As you start reading John 14, remember that it's right after John 13, where Jesus is telling His disciples things like: One of you is going to betray me (v. 21)... I will be with you only a little longer (v. 33)...Where I am going, you cannot come [follow] (v. 33 and again in v. 36)... Peter, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times (v. 38). Right after this, Jesus says, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. Chapter 14 is a powerful text anyway, but read it in its context, trying to put yourselves into the sandals of the disciples, and the text comes alive. I am going there to prepare a place for you... [and] I will come back and take you to be with me...And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of Truth...I will not leave you as orphans... Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. Amazing words. So often read these words in the context of our life situation, and it is well that we should take comfort in them, but usually we are not faced with the kind of grief and world shattering events that the disciples were faced with in the 24 hours to follow. If these words were spoken with that in mind, then how much more should they comfort us in our needs.
I'd like to point out a few more verses. First of all, verses 12-14. These have always struck me as odd, to be honest, but here, I think, we see the playing out of the Rabbi/talmidim idea. What is the goal of the talmid? To become like the rabbi! In my life, I find that I have a hard time mustering that kind of faith. I also have a tough time wrapping my mind around verse 14. I think it can be ripped out of context (and often is, quite badly), but notice that it is connected to verse 13: the purpose of everything that happens is so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
Also, something that really struck me when I was learning in Israel a few years ago is the emphasis that Jesus puts on obedience. Look at verse 15: If you love me, you will obey what I command. Now I don't believe in a "works righteousness" by any stretch, but perhaps we have swung the pendulum so far the other direction that we have forgotten this very straightforward statement from the mouth of Jesus: obey.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
John 13
Somehow, it is fitting that we should be discussing this passage on the eve of Christmas, our celebration of God coming to us in the flesh.
The story of the washing of feet reminds me of our Passover experience together.
The part that strikes me as I read it today is verse 12: "Do you understand what I have done for you?" Here Jesus is, the Lord of everything, the one who spoke and galaxies came into being and He came to serve. He makes it clear that the path of the Kingdom of God is lined with service, and no matter how "important" I become, I will never be able to make a galaxy, so I had better remember that my life should be lined with service, too. Have you ever gone on a service or mission trip and found yourself blessed because of that? Have you even (like me) felt guilty afterwards thinking, "Here we are to serve you guys," only to wonder if you gave as much of a blessing as you received? I think we can be assured that God does use us and work through us in those circumstances, but look at what Jesus says in verse 17: "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Sometimes we get so caught up with thinking that Jesus is talking about when we get to heaven that we ignore the possibility that He might be talking about here and now also. I believe there is the promise of the blessing of heaven, but I think Jesus may also have realized that the servants receive blessing in the moment of service, too.
We tend to remember the story of Jesus identifying his betrayer by passing him the bread, but did you realize that this was also a reference to Psalm 41:9? That's remarkable!
The last part of this chapter should be read together with the first part of the next chapter, so we'll pick up there next time.
The story of the washing of feet reminds me of our Passover experience together.
The part that strikes me as I read it today is verse 12: "Do you understand what I have done for you?" Here Jesus is, the Lord of everything, the one who spoke and galaxies came into being and He came to serve. He makes it clear that the path of the Kingdom of God is lined with service, and no matter how "important" I become, I will never be able to make a galaxy, so I had better remember that my life should be lined with service, too. Have you ever gone on a service or mission trip and found yourself blessed because of that? Have you even (like me) felt guilty afterwards thinking, "Here we are to serve you guys," only to wonder if you gave as much of a blessing as you received? I think we can be assured that God does use us and work through us in those circumstances, but look at what Jesus says in verse 17: "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Sometimes we get so caught up with thinking that Jesus is talking about when we get to heaven that we ignore the possibility that He might be talking about here and now also. I believe there is the promise of the blessing of heaven, but I think Jesus may also have realized that the servants receive blessing in the moment of service, too.
We tend to remember the story of Jesus identifying his betrayer by passing him the bread, but did you realize that this was also a reference to Psalm 41:9? That's remarkable!
The last part of this chapter should be read together with the first part of the next chapter, so we'll pick up there next time.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
John 12
Today, I just want to highlight a few verses from this chapter:
(12:10) The chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus. I always thought this was funny, because Jesus already raised him from the dead once. I suppose they maybe thought they could kill Jesus first and then Lazarus, but that didn't exactly work out like they planned, either.
(12:25) The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates [prefers less than The Kingdom] his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. In connection with this verse, there is a prayer (by Stephen Mitchell) that a colleague of mine shared with me: "Even in the midst of great pain, Lord, I praise you for that which is. I will not refuse this grief or close myself to this anguish. Let shallow men pray for ease: 'comfort us, shield us from sorrow.' I pray for whatever you send me, and I ask to receive it as your gift. You have put a joy in my heart greater than all the world's riches. I lie down trusting the darkness, for I know that even now, you are here." That is a powerful and frightening prayer.
(12:42-43) Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not sonfess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
(12:10) The chief priests wanted to kill Lazarus. I always thought this was funny, because Jesus already raised him from the dead once. I suppose they maybe thought they could kill Jesus first and then Lazarus, but that didn't exactly work out like they planned, either.
(12:25) The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates [prefers less than The Kingdom] his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. In connection with this verse, there is a prayer (by Stephen Mitchell) that a colleague of mine shared with me: "Even in the midst of great pain, Lord, I praise you for that which is. I will not refuse this grief or close myself to this anguish. Let shallow men pray for ease: 'comfort us, shield us from sorrow.' I pray for whatever you send me, and I ask to receive it as your gift. You have put a joy in my heart greater than all the world's riches. I lie down trusting the darkness, for I know that even now, you are here." That is a powerful and frightening prayer.
(12:42-43) Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not sonfess their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
John 11--part 3
The fallout from Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead. We'll see another aspect of this in chapter 12, but there is a really interesting quote by the high priest recorded in verse 50. John himself provides the commentary on the far reaching implications of the idea of Jesus dying instead of us all (substitutionary atonement). Almost certainly, that quote had more far-reaching theological weight than the high priest intended. But Passover (think Independence Day for a people under oppression) is coming, and the people are excited for Jesus to come as The King...
Friday, December 14, 2007
John 11--part 2
Okay, due to a little (okay, not little) computer problem at home, I'm going to have to update this from school for a while. Despite my blogging irregularities, my personal devotions have been alright, but regardless, I hope to finish posting on the Gospel according to John with a little more regularity.
In John 11:17, when Jesus gets there, Martha goes out to meet him and makes a statement with a broken heart: If you had been here, my brother would not have died. She follows up that question with a statement of great faith. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Was she expecting Jesus to raise her brother from the dead? I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem likely from what she tells Jesus in verse 24 (and also verse 40, later). Even so, for her response in verse 25, I think she gets an A+.
So she goes and gets Mary. Mary goes out to Jesus and falls at his feet and makes the same grief-ridden statement. Following this are some of the most moving words in scripture. Jesus knew that things were going to turn out alright (see verse 23). He knew that in 15 minutes, these same people were going to be overcome with great joy and the power and victory of God. But in that moment, Jesus Himself was deeply moved (even to tears) because the people around Him--people He loved--were hurting. See how he loved him!... Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?
The happy ending: (11:44) The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. I hope it's not irreverent for me to think this, but the picture John paints here is absolutely hilarious, and even Mary, Martha, and Lazarus must have had a laugh about it in retrospect. First of all, "the dead man came out..." ?! Second, here's this picture of him all tangled up in strips of cloth, maybe like he's in some sort of sack race, with a cloth around his face, so he can't even see where he's going. Then, as if Jesus had to tell them, Take off his grave cloths and let him go. All to the glory of God!
In John 11:17, when Jesus gets there, Martha goes out to meet him and makes a statement with a broken heart: If you had been here, my brother would not have died. She follows up that question with a statement of great faith. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Was she expecting Jesus to raise her brother from the dead? I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem likely from what she tells Jesus in verse 24 (and also verse 40, later). Even so, for her response in verse 25, I think she gets an A+.
So she goes and gets Mary. Mary goes out to Jesus and falls at his feet and makes the same grief-ridden statement. Following this are some of the most moving words in scripture. Jesus knew that things were going to turn out alright (see verse 23). He knew that in 15 minutes, these same people were going to be overcome with great joy and the power and victory of God. But in that moment, Jesus Himself was deeply moved (even to tears) because the people around Him--people He loved--were hurting. See how he loved him!... Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?
The happy ending: (11:44) The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. I hope it's not irreverent for me to think this, but the picture John paints here is absolutely hilarious, and even Mary, Martha, and Lazarus must have had a laugh about it in retrospect. First of all, "the dead man came out..." ?! Second, here's this picture of him all tangled up in strips of cloth, maybe like he's in some sort of sack race, with a cloth around his face, so he can't even see where he's going. Then, as if Jesus had to tell them, Take off his grave cloths and let him go. All to the glory of God!
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