Jesus is our Shepherd from Jesus as seen by John

 Little sheep are cute. The image from Psalm 23 is loved. But there is something about being called sheep that chafes at the modern American. After all, sheep are not the brightest bulb in the package and if not led properly, they will probably do something stupid -- Something like the Bible says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;. . .(Isaiah 53:6a.)" Of course we like the freedom to do things our way -- we certainly aren't sheep and we don't need a shepherd -- or do we.

Even though I was raise for a while on a sheep ranch, my favorite story about sheep took place in Chula Vista during the 70s. Our church, First Baptist, was conducting Daily Vacation Bible school and we needed a lamb for an object lesson. One of our members had a ranch in the Otay area and agreed to loan us a lamb. Now you can picture the little lamb that we wanted, but what we didn't know was that sheep are lambs until a year of age; this was no cuddly lamb -- he was an ornery sheep! 

We picked him up in the Westby van (a Dodge 20 passenger van) and deposited him in a penned run behind the education building. All went well until it was time for him to go back to the ranch. We dutifully backed the van up to the pen and coaxed the "lamb" to the gate and then tried to lift him into the van. He got away, ran under the van, continued through the parking lot and into the center of 5th Avenue whereupon he turned right and started to cross E street (a major intersection in the town). He paid no attention to the traffic lights. But he wasn't the real problem, the real problem was that about 100 screaming children took off after the "lamb"  -- cars were screeching to a halt as sheep and children ran a block or so down the street. We didn't use live lambs anymore!

Yet sheep give us a good lesson; the listen to their master, they stay in the flock and follow their shepherd. Actually these are good qualities. The lesson on Jesus as our shepherd is found in the first 21 verses of John 10:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

   “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

   “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

 The Jews who heard these words were again divided.Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 

Jesus starts off this passage by giving a lesson about Robbers, Shepherds and Sheep. First he describes robbers. They sneak in -- they are up to no good -- and the sheep run away from them. Later in the passage, Jesus will point out who the robbers were, here he just announces that they are thieves and the sheep are smart enough to stay away. Shepherds on the other hand come in by the gate. The watchman knows the shepherd -- and so do the sheep. Notice that the shepherd calls his sheep by name and then the sheep follow him. I like this aspect of the picture of Jesus as my shepherd -- he knows our (my) name. Being in the flock is even better than "Cheers" where everyone knows your name.

Jesus then goes on the describe himself as the gate; this is a look ahead at the next chapter where he calls himself the "way, the truth, and the life." He says that all who came before him are the thieves and robbers. Here he is not talking about the prophets such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah etc. He is discussing people like the Pharisees who don't really see what God is doing, they don't hear his voice, but they teach the traditions and ultimately lead the people astray. Jesus states that, thankfully, the sheep didn't listen to them. Finally, Jesus finishes this part of the teaching by stating that all who enter by the gate; through him; will be saved.

Finally, Jesus states the real point; he is the Good Shepherd. He is this shepherd because he lays down his life for the sheep. Of course, this is pointing to the cross where he literally lays down his life for the sheep. He is our protector and our provider (look at Psalm 23). His sheep know him -- again, the key to the Christian life. He also states that he has other sheep that aren't in this sheepfold. Since he is talking to Jewish people, he is referring to Gentiles; us. We are the other sheep. Of course this also is applicable in  our day -- Jesus has has people in many places and we can't deny that they belong to him. There is only one flock and one shepherd, so we need to stop concentrating on labels and differences and embrace our brothers and sisters who worship the same shepherd as we do. Finally, he says that the Father loves him because he lays down his life. He also insists that he has the authority to do this; and he also has the authority to pick up his life again -- the resurrection. In fact, he is only doing what the Father commanded him to do.

Now don't be shocked, but the Pharisees didn't buy the story. They started to argue about whether he was demon possessed, insane or godly (after all he healed a blind man). I guess the big point of the story is don't be a Pharisee; be a sheep! Learn to recognize his voice, listen to that voice and do what he says. Another lesson is to the leader. Leading is not about being in charge, it is about sacrificing yourself for your people. May we under-shepherds be Good Shepherds and may the rest of us be good sheep.

 

He Makes the Blind to See from Jesus as Seen by John

"As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  Jesus makes this statement at the beginning of Chapter 9 of the Gospel of John before performing the miracle of healing. He is really making an announcement which is a repeat in the Gospel, "I am the light of the world." He brings light into the darkness of blindness but also brings the light of truth into the spirits of those who are blind to the truth of God. In the passage quoted below, we just have the first part of the story -- the healing.

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

   “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.

   Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

   But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

   “I don’t know,” he said.

The story starts simply enough; Jesus ans his disciples are walking along and they saw a blind man begging (the only occupation open to blind men in those days) and the disciples asked a question: "Who sinned, the parents or the man?" In that culture, sickness was often seen as punishment from God -- particularly deformities such as blindness from birth. But is that so? Jesus said that this wasn't the case here. In fact there are very few examples in the scriptures where God punished people through sickness -- particularly children.

Of course sin does cause sickness, but usually through natural consequences not through punishment. Those of us who over eat and don't exercise may develop heart trouble. The person who abuses alcohol may develop cirrhosis of the liver. The smoker may develop lung cancer etc. The problem is that many people, even Christians often feel abandoned by God if they become sick; God must be displeased with them -- this might as well be punishment.

Jesus said that in this instance that the sickness was an opportunity to see the working of God; his glory might be seen. And of course we see that as Jesus proceeds to heal the man. While sickness is never pleasant, nor is it normally the will of God for us, we live in a world where people do get sick and people are born blind. But many times as we live through the sickness the glory of God is seen in the way that we are transformed through the suffering. There are a lot of books devoted to a theology of suffering which I am not trying to summarize. Even though I don't like suffering, God has made me a better person when I have gone through tough times; and sickness. But the main thrust of this posting is that we don't need to see sickness as some kind of punishment from God; he is not mad at us!

Can you imagine in this day and age someone saying that they want to heal you. Then they bend down, spit in the dirt and make a paste to put in your eyes. They say nothing else except go down to the pool and wash the dirt out of your eyes. Would you do it? The man did and he was healed. The people who knew this man couldn't believe it. They thought maybe his twin brother just appeared. But he affirmed that he was the guy. He told them what Jesus did. They asked where Jesus was and he said that he didn't know. That's all  there is to the story -- of course we will see later in the chapter that the local establishment makes more of the story. But this is an anti-climactic end.

Well, what does this story say to us? First, sickness is not a punishment from God. Second, the healing performed by Jesus is not a formula for healing blindness. God performs supernatural healings, but he also works through doctors, medicines and surgery. Thirdly he works through sickness itself. This brings me to my fathers day tribute.

My dad and I were alienated for 10 years; I didn't speak to him (or even know where he was) from the age of 20 to 30 (my ages). My dad had been a very heavy smoker most of his adult life, so it was not too surprising that it was not too long after we reconciled that he developed lung cancer. I was pleased when we finally got together that he had also reconciled with God; he was a believer. I last saw my dad in early 1973. He looked like a refugee from a concentration camp; this heavy weight boxer and football player was just skin and bones. He was also bed-ridden. I gave him a set of tapes that were made from the songs in our church songbook -- lousy recordings; he wore out two sets of the tapes worshipping God from his bed. He died in April of 1973 and this is how my aunt explained it to me. "He was laying there asleep and all of a sudden he sat up and opened his eyes. He wasn't looking at me; he was looking in the distance, and he said, 'It's all right Lord, I'm coming.' He closed his eyes, lay down and died." I was proud of my dad in his death. I missed him and I am very sorry that we didn't have more time together before he left. But sickness killed him -- but he died a righteous man -- full of the Spirit. His lung cancer was a natural consequence of dissipation, but it was not punishment. God had not abandoned him.

Light always Conquers Darkness, from Jesus as Seen by John

Think of the darkest place you know; perhaps it is the closet in your bedroom after all the lights are turned out. You may have another place in mind. From my experience I picture the bridge on a ship at sea; there is no moon, cloud cover has darkened the stars -- just blackness. I picture us approaching land (we "see" it on radar) but we can't really see anything. Then, there it is on the horizon a faint blinking light. It is the expected lighthouse! Now we know where we are; what places to avoid and can enter harbor safely. Once we see light -- it is no longer dark. Light always conquers darkness.

Jesus starts our scripture passage (John 8:12-30) with, “I am the light of the world.”

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

 “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

 “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Jesus finishes his statement by saying, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This is really an astounding statement. In the first place there is a hint of what have come to be the “I AM” statements. This is an allusion to his divinity since “Yahweh” is a form of I am. Secondly, when Jesus states that he is the light, it implies that everyone else is in darkness and that only Jesus has the truth. What follows is a lengthy, complicated discussion between the Establishment and Jesus about this claim. What follows in this posting is not meant to be a complete exegesis of this passage; I only hope to give an outline and some of the implications of the statement of Jesus.

Of course, the establishment doesn’t believe the claim of Jesus, nor do they like the fact that he made that claim. To them, the Lord is the light; Psalm 27:1, 119:105, therefore they understood that Jesus was making the “preposterous” claim of his Lordship. This was both unbelievable and blasphemous. But, how were they to attack him? Since any truth or claim must be given by two witnesses, they attacked Jesus by saying that he was only saying this about himself with nothing to back it up.

Jesus answered by stating that he was qualified to judge since he knew where he came from and where he was going; in fact he knew the Father and only did as the Father wanted him to do. Jesus told them that they only saw things from a human perspective. Here again was a claim to divinity since God also states that he sees the hearts of men; e.g. the selection of David as King by Samuel.

Jesus gave a second defense by telling them that he wasn’t just bragging; there was another witness, the Father himself. He then tells them that they don’t know the Father since anyone that really knows Jesus knows the Father. Earlier, Jesus had said that anyone knowing the Father would know him (Jesus). Here he reverses that. Later in the Gospel Jesus will say that he and he alone is the way to the Father. Again what must have seemed like preposterous claims to those Pharisees. There is much more to saw about the passage, but I like how it ends, “Even as he spoke, many believed in him. “

Light was a good analogy for the world was indeed dark when Jesus came. There was much to admire about the Roman Empire, but there was a dark underside. Suicide was rampant. Most of the world was under Rome’s thumb. A huge part of the population was enslaved. This was also a time of immorality and pagan idolatry. This is darkness. What does light do to darkness? It dispels the darkness. When there is light, there can be no darkness. When we see light, we are alerted to danger and we can see the way to go. When we see the light, we see the truth. When our sins are brought to light, they can be forgiven.

What does this say to us? Since Jesus is the light, when we come to him, we are transformed and become light. To be sure, just as the Sun is light and the moon reflected light, Jesus is the light – but we reflect that light. So what is our task? Since we have come to the light – let us walk in the light so that others can see and be saved.

"No Condemnation" -- Part 2

First I must say that I stand by yesterday's posting. I think that it is scriptural, but it certainly doesn't deal with every aspect of how we deal with sin -- in ourselves or in others. The prime lessons from the blog are as follows:

1. Jesus didn't come to judge, but to save (John 3:17)
2. He tells us not to judge
3. We are told to work for the repentance and restoration of a brother or sister who is caught in sin

We are to judge sinful behavior. It would be ludicrous if we were not able to make this kind of judgement. We can't however judge the heart of another nor can we make the judgement as to their final destination. This is for God who sees the heart. King David was an adulterer, a murderer and a vicious fighter; yet God's judgement was that David was a man after God's own heart. Does that mean that God is at heart an adulterer or murderer -- heaven forbid -- NO. It does mean that God sees the heart of people even when they sin badly and the judgement may  not be what we would expect by only looking at their behavior.

In my limited experience, people (not just Christians) really are looking for a way out of deep sin. I have on occasion had to tell someone that their action was sinful -- but that is rare. I have never had to tell anyone who came into my office asking about something that had happened or that they had done -- that there was sin involved; what they wanted was a way out. We can help. So many times we want to judge the behavior and through a stone and be done with it. It is hard personal work to help persons out of the trouble that they got into.

Another aspect is the natural consequences of sin. For example, someone caught in adultery can be forgiven; adultery is not the unforgivable sin! That doesn't mean that their marriage might end with all of the ramifications of a messy divorce. That is not punishment; that is a natural consequence. A number of years ago a man who I knew well came into the office complaining, "I don't know why God is doing this to me! I had two flat tires this morning." He went on to tell the whole, sad story. He asked again, if I could tell him why God was punishing him. I asked him how old the tires were. He said that they were quite old and bald and that he had been putting off getting new ones. I then told him that God was not punishing him. The flat tires were merely the natural consequence of driving with rotten tires. In fact I also told him that the fact that this hadn't happened before was a gift of God's grace. Sin is a lot like this -- there are natural consequences that aren't punishment. I have heard the story from people who have gotten in trouble with the law. "I've repented so why hasn't he forgiven me." I told them that they had been forgiven. They then say, "Why do I have to go to jail then?" That is a natural consequence of breaking the law. The good news is that God will be with you.

What about Christian Leaders who sin openly and badly. They must be removed from their position because a natural consequence of a leader who misleads others through their bad behavior is to lose that leadership position. Does this means that they must be kicked out of the fellowship and shunned? Absolutely not. They are a Christian brother of sister and must be loved and restored. God loves them and forgives them. Will they ever be restored to leadership? That depends on what happened in their bad behavior and how things work in the restoration process.

The upshot of it all is that when we sin we must confess our sins, repent of our sins and we will be forgiven -- by God. But we must also deal in grace and forgive our brother or sister. This is not optional. We can judge bad behavior but we can never judge another's heart. That is for God alone. Our job is to love and bless; to nurture; to forgive and to lead them back to God.

"No Condemnation," from Jesus as Seen by John

When a person goes before a board in order to be ordained, that person must answer a number of theological questions which are usually in defense of the paper that they presented. They are also asked some practical questions. I was greeted with, “What would you do if your chairman of the board came and confessed that he was involved in an adulterous affair?” Good question. How do we handle sin in the church? In fact, how should the church look on sin within society. Let’s look at Jesus – as seen by John in 7:53-8:11:

 Then they all went home,

but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

 

   At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

  “No one, sir,” she said.

   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Let’s start by looking at the situation. After Jesus had been hassled while teaching at the temple, the people went home; Jesus went to the Mount of Olives where several villages were located with friends of his; notably Bethphage where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. So the story begins on the next day as Jesus returns to the temple and begins to teach. There are a lot of people there; a crowd who liked to listen to him. They weren’t all believers but they seemed to like what they heard.

Enter some Pharisees and teachers of the law. These were the people who understood and practiced the law; the experts in both knowledge and practice. They didn’t come alone. They brought in a woman who was probably both terrified and humiliated who had been caught in the “act of adultery.” We don’t know precisely how she was caught, but there seemed to be evidence that she was in an adulterous relationship. But, what is wrong with this picture? I believe that adultery can only be accomplished if there are at least two people involved. Where was the man? Of course, the righteous “keepers of the Law” wanted here to be stoned “as the law requires”; or does it?

What does the law really say about this? There are three verses in the Old Testament that are relevant; Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22 and Deuteronomy 22:23. Lev. 20:10 merely states that if a man sleeps with another man’s wife, both are to be killed. Deuteronomy 22:22 says the same thing. Verse 23 is a little different in that it describes a situation where a man seduces a woman betrothed to another in a town; the man is to be killed for committing adultery and the woman for not calling out for help. Note, that while stoning was very “popular”, it is not proscribed. What is required is that both are to suffer death. So, the legal experts start out by breaking the law!

The story goes on to say that this was all a trap. How could that be? It seems that Rome didn’t really authorize the Jews to execute people (at least legally – we do see it done, remember Stephen?) This is evidently why Jesus had to be sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate. Therefore, if Jesus told them to stone the woman, he would be disobeying Rome and could be reported, and if he said not to stone her, he would be guilty of “disobeying the Law” which would infuriate the Jews. They thought they had him, but wait. . . What is Jesus doing? He just stoops down and begins to write in the dirt. What is he writing? No one knows – a mystery. Finally he stands up and says, “OK, why doesn’t the one who is without sin throw the first stone.” Then he stoops down again and continues to write. The trappers were trapped; they knew that none of them were sinless and they all left.

After it was only Jesus and the woman left, he stood up and addressed her. Notice how gentle and compassionate he is with her. He doesn’t condemn her at all; nor does he condone her actions. He merely sets her free and tells her not to live that way anymore. Isn’t this the way that Jesus wants his people to deal with people who are caught up in sinful behaviors?

How should we deal with people outside the church who engage in what we may determine to be sinful behaviors? Leave them alone, it probably really isn’t our business. Look at Jesus at the party with tax collectors and prostitutes. He isn’t condemning them. He loves them. Even Paul tells us that we have to associate with “sinners” in the world; we have to buy from them, work with them – and win them. The operative word is love; we are to love them. We don’t have to love their behaviors. We should also be praying for them. We don’t know their heart and we can’t judge them.

 Inside the church, the operative word is still love. We don’t condone sin in the church; even though we are all sinners. Once we have come to Jesus and been filled with the Spirit, we are being transformed; we have been called to be holy. But, we are still capable of sin – and we are all guilty. We must love one another and gently help them change to a better way of acting (Galatians 6). Even where Paul describes a situation whereby someone is to be dismissed from the church, the purpose was repentance and restoration – not condemnation. Most of us who are Christians are very familiar with John 3:16, but we miss John 3: 17 which states, “For God did not send him into the world to condemn the world, but to same the world through him.” Certainly, if the mission of Jesus didn’t include the condemnation of people then it is obviously not a part of our mission. We are called to love and to bless, not to shame, humiliate and condemn.

Is Jesus the Messiah? from Jesus as seen by John

The fact that we don’t really understand many of the early beliefs of Judaism leads to misunderstandings on our part. It also makes some of the passages in the Gospel of John look almost hopelessly convoluted. As an example we need look no farther than the current passage:

At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
 Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. (John 7:25-44 NIV)

 

I’m sure that this brief presentation is an oversimplification but it may help lift some of the misunderstandings that we find in this passage of Scripture. First we must understand that essentially Christ and Messiah mean the same thing; the anointed one. Christ is Greek, Messiah is Hebrew. The Jews were looking for the coming of a Messiah who would be from the line of David and would restore the glorious Kingdom from the days of David and Solomon; God’s intentions for Israel would finally be realized. The scriptures declared that the Messiah would be born in the town of David; Bethlehem. But there was also a tradition that the Messiah would be hidden until he comes forth to restore the kingdom; no one would know where he came from. The words of Jesus address the questions that the Jewish people had – and since he spoke on a “spiritual” level rather than a “physical” level, the confusion just grew.

The first level of confusion came when the people of Jerusalem (they knew that the leaders were out to get Jesus) wondered why Jesus could be teaching in the temple openly. They wondered if maybe the leaders really knew that Jesus was the Messiah. But some said that this couldn’t be since they knew where Jesus came from; the Galilee region. Jesus answered by beginning to talk to the people on two levels. He stated that, of course, they knew him (on the physical level.) But he said , “I am not here on my own” (on the spiritual level). He said that he was there because he had been sent there by the Father. He concludes that since they didn’t believe in him, they really didn’t know the Father who is truth in himself. If they believed neither Father nor Son, they really didn’t know here he came from. I’m sure this was not a popular saying since most of the people really thought that they new God; who does he think he is? They were so angry that they tried to seize him – but it didn’t work because “his hour had not yet come.” Remember, his hour would be at the end; crucifixion and resurrection. Yet, there were some who believed. It was at this time that the authorities actually dispatched the “police” to arrest Jesus.

They Jesus began to speak again.  He stated that he would only be with them for a short time; three years was a short time. He would then return to the Father; of course there was a crucifixion and resurrection before this would happen. He said that they would look for him then but not find him. This happened. The authorities didn’t believe that Jesus was alive after the crucifixion, but they knew the body was missing; they couldn’t find it. Finally Jesus told them that where he was going they could come. Of course this was true on several levels; heaven was not open to mortals and even after death it was only open to those who were invited. Of course the people didn’t understand what he was talking about. “Where is he going?” They thought that he might be going to leave Israel and go to one of the Jewish centers of population in another nation; the Jewish people were scattered after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

The final episode of this passage takes place on the last day of the feast. The featured event of the day involved water. Of course this was appropriate for water was necessary for agriculture. The priests would collect water from the pool of Siloam and process around the altar and then poor out the water as a form of anointing and/or sacrifice. It was then that Jesus cried out, “Are you thirsty? Then come to me and I will give you living water.” This sounds like what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well. He tells them that this living water would stream out of the people. The Gospel tells us that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit who would not be given to us until Jesus returned to the Father. Of course this happened on the day of Pentecost. We should also be aware that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity didn’t just appear at Pentecost; he has been active throughout history. He was just not accessible to all before Pentecost.

Well, what does this convoluted passage have to say to us today.  I think that one of the most important things is that Jesus is the fulfillment of all Old Testament expectations. He is who he said he was; he was also who the people thought that he might be. He was and is the Messiah. He is also our savior because of his death and resurrection. He is also our Lord. He continues to remain with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. He is currently present with the Father in Glory, but He will come again; and will really restore all things at that time.

We don’t need to really understand all of Jesus arguments in the passage. What really blesses me is that Jesus is always willing to meet all of us where we are. He met the 1^st century Jew where he is and he meets the 21^st century man or woman where he or she is. It is really true, Jesus does love us.

Jesus Wows the Crowd

In my last posting, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles quietly; somewhat in secret. This was after he had had an argument with his brothers who wanted him to go up publicly and make a big splash. It wasn’t until the feast was half over that Jesus did make a big splash. The half way point meant that the crowds would be at their largest; late arrivals had finally made it and those who would be leaving early probably hadn’t left yet. He went to the temple to teach. John 7:15-24 gives us the story:

The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”
Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
 “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”(John 7:15-24 -- NIV)

Evidently the teaching of Jesus really wowed the entire crowd – but it left the religious establishment with some unanswered questions. These big wigs were amazed because they thought that Jesus was some kind of country bumpkin; he hadn’t been taught by a known rabbi! He had no education and no credentials. Of course that lead them to the conclusion that Jesus had no right to be there teaching in the first place.

Jesus insisted that he did have credentials and that he had a right to be teaching there. He insisted that he wasn’t giving some teaching that he thought up; it wasn’t his teaching but it was the teaching of the one who had sent him; God. In other words he was saying that he did have a Rabbi as his teacher and that Rabbi was his Father; God himself.  Then Jesus said something quite interesting.  A person who obeys God will recognize that his (Jesus’) teaching was the truth and they would believe Jesus.  Since this was the religious establishment who prided themselves in the fact (they believed) that they were following God, Jesus’ comment was a slap in the face; he was confronting them with the fact that they weren’t obeying God. Jesus went on to say that since he was seeking to honor the Father, he was a man of truth, teaching truth. He ended by saying since this is the situation, “Why are you trying to kill me?”

Now we hear from the crowd. They couldn’t understand why Jesus would say such a thing. They began to shout, “You are demon possessed. No one is trying to kill you!” Even though the crowd wasn’t trying to blaspheme, since Jesus was ministering and teaching under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the crowd was saying that he must be ministering under the power of the demonic; after all he was making crazy accusations. Of course, what the crowd didn’t know was the Establishment did want to kill Jesus.

Then Jesus went on the offensive, meeting the “Jews” where they felt most secure. He stated that they were upset because he did one miracle (he had actually done more than one); referring to the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. They were upset because Jesus did this healing on the Sabbath. Jesus goes on to a “rabbinic” discussion of circumcision to challenge their understanding. He said that they sought to obey Moses as to circumcision (even though circumcision predates Moses – it goes back to Abraham.) The Law of Moses requires circumcision to be performed when the child is 8 days old. In order to follow this requirement, the rite would be performed even if it was the Sabbath; thus they “broke” the Law in order to “follow” the Law. Since circumcision was known as a healing of the male member, Jesus then asks why it is ok to heal one member of the body, but not ok to heal the whole body. Then he tells them that they really don’t understand the Sabbath (or the Law) at all. They need to make their judgments from God’s point of view.

I think that we can learn several things from this interchange:

1. We need to learn to Trust and Obey – as we trust him and obey him, we will understand and truly believe
2. We must avoid falling into legalism and learn to follow the spirit of the Law much as we see in the Sermon on the Mount.
3. We must avoid being judgmental – we can only judge what God tells us to judge and we must do that as much as possible from God’s perspective
4. We must never judge someone’s heart – that is for God alone.

When Even Your Own Family Doesn't Believe You

(Note – This sermon is out of order, but is my current sermon. I will try and catch up in future posts.)

I suppose that all of us have at one time or another have had our motives and intentions questioned; we have been misunderstood. This hurts. It hurts even more when we are not believed – when we are really telling the truth. Jesus not only told the truth; he was the truth, yet even his own family didn’t believe that he was who he said he was. How did he handle this? Perhaps the answer can help us when we are misunderstood. Let’s look at the scripture lesson:

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

 However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

   Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. (John 7:1-13 NIV)

The scripture starts with Jesus in Galilee. Chapter 6 ended with Jesus in Jerusalem attending the Feast of the Passover. Since the Passover occurred in the spring and the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall, 6 months have passed from the end of chapter 6 and the beginning of chapter 7. Jerusalem is located in the southern region of what we now call Israel, but then was known as Judea. Since the Jewish establishment was in Jerusalem, Jesus was prudently remaining in Galilee – in the North. Even though it is only Jesus that is mentioned, he was not up there alone. His disciples were with him and he was actively teaching in the synagogues and he was healing; the ministry centered in the town of Capernaum.

The Feast of Tabernacles was a celebration of the harvest and a remembrance of God’s grace in bringing the Israelites into the land. Jesus brothers tried to goad him into going to Jerusalem for the Feast. This was somewhat ingenuous since the gospel explicitly states that his brothers didn’t believe in him. Of course they did believe later after the crucifixion and the resurrection – but that is a different story. They were intimating that if he was the Messiah as he said (which they didn’t believe) that he needed to be where the action was.

Jesus’ answer is interesting; my time is not yet. Throughout the gospel, Jesus refers to “his time” and “his hour”, which usually refers to his crucifixion; his glorification. He knew he was going to lay down his life, but this was not the time. Essentially he told his brothers that he worked on the schedule of the Father and wasn’t on his own agenda. He told the brothers that they could go because their schedule was there own. In fact they don’t need to fear persecution because the world likes them – in fact, they were the world. The reason that the world (those in power) hated Jesus was that he confronted this world with the truth; it was filled with evil.

Well Jesus did go to the feast. The scripture states that he went secretly. There is no cloak and dagger here; he just didn’t make a splash. It was in Jerusalem that we find three kinds of people; he was the talk of the town – but not openly. There were definite hostile enemies; the establishment. They wanted Jesus dead. There were also those of the fickle crowd. They liked Jesus, but they were not committed to him. They thought that he was a good guy. Finally, the third group wasn’t really enemies; they just weren’t buying what Jesus was selling. They thought he was trying to lead the people astray for his own gain. These three kinds of people are still with us. Of course the fourth kind of people were also there; his disciples.

It seems that no one (except the disciples) believe Jesus. They all misunderstand him. Jesus didn’t seem bothered. Why? How did he manage this? I believe that there are things that helped him:

1. He knew who he was. He was God’s son.
2. He was committed to the agenda of the Father – “thy will be done.”
3. He knew that the Father to whom he was committed wanted the best for him and “had his back.”

These are essentially the three things that will help us when we are misunderstood. Do you know who you are? If we belong to Jesus, then we are sons of God. No one can take that away from us. Are you committed to His agenda or are you trying to do your own thing. When we do our own thing, we are on our own, but when we are committed to his agenda, he has our back.

John's Testimony about Jesus from Jesus as Seen by John

 How confusing! The gospel is attributed to the John the Apostle who never appears in the gospel. The John who appears as a character is John the Baptist. One thing for certain, John the Baptist is not out for his own glory; all he does is point the way to Jesus. After Jesus' conversation, we come upon this story told in John 3:22:36:

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”  To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”
 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.(NIV)

The conversation with Nicodemus took place in Jerusalem which is about 3500 feet above sea level. We don't always think of the city as being in the mountains, but I can personally attest to the fact that it can really snow there. Just east of Jerusalem is the Jordan river; not far as the crow flies, but several miles down a winding road to well below sea level. This is where Jesus and his disciples went. The passage tells us that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing (although we see in the next chapter that the baptizing was done by the disciples, not Jesus). John and his disciples were doing their work in the same area. 

The passage states that a Jew got into an argument with some of John's disciples over ceremonial washing. The disciples came to John, but the question regarding washing never came up; they wondered why more people were going to Jesus than were coming to John.  John states that a man can only receive what he is given from Heaven; from God. He had already announced that he was not the Messiah but a forerunner. Then he begins to teach his disciples. He uses the analogy of the bridegroom and the best man. The best man is happy for the bridegroom; he is not jealous. He wants the bride and groom to be happy and successful. Then John says in effect, Jesus is the bridegroom and he must increase while I must decrease. He is a real hero of mine. He knows his place. He is not suffering from a low self image, he just really understands who he is -- and who Jesus is; a realist.

John continues his testimony about Jesus; the one from above is over all. John had earlier testified that Jesus was the one sent down from heaven. Now he states that Jesus is above all. Most of us are of the earth and therefore speak of the things of earth; an earthly language. We speak this way because this all we really understand. But Jesus, who came from above, speaks of what he knows -- a spiritual language -- and people reject it; they don't understand it. The apostle Paul discusses this in his first letter to the Corinthians when he says that without the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can't understand spiritual things. Then John states that those who do receive Jesus' testimony actually certify that God is telling the truth; Jesus is truth and he speaks the word of God. Finally John says that Jesus has received the Holy Spirit without limit. 

Finally John concludes with the statement that God had given everything to Jesus. Why? because the Father loves the Son. Those who believe in Jesus and what he says have eternal life. Those who reject Jesus and his message are under God's wrath. When John discusses acceptance of Jesus, the idea has to do with obedience to his message, an rejection refers to disobedience. He is not discussing mere intellectual assent.

 

A Confidential Conversation from Jesus as seen by John

How do you go about having a private conversation with someone who is so popular that they are essentially mobbed all day? I suppose you need to find a time when they are away from the crowds. Add to that the fact that this person may be controversial and you don't really want people to see you with him/her and you have the situation of Nicodemus. This confidential conversation is described in John 3:1-21: 

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
   “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
 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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

  

Who was Nicodemus? We don't know a lot about him but we do know that he was a Pharisee. Now the Pharisees were not only religious, but they were scrupulous in observing the Law. He was also probably a member of the council -- the Sanhedrin -- the group that had authority to govern the Jewish people in their religious observances. While most of Jesus' encounters with the Pharisees was hostile, Nicodemus seemed open to the teachings of Jesus, perhaps a little perplexed, but open. He seemed to believe that if he had a little one on one time with Jesus that his questions would be answered. We also know that he later became a defender of Jesus and probably a disciple.

It didn't take Jesus long to confuse poor Nico. To Nicodemus' assertion that certainly Jesus must be of God, Jesus said that to see the Kingdom of God, you must be born again. Actually, this didn't just confuse Nico, it is still one of the most misunderstood and misused statements of Jesus. People describe themselves as "born again Christians", as if there was another kind. People who are outside the church or who don't use this term think that the people describing themselves in that way are fools.  By the way, this is the only place in the New Testament where becoming a Christian is called, being "Born Again." The problem is not in what Jesus said, but in the way we interpret and use it.

Obviously Jesus wasn't talking literally. This was the misunderstanding of Nico. He is trying to describe a spiritual truth; a spiritual rebirth. When we are born of flesh -- our natural birth -- we are flesh and we don't understand things of the spirit or understand things from a spiritual point of view because we only have a human perspective. When we are born of the Spirit, we gain a new understanding and a new perspective -- not because of our intellect but because we have become entirely new from the inside out. Oh yes we are still human and we look the same, but there is something drastically different inside. To the unspoken question, "Why?" Jesus replied that the Spirit does whatever it wants and we don't see it, we only see its affects. He uses the analogy for wind for the Greek word pneuma means both wind and spirit.

This discussion was followed by perhaps the most familiar verse from the Bible; John 3:16. The entire passage explains why Jesus came to earth. The thought goes like this:

• God loved the world -- the whole world and everyone in it
• So he gave his only Son -- Jesus -- to die the death that was deserved by all people
• Those who accept this gift of Jesus will indeed be saved
• It is important to note that Jesus didn't come to judge the world -- only to save
• Judgment only come through the decisions of individuals -- they can reject this gift
• It is this simple -- doers of evil don't like the light
• Doers of good want to be seen -- they like the light.

Well, what does this mean to us today? First we need to realize that Jesus came for the whole world, not just Americans, not just good church goers, not people just like us, but for everyone. All we have to do is accept this gift. Secondly, Jesus didn't come to judge the world and we need to realize that this is not our purpose either. We have no right to judge others. We, like Jesus, only have authority to love others; judgement is out of our realm. It is this acceptance that we call the new birth. This new birth brings the presence of the Holy Spirit. The one who doesn't have the Spirit doesn't understand what we are about -- stop arguing with them -- just love them. Learn to be a good friend. Then stand back and see what God can do.