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.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
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.
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