John 8:31-36

Briefly, I hope. Jesus is speaking to the Jews who believe in Him. An interesting conversation ensues.

 

Jesus: If you hold to my teaching, you are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

 

They: We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves. How can you say we'll be set free?

 

Jesus (the main points):

1. You are slaves... to sin.
2. As slaves, you have no permanent place in the household.
3. The Son has a permanent place in the household.
4. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

 

All of us are slaves to sin. That means that none of us has a permanent place in the household. But there is someone who has a permanent place in the household: the Son, Jesus Himself. Slaves are truly free from sin when they have been set free by the Son, rather than by another slave.

 

The Son has come. The Son is offering freedom to those of us in slavery to sin. We need to hold to His teaching, His truth. Let's find freedom through the Son!

 

John 8:12-20

If we remember that scholars believe John 7:53-8:11 to have been a later addition to the text, then what we read here comes directly after the Pharisees' division (Nicodemus asking them to hear Jesus out).

 

Jesus' next claim was that He was the light of the world and that those who followed Him would have the light of life. I don't know whether the Pharisees had decided to take Nicodemus' advice and hear Jesus out or what, but they at least respond to this claim. They tell Jesus that His testimony isn't valid because He is speaking about Himself.

 

Jesus responds that, even if He were the only one speaking on His own behalf, His testimony would be perfectly valid. Why? Well, compared to the Pharisees, Jesus certainly knows more about Himself than they do. He knows where He came from and where He is going, so He is the only human qualified to testify about those things. He points out that the Pharisees certainly aren't valid witnesses about Him.

 

Jesus says that the Pharisees are judging according to the flesh – according to what they experience and feel. They are limited to what they can see, hear, and feel, and they are also limited by what they want to see. Jesus contrasts this with Himself – not only is He not judging according to the flesh, but He is not judging! But Jesus is quick to note that, if He were judging, He would be right because He agrees with the Father who sent Him.

 

Jesus says, therefore, that there are two witnesses on His side – Himself and His Father who sent Him. And this should be enough, according to the Law of Moses.

 

Of course, the Pharisees wanted to verify this second witness. "Where is your father?" they asked Jesus.

 

And Jesus responded that they did not know the Father. His evidence for this is that they do not know Jesus Himself.

 

I've wondered about this evidence sometimes. But as a general rule, it makes sense. Think about it. The Jews living in Jerusalem did not get to know each other merely as individuals. Their families had lived there for generations. Children who were friends had fathers who were friends and grandfathers who were friends.

 

It is similar today. I was just at a wedding in Montana, where I have never been. Yet while I was there, an elderly couple approached and asked me whether I was "Bob's son." They knew my dad. And they recognized him in my appearance. We were friends. We "knew" each other, even though we did not know each other.

 

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. His Father had sent Him. And yet the Pharisees did not recognize Jesus. Why not? Jesus says that it is because they did not know His Father. When people know your father, they know you.

 

Those who do not believe Jesus do not know God! That's all there is to it. People should be able to see the family resemblance.

 

Father, may I demonstrate my love for You by my love for Jesus! May I listen to Your words! May I obey them! May I talk about You as I ought to, telling people the truth about my wonderful God! Help me to introduce people to You. If they don't know You, may they come to know You through me, and then through Jesus. May the family resemblance draw them.

 

John 8:1-11

I almost hesitate to study this text as devotions since even evangelicals agree that this text was not originally a part of John. This story is unverifiable. But it offers some lessons that are verified in other parts of Scripture, so I'll go ahead.

 

Whoever inserted this story makes it seem as though this takes place on the day following the events John had just written about. The people, the temple guards, and even the religious leaders are divided in their response to Jesus and uncertain whether to accept Him or reject Him. Jesus comes back into town, and the religious leaders think that they have figured out a way to settle the issue once and for all. They bring out a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery, they publicly remind Jesus what Moses said should be done to such a woman, and then they ask Jesus whether He agrees with Moses or not. This situation is certainly possible, and the story is plausible. It could have happened. But we don't know.

 

The text they seem to be referring to that commands people to stone a woman caught in adultery is probably somewhere in Deuteronomy 22:13-27. Several situations are described there. In the first situation, a man marries a woman but then does not believe that she was a virgin. The woman and her family are supposed to bring evidence that she was a virgin; if she is found to have been promiscuous before marriage, she must be stoned. In the next situation, a man is found sleeping with another man's wife; both of them must die. In the next situation, a man and a virgin who is pledged to be married are caught sleeping together in a town; both must be stoned (incidentally, if this same thing happens in the country, the girl is presumed to be innocent and man is assumed to have raped her).

 

It doesn't seem that this is the first scenario; we don't read anything about an accusing husband or the girl's family. But whether this is the second or third scenario, something is missing; in both of these, the men are also supposed to be stoned. Where is the guilty man?

 

I don't know what Jesus was writing, or whether this story is completely false and Jesus didn't even know how to write. But if this story is true, I would not be surprised if Jesus had been writing out the very laws these men were citing, demonstrating that He knew very well what the Law of Moses said, and also demonstrating that these teachers of the law and Pharisees were not following it as it was written. When they kept pressing Him, Jesus stopped writing for a moment. He told them that whoever was without sin could feel free to throw the first stone. And then He began writing again.

 

Who knows? Maybe He was writing the laws they were citing. Maybe He was writing out the Ten Commandments. Maybe He wasn't writing any laws at all. But none of these men were living up to the Law, and they began to drift away one by one, starting with the oldest.

 

In Matthew 7:1-2 (cf. Luke 6:37) Jesus commands men not to judge one another because the time will come when they will be judged by the same standard. In Romans 2:1 Paul writes, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." These men had come to Jesus saying that this woman broke the Law. In public, Jesus challenged these men to judge only if they themselves had not broken the Law. Not one of them could do it; they went away disgraced.

 

In the end, Jesus Himself does not condemn the woman (though He could have... again, if this story is true). John 3:17 tells us that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. One day Jesus will return to judge the world. But this story reminds us that Jesus has come first with mercy. All men are on equal footing before Him; all are sinners and deserve condemnation. Condemning each other by the Law makes no sense, for we all stand condemned as sinners before Jesus; we can't pretend to be righteous. Instead, we must remind each other that we are all sinners and that we all deserve Jesus' wrath – without condemning each other. And then we must turn to Jesus. He extends grace to sinners and tells them to "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11). By faith in Him, sinners may live and not die.

 

Father, may those of us who have trusted in Jesus be able to communicate to those who have not that we do not condemn them. On our own, we deserve judgment just as much as anyone. But may we also be able to communicate our hope to them. May they hear and understand that Jesus is the Savior of the world! That faith in Him gives life! And may they not reject Him, whether from fear, pride, resignation, or a desire to live life in their own ways. May those who do not trust in Christ joyfully receive the hope that Jesus offers, gladly setting aside their sinful ways to follow Him!

 

John 7:32-53

The Pharisees sent temple guards to seize Jesus because the crowds were talking as though they believed that Jesus was the Christ. Of course, this discussion between Jesus and the crowd was still going on. Jesus was still teaching about Himself (Who does that? Who is so proud as to teach about himself in a religious setting?).

 

Jesus continued to teach that He was from a different place than the rest of the people. He would return there in a little while to be with the "one who sent" him. The Jews began to think Jesus planned to go teach the Jews who had been scattered among the Greeks. Where else could He possibly be describing (That is, if you simply don't believe His claim to have come from God . . . If you don't believe that, where else could He possibly be describing?)? The text doesn't answer the question directly, but the answer is still plain: Jesus claims to come from God.

 

Ok, I find this interesting. A conversation is going on. The chief priests and Pharisees send the temple guards to seize Jesus. Conversation continues. Verse 37, new scene? "On the last and greatest day of the Feast." More conversation and teaching. Verse 45 – Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees. What? They've been sitting out there watching Jesus this whole time? And the chief priests and Pharisees have been sitting in the background waiting for the temple guards the whole time? I don't have time to look into this, but this is something interesting that may say something about their culture.

 

Here's a claim Jesus made on the last and greatest day of the Feast: "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Streams of living water will flow from within him.' John tells us that Jesus meant the Spirit here. So Jesus Himself claims that the Spirit will be within those who believe in Jesus.

 

Is it any wonder that the crowds were continually discussing whether Jesus was or was not the Christ? Is it any wonder that they were continually divided – some believing in Him and some not? That some wanted to seize Him?

 

The division extended all the way up the system. Not just the people. The temple guards came back without seizing Jesus. Why? "No one ever spoke the way this man does." Kind of a 'do we dare to arrest this man? What if he's telling the truth?' And when the Pharisees rebuke the temple guards, one of the Pharisees defends Jesus' right to a hearing.

 

Jesus brought division. Jesus' claims resulted in quarrels. People were unsure of what to believe. Some were for Him. Some were against Him. Some seem to have been undecided. But only those who aligned themselves with Jesus had their choice validated. It is the same today. People still oppose Jesus. They still hate the idea that people believe in Him. Some are still trying to make up their minds. But in the end, there are only two sides. For Jesus, or not for Jesus. Father, help me and all those I love to be completely for Jesus!

 

John 7:25-31

The Jews had protested that no one was trying to kill Jesus. After Jesus reminds the people that the Jews are trying to kill Him because He healed a man on the Sabbath, they remember that they had heard something about killing Him. At first they couldn't believe that anyone was trying to kill Him. Now the people can't believe that Jesus is teaching in public if people still want to kill Him. Perhaps the authorities have concluded that Jesus is the Christ?

 

The people might have left it at that, but humans rarely do something so simple. Rather than just trusting that Jesus was the Christ, they considered other evidence that might help them certify His Christ-hood. "Wait a minute! We know where Jesus comes from! We won't know where the Christ comes from!" And so they continue to doubt Jesus and His teachings. If people want to doubt, there are always more reasons for doubt. Certainty is almost impossible – even with solid evidence – apart from faith.

 

Jesus was still teaching in the temple courts. He knew what the people were saying. And He responded: "Yes, you know Me and you know where I am from." So far, to them, so good. Jesus seems to be affirming their doubts. To them, Jesus is from Nazareth and Capernaum. Jesus is a son of Joseph and Mary.

 

But then He continues: "And I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true." Jesus was not the initiator of His ministry in the world. Jesus did not come by His own authority. The source of Jesus' ministry is someone else, somewhere else. Not Joseph and Mary. Not Capernaum. Not Nazareth. Someone true. Completely trustworthy.

 

Just in case the crowds were still thinking that Jesus was perhaps referring to Joseph, perhaps really honoring His earthly Father, Jesus says more: "You do not know Him." Who might be unknown to this crowd? Joseph? No. It has to be someone distant. Jesus is a spiritual teacher, so He is probably referring to either Satan or God. And considering that He has claimed to be teaching the will of God, Jesus must be referring to God. Surely Satan is not true! But Jesus tells the crowd that they do not know this person.

 

Not only so, but Jesus tells them that He does know this person. Jesus knows the One who sent Him; Jesus knows God! How can He know God if they don't? 1. Jesus is from God; 2. God sent Jesus.

 

Jesus begins by telling the crowd that they know where He is from. But what He claims is that He is from God (as He has said all along). This is very different from what they meant – they thought that they knew Jesus was from Nazareth, from Capernaum, from Joseph and Mary. But Jesus says that they know He is from God – He has been teaching this consistently. So in some sense, they do not know where He is from – they think that Jesus is merely from some earthly place. And even though Jesus has claimed to be from God, they don't know that He is from God because they refuse to believe Him. Jesus turns the peoples' words around; they know where He is from, or they should. Jesus is from heaven.

 

The people understood. They tried to seize Jesus. But they did not succeed – God's Word says simply that it was not yet Jesus' time.

 

Despite the angry response, many put their faith in Him. Why? They trusted in the evidence they had, without continuing to seek complete certainty. "When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?" Between Christ's teachings and Christ's miracles, they had the evidence they needed.

 

Father, over and over John testifies that Jesus claimed to come from You. It is so easy to find reasons not believe this – to doubt, to delay trusting in Him. Father, help me to trust in Jesus. Help me to trust His teachings. Help me to trust His miracles. Help me to be humble enough to realize that I cannot understand everything You say and do. I cannot understand all the pieces of Your divine puzzle. At some point, I must trust You. You have revealed that Jesus is from You. Help me to trust You by following Jesus. Help me to trust You by obeying Jesus' words as though they are truly divine. And may those who doubt Jesus learn to trust. May they stop acting as though they are worthy to judge Jesus – as though they are worthy to put Him on trial and determine whether He is trustworthy or not. May they instead submit. Trust. Obey. May I set a good example in this.

 

Halfway there!

We arrived at Brian and April's apartment last night around 9 pm (10 pm KY time). It has been good to see them.

 

We had a great trip. We stopped a couple of times for Michael. And for Christy, who drank too much tea and coke. But we were a pretty happy traveling troupe, and it was like that all day long. Wonderful!

 

We kind of feel bad that Emma is not with us. But the trip would have been less enjoyable for all, and we're sure that she is having fun with Grandma and Pop-pop Harner. It has to be a blessing for them, too, to get time with their granddaughter like this. Especially since they'll be starting a new term of missions service in June/July.

 

So we're halfway to Judy!

 

John 7:10-24

Jesus ended up going up to the Feast. One might ask whether He lied to His brothers, since He told them that He was not going up to the Feast because His time had not come.

 

I'm going to assume for now that He did not lie. I'm not going to make any arguments to prove it yet. Instead, I want to see what Jesus did.

 

He went up to the Feast, but He went up in secret (His brothers had urged Him to make a big show of things). Apparently those at the Feast were debating about Jesus, trying to judge whether He was good or bad. Jesus did not present Himself publicly until midway through the Feast.

 

Who knows what kind of opposition Jesus would have faced if His opponents had known He was coming? But they didn't know. And by midway through the Feast, they probably had let down their guards, not expecting to see Him there. Then He began to teach publicly at the Temple. The crowds were amazed at His knowledge – a knowledge that came without the kind of education that other teachers had.

 

Jesus' answer was that He was teaching the thoughts of someone else. In particular, He was teaching the thoughts of the One who sent Him, of God the Father. Jesus challenged His hearers to do as He taught in order to find out whether Jesus' teachings were from God or not. Jesus was seeking the Father's glory, so there was no reason for Him to teach anything but the Father's words. (So often we shy away – I shy away – from speaking the truth. Why? Apparently it is because I am concerned too often for my own glory.)

 

And then Jesus concluded with a challenge: "You don't really follow Moses. You don't keep the Law. If you kept the Law, you wouldn't be trying to kill Me." When the crowds ask who is trying to kill Him, Jesus points back to the miracle of making the paralyzed man walk on the Sabbath. And He justifies having done the miracle on the Sabbath. Yet it was well-known that this miracle was a major reason there was debate about whether Jesus was good or not. His awareness of the Jews' motivations for hating Him was a part of His teaching strategy. He revealed to people the secrets of their own hearts so that they would be confronted with their own sinfulness.

 

Contrast our sinfulness with His perfection. He always spoke the words of the One who sent Him. He always sought the Father's glory.

 

Father, forgive me for not doing the same!

 

Christmas Party

Our Community Group had a Christmas Party last night! We began with a huge meal, and pretty much everyone contributed. We had chicken, stuffing, cranberry something or other, broccoli-cheese casserole, rolls, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, punch, mashed potatoes (in abundance), probably something else I’m forgetting, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie! I think everyone was satisfied after that meal!

 

Following the meal, we had a gift exchange for our kids. They were really cute. Some were showing off the presents they received. One or two thought that this was actually Christmas, and were disappointed that there weren’t more gifts! We had to reassure them that this was just a Christmas Party and that Christmas was still coming with lots of gifts. Then we sent the kids into another room to do crafts and decorate cookies – with supervision of course.

 

We had our own gift exchange. Actually, we had two. First was a Secret Santa gift exchange. But the Santas ended up not being secret, because we let people guess who had given them the gifts. Then we had a white elephant gift exchange. There were some great gifts – like a plastic flower, a shoe-shaped planter, and some blazing-pink pants.

 

We ended the evening with games, and people eventually drifted off. But that’s our Community Group – a great group to party with!

John 7:1-9

The Jews in Judea were trying to kill Jesus, so He was staying away from there. But when the time came for the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus' brothers urged Him to go to Judea. They basically said, "Aren't you trying to become famous? Then why are you hiding?"

 

It makes you wonder how Jesus was perceived. He is the Holy Son of God, and everything He does is perfectly righteous. Yet His brothers seemed to think He was uppity, holier-than-thou, self-seeking.

 

I know that my heart is not as pure as Jesus' heart. I must constantly examine my motives and choices. But at the same time, walking in Jesus' steps is going to lead to misunderstanding sometimes. Jesus had to put up with the misunderstanding patiently and lovingly. Father, when I feel misunderstood, help me to respond the same way. But help me also to evaluate my heart honestly before You and to find out whether I need to repent of anything.

 

Memory Loss (short-term)

My memory is terrible! Last night we were eating supper, and Emma was pretty pitiful. But even in her subdued condition, she had Christy and me laughing hysterically. And I can’t remember what it was! Sorry about that, for those who read this.

John 6:22-71

Michael woke us up just before six today. So I've had the opportunity to study a longer passage of Scripture than I usually would. Which is good, because this whole section centers on one thought. Jesus is the bread from heaven.

 

The crowds who had eaten the bread – who had been witnesses of Jesus' miracle of feeding the five thousand – they looked for Jesus and eventually found Him. Jesus accused them of looking for Him not because they were interested in God's signs to them, but because they wanted more bread to fill their stomachs. He told them to work for food that produces eternal life.

 

In response, they asked what this spiritual work was. And Jesus told them that the work God had for them was to believe in the One God had sent. But they wanted a sign to prove that they should believe in Jesus (as though Jesus had not already given them a sign), like the manna which had come down from heaven in Moses' day. Jesus pointed out that Moses had not given them this bread, but that the Father gave them bread from heaven. He also taught them that the true bread from heaven would produce eternal life in them. When they asked for this bread, Jesus said, "I AM the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst (probably a reference to the living water John has already mentioned)." Jesus satisfies our every need.

 

The Jews were grumbling, and Jesus pointed out their disbelief. The Father had not given them to Jesus, and they would not be among those raised up at the last day. They had to be taught by God – and they were not listening. None of them had seen the Father, and the One who had seen the Father was trying to teach them, but they would not hear.

 

Jesus identified His flesh as the bread from heaven, as true food, and His blood as true drink. His flesh and blood give eternal life to those who eat them.

 

When Jesus' disciples grumbled at these hard words, He chided them for not listening to them as spiritual words. He said that the flesh counts for nothing. In other words, it is not by actually eating Jesus' body and drinking His blood that a person receives eternal life; there is a spiritual reality behind these statements.

 

When Jesus asked the twelve if they wanted to turn away with the others, Simon Peter answered. His response is a model for us all: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

 

All that Jesus had been teaching is summed up here. Jesus taught that He came from God, bearing God's words, and that hearing and believing God would give eternal life. Peter recognized that Jesus came from God and taught God's words, and having heard, Peter believed in Jesus for eternal life. Peter knew that he could not find eternal life anywhere else.

 

Sadly, there was one among the twelve who had not believed. Jesus knew this and pointed it out. But it is essential for me to believe and to teach that Jesus came from God, and that His teachings are God's teachings, and that there is no eternal life outside of His teachings. The Jews asked Jesus for a sign so that they would believe in Him, a sign as great as the manna from heaven. They had a greater sign standing right there in front of them: Jesus, the bread of life, God in the flesh!

 

Two Blows to the Ego

I can't believe that the last time I blogged about Emma was November 16th. I was talking about how she wanted to be "just like daddy". That was nice.

But I've been set aside. Emma loves Cinderella. Now she wants to be "just like Cinderella." In everything. I've been replaced. Ego blow 1.

Also, I was working at the Old Spaghetti Factory last night. Christy brought Emma and Michael to eat there. All was well. As they were heading out of the restaurant, Emma noticed my apron. She asked me several times, "Is Daddy wearing a dress?" I think she even said, "Just like Cinderella." Oh, wait, that was Christy who threw that in, and Emma liked it. Ego blow 2.

Oh well.