Scripture reading
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."
11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "
Observations:
(1) Don’t confuse man made law with that made by god.
At first glance, this passage might appear to highlight a situation of conflict between a direct instruction of Jesus (for the man to pick up his mat) and a conflicting instruction under the law as given by god relating to rules about the Sabbath.
If this were the case, then I would have a considerable challenge not only with this passage, but also with the entire gospel. I would certainly have a problem with putting my faith in anyone whose instructions or teachings directly contradicted those given by god in the Old Testament.
Fortunately, however, this is not the case. In no way at all was Jesus instructing the man concerned to break any of god’s laws.
Instead, the legal requirements to which the Jews in question refer related to man-made requirements which were made in addition to the law of god. They do not relate to the law itself. It was this man-made law with which the Jesus were in conflict, not the law of god.
Essentially, in Old Testament times, god commanded the Israelites to set aside one day, the seventh day of the week, as a time to stop what they were doing and cease to perform any form of work or toil. The purpose of this was two-fold: (a) for physical rest and restoration; and (b) to remember, reflect upon and honor god, their creator.
As far as I understand it, the OT does not go into a great deal of specific detail in terms of the precise details as to exactly how the Sabbath was to be performed, and it does not specify a large range of do’s and don’ts with regard to this matter. Because of this, the Pharisees, a sect of the Jews, made their own regulations, was supposedly to help people to follow god’s law in the correct manner. It was these laws with which the man was in breach. At no time at all in the story described above does the man breach any laws as specified by the Old Testament.
The Pharisees, in their claims that the man’s actions in this case were in contravention of the law, had made the critical mistake of confusing their own laws with that of god. Bad mistake. We are nowhere near on the same level as god. He is the creator, we are his creation. Our rules will never, ever equate with his.
(2) Enjoy the grace of god, don’t be constrained by the religious ‘political correctness.’
The first thing that we see here is a direct clash between the political correctness of the day with regard to religious practices and the enjoyment of the amazing grace provided by the lord.
And the second thing that we see is the man making a correct choice between the two.
Granted we actually learn in the passage which follows those quoted in the scripture reading above that the man indeed did not actually see who it was who had healed him, and it is almost certain that his actions did not represent a purposeful decision to accept the magnificent grace of our lord.
All he knew was that somebody had healed him of an extremely serious physical condition, and that this somebody had now told him to walk. Who was he to question such a command? And why on earth should he not do so because of some man-made law about religion? Moreover, had those who were now lecturing him about legal requirements ever healed him? No. Had they ever bothered to about him or his condition? Probably not. And prior to his healing, had they bothered to take any notice of him at all? I doubt it.
My guess - the man was simply paying more attention to the man that had healed him as opposed to those who had done bugger all for him, just as any other sane individual would have done.
But whatever his motives, the point is that he did have a choice. On one hand, he could bask in the sunshine of the amazing grace provided by the lord (as instructed by Jesus) and on the other hand forfeiting the enjoyment of that grace because of legalistic, man-made religious requirements.
He made the right choice, and so should we. Whilst we should make every effort at all times to behave in a manner which is honorable to our heavenly father, under no circumstances should we allow legalistic, man-made requirements to hinder our full enjoyment of the amazing grace which is provided so lavishly by our wonderful heavenly father.
(3) Look at the bigger picture – rejoice for those on whom god shows favor.
One final point – the Jews in this passage had their priorities seriously out of order. Instead of simply being happy for the man, as they should have been, they were more worried about tripping him up on a pathetic small point with regard to legalistic requirements.
The law of god as laid down in the Old Testament lays down two key basic principles which form the fundamental cornerstone of the spirit of his entire law - love the lord god with all of our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. According to these basic principles, our most important concern when dealing with other people has to be their overall level of wellbeing - not the degree to which they comply or otherwise with man-made religious protocol. When the lord god does something wonderful like this, we should simply be glad for the recipient of his favor, not trying to trip them up on insignificant details.
Man-made religious protocol, in such circumstances, should be the last thing on our mind, and the Jews in this passage had plainly lost sight of the bigger picture of the law as laid down by god.
We must learn from this. Our focus, when dealing with other people, and indeed, at literally every moment in our lives, should be not on insignificant details but on living in a manner which is in tune with the basic fundamental spirit of god’s law – loving god with all of our hearts and loving others as ourselves.
Let’s just get these two things right and forget about minor issues relating to religious protocol.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never, ever, replace your great law with our own.
Your law needs no addition - it is absolutely perfect and completely beyond rapproach as it is. It is absolutely sufficient in every way, and it is completely arrogant of us to think that we need to add to it in any way at all.
Moreover, it represents nothing but absolute and complete folly on our part if we try to put our man-made law above that holy one given by you. The day we do this, lord, we are lost.
Lord, let us never over-burden ourselves with political correctness with regard to religious protocol. Instead, let us bask in the glorious sunshine of the amazing grace which you provide so freely, and free our hearts lord to with an attitude of thanksgiving simply marvel and enjoy every good gift which you decide to shower upon us in your glorious mercy and love.
Finally, lord, let us never lose sight of the basic spirit of your law. We seem to have a hard enough time just getting the basics right, so instead of being overly concerned about small details, let our hearts focus on the bigger picture with regard to your great commands – loving you with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
In these things, we pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Jesus has the real healing power (John 5:1-9)
1Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.[b] 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When 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."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
Observations:
Jesus, not mystical powers, has the power to heal.
In the previous passage (John 4:43-54), we saw a wonderful example of the extent of Jesus’ healing power through his healing of the son of a Royal Official in Galilee from what it appears was a life-threatening illness.
In this passage, we see his healing power again, with the patient concerned this time being an invalid of thirty-eight years.
As with the example in the previous passage, we are not given any information with regards to the specific nature of the illness concerned. Nevertheless, I would think that it would be safe to assume that the illness was of an incurable nature. The man in question suffered for thirty-eight years, and you would have thought that if the illness was indeed of a curable nature, then surely he would have been healed a long time prior to this particular event.
Another similarity which we can see between the above example and that from previous passage is the extent to which Jesus has complete and absolute power and control over sickness. In both cases, the individuals concerned were completely healed from their affliction by Jesus merely speaking it into existence.
But there would appear to be at least one key area of contrast – the attitude of the recipients. In the previous passage, we see that the boy’s father (a royal official) had demonstrate at least some degree of belief and confidence in the ability of Jesus to cure his son, going of his way specifically to seek Jesus out in a somewhat deliberate fashion. In contrast, the invalid concerned appeared to be placing his only some in some apparent mystical healing power of the water in the pool.
Granted, unlike the royal official, this poor invalid did not have properly functioning legs, and so it was not exactly possible for him to get up and take himself to see Jesus in a similar manner to the royal official in the previous passage. Bear in mind also the likelihood that this poor fellow had not even heard anything about Jesus at all up until this point.
Nevertheless, he was clinging on to a some futile hope about being healed by some mythical powers of the water, a fact which is testament to the to both the magnitude of his desperation and the extent to which his hopes were completely misguided.
My point here is simply this: we must be very, very careful where (and in what) we place our hopes and faith.
Putting our hopes in some form of mystical power or other form of rubbish leads only to disillusionment.
Putting our faith in Jesus, by contrast, does not. Jesus, the creator and author of life, has the power to heal literally any form of disease or disability as he chooses. As lord and ruler over all of the earth, he has complete and utter power, control and mastery over everything – with sickness and disease being no exception.
Don’t get me wrong, no one should expect simply to be healed instantaneously after a simple prayer. Indeed no where in the gospel does it promise that everyone who suffers from any form of sickness and disease will be healed at all, let alone on an instantaneous basis. God does not promise that everyone will be healed, and god will not accept being held to promises which he has never indeed given.
But god certainly has the capacity to heal absolutely any form of sickness and disease, and when we ask for healing in the form of earnest and faithful prayer, then god may (let me stress the word ‘may’) choose to demonstrate the extent of his glory through the healing of sickness.
Faith put in mystical powers is futile.
But faith in the wonder of our glorious heavenly father is truly powerful.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never put our faith in anything except you.
Lord, we can invent all these crazy luck charms, mystical powers, wishing wells, star signs or whatever. But at the end of the day, these are all worthless.
You and only you have the power to heal or to protect. You, our creator, are the only one with any form of authority over our wellbeing, be it in the physical realm or, more importantly, in the spiritual realm.
When we suffer from physical illness, you and only you have the power to heal – not some magical charm. And when we are spiritually lost - when we fall away from you and are spiritually broken – only you can bring us back into the faith and light of your family.
Not some secret magical power lord, you and only you.
So let us set our faith squarely and solely upon you, and let us never look anywhere else.
In your great name,
Amen.
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."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
Observations:
Jesus, not mystical powers, has the power to heal.
In the previous passage (John 4:43-54), we saw a wonderful example of the extent of Jesus’ healing power through his healing of the son of a Royal Official in Galilee from what it appears was a life-threatening illness.
In this passage, we see his healing power again, with the patient concerned this time being an invalid of thirty-eight years.
As with the example in the previous passage, we are not given any information with regards to the specific nature of the illness concerned. Nevertheless, I would think that it would be safe to assume that the illness was of an incurable nature. The man in question suffered for thirty-eight years, and you would have thought that if the illness was indeed of a curable nature, then surely he would have been healed a long time prior to this particular event.
Another similarity which we can see between the above example and that from previous passage is the extent to which Jesus has complete and absolute power and control over sickness. In both cases, the individuals concerned were completely healed from their affliction by Jesus merely speaking it into existence.
But there would appear to be at least one key area of contrast – the attitude of the recipients. In the previous passage, we see that the boy’s father (a royal official) had demonstrate at least some degree of belief and confidence in the ability of Jesus to cure his son, going of his way specifically to seek Jesus out in a somewhat deliberate fashion. In contrast, the invalid concerned appeared to be placing his only some in some apparent mystical healing power of the water in the pool.
Granted, unlike the royal official, this poor invalid did not have properly functioning legs, and so it was not exactly possible for him to get up and take himself to see Jesus in a similar manner to the royal official in the previous passage. Bear in mind also the likelihood that this poor fellow had not even heard anything about Jesus at all up until this point.
Nevertheless, he was clinging on to a some futile hope about being healed by some mythical powers of the water, a fact which is testament to the to both the magnitude of his desperation and the extent to which his hopes were completely misguided.
My point here is simply this: we must be very, very careful where (and in what) we place our hopes and faith.
Putting our hopes in some form of mystical power or other form of rubbish leads only to disillusionment.
Putting our faith in Jesus, by contrast, does not. Jesus, the creator and author of life, has the power to heal literally any form of disease or disability as he chooses. As lord and ruler over all of the earth, he has complete and utter power, control and mastery over everything – with sickness and disease being no exception.
Don’t get me wrong, no one should expect simply to be healed instantaneously after a simple prayer. Indeed no where in the gospel does it promise that everyone who suffers from any form of sickness and disease will be healed at all, let alone on an instantaneous basis. God does not promise that everyone will be healed, and god will not accept being held to promises which he has never indeed given.
But god certainly has the capacity to heal absolutely any form of sickness and disease, and when we ask for healing in the form of earnest and faithful prayer, then god may (let me stress the word ‘may’) choose to demonstrate the extent of his glory through the healing of sickness.
Faith put in mystical powers is futile.
But faith in the wonder of our glorious heavenly father is truly powerful.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, let us never put our faith in anything except you.
Lord, we can invent all these crazy luck charms, mystical powers, wishing wells, star signs or whatever. But at the end of the day, these are all worthless.
You and only you have the power to heal or to protect. You, our creator, are the only one with any form of authority over our wellbeing, be it in the physical realm or, more importantly, in the spiritual realm.
When we suffer from physical illness, you and only you have the power to heal – not some magical charm. And when we are spiritually lost - when we fall away from you and are spiritually broken – only you can bring us back into the faith and light of your family.
Not some secret magical power lord, you and only you.
So let us set our faith squarely and solely upon you, and let us never look anywhere else.
In your great name,
Amen.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
How Jesus reveals his glory though adversity (John 4:43-54)
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When 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.
46Once 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. 47When 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."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then 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.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Observations:
In the case described above, we see an example of how the glory of god can be shown through adversity.
Sickness is never pleasant, and nowhere in the bible does god guarantee that sickness will always be cured. Indeed, sometimes the lord does choose either for the individual concerned to pass on or for the sickness to continue for a considerable time period, even in spite of earnest prayers on the part of sufferers themselves or of their family and friends.
But on other occasions, the lord does choose sickness as a means to demonstrate his glory. This is one such occasion. In this passage we see a wonderful example of how Jesus has power over sickness and, as we see later, even over death.
The passage does not indicate the specific nature of the illness from which the boy concerned was suffering. What it does tell us, however, is that the boy was bed-ridden and his illness was life-threatening. In other words, the situation is pretty bloody serious.
In addition, it is not likely that the illness was of a nature which could be easily treated. The passage indicates that the official concerned travelled from Capernaum to Cana (about 40km) in order to plead for the help of Jesus. Such a trip would not have been necessary if the disease concerned had been of a nature which was easily curable – in such a case, the services of a local doctor in Capernaum would have been sufficient
Nevertheless, what I think we see here is a case of god using adversity in a deliberate manner for the purpose of demonstrating the extent of his glory. I believe that it was god’s absolute intention for the particular boy concerned to suffer from the particular illness concerned for the precise reason of the scenario discussed in the passage taking place.
What we see here is that although the official referred to in this passage appeared to have a fairly strong level of faith – his actions indicated a belief in the power of Jesus to cure his son’s sickness, and he did take Jesus at his word upon being given the assurance that his son would live – we see that the power of Jesus is much, much greater than what he had imagined.
We see in the story that the official concerned begged Jesus to come with him, perhaps out of a belief that Jesus would either: (a) not properly understand the situation; or (b) have to be physically present in order to heal his son.
But Jesus is more powerful than that – way more powerful. As the son of god, Christ already knew about the whole situation and fully understood the situation of the boy concerned. His physical presence was simply not required, and he was able to ensure that the boy concerned was healed simply by speaking it into existence.
This kind of reminds me of what we learn in Genesis, and how light came into the world simply by god speaking it into existence. That’s the power of god. In Genesis we saw the degree of his command and control over the natural universe in the way that he single handedly brought the concept of light into the world by simply speaking it into existence. In this passage, we see the extent of his command and control over the most serious and incurable forms of sickness, how he can heal sickness with his mere words. And in a later passage, we see how the lord has command and control even over death, when he raises Lazarus from the dead with his mere words.
There is nothing, not a singular concept in this entire world, which is beyond the command and control of our god. So powerful is he that he has complete control not only over the natural laws of the universe, but also over the extremely serious concepts of sickness and death.
Prayer:
Lord, when we look at your power, we can only stand in awe. Complete and absoulute admiration are nowhere near adequate words – your pure power and glory are just so far beyond words and so far beyond understanding that there is no way that our earthly hearts can even come close to its complete comprehension.
You have complete command over everything we can see - over the natural universe, over sickness, and even over death. How can us mere mortals of this world ever come remotely close to understanding?
Yet, for those of us who have accepted your great peace offering, for those which you have chosen to make up a part of your great family, we can only thank you that you have opened our eyes wide enough to let in the great torrent and flood of your amazing grace. And we know further, lord, that you will open our eyes to receive the full notion of your glory when we meet you in that great day in heaven.
Though many of us will experience persecution and difficult times prior to then, lord, when we see the full extent of your glory, none of that will matter and all of our tears will be wiped away and our hearts will be full of pure gladness, joy and understanding.
Lord, when we look at your greatness, we can only bow down and worship in awe – at the greatness of your power and love.
In your great name,
Amen.
46Once 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. 47When 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."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then 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.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Observations:
In the case described above, we see an example of how the glory of god can be shown through adversity.
Sickness is never pleasant, and nowhere in the bible does god guarantee that sickness will always be cured. Indeed, sometimes the lord does choose either for the individual concerned to pass on or for the sickness to continue for a considerable time period, even in spite of earnest prayers on the part of sufferers themselves or of their family and friends.
But on other occasions, the lord does choose sickness as a means to demonstrate his glory. This is one such occasion. In this passage we see a wonderful example of how Jesus has power over sickness and, as we see later, even over death.
The passage does not indicate the specific nature of the illness from which the boy concerned was suffering. What it does tell us, however, is that the boy was bed-ridden and his illness was life-threatening. In other words, the situation is pretty bloody serious.
In addition, it is not likely that the illness was of a nature which could be easily treated. The passage indicates that the official concerned travelled from Capernaum to Cana (about 40km) in order to plead for the help of Jesus. Such a trip would not have been necessary if the disease concerned had been of a nature which was easily curable – in such a case, the services of a local doctor in Capernaum would have been sufficient
Nevertheless, what I think we see here is a case of god using adversity in a deliberate manner for the purpose of demonstrating the extent of his glory. I believe that it was god’s absolute intention for the particular boy concerned to suffer from the particular illness concerned for the precise reason of the scenario discussed in the passage taking place.
What we see here is that although the official referred to in this passage appeared to have a fairly strong level of faith – his actions indicated a belief in the power of Jesus to cure his son’s sickness, and he did take Jesus at his word upon being given the assurance that his son would live – we see that the power of Jesus is much, much greater than what he had imagined.
We see in the story that the official concerned begged Jesus to come with him, perhaps out of a belief that Jesus would either: (a) not properly understand the situation; or (b) have to be physically present in order to heal his son.
But Jesus is more powerful than that – way more powerful. As the son of god, Christ already knew about the whole situation and fully understood the situation of the boy concerned. His physical presence was simply not required, and he was able to ensure that the boy concerned was healed simply by speaking it into existence.
This kind of reminds me of what we learn in Genesis, and how light came into the world simply by god speaking it into existence. That’s the power of god. In Genesis we saw the degree of his command and control over the natural universe in the way that he single handedly brought the concept of light into the world by simply speaking it into existence. In this passage, we see the extent of his command and control over the most serious and incurable forms of sickness, how he can heal sickness with his mere words. And in a later passage, we see how the lord has command and control even over death, when he raises Lazarus from the dead with his mere words.
There is nothing, not a singular concept in this entire world, which is beyond the command and control of our god. So powerful is he that he has complete control not only over the natural laws of the universe, but also over the extremely serious concepts of sickness and death.
Prayer:
Lord, when we look at your power, we can only stand in awe. Complete and absoulute admiration are nowhere near adequate words – your pure power and glory are just so far beyond words and so far beyond understanding that there is no way that our earthly hearts can even come close to its complete comprehension.
You have complete command over everything we can see - over the natural universe, over sickness, and even over death. How can us mere mortals of this world ever come remotely close to understanding?
Yet, for those of us who have accepted your great peace offering, for those which you have chosen to make up a part of your great family, we can only thank you that you have opened our eyes wide enough to let in the great torrent and flood of your amazing grace. And we know further, lord, that you will open our eyes to receive the full notion of your glory when we meet you in that great day in heaven.
Though many of us will experience persecution and difficult times prior to then, lord, when we see the full extent of your glory, none of that will matter and all of our tears will be wiped away and our hearts will be full of pure gladness, joy and understanding.
Lord, when we look at your greatness, we can only bow down and worship in awe – at the greatness of your power and love.
In your great name,
Amen.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Faith Should not depend on miraculous signs (John 4:43-54)
Scripture reading:
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When 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.
46Once 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. 47When 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."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then 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.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Observations:
· Why is Jesus so harsh on the Galilians?
At first, the approach of Jesus in this case appears to be a little puzzling.
The warm welcome which Jesus received, along with the request of the royal official would at first appear to indicate a positive response on behalf of the Galileans in terms of receiving the gospel.
Yet Jesus is particularly skeptical of these people. Why?
The answer would not appear to have anything to do with his previous visit to the region (refer John chapter 2), during which time the performance of his first miracle saw him turn water into wine. There did not appear to be anything which stood out about that encounter in particular which would have suggested any special degree of hostility toward him.
To be sure, immediately after leaving the region on the previous occasion, Jesus had encountered a degree of resistance from the Jews in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival. (After Jesus had overturned the table of moneychangers, the Jews who were in attendance at the festival had demanded from him the production of some form of miraculous sign in order to prove his authenticity – refer John chapter 2).
But this occurred in Jerusalem not Galilee, and there is nothing in particular found in the gospel to indicate that Jesus had, at this point, been subjected to any abnormal degree of resistance and hostility from the Galileans in particular.
So why then was Jesus so scathing of them?
There is no doubt in my mind that the answer lies in future events, which Jesus would have no doubt foreseen at the time of this event.
Whilst no abnormal degree of hostility was apparent Jesus’ previous visit to the region, the same cannot be said for later events, in which the gospels do appear to describe a significant level of resistance toward his message.
Chapter 6 in the book of John, for example, describes how the Jews of Capernicum demanded to see additional miraculous signs in order to authenticate his claims about himself, and how many of his followers were unable to accept some of the more controversial aspects of his teaching.
At the time of this passage, Jesus would have been well aware about how these future events would occur, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is what explains his behavior in this passage.
Prayer:
Lord, you can see through into the future.
In particular, you can see into each and every one of our hearts. You can tell who truly has faith in you from who does not. You can tell those whose hearts toward you are hard from those whose are not. You can distinguish without a shadow of a doubt those who have truly accepted your offer of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ from those who have not.
Lord, I pray that you may cleanse my own heart along with any of those who may happen to share in this prayer. Yes, lord, we ask for miracles especially in times of adversity. But lord whenever we ask for miracles, let it be because we have absolutely no doubt in our own hearts about what you are capable of, not because our hearts are hard and we are demanding some form of proof.
In these things I pray.
In your great name.
Amen.
43After the two days he left for Galilee. 44(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) 45When 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.
46Once 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. 47When 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."
49The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live." The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then 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.
54This was the second miraculous sign that Jesus performed, having come from Judea to Galilee.
Observations:
· Why is Jesus so harsh on the Galilians?
At first, the approach of Jesus in this case appears to be a little puzzling.
The warm welcome which Jesus received, along with the request of the royal official would at first appear to indicate a positive response on behalf of the Galileans in terms of receiving the gospel.
Yet Jesus is particularly skeptical of these people. Why?
The answer would not appear to have anything to do with his previous visit to the region (refer John chapter 2), during which time the performance of his first miracle saw him turn water into wine. There did not appear to be anything which stood out about that encounter in particular which would have suggested any special degree of hostility toward him.
To be sure, immediately after leaving the region on the previous occasion, Jesus had encountered a degree of resistance from the Jews in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival. (After Jesus had overturned the table of moneychangers, the Jews who were in attendance at the festival had demanded from him the production of some form of miraculous sign in order to prove his authenticity – refer John chapter 2).
But this occurred in Jerusalem not Galilee, and there is nothing in particular found in the gospel to indicate that Jesus had, at this point, been subjected to any abnormal degree of resistance and hostility from the Galileans in particular.
So why then was Jesus so scathing of them?
There is no doubt in my mind that the answer lies in future events, which Jesus would have no doubt foreseen at the time of this event.
Whilst no abnormal degree of hostility was apparent Jesus’ previous visit to the region, the same cannot be said for later events, in which the gospels do appear to describe a significant level of resistance toward his message.
Chapter 6 in the book of John, for example, describes how the Jews of Capernicum demanded to see additional miraculous signs in order to authenticate his claims about himself, and how many of his followers were unable to accept some of the more controversial aspects of his teaching.
At the time of this passage, Jesus would have been well aware about how these future events would occur, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is what explains his behavior in this passage.
Prayer:
Lord, you can see through into the future.
In particular, you can see into each and every one of our hearts. You can tell who truly has faith in you from who does not. You can tell those whose hearts toward you are hard from those whose are not. You can distinguish without a shadow of a doubt those who have truly accepted your offer of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ from those who have not.
Lord, I pray that you may cleanse my own heart along with any of those who may happen to share in this prayer. Yes, lord, we ask for miracles especially in times of adversity. But lord whenever we ask for miracles, let it be because we have absolutely no doubt in our own hearts about what you are capable of, not because our hearts are hard and we are demanding some form of proof.
In these things I pray.
In your great name.
Amen.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The power of direct encounters with Jesus (John 4:39-42)
Scripture Reading:
(39) Many of the Samaritans in town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” (40) So when the Samaritans came to see 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 have said; now we have heard it for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the savior of the world.”
Observations:
(1) Being witnessed to is good, but directly seeing Jesus is better.
Pretend, for a moment, that you were a judge, and an accused murderer was on trial.
Which of the following would represent more conclusive evidence of his guilt – (a) hearing testimony from a witness who claims to have seen him commit the murder; or (b) seeing him commit the murder yourself?
The answer should be obvious, and for good reason, too. Whilst witnesses are prone to lying or being mistake, evidence seen through one’s own eyes is beyond dispute - a principle which we can see at work in the above passage.
We can see from the above passage that for some Samaritans, the woman’s testimony alone was sufficient for them to put their faith in Jesus.
But consider, for a moment, the statement in verse 41, that many more became believers after a direct encounter with him. It is apparent from the statement that for some people, the woman’s testimony alone did not in itself represent a sufficient basis for them to put their faith in Jesus. Instead, they wanted to see direct proof, a requirement which was satisfied through their own direct encounter with him.
Testimony about Jesus, it seems, though powerful, was not as conclusive as a direct encounter for some.
(2) Testimony should still be enough.
Notwithstanding the above point, this does not provide us with any form of excuse for refusing to believe the word of god in any way.
True, we do not live in the time that Jesus literally walked on the earth, and will not experience a direct encounter with him. And whilst it is possible to receive the message of Christ by direct revelation, testimony of others continues to represent the most common method by which the majority of us will be introduced to the gospel.
But not having physically seen Jesus does not, in any way, provide us with any excuse for unbelief. And when it comes time to face judgment, we will either be believers in Jesus as our savior or we will not be.
“I never saw him,” will be no excuse for not knowing him. Either you will know him or you won’t. No excuses.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, your presence is powerful and we can read in the gospels about how time and time again, people believed as a result of a direct encounter with you.
Lord, we will not have a direct physical encounter with you in our lifetime. But let us not use that as an excuse for unbelief, and when the day of judgment comes, please do not let me say that ‘I didn’t believe because I didn’t see you.’
Instead, let you say ‘he believed without seeing me, and therefore, he is one of mine.’
In your great name, I pray.
Amen
(39) Many of the Samaritans in town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” (40) So when the Samaritans came to see 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 have said; now we have heard it for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the savior of the world.”
Observations:
(1) Being witnessed to is good, but directly seeing Jesus is better.
Pretend, for a moment, that you were a judge, and an accused murderer was on trial.
Which of the following would represent more conclusive evidence of his guilt – (a) hearing testimony from a witness who claims to have seen him commit the murder; or (b) seeing him commit the murder yourself?
The answer should be obvious, and for good reason, too. Whilst witnesses are prone to lying or being mistake, evidence seen through one’s own eyes is beyond dispute - a principle which we can see at work in the above passage.
We can see from the above passage that for some Samaritans, the woman’s testimony alone was sufficient for them to put their faith in Jesus.
But consider, for a moment, the statement in verse 41, that many more became believers after a direct encounter with him. It is apparent from the statement that for some people, the woman’s testimony alone did not in itself represent a sufficient basis for them to put their faith in Jesus. Instead, they wanted to see direct proof, a requirement which was satisfied through their own direct encounter with him.
Testimony about Jesus, it seems, though powerful, was not as conclusive as a direct encounter for some.
(2) Testimony should still be enough.
Notwithstanding the above point, this does not provide us with any form of excuse for refusing to believe the word of god in any way.
True, we do not live in the time that Jesus literally walked on the earth, and will not experience a direct encounter with him. And whilst it is possible to receive the message of Christ by direct revelation, testimony of others continues to represent the most common method by which the majority of us will be introduced to the gospel.
But not having physically seen Jesus does not, in any way, provide us with any excuse for unbelief. And when it comes time to face judgment, we will either be believers in Jesus as our savior or we will not be.
“I never saw him,” will be no excuse for not knowing him. Either you will know him or you won’t. No excuses.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, your presence is powerful and we can read in the gospels about how time and time again, people believed as a result of a direct encounter with you.
Lord, we will not have a direct physical encounter with you in our lifetime. But let us not use that as an excuse for unbelief, and when the day of judgment comes, please do not let me say that ‘I didn’t believe because I didn’t see you.’
Instead, let you say ‘he believed without seeing me, and therefore, he is one of mine.’
In your great name, I pray.
Amen
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Enounters with Jesus change us - and people notice (John 4:28-30)
Scriptural reading:
(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 that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (30) They came out of the town and made their way before him.
Observations:
The two key things which we can observe from these passages are as follows:
(1) Encounters with Jesus change us.
I find it highly unlikely that the woman described in this passage has ever had a greater life changing event than her encounter with Jesus.
She went to the well that day a broken woman, so ashamed (she was a prostitute, had five husbands, and was sleeping with a man who was not her husband) that she went to the well by herself in the middle of what we can only presume was a stinking hot day just to avoid any form of uncomfortable confrontation.
But she did not leave that way.
Her encounter with Jesus changed everything, a fact which is clearly evident in the immediate changes in her demeanor, actions and behavior.
No more tiptoeing out to the well by herself to avoid confrontation. No. Gone were her fear and shame as she was absolutely and completely overcome by a whole-hearted conviction to share the experience with other Samaritans.
Encounters with Jesus change lives, and it is just not possible to have a genuine encounter with Jesus for the first time and not be impacted.
(2) Others notice the changes.
Under no circumstances should the changes referred to above represent mere internalized changes which go unnoticed by others.
No, they are profound, and compel others to take notice.
Prior to her encounter with Jesus, it is pretty clear that the Samaritans did not think much of the woman and it is highly likely that they would not have given here the time of day.
Not so after the encounter, where they left immediately in the middle of a stinking hot day to go and see what she was talking about.
What changed? One could imagine that they would have been a long way from certain as to whether or not she had seen the messiah.
But they sense that something about her had changed, and that she had most certainly seen something very significant. No longer could she be brushed off, she now had to be taken seriously.
That’s what I think happens when we ourselves have an encounter with Jesus. The response of others may not always be positive, but they do sit up and take notice.
Prayer:
Lord,
We cannot help but be changed upon the experience of our first encounter with you.
You are what we have been searching for all our lives. You, and only you, are our salvation. You, and only you are have everything we need.
You are so powerful that we just cannot avoid being changed by such encounters.
And lord, let the changes within us not remain solely in us. Rather, lord, let us shimmer like stars with your love, and let us be beacons of the light so that others can see your greatness and power.
In your great name I pray.
Amen.
(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 that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (30) They came out of the town and made their way before him.
Observations:
The two key things which we can observe from these passages are as follows:
(1) Encounters with Jesus change us.
I find it highly unlikely that the woman described in this passage has ever had a greater life changing event than her encounter with Jesus.
She went to the well that day a broken woman, so ashamed (she was a prostitute, had five husbands, and was sleeping with a man who was not her husband) that she went to the well by herself in the middle of what we can only presume was a stinking hot day just to avoid any form of uncomfortable confrontation.
But she did not leave that way.
Her encounter with Jesus changed everything, a fact which is clearly evident in the immediate changes in her demeanor, actions and behavior.
No more tiptoeing out to the well by herself to avoid confrontation. No. Gone were her fear and shame as she was absolutely and completely overcome by a whole-hearted conviction to share the experience with other Samaritans.
Encounters with Jesus change lives, and it is just not possible to have a genuine encounter with Jesus for the first time and not be impacted.
(2) Others notice the changes.
Under no circumstances should the changes referred to above represent mere internalized changes which go unnoticed by others.
No, they are profound, and compel others to take notice.
Prior to her encounter with Jesus, it is pretty clear that the Samaritans did not think much of the woman and it is highly likely that they would not have given here the time of day.
Not so after the encounter, where they left immediately in the middle of a stinking hot day to go and see what she was talking about.
What changed? One could imagine that they would have been a long way from certain as to whether or not she had seen the messiah.
But they sense that something about her had changed, and that she had most certainly seen something very significant. No longer could she be brushed off, she now had to be taken seriously.
That’s what I think happens when we ourselves have an encounter with Jesus. The response of others may not always be positive, but they do sit up and take notice.
Prayer:
Lord,
We cannot help but be changed upon the experience of our first encounter with you.
You are what we have been searching for all our lives. You, and only you, are our salvation. You, and only you are have everything we need.
You are so powerful that we just cannot avoid being changed by such encounters.
And lord, let the changes within us not remain solely in us. Rather, lord, let us shimmer like stars with your love, and let us be beacons of the light so that others can see your greatness and power.
In your great name I pray.
Amen.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Jesus knows who you are (refer John 4:16-18)
The passage referred to above describes part of a rather peculiar conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob.
Upon being asked by the woman to deliver on his promise with respect the provision (from a spiritual viewpoint) of ‘living water,’ which would lead to eternal life, Jesus asks the woman to fetch her husband. He did this knowing full well the truth about her - that she had five husbands and indeed, was currently sleeping with a sixth man to whom she was not married.
I feel that there are two main lessons that we can learn from this passage:
· Jesus knows who you are – the good and the bad.
Whilst Jesus does not express outright condemnation upon this woman, it becomes abundantly clear that he knows about the extent of the brokenness and sin in her life, with particular regard for her adulterous behavior.
God knows each and every aspect of our lives inside out. He has an intimate and complete knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses, both the positive aspects as well as any areas of brokenness.
Accordingly, there is no point in lying to god, nor is there any point in trying to hide from our sin or brokenness. He can see right through us, as he can see right through any attempts on our part to avoid confrontation of the issues in our lives. Such effort are pointless when it comes to dealing with him.
Instead, we should confront the issues head on by acknowledging our areas of brokenness in an honest and open fashion before him. We need to come humbly before the lord and ask for forgiveness for the sins which we have committed in our lives.
When we do this, god has promised full forgiveness of our sins anyway.
Don’t hide before sins. Take them straight to the lord and ask for forgiveness through Christ.
· Jesus does not rush to condemn you for your sin.
In the passage referred to above, Jesus makes it abundantly clear to the woman that he knows and understands all about her life of promiscuity.
But he does not condemn her.
The worldly views prostitutes with disdain, and cannot wait, it seems to look down upon them with a sense of scorn.
But not Jesus. It is clear from the passage that Jesus does not approve of what the woman does, nor does he see it as any way acceptable.
But he did not scorn her, he was not interested in that. Instead, he had a point to make, to demonstrate to the woman his power to heal her brokenness.
It’s the same with us. We all have areas of some kind and Jesus knows full well about these. There is no point in trying to hide them from him, nor is there any point in trying to pretend that they are not particularly important – they are.
But Jesus does not want to condemn us. He does not want to look upon our areas of sin and brokenness with an attitude of scorn. Rather his desire is for the lord to be glorified and for his amazing love to be demonstrated by virtue of the act of restoring our relationship with him through his death on the cross.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, there is no point in us trying to hide from you.
You know us inside out. You know each of our strengths. You also know our areas of weakness, where each of us fall short, and the sin that stains each and every one of us.
Thank you that even though you know our darkest corners, you do not condemn us.
Indeed, you offer us the chance to come into the light, the opportunity to have our sins forgiven and to come into a right relationship with you.
Lord, without you, we are lost in our ways of sin. But in your presence, we can find peace, love, and more importantly, amazing grace.
For this I can only praise and thank you.
In your great name.
Amen.
Upon being asked by the woman to deliver on his promise with respect the provision (from a spiritual viewpoint) of ‘living water,’ which would lead to eternal life, Jesus asks the woman to fetch her husband. He did this knowing full well the truth about her - that she had five husbands and indeed, was currently sleeping with a sixth man to whom she was not married.
I feel that there are two main lessons that we can learn from this passage:
· Jesus knows who you are – the good and the bad.
Whilst Jesus does not express outright condemnation upon this woman, it becomes abundantly clear that he knows about the extent of the brokenness and sin in her life, with particular regard for her adulterous behavior.
God knows each and every aspect of our lives inside out. He has an intimate and complete knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses, both the positive aspects as well as any areas of brokenness.
Accordingly, there is no point in lying to god, nor is there any point in trying to hide from our sin or brokenness. He can see right through us, as he can see right through any attempts on our part to avoid confrontation of the issues in our lives. Such effort are pointless when it comes to dealing with him.
Instead, we should confront the issues head on by acknowledging our areas of brokenness in an honest and open fashion before him. We need to come humbly before the lord and ask for forgiveness for the sins which we have committed in our lives.
When we do this, god has promised full forgiveness of our sins anyway.
Don’t hide before sins. Take them straight to the lord and ask for forgiveness through Christ.
· Jesus does not rush to condemn you for your sin.
In the passage referred to above, Jesus makes it abundantly clear to the woman that he knows and understands all about her life of promiscuity.
But he does not condemn her.
The worldly views prostitutes with disdain, and cannot wait, it seems to look down upon them with a sense of scorn.
But not Jesus. It is clear from the passage that Jesus does not approve of what the woman does, nor does he see it as any way acceptable.
But he did not scorn her, he was not interested in that. Instead, he had a point to make, to demonstrate to the woman his power to heal her brokenness.
It’s the same with us. We all have areas of some kind and Jesus knows full well about these. There is no point in trying to hide them from him, nor is there any point in trying to pretend that they are not particularly important – they are.
But Jesus does not want to condemn us. He does not want to look upon our areas of sin and brokenness with an attitude of scorn. Rather his desire is for the lord to be glorified and for his amazing love to be demonstrated by virtue of the act of restoring our relationship with him through his death on the cross.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, there is no point in us trying to hide from you.
You know us inside out. You know each of our strengths. You also know our areas of weakness, where each of us fall short, and the sin that stains each and every one of us.
Thank you that even though you know our darkest corners, you do not condemn us.
Indeed, you offer us the chance to come into the light, the opportunity to have our sins forgiven and to come into a right relationship with you.
Lord, without you, we are lost in our ways of sin. But in your presence, we can find peace, love, and more importantly, amazing grace.
For this I can only praise and thank you.
In your great name.
Amen.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
God is about the spiritual, not the physical (John 4(7-24))
(refer John 4: 7-24)
Observations:
(1) We care about the physical, god cares about the spiritual.
In the passage referred to above, which describes a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well, we see two good examples about how the nature of our focus differs from that of god.
In short, we tend to focus predominately upon the physical world, whereas god is far more concerned about spiritual matters than concerns of a physical nature.
The first example of this refers to the realm of drinking, water and nourishment. The conversation commences when Jesus asks the woman for a drink, but it soon becomes clear that the woman and Jesus are on completely different wavelengths, and their focus is worlds apart.
The primary focus of the woman is on the physical aspects, both in terms of the physical process of drawing the water from the well and in terms of the physical benefit which water provides in terms of temporary refreshment.
In contrast, Jesus was merely using the water as a metaphor from which to teach the woman a lesson. His focus was concentrated upon spiritual needs, about he (subsequently through his death and resurrection on the cross), and only he, could fill our needs on a permanent basis from a spiritual basis.
The second example concerns the realm of worship, a topic to which the conversation progresses after the initial conversation about water.
Here the primary focus of the woman is based around the physical aspects of worship, in particular the appropriateness of the location in which it takes place. Again in contrast, the concerns of Jesus revolve primarily around spiritual aspects. He makes it clear that god is much more concerned the state of our heart during worship, and the extent to which worship is conducted in a manner of genuine sincerity or public show.
Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not saying that god ignores or is not aware of the physical world, and countless of examples of how Jesus provides for our needs in a physical sense abound throughout the gospels, with the feeding of five thousand or the healing of Lazarus being two good examples.
Nevertheless, it is also made clear throughout the gospels that the physical world is not his primary focus, with the passage referred to above being a prime example, along with the conversation which follows the feeding of the five thousand in John Chapter 6.
Bottom line – we focus on the physical, but god cares about the spiritual.
Prayer:
Lord, our feeble minds are so small, we can only understand what we see around us.
Lord, we thank you that you take care of our physical needs. But lord help us to lift our hearts far above the physical attributes of this world, and set our hearts above and let thoughts of your magnificent greatness permeate from the core of our very inner being.
Lord, when we come to worship, let us not be concerned about physical aspects, such as the location in which the worship takes place. Rather, lord, let us set our hearts upon you, and upon the praising and honoring of your great name in a true spirit of wonderment and awe.
In your great name I pray.
Amen
Observations:
(1) We care about the physical, god cares about the spiritual.
In the passage referred to above, which describes a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well, we see two good examples about how the nature of our focus differs from that of god.
In short, we tend to focus predominately upon the physical world, whereas god is far more concerned about spiritual matters than concerns of a physical nature.
The first example of this refers to the realm of drinking, water and nourishment. The conversation commences when Jesus asks the woman for a drink, but it soon becomes clear that the woman and Jesus are on completely different wavelengths, and their focus is worlds apart.
The primary focus of the woman is on the physical aspects, both in terms of the physical process of drawing the water from the well and in terms of the physical benefit which water provides in terms of temporary refreshment.
In contrast, Jesus was merely using the water as a metaphor from which to teach the woman a lesson. His focus was concentrated upon spiritual needs, about he (subsequently through his death and resurrection on the cross), and only he, could fill our needs on a permanent basis from a spiritual basis.
The second example concerns the realm of worship, a topic to which the conversation progresses after the initial conversation about water.
Here the primary focus of the woman is based around the physical aspects of worship, in particular the appropriateness of the location in which it takes place. Again in contrast, the concerns of Jesus revolve primarily around spiritual aspects. He makes it clear that god is much more concerned the state of our heart during worship, and the extent to which worship is conducted in a manner of genuine sincerity or public show.
Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not saying that god ignores or is not aware of the physical world, and countless of examples of how Jesus provides for our needs in a physical sense abound throughout the gospels, with the feeding of five thousand or the healing of Lazarus being two good examples.
Nevertheless, it is also made clear throughout the gospels that the physical world is not his primary focus, with the passage referred to above being a prime example, along with the conversation which follows the feeding of the five thousand in John Chapter 6.
Bottom line – we focus on the physical, but god cares about the spiritual.
Prayer:
Lord, our feeble minds are so small, we can only understand what we see around us.
Lord, we thank you that you take care of our physical needs. But lord help us to lift our hearts far above the physical attributes of this world, and set our hearts above and let thoughts of your magnificent greatness permeate from the core of our very inner being.
Lord, when we come to worship, let us not be concerned about physical aspects, such as the location in which the worship takes place. Rather, lord, let us set our hearts upon you, and upon the praising and honoring of your great name in a true spirit of wonderment and awe.
In your great name I pray.
Amen
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Permanency of the Healing of Jesus
Scripture reading
1The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When 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.)
9The 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.[a])
10Jesus 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? 12Are 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?"
13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but 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."
15The 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."
Observations:
(1) The gift of Jesus does not perish
Not much beats a cold drink on a hot day.
Perhaps except a nice warm shower after coming in out of freezing cold weather.
Only one problem – two hours later, you are thirsty again and in need of another drink. Or, with the shower example, by the next morning, or even by later that evening, you are dirty and cold, and in need of another shower.
In other words, the benefits provided by cold drinks or hot showers are temporary in nature and do not last. If you want to stay warm or refreshed as the case may be, you have to have another drink or shower – you have to keep going back for more.
Not so for the impact of Jesus, an impact which sustains us now and for the rest of our lives. In addition to the obvious benefit of salvation, we also receive something else when we truly accept Jesus as our savior – spiritual rebirth and a new heart.
The moment that you and I truly accept Jesus Christ as our savior, a kind of spiritual re-birth begins to take place. Under this process, the lord our god plants in us a seed of his own being and spirit in our hearts, which changes us on the outside by first changing us on the inside.
Jesus does not simply just simply visit us once (spiritually speaking) and go away, never to be seen again. No, instead, he invests a seed of rightesnous, a seed which never dies or leaves us. The seed grows, producing a spirit of righteousness which permeates our very being. Over time, it changes us, and helps us to grow up as children of god, overflowing with the type of characteristics which come from him, such as righteousness, kindness, compassion and love, just to name a few.
We receive the spirit of god once and once only, have no need to go back and keep receiving it. Instead, we receive it once, it is planted firmly in our hearts, and it stays with us for all time.
(2) God does not need us – we need him.
Refer back to versus seven, eight, nine and ten. The sequence of events is quite curious, commencing with Jesus asking the woman for a drink, it soon becomes apparent that indeed, it is the woman, rather than Jesus, who is in need.
I think there is an important lesson here for us to learn about our place before god. On one hand, it is certainly true that god, as our maker, is also our master, and that we must serve him by honoring him with all of our hearts. Nevertheless, I think it is all too easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking that we have something that god requires, and that he is somehow dependant upon us.
Not true. Rather, god has what we need – righteousness and the forgiveness of sins. We, as fallen man, have sinned before the lord, and are in need of forgiveness. He, great and mighty god, is the only one who is in a position to grant the forgiveness which we need. These are his and his only to give, and these represent our deepest and most desperate need.
We are the ones in need – not him.
True, under no circumstances should we adopt any form of consumer mentality towards the lord. Our thoughts and hearts should always be set on how we can honor the lord, not what he can give for us or do for us.
But we are the ones in need of forgiveness, something only our great lord can give.
Prayer:
Lord,
I thank you that you do not leave us, that instead, when we truly accept your peace offering on the cross, that you do not leave us to our own devices, but instead invest a part of you into our own beings, so that whilst we might occasionally feel hungry, thirsty or tired from a physical viewpoint, we need never feel that way from a spiritual viewpoint.
Lord, I pray that you let your spirit take control of my heart, and that you grow me up in the type of characteristics which I need in order to live a life which is honorable to your name. Characteristics of love, patience, kindness, compassion, meekness and self control, just to name a few.
Lord, we are sinful man, and there is nothing which we can do for you. We are in need of you, not the other way around. It is we who have sinned and are in need of forgiveness. It is you and only you who has the authority to grant what we so badly need.
I can only thank you that you promise to grant forgiveness so freely to anyone who accepts Christ as their savior.
In these things I pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
1The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When 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.)
9The 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.[a])
10Jesus 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? 12Are 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?"
13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but 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."
15The 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."
Observations:
(1) The gift of Jesus does not perish
Not much beats a cold drink on a hot day.
Perhaps except a nice warm shower after coming in out of freezing cold weather.
Only one problem – two hours later, you are thirsty again and in need of another drink. Or, with the shower example, by the next morning, or even by later that evening, you are dirty and cold, and in need of another shower.
In other words, the benefits provided by cold drinks or hot showers are temporary in nature and do not last. If you want to stay warm or refreshed as the case may be, you have to have another drink or shower – you have to keep going back for more.
Not so for the impact of Jesus, an impact which sustains us now and for the rest of our lives. In addition to the obvious benefit of salvation, we also receive something else when we truly accept Jesus as our savior – spiritual rebirth and a new heart.
The moment that you and I truly accept Jesus Christ as our savior, a kind of spiritual re-birth begins to take place. Under this process, the lord our god plants in us a seed of his own being and spirit in our hearts, which changes us on the outside by first changing us on the inside.
Jesus does not simply just simply visit us once (spiritually speaking) and go away, never to be seen again. No, instead, he invests a seed of rightesnous, a seed which never dies or leaves us. The seed grows, producing a spirit of righteousness which permeates our very being. Over time, it changes us, and helps us to grow up as children of god, overflowing with the type of characteristics which come from him, such as righteousness, kindness, compassion and love, just to name a few.
We receive the spirit of god once and once only, have no need to go back and keep receiving it. Instead, we receive it once, it is planted firmly in our hearts, and it stays with us for all time.
(2) God does not need us – we need him.
Refer back to versus seven, eight, nine and ten. The sequence of events is quite curious, commencing with Jesus asking the woman for a drink, it soon becomes apparent that indeed, it is the woman, rather than Jesus, who is in need.
I think there is an important lesson here for us to learn about our place before god. On one hand, it is certainly true that god, as our maker, is also our master, and that we must serve him by honoring him with all of our hearts. Nevertheless, I think it is all too easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking that we have something that god requires, and that he is somehow dependant upon us.
Not true. Rather, god has what we need – righteousness and the forgiveness of sins. We, as fallen man, have sinned before the lord, and are in need of forgiveness. He, great and mighty god, is the only one who is in a position to grant the forgiveness which we need. These are his and his only to give, and these represent our deepest and most desperate need.
We are the ones in need – not him.
True, under no circumstances should we adopt any form of consumer mentality towards the lord. Our thoughts and hearts should always be set on how we can honor the lord, not what he can give for us or do for us.
But we are the ones in need of forgiveness, something only our great lord can give.
Prayer:
Lord,
I thank you that you do not leave us, that instead, when we truly accept your peace offering on the cross, that you do not leave us to our own devices, but instead invest a part of you into our own beings, so that whilst we might occasionally feel hungry, thirsty or tired from a physical viewpoint, we need never feel that way from a spiritual viewpoint.
Lord, I pray that you let your spirit take control of my heart, and that you grow me up in the type of characteristics which I need in order to live a life which is honorable to your name. Characteristics of love, patience, kindness, compassion, meekness and self control, just to name a few.
Lord, we are sinful man, and there is nothing which we can do for you. We are in need of you, not the other way around. It is we who have sinned and are in need of forgiveness. It is you and only you who has the authority to grant what we so badly need.
I can only thank you that you promise to grant forgiveness so freely to anyone who accepts Christ as their savior.
In these things I pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
God is not constrained by cultural barriers
Scripture reading
1The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When 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.)
9The 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.[a])
10Jesus 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."
Observations
This is the first part of the famous story about the curious meeting of Jesus with a Samaritan woman.
For today, I would like to look at the social barriers and how the work of god is not constrained by them.
Look again at verse 9, where the woman was greatly surprised about being approached by Jesus. Why – because of the social barriers which she had thought would prevent such interaction.
Broadly speaking, these social barriers stemmed from two causes; (a) racial divisions between Jews and Samaritans and (b) the woman’s own social status within her own people.
Jewish Samaritan hostility
A brief background is necessary in order to fully appreciate the divisions between the Jews and the Samaritans.
Prior to the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel consisted of twelve different tribes. However, after his death, attempts by his son, Rehoboam, to become king, were rejected by all but two of the tribes.
As a result, the nation of Israel was split into two, with ten tribes from the north (those who did not accept Rehoboam’s rule) electing Jeroboam as their king, whilst the remaining two tribes accepted Rehoboam as their king.
During the period of 724-722 B.C, the capital of the northern tribes, Samaria, was overrun by the Assyrians, who instituted a policy of mixing ethnic populations of captured nations. The result – a form of mixed breed, or hybrid race evolved, and these came to be known as Samaritans.
Feelings of bitter enmity developed between the Samaritans and the two remaining Jewish tribes, for which there were several causes. The mixed race nature of the Samaritans formed one source of contention, with the Jews seeing them as a source of half breeds, who were not proper Jews. Another factor was the division of land following the split, under which the northern tribes received the vast majority of the fertile land and springs. Finally, there was a considerable degree of competition between the two groups in terms of supremity of religious practices.
One consequence of the resulting chasm was a refusal on the part of the Jews to approach or talk to a Samaritan (and vice versa) – to do so being effectively taboo from a social standpoint.
An outcast
Aside from racial tensions, the woman’s own social status would have prevented any form of interaction between herself and Jesus.
It emerges later in the story that the woman had five husbands, and indeed, was living with a sixth man who was not her husband. Accordingly, she had a well earned reputation for sleeping with any man who would take her, and for this, she was a complete outcast, one who was ostracized even within her own community.
Evidence of the extent of this is prevalent throughout the story. Firstly, she was at the well alone, unusual as it would have no doubt been the norm for women to go together. It is more than likely that her ostracism was the cause of this.
A second indication is the time of day. Our passage above indicates that she went to the well at about the sixth hour, which, as I understand it, translates to about midday. Normal practice would have been to go early in the morning, before the worst of the heat struck, and the most likely reason for the woman going at this time would have been to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation.
Jesus not limited by social taboos
My point is that under normal circumstances, this interaction would simply not have taken place.
As people, our own behavior is naturally influenced by social taboos and customs, and as such, a Jew would not have talked to a Samaritan under such circumstances.
But Jesus was no ordinary Jew. He was nothing less than the son of god, and as such, he is a long way above social taboos, norms or customs, which will not constrain him in any way from completing the masterful plan of god
It was the will of god for this conversation to take place, and Jesus had every intention of the fulfillment of that will, irrespective of any form of social taboos or customs.
My key point here is simply this – the gospel is powerful, and no social or cultural barrier will ever constrain god in any way from revealing himself or making himself known to whomever he pleases.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, it is simply beyond our comprehension just how far you are above our petty social conventions and taboos.
I pray that through this episode, as well as throughout the entire bible, that you help us to be reminded of how far above our miserable squabbles you are. We can only thank you and praise you that your perfect will is carried out both in heaven and on earth. This is in spite of our pettiness and because of your greatness.
In your great name I pray.
Amen.
1The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When 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.)
9The 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.[a])
10Jesus 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."
Observations
This is the first part of the famous story about the curious meeting of Jesus with a Samaritan woman.
For today, I would like to look at the social barriers and how the work of god is not constrained by them.
Look again at verse 9, where the woman was greatly surprised about being approached by Jesus. Why – because of the social barriers which she had thought would prevent such interaction.
Broadly speaking, these social barriers stemmed from two causes; (a) racial divisions between Jews and Samaritans and (b) the woman’s own social status within her own people.
Jewish Samaritan hostility
A brief background is necessary in order to fully appreciate the divisions between the Jews and the Samaritans.
Prior to the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel consisted of twelve different tribes. However, after his death, attempts by his son, Rehoboam, to become king, were rejected by all but two of the tribes.
As a result, the nation of Israel was split into two, with ten tribes from the north (those who did not accept Rehoboam’s rule) electing Jeroboam as their king, whilst the remaining two tribes accepted Rehoboam as their king.
During the period of 724-722 B.C, the capital of the northern tribes, Samaria, was overrun by the Assyrians, who instituted a policy of mixing ethnic populations of captured nations. The result – a form of mixed breed, or hybrid race evolved, and these came to be known as Samaritans.
Feelings of bitter enmity developed between the Samaritans and the two remaining Jewish tribes, for which there were several causes. The mixed race nature of the Samaritans formed one source of contention, with the Jews seeing them as a source of half breeds, who were not proper Jews. Another factor was the division of land following the split, under which the northern tribes received the vast majority of the fertile land and springs. Finally, there was a considerable degree of competition between the two groups in terms of supremity of religious practices.
One consequence of the resulting chasm was a refusal on the part of the Jews to approach or talk to a Samaritan (and vice versa) – to do so being effectively taboo from a social standpoint.
An outcast
Aside from racial tensions, the woman’s own social status would have prevented any form of interaction between herself and Jesus.
It emerges later in the story that the woman had five husbands, and indeed, was living with a sixth man who was not her husband. Accordingly, she had a well earned reputation for sleeping with any man who would take her, and for this, she was a complete outcast, one who was ostracized even within her own community.
Evidence of the extent of this is prevalent throughout the story. Firstly, she was at the well alone, unusual as it would have no doubt been the norm for women to go together. It is more than likely that her ostracism was the cause of this.
A second indication is the time of day. Our passage above indicates that she went to the well at about the sixth hour, which, as I understand it, translates to about midday. Normal practice would have been to go early in the morning, before the worst of the heat struck, and the most likely reason for the woman going at this time would have been to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation.
Jesus not limited by social taboos
My point is that under normal circumstances, this interaction would simply not have taken place.
As people, our own behavior is naturally influenced by social taboos and customs, and as such, a Jew would not have talked to a Samaritan under such circumstances.
But Jesus was no ordinary Jew. He was nothing less than the son of god, and as such, he is a long way above social taboos, norms or customs, which will not constrain him in any way from completing the masterful plan of god
It was the will of god for this conversation to take place, and Jesus had every intention of the fulfillment of that will, irrespective of any form of social taboos or customs.
My key point here is simply this – the gospel is powerful, and no social or cultural barrier will ever constrain god in any way from revealing himself or making himself known to whomever he pleases.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, it is simply beyond our comprehension just how far you are above our petty social conventions and taboos.
I pray that through this episode, as well as throughout the entire bible, that you help us to be reminded of how far above our miserable squabbles you are. We can only thank you and praise you that your perfect will is carried out both in heaven and on earth. This is in spite of our pettiness and because of your greatness.
In your great name I pray.
Amen.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Eternal Life or Eternal Destruction (John 3:36)
Scripture reading(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.”
Observations:
Does everyone go to heaven?
Would a truly loving god ever not allow anyone into heaven?
Is god’s love truly unconditional?
According to one commonly held viewpoint, there are no boundaries in relation to god’s love, and that his love is absolutely and completely unconditional.
This viewpoint may be popular, but does it accord with scripture?
No. Neither does the idea that everyone is granted entry into heaven after death, a viewpoint advanced by some who feel that a truly loving god would never deny entry into heaven for anyone.
Granted, ardent students of scripture will find several examples which describe the nature and extent of god’s love, – Romans 5:8-9 being a good example.
But nowhere does the bible say that his love is unconditional, and the concept that god’s love does not come with any conditions attached does not accord with scripture. Nor do the viewpoints that everyone goes to heaven after death, or that a truly loving god would never send anyone to hell.
Indeed, this passage, and others like it, contradict these kinds of popular beliefs. This passage makes it clear that there is one condition attached to god’s love and toward entry into heaven.
That condition is simply this: belief in Jesus Christ, god’s only son.
There is one condition, and one condition only, for entry into heaven after death – absolute faith that the death of Christ Jesus on the cross is sufficient to cover the cost of your sins. Those who believe in Jesus are granted immediate and full forgiveness for our sins.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those who do not, whom the bible says are not forgiven for their sins and will be denied entry into heaven.
Why is god’s love not unconditional? I feel that it is important here to explore the issue of why some of the popular notions above do not accord with scripture.
The notions, that god’s love is completely unconditional and that a truly loving god would not deny anyone entrance into heaven upon death, are, in my view, based around a popular, worldly view of god, as opposed to a view of based around the teachings of the bible. This worldly view describes how we imagine god to be like, or how we believe that god should be, as opposed to how god is actually described in the bible.
One of the fundamental problems with this worldly view of god is that it tends to gloss over or ignore one very important fact – that we have all sinned against him, and that our relationship with him has been broken as a result. (refer Genesis 3)
The idea that a loving god would not deny entry into heaven to anyone, for example, would hold true if we had never sinned. If we had never sinned, if we had never rebelled against god, then any denial of entry into heaven on his behalf would be unfair and without justification. After all, what just god would deny entry into heaven to those who had done nothing wrong?
But this is not the case, and indeed, the bible says that each and every one of us has, at some point, turned away and rejected god. The first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve at that time represented and acted on behalf of the entire human race at that time. But more than that, the bible claims that each and every one of us has, at some point, turned away and rejected god our maker and heavenly father.
This is where the worldly view falls down. For god to automatically grant everyone a free ticket into his heavenly home, he would have to pretend that our sin does not matter, or that it does not matter that we have rebelled against him rejected him.
But it does matter. God, with his complete integrity, could not just ignore our rejection of him.
That is why we need Jesus. Our sin cannot go unpunished, and someone needs to take the punishment for us. Either it can be Jesus, whose death on the cross god has deemed sufficient for the complete forgiveness of our sins, or it can be us, who will otherwise have to take an eternal punishment, in being locked out of the kingdom of god forever.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Sometimes, in our arrogance, we try to demand that you be whoever we want you to be.
We forget our place – that you are the maker and master of heaven and earth, and that we, lowly sinners, are accountable to you, not the other way around.
Lord, we try to gloss over our sin and our rebellion, and in our arrogance, we sometimes think that we are entitled to a place in your kingdom in spite or our brokenness.
But thank you lord, that you did not leave us broken. When we were lost, you have provided a way for us to be reconciled to you. You took the punishment on yourself, so that we may be forgiven, and so that the depth of your amazing character would be revealed and on full display.
For that, we can only fall down on our knees and praise you.
In the name of Jesus Christ our lord.
Amen.
“Whoever believes in the son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
Observations:
Does everyone go to heaven?
Would a truly loving god ever not allow anyone into heaven?
Is god’s love truly unconditional?
According to one commonly held viewpoint, there are no boundaries in relation to god’s love, and that his love is absolutely and completely unconditional.
This viewpoint may be popular, but does it accord with scripture?
No. Neither does the idea that everyone is granted entry into heaven after death, a viewpoint advanced by some who feel that a truly loving god would never deny entry into heaven for anyone.
Granted, ardent students of scripture will find several examples which describe the nature and extent of god’s love, – Romans 5:8-9 being a good example.
But nowhere does the bible say that his love is unconditional, and the concept that god’s love does not come with any conditions attached does not accord with scripture. Nor do the viewpoints that everyone goes to heaven after death, or that a truly loving god would never send anyone to hell.
Indeed, this passage, and others like it, contradict these kinds of popular beliefs. This passage makes it clear that there is one condition attached to god’s love and toward entry into heaven.
That condition is simply this: belief in Jesus Christ, god’s only son.
There is one condition, and one condition only, for entry into heaven after death – absolute faith that the death of Christ Jesus on the cross is sufficient to cover the cost of your sins. Those who believe in Jesus are granted immediate and full forgiveness for our sins.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those who do not, whom the bible says are not forgiven for their sins and will be denied entry into heaven.
Why is god’s love not unconditional? I feel that it is important here to explore the issue of why some of the popular notions above do not accord with scripture.
The notions, that god’s love is completely unconditional and that a truly loving god would not deny anyone entrance into heaven upon death, are, in my view, based around a popular, worldly view of god, as opposed to a view of based around the teachings of the bible. This worldly view describes how we imagine god to be like, or how we believe that god should be, as opposed to how god is actually described in the bible.
One of the fundamental problems with this worldly view of god is that it tends to gloss over or ignore one very important fact – that we have all sinned against him, and that our relationship with him has been broken as a result. (refer Genesis 3)
The idea that a loving god would not deny entry into heaven to anyone, for example, would hold true if we had never sinned. If we had never sinned, if we had never rebelled against god, then any denial of entry into heaven on his behalf would be unfair and without justification. After all, what just god would deny entry into heaven to those who had done nothing wrong?
But this is not the case, and indeed, the bible says that each and every one of us has, at some point, turned away and rejected god. The first sin was committed in the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve at that time represented and acted on behalf of the entire human race at that time. But more than that, the bible claims that each and every one of us has, at some point, turned away and rejected god our maker and heavenly father.
This is where the worldly view falls down. For god to automatically grant everyone a free ticket into his heavenly home, he would have to pretend that our sin does not matter, or that it does not matter that we have rebelled against him rejected him.
But it does matter. God, with his complete integrity, could not just ignore our rejection of him.
That is why we need Jesus. Our sin cannot go unpunished, and someone needs to take the punishment for us. Either it can be Jesus, whose death on the cross god has deemed sufficient for the complete forgiveness of our sins, or it can be us, who will otherwise have to take an eternal punishment, in being locked out of the kingdom of god forever.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Sometimes, in our arrogance, we try to demand that you be whoever we want you to be.
We forget our place – that you are the maker and master of heaven and earth, and that we, lowly sinners, are accountable to you, not the other way around.
Lord, we try to gloss over our sin and our rebellion, and in our arrogance, we sometimes think that we are entitled to a place in your kingdom in spite or our brokenness.
But thank you lord, that you did not leave us broken. When we were lost, you have provided a way for us to be reconciled to you. You took the punishment on yourself, so that we may be forgiven, and so that the depth of your amazing character would be revealed and on full display.
For that, we can only fall down on our knees and praise you.
In the name of Jesus Christ our lord.
Amen.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Comming from above (John 3:31-36)
Scripture reading:
(31) The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth 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.
Observations:
(1) Jesus is not like us.
It is helpful in understanding the above passage to remember from the previous passage that it is John the Baptist who is speaking. In the previous passage, we saw how John saw Jesus as far above himself. John had to remind his own disciples that he was not the main event of the Christian message – that honor belonged to Jesus.
In this passage, John explains a little about why Jesus is so special, and why he himself was incomparable to Jesus.
Simply put, Jesus is from heaven, whereas John (like us) was from earth. As god’s son, Jesus had been given God’s holy spirit in full. God had given Jesus everything he had – completely divine power, divine character – everything.
John the Baptist was a man from earth. God gave John some spiritual strength and insight – enough to fulfill his mission on earth.
But John did was not given everything that god has and is – Jesus was.
In a similar manner, whilst I believe that we are given sufficient spiritual strength and insight to fulfill our mission as god has allocated for us, we are not given all of god’s power and strength.
Jesus, and only Jesus, is given the holy spirit in full, and that is because he and only he came down from heaven.
(2) God has love within himself.
“The father loves the son.” (v35)
Consider this sentence for a moment.
Here, we see a critical aspect of the nature of our god - he has love within himself.
In order to understand this, it is helpful to understand the trinity concept. The trinity concept is one which is not always easy to understand or explain, and I will freely concede that it is not a topic which I understand particularly well myself.
But what it boils down to is this – our god is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional god.
Our god operates as one full and complete unit, but there are three different dimensions to this unit – God the father, Jesus the son and the holy spirit.
Now each different dimension serves its own distinct purpose and function within the unit of god. But none operates in isolation. Instead, all three operate together as one unit in absolutely perfect and complete harmony and congruency.
Now then, when we see that god ‘loves’ Jesus, we see that one part of the trilogy of god loves another.
What this means is that god, by his nature, has perfect and complete love within himself. Unlike us, he does not need to receive love from external sources. No, rather, he has love fully contained within him. It’s inbuilt into him, it’s who he is.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank you, that you are not like us.
We come from the earth, we were born in earthly bodies and are of this world. But you did not come from earth, you came from the riches and glory and splendor of heaven. We, with our earthly bodies, heart and mindset, simply cannot comprehend or put into words the extent of your greatness and love. Nor can we contemplate just what it would have taken for you to leave heaven for awhile and take the form of a lowly man on earth.
But we must be ever thankful for what you did, and the great sacrifice you made because of your love for us.
And lord, in love, we worship your character. As we have seen, you are the source of love and you have love within yourself, by your nature. We can only look at your nature and praise your wondrous glory.
In your great name we pray and worship.
Amen.
(31) The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth 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.
Observations:
(1) Jesus is not like us.
It is helpful in understanding the above passage to remember from the previous passage that it is John the Baptist who is speaking. In the previous passage, we saw how John saw Jesus as far above himself. John had to remind his own disciples that he was not the main event of the Christian message – that honor belonged to Jesus.
In this passage, John explains a little about why Jesus is so special, and why he himself was incomparable to Jesus.
Simply put, Jesus is from heaven, whereas John (like us) was from earth. As god’s son, Jesus had been given God’s holy spirit in full. God had given Jesus everything he had – completely divine power, divine character – everything.
John the Baptist was a man from earth. God gave John some spiritual strength and insight – enough to fulfill his mission on earth.
But John did was not given everything that god has and is – Jesus was.
In a similar manner, whilst I believe that we are given sufficient spiritual strength and insight to fulfill our mission as god has allocated for us, we are not given all of god’s power and strength.
Jesus, and only Jesus, is given the holy spirit in full, and that is because he and only he came down from heaven.
(2) God has love within himself.
“The father loves the son.” (v35)
Consider this sentence for a moment.
Here, we see a critical aspect of the nature of our god - he has love within himself.
In order to understand this, it is helpful to understand the trinity concept. The trinity concept is one which is not always easy to understand or explain, and I will freely concede that it is not a topic which I understand particularly well myself.
But what it boils down to is this – our god is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional god.
Our god operates as one full and complete unit, but there are three different dimensions to this unit – God the father, Jesus the son and the holy spirit.
Now each different dimension serves its own distinct purpose and function within the unit of god. But none operates in isolation. Instead, all three operate together as one unit in absolutely perfect and complete harmony and congruency.
Now then, when we see that god ‘loves’ Jesus, we see that one part of the trilogy of god loves another.
What this means is that god, by his nature, has perfect and complete love within himself. Unlike us, he does not need to receive love from external sources. No, rather, he has love fully contained within him. It’s inbuilt into him, it’s who he is.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Thank you, that you are not like us.
We come from the earth, we were born in earthly bodies and are of this world. But you did not come from earth, you came from the riches and glory and splendor of heaven. We, with our earthly bodies, heart and mindset, simply cannot comprehend or put into words the extent of your greatness and love. Nor can we contemplate just what it would have taken for you to leave heaven for awhile and take the form of a lowly man on earth.
But we must be ever thankful for what you did, and the great sacrifice you made because of your love for us.
And lord, in love, we worship your character. As we have seen, you are the source of love and you have love within yourself, by your nature. We can only look at your nature and praise your wondrous glory.
In your great name we pray and worship.
Amen.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Understanding your place before god (John 3-22:30)
Scripture reading:
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now 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.) 25An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew[a] over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They 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."
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[b] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The 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. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
Observations:
Back in 2000, I was best man at a friend’s wedding.
I was truly honored to have been given this role, and it was an absolute pleasure to play a small part in their special day.
But as much as I was given an honorary role, the day was not about me, nor was I in any way the main focus. My role and the source of my joy, was to share in the occasion – not to steal glory for myself.
That was where my joy was, and I had to be (and was) content with my role.
I believe that every Christian has been allocated a role to play in the advancement of god’s great kingdom, and John’s example here demonstrates two important points about the attitudes with which each of us should adopt in our approach toward the fulfillment of our roles.
(1) Jesus is the central focus of the Christian faith.
It was Jesus who died for our sins, not us.
Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, not us.
He is the reason for our salvation. He must get the glory, not us.
Our role in the advancement of the kingdom of heaven is not to seek glory for ourselves. Nothing which we do in terms of building up the kingdom of heaven should be done for the purpose of seeking to glorify ourselves.
Instead, our goal should be to honor and glorify Jesus, our savior. We must seek to lead people to Jesus, not simply impress them with our theological knowledge or some other aspect of our religious life.
Our goal should be to see others worshiping and glorifying Jesus, not us.
(2) We must fulfill our roles with contentment and joy.
Whatever specific roles and tasks we are given in the advancement of the kingdom, we should fulfill those roles in a joyful manner.
In the case of John the Baptist, his main role was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. When Jesus came, John’s mission had been accomplished and his joy was complete.
We, too, should serve the lord with a joyous and thankful attitude, and we should truly rejoice when we see the results of our service to the kingdom. When someone comes to Jesus the first time, our hearts should be filled with joy. When we see others praising the lord, we should overflow with happiness. When we hear stories of god turning people’s lives around, we should be filled with gladness and satisfaction.
Prayer:
Lord, let us never forget, that Christ and Christ only is cornerstone of our faith.
Forgive us, lord, for when we try to seek glory for ourselves. Forgive us for when our hearts are not truly set upon you or the advancement of your kingdom.
Set our hearts only on you, lord.
Lord, mould our hearts to have an attitude of joyful servitude. Let us never think of service to your kingdom as a chore – although sometimes it will not be easy. Let us always see service to your kingdom as our mission, and let us rejoice when we see the results of your kingdom being built up in heaven.
In your great name, Amen.
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now 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.) 25An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew[a] over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They 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."
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[b] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The 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. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
Observations:
Back in 2000, I was best man at a friend’s wedding.
I was truly honored to have been given this role, and it was an absolute pleasure to play a small part in their special day.
But as much as I was given an honorary role, the day was not about me, nor was I in any way the main focus. My role and the source of my joy, was to share in the occasion – not to steal glory for myself.
That was where my joy was, and I had to be (and was) content with my role.
I believe that every Christian has been allocated a role to play in the advancement of god’s great kingdom, and John’s example here demonstrates two important points about the attitudes with which each of us should adopt in our approach toward the fulfillment of our roles.
(1) Jesus is the central focus of the Christian faith.
It was Jesus who died for our sins, not us.
Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, not us.
He is the reason for our salvation. He must get the glory, not us.
Our role in the advancement of the kingdom of heaven is not to seek glory for ourselves. Nothing which we do in terms of building up the kingdom of heaven should be done for the purpose of seeking to glorify ourselves.
Instead, our goal should be to honor and glorify Jesus, our savior. We must seek to lead people to Jesus, not simply impress them with our theological knowledge or some other aspect of our religious life.
Our goal should be to see others worshiping and glorifying Jesus, not us.
(2) We must fulfill our roles with contentment and joy.
Whatever specific roles and tasks we are given in the advancement of the kingdom, we should fulfill those roles in a joyful manner.
In the case of John the Baptist, his main role was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. When Jesus came, John’s mission had been accomplished and his joy was complete.
We, too, should serve the lord with a joyous and thankful attitude, and we should truly rejoice when we see the results of our service to the kingdom. When someone comes to Jesus the first time, our hearts should be filled with joy. When we see others praising the lord, we should overflow with happiness. When we hear stories of god turning people’s lives around, we should be filled with gladness and satisfaction.
Prayer:
Lord, let us never forget, that Christ and Christ only is cornerstone of our faith.
Forgive us, lord, for when we try to seek glory for ourselves. Forgive us for when our hearts are not truly set upon you or the advancement of your kingdom.
Set our hearts only on you, lord.
Lord, mould our hearts to have an attitude of joyful servitude. Let us never think of service to your kingdom as a chore – although sometimes it will not be easy. Let us always see service to your kingdom as our mission, and let us rejoice when we see the results of your kingdom being built up in heaven.
In your great name, Amen.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Light Shinning in the darkness (John 3-19:21)
Scripture reading:
(19) This is the verdict – light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because there deeds were evil.
(20) Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds may 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.
Observations:
(1) “This is the verdict” (v19)
At first, this passage may appear to contradict what Jesus said in verse 17 (refer preceding study).
In that verse, Jesus specifically stated that his first coming was not intended as a means of judgment (it was intended as a means of calling those who believe in him to salvation). So why then is Jesus now using the term ‘verdict,’ a term commonly associated with judgments?
What does Jesus mean – this is the verdict?
The way I interpret it, Jesus is making a discernment based upon how men have responded to him to date.
Let’s consider the context of the passage. Jesus is now in Jerusalem. Up until this point, we have seen a variety of responses when people have been confronted with Jesus, the light of the world. (refer next point).
Some have responded positively, recognizing him as the messiah and savior. These included John the Baptist as well as the disciples.
Others, including many Jews in Jerusalem, have not, refusing to accept the authority of Jesus (refer John 2:12-25). In the preceding passage, Jesus refers to such people as being ‘condemned already,’ by virtue of their refusal to acknowledge him as god’s son and their savior.
I believe the ‘verdict’ is not, in my opinion a final judgment, but rather a discernment of Jesus based upon responses to him to date.
(2) “Light” (v19)
It is interesting to see the description which Jesus assigns to himself in this passage.
So far in the book of John, we have seen Jesus refer to himself as ‘the son of man” (v13) and implicitly, but not explicitly, as god’s son (v16,17). Now, in this passage, we see Jesus identify himself simply as ‘light,’ (v19).
So what does this description of ‘light’ say about the identity and character of Jesus? What does the term ‘light’ actually mean in this context. Let me give a few thoughts.
· The source of life.
In Science terms, the sun, the soul source of light on the earth, is the source of all life. Without the sun, no forms of life could exist.
In scriptural terms, Jesus is the light of the world. He is the author and giver of all life, and without him, no life can exist, physically or spiritually.
Jesus is life.
· Goodness.
Light is sometimes contrasted with darkness in a similar manner to the way that goodness is contrasted to badness. Light, is taken to mean ‘goodness’ in such contrasts, whereas ‘dark’ signifies badness.
Jesus is the light. Jesus is who is good. Indeed, Jesus is great beyond all possible comprehension.
· Transparency.
Darkness is a place where things can be kept in the shadows, where issues which people do not want to deal with can be hidden, where no one need see your dirty laundry.
Light, in contrast, is a place which is transparent. There is no place for hiding in the light – everything is on show. The pure holiness, righteousness, sinlessness of Christ was laid out in plain sight for everyone to see throughout his time on earth.
He kept nothing hidden. He was completely transparent.
(3) Come out into the light.
Honesty is the best policy – at least that’s what we are told, and it is a wise saying.
Yet personally, this is not always so easy to follow, and a tempting response to having done the wrong thing is to cover our own tracks any way that we can – hoping that no one finds out.
I think this tendency produces a barrier toward receiving salvation through Christ. In order to accept god’s peace offering on the cross, we first have to come to the point where we acknowledge that, at least some point in our lives, all of us have sinned against the lord.
(19) This is the verdict – light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because there deeds were evil.
(20) Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds may 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.
Observations:
(1) “This is the verdict” (v19)
At first, this passage may appear to contradict what Jesus said in verse 17 (refer preceding study).
In that verse, Jesus specifically stated that his first coming was not intended as a means of judgment (it was intended as a means of calling those who believe in him to salvation). So why then is Jesus now using the term ‘verdict,’ a term commonly associated with judgments?
What does Jesus mean – this is the verdict?
The way I interpret it, Jesus is making a discernment based upon how men have responded to him to date.
Let’s consider the context of the passage. Jesus is now in Jerusalem. Up until this point, we have seen a variety of responses when people have been confronted with Jesus, the light of the world. (refer next point).
Some have responded positively, recognizing him as the messiah and savior. These included John the Baptist as well as the disciples.
Others, including many Jews in Jerusalem, have not, refusing to accept the authority of Jesus (refer John 2:12-25). In the preceding passage, Jesus refers to such people as being ‘condemned already,’ by virtue of their refusal to acknowledge him as god’s son and their savior.
I believe the ‘verdict’ is not, in my opinion a final judgment, but rather a discernment of Jesus based upon responses to him to date.
(2) “Light” (v19)
It is interesting to see the description which Jesus assigns to himself in this passage.
So far in the book of John, we have seen Jesus refer to himself as ‘the son of man” (v13) and implicitly, but not explicitly, as god’s son (v16,17). Now, in this passage, we see Jesus identify himself simply as ‘light,’ (v19).
So what does this description of ‘light’ say about the identity and character of Jesus? What does the term ‘light’ actually mean in this context. Let me give a few thoughts.
· The source of life.
In Science terms, the sun, the soul source of light on the earth, is the source of all life. Without the sun, no forms of life could exist.
In scriptural terms, Jesus is the light of the world. He is the author and giver of all life, and without him, no life can exist, physically or spiritually.
Jesus is life.
· Goodness.
Light is sometimes contrasted with darkness in a similar manner to the way that goodness is contrasted to badness. Light, is taken to mean ‘goodness’ in such contrasts, whereas ‘dark’ signifies badness.
Jesus is the light. Jesus is who is good. Indeed, Jesus is great beyond all possible comprehension.
· Transparency.
Darkness is a place where things can be kept in the shadows, where issues which people do not want to deal with can be hidden, where no one need see your dirty laundry.
Light, in contrast, is a place which is transparent. There is no place for hiding in the light – everything is on show. The pure holiness, righteousness, sinlessness of Christ was laid out in plain sight for everyone to see throughout his time on earth.
He kept nothing hidden. He was completely transparent.
(3) Come out into the light.
Honesty is the best policy – at least that’s what we are told, and it is a wise saying.
Yet personally, this is not always so easy to follow, and a tempting response to having done the wrong thing is to cover our own tracks any way that we can – hoping that no one finds out.
I think this tendency produces a barrier toward receiving salvation through Christ. In order to accept god’s peace offering on the cross, we first have to come to the point where we acknowledge that, at least some point in our lives, all of us have sinned against the lord.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Scripture Reading:
(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 is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of god’s only son.
Observations:
(1) This passage does not mean there is no judgment day.
At first, this passage may appear to contradict other passages in the bible. Many other passages refer to a time of judgment, where Jesus will come back and judge the world – with who are considered to be righteous by the lord being taken to heaven and those who are not missing out.
But this passage says that God did not send Jesus into the world to judge the world.
How can this be? Why do some biblical passages claim that Jesus will judge the world when this passage appears to contradict such a claim? Isn’t this passage completely contradictory to other passages? Is there going to be a judgment, or isn’t there?
Yes, there is going to be a day of judgment, and no, I do not believe that the passages are contradictory.
I believe that this passage refers specifically to the first coming of Christ. There are actually two comings of Christ described in the bible. On the first occasion, Christ came to save us – he came to take the punishment for our sins and call people to salvation through him.
However, on the second occasion, often referred to as the second coming, Christ will come to judge the world.
This passage is clearly referring specifically to the first coming. Notice the tense used in verse 17 “For god did not send…” Past tense is used, meaning that the passage is referring to an action completed in the past. Passages which refer to the second coming refer specifically to a future event.
Accordingly, this passage is referring to the past event of the first coming, and does not in any way invalidated what other passages say about the day of judgment..
The purpose of the first coming of Christ was not to judge the world. Yes, there will be a day of judgment, where Jesus will return and judge the living and the dead. But first, he came to call us to salvation through his death on the cross.
(2) Non-believers and condemnation.
As with the previous passage, verse 18 reinforces the importance and consequences of believing in Jesus.
This passage states that he who believes is ‘not condemned’ and that he does not believed is ‘condemned.’
What does this mean? It means those who have faith in salvation through Christ’s death on the cross are forgiven by god for their sins, and will be free to enjoy everlasting eternal life in heaven after death. Unfortunately, not so for those who do not believe.
Why are non-believers condemned? Why does the bible say that non-believers will be denied the right to go to heaven after death? From a human perspective, this does not seem fair.
Verse 18 provides a few ideas as to why this so.
The latter half of the verse states that “..he has not believed in the name of god’s one and only son.” The previous verse (verse 16, refer previous post) describes how god sent his one and only son down to die for our sins.
This was a huge price for god to pay, one that is far beyond any of our wildest imaginations. Yet for all his great sacrifice, still some people fail to recognize or acknowledge god’s only son.
This is an insult to god, one he can’t possibly ignore or overlook. God simply cannot turn his head and say, “Oh well, they did not acknowledge my son. It doesn’t matter. No problem.”
No, he cannot do that. That is why he can only grant his peace offer of salvation and forgiveness of sins to believers, those who have acknowledged the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, we know from your word, that there will be a day that you return and judge every one of us. Lord, you are righteous and your judgment is just. We are accountable to you for our sins. You have every right to judge us.
But thank you, thank you, O Lord, that you did not just leave us dead and hopeless in our sins. Thank you that before you came to judge us, you came to call those who you wish to save to you.
We are all sinners and none of us can stand by ourselves in your judgment. But thank you that before you came to judge, you came to save those who you have chosen to believe in your name.
Lord, it is not our right not to recognize your son. Your son is righteous and holy, your son is our only hope to restoration with you. You sent your son to pay for our sins and we have no right not give him full recognition as your son.
In these things I pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
(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 is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of god’s only son.
Observations:
(1) This passage does not mean there is no judgment day.
At first, this passage may appear to contradict other passages in the bible. Many other passages refer to a time of judgment, where Jesus will come back and judge the world – with who are considered to be righteous by the lord being taken to heaven and those who are not missing out.
But this passage says that God did not send Jesus into the world to judge the world.
How can this be? Why do some biblical passages claim that Jesus will judge the world when this passage appears to contradict such a claim? Isn’t this passage completely contradictory to other passages? Is there going to be a judgment, or isn’t there?
Yes, there is going to be a day of judgment, and no, I do not believe that the passages are contradictory.
I believe that this passage refers specifically to the first coming of Christ. There are actually two comings of Christ described in the bible. On the first occasion, Christ came to save us – he came to take the punishment for our sins and call people to salvation through him.
However, on the second occasion, often referred to as the second coming, Christ will come to judge the world.
This passage is clearly referring specifically to the first coming. Notice the tense used in verse 17 “For god did not send…” Past tense is used, meaning that the passage is referring to an action completed in the past. Passages which refer to the second coming refer specifically to a future event.
Accordingly, this passage is referring to the past event of the first coming, and does not in any way invalidated what other passages say about the day of judgment..
The purpose of the first coming of Christ was not to judge the world. Yes, there will be a day of judgment, where Jesus will return and judge the living and the dead. But first, he came to call us to salvation through his death on the cross.
(2) Non-believers and condemnation.
As with the previous passage, verse 18 reinforces the importance and consequences of believing in Jesus.
This passage states that he who believes is ‘not condemned’ and that he does not believed is ‘condemned.’
What does this mean? It means those who have faith in salvation through Christ’s death on the cross are forgiven by god for their sins, and will be free to enjoy everlasting eternal life in heaven after death. Unfortunately, not so for those who do not believe.
Why are non-believers condemned? Why does the bible say that non-believers will be denied the right to go to heaven after death? From a human perspective, this does not seem fair.
Verse 18 provides a few ideas as to why this so.
The latter half of the verse states that “..he has not believed in the name of god’s one and only son.” The previous verse (verse 16, refer previous post) describes how god sent his one and only son down to die for our sins.
This was a huge price for god to pay, one that is far beyond any of our wildest imaginations. Yet for all his great sacrifice, still some people fail to recognize or acknowledge god’s only son.
This is an insult to god, one he can’t possibly ignore or overlook. God simply cannot turn his head and say, “Oh well, they did not acknowledge my son. It doesn’t matter. No problem.”
No, he cannot do that. That is why he can only grant his peace offer of salvation and forgiveness of sins to believers, those who have acknowledged the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, we know from your word, that there will be a day that you return and judge every one of us. Lord, you are righteous and your judgment is just. We are accountable to you for our sins. You have every right to judge us.
But thank you, thank you, O Lord, that you did not just leave us dead and hopeless in our sins. Thank you that before you came to judge us, you came to call those who you wish to save to you.
We are all sinners and none of us can stand by ourselves in your judgment. But thank you that before you came to judge, you came to save those who you have chosen to believe in your name.
Lord, it is not our right not to recognize your son. Your son is righteous and holy, your son is our only hope to restoration with you. You sent your son to pay for our sins and we have no right not give him full recognition as your son.
In these things I pray.
In your great name,
Amen.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The heart of the Christian faith (John 3:16)
Scripture Reading
(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.
Observations
This passage summarizes the meaning of god’s act on the cross better than just about any other passage about the bible. The passage tells us:
· Who performed the action on the cross (god – refer discussion point 1)
· Why god performed the action (love – discussion point 2
· The object of god’s love (every human being – discussion point 3)
· What god did on the cross (sacrificed his son – discussion point 4)
· Who benefits from the act on the cross (believers – discussion point 5
· The consequences (for believers) of god’s action (discussion points 6 and 7)
These are all dealt with in turn in the discussion below.
(1) “For god..”
The first part of the passage tells us who performed the action on the cross – god.
This may seem fairly straightforward, but I think it demonstrates an important point about how we view the bible and the Christian message – that god, not us is at the centre of the Christian faith.
I think many in western society have come to view the Christian message as being about people first and foremost, and a common temptation is to adopt a me-centered, or us-centered view of the bible.
But we see here that we did not perform the key action of the Christian message – god did. God, not us, performed the greatest the action which forms the cornerstone of the Christian faith – the singular act which allows for our sins to be forgiven.
We cannot take any credit for our salvation – the action was performed by god, he is the one who must get all the credit.
This section also demonstrates how the bible, and indeed the Christian message is about god first and foremost – not us. The passage begins “For god..”
God is the subject of this passage, not us. God is who this passage is about, not us.
Likewise, the first words in Genesis, the first book of the bible, are “In the beginning, god ..”
Yes, we are the beneficiaries of god’s sacrifice, the objects of his infinite mercy and love. .
But the bible is not about us, nor is the Christian faith. It’s about our wonderful, beautiful creator – our heavenly father.
(2) “..so loved..”
This section states the reason for god’s action – why he made such a great sacrifice.
Why would god make such a sacrifice, particularly after man turned away from god?
Because of his great love for us - that’s why.
This speaks volumes about the nature and character of our creator. He created man. Man, his very own creation, turned away from him. But the richness of god’s amazing love is so great, that even after our rebellion, he did not give up on us.
Instead, he provided a way for us to be reconciled to him.
(3) “..the world..”
Who is the object of god’s everlasting love?
Are there any special qualifications? Does god love only the ‘good’ people? Does he discriminate on the basis of color, wealth, sex, race or socio-economic status? Is there anything we have to do in order to earn this love? Are certain types of people (prostitutes, homosexuals or drunkards) excluded?
In answer to the first question, we, the entire human race, were the object of gods love. The expression ‘the world’ here refers to every person in the world.
In answer to the second question – no. God’s love applies to every single person in the world. There are no exceptions.
Likewise, god’s peace offering on the cross applies to every single human being on planet earth, regardless of personal circumstance.
It may be tempting to think that certain people are un-deserving of god’s love. This may be true, but it misses the point – it’s not about who we are, but who god is. God’s act on the cross was a reflection of his character, not a reflection upon us. It was a demonstration of the extent of his justice, mercy and love, nothing to do with our character or standing.
It’s not about us, it’s about god and his amazing character.
(4) “...that he gave his one and only son..”
What was the cost of god’s love for us?
Was it something that didn’t really matter - something of insignificant value?
No. In this section, we get to the climax – the action. The first three parts of the verse tell us who did the action (god), the reason for the action (love) and the objects of his love (the world – including any person in it). Now, this section describes both the action itself and the extent of god’s love.
The action itself is this – god sent his son to die an excruciatingly painful death on the cross.
This is where it all happens, the climax of the bible, and the single most important event in history in terms of the relationship between god and man.
This singular action is what the whole Christian message is about.
What was the action? God sent his one and only son from heaven to take the punishment for the sins of mankind, and die an excruciatingly painful death by being nailed to a cross.
In addition to describing the action, this passage says a great deal about the extent of god’s love, and what he was willing to sacrifice because of that love. For those who are parents of a single child, there is probably nothing in the world that you would put that child to death for. Absolutely nothing, including your own life, would be worth giving up your child for.
But, that’s the price god was willing to pay in order for us to be reconciled to him.
Many times, people brush off god’s act on the cross, as if it was not significant.
Not so. To god, the importance of this event was beyond imagination, and the consequences were so pivotal that he gave up the one thing which mattered most to him beyond all else.
(5) “...that whoever believes in him..”
Who benefits from god’s sacrifice?
Or rather, who goes to heaven?
This section identifies the beneficiaries of god’s action – in other words, it tells us who receives god’s forgiveness and goes to heaven.
In addition, it challenges two commonly held fallacies. Many in the western world, including those who claim to be Christians, believe either one of two myths – (a) that everyone goes to heaven, or, perhaps more commonly, (b) that only ‘good’ people go to heaven.
Neither of these ideas are supported by the bible. Indeed, the bible directly contradicts both of these ideas. The bible states one criterion and one criterion only for entry into heaven – whether or not you believe in Christ.
Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has absolute faith that Christ’s death on the cross is a sufficient sacrifice to cover the cost of their sins, is a beneficiary of god’s action on the cross, and has guaranteed entry into god’s great kingdom of heaven.
On the other hand, those who do not believe in Christ do not benefit from his sacrifice on the cross.
To be sure, the passage states that the entire world, and everyone in it was the object of god’s love. But the passage also states that only those who believe in Christ benefit from his act of mercy.
To many, this may not seem fair. To some, it may not seem fair that anyone at all should miss out on receiving god’s gift of salvation. To others, the idea that one’s performance or morals on this earth are not considered does not seem just..
But god makes the rules, not us. And according to his word, those who believe in the death of Jesus benefit from his mercy, and non-believers do not.
(6) “..will not perish..”
This is where we move into the consequences of god’s action, and also where things get unpleasant.
There are two key consequences of god’s action on the cross, which are described in this section and the following section. The first, described here, deals with what believers avoid, the second with what believers gain.
By default, the passage also describes what non-believers will not be spared from, and what they miss out on.
What believers avoid, and what non-believers face, is death – eternal death. Essentially, this means permanent separation from god, and a one-way trip to hell – eternal punishment for our sins.
This is not a pleasant part of the Christian message, and it gives me no pleasure in saying this, but the bible says those who do not believe in Jesus, do suffer eternal punishment in hell. Not my words and not my rules, but that’s what the bible says.
To many, the idea that a loving god could send people to hell is incomprehensible. Indeed, if I made the rules, this fate would not befall upon anyone.
But god, as creator of the world, makes the rules, not me, and according to his rules, our sin brings with it the consequence of death. Those who believe in Jesus as their savior are spared this awful punishment. Not so, those who do not believe.
I’m not trying to scare anyone into becoming a Christian, but the bible does say that there is a consequence of not believing in Jesus Christ. This consequence is literally death and eternal punishment in hell.
But the good news is this – those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their savior are spared from god’s wrath. They will not suffer eternal punishment in hell.
(7) “..but have eternal life.”
As stated above, god’s action on the cross has two consequences for believers in Christ. The first deals with what is avoided (eternal death) and the second deals with what is gained.
What is avoided is too unbearable to even contemplate. But what is gained, eternal life, is awesome beyond belief.
What exactly does it mean to have eternal life? My understanding is that the term ‘eternal life,’ refers both to the physical and the spiritual realm. It does not mean the avoidance of a physical death on earth. What it does mean is that after you ‘die’ on earth, you receive new life in heaven. You are taken up to heaven to receive new life there.
But there are two marked differences between the new life you receive and life on earth.
First, eternal life in heaven is just that – eternal life. Eternal life is never ending – it cannot be revoked and it has no end. Life in heaven is permanent - you don’t have to worry about being killed in a car accident.
The second marked difference lies in your relationship with our creator. On earth, we live in a broken world, a sinful world which has turned against the lord. In heaven, there is no brokenness, no despair, no pain and no suffering. In heaven, we live in a perfect relationship with the lord our creator. Spiritually, we are alive and alive in full. We are exhilarated, we are overjoyed. We feel nothing but the pure warmth of our creator’s love beaming down on us.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, what can we say?
When it all comes down to it, we were destined for death and eternal punishment.
Yet you, in your glory, showed the true extent of your grace and love. You paid the ultimate cost for our sin, a cost we could never understand. We will never be able to grasp the full extent of the price you paid, so that our sins can be forgiven a
Lord, I pray for each person reading this now, that they accept your peace deal, that you move their hearts to come and receive the abundant, pure and free grace which you over.
Lord, there is nothing we can do to earn a place in your great kingdom. All we can do is accept your great mercy and love.
In your great name I pray,
Amen.
(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.
Observations
This passage summarizes the meaning of god’s act on the cross better than just about any other passage about the bible. The passage tells us:
· Who performed the action on the cross (god – refer discussion point 1)
· Why god performed the action (love – discussion point 2
· The object of god’s love (every human being – discussion point 3)
· What god did on the cross (sacrificed his son – discussion point 4)
· Who benefits from the act on the cross (believers – discussion point 5
· The consequences (for believers) of god’s action (discussion points 6 and 7)
These are all dealt with in turn in the discussion below.
(1) “For god..”
The first part of the passage tells us who performed the action on the cross – god.
This may seem fairly straightforward, but I think it demonstrates an important point about how we view the bible and the Christian message – that god, not us is at the centre of the Christian faith.
I think many in western society have come to view the Christian message as being about people first and foremost, and a common temptation is to adopt a me-centered, or us-centered view of the bible.
But we see here that we did not perform the key action of the Christian message – god did. God, not us, performed the greatest the action which forms the cornerstone of the Christian faith – the singular act which allows for our sins to be forgiven.
We cannot take any credit for our salvation – the action was performed by god, he is the one who must get all the credit.
This section also demonstrates how the bible, and indeed the Christian message is about god first and foremost – not us. The passage begins “For god..”
God is the subject of this passage, not us. God is who this passage is about, not us.
Likewise, the first words in Genesis, the first book of the bible, are “In the beginning, god ..”
Yes, we are the beneficiaries of god’s sacrifice, the objects of his infinite mercy and love. .
But the bible is not about us, nor is the Christian faith. It’s about our wonderful, beautiful creator – our heavenly father.
(2) “..so loved..”
This section states the reason for god’s action – why he made such a great sacrifice.
Why would god make such a sacrifice, particularly after man turned away from god?
Because of his great love for us - that’s why.
This speaks volumes about the nature and character of our creator. He created man. Man, his very own creation, turned away from him. But the richness of god’s amazing love is so great, that even after our rebellion, he did not give up on us.
Instead, he provided a way for us to be reconciled to him.
(3) “..the world..”
Who is the object of god’s everlasting love?
Are there any special qualifications? Does god love only the ‘good’ people? Does he discriminate on the basis of color, wealth, sex, race or socio-economic status? Is there anything we have to do in order to earn this love? Are certain types of people (prostitutes, homosexuals or drunkards) excluded?
In answer to the first question, we, the entire human race, were the object of gods love. The expression ‘the world’ here refers to every person in the world.
In answer to the second question – no. God’s love applies to every single person in the world. There are no exceptions.
Likewise, god’s peace offering on the cross applies to every single human being on planet earth, regardless of personal circumstance.
It may be tempting to think that certain people are un-deserving of god’s love. This may be true, but it misses the point – it’s not about who we are, but who god is. God’s act on the cross was a reflection of his character, not a reflection upon us. It was a demonstration of the extent of his justice, mercy and love, nothing to do with our character or standing.
It’s not about us, it’s about god and his amazing character.
(4) “...that he gave his one and only son..”
What was the cost of god’s love for us?
Was it something that didn’t really matter - something of insignificant value?
No. In this section, we get to the climax – the action. The first three parts of the verse tell us who did the action (god), the reason for the action (love) and the objects of his love (the world – including any person in it). Now, this section describes both the action itself and the extent of god’s love.
The action itself is this – god sent his son to die an excruciatingly painful death on the cross.
This is where it all happens, the climax of the bible, and the single most important event in history in terms of the relationship between god and man.
This singular action is what the whole Christian message is about.
What was the action? God sent his one and only son from heaven to take the punishment for the sins of mankind, and die an excruciatingly painful death by being nailed to a cross.
In addition to describing the action, this passage says a great deal about the extent of god’s love, and what he was willing to sacrifice because of that love. For those who are parents of a single child, there is probably nothing in the world that you would put that child to death for. Absolutely nothing, including your own life, would be worth giving up your child for.
But, that’s the price god was willing to pay in order for us to be reconciled to him.
Many times, people brush off god’s act on the cross, as if it was not significant.
Not so. To god, the importance of this event was beyond imagination, and the consequences were so pivotal that he gave up the one thing which mattered most to him beyond all else.
(5) “...that whoever believes in him..”
Who benefits from god’s sacrifice?
Or rather, who goes to heaven?
This section identifies the beneficiaries of god’s action – in other words, it tells us who receives god’s forgiveness and goes to heaven.
In addition, it challenges two commonly held fallacies. Many in the western world, including those who claim to be Christians, believe either one of two myths – (a) that everyone goes to heaven, or, perhaps more commonly, (b) that only ‘good’ people go to heaven.
Neither of these ideas are supported by the bible. Indeed, the bible directly contradicts both of these ideas. The bible states one criterion and one criterion only for entry into heaven – whether or not you believe in Christ.
Anyone, and I mean anyone, who has absolute faith that Christ’s death on the cross is a sufficient sacrifice to cover the cost of their sins, is a beneficiary of god’s action on the cross, and has guaranteed entry into god’s great kingdom of heaven.
On the other hand, those who do not believe in Christ do not benefit from his sacrifice on the cross.
To be sure, the passage states that the entire world, and everyone in it was the object of god’s love. But the passage also states that only those who believe in Christ benefit from his act of mercy.
To many, this may not seem fair. To some, it may not seem fair that anyone at all should miss out on receiving god’s gift of salvation. To others, the idea that one’s performance or morals on this earth are not considered does not seem just..
But god makes the rules, not us. And according to his word, those who believe in the death of Jesus benefit from his mercy, and non-believers do not.
(6) “..will not perish..”
This is where we move into the consequences of god’s action, and also where things get unpleasant.
There are two key consequences of god’s action on the cross, which are described in this section and the following section. The first, described here, deals with what believers avoid, the second with what believers gain.
By default, the passage also describes what non-believers will not be spared from, and what they miss out on.
What believers avoid, and what non-believers face, is death – eternal death. Essentially, this means permanent separation from god, and a one-way trip to hell – eternal punishment for our sins.
This is not a pleasant part of the Christian message, and it gives me no pleasure in saying this, but the bible says those who do not believe in Jesus, do suffer eternal punishment in hell. Not my words and not my rules, but that’s what the bible says.
To many, the idea that a loving god could send people to hell is incomprehensible. Indeed, if I made the rules, this fate would not befall upon anyone.
But god, as creator of the world, makes the rules, not me, and according to his rules, our sin brings with it the consequence of death. Those who believe in Jesus as their savior are spared this awful punishment. Not so, those who do not believe.
I’m not trying to scare anyone into becoming a Christian, but the bible does say that there is a consequence of not believing in Jesus Christ. This consequence is literally death and eternal punishment in hell.
But the good news is this – those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their savior are spared from god’s wrath. They will not suffer eternal punishment in hell.
(7) “..but have eternal life.”
As stated above, god’s action on the cross has two consequences for believers in Christ. The first deals with what is avoided (eternal death) and the second deals with what is gained.
What is avoided is too unbearable to even contemplate. But what is gained, eternal life, is awesome beyond belief.
What exactly does it mean to have eternal life? My understanding is that the term ‘eternal life,’ refers both to the physical and the spiritual realm. It does not mean the avoidance of a physical death on earth. What it does mean is that after you ‘die’ on earth, you receive new life in heaven. You are taken up to heaven to receive new life there.
But there are two marked differences between the new life you receive and life on earth.
First, eternal life in heaven is just that – eternal life. Eternal life is never ending – it cannot be revoked and it has no end. Life in heaven is permanent - you don’t have to worry about being killed in a car accident.
The second marked difference lies in your relationship with our creator. On earth, we live in a broken world, a sinful world which has turned against the lord. In heaven, there is no brokenness, no despair, no pain and no suffering. In heaven, we live in a perfect relationship with the lord our creator. Spiritually, we are alive and alive in full. We are exhilarated, we are overjoyed. We feel nothing but the pure warmth of our creator’s love beaming down on us.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly father,
Lord, what can we say?
When it all comes down to it, we were destined for death and eternal punishment.
Yet you, in your glory, showed the true extent of your grace and love. You paid the ultimate cost for our sin, a cost we could never understand. We will never be able to grasp the full extent of the price you paid, so that our sins can be forgiven a
Lord, I pray for each person reading this now, that they accept your peace deal, that you move their hearts to come and receive the abundant, pure and free grace which you over.
Lord, there is nothing we can do to earn a place in your great kingdom. All we can do is accept your great mercy and love.
In your great name I pray,
Amen.
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