John Day 31- Jesus enters her bedroom
13 Jesus answered and said to her,
“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the
water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give
him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir,
give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call
your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said,
“I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well
said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom
you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I
perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and
you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
So Jesus opens a conversation
about thirst that she thinks is about water. When she asks for the water Jesus
tells her to go and get her husband and come back. She tells Him she doesn't
have a husband hoping that would be the end of that topic. Far from it, Jesus
opens to her, her entire relationship history. 5 husbands, 5 divorces, and now
she is living what we would call common law.
Her reaction? She changes the
subject. She brings up the most controversial subject she can think of to take
the blinding spot light off of her personal life.
Why did Jesus do it? Why did he
expose her like that? It all makes sense now. She is getting water alone at
noon because she is hated by the other women in her village. She is likely
labeled a home wrecker and husband stealer and worse...
Jesus brought it up because it
was the deepest need of her life and it needed to be addressed. She had a
thirst problem. She was thirsty for love but misinterpreted the hole in her
heart where God's love needed to be as a hole that a husband could fill.
The english is pretty tame but
Jesus said to her "You've had 5 husbands and the man you are giving
yourself to now is not your husband." It's a term that refers to sexual
intimacy. They aren't husband and wife but they certainly aren't just friends
either. Jesus pulled the curtain back on her soul and left her completely
exposed. Growing up with a dad who painted cars I learned early that the first
step in restoration is to strip everything off so you can get to the areas that
need repair. It's messy and leaves the car looking so much worse before it ever
starts looking better.
There is a saying that the
definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results. 5 husbands. Now on a sixth relationship yet still her
exposed soul is empty. Her life is a hollow mess. Her reputation is shot yet
she keeps repeating the cycle.
Jesus NEEDED to go through
Samaria.
Jesus NEEDED to meet this woman.
See you tomorrow.
John Day 32 - Let's change the subject...
4:17 "The woman answered and
said, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You have well
said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom
you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I
perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and
you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman,
believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in
Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know
what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and
now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
You've done it. We've all done
it. We don't like where a conversation is going so we quickly change the subject.
This poor woman with her entire closet door ripped off it's hinges is desperate
to change the subject. Personally I believe based on what follows that she
changed it for more than one reason. Sure she didn't want to discuss her
personal life but I believe she saw in Jesus a man who could answer questions
she had held for a long time.
Here comes the ABC dilemma we
have discussed before. So often we argue between two positions (A and B) when
the answer is actually C. As we discussed Jews and Samaritans are cousins all
descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All were part of the miraculous
journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. They hold more in common than any two
people groups on the planet yet like her and her 5 husbands they who were once
one are now estranged and enemies. She doesn't understand why. She wants to
know. She wants to know which religion truly leads to God. It's not so
different today. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all have Abraham in common.
Within Christianity all the factions have so much in common. Who is right? What
road truly leads to God?
Jesus uses no political
correctness. He answers her question very directly. He tells her the Samaritans
are off the path in their worship. From the very beginning when they split from
Judah and the kingdom they set up a false counterfeit system that looked
similar but was like the offering of Cain.
Then Jesus says something
fascinating. "The Jews know what they worship for salvation is of the Jews
but, BUT, the hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship
the Father in Spirit and truth..."
The Jews know WHAT they worship
BUT...
But what? What is missing?
Again the english fails to
adequately express what is being said here. Let me illustrate:
When God made Adam he created a
form. He created a body. Everything was there. Every necessary organ, bone,
ligament, artery and vein was in place. Not one of the billions of cells was
missing. However a form is all Adam was.
Jesus said the Jews know what
they worship. What is not Who. Who is a person. What is information. The Jews
had the form but that is all they had. A form has no life. A form is a what but
not a who.
What took the form of Adam and
made him become a Who? The Bible says God breathed into him the breath of life
and Adam became a living soul.
So the answer was not A or B it
was C. God is not wanting false worshippers (Samaritans) or those who worship
an empty form that is technically correct (Jews). He is seeking those who have
the breath of life (spirit) in their religious forms (truth).
You see true worship is the
worship of a Who not just what. Salvation is of the Jews for the simple reason
that Jesus is our salvation and He was born from the tribe of Judah.
Think about this.
"What" religion sees your external issues and tries to correct them.
"Who" religion sees your broken soul and goes straight to the real
problem and offers a true remedy...
See you tomorrow for the rest of
the story...
John Day 33 - It Can't Be Can It?!!!
4:25 "The woman said to Him,
“I know that Messiah is coming” who is called Christ. “When He comes, He will
tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who
speak to you am He.”"
When our goal is to do our
religious duty and read the ink on the page it is so easy to miss the Story.
I've done it lots. Then somewhere along the way I figured out it's just ink on
a page unless I am listening to the Voice and seeking His eyes and His heart.
Here is a woman from the wrong
place. To a white supremist she is black, to a Quebec separatist she is
english, to a Palestinian she is Israeli, you get the picture... but it's worse
than that. In a culture where women are of no count and are not spoken to by
men she is a woman, but it's worse than that. In her own town she known, known
for all the wrong reasons. The other women see her as a threat and hate her.
The men pretend they don't see her during the day but are happy to pursue her
in the dark. She lives a life of near solitude and her soul is empty.
Yet when Jesus told his grumbling
racist twelve that He NEEDED to go through Samaria she was the reason. When He
sat down by the well and sent all twelve to get lunch she was the reason.
When Jesus explained that true
worshippers worship not only something but much more importantly Someone He was
leading her to Himself. He was offering Himself. He had already told her fully
understanding everything in her dark closet that God's gift was completely
available - to her.
Now comes the kicker. As she
mulls over what He has said she says "Messiah is coming. When He comes He
will explain all these things..."
What?!!! She knows about the
Messiah? She is expecting His soon arrival? SHE is waiting for Him???!!! This
woman who can't even get water in the morning when it is cool or in the evening
when it is cool because of the shame gushing from her life?! This woman who
wouldn't be welcomed in church even if she tried to attend?! This woman who
would be the last name on almost anyone's list as a candidate for the Kingdom?!
She is looking for the Messiah?!!!
Last chapter we found out that
those who say they are teaching the light and have the truth are in darkness
and now John is exposing an opposite truth. Those we judge to be in the deepest
darkness are often the ones most passionately and desperately seeking the
Light.
"Woman you have found Him. I
who speak to you am He."
No matter your shame and guilt He
is still speaking. "For God so loved the world that He gave (the Gift) His
only Son, that whosoever (yes even her and yes even you and yes even me)
believes in Him (who not what) will not perish but have everlasting life.
Into our darkness has shone a
GREAT LIGHT!
See you tomorrow
John Day 34 - Blind Prejudice
4:25 "The woman said to Him,
“I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will
tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who
speak to you am He.”
27 And at this point His
disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said,
“What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her
waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man
who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they
went out of the city and came to Him."
So the disciples return and are
traumatized that Jesus is speaking with this woman. They want to know why. They
want to blurt out questions so they can get answers but their respect for Jesus
and the intensity of the situation kept them silent. I think we can all relate
to walking into a situation that fills us with questions but the circumstances
scream at us that now is not the time to ask.
Sensing the awkwardness and
knowing her conversation with Jesus could not continue in their presence she
makes a snap decision. People need to meet this man! She even forgets why she initially
came to the well. She leaves as quickly as the 12 arrived and the only proof
she was ever there besides the stunned looks on their faces is her empty
waterpot.
She runs back to village with a
simple message. "Come and see a man who told me everything I've ever done.
Could this be the Christ?!"
Amazing! Here in this country of
"half breeds" that the Jews considered to be spiritual degenerates
apparently she is not the only one expecting the Messiah to come. Shame on
them. Shame on me.
Yesterday I went to a car show
with my dad. The show was hosted by a church. First time I had ever gone to a
car show hosted by a church. I was looking at an old truck that was
"restored" in the vintage weathered style. It's becoming increasingly
popular. As I was checking out some of the techniques used to achieve this
"look" the owner approached me. She was not what I expected. I didn't
expect a woman at all. It's amazing to me how many conclusions we draw in our
minds based purely on assumptions and stereotypes. She was dressed 50's style
and covered in tattoos. First we talked about her truck and then I asked her
about the tattoos and she was happy to talk about why she got each one and what
they meant to her etc... Suddenly she transformed from tattooed stranger who in
my mind didn't match her truck to a fellow human being with a story that was
deeper than even she was revealing. I asked her where she got the weathered
boards to make the bed in her truck box. Her eyes lit up as she explained that
she did all of that herself and described to me the process. Turns out the
boards weren't weathered at all. She just made them look that way...
Then she made a comment which was
immediately followed by an interruption and our encounter was over. She said
something to the effect that the truck was just like her...
We stayed till the show ended
because I like to hear all the old V8 engines fire up and rumble down the road.
As we sat on the grass she drove by and she smiled at me and waved with more
than casual meaning. Her truck looked rough but the engine ran so good that
even my dad made mention of it.
I relearned a lesson yesterday
that Jesus has been trying to teach me over and over. It is the same lesson He
was teaching His disciples at the well that day. "Don't judge her based on
externals. She is my daughter and behind the facade of what you think you see
she is beautiful. You judge the outside appearance but I see the heart."
I'm a slow learner filled with
built in preconceptions but He is working on me. What a God!
John Day 35 -
"Come see a man who told me
everything I ever did..."
I confess I'm going to use my
imagination today but I think you'll agree it's a fair use of it.
Before Jesus ever talked about
her personal life He said: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that
offers you a drink you would have asked Him..."
Not only does He offer her the
Gift (Himself) but He affirms she would have desired the Gift and asked for it.
Later after all the exposure of
her personal life and the exposure of her misguided religion there is a pause.
During that pause the disciples return. It was really more of an interruption
than a pause. Now 24 eyes are staring back and forth between her and Jesus.
They were close enough to see a conversation was taking place even if they could
not hear what was being said. The awkward pause and the shifting eyes told a
lot. They were judging her for just being her and judging Him for talking to
her.
Realizing her opportunity to
speak to Him alone was over she flew back to town forgetting everything but the
message she had to share.
Now here is where my imagination
kicks in. The Bible says her message was "Come and see a man who told me
everything I've ever done..." I believe her tone and expression said a lot
more. I believe they said "Come and see a man who knows what a mess I have
made of my life and still loves me."
In Mark 4 and 5 when Jesus
crosses the sea to a foreign country where they didn't even believe in God he
healed the demoniac in the tombs. Then he sent him home with a message. "Go
tell everyone what the Lord has done for you."
Science can argue against
creation and religionists can argue over the laws and teachings but no one can
argue the miracle of a transformed life. I know where my heart was headed
before and I know where it is headed now. No argument can tear me from my
Jesus.
In the morning when I rise give
me Jesus...
John Day 36 - No Condemnation
Romans 8:1 "There is
therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
"Come see a man who told me
everything I have done (and loves me anyway)".
John 3:16 "For God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be
saved.
18 He who believes in Him is not
condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Many of us, perhaps all of us
feel religion is condemning. We feel under a magnifying glass. We feel judged
when we walk through church doors or are around churchy people. Countless times
when meeting strangers and they ask what I do I could see them physically
react. It's like they take half a step back and begin to look for a way of
escape. It often kills what was a good conversation.
Condemning:
1. to express an unfavorable or
adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of; censure.
2. to pronounce to be guilty;
sentence to punishment:
to condemn a murderer to life
imprisonment.
Here is the truth about
condemnation. It comes from within. It comes like a flood when the realities of
our past wash over us in a moment like a flood.
Here is more truth. Jesus is not
about condemnation. He didn't come to drag up the past and throw it in our face
and pronounce judgment.
Here is more truth. We were in a
mess before He ever came. He came because of the mess, not to point it out but
to offer a solution.
Here is more truth. Our bent
toward self-condemnation causes us to flee the presence of the only One who has
a solution to our broken past and broken soul.
This "half breed" - the
"weaker sex" - she got it. He knows everything and He still loves me.
"Come and see this man!"
Come and see Him indeed.
Don't stay away because of
self-condemnation. He already knows. That's why He came. He doesn't just have a
solution. He is the solution.
John Day 37 - Food
Having worked at summer camps for
many years and in various other situations where food was involved I have
learned nothing affects group morale positively or negatively like food. If the
food is good life is good and if it isn't look out...
After the disciples recover from
their trauma of seeing Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman they encourage Him to
eat the food they have brought for Him. His response in true Jesus style is
unexpected. "I have food to eat you know nothing about."
This confuses them. Did someone
give Him food while they were gone?
"My food is to do my
Father’s will and to finish the work".
Now remember the twelve are
disciples. This meant they were to mimic everything Jesus did. Do you see the
problem?
If Jesus talks to Samaritan women
then we are supposed to talk to Samaritan women... Now you can see why they
quickly changed the subject to something else - food - and Jesus quickly
changes it back. Jesus is working. They are supposed to be job shadowing and
doing as He does.
I often get consumed in my work.
It is not unusual for me to go the entire day and not even think about food
because whatever I am doing is all consuming. Jesus was consumed with His work.
Everywhere He turned He saw lives empty of hope and meaning and purpose and
direction. He saw shoulders slumped under a load of guilt. He saw religion
adding to the problems instead of alleviating them. There was so much work to
be done!
Jesus was not saying we should
not eat. He was making a statement about His view of the world versus theirs.
For them Samaria was a place to travel around. Samaritans were half breeds
barely worthy of oxygen. For Jesus they were sheep in need of a Shepherd and
sinners in need of a Saviour.
Today it's the west versus Islam
and a bizarre resurgence of the racial divide. How do you see the world. Who is
worthy of your compassion. Who do you care enough about to miss a meal or two
for their benefit?
Jesus simply says "Follow
Me."
John Day 38 - Half breeds
4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food
is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not
say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to
you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for
harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal
life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in
this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap
that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered
into their labors.”
Jesus used a lot of farming
analogies to teach the disciples because it was something they were familiar
with. Sowing was planting the crops and reaping was gathering then up when they
were ripe and ready. Gathering up a crop you didn't plant was pretty much unheard
of unless you were stealing or plundering enemy crops after a war. So what was
Jesus getting at? When He talked about having food they knew nothing of He
wasn't talking about energy bars so what is He talking about now?
It must have been spring time
because Jesus said "You say there is 4 more months until the harvest but I
say look, the fields are white for the harvest."
When Jesus called these 12 men to
be His disciples He told them He was going to make them fishers of men. Their
job was to gather people "into the kingdom". Their harvest was not
pumpkins, it was people.
Now here they are among people
they consider half breeds, people they don't want in the kingdom, people they
think would ruin the kingdom. For centuries they have been idol worshippers and
worse. How could they possibly be "ripe"?
Yet the woman had said to Jesus
"We know that Messiah is coming and when He comes He will explain all
these things".
Seems the "heathen half
breeds" are a lot more "ripe" than they assumed. How did that
happen? We are not told. All Jesus says is that others have done the planting
and now they get to gather in a harvest without having planted anything.
Seems to me there is much to
learn from this story. Perhaps we need to dial back our western arrogance and
our sense of superiority and be willing to consider that those we consider
"unfit" might be more fit for His kingdom than we are.
Who are the "half
breeds" and "heathens" around you? Talk to them. You might be
surprised what you find out...
John Day 39 - More Than Hearsay
4:39 And many of the Samaritans
of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him,
they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many
more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman,
“Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him
and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
Two simple points from today's
passage. After leaving her waterpot behind and going back to town to tell
everyone about Jesus the people of the town have come to see Him for
themselves. They ask Him to stay with them and he remains for 2 days.
Point number one:
Do not allow your knowledge of
Jesus to remain second hand information. Jesus doesn't want to have a second
hand relationship with any of us. You can't be called as a valid witness in
court if your only knowledge of events or of a person is what someone else told
you. So many places in the Bible people find Jesus and then they say to friends
and family "Come and see..."
The Psalmist wrote "Taste
and see that the LORD is good."
Jesus is not information to be
passed along, He is a person to discover and know and love and trust. In
Matthew 7 Jesus says many religious people who did a lot of religious things
will be lost and the reason He gives is not because they did horrible things.
The reason is because they didn't know Him. See if they had known Him they
never would have presented Him with a list of their accomplishments to begin
with...
Point Number 2:
No miracles were performed in
this Samaritan village other than Jesus revealing the secrets of the woman's
life. I could be wrong (it has happened lots before) but I believe this is the
only place where Jesus meets strangers, performs no miracles, and they confess
they believe Him because of what He says...
Now believing people based only
on what they say can be dangerous but that is not what is happening here.
Remember two significant clues. Clue number one is that even this guilt laden
woman shamed among her own people is expecting the arrival of the Messiah. Clue
number two is that Jesus told the disciples they were going to gather a harvest
someone else planted.
I remember reading the coolest
mission story. The missionary arrives on foot in a remote village believing he
is going to be the first person to tell them about Jesus. The first guy he
meets is sitting leaned up against a tree listening to a small radio with an open
Bible. Turns out radio had planted a crop and the missionary was there to
gather the harvest.
We aren't told who or when or how
but someone had already prepared this village for Jesus' arrival and when they
met Him and heard Him they knew He was the One.
God is always at work. Some
people live to eat but Jesus lives to seek and save. If you have found Him make
sure you give the invitation "Come and see". If you're not sure what
He is like or what this Christianity stuff is all about, take the time to listen,
to search, to observe. He's never far away no matter which side of the tracks
you live on.
John Day 40 - Humbling
4:43 "Now after the two days
He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that
a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the
Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the
feast; for they also had gone to the feast.
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of
Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman
whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of
Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his
son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you
people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
49 The nobleman said to Him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies!”
50 Jesus said to him, “Go your
way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and
he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told
him, saying, “Your son lives!”
52 Then he inquired of them the
hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour
the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in
which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his
whole household.
54 This again is the second sign
Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee."
Jesus is returning to Galilee,
the region where He grew up, the place where He turned water into wine. As He
arrived a nobleman, a member of the king's court comes urgently to Jesus
begging Him to come and heal his dying son. Jesus' response seems harsh, almost
rude. Context and what happens next reveals the point Jesus is making and it is
a humbling one.
Jesus is from Galilee. He is
better known there than anywhere. His "fame" is spreading and nowhere
more than in His home region. The story admits as much because the nobleman
knew where to find Him before the era of social media etc... Not only did he
know where Jesus was but where He had arrived from. You'll note that Samaria
was not mentioned on His itinerary.
So with all that prior knowledge
of who Jesus is and the miracles He has performed the nobleman rushes to Him
and begs Him to come and heal his son. Nothing wrong with that. We're supposed
to bring our troubles to Jesus right? So why then does Jesus essentially rebuke
him and a his entire country with him? "You people...". Not a
flattering opening line.
Interesting that the reaction to
this by the disciples is not mentioned. I'm sure they were once again
traumatized. How could Jesus speak this way to member of the king's court?!
Certainly not the way to win friends and influence people. I can guarantee you
He had everyone's attention though...
The nobleman is undeterred by the
rebuke and asks again. As a father I can understand he had only one concern at
this point and it wasn't his position or dignity. He was a father with a dying
son. The second time Jesus reveals His point. He simply said "Go home.
Your boy lives". Then it says the man took Him at His word and went home.
In Jerusalem they wanted to see
miracles. In the "heathen land of half breeds" Jesus performed no
miracles and they believed Him simply because of His word. Now back in His home
area a nobleman comes frantically begging Jesus to come to his house to heal
his son. The rebuke Jesus gave was for all of us, especially those of us who
claim to be close to Him. If we know Him so well and believe Him so much why
are we so frantic when trouble comes and why do we think He needs to be present
to hear us or help us?
The nobleman understood the
rebuke and when Jesus sent him home alone he had nothing to go on but the
promise that his boy would be ok.
Don't we have His promises?
Didn't He say He would be with us always? Didn't He say that in this world we
will have trouble but we don't need to be afraid because He has everything
ultimately taken care of?
Apparently those we judge and
look down on as heathens might have greater faith than we do. Humbling...
John Day 41
5:1 "After this there was a
feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.2 Now there is in Jerusalem
by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed,
waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time
into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after
the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a
certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw
him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long
time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
Nicodemus came to Jesus. Jesus
then positioned Himself so that the Samaritan woman would 'accidently' meet
him. The nobleman came to Jesus himself. Jesus went to this man by the pool
because he couldn't go to Jesus on purpose or by chance. Do you see a pattern?
Think about that and we'll
continue later...
John Day 42 - Back to the well before heading to the pool...
We'll continue the encounter with
the man by the pool tomorrow. Today God called me back to the woman at the
well. She came for water. She was thirsty. It was likely a trip she made every
day. Jesus asked her for a drink and when she expressed her disbelief that He
would accept water from her He turned the tables and said "If you knew...
and if you had asked... I would have given you living water and this water
would have become a fountain in you and you would never be thirsty again!"
"Sir give me this water so
that I won't have to come here anymore..."
"Go get your
husband..."
"I don't have a
husband..."
"I know... the truth is you
have had 5 and the one you are sleeping with now is not your husband..."
Do you see it? Do you see the
connection between the water and her personal life? Do you see why at the
moment she asked for the water He brought up her repetitive cycle of failure in
her personal life?
She was thirsty for love, for
value, for a sense of wholeness. There was a void in her heart. She was thirsty
to fill it. She kept returning to the same well. She kept trying the same
water. Man after man told her they could fill the void but each in succession
left her feeling more empty. She kept trying. Surely if she could find the
right man...
Addictions are a funny thing that
come in many shapes and sizes. Some think of addictions as only alcohol,
gambling, or drugs. Many fail to realize accomplishments can be an addiction.
Relationships can be an addiction. Food can be an addiction. Acquiring stuff
can be an addiction. Pretty much anything can be an addiction. Let me give you
my simple definition for what an addiction is. It is anything that promises
satisfaction only to leave you dissatisfied. The lie of an addiction is that if
I feed my addiction it will solve the emptiness and/or fill the craving and
I'll be fine. And it does... but never for long. The solution is short lived
and the problem remains. I drink but I soon need another. I go to the well of
pornography and soon I need to return again and again. I need that feeling I
get of worth when I create or accomplish something but soon after my emptiness
returns and ignoring my family and everything else I accomplish and accomplish
and accomplish so I can convince myself through the approval of others that I
have value...
We live in a society that more
and more believes that the solution to our emptiness is to obey our warped
desires like a slave must obey his master. If I just satisfy my thirst for
_______ I will be happy, I will be ok. But it doesn't work. Time after time we
repeat the cycle but it never leaves us satisfied for any length of time.
"If you knew the gift of God
and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and
He would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to Him, “Sir,
You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that
living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well,
and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered and said to
her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of
the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall
give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting
life.”
Interesting. The water He gives
becomes a fountain. It doesn't diminish, it increases. You not only are fully
satisfied forever but become a source for others.
Jesus was not talking about
water. He was talking Himself and His offer of unconditional love, forgiveness,
and full acceptance that fills every Crack and hole in our hearts. Insecurity
will disappear, the need to self medicate will disappear, and the need to
pursue addictions that never satisfied anyway will melt away.
"If we knew the Gift we
would be filled with Living Water."
See you by the pool tomorrow...
John Day 43 - Jesus goes to the pool
Two days ago I briefly pointed
out that Nicodemus came to Jesus, Jesus positioned Himself so the Samaritan
woman would bump into Him, the nobleman came to Jesus, and now in chapter 5
Jesus comes to the crippled man by the pool. I asked if you saw a pattern? It
may seem random but it isn't. The nobleman and Nicodemus both knew who Jesus
was and where to find. The Samaritan woman did not know Him or that He was
passing by. The crippled man may have heard about Jesus but he was crippled. He
couldn't even get to the pool never mind get to Jesus.
What is the lesson in all this?
Jesus knows you. He knows where you are and He knows what condition you are in.
He will so arrange things that you can encounter Him no matter what your
situation.
Think about it, especially this
man by the pool. This pool by the way is literally right beside the temple in
Jerusalem. If you were sitting on the temple wall you could throw rocks into
this pool. It is quite likely because of Jesus driving the money changers out
of the temple that the crippled man had heard about Jesus. He had likely heard
of the miracles He had performed. In spite of this he was trapped by
circumstances. He couldn't go to the temple even though he could see it
everyday. He could search for Jesus no matter how close He was at times.
This being the case what does
Jesus do? He comes to the man. Jesus comes to him. Jesus seeks him out. Jesus
meets him where he is.
Tomorrow we'll talk about why
this man is by this pool and it may get a little uncomfortable. See you then.
John Day 44 - It's Getting Uncomfortable
5:3 In these lay a great
multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the
water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up
the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was
made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an
infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that
he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want
to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him,
“Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but
while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
I don't know how the legend of
the pool started or exactly what supernatural and/or deceptive forces were at
work but I am certain God was not involved. I am certain because the nature of
the scenario is opposite His character. Jesus repeatedly taught that the first
would be last and that seeking first place was never to be the action of one of
His followers. Imagine the mayhem that would be created and the numbers of
people further injured as everyone rushed toward the pool at the expense of
everyone else. For 38 years this man has been a cripple. Jesus sees both his
suffering and the hopelessness of his situation and he asks the man "Do
you want to be made well?"
What a question! Now I warned you
yesterday that this would get uncomfortable. The suffering dying man looks up
at Jesus, then looks at the pool which might as well be miles from him. He then
looks at his powerless arms and legs and replies "Sir I have no one to
lift me into the pool..."
I have a plan and a hope but my
plan has holes and my hope is hopeless. I am so close to a solution yet I am as
far as the east is from the west...
Remember I told you where this
pool is. It is right beside the temple. You will remember that on Jesus' first
visit to the temple He disrupted the system and threw over the tables. Is there
a connection between this pool and the temple? Are both advertising something
false and creating hope where there isn't any? Are both producing worshippers
that remain because they don't know where else to turn but after decades are
more sick and more crippled than when they first came?
I told you this would get
uncomfortable. Tomorrow we'll find answers and begin to peel away the layers of
disease that plague this enterprise called religion. If you feel like you are
close to answers yet have been spinning your wheels of faith and getting
nowhere you need to be here tomorrow.
John Day 45 - When Hope Is A Mirage
6 When Jesus saw him lying there,
and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to
him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him,
“Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but
while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
We've talked about it before but
this instance demands that it be repeated. One definition of insanity is doing
the same thing over and over and expecting different results. This man has a
plan that carries with it the illusion of hope yet when Jesus asks if he wants
to be made well he articulately explains why the plan will never work. Let that
sink in. The man has a problem and has put all his efforts into a plan that he
himself knows will never work. Let me take it a step further. In explaining why
his plan can't work he identifies the missing ingredient. "I have no one
to help me..." He needs a solution that is beyond himself...
Directly beside this pool is a
large building - the temple. It too is filled with broken people who return
repeatedly yet are never healed. The building carries the illusion of the
solution but when people enter corrupt priests take their money in exchange for
relief from their guilt but nothing happens. They leave either as burdened as
ever or with a sense of relief that is temporary at best.
Why does the lame man remain
beside a pool that taunts him with a hopeless hope? Why do sinners return again
and again to a temple that offers relief but sends them away again and again
with a heavy heart and emptier pockets? It's literally insane.
Everywhere you go on this ball
called earth you find religions yet you also find burdened people, fighting
people, oppressed people, weary people who keep returning to the mirage of hope
only to come away empty over and over...
What did Jesus say to Nicodemus?
"I did not come to condemn. I did not come to cripple you with guilt and
burden you down. You were already in that condition before I came. That is not
my mission."
What did Jesus say to the
Samaritan woman? "If you knew the gift and who I am you would have asked
and I would have given even though I know your whole broken story that has
driven a wedge between you and your people and excludes you from them and has
caused hope to all but die in you."
What did he say to the nobleman?
"It's done. Without money, without ceremony, without a formula or a
"magic" touch your boy is healed and whole because you asked."
Now he stands over a cripple who
has invested everything into a hopeless hope and asks a penetrating question.
"Do you want to be made well? I mean if that's what you want why are you
here?"
In the book of Revelation it
describes what religion, what church will be like at the end of time which is
the time we're living in now. You can read about it in Revelation 3:14 and
onward. It describes a church that has all the appearances of hope and answers
just like the temple did, just like that pool did yet it's all smoke and
mirrors. Then Jesus enters the scene: "Behold I stand at the door and
knock, if any man hears My voice I will come into him..."
Jesus closed out of the one
building that bears His name and is called His house.
If where you are right now in
your search for Him seems like an endless cycle of hopeless hope you're likely
invested in the wrong place. If you're able go in search of Him, the One who
offers without money and price and loves you no matter your past. If you are
too hurt, too crippled, too trodden down by those around you don't despair. He
will find you. He will come to you just at that moment when you figure out
"my plan is useless and my hope is hopeless".
Today if you hear His voice...
John Day 45 - How Religion Loses it's Power
5:6 "When Jesus saw him
lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time,
He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him,
“Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but
while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take
up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his
bed, and walked."
I believe that when the man
looked up to explain to Jesus why he couldn't get well something happened. His
eyes met the eyes of Jesus. They say the eyes are the window to the soul. In
the window of His eyes that man saw something he had never seen in all those 38
long years - deep love, compassion, and hope. He immediately sensed that he had
misinterpreted the question. It wasn't really a question as much as it was an
offer. Almost before he was done explaining the predicament of his hopeless
hope Jesus invited him to stand. This man had no idea who Jesus was. He had
simply called him sir, a polite term for a stranger. However the look, the
power, the compassion in His eyes lifted him to his feet as his body developed
feeling and strength in one glorious burst of new life. Just like that he was
standing and walking... What a difference between hopeless hope and hope in
Jesus, between religion and faith in the One.
Do you want to be made well? Are
you positioned where your hopes are bound to be disappointed? Are you counting
on a formula, an exchange program, or the abilities of men, maybe even your own
abilities? The truth is as much as we criticize religion for offering what it
can't deliver at a price we can't pay the truth is it takes two to keep the
system going. If we didn't pay they couldn't charge. If we didn't listen they
couldn't lie. If we didn't follow they couldn't lead. They survive on our
needs. They can see we're crippled and helpless.
On that day one man's eyes
shifted from a pool to a Person and it made all the difference. No one had to
convince him of the futility of the pool ever again. He had seen the Truth and
the Truth had set him free.
There was only one “problem”...
It was Sabbath... See you tomorrow...
John Day 47 - Breaking the Law
5:8 "Jesus said to him,
“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well,
took up his bed, and walked.
And that day was the Sabbath. 10
The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not
lawful for you to carry your bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made
me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is
the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was
healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in
that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See,
you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
15 The man departed and told the
Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 For this reason the Jews
persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on
the Sabbath."
Religious fervor is an
interesting animal. Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and then tells him to
carry his mat. This is not an accident or an oversight. This is a deliberate
challenge to the prevailing Sabbath laws. The Jews in their determination to be
holy enough had written rules about how to keep the Sabbath that went far
beyond not only what the Bible says but beyond the scope of what the Sabbath
meant.
When the Jews found out what
Jesus had done and that He had told the man to carry his mat they tried to kill
Him. Think about that. The rule about carrying objects on Sabbath was a man
made one written as an addition to the Scriptures. "Thou shalt not
kill" was written on stone tablets by the finger of God and kept inside a
gold plated box inside the most holy place of the temple.
The number one reason why Jesus
went into the temple and had what appears at first glance to be a temper
tantrum, overthrowing tables etc... was because it was His Father's house. Now
of course that is not literal. In the Old Testament God asks "What kind of
house will you build for Me? Heaven is my home and the earth is my
footstool." The temple was God's house in one sense only - It represented
Him. When things were done there that shouldn't have been it reflected on God.
It created the impression that God was like a crooked greedy priest who was a
taker instead of a giver and that religion was just big business designed to
exploit the masses.
Parallel to the temple as
something that painted a picture of what God is like was the Sabbath. The
understanding of the Sabbath created an understanding of the God of the
Sabbath. If Sabbath laws were taxing and illogical and arbitrary then the God
who made them must be taxing and illogical and arbitrary. It was Jesus studied
purpose to overthrow the man made Sabbath "tables" as well. Jesus
came to repaint the picture. Jesus came to shift the paradigm. Jesus came so
that our eyes and minds and hearts would be "born again" and we could
see the kingdom and the King as He really is.
When the religious leaders
realized what He was doing they had to kill Him to rescue their turf and
continue their exploitation of the masses unchallenged. It pains me to even
write that but it's the truth...
John Day 48 - Serious Business
5:16 "For this reason the
Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things
on the Sabbath.17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until
now, and I have been working.”"
War is serious business. Several
years ago I had the privilege of visiting Germany, a country that is no
stranger to war. The following is quoted from the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum website:
"On February 27, 1933, the
German parliament (Reichstag) building burned down due to arson. The government
falsely portrayed the fire as part of a Communist effort to overthrow the
state.
Using emergency constitutional
powers, Adolf Hitler’s cabinet had issued a Decree for the Protection of the
German People on February 4, 1933. This decree placed constraints on the press
and authorized the police to ban political meetings and marches, effectively
hindering electoral campaigning. A temporary measure, it was followed by a more
dramatic and permanent suspension of civil rights following the February 27
burning of the parliament building.
Though the origins of the fire
are still unclear, in a propaganda maneuver, the coalition government (Nazis
and the German Nationalist People's Party) blamed the Communists. They
exploited the Reichstag fire to secure President von Hindenburg’s approval for
an emergency decree, the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State
of February 28. Popularly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, the regulations
suspended the right to assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and
other constitutional protections, including all restraints on police
investigations.
Justified on the false premise
that the Communists were planning an uprising to overthrow the state, the
Reichstag Fire Decree permitted the regime to arrest and incarcerate political
opponents without specific charge, dissolve political organizations, and to
suppress publications. It also gave the central government the authority to
overrule state and local laws and overthrow state and local governments."
I remember standing in front of
the rebuilt Reichstag building and while others were snapping pictures I was
curious about a row of slate stones mounted in the ground in a neat row on
their edges. Each one bore a name. I first assumed they were people who died in
the fire but it turns out that wasn't the case. They were people of influence,
many of them media, some lawyers, etc... They did not die in the fire, they
were murdered by the Nazis. We often hear of the Jews being killed by the Nazis
but that was only part of the story. In order to succeed in his plans Hitler
had to first eliminate the dissenting voices of influence to keep the public
near and far ignorant of his intentions.
War is serious business.
What does this have to do with
Jesus and the Gospel of John? Jesus was a dissenting voice of influence
positioned to overthrow the regime of bad religion that was keeping the masses
subject through guilt and fear. He had to be silenced. Murder had become their
plan. They were desperate to hold their turf.
Somewhere in this war between the
Truth and bad religion the Sabbath played a crucial role. Tomorrow we'll find
out how.
John Day 49 - The War Is On
5:9 "And that day was the
Sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath;
it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made
me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is
the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was
healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in
that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See,
you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
15 The man departed and told the
Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 For this reason the Jews
persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on
the Sabbath.17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now,
and I have been working.”
18 Therefore the Jews sought all
the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that
God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."
Let's review some key statements:
"In the beginning was the
Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God."
"The Light came into the
darkness and the darkness could not overcome it."
"The Word became flesh and
dwelt among us and we beheld His glory..."
"The law came through Moses
but grace and truth came through Jesus"
"You must be born again or
you will never see the kingdom"
"You are Israel's teacher
and you don't know these things?"
And don't forget that in chapter
2 Jesus disrupted the preparations for Passover by chasing the money changers
and those selling animals from the temple. He dumped out their money and turned
over the tables.
A theme is building and it
explodes in chapter 5. Jesus has returned to Jerusalem. He has returned
"to the scene of the crime". He has returned to heart of the Jewish
religion. He has returned to the city on a hill that is supposed to be a beacon
of light and hope for the whole world. His Father's house is supposed to be a
house of prayer for all the nations (Isaiah 55:7).
However it is the opposite. It is
a walled fortress of darkness. It is a hotbed of prejudice and racial tensions.
Even the temple is built to reflect the Jewish sense of self importance and the
hierarchical system they have imposed on mankind. How close you could get to
the temple depended on your bloodline and gender. There was only one courtyard
which non Jews were permitted to enter to worship and it was the most outer
court. It was here that the money changing and animal selling was taking place.
Jesus in His most extreme show of
passion and force cleared the place. How could any sincere seeker ever find God
or hear His voice or participate in worship in this bedlam? However that wasn't
the worst part. The worst part was "What picture does this paint in the
minds of the nations of what my Father is like if they are treated this way
when they come to His house?"
Now we come to the Sabbath. The
other issue about which Jesus is passionate. Another place where He confronts
the darkness and turns the tables. The temple was a sanctuary in space and the
Sabbath is a sanctuary in time. Both were instituted by God and both reflect
back on Him and what He is like.
Can you see a theme? True
religions shapes a beautiful picture of God. Bad religion paints an evil,
distorted, ugly picture of God.
Changing the day changes the
picture. Twisting the day twists His face.
The war is on between Light and
darkness. The stakes are high and the battle is fierce. See you tomorrow...
John Day 50 - The Sabbath Was Broken By Religion
5:16 "For this reason the
Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things
on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until
now, and I have been working.”
18 Therefore the Jews sought all
the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that
God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."
The temple and the Sabbath. One a
sanctuary in space and one a sanctuary in time both designed to communicate a
message about who our God is and what He is like. Both sanctuaries had been so
twisted by men to become the exact opposite of what they were designed to be
and Jesus was serious about setting the record straight.
Growing up in church I was always
taught based on one verse that we should never do anything that would cause
someone else to be offended even if we believed it was ok. Apparently Jesus
either didn't get the memo or we misunderstood that verse. Jesus didn't heal
the man by the pool by accident on a Sabbath. He had not forgotten what day of
the week it was. When he told the man to carry his mat it wasn't motivated by
Jesus' desire to keep the streets clean. Jesus was sending a message without
saying a word just as He preached a sermon in the temple by flipping some
tables.
Jesus was here to bring Light
into the darkness.
For the past two days my dad has
been sandblasting. Using silica sand blasted at high pressure he is removing 6
and a half decades of rust and corruption in order to restore his tractor to
what it was meant to be. Jesus came to sandblast the church. The beauty was
still there but it was hidden by centuries of corruption and darkness. The
Sabbath was made for men but religion had made Sabbath a god and men it's
worshippers. The temple was made to tell the story of what God is doing for the
human family but it became about what the human family must do for God. Do you
see a pattern? Religion shifts the Story from God to us. We become the main
feature and in our self-obsession God either gets forgotten completely or
changed into Someone He is not.
When God reintroduced the
forgotten 7th day in Exodus 16 He did it very simply and very powerfully. He
used food. He used a simple symbol of life and death. Food = life. No food =
death. The Israelites had run out of food. They had come to the end of their
own resources. Left alone they would die from their lack.
God steps into their lack and
announces what He is going to do to rescue them from their own emptiness. Each
day He will supply them with enough for that day and nothing more. They were
not to attempt to gather extra for the next day. It would not last but rot. Each
day would bring a fresh supply. Each day He would provide.
There was one exception. The 7th
day. On the 6th day and only the 6th day they were to gather double and on the
7th day they were to rest. They were not to go out in search of His food on
that 7th day. It was a day of rest.
You can well imagine what
happened. On the very first day they gathered extra fearing there wouldn't be
enough or even that none would be there the 2nd day. What they gathered extra
rotted just as God said it would. Finally by the 6th day they had figured out
that they could obey His simple instructions and He would provide each day what
was needed. Or did they learn? Because on the 6th day some didn't gather double
fearing it would rot and on the 7th day they went out in search of a fresh
supply that wasn't to be found.
Do you know what God said about
the whole ordeal?
"How long do you refuse to
keep My instructions?"
What happened? Why did they do
it? Simple really. They were more obsessed with themselves and had more faith
in themselves then they had in God even though without Him they had nothing.
The Jews later made the day about a display of their own holiness. It was a day
to show God and the world how holy they could be. Again they missed the point.
The Bible says that God said the Sabbath is a sign between us and Him that He
is the one who makes us holy. He feeds our bodies. He feeds our souls. He
provides all we need in all spheres. It's a weekly reminder that all physical
and spiritual provision given to us day by day comes from Him. It's a day to
get over ourselves and get it straight in our thinking Who the Provider is.
The man was told to carry his
mat. For 38 years His best efforts couldn't even carry him to the pool yet in a
moment Jesus made him able to not only carry his body anywhere he wanted to go
but his mat as well. Carrying his mat was a reminder to himself and an evidence
to everyone else of what God had done for him. It was a silent sermon about
what the Sabbath was always meant to teach.
Sadly we were self-obsessed then
and we remain self-obsessed today.
See you tomorrow as the war
intensifies.
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