John 8: 1-20

In the first episode in today’s passage the religious leaders manufacture an incident in an attempt to paint Jesus into a corner. Would Jesus condone sin and thus prove he is not the Messiah or would he side with law and risk being alienating from the masses. Jesus chose neither option. Instead he demonstrated that as the Messiah he did in fact have the wisdom of a true King. (Like that of King Solomon when he famously settled the issue between two women of who was the true mother of the child. 1Kings 3: 16-28)

When Jesus told the woman he did not condemn her he was saying he forgave her. He was not saying her sin did not matter. He was saying his grace was greater than her sin. To receive his grace and to live in his grace meant that she would go forth with an ambition to sin no more.

Jesus then makes his second ‘I am’ statement: “I am the light of the world.” Jesus says he does not judge anyone. He doesn’t have to because the light is its own judge. Jesus, as the light of the world, brings God’s holy presence into the world. God’s presence is the very essence of holiness, goodness, mercy, love and grace. Light overcomes darkness by exposing the darkness. Inherent within the light is judgment because the light exposes sin.

Today’s passage reveals two truths important to our growth in Christ. First, the light calls for a response. The religious leaders recognized, if just temporarily, that because of their sin they were not in a position to judge. The woman recognized her sin and was given the opportunity to turn away from it.

The religious leaders reveal the nature of evil. For as much as there are people who embrace the holiness, goodness, mercy, love and grace of God’s presence with us, there are others that choose darkness over light. Chapter eight begins with the religious leaders wanting to stone to death a woman. Chapter eight will end with these same religious leaders wanting to stone Jesus to death.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

18-Mar-12     John 8:21-47

John 7:37-53

It’s all about control. Whenever there is a great argument, the issue is not the subject of the argument, it’s always about control. This is true in politics in the public arena as well as politics within the church. In today’s passage the leading Pharisees model this truth for us. They rant about God’s Law, about what is proper and good for ordering Temple life, but their rants reveal they know neither the law nor the history of Israel. They reveal a contemptuous attitude and bigotry against anyone that disagrees with them because what really matters to them is that they are ones who control life in Israel. Nicodemus tries to give the leaders a reality check by reminding them that their law provides for a hearing before judgment can be rendered against a person. But, the hypocrisy train the Pharisees are riding has already left the station as their next comments reveal.

The Pharisees railed against Nicodemus for being ignorant that no prophet ever comes from Galilee. King David and Bethlehem are mentioned in this passage and John could have easily countered the assertion that Jesus’ hometown was in Galilee by affirming, in accordance with Scripture, Jesus was born in King David’s town of Bethlehem, not Nazareth. Instead, John points out the foolishness of the Pharisees charges against Jesus. John makes his point by using an interesting word play that the first readers of this Gospel would have recognized as John’s way of showing just how absurdly foolish the Pharisees were.

The word translated ‘comes’ can also be translated ‘rises up’ and the same word refers to resurrection in other parts of John. Two of Israel’s most well-known prophets came from Galilee: Jonah and Hosea. Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale and in Hosea 6:2 it is written, “on the third day (God) will raise us up.” Not only did these great Prophets come from Galilee, they, in their own way, were pointing to the fulfillment of Jesus’ words in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Pharisees model for us the importance of continually asking ourselves the questions noted in yesterday’s passage: What do we know about God and how do we know it.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

17-Mar-12     John 8:1-20

John 7:14-36

I knew a man in Ft. Lauderdale who was helping Jews from Russia immigrate to the USA. I asked him about the greatest challenge in helping these people assimilate into their new country. He said they had been fed many lies and misinformation about life in the US, not the least of which was that the Americans suffered from the lack of food as much as the Russians. He said one trip to the supermarket dispelled that notion.

Much of the controversy that surrounded Jesus was based on misunderstandings about the nature of God, God’s relationship to the world, God’s purpose for humankind and God’s vision of community. Many people, especially the religious leaders would not accept Jesus as the Messiah because Jesus did not fit into their expectations of the Messiah and because Jesus’ vision of God, the world, the nature of humanity, and their neighbors was so different than their preconceived notions.

A Christian is a person who has become aware that the world has told them a pack of lies about God, the world, themselves and their neighbors. A Christian learns that God, in Christ Jesus, is telling them the truth.

So, what is your understanding of the nature of God? What is your understanding of the world? What is your understanding of your place in the world? Who are your neighbors? And, you know this how?

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

16-Mar-12     John 7:37-53

John 6: 60 - 7:13

I was born into a family of the Old South. Segregation had always been a way of life for my parents, and their parents. Our heritage was one where children were to be seen and not heard. Children addressed adults with ‘yes sir’ and “yes ma’am.”  However, I only lived in the south for a few years during my childhood. The culture I was exposed to in the far west and northeast was much different than the one where my parents were raised. When I returned to Florida for college I encountered segregation for the first time. I was confronted with challenges to what I had experienced as the normal way of life and I had to make a decision about the values of my life.

The Israelites listening to Jesus were hearing a Gospel that confounded everything that had been the normal ebb and flow of their culture. For many it was too much and they turned away from Jesus.

Yesterday I noted that what matters most is that we know who Jesus is. Peter’s confession of faith in verses 68-69 is one of the most compelling insights about Jesus’ identity. Jesus’ response to Peter emphasizes the work of the Spirit in bringing people to believe in Jesus, or as the writer of the letter of Hebrews put it, Jesus, is the one initiates and perfects our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

The Christian writer C.S. Lewis was asked by a journalist when he decided to be a Christian. Lewis laughed and responded, “I didn’t decide. I was decided upon.” In his autobiography Lewis referred to the work of God’s passion for saving His people as, God’s “compulsion is our liberation.” Brennan Manning writes that the Arcadian people who settled Louisiana referred to being ‘born again’ as being ‘seized by a Great Affection.” Both Lewis and Manning are pointing to what Jesus says in verse 65. We do not choose the time and place of our salvation. It is God who takes the initiative for our salvation. In Wesleyan theology we call this prevenient grace; God first, last and always taking the first step.

The Festival of Shelters was held at harvest time and was a reminder for the Jews of the time their ancestors spent camping in the wilderness during the exodus from Egypt. It was one of three great annual celebrations for the Jews, Passover and Pentecost being the other two. John wants us to see that Jesus was demurring about going to Jerusalem in the autumn of the year for the Festival of Shelters because Jesus knew the time was not right. His time would come in the spring, the time for the Passover and the sacrificial lamb.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

15-Mar-12     John 7:14-36

John 6: 22-59

The people wanted to make Jesus their king, in the political sense, so he could be their protector and provider. Jesus answers their call for more miracles by giving some of the deepest theological truths presented thus far in the Gospel.

Jesus wanted the people to understand that He had his Father’s seal upon him. Like a king’s seal, this not only identified the bearer of the seal as belonging to the king but also granted the king’s authority to the bearer. As it was God providing manna for the people in the first exodus and it was God’s son, with God’s authority providing food for the people in the second exodus. However, the people were making the same mistake their ancestors in the first exodus made. They acted as though God was at that their beck and call, as though Israel somehow deserved to be picked by God as his people.

The Gospel of John is known for the “I am” statements made by Jesus and in today’s passage we encounter the first: “I am the bread of life.” John is hoping we can see the connection between our celebration of the sacrament of Holy Communion and Jesus’ discussion of our eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Jesus statements about eating his flesh and drinking his blood have been hugely controversial over the centuries, primarily because people forget that John is continually showing how the Old Testament points to and is fulfilled in Jesus.

In this case we need to remember a story about King David that is recorded in 1 Samuel 23 and I Chronicles 11. David and his men were penned down in a battle near Bethlehem. Thinking out loud David said he would love to have a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. Later, three of his mighty men, at great personal risk, went through enemy lines and got water from the well and brought it to David. David responded by saying for him to drink the water would be profiting from his men’s willingness to risk their lives; it would as though he was drinking their blood. David poured the water onto the ground.

Jesus is saying that he is not only willing to risk his life, but to lose his life for our sake. Jesus is saying that we can drink and profit from his sacrifice. Thus, true believing in Jesus as our Messiah is like feeding upon Jesus, the bread of life. It is like drinking of his blood as we participate in his sacrifice for our sins.

In verse 34 the people didn’t know what they were saying when they responded to Jesus. They couldn’t get past what they wanted Jesus to do for them. However, when we begin to grasp that what really matters is not what Jesus can do for us, but who Jesus is, then their response becomes the greatest prayer ever:

“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

14-Mar-12     John 6:60-7:13

John 6:1-21

I love the continuity of the Bible. God has been at work to redeem His people from the very beginning of the Bible. John, as well as the Apostle Paul, is a master at weaving the themes of the Old Testament into the life of Jesus and His New Covenant church. The feeding of the multitude, which is told in all four of the Gospels, is an example.

John mentions the Passover at the beginning of this passage. This is the second time he connect the Passover to something significant in Jesus’ life. (The first was when Jesus cleansed the Temple. He will mention the Passover a third time when Jesus returns to Jerusalem for the last time.) John is showing that Jesus is the Messiah and he is leading people out of slavery just as Moses led the people out of Egypt in the first exodus. There are two ways I see how the Passover connects Jesus to the exodus in today’s passage. First, in the wilderness of the first Passover exodus the people had nothing to eat and God provided manna from Heaven. Here, in the wilderness, Jesus distributes food to the people.  The second point is the water. Moses led the people through the water of the Red Sea; here Jesus walks on the water and his presence takes the disciples safely through the storm.

This passage also presents us with solid food for our devotional time. First, we all experience times when we don’t have enough of (insert your particular need.) Andrew is a good example for us in such times. Look around and gather that which you do have and give it to God. Trust God to take it from there and fulfill his promise to “supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Secondly, we all face times of great anxiety. The gale force winds and rough seas encountered by the disciples are a good metaphor for such times in our lives. In those times, if we will but listen, we will hear Jesus say those comforting words, 

“Don’t be afraid. I am here.”

With Jesus closely by our side we’ll pass safely through the storm.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

13-Mar-12     John 6:22-59