sometimes we might think that we can become anything we desire if we work hard enough. But that kind of thinking would seem to be one hundred percent humanistic and keeps God out of the equation completely. We have to come to terms with the fact God knit us together in our mother’s womb. We are who we are because we are a creation of God, who is the ultimate sovereign authority over all things including us. What we have received and we are not even considering material things, we have received from heaven. That means our souls, our minds and our spirits. Whatever abilities we have, they are God-given. Whatever intelligence we have, it is God-given. Whatever personality we have, it too has to be God-given and all that comes together for the purpose God has for our lives, our calling, our mission, our task in life and in service to His kingdom. What seems to happen in life, is that before we acknowledge God, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we would believe that we are in control of our own life, our own destiny, that we are the caption of our own ship, going and doing wherever and whatever we want to do. When the Spirit finally breaks through our thick exterior and is able to reveal Jesus to us, we turn around and change the course of our life, or rather he turns us around. What we learn if we are willing to open our spirit to Him, is that we must decrease and He must increase. Jesus must become greater in us that we must become less in us. We are not the captain of our own ship, Jesus is now in charge and in fact is the whole ship, rudder, and all-determining the direction of our life. Maybe there is some kind of transition in which little by little we turn more and more aspects of our life over to Jesus. It seems this may be a continual process as it also seems our self still has certain desires of its own. Although that born again experience was indeed a moment in time, growing up in Christ, becoming a child, preteen, teenager, and eventually an adult takes some time. So our learning to become less while Jesus becomes more in us takes some time to complete. The amount of time it takes might be up to how much we are willing to become less. So then it is a matter of more or less.

Life or Perish

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LIFE OR PERISH

John 3:16-21

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.   19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."   

NIV

We have come to the long-awaited John 3:16 which seems to show up on some sign or poster at most every sporting event. It must mean that every person on the planet knows exactly what that verse says. But we doubt that, for if that did, there would be no need for evangelism as everyone would be a believer. Perhaps one of the reasons people are not inspired to believe because of these words of Jesus is that do not believe Jesus is real. Perhaps they think God is just a figment of our imagination. Maybe they just do not want to believe because deep down in their heart, they know they would have to give up those dark behaviors. But why would someone choose to perish? Again we are faced with this idea of perishing as opposed to having eternal life. It is the position of most denominations that to perish means to live in forever torment in hell. There is enough other scripture to support that position. Nevertheless, however one sees the idea of perishing, it is certainly far less, no extremely less desirable then having eternal life. The other theology which would seem to be in opposition to the fact that God so loved the world, and that whosoever believes. God does not love just a select group of people or an elected few, but he loves the whole world implying he loves all of His creation, all mankind so much that he sent Jesus to die on the cross to take away the sins of all mankind, however, it does depend on someone believing that in order for them not to perish but have eternal life. God did it for all, but each person must accept his act of love and make it their own, or apply his love to their life. This bears out in the rest of what Jesus says. If we believe in him we are not condemned. However, if we do not believe in him we stand condemned and he explains the reason it is because we do not believe in the name of one and only Son, Jesus. It is one thing to say “I believe in God” but does that imply that a person believes in the name of Jesus? Jesus goes on to say the reason some chose perish is that they love darkness. They think their evil deeds can be hidden in the dark and they do not want the light of Jesus exposing their deeds. How foolish to think anyone can hide from the sight of God. Do they think God cannot see into the darkness of their heart? We are living proof he can, for we once lived in that city of darkness and death. The light of Jesus penetrated that darkness within us and we were able to see his light, his love and we made that choice to cast of that darkness, leave it behind and follow his light into a city filled with his light and life. The darkness no longer holds any bond on us, we have been set free from that bondage to sin. That does not mean we are sinless. God forbid, that we would have that kind of prideful attitude. It is just we have no desire to live in darkness, so as we fail, we look to God, and he has forgiven our sin because we believe in the one he sent. Yes, we ask for that forgiveness, which makes us different than those who refuse to come into the light. However, on the other hand, we should be shining our light so we might help them see the light of Jesus. It all comes down to believe and have life, refuse and perish. We will always choose life.

Born Again

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BORN AGAIN

John 3:1-15

3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."  4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."  9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. 10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven — the Son of Man.   14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  

NIV

There is so much in this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus we have to take it a little at a time, in fact, there is actually more, including that great verse, John 3:16. So, for now, let us consider the first truth Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. What we first notice is that Nicodemus never asked the question which Jesus answered. However, we also know Jesus knew what was in the heart of Nicodemus and took the opportunity to speak directly to the question of his heart. Although there were many different views regarding the resurrection of a man’s soul, the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection and thus some form of an afterlife and being a Jew, worshipping YHWH, or how we spell it, Jehovah, had to have some idea of where that afterlife would be in relationship to YHWH. Jesus told Nicodemus that this place was, in fact, the kingdom of God. But there again, the idea of the kingdom of God had different meanings to different sects of the Jews. Some thought the Messiah would set up His kingdom on earth, overturning any oppressive foreign rule over the Jewish people and would rule the world from Jerusalem. We know that is not what Jesus had in mind when he referenced the kingdom of God, for the proof is in history. The kingdom of God is spiritual and yet a physical place and Jesus made sure we know that in order to see this place, we have to be born again. Nicodemus was just seeing with his physical mind, not with his spiritual mind. This truth bears out in so many scriptures, but especially in the fact that we were dead in our sin, but alive in Christ. The fact we were dead in our sin does not speak of our physical bodies, which were and can only be born once, but it speaks regarding our spirit which was born once, but through sin, it died and is in need of being born again in Christ. Spiritual death is horrible for it opposes eternal life. The question begs to be asked. What happens to a dead spirit when the body which houses it dies? That is one question that must be left unanswered due to denominational interpretations and bias. Most of them would say that dead spirits would go to hell or eternal punishment. The point is that is one place we do not want to experience and that is the reason God sent his Son, to be our sacrifice and give us the opportunity for our spirit to be born again. Now, there also seems to be some controversy as to how a person is a Christian or gets to go to heaven. We have known people who confess their faith in Jesus, but say they just grew up believing or evolved into believing as they grew up. They cannot point to a moment in time of their spiritual rebirth, or that moment they confessed their sin and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But the fact remains Jesus said that in order for us to see the kingdom of God we have to be born again. Physical birth is a moment, the first instant we leave the womb and take our first breath, although we come into this world with a dead spirit because of what is referred to as original sin because we are all descendants of Adam. So in order for us to see this kingdom of God, our spirit must experience another moment in time when it is born again, this time born of God, not of man. We are so thankful we, our true nature, our spirit has been born again.  

He Knows

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HE KNOWS

John 2:23-25

23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.   24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

NIV

This comment by John comes right after the incident in the temple and the prophetic words of Jesus about destroying this temple and he would raise it up in three days. It is the Passover Feast, and as a good Jew, Jesus is in Jerusalem, except he was not just being a Jew, he was being a miracle worker. John does not give us an account of everything Jesus did, but what we do know is that Jesus took the opportunity to do good deeds, or miracles such as healings, in the midst of a multitude of people. The population of Jerusalem would have been swollen immensely due to the time of the Passover Feast and so Jesus knew that he had a larger audience than normal thus many more people would have the chance to know he is the Christ and believe.  This should encourage us to take the same opportunity when we are with groups of people. Sometimes we hear the newest fad of witnessing as this "one on one" method as being the best. Jesus encounters one on one times, as we will soon see with his conversation with Nicodemus, however, for the most part, Jesus spent his time with the crowds, teaching, and preaching, showing miraculous signs, with many believing in him. We are not sure if we could do miracles, but that is one of the gifts of the Spirit. Maybe we are living far too short of our possibilities as Christians. Maybe if we allow the Spirit full access, he would manifest himself in such a powerful way, multitudes of people would be coming to Jesus. Although Jesus did such miracles, John says that he did not entrust himself to the people, for he knew all men. This should give us one more clue that Jesus was divine, he was God as he made all men and Jesus was omniscient. He knew what was in their hearts and the fickleness of man, that at any moment they could turn on him and seek his death if they were so persuaded by the Jewish leaders, which happened, but this was not the time, so he was cautious and prudent regarding himself and his actions. This might also serve as a guide for us as well. There is a time for miracles and there is a time to be cautious as well. However, what we can learn, or should realize is that because Jesus is divine and knows all, he acted accordingly and he knows the heart of men, the falseness, or hypocrisy that exists. He knows the false pretentions and the profession of the hypocrites, but he also knows his true friends, his true believers, and the pure in heart, those who know they are sinners, and confess their sins, knowing his forgiveness, his righteousness, his grace, and mercy. He hears our groans, he sees our sighs, he counts our tears and in those times we have needs, Jesus will come to relieve us. He is our Lord and Savior and we can put our trust in him, and he has not withheld or is cautious and prudent with us, as he has revealed himself in the fullest to us. He has been on the cross for us and taken all our sins with him to the grave and left them there, as he rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Jesus has held nothing back from us and therefore we should hold nothing back from him. He knows our heart, so how could we ever think of trying to hide anything from him? Let us live to the fullest in the love and light of Jesus, giving Him our all.

New Temple Life

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

NEW TEMPLE LIFE

John 2:12-22

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"  17 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me."   18 Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."  20 The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

NIV

There has been a lot of interpretations regarding the action of Jesus in the temple in this narrative as well as in the accounts of the other gospels. However, first, we should consider what John says about those who went down to Capernaum with Jesus. John indicates the mother of Jesus, along with his brothers and also his disciples. In the Greek interlinear, it appears it is meant his brothers are different than his disciples. We know at this point we only know of four disciples, Peter, Andrew, Phillip, and Nathanael. There is some controversy denominationally regarding the everlasting virginity of Mary. This is mostly between Catholic and most protestant faiths. From our view, it would make sense that Joseph and Mary knew each other as husband and wife, in other words, were intimate and had other children who would have been in some sense the brothers, and maybe sisters, of Jesus, having the same mother, but different fathers. The Catholic view is Mary remained a virgin her whole life, in fact, they do not believe she was married after giving birth to Jesus because the actual marriage feast of Joseph and Mary is not recorded. However, the gospel of Matthew makes it clear that Joseph did exactly what the angel told him, and took Mary home to be his wife. It is inconceivable in that culture that a married couple would not have many children. So let us just believe the scripture apart from denominationalism. Now, as far as Jesus cleansing the temple there is some differences of opinions as to what and why this happened. We, of course, hear this narrative with modern ears or see it in the context of our modern ideas, but in fact, that culture would have seen his actions in the temple differently. Our modern thinking wants to focus on the righteous indignation of Jesus.  Jesus is, in fact, acting out the coming destruction of the temple which would happen in AD 70 by the Romans. In the context, he is questioned to prove his authority for doing what he did. He responds by telling them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”. John makes sure we know Jesus was talking about his body. We could get into a great theological dissertation or debate regarding all the ramifications or meanings surrounding this event. But that would not give us what we need to see devotionally. By what Jesus did and said he was in fact making the point that he would now be the temple, which is the place God dwells with his people. All the temple system, the sacrifice system, the temple life, its significance to the people, were all going to be replaced by Jesus, himself. Viewing all the rest of scripture, we can see that Jesus is the chief cornerstone of the new temple and we, being in Christ are living stones being built into the temple of God, the place God dwells with his people, within us. But Jesus is also the capstone, which also indicates that we are completely in Christ. Our lives are built based on the cornerstone and thus we will be all squared away and Christ holds us all together, keeps us from collapsing as the capstone does for an arch. Being the temple of the Holy Spirit, being believers, then the only sacrifice which is acceptable in the temple is ourselves as we present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual act of worship. Being in Christ is the new temple life.  

The Best

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE BEST

John 2:1-11

2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." 4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."  5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.  7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." 11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

NIV

First, we should note there is some discussion among our scholars as to what the third day meant. Was it the third day after the conversation between Jesus and Nathanael or was it the third day of the wedding feast? In all reality, it really doesn’t matter except John, as inspired by the Spirit, included that fact. What we do know historically is wedding feasts usually lasted seven days and so it most likely appears from the context of the narrative this would be the third day of the feast as the bridegroom’s supply of wine had run out. Either more guests showed up than expected or he and his family did not expect their guests to drink so much, or simply they under calculated or maybe even could not afford any more then what that had supplied. Either way, the wine had run out and as Mary, the mother of Jesus had been invited along with Jesus and his friends, which would only be four at this point, Phillip, Andrew, Peter, and Nathanael. Would we not know or expect a woman to notice her hosts’ predicament of running low or having completely run out of wine? It always seems women are more sensitive to situations, but then we are also talking about the mother of Jesus. Mary knew more about Jesus than anyone else. She knew he was conceived within her by God and not by a man. She held all those memories about the gifts from the men from the East, and the stories the shepherds told her about the hosts of angels who told them about her baby. She held all those memories and more, like the time they accidentally left him behind in Jerusalem and later found him in the temple courts and his response that they should have known he would be in his Father’s house. Interesting as he was being raised in Joseph’s house, but Jesus referred to the temple as his Father’s house. Mary had so many memories, she had to know Jesus would be able to do something extraordinary for their host. It is also interesting she did not ask him, but simply informed him of their need, perhaps with full knowledge he would not refuse her. What we learn and also know full well that Jesus never refuses when we have a need. Can anyone say, Jesus said no to them? Well, maybe if we said our need was a million dollars or a big yacht, or a trip around the world or some other bizarre request which would be totally out of the will of God in our lives. But then we have so been instructed about those kinds of requests. Nevertheless, Jesus said that we could ask anything in his name, still, we have to contain ourselves to the will of God. Mary just told him the need and his response to her was not disrespectful at all by not calling her mother, but dear women. He used the same exact word when he spoke to her from the cross. His mention that his time had not come may have been to forestall any miracle, but it also may have been to wait for the exact time when everyone, especially the hosts realized they were completely out of all sources of wine so that what he provided would be the only wine there. Whatever the reason, Jesus did provide the best there was as he always does. We can be assured that when Jesus provides something for us, it is the best for us. Yes, we might be able to see someone who we think as something better than us, but that is also Jesus providing the best for them, as he does for us. What we have, we have from the hand of God, provided by Jesus. The first and foremost thing Jesus has provided for us is forgiveness of sin, redemption, and eternal life. Could anything be any better? Sure we might have a good life here, as the host provided good wine for his guests, but not the best wine. Jesus provided the best, and he also does that in our lives. There are some people throughout the world that may not have a good life, even believers, who suffer under the rule of tyrants, even killed because of their faith, but Jesus has provided them with life everlasting, and their pain and suffering will be no more. Jesus always provides the best. Let us always be glad and thankful for the provisions of Jesus and that the Father provided us with Jesus. He is the best provision of God.