John 6:16-24
February 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I read this passage over and over, and I found very little in it that made me stop and admire the greatness of Jesus Christ. If you are familiar with this passage, you’ll know that this is ridiculous. There is a sight of Jesus Christ in this passage that absolutely blows the mind with what it reveals of Him. But as I read the passage four or five times, it seemed to me only a transition between the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus’ lengthy discourse to the Jews who had witnessed this sign.
I said in the last post that familiarity may not breed contempt, but it does breed a lack of expectation that God will show me something great. Having read this passage, I might add that familiarity produces laziness. For a breathtaking sight of the greatness of Jesus was right there before me, clear as day, yet I did not have eyes to see it at first. Then the Lord graciously opened my eyes to the staggering words of verse 19,
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near…
He was walking on the sea! The sea was rough, and a strong wind was blowing, but Jesus Christ is walking to them on the water! If Jesus can walk on water to come to the aid of His disciples, what is there that He cannot do? The very same Christ who walked on the water is alive today and controls every second of my existence. He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). This is not some ancient fairy tale; it is a historical fact about the King of the universe, the Savior of the world. If this is who He is, then what shall I fear?
O Lord, help me to wake up each morning believing that as you were for the disciples, so you will always be for me.
John 6:1-15
February 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Finally I’m on to chapter 6…one of my favorite chapters in all the gospels. This opening passage is the familiar account of Jesus feeding 5,000, a story that is told in all four gospels. As I read I prayed for God to show me some fresh insight, or to marvel anew at something already familiar. In my own devotional life, I would not say that ‘familiarity breeds contempt,’ but it does tend to breed a lack of expectation for God to show me something great about Himself. I prayed that God would help me to read this story as if for the first time.
As I read, I found much to admire about Jesus. There is His awesome power, to be able to take a small lunch and turn it into a feast with leftovers for thousands of people. There is His compassion in caring for basic needs of this great crowd, and not leaving them to find their own provision.
But what stood out to me most in this particular reading was something that I had also noted in chapter 5: Jesus withdrawing from the crowd after performing His miraculous sign (cf. 5:13). In chapter 6, John writes,
Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
What I found amazing is that Jesus rightly deserved to be made King, yet He resisted the crowd that wanted to give Him what He rightly deserved. It was His rightful honor, but it was not yet time to be crowned as King. Before His anointing as King, He had a cross to bear, and He knew it. Not all the zeal of this great crowd could compel Jesus to abandon the eternal plan to lay down His life as a ransom for His sheep.
As I read these words, I was so grateful to Jesus for refusing to take the crown before first taking the cup of His Father’s wrath that was meant for me and all of God’s people. I desire to follow Him down the Calvary Road, and to forsake earthly comforts and rights in order to make others more glad in Jesus.
John 5:31-47
February 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
One of the things that I have already written about in these short reflections on the Gospel of John is the sheer immensity and apparent insanity of some of the things that Jesus says if He is not the incarnate God-Man, as opposed to some nice moral teacher. This is a theme that I am seeing as I read through Jesus’ words, and it stirs fresh affection for Jesus within me every time I read one of these outlandish claims.
This passage is one ripe with such examples. Jesus says things here that appear to be the rantings of a madman if He is not God in flesh and blood:
The works that the Father has given me to accomplish…bear witness about me that the Father has sent me…
His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent…
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life…
If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me…
Such sayings are simply astonishing. In essence Jesus says, ‘Your whole Bible is about me, the things that I do reveal that I am sent from God, you don’t have His word within you because you don’t believe in me. If you come to me, only then you will really have life.’ There are so many people who say that Jesus was a good man, but scoff at the idea that He is actually God. But in the very same gospels that people use to determine that He was a good man, you have sayings like these which are ridiculous if He was anything less than God.
No person who said these kinds of things would be admired for thousands of years and have influenced so many millions of people except for Jesus. May the shocking nature of His claims open more and more blind eyes to see that He really is the Holy One of God.
John 5:16-30
February 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This is a difficult passage; in my opinion, one of the most difficult in John’s Gospel. If the first part of chapter 5 is a beautiful expression of the imminence and compassion of Jesus Christ, then this passage fills me with a great sense of His transcendence.
As I read verses 16-30, I feel small and foolish. It is good to feel that way from time to time as we look at Jesus. If He is more than a product of our own imagination, then He should make us feel like idiots every now and again.
That is how I feel when I read these verses; I am being caught up into heavenly places, to behold the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. Such a relationship boggles the mind, and I long to treasure the depths of love that is described here:
“The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing…” (v.19)
“The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing…” (v.20)
“The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father…” (v.22-23)
“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” (v.26)
“I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (v.30).
This is a relationship of perfection, unlike any other. Words such as these seem beyond our comprehension, but Jesus does not speak in order to confuse; He speaks to inform and to elicit worship. He comes to manifest the eternal glory of the Triune God.
As I read words like in this passage, I was filled with wonder that Jesus would die to bring a redeemed people into this kind of relationship with Him. As He prayed just before His betrayal, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” (John 17:21). “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.“
Thank You, Jesus, for revealing such wondrous love to us, and for dying to bring us into this depth of eternal, divine love.
John 5:1-15
February 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It has been awhile since I last posted any reflections from the Gospel of John, but when I read this passage it was the morning after I wrote about the need to be happy as a way of commending the beauty and importance of the Gospel to others. In the passage I read something that was quite timely in light of that post that I had written.
The passage is an account of Jesus healing a man who had been ‘an invalid’ for 38 years. I was struck by the words of verse 5, in conjunction with the words in verse 9:
One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years…And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
In my post last week, I mentioned that being joyful and expressing joy is a hard thing for me, it has been all of my life. When it comes to displaying joy around others, I imagine I am somewhat like this invalid. It hasn’t been 38 years, but it’s been close. I feel the same kind of paralysis in my soul that this man experienced in his body. I have tried to change, just as this man had tried to get in the pool (v. 7). Like him, I am utterly helpless to change myself. Years of experience have made that abundantly clear to me.
Yet here is the power of Christ: though this man was an invalid for 38 years, all Jesus has to do is speak the word and he is an invalid no longer! ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk,’ and this man’s hopeless condition is ended forever. The man who could not change himself over decades worth of time has been instantly changed by the omnipotent power and the abundant compassion of Jesus Christ.
I need not look at my inclination toward introspection and melancholy and resign myself to a life that will never get any better in this area. Jesus makes invalids into new people. This is good news for invalids like me.
I finished this passage with a renewed hope in the God who makes all things new through Christ. May God get great glory for Himself by granting all of us great joy in Him.
Larry
John 4:43-54
February 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This is the account of Jesus healing an official’s son who was ill. It seems like it was a serious illness, for the man said to Jesus, “Sir, come down before my child dies.“ Jesus responded with a brief word that stopped me in my tracks as I read,
“Go; your son will live.“
What awesome power Jesus displays here! As He would say at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. When He says, ‘Be still!’ a raging storm is silenced. When He says, ‘Rise!’ a dead man walks out of his tomb. When He says, ‘Your son will live,’ the ill boy is healed at the very hour that Jesus spoke the word.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His word today is as powerful as it was 2000 years ago when He said this boy would live, and it is every bit as powerful. What He says will surely come to pass, and there is no power of hell and no scheme of man that could ever frustrate His all-wise, omnipotent plans from being fulfilled.
I left this passage feeling broken over how imperfect my trust is in the words of Jesus, who has so clearly shown Himself to be both omnipotent and compassion, always faithful to do what He says He will do. I prayed that God would enable me to respond to all the words of Jesus the way this official responded: “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.“
So simple, and so humanly impossible. Jesus, help me to take You at Your word, knowing that what You have declared will surely come to pass.
John 4:27-42
February 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’ve still got some catching up to do in John after my few days off from blogging last week, so I will post twice today on some reflections from John 4 and begin chapter 5 tomorrow. I have to spend much of today in sermon preparation, so I probably will not get to any more of my Pursuing Gospel-Centeredness posts today. I will try to resume them tomorrow, or next week.
In this passage the words that stood out to me were Jesus’ words in verse 34,
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.“
How I long that this were my attitude toward serving my heavenly Father. Today ‘accomplishing His work’ means working on a sermon from Matthew 6 on the good and bad eye. How I wish I could say that sustenance and nourishment were found in doing that work today. Instead, I feel like taking a nap…or reading something about the Super Bowl on espn.com…or reading a book…or playing with my daughter…or taking a nap!
I want to do God’s will, but my heart so often feels divided. I am not going to get into a Romans 7 discussion, but there are many times in my service of the Lord where I feel the way Paul describes himself in that passage. Whether he is describing his experience as a believer or unbeliever is really irrelevant, because I know I am a believer, and yet I still feel like that divided man sometimes. My feelings are not a good barometer of what is true, but they still need to be dealt with and brought into conformity with God’s commands.
As I read this passage, I found myself admiring Jesus because there was never such a division in His heart. As I find deep satisfaction in a thanksgiving feast, or a mint chocolate brownie (which Michelle made a wonderful batch of the other day!), so Jesus felt deep satisfaction in doing God’s will, and accomplishing the work that the Father had given Him to do.
This does not need to be confined to having devotions or sharing the Gospel, but any work that God has called us to. There are teachers who read this blog, chiropractors, professional basketball players, stay-at-home moms, computer technicians, and maybe many others. Today I have no driving lessons, but that time will come again soon. May God give us eyes to see that all of that work, if done with gratitude to God and a desire to honor Him, is part of God’s design for His people and should therefore be deeply satisfying.
Like Jesus, may we find a satisfaction deeper than eating chocolate brownies in doing the work that God has called us to on this day!
John 4:15-26
January 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In my first reflection on the beginning of John 1, I took special note of the introductory words of John that Jesus came to manifest the glory of His Father, being full of grace and truth. I said that this is a theme that I thought I’d return to many times in looking through the entire Gospel.
It was evident in chapter 2, when Jesus turned water into wine to liven up a dying party (grace), then went into the temple in a rage of anger and drove out the money changers and overturned their tables (truth). It was evident in chapter 3, as Jesus exposed Nicodemus’ ignorance (truth), but then shared the gospel with him (grace).
And it is evident here in chapter 4. Yesterday I shared my sense of wonder at reading Jesus’ words to the woman at the well, ‘Give me a drink of water.’ These words, and the encounter in verses 1-14, is complete grace. And so as I read verses 15-26, I took special note of the hard truth that Jesus began to bring out in this interaction. What ignited these thoughts especially were Jesus’ words in verse 17,
“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.“
What incredible boldness! I would probably be afraid to say such a thing, thinking that I would alienate her to the point of ‘turning her off’ to spiritual matters. But Jesus does not mix words; He does not beat around the bush. He has shown her a wealth of grace already, but He mingles that perfect grace with bold, hard truth. This woman is an adulteress, and she needs to be confronted with the truth as well as receive grace if she is ever to become a true worshiper of the living God.
As soon as the woman indicated that she wanted the living water that Jesus offered (v. 15), Jesus went to work on exposing the idols of this woman’s heart that were keeping her from finding her true heart’s delight in Him. It is so essential in ministering to others (believers or unbelievers) that we get at their hearts and expose the hidden treasures that keep them from the ultimate, eternal treasure in Jesus.
As I read this passage, I found myself full of admiration for Jesus, who knows the heart perfectly and uses just the right words to lovingly break us in order that He might mold us into worshipers in spirit and in truth. I pray that He will give me the grace to see my own heart for what it is, and to treat others with grace even while boldly helping others to see into the depths of their own hearts.
John 4:1-14
January 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This is the beginning of the well-known account of the interaction between Jesus and the woman at the well. I trust others can relate with me that it is sometimes hard reading these very familiar stories, because it seems like we ‘know them’ already. I must remind myself constantly that the goal of my reading is not to learn something new, but to worship Jesus Christ. Of course there will be many days when we do learn something new, but we need not be discouraged when that does not happen. It may be something very familiar that we find a fresh affection for as we read.
As I read the passage I took special note of verse 7,
Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
How simple this is, and yet how marvelous! The woman was shocked that Jesus would speak to her, for she was not only a woman, but a Samaritan woman. This is absolutely scandalous! The King of Israel condescends to make conversation with an evil Samaritan, and to ask her for a drink of water! It really is stunning.
Of course Jesus did not say this because He needed a drink, but because He knew that she needed a drink, an eternally satisfying drink that would never fail her (v.14). But He knew that she would never approach Him, had He not done so first.
So it is with every fallen child of Adam. We do not seek God, but suppress the truth about Him in unrighteousness. If left to ourselves, none would come to Jesus. None would ask Him for a drink of living water. But in His grace Jesus seeks out His enemies and converts them into worshipers. As I read I was reminded of the line of the great hymn Come Thou Fount,
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God.
In the process of salvation, God is always initiating, opening the eyes of rebels to see the riches of His grace.
Grateful that Jesus sought me out,
Larry
John 3:22-36
January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
There is much in these words to humble the proud heart. There is the example of John the Baptist, who saw people leaving him to follow Jesus, and humbly responded, ‘He must increase; I must decrease’. How many pastors there are who get jealous when a church across town begins to thrive! Not so with John the Baptist.
Or there are the incredible words of verse 27, that a person cannot receive anything unless it is given him from heaven.’ Of all that I have, absolutely none of it is deserved or owed to me. Every good thing we have is a gift from the Almighty.
But the words in this passage that touched me most as I read were the words of verse 31,
He who comes from above is above all.
This is a reference to Jesus, who descended to earth from heaven (coming from above) and is therefore above all. All the nations and rulers of the earth are but a mere drop in the bucket to Jesus Christ, who is above all. Yet to read these words in light of the end of the Gospel are so incredible. He who has from all eternity been above all, making Himself the lowest of all, and suffering shamefully the agonies of Calvary. This He did so that sinners like you and me could be restored to right relationship with God, worshiping forever Him who is above all.
Grateful for Jesus’ greatness, and His willingness to be emptied of His greatness to become the servant of sinful man,
Larry
John 3:16-21
January 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’ll try to get back in the swing of things today by posting a couple of reflections from John 3.
In this short passage, what I took note of especially were Jesus’ words in verse 18,
Whoever believes in him (The Son) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The magnitude of this claim is remarkable. No leader of any religious movement has ever said something so amazing. No ordinary nice, kind human teacher can get away with saying something so extraordinary, which is what makes the line of argument that Jesus was only a good moral teacher a ridiculous one. What kind human teacher says, ‘If you do not believe in me, you are condemned. ‘ A person’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.
Over the centuries, there have been many people who have claimed to be God, or a god. Without exception, all of them have done little but influenced a few unstable people in their own generation. Once they died, they had no enduring legacy but to be thought of as a fool. In history, Jesus Christ alone has claimed to be the litmus test of whether a person has life or death, and had a remarkable influence on millions of people in countless generations and cultures for 2000 years.
The influence of Jesus and the astounding claims of Jesus have never been repeated since His ascension to heaven. May God open blind eyes to see that no ordinary human teacher can say, ‘Believe in me, and you will have eternal life,’ without being a wicked liar or a delirious lunatic.
John 3:1-15
January 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Back in July I posted that the deepest, most foundational reason that I love Jesus Christ is the mingling together of transcendence and imminence that are found in Him. I was reminded of that again this morning as I read these verses in John 3, especially verse 13,
No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
There is an immeasurably great chasm between finite, fallen human beings and heavenly glory. No human has or ever coul ascend to heaven on their own. I thought it was significant that these words were spoken to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who was surely a model in religious disciplines and knowledge. Yet it was to this man who Jesus said, ‘You must be born again.’ We’d assume that Jesus would save these words for the woman at the well in the next chapter, or a wretched tax collector. But no, He says it to the one of the most pious, upright individuals in the whole nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. The point is, you cannot get to heaven. The distance is too great, the glory of the Heavenly King is too magnificent, and we are too unclean because of our sin. This is the transcendence of Jesus; He alone has ascended to heaven.
Yet in the very same verse we see the imminence of Jesus; He who ascended to heaven is the One who came down from heaven. The eternal Word became flesh and blood and dwelt among us, revealing the glory of His Father and becoming a slave (Phil. 2:6), so that through His substitutionary death His righteousness could become ours and we could ascend with Him to heavenly glory.
Jesus is incalculably higher than us, yet by grace He has come astonishingly near. This is the glory of Christ.
John 2:12-25
January 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This passage is one of those which, when combined with the passage right before it, gives such a beautiful picture of Jesus being full of grace and truth. Yesterday I mentioned how Jesus is the Master of the Feast, showing His glory by doing something so small as livening up a dying party by turning water into wine.
But today’s passage reveals a totally different side of Jesus. While the first half of the chapter shows Jesus is not opposed to a good party, but is gracious in keeping the celebration, in this passage we see Jesus hating what is evil and being full of zeal over the desecration of His Father’s house. He is filled with rage and drives out the money changers with a whip and turns over their tables. This is a perfect display of the truth and righteousness of Jesus Christ.
I long to be able to imitate Jesus in both these forms of beauty. I want to be one who is able to bring life and happiness to a party because His joy abides in me. And I also long to be zealous for His holiness, so that I hate all that ignores and neglects Him. Jesus was never socially irrelevant, but He also was never socially or theologically liberal. His accommodation to the culture around Him never made Him aloof and detached.
Help us, Lord, to display both Your grace and Your truth in every aspect of my earthly existence,
Larry
John 2:1-11
January 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This is the story of Jesus’ first sign, the turning of water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. I must confess that as I read this I had a few things in mind already, because of a sermon I recently heard by a certain pastor from New York City whose name is becoming a household word (the message, preached on these verses, can be listened to here).
As I read I tried to divorce the text itself from the message that I heard, so as to allow this passage to speak to me afresh. What I was most encouraged by came in the words at the end of the story,
11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.
What I saw here is that I believe it is a measure of the greatness of Jesus Christ that He manifests His glory even in the common or secular events of life. Who would have though that the Messiah, the fully divine, eternally existent Son of God, the Creator of the universe, would come to earth and as His first sign by which He would reveal the riches of His glory, would liven up a dying party by making more wine for the celebration? This is stunning! It seems so small, so insignificant; He’s the King of the universe for crying out loud! What’s the big deal about keeping a wedding banquet rolling after some bad planning leaves the party dry?
The lesson is, in my opinion, profound. The revelation of the glory of Jesus Christ is not confined to the ‘religious’ activities of Bible reading, prayer, and corporate singing. These are precious means of grace, do not misunderstand me. But Jesus’ greatness is seen in so many other things…in big feasts or sporting events or art museums or orchestra concerts. Jesus is the true ‘Master of the Feast’, whose light enlivens every seemingly insignificant act of life.
I left my time this morning praying that God would open my eyes so that I could see these manifestations of glory which surround me each and every day.
Longing to admire Jesus everywhere I go and in all that I do,
Larry
John 1:43-51
January 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
This morning in my reading I found myself marveling at the patience and tenderness of Jesus. In many ways the story here about Nathaniel is an early portrait of the fickleness of heart that Jesus had to deal with so often during His earthly ministry. He would tell His apostles that He was about to be betrayed and killed, and the next minute they would be arguing about which of them was the greatest!
Here Nathaniel speaks with both pride and prejudice when he says, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Jesus tells him just one thing (’I saw you under the fig tree’), and in the next breath Nathaniel is declaring Jesus to be the Son of God and the King of Israel!
So here, right at the beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus has a foreshadowing of the fickleness that awaits Him. One moment the people are shouting, ‘Hosanna!’, and the next they are shouting, ‘Crucify!’ And sadly, they are a portrait of how fickle I can still be, consumed with worry and unbelief one minute, and then declaring His praises the next.
Mercifully, Jesus did not abandon Nathaniel, or me. When confronted with such wavering trust, Jesus does not say, ‘You’ll never get it; why should I waste My time with these fools?’ Rather He says, ‘You will see greater things than these.’ Jesus will not quench a faintly burning wick, but will fan it into a flame of holy love.
Thankful for the unwavering love of Jesus,
Larry
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