Thursday, September 4, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
John 2:12-17
“Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come…and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness.” - Malachi 3:1-3
John the baptizer had already come as the messenger to “prepare the way before him,” and then Jesus showed up on the scene. Prophecy was unfolding seamlessly in Israel. With Passover on the horizon, Jesus headed to Jerusalem and found His way into the temple.
For centuries, the temple grounds were a sacred place, where followers of God could come and worship God apart from the pagan world around them. Even with the Roman domination, they could retreat into the temple and find solace from the hubbub of secularism. But this was not the case anymore. The current leadership in the temple desired to increase revenue. People were travelling into Jerusalem from all over the country. Not everyone would have a sacrifice, but with the new system in place, that would not be a problem. You could just travel to the temple, and simply purchase a sacrifice on your way into the temple grounds.
The entire system was broken. No longer would the sacrifice be anything more than a cold, calculated business deal. There was no spirit of sacrifice. Now it was simply a financial obligation when they travelled into Jerusalem. They would spend some money on food, on lodging, and on a Passover sacrifice. The worship of God was relegated to a line in their budget. Their whole budget no longer was his, only a portion.
John 2 tells us that when Jesus walked into the temple and saw this system, a holy indignation rose up in Him. This was not a sinful rage that was uncontrollable; this was a zealous love for God that enacted itself in a cleansing, purifying, purging way. As the prophecy of Malachi had foretold, Jesus had arrived at the temple and He had come to clean house. The Latin writer Jerome put it this way, “There must have been a certain fiery and starry light shining from His eyes and the majesty of the Godhead must have been gleaming in His face.” This was not the passive, weak Jesus sometimes portrayed in the local Christian bookstore. This was a serious temple cleanser, coming to restore purity to that which had become impure.
Perhaps, our hearts could use a temple-cleansing. If you understand Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. Just as wicked as the materialistic Passover racket, we too fall into idolatry of heart. We begin to see ourselves relating to God in terms of business deals, instead of lovingly surrendering to Him everything. Perhaps, the Holy Spirit can do His cleansing work in us today.
Food For Thought: What was wrong with the system of selling animals in the temple? Why was the anger of Jesus not sinful?
John the baptizer had already come as the messenger to “prepare the way before him,” and then Jesus showed up on the scene. Prophecy was unfolding seamlessly in Israel. With Passover on the horizon, Jesus headed to Jerusalem and found His way into the temple.
For centuries, the temple grounds were a sacred place, where followers of God could come and worship God apart from the pagan world around them. Even with the Roman domination, they could retreat into the temple and find solace from the hubbub of secularism. But this was not the case anymore. The current leadership in the temple desired to increase revenue. People were travelling into Jerusalem from all over the country. Not everyone would have a sacrifice, but with the new system in place, that would not be a problem. You could just travel to the temple, and simply purchase a sacrifice on your way into the temple grounds.
The entire system was broken. No longer would the sacrifice be anything more than a cold, calculated business deal. There was no spirit of sacrifice. Now it was simply a financial obligation when they travelled into Jerusalem. They would spend some money on food, on lodging, and on a Passover sacrifice. The worship of God was relegated to a line in their budget. Their whole budget no longer was his, only a portion.
John 2 tells us that when Jesus walked into the temple and saw this system, a holy indignation rose up in Him. This was not a sinful rage that was uncontrollable; this was a zealous love for God that enacted itself in a cleansing, purifying, purging way. As the prophecy of Malachi had foretold, Jesus had arrived at the temple and He had come to clean house. The Latin writer Jerome put it this way, “There must have been a certain fiery and starry light shining from His eyes and the majesty of the Godhead must have been gleaming in His face.” This was not the passive, weak Jesus sometimes portrayed in the local Christian bookstore. This was a serious temple cleanser, coming to restore purity to that which had become impure.
Perhaps, our hearts could use a temple-cleansing. If you understand Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. Just as wicked as the materialistic Passover racket, we too fall into idolatry of heart. We begin to see ourselves relating to God in terms of business deals, instead of lovingly surrendering to Him everything. Perhaps, the Holy Spirit can do His cleansing work in us today.
Food For Thought: What was wrong with the system of selling animals in the temple? Why was the anger of Jesus not sinful?
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
John 2:1-12
Having heard the testimony of the apostle John, John the baptizer, and of the other disciples that Jesus was indeed “the Son of God,” we now turn to His own works to gather more clues to his full identity.
Starting in John 2, we find Jesus and His disciples invited to attend a marriage celebration in a town called Cana of Galilee, just a few miles from His home town of Nazareth. Cana and Nazareth both were modest little towns and the hosts of the wedding and many of the guests probably would have known Jesus for much of his life. We find also in John 21:2 that Nathaniel, the disciple of Jesus that we just met at the end of John 1 was also from Cana, so these were more than likely people whom Nathaniel would also have been well acquainted.
Marriage was a sacred thing in Jewish culture. The preparations would take nearly an entire year before the celebration day. John’s work in telling this story however is not to highlight the marriage as much as to tell what Jesus accomplished at the wedding.
In Ancient cultures, Jewish included, it was understood that the water that flowed in streams and rivers was contaminated and could make a person sick. A common practice was to dilute the water with fermented wine because the alcohol in the wine would kill the bacteria and other harmful things in the water. At a wedding, this was a problem, because if the host ran out of wine, there would be nothing to drink, and the guests couldn’t drink water because it was contaminated. Starting our story today, this is the dilemma that faced the wedding party here at Cana. They had no wine.
Immediately, Mary directed the servants to follow the leading of her all-wise son, Jesus, to resolve this issue. Jesus instructed the servants to fill the six water pots that were for “the purifying of the Jews.” These pots served a very specific purpose. They were to be used in the ceremonial cleansing of the guests, and of the dishes, and of everything that owner of the house would have. Filling them up with water would not have been unusual, but filling them up for drink would have been incredibly strange. The Jews would not have drunk any water by itself, and furthermore, you certainly wouldn’t have drunk water out of these pots.
Jesus then told the servants to scoop from the pot and take it to the head servant of the wedding. As the head servant tasted, he was so astounded that he remarked to the bridegroom about it. Many arguments have fallen about the alcohol content of the wine. The point of this story is not about alcohol or no alcohol. The point of the story is this: when the pots were filled, impure water was put in them; when the drink was scooped out, the purest wine that ever flowed came forth. Jesus had done the miraculous. A theology of drunkenness built off of this miracle of Jesus is nonsense. The point John was trying to get across was that Jesus is God. He has power to change water to wine.
He can do that which no one else can. He has supernatural power. It is sad that men would seek to dogmatically preach anything less from this text. Jesus came as God and did things that only God could do. The servants and the disciples saw this. They could truly know that He was God, even as John and the other disciples had testified. Now, we can look at the testimony and instead of being distracted by the details, we can rejoice that as He promised, God had come in the flesh.
Food for thought: Was the wine alcoholic or not? What is the real point of Jesus turning the water into wine?
Starting in John 2, we find Jesus and His disciples invited to attend a marriage celebration in a town called Cana of Galilee, just a few miles from His home town of Nazareth. Cana and Nazareth both were modest little towns and the hosts of the wedding and many of the guests probably would have known Jesus for much of his life. We find also in John 21:2 that Nathaniel, the disciple of Jesus that we just met at the end of John 1 was also from Cana, so these were more than likely people whom Nathaniel would also have been well acquainted.
Marriage was a sacred thing in Jewish culture. The preparations would take nearly an entire year before the celebration day. John’s work in telling this story however is not to highlight the marriage as much as to tell what Jesus accomplished at the wedding.
In Ancient cultures, Jewish included, it was understood that the water that flowed in streams and rivers was contaminated and could make a person sick. A common practice was to dilute the water with fermented wine because the alcohol in the wine would kill the bacteria and other harmful things in the water. At a wedding, this was a problem, because if the host ran out of wine, there would be nothing to drink, and the guests couldn’t drink water because it was contaminated. Starting our story today, this is the dilemma that faced the wedding party here at Cana. They had no wine.
Immediately, Mary directed the servants to follow the leading of her all-wise son, Jesus, to resolve this issue. Jesus instructed the servants to fill the six water pots that were for “the purifying of the Jews.” These pots served a very specific purpose. They were to be used in the ceremonial cleansing of the guests, and of the dishes, and of everything that owner of the house would have. Filling them up with water would not have been unusual, but filling them up for drink would have been incredibly strange. The Jews would not have drunk any water by itself, and furthermore, you certainly wouldn’t have drunk water out of these pots.
Jesus then told the servants to scoop from the pot and take it to the head servant of the wedding. As the head servant tasted, he was so astounded that he remarked to the bridegroom about it. Many arguments have fallen about the alcohol content of the wine. The point of this story is not about alcohol or no alcohol. The point of the story is this: when the pots were filled, impure water was put in them; when the drink was scooped out, the purest wine that ever flowed came forth. Jesus had done the miraculous. A theology of drunkenness built off of this miracle of Jesus is nonsense. The point John was trying to get across was that Jesus is God. He has power to change water to wine.
He can do that which no one else can. He has supernatural power. It is sad that men would seek to dogmatically preach anything less from this text. Jesus came as God and did things that only God could do. The servants and the disciples saw this. They could truly know that He was God, even as John and the other disciples had testified. Now, we can look at the testimony and instead of being distracted by the details, we can rejoice that as He promised, God had come in the flesh.
Food for thought: Was the wine alcoholic or not? What is the real point of Jesus turning the water into wine?
Friday, August 29, 2014
John 1:35-51
A shrill wail of the air raid siren pierced the clear, blue, morning sky in Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. Observation planes had been seen overhead for many weeks as the Allied forces had been planning their method of attack against the unrelenting Japanese military. But this morning was different. Several lower flying planes moved across the sky without incident, but Japanese observers could spot two or three planes soaring at high altitudes above. All seemed to be calm.
Flash! In a burst of blinding light, like the flash of the brightest camera, a disabling radiance overwhelmed the sunlight and cascaded across the fertile, mountainside city. In the next ten seconds, as the blast wave followed after the engulfing light, nearly 80,000 citizens of the doomed metropolis were tragically killed. America and her allies had solved “the Japanese problem.” Within two days and after another 100,000 casualties, Japan surrendered to the will of the Allied powers.
This is the snapshot of domination. This is what triumph looks like. This is how you win. Or at least this is how most victories in history have been won. The way of success for most empires has been the same. Offer only two possibilities to your opponent: surrender or destruction. This is the way of most.
Understanding domination, we find something almost laughable when we get to John 1:35-51. Jesus has come to establish His kingdom. His arrival was not even noticed by the majority of the planets inhabitants during his entire time on the planet. He never made a brash entrance into the palace of the reigning monarchs. He never called to himself a massive military. He never referred to his followers as “the Lord’s Army.” None of these things. His first converts were not military generals, or princes, or religious leaders, or even wealthy businessmen.
Jesus chose fishermen. He chose seven of them from Galilee. He wasn’t looking for favorable legislation from political friends. He wasn’t looking for massive donations from wealthy patrons. He wasn’t even looking to amass a Super-Christian think tank to develop dominating advancement strategies. He gathered a group of friends, all who probably even attended the same synagogue with each other. They were just an under-ordinary crew that had grown up together and fished together.
This was His plan for attack. They wouldn’t carry swords of iron or steel. They will be equipped with His truth. Their foes would not be defeated into submission by death, but brought into submission with the hope of eternal life.
And to many, the strategy of Jesus seems ridiculous. That is, until you realize that He wasn’t relying on the innate ability of these fishermen. His reliance was set on one greater. His trust was not in what Paul would call “many wise, or many mighty, or many noble,” but in the power of God working through the faith-filled, weak ones.
Seeing this calling of the disciples, we should be encouraged. They may have been a hodge-podge crew of social misfits, but God would use them to turn the world upside down. It doesn’t matter what background or abilities you have. Jesus extends to all the hope of being an integral part of advancing His gospel. The power isn’t found in a seamless, corporate strategy or in a massive militaristic strategy of domination. The power is found in the Sovereign God who will use all those who come to Christ.
Food For Thought: Why do you think Simon Peter was so willing to join in following Jesus with Andrew? Nathanael with Philip? Who has God providentially placed in your life that perhaps you could call into serving Jesus like Andrew and Philip did?
Flash! In a burst of blinding light, like the flash of the brightest camera, a disabling radiance overwhelmed the sunlight and cascaded across the fertile, mountainside city. In the next ten seconds, as the blast wave followed after the engulfing light, nearly 80,000 citizens of the doomed metropolis were tragically killed. America and her allies had solved “the Japanese problem.” Within two days and after another 100,000 casualties, Japan surrendered to the will of the Allied powers.
This is the snapshot of domination. This is what triumph looks like. This is how you win. Or at least this is how most victories in history have been won. The way of success for most empires has been the same. Offer only two possibilities to your opponent: surrender or destruction. This is the way of most.
Understanding domination, we find something almost laughable when we get to John 1:35-51. Jesus has come to establish His kingdom. His arrival was not even noticed by the majority of the planets inhabitants during his entire time on the planet. He never made a brash entrance into the palace of the reigning monarchs. He never called to himself a massive military. He never referred to his followers as “the Lord’s Army.” None of these things. His first converts were not military generals, or princes, or religious leaders, or even wealthy businessmen.
Jesus chose fishermen. He chose seven of them from Galilee. He wasn’t looking for favorable legislation from political friends. He wasn’t looking for massive donations from wealthy patrons. He wasn’t even looking to amass a Super-Christian think tank to develop dominating advancement strategies. He gathered a group of friends, all who probably even attended the same synagogue with each other. They were just an under-ordinary crew that had grown up together and fished together.
This was His plan for attack. They wouldn’t carry swords of iron or steel. They will be equipped with His truth. Their foes would not be defeated into submission by death, but brought into submission with the hope of eternal life.
And to many, the strategy of Jesus seems ridiculous. That is, until you realize that He wasn’t relying on the innate ability of these fishermen. His reliance was set on one greater. His trust was not in what Paul would call “many wise, or many mighty, or many noble,” but in the power of God working through the faith-filled, weak ones.
Seeing this calling of the disciples, we should be encouraged. They may have been a hodge-podge crew of social misfits, but God would use them to turn the world upside down. It doesn’t matter what background or abilities you have. Jesus extends to all the hope of being an integral part of advancing His gospel. The power isn’t found in a seamless, corporate strategy or in a massive militaristic strategy of domination. The power is found in the Sovereign God who will use all those who come to Christ.
Food For Thought: Why do you think Simon Peter was so willing to join in following Jesus with Andrew? Nathanael with Philip? Who has God providentially placed in your life that perhaps you could call into serving Jesus like Andrew and Philip did?
Thursday, August 28, 2014
John 1:6-8,15-37
The courtroom is set. You are the judge, seated in a high-backed, oaken, leather chair. Your long black robe is accented by the fluffy white ruffles on your chest. It is your job to listen to the evidence and determine the verdict. As you lean forward on your elevated, mahogany desk, in the courtroom in front of you stands a hovelled-over, old, Jewish man. His name is John. When he was much younger, he followed Jesus around and spent about three years living with Him. Now, he has come to the courtroom of your mind to argue to you the truth that he already knows.
John begins his case with his opening remarks. "Jesus truly is God. We can trust Him and rely on Him alone for our salvation." When we arrive at verse 15, the apostle John calls his first witness to the stand for direct examination: John the baptizer.
John the baptizer gets his title from two details, 1) his birth name was John and 2) he liked to baptize people. Baptism wasn’t a common Jewish practice, so when he had started doing this, it caused a little bit of a stir for the religious crowd of the day. Furthermore, anyone who knew the prophecy of Ezekiel 36-37 knew that before the Messiah would come, there would be "a sprinkling of water," a cleansing. Now, John was cleansing with water, baptizing, those who came and repented of their sins. This really confused the Jewish leaders as you can see their questioning in verses 19-21 and 25. But this was not just a peculiar practice that he was committing, this was a vital part of the testimony he was giving. In essence he was saying, “the Messiah is coming soon.”
As John the Apostle continues his direct examination of his first witness, we see not just the reality bound up in his title, but we also see his spoken testimony. When we get to verse 23, John the baptizer quotes Isaiah the prophet to make his point abundantly clear, “I am nothing important. I am just a voice. I am come to announce the coming of the one who is important. I am here to make ready the way for the Lord.” Again in verse 27, he expresses, “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me.”
This first witness on the stand has made it abundantly clear through his actions and his words that One would come soon that would be incredibly important. He would be highly praiseworthy. But the testimony doesn’t stop there. The witness continues on.
Verse 29, “John sees Jesus coming and says, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” John the baptizer goes on in his testimony to offer more specific details. Now his witness is explicit. "Jesus takes away sin."
Now, lean back in that big judge chair. Having heard the opening remarks from John the apostle, and the testimony of the first witness, John the baptizer, what do you think? Is Jesus important? Is Jesus a big deal? Is Jesus God?
As we continue through the Gospel according to John, we will see more witnesses and even will hear from Jesus himself. I'll leave it to you to decide. You can be the judge.
Food for thought: What are some things that John the Baptist says about Jesus being God or being from God?
John begins his case with his opening remarks. "Jesus truly is God. We can trust Him and rely on Him alone for our salvation." When we arrive at verse 15, the apostle John calls his first witness to the stand for direct examination: John the baptizer.
John the baptizer gets his title from two details, 1) his birth name was John and 2) he liked to baptize people. Baptism wasn’t a common Jewish practice, so when he had started doing this, it caused a little bit of a stir for the religious crowd of the day. Furthermore, anyone who knew the prophecy of Ezekiel 36-37 knew that before the Messiah would come, there would be "a sprinkling of water," a cleansing. Now, John was cleansing with water, baptizing, those who came and repented of their sins. This really confused the Jewish leaders as you can see their questioning in verses 19-21 and 25. But this was not just a peculiar practice that he was committing, this was a vital part of the testimony he was giving. In essence he was saying, “the Messiah is coming soon.”
As John the Apostle continues his direct examination of his first witness, we see not just the reality bound up in his title, but we also see his spoken testimony. When we get to verse 23, John the baptizer quotes Isaiah the prophet to make his point abundantly clear, “I am nothing important. I am just a voice. I am come to announce the coming of the one who is important. I am here to make ready the way for the Lord.” Again in verse 27, he expresses, “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me.”
This first witness on the stand has made it abundantly clear through his actions and his words that One would come soon that would be incredibly important. He would be highly praiseworthy. But the testimony doesn’t stop there. The witness continues on.
Verse 29, “John sees Jesus coming and says, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” John the baptizer goes on in his testimony to offer more specific details. Now his witness is explicit. "Jesus takes away sin."
Now, lean back in that big judge chair. Having heard the opening remarks from John the apostle, and the testimony of the first witness, John the baptizer, what do you think? Is Jesus important? Is Jesus a big deal? Is Jesus God?
As we continue through the Gospel according to John, we will see more witnesses and even will hear from Jesus himself. I'll leave it to you to decide. You can be the judge.
Food for thought: What are some things that John the Baptist says about Jesus being God or being from God?
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
John 1:1-14
“In the beginning was the Word.” This is no arbitrary statement. Understanding the Genesis phrase “In the beginning” to mean “before everything was, at the time that Creation was about to roll out,” we must pause to understand what the Apostle John is getting at when he begins this Gospel account of the life and work of Jesus. Here John makes the three-fold claim that the one called “the Word” was 1) in the beginning, 2) with God, 3) was God.
What you must see is that when we examine this series of claims a very distinct theology emerges. First, to fully define “the Word,” we must go further along in the text to verse 14, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” This statement indicates to us the same thing that we learn from Paul in Philippians 2:7, that Jesus humbled himself and “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Similarly Hebrews 2:14 teaches that Jesus took on “flesh and blood.” Seeing plainly that this one John is referring to as “the Word” is Jesus, we can go on further to understand what John is saying about Jesus.
1) Jesus was “in the beginning.” Before Creation had begun, Jesus was already in existence. This means foremost that Jesus is not a creation of God. He did not come as an afterthought from God. He was pre-existent to Creation and contained in himself the power to create as indicated in verse 3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Not only was he pre-existent to the creation of everything, He was an integral part of the creative act.
2) Jesus was “with God.” Jesus did not exist in eternity past by himself. Neither did God. Together, they existed in communion before the world existed. In John 17:24, Jesus praying to God says, “thou loved me before the foundation of the world.” Here we have a glimpse in Christ’s prayer of the relationship of love that God and Jesus have for one another. A love that is more ancient than the cosmos. Before they made everything, they were altogether satisfied in communion with each other. God with Christ, and Christ “with God.”
3) Jesus is “God.” There is no article “a” that precedes the word “God,” for Jesus is not “a God.” He is definitively and fully God. Any who would seek to remove this divine title from Him only do so with misleading words, because He is truly the Sovereign of the universe. It is Jesus to whom “every knee should bow and every tongue should confess.” (Philippians 2:10) It is Jesus in whom “dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) It is Jesus that affirms the truth of John 1:1 when He says “Verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am.” (John 8:58)
Jesus is the pre-existent, all-powerfully creative God of the universe.
Afterthought: The religious group who call themselves “Jehovah’s Witnesses” use a mistranslation of the Scriptures known as the New World Translation. In John 1:1, this version mistranslates the words “the word was God” as “the word was a god.” This allows for the heretical teaching that Jesus is not God, but is simply a “divine one” among many lesser gods. Consistent with this heresy they furthermore deny the existence of the Trinity.
Food For Thought: In your own words, what three things does John 1:1 tell us about Jesus?
What you must see is that when we examine this series of claims a very distinct theology emerges. First, to fully define “the Word,” we must go further along in the text to verse 14, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” This statement indicates to us the same thing that we learn from Paul in Philippians 2:7, that Jesus humbled himself and “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Similarly Hebrews 2:14 teaches that Jesus took on “flesh and blood.” Seeing plainly that this one John is referring to as “the Word” is Jesus, we can go on further to understand what John is saying about Jesus.
1) Jesus was “in the beginning.” Before Creation had begun, Jesus was already in existence. This means foremost that Jesus is not a creation of God. He did not come as an afterthought from God. He was pre-existent to Creation and contained in himself the power to create as indicated in verse 3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Not only was he pre-existent to the creation of everything, He was an integral part of the creative act.
2) Jesus was “with God.” Jesus did not exist in eternity past by himself. Neither did God. Together, they existed in communion before the world existed. In John 17:24, Jesus praying to God says, “thou loved me before the foundation of the world.” Here we have a glimpse in Christ’s prayer of the relationship of love that God and Jesus have for one another. A love that is more ancient than the cosmos. Before they made everything, they were altogether satisfied in communion with each other. God with Christ, and Christ “with God.”
3) Jesus is “God.” There is no article “a” that precedes the word “God,” for Jesus is not “a God.” He is definitively and fully God. Any who would seek to remove this divine title from Him only do so with misleading words, because He is truly the Sovereign of the universe. It is Jesus to whom “every knee should bow and every tongue should confess.” (Philippians 2:10) It is Jesus in whom “dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) It is Jesus that affirms the truth of John 1:1 when He says “Verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am.” (John 8:58)
Jesus is the pre-existent, all-powerfully creative God of the universe.
Afterthought: The religious group who call themselves “Jehovah’s Witnesses” use a mistranslation of the Scriptures known as the New World Translation. In John 1:1, this version mistranslates the words “the word was God” as “the word was a god.” This allows for the heretical teaching that Jesus is not God, but is simply a “divine one” among many lesser gods. Consistent with this heresy they furthermore deny the existence of the Trinity.
Food For Thought: In your own words, what three things does John 1:1 tell us about Jesus?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)