No Troubled Heart

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

NO TROUBLED HEART

John 14:1-7

14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."  5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." 

NIV

Why in the world would we ever let our hearts be troubled? Has not Jesus told us not to let, to allow, to permit our hearts to be troubled? If then if we do allow our hearts to be troubled then we are in disobedience to his word, and that would then be considered a sin. Our hearts are under our own control. We can either have a hardened heart, a softened heart, a peaceful heart, or a troubled heart. The Greek word translated as trouble has a direct meaning of agitate or stir up, but also it is used to as to cause one inward commotion, take away calmness of mind, to disquiet, to make restless. We know for certain the world has that exact purpose. The philosophies of this world are central in causing someone to have an inward commotion, to take away any calmness there might be and create a state of restlessness. This always wanting more, or better, is in the core of restlessness. A troubled heart is in direct opposition to trusting God. One cannot trust God and have a troubled heart, it is an either/or condition of our hearts. Why would anyone choose to have a troubled heart over trusting God? We suppose one of the main reasons we would allow our hearts to be troubled is that we think we are the solution to the reason for our hearts being in commotion. We might actually think to worry about any problem we might be having, helps. But it does not help, in fact, he actually causes us harm. Worry or stress has a very adverse effect on our bodies. The medical professionals have listed low energy, headaches, upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea, aches, pain, and tense muscles, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, insomnia, frequent colds, and infections, as well as loss of sexual desire and/or ability as many of the symptoms of stress.  Why would a person do that much harm to themselves when the solution is so simple, trust God. And if we trust God then we would automatically trust Jesus. Again, how do we separate Jesus from God for Jesus is God? In the context it would seem Jesus is referring to the Father as God and himself as the Son. If we trust the Father then we must also trust the Son. If we have seen the Son, and we have, for His word is the way to seeing him, as well as it also gives us sight into the Father. Seeing in this context may not be referring to the sight of our eyes, but rather the seeing within our heart. This is the understanding seeing, such as when we get something for the first time, we say, “Oh, I see”. We have not used our eyes, but our minds, or heart to see. So we see Jesus, and thus we see the Father. We get it, we understand, we comprehend that the path to peace and tranquility is trusting God. This trust is not just about salvation, but it is about our daily lives, our walk through this life, what we do each day. Why worry when God is in control? Why try to steer our own ship, when God is at the helm? What it comes down to is let go and let God. If we try to keep a hold on our life, then a troubled heart with be the result. If we let God have control, if we trust God, then a peaceful heart will follow. We will get to the rest of these words, but for now, this trust issue is enough to ponder on.

Love Each Other

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LOVE EACH OTHER

 John 13:31-38

31 When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."  37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." 38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

NIV

We have just seen Jesus reveal the betrayer, Judas, and we are told when he left it was night. We are thinking that meant it was the night that Jesus would be arrested after Jesus and his disciples left the room prepared for the evening meal and cross over the Kidron Valley to the garden. It could also be considered night in another sense, the Light of the world was soon to be extinguished. However, let us just go with the fact we are told it is now night, the sun has gone down. What Jesus had meant to be his resemblance to the Passover with his disciples was over, as each day is finished at sunset. Now he begins a long series of teachings for their benefit, to remember after he is gone. He starts out by telling them that he has now been glorified and God is glorified in him. The whole point of this lesson about being glorified is that God is the one who is glorified and does the glorification of both himself and his Son. This would apply to each of us as well. There is no point in trying to bring any type of glory to ourselves. Our purpose is to bring glory to God and if there is any glory to be had in us, He will do the glorifying. What better way to receive glory than from God. Would it not be great to have God say that we were a man (or woman) after his own heart? Well, back to the narrative. Why would Jesus tell his disciple that where is going they cannot come, when just a little later he tells Peter he will indeed follow him sometime later. Jesus must be talking about the cross, about becoming the sacrifice for the sin of the world. He is the only one who can accomplish this and so although his disciples have gone everywhere with him since he called them to come and follow him, they cannot follow him on the cross. This is for him and him alone to go. However, there is something which they can do, and that is this new command, this new authoritative prescription for life, he gives them and it also is applied to us. We are to love each other just as Jesus loves us. Sometimes that is a hard pill to swallow. However, if we had something physical going on within, like in this time, say we contracted Covid-19 and we know it could be life-threatening, so we go to the doctor and he gives us a prescription, we would gladly take it and take all of it, faithfully as if our life depended in it. Jesus gives us an authoritative prescription and we need to take it, and take all of it to heart, as though our lives depend on it. Of course, we know eternal life is not dependent of our doing good deeds, or on loving each other, but at the same time, we should make every effort to take our medication Jesus has prescribed. What does loving each other as he loves us look like? He loves us so much he gave his life for us, so we could, through faith in him, have eternal life. How can we give our lives for each other? If that were in a physical sense, none of us would be left to love each other. So then there has to be a metaphorical or spiritual sense in which we can love each other like he loves us. That would have to look more like putting the needs of others before our own needs. That would mean we should never be too busy doing our own thing that we do not have time to do something for someone else. Of course, if all we do is constantly doing something for others, it might seem our needs, or things we have to get done would never be accomplished. We do have to go to work for ourselves, we have to shop and do things around our homes, etc. But, the point seems to be that we have to be ready, and willing to help a brother or sister in need. This might look more like having to make time for others. In all reality, if we were always doing everything for everyone else, we would then be living each other’s lives. So it has to come down to simply being there for each other when a need arises. There is also another sense in which that if we love each other as Jesus loves us, then we would do no harm to each other, which would mean that we do not judge each other, or gossip about each other, or criticize each other, or even form any kind of ill feelings toward each other. Here is where, we the church, may need some improvement. There could be other aspects as well as expressing this love for each other. The Lord gives us insight into how this may look when he inspired Paul to write to the Corinthians, and especially in that thirteenth chapter. What we know for sure is that his authoritative prescription for our lives is to love each other.

Betrayer or Friend

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BETRAYER OR FRIEND

John 13:18-30

18 "I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'   19 "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. 20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." 

21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."  22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means." 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" 26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, 28 but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

NIV

We have come to the actual time of the betrayal being exposed. Judas had already betrayed Jesus. Luke gives us the details of Judas going to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard to discuss how he might betray Jesus. That is what event, what time, what place would be the best in order to accomplish this act of betrayal. Luke also tells us the chief priests were delighted and agreed to give him money. What we know is that Satan cannot make somebody do such a thing, unless it is already within the depravity of their heart. We know Judas was a thief, having helped himself to some of the money of the purse he carried for the expenses of Jesus and his disciples. There was within him this sin of greed, and Satan used this against Judas, tempting him with his weakness within his heart. There is an interesting point in this narrative where Jesus says that he was not referring to all of them. He tells them although he has chosen all twelve of them, in order to fulfill the scripture, the one he shared his bread has lifted up his heel against him. Jesus was quoting from psalm 41:9

Ps 41:9

9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

NIV

However, we find that it is interesting Jesus does not quote the whole of the verse, but just the last portion. Perhaps Jesus never trusted Judas nor considered him to be a friend. It appears that Jesus knew all along, which makes perfect sense since he is divine and thus omniscient, that when he picked or called Judas, it was because he knew the heart of Judas, the pattern of lies and greed that would cause him to be the one to betray Jesus, which had to be done in order for him to go to the cross. It is interesting that later on after Judas had left and they were continuing their discussions, Jesus tells the eleven that he no longer calls them servants, but that now he calls them friends. This is where that song came from with the words, “I am a friend of God”. This proves the point that Jesus did not consider Judas a friend but saw him as a betrayer from the beginning, yet he did not turn him away, for this was how he would get to the cross. The plan was in place and he used a hardened, callous, or evil heart to accomplish his plan. Jesus makes it clear at this table of the evening meal that he knows his non-friend, his betrayer and he is going to reveal him at this time. It is the one who he dips the bread and gives it to. It is interesting that the heart of betrayal will always be revealed. We should be encouraged to know that Jesus sees us as friends rather than as betrayers. It does not mean we have no sin. We only have to see how God felt about David, a man who sinned but also repented. He is the only man whom God testifies is a man after His own heart. What we know is our heart is bent toward God, although we still fail. We are not like Judas, having a hardened heart bent on self-fulfillment or greed. Although we have questioned ourselves at times when we have failed and done so miserably if by doing so, was it a form of betrayal. Then we know it is not as we have sought his forgiveness, repented and moved on in our journey with him. He has assured us our sin has been forgiven, all our past, our present, and any of our future sin, because we are in Christ. Our faith in Christ has not wavered. He sees us as his friend, not as a betrayer.

Washed to be Made Clean

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

WASHED TO BE MADE CLEAN

John 13:1-17

13:1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.  

2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."  8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."  9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" 10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."  11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

NIV

We are a little unsettled regarding this idea this translation gives saying that Jesus now showed them the full extent of his love. Other translations say he loved them to the end, and that seems to be how the Greek voices it. Although this translation has a footnote expressing it could be said, until the end, and the other translations have footnotes that it could be, he showed them the full extent of his ultimate love. The Greek word translated as the end or full extent can mean either or both of those meanings. What is unsettling is that we do not understand how there could ever be an end to the love of Jesus for his own that are in the world. What would have been the end that those translations mean? The end of his earthly life? It was not quite at an end yet while he was washing their feet. The end would not come until he was on the cross, but that act would have been a demonstration of his ultimate love for us. Then how could washing the feet of his disciples be an expression of his love to the end or the full extent of his love? Examining the wholeness of this text, the complete dialogue between Jesus and Peter, we are thinking Jesus is showing something of what is to come. By washing their feet, which was normally done by a servant in the household, before the dinner was served, he was demonstrating two truths. First, as his concluding remarks, we are to serve one another. That is to say, we should not think of ourselves above others, or greater than others, but be willing to wash their feet, so to speak. We could expand on that truth, looking at how that should apply to our daily lives, but that might take far more than we have space for in this type of expression of our thoughts. The second truth we also notice is when Jesus tells Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me”. We have to believe it was not about washing his feet with water, but about washing him with his blood. The words of Jesus were in that sense prophetic. Peter was not wanting Jesus to wash his feet. He was offended that the person he esteemed as the Christ, the Master, and the Teacher would stoop so low as to act like a servant. What is interesting is this is coming from a fisherman, not someone of noble birth. Yet, in another sense, Peter, as a believer, as someone who is born again, is actually now of noble birth. This would also mean that we too are of noble birth at this point in our lives and as such we are to act as the servant to others. Jesus was the Noble of nobles, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, and he was being the servant. His ultimate act of service was, of course, the cross, and that is the act in which he washes us with his blood. That is this act of love which makes us clean, as he told Peter he was clean, although not every one of them. Judas had already yielded to the prompting of Satan, and was not clean, for he was about to betray Jesus. It is interesting people who are not born again, who in that sense are betraying Jesus are not clean, they have not been washed in his blood. Although he shed his blood for the whole world, for every person, each one must come to the point of allowing Jesus to wash them. Just as Peter was not wanting Jesus to wash his feet, people have the choice to refuse being washed in the blood of Jesus. If anyone wants to be a part of Jesus, they must be washed, and then they, as we, will be clean.

Authoritative Prescription

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

AUTHORITATIVE PRESCRIPTION

John 12:47-50

47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." 

NIV

As we have already looked into these words of Jesus, but only considered the idea of accepting or rejecting his words and what he meant by keeping his words, we also saw something else that was interesting as well. When Jesus said that he did not speak of his own accord, but the Father, who sent him, commanded him what to say and how to say it. Then he makes this very interesting comment. He said that he knows that his, the Father’s command leads to eternal life. The Greek word translated as command carries the meaning of an authoritative prescription. We are wondering then just what does it mean to keep the commandments of God. What is his authoritative prescription that leads to eternal life? Certainly, it is not in keeping any set of rules, such as what is called the Ten Commandments. They do not lead to eternal life. It is also for certain that in keeping any of what is called the Law of Moses leads to eternal life. It would also make sense that any rule or ordinance of any denomination does not lead to eternal life. So then the only command, the only authoritative prescription that leads to eternal life is to accept the words of Jesus, which is accepting the fact the Father sent Him into the world to die on the cross for our sins and thus by our faith in Jesus we inherit eternal life. God commands that in order to have eternal life we need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So then we can say that we have obeyed the command of God. The only disobedience that would count against us and thus would not lead to eternal life is refusing to accept Jesus. All our other types of disobedience, which we would, or rather God defines as sin, does not forfeit our eternal life, for those forms of disobedience have been washed, cleansed, covered in the blood of Jesus. It is not that we go around finding ways to sin just so the grace of God will be even more evident or abound, as some translations say. No, not at all. But the fact remains when we do fail or when we are not able to attain perfection and make those mistakes, we do not lose our salvation. The only way to lose it is to reject Jesus. Then some would say if we ever reject him, it would have meant we never accepted him in the first place. That does not matter one way or another for those are only thoughts of men, not of God. The only thoughts that count, are the words of Jesus, and he only said what the Father commanded him to say and just how to say it. There is another application for us in that truth as well. Maybe we should consider saying only what God tells us to say and how we are to say it. What would that look like in our daily life? That certainly would eliminate such things like gossip, or ridicule. It might also keep us from judgmental type speech or even attitude. The idea that Jesus said about even looking at something with lust, means we are guilty of that sin. So then could our thoughts also be considered what we say, in a sense, and how we say it. Have we not been told if there is anything true, noble, right, pure, admirable, lovely and excellent and praiseworthy, to think on those things. Then it would make perfect sense if that is what was in our thoughts, our words would follow suit, and then we would be saying what God wants us to say and just how to say it. The authoritative prescription that leads to eternal life is by faith in Jesus, and the authoritative prescription for our daily life is to be like Jesus.

Accept or Reject

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ACCEPT OR REJECT

John 12:44-50

44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." 

NIV

These words of Jesus that John records for us are just after, and most likely a response to the fact that even though Jesus did all those miracles in front of them, they still would not believe in him. John also told us that it was just as the prophet Isaiah had foretold it would be. Now Jesus makes it clear once more that he is the Light of the world. If we see Jesus we also see the Father. Did Jesus mean in regard to a physical appearance or in regard to his personality or both? So many people want to make God a non-gender entity, or a spiritual force of types, a non- being. But Jesus consistently referred to the one who sends him as Father. The Greek word which is always translated as a father is pater, and it always means a male parent. There is absolutely no mistake here as the Greek word for mother is meter, pronounced like may-tare. So we have no doubt whatsoever that Jesus, who was a man, indicated that seeing him was just like looking at his Father, both in appearance and in character. It is not uncommon at all within humanity for a son to look like his father. He has much of his father’s genetics. As God, whom that word denotes the whole of the Trinity, said, “Let there be light” referring to the sun or daylight, those words were also prophetic in regards to Him being the Light, His Son, Jesus being the true Light who came into the world to show men the way to eternal life. Now here is where it gets a little dicey. What exactly did Jesus mean about a person who hears his words but does not keep them? We should not confuse the words, keep them, as trying to obey every word of Jesus or making a set of laws to follow in order to attain perfection so as to have eternal life, or not be judged and condemned on the last day. How could we ever hope to not be judged because it is impossible to be perfect, to perfectly follow every command of God, every word of Jesus, and keep them all absolutely one hundred percent? If we think we are able, if we say we have no sin, we only deceive ourselves and call God a liar. The truth is we have been freed from the guilt and penalty of sin. Within the context of what Jesus said here, he is referring to accepting him, accepting his words that he is the Light of the world, rather than rejecting him. Those who reject Him will be judged for that and that alone. We who have accepted him will not be judged or condemned, but we will be judged as children of the light, accepted as children of God, invited into the paradise that Jesus went ahead of us to prepare specifically for those of us who accepted him and kept his word, his invitation to follow him, to have eternal life. Our salvation has absolutely nothing to do with how good we are, how many rules we can follow correctly, how few times we sin, or how many times we sin, for as we are still in this flesh we will fail, the question is not how many or how few, the fact is we will fail. If we fail only once in our lifetime of being a Christian, it is the same as if we failed once each day, failure is still not perfection. No, we have accepted the words of Jesus, we have accepted him as being our Messiah, the Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our one and only source of eternal life. We have accepted being freed from the penalty of sin, that Jesus paid the price for our sin in full. No other payment is needed. We have accepted that he has washed us, cleansed us completely in, and by his blood. We have accepted that all our sins have been washed away, forgiven forever. God will never bring them up to us again, never, ever will be held accountable, because we are in Christ. God sees us as holy and blameless because we have accepted and are in Jesus. Do we try to live rightly? Of course, we make every effort to live in a manner that pleases God. But the only and the best manner we could ever live in order to please God is to accept the words of Jesus. Although we also try to live as good a life as a believer we can, we know it will never be good enough, no matter how good we think we are, we will never be good enough. Should we then just give up trying? No, of course not, but we also cannot and should not get caught up in some set of rules or regulations that we have determined to be the right way to interpret his words. Let us just know for sure that we have accepted Jesus, and we will keep accepting his words. We have not and will not reject Jesus as our Lord and Savior as he is the only way to the Father. The Last day will come down to either being in or out, based only on accepting or rejecting Jesus.

Nothing in Secret

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

NOTHING IN SECRET

John 12:37-43

37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

"Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"   

39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40 "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn — and I would heal them."  

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

NIV

It still comes down to allowing the Spirit to do his work. The passages John quotes from Isaiah are not the cause of these people's unbelief, or refusal to believe, but only the prediction, the prophecy of this happening. Isaiah foretold how men would harden their hearts against the truth regarding the Messiah. It does seem as though the words of Isaiah as quoted here, or rather as translated here would indicate God blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, but what do we do with the end of that sentence, ‘and I would heal them’? It is interesting many of the translations say the He has blinded their eyes. Although the Greek word is causative which means to cause to be blind or to make blind, it is assumed God did it. It is also interesting the Hebrew Septuagint says:

'You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; | you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' | [10] This people's heart has become calloused; | they hardly hear with their ears, | and they have closed their eyes

NIV

It is the hardening of a person’s heart is the reason or cause for their eyes not to see and their ears not to hear, for if they did turn God would heal them. Did God and does God cause people to not hear or see the truth or does he simply allow them to harden their hearts and then leave them to their condition, yet still desiring for them to turn so he could heal them. God does not force his healing upon people, it must be their choice. It is inconsistent with his character to force people to have a hardened heart. He may use a hardened heart for his purpose as he did with Pharaoh, so he could show his power and might. He may well increase the hardness of a man’s heart, but God does not cause the heart of man to be calloused, it is their own doing. As we look at what John says about some of the leaders of the people, they believed in Jesus but would not confess their faith because they were afraid the Pharisees would put them out of the synagogue. The reason for this is truly frightening. They loved the praise from men more than the praise from God. How can someone believe in secret, just in order to be in the good graces of unbelievers? We might focus more on this wanting the praise of men more than the praise from God by applying that to how we live today. What does that look like, to live for the praise of men rather than from God? Once again it might appear in our need for titles, our need for resumes, and our need for making sure people see our good deeds. This has become more obvious in the light of all the available social media, as it makes boasting far easier. It is not that we should shy completely away from sharing our lives with others, but the purpose of that sharing, at least for us believers, should be to bring glory to our Lord and not ourselves. So this leaves us with two truths. First, never allow our hearts to become calloused, and second, always look for ways to give God the glory. Thus we can see and hear from Him and he and the world can hear our praise of Him. Between God and us, there are no secrets.

Trust in the Light

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

TRUST IN THE LIGHT

John 12:34-36

34 The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?" 35 Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

NIV

Although the Law formally refers to the Law of Moses or the Law God gave to Moses to instruct the people, in a more general sense all the scriptures were considered by the name, law. These people are most likely referring to the Psalm that states the Messiah will be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, but they also must have forgotten what Isaiah 53 says about his death. It is always interesting how Jesus never really answers their question directly, but answers in an indirect method using analogies. We know he is speaking about himself, but we are certain they did not get it at that time. We also know that His reign is forever although not in the physical sense they thought the Messiah would reign. He was telling them and all the people of this world that the light will be here just a little while longer. They should have accepted him, walked in his light, while they could before death will overtake them. This is the darkness of death that every person will face if they do not walk in the light. We have the light with us right now. It is the time to decide for those who are still walking in the darkness, to walk in the light. A day is coming when death will overtake each person, and if anyone has not been walking in the light, then the darkness of death will indeed overtake them. Everyone has the opportunity to put their trust in the light while they are still walking. All people must make that choice to be either sons of light and live or sons of darkness and death. It is that simple. But just as these Jews confused the issue because of their disbelief, people today do the same thing. They confuse the issue with so many questions that are irrelevant to the truth. They what physical, empirical, evidence of the truth. They confuse the Old Testament or the Law with the truth of the gospel message. They want us to explain how God is love when he killed so many. They cherry-pick events of the past making God seem a God of wrath and war and not one of love and compassion, just as the Jews only thought of those certain quotes. The truth is everything is always about Jesus, about the love of God for his creation and that he came to take away our sin. It is that simple, it is not confusing, it is not complicated, and it is a simple truth. Walk in the light and have life. Walk in the darkness and die. It is also possible that some believers can over-complicate matters about faith. They can get too wrapped up in the proper method of walking in the light, it is almost like the Jews and their Law. In all reality, trust does not include doing anything. If we have to do something, such as good deeds, certain acts, or actions, then are we putting our trust in the Light or in ourselves? We are so thankful nothing relies on us, other than our trust in the Light. Everything relies on the Light. We are so thankful that we have put our trust in the Light.

Drawn To and From

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DRAWN TO AND FROM

John 12:30-36

30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."  33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?" 35 Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

NIV

We had just heard the voice of the Father telling Jesus that the Father’s name has glorified his own name and he will do so again. Although some people thought they heard thunder, others believed they heard an angel speaking to Jesus. It is interesting when God speaks each of us might hear him in a different way. Jesus makes it clear what they heard spoken in response to what Jesus asked, was not for his benefit, but for theirs. Whenever God speaks it is for our benefit. Even when he speaks words of correction, or even rebuke, it is for our benefit. We may never actually hear an audible voice, although some of us have at certain times in our lives, we always have his word, which is him speaking into our lives. We can say that his word, the Bible has corrected us, is always correcting us, our thinking, our behavior, or way of life. His word also brings us hope and comfort. His word is always for our benefit. Jesus goes on and speaks about what is about to happen. It is interesting he says that the prince of this world will be driven out. Once again our scholars just cannot come to an agreement on what these words of Jesus mean. It does seem difficult to consider Jesus actually meant that the reign of Satan, the kingdom of the devil, his power and influence over the world will end, as he is driven out of power. However, in another sense that is exactly what Jesus meant. Although there have been a few men throughout the course of history in the Old Testament whose faith was counted to them as righteousness, such as Abraham and Enoch who walked with God and was no more, or God took him home. We have a record of the great faith of those individuals in Hebrews 11. However, the reign of Satan over the earth, his power and influence over men, started right there in the Garden of Eden and has continued, even to this very day. But there has been no way, no method to break those chains, to loss oneself from the grip Satan held us in, until this moment Jesus was speaking of, his moment on the cross, his death, which seems for all practical purposes been driven by the power of Satan. Yet, Satan only played the role God allowed him to in order to accomplish God’s plan which did demolish Satan’s stronghold over the world. It is sort of ironic, that God used Satan to destroy his own reign over men. There is now a way, which we have taken, to have our chains broken, his reign over our lives smashed to bits. Jesus breaks ever fretter, He sets the captives free.  When Jesus set us free from the power of the evil one, we have been set free indeed. Of course in the long great scheme of things, Satan will be completely crushed, broken forever, and sent into the lake of burning sulfur to be tormented in eternal punishment. But as far as we are concerned right at this moment in our lives, his reign no longer exists. We serve a risen Savior, He is in the world today, and we know that he is living, no matter what men may say. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today, you may ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart. Because Jesus Was lifted up, he drew us to himself. We have been drawn to Jesus and away from Satan. We cannot have the power of both Jesus and Satan ruling in our lives. It is one or the other, so we have been drawn, we have been summoned, and we have been called to follow Jesus. We heard the voice of God, we heard his call, his drawing us to himself and we said, yes Lord, we hear your calling, and we have come home where we belong.

Glorified

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

GLORIFIED

John 12:27-33

27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."  33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

NIV

At first glance, it would appear Jesus is praying that God would find another way other than the horrible pain and suffering Jesus was going to have to endure. But that is not what is happening. Jesus is simply confessing he in his humanity is not looking forward to what he must go through in order to redeem mankind. His heart is troubled, which shows his humanity, although he is divine and as such omniscient. He knows what lies before him, it was determined at the beginning, it was the plan all along, the reason he came to earth in the first place. As one of the three persons of the trinity, it was his plan as well as it was the Father’s. But lest we forget the human side of Jesus, here we are shown it. This could also show us the abhorrent distaste of death which drives a man to do everything and anything he can to stall that inevitable event.   Jesus is asking or questioning himself really, “What shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour’?” but he concludes that is not what he should say. He answers his own question about what he should say. “No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour”. So he is not going to say “Father, save me from this hour”, instead he asks the Father to glorify the Father’s own name. Jesus shows us the task at which he came to do, was for the purpose to bring glory to the Father, not to himself. At the same time, Jesus knew that this was the way in which the justice of God would be satisfied, for man could never do such, for man is incapable of satisfying God’s justice. No amount of sacrifice is good enough, no amount of deeds are good enough. It is only God, himself who can and did through this hour Jesus now is about to face. So Jesus asks the Father to glorify his own name, and the Father speaks once more from heaven. Just a thought, not that it is a mandate, or judgment, or the gospel truth, but just thinking why, just maybe the reason we do not hear from heaven is we are not looking to glorify the name of God, but more interested in the glory of our own name. Just the sheer fact we like titles, or definer of who we are, shows our need for acknowledgment and that might well be a form of wanting some form of glory. Our use of resumes may also be evidence of our need to list all our accomplishments. Even in our modern media wave in which we live, Facebook has become a place for brag posts, more than anything else. That might also be said of other forms such as Instagram and Twitter or others. It seems if we sneeze, we have to post it so the world knows. It appears everything is about self, about our name, our life, our comings, and goings, but have we, as believers, left God behind, left bringing glory to his name? The Father responds to Jesus, he speaks from heaven, “I have gloried my name and I will glorify it again”. Surely he was referring to Jesus going to the cross. The death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus brought full and magnificent glory to the name of the Father. Our death, burial, resurrection, and ascension will also bring glory to God. So knowing that, should not our lives be for that same purpose? Should our lives not be centered on bringing glory to God? How that looks in the practical day to day living may need some consideration.

Lose it or Keep it

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LOSE IT OR KEEP IT

 John 12:20-26

20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

NIV

There is the question as to why some Greeks would have come up to the feast to worship. We know there was a court of Gentiles in the temple area, and these Greeks, according to the word translated as Greeks would be Gentiles. This word Hellen means a Greek-speaking person or resident of Hellas, which is Greece. Some think they could be Jews who were among those scattered and lived there, but made their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. No one really knows for sure, so we are not sure why John included that fact. The response of Jesus does not seem to make any connection to who these Greeks were or why John made mention of them, other than Jesus no longer has any time for meet and greets because the end is about to begin. Jesus makes this wonderful comparison between a kernel of wheat and himself. Within himself, the single kernel is eternal life. He is divine, he has been and will be forever as he is God in the flesh. However, he is the only one who is eternal and unless he is planted in the ground, which uses the term, dies, it will only remain a single seed, or he will be the only one who is eternal. However, because he will die, just the kernel of wheat, many kernels will grow from that single one. The truth is right there, not hidden at all. The only way for us to have eternal life is through being a result of Jesus’s death. But his next words are pointed directly to how we live as being a result of his death, resurrection, and ascension. We do live in this world, we are humans created by God to live on the earth he created for us. Although he created a perfect paradise and that was closed off to us because of the sin of Adam of whom we are descendants in the flesh. The world as it exists now, although still a great place which provides, because of the creation of God, all the needs of mankind. We have an abundance of energy, water, food, raw materials to make whatever we desire and beauty all around us. Because God created us, we have the mental capacity to learn and thus have developed so many amazing things, invented devices which enhance our lives, medical miracles that increase our health and prolong our lives. The list of accomplishments of the human race is astonishing. So living here, at least for us who live in this country and for most of the other advanced countries around the world, is pretty good. But even for those who are less as fortunate as us, life is still precious and for the most part, all humans struggle to stay alive as long as they can. We could get caught up in this enjoyment of life and all it has to offer way too quickly. This is what Jesus is speaking to when he said those who love their life will lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. It is difficult to hate all the material blessings God has gifted us with, but in reality, they will all fade away, and it is for certain we will one day leave them all behind. We should not get too attached to that which is temporary. Sure it would not serve much simply giving everything away, but on the other hand, everything we have does not actually belong to us either. Our goal, our desire, our ambition is not or should not be about what we gain here, but what we gain in Christ, eternal life. What we know for sure is that God has our days hear numbered. He knows the when we will step into eternality and our life is in his hands. This is where we should be focused, where our minds and hearts should be centered. When Jesus said if we serve him, we follow him. That is we too will die and be buried, but we will follow Jesus in resurrection and ascension so that where he is, we will also be. Because we follow Jesus, the Father will honor us. Is that not far more important than anything honor this life could bring us? Let us keep our eyes upon Jesus, which is the only way we can follow him. If our eyes get distracted by this life in the world, we may lose sight of him. We cannot love this life more then we love Jesus. Love life and we lose it. Love Jesus and we gain life, eternal life.

Once Dead, Now Alive

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

ONCE DEAD, NOW ALIVE

John 12:9-19

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him. 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15 "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."  

16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

NIV

John does not spend a great deal of time on what is called the triumphal entry of Jesus. Other accounts give us far more details, but then John is all about showing Jesus as the Christ, the Savior, the Anointed One of God, and the Son of God. Here along with Jesus, many people are coming to see Lazarus because he was once dead, dead, that is dead for four days and all that implies to the Jews, and now he is alive and well.  John tells us that it was on account of Lazarus many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him. This is also confirmed by what the Pharisees were upset about as they decided that whatever they were doing to try to stop the Jews from believing in Jesus was getting them nowhere. They could see how the whole world had gone after him. Surely it wasn’t the whole world, yet, but a great number of Jews were certainly convinced he was the One to follow and it seems many were because of Lazarus. Jesus had done other miracles and each time a certain number of people believed, but this was a massive movement of Jews and it was too much for the Pharisees to contend with. With all our modern methods of spreading the good news, or telling people about Jesus or why they should go to church, or maybe even telling them they need to get saved, it seems we do not have as much success as Lazarus did. But he really didn’t do anything, it was Jesus who raised him from the dead. Yet he must have told the story, he must have testified as to what happened to him, of what Jesus did in his life, well actually what Jesus did in his death. Perhaps that should be our story we can tell. We were once dead in our sin, but Jesus raised us from the dead and gave us true life, life everlasting. Maybe if we just told people we used to be dead and Jesus brought us back to life, it might just make them want what happened to us happen to them. Maybe if we just posted on social media, “I was dead, but now I am alive” it just might cause a stir. That had to be the testimony of Lazarus and it surely is ours, of course, in another sense, but nevertheless, it is true. Someday the whole world will go after Jesus, or least, stand before him. Every knee will bow, only for some, it will be only to be cast out. But right now we still have time to tell our story, so many will come over to Jesus and put their faith in him. Once we were dead, but now we are alive.

Wiping the Feet of Jesus

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

WIPING THE FEET OF JESUS

John 12:1-8

12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "[It was intended] that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." 

NIV

A most interesting portion of this gospel is before us. First, the setting is in the home of Simon the Leper, as the other gospel accounts give us that detail which John leaves out. John does mention Lazarus and Martha and Mary as being there at this dinner which was given in Jesus’ honor. John does not forget to tell us that this is Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. Here is a man who was once dead, now enjoying the joys of friendship and fellowship. What must he had felt like, having been dead and now reclining at the table with his friends? What, if any, memories did he have of death? We are not told in any of the accounts of Lazarus being raised from the dead of his recounting his experience while dead. We are aware of the four days after death belief of the Jews. This belief may have come from the Talmud as in Psalm 16:10 where it speaks of Jesus as the Holy One, and he states God will not abandon him to the grave or allow him to see decay. Jesus was resurrected on the third day, and thus his body had not started decay and according to Jewish belief his spirit had not yet abandoned his body, it hung around for three days. All the others that Jesus had raised from the dead had only been dead one day, but Lazarus had gone four full days, so both his body started decaying and his spirit had left and gone somewhere. But he says nothing of this time, or at least, we are not told of any of his testimony of being dead and now is alive. But there he was, reclining at the table with Jesus and his disciples. This account of Mary pouring perfume on Jesus is recorded in other accounts, but her name is not mentioned, some say she poured it on his feet, some say on his head. It matters not where she poured it, but the fact she wiped his feet with her hair may have significance. What devotion, what pure humility and worship of her Lord. According to the words of Jesus, this perfume was being kept for the day of his burial. It is surmised by some of our scholars that in fact, she did not pour all of the perfume, but some of it was saved for the intent of using in preparation for his burial. We have no actual facts to back that up, so we leave it as a supposition. What is important is that it was expensive, and she did not hold anything back in her worship of Jesus, after all, he had given her brother back to her, after he had been in the grave four days. Mary was a true worshipper of Jesus. This should give us some insight as to how we should approach our worship, holding nothing back, not being worried about what others would think or say. Look how she was almost scolded by Judas for using something so expensive on Jesus when it could have been more useful in other ways. Of course, Judas was always thinking about the money issue, being the keeper of the purse, which he dipped his own hand into on occasion. Money is not the issue here, true worship is. Giving it all, being fully humble, setting aside all pride and pouring out our soul and spirit on Jesus, wiping his feet with our praise.

The Danger of Pride

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE DANGER OF PRIDE

John 11:43-57

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."  45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. 55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?" 57 But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.

NIV

Since we already dealt with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, we move on to the two responses of this event. We include the call of Lazarus to come out and the command to let him go to give the context to the responses. First, we see that many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. We do not know how many, but many also do not mean all. Why would anyone not believe after seeing Jesus bring a dead man back to life? In fact, we are told that some of them, who must be the ones who did not believe, went and told the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Why would they do that? The Sanhedrin was a powerful force among the people. They held the power to either allow or reject a person’s right to be in the synagogue. We have seen this power exerted in the questioning of the parents of the man born blind. They refused to say it was Jesus for the Pharisees had already decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. So this some who went to the Pharisees told them Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, but we have to believe, they did not say that Jesus must then be the Christ, therefore not be in danger of being put out of the synagogue, but rather being in league with the Pharisees. It seems power usually corrupts people. The Pharisees were afraid that Jesus would cause the Romans to come and take away their place as the leaders of the people. Sometimes we think it has not changed much today. There are still people who do not want anyone to challenge their authority over the people. We see that in government and we expect to see it, for power usually corrupts. But we would not ever expect to find that scenario in the church. But throughout the ages, it did happen all too often. Way back in The 1400s the Catholic Church actually had three competing popes. All wanting the absolute authority over the church. A council was formed and it regarded itself supreme power over any pope. This same council also condemned as heretical the teachings of a priest, Jan Hus, and had him burned at the stack. It also condemned the writings of an Englishmen, John Wycliffe, who had already died of a stroke. This is just a smidgen of how power corrupted the church in past years. But corruption is still hard at work in the church today. Pride is usually at the forefront of this corruption. Thinking more of oneself leads to this prideful state of mind. Another way to put it is being pigheaded, stubborn, and dogmatic in our thinking leads to prideful thinking. Jesus was humble of heart, yet he was God. He had all the power, all authority was given to him, even authority over life and death, but he never exerted his authority in order to exalt himself, but always gave all the honor and all the glory to his Father. This should serve as a life lesson for us. All that we are, all that we know, all that we have, all that we do, has nothing to do we our great abilities, but are a gift from God, and we should remember to always give him all the honor, all the praise for everything. All too often we lift men up because of their knowledge, or their educational level, or their spiritual qualities or some other talent or skill they appear to possess. By doing so, we may well be tempting them to be prideful and that would not be right. It holds true for us as well. We have to be careful not to allow people to praise us for anything that we know, do, or say. All praise belongs to Jesus. We have even been witness to people, and maybe even guilty ourselves, who invite someone to church because of the greatest of their pastor. Although the pastor may be a good preacher, he should not be the reason for the invitation. Jesus should be the reason for everything. The Pharisees were filled with pride and in the end, it was their ruin. Let us rid ourselves of any sort of pride and remain humble at heart.

Called and Let Go

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

CALLED AND LET GO

John 11:32-47

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."  43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."  45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

NIV

We have considered the fact that Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. We understood that his weeping was not for Lazarus for he knew he would raise him from the dead, but he wept because of people’s unbelief. Now we need to look at the moment of truth for the whole world. Jesus has the power, he has all authority over all things, including death. Once again we remember his words that he spoke to Mary and Martha. He told them if they believe although they die, they will live. In addition, because they believe they will never die. This is the message to the whole world which John made very clear early on in this gospel. Everyone quotes that verse, it can be seen on signs or posters at almost every sporting event. Someone is always spreading the message that God so loved the world, that would mean the whole world, every person on the earth, that he sent, he gave his only, his beloved Son, so he could die on the cross of Calvary and take all our sin upon himself and bear all the punishment we so deserve, as a sacrifice so that whosoever believes in him will not perish, experience eternal death, or damnation in Hell forever and ever, but instead will have eternal life in the paradise of God. Here at the tomb where Lazarus lay is the proof of that verse or least a living example of how it will be for all believers. A dead man in grave clothes, who has already begun to decay, as Jesus is told that he already has the bad odor of death, is about to be resurrected. This is the very reason Jesus waited so long to arrive. If Lazarus had only just been put in the grave, perhaps some would say, it was not really dead, but just in a coma and appeared dead. But now there can be no mistake, Lazarus is dead, dead, all the way dead. His spirit or soul had already left his body. We have to believe he was somewhere other than in his body, in fact, if he were absent from his body than he had to be in the presence of God, if Lazarus truly believed Jesus was the Christ. Otherwise, he would have been in the place of the dead. Nevertheless, the point is after Jesus had the stone rolled away for him, he calls Lazarus. He calls him to come out of the grave and behold, Lazarus comes out of the grave, alive and well, with no smell. Of course, he was still in grave clothes and Jesus tells the people to take off those grave clothes and let him go. We can see the truth, right there in front of us. Praise God, thank you Jesus. Someday we will hear him call our name, calling us out of the grave and removing our grave clothes and dressing us in fine linen, a new white robe pure as the driven snow and he will tell us we have been let go, we have been freed. And when Jesus sets us free, we will be free indeed. Oh, death, where is thy sting! Jesus has conquered death and we will live forever. We have been called out of death and let go.  

Deeply Moved

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

DEEPLY MOVED

John 11:32-47

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"  41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."  43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"  44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."  45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

NIV

Again, there are several truths we have to deal with in this portion of the narrative, but we just could not separate the narrative, so we might have to camp out here for a couple of days. The first issue we should consider is Jesus being deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Why was he moved so deeply? It seems it was because he saw Mary weeping as well as the Jews that came with her. Everyone was weeping because Mary’s brother was dead, and her dear friend Jesus got there too late to do anything about it. He has been in the grave for four days already and now it’s too late to do anything about it. What this seems is although they knew Jesus could do miracles, their faith was simply not as real as they thought. But why was Jesus deeply moved in his spirit and troubled? The Greek word actually means to groan in the spirit. This word does not imply that he made a groaning sound, but that it was an emotion within. What is interesting is that Greek word translated as deeply moved is used as, to be very angry, to be moved with indignation. Our scholars of old just could not wrap their minds around that, so they had to say that because Jesus was divine and it is against his loving and compassionate nature to be groaning with anger or indignation. They insisted this Greek word meant something else in this case. But we cannot agree with these scholars of old, these commentators of past times. Why couldn’t Jesus be upset with his friends? Why couldn’t he be a little indignant within? He has spent so much time with them, teaching them the truth. They have seen him do miracle after miracle. He has just told them that if they believe in him although they die they will live. He just told them he was the resurrection and the life. He just told them that whoever believes in him will never die. And yet, they are weeping because their brother died. How would we feel if we told people something over and over again that we were capable of something and that situation arose where we have to apply our capability, and people simply said they cannot believe we can do it? We know we can, because we have done it before, but they don’t believe us. Would we feel moved in our spirit, a little angry, a little indignant? Although Jesus is fully God, he is also fully man. Could he not be just a bit upset at the fact they did not believe him? Being moved in that way does not mean it was sinful, just being deeply moved and troubled. Yes, he is divine. Yes, he always has compassion for people. Yes, he loves everyone. All that love and compassion and mercy is true, but to be troubled implies he was not happy with their disbelief. It is not like Jesus did not know that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He already told his disciples he was going to do that. He was not sorrowful that Lazarus was dead. He was not moved with grief over the death of his friend for he knows his friend would live again. Even this verse, “Jesus wept” has been so filled with comments about his sorrow, his grieving over the death of Lazarus. Why is it so difficult to see that Jesus was not weeping over Lazarus in the grave, but over the disbelief of his friends after he told them the truth? Look at his prayer and it tells us everything. He was not praying to the Father to give him authority over the dead. He was not praying to the Father to raise Lazarus from the dead. Everything he said was so people would believe he was the one sent, the Messiah, the Christ who has been given all authority, even over the dead. We should make sure we do not cause our Lord to be moved deeply and troubled because we do not trust him, or believe everything he said. Let us live full of faith, full of trust, full of the life he has given us. We can never say, “Lord, if only you have been here” for he is always here, always with us, as he promised that he would never leave us nor forsake us. Lord, we believe, no need to be deeply moved over us.

He is Asking for You

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HE IS ASKING FOR YOU

John 11:28-40

28 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." 40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 

NIV

There are a couple of very interesting truths going on in this portion of the narrative regarding Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Martha had already had an exchange with Jesus about her brother and that if Jesus had come earlier, her brother would not have died. We recall he told her and asked her if she believed the fact that those who believe although they die will live as well as he told her that whoever lives and believes in him will never die. So now Martha full of this knowledge, and perhaps wondering a bit just what he meant, but still somewhat excited at the prospect of never having to die, and that would mean her brother somehow will live again, and not just on the last day at the resurrection. This is easy enough to grasp for great theologians, maybe, but then for a simple Jewish lady living in a small village with little to no education in religious studies other then what she hears Jesus teach, it might be more difficult for her to comprehend the fullness of his words. Nevertheless, she heads back into the house straight to her sister, Mary, then tells her the teaching is here and he is asking for her. Although we are told they were friends of Jesus, and that he had been to their home before, perhaps on several occasions, Martha refers to Jesus as the Teacher and Mary understood exactly who she was speaking of. Her response was immediate and quick. This is the point we need to stop and ponder on. When the Teacher calls an immediate response is an appropriate response. When the Teacher is asking for us, we need to get up quickly and go to him. Certainly, this applies to the call for repentance and accepting him for our salvation. This we did as soon as we recognized who he was. In fact, we were shacking, our knees were buckling beneath us and we were nearly unable to stand. Our heart was pounding so hard within us, we thought it would burst. We were so excited to know we would never die, as death was our formidable enemy. Death for us was the end of existence as we knew not of any way to achieve eternal life, thus escaping the inevitable end of knowing and remembering life. So when the Teacher called we got up immediately and went to him. (Again, I speak regarding my own situation although using the third person). However, this also applies to our daily life in Christ. Whenever the Teacher calls for us, and that would be calling us to a task, to a calling, to a part in the body of Christ, to be a particular living stone in the temple of God, we need to quickly get up and go to him. This is not a case of dragging our feet, fighting and screaming all the way, wanting our own way in the matter, thinking we are better suited for some other task. We know that whatever Jesus calls us to he has also given us the Spirit to empower us to do that which he has called us to. So then, when we hear the Teacher is asking for us, we need to quickly get up and get going.