John Day 71 - Bubble Wrapped Boxes
7:25 Now some of them from
Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? 26 But look! He speaks
boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is
truly the Christ? 27 However, we know where this Man is from; but when the
Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”
28 Then Jesus cried out, as He
taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from;
and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not
know. 29 But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
30 Therefore they sought to take
Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 And
many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He
do more signs than these which this Man has done?”
We all think. We all have a frame
of reference, a lense through which we see the world. Some of us don't like
thinking so we recoil into a comfortable bubble and resist any ideas that
threaten our bubble. Some of us are raised in such a bubble and think and
question just enough to leave that bubble only to settle into a different one.
Some of us live in a bubble that has a picture painted of the future and we
interpret all new data through that lense.
Jesus can only be described as a
needle in a culture full of bubbles. Like a spiky blade of grass in a lawn
covered in balloons Jesus is a bubble wrecker. The Jews lived in fortified
bubbles with a clear and minutely defined picture of the future. A hero, a
Messiah, was going to come and soon. He would perform signs and wonders. He
would rise to the top of the religious world with the help and support of the
religious leaders. He would rise to the top of the political world and reclaim
the throne of David. He would be a mysterious figure having neither father nor
mother nor a hometown. He would just appear on the scene and save the day. Most
importantly by far, he would not disturb, much less burst any bubbles. In the
greatest coup of all time He would change everything without changing
anything...
Then came Jesus. He did perform
signs and wonders but beyond that He just didn't fit the bubble, the mould, the
criteria they had carefully crafted. No matter how hard they tried to shove Him
into the bubble wrapped box of their preconceived ideas and expectations He
just wouldn't fit.
Think about it - many rejected
Him simply because they knew His parents and where He was from. They had a
mental checklist and this one criteria was a deal breaker.
Jesus the Sabbath Maker was to
them a Sabbath breaker. Jesus crossed borders man had erected but His world was
borderless. Jesus saw no gender barriers in a culture where gender was
everything. Jesus hailed from the north in a culture where the south was
kingdom land. Jesus had no political aspirations when that was to be His
primary role. Jesus was a God fearing Jew yet seemingly anti Jewish in so many
ways.
He just didn't fit... and all
they could think to do to solve the incongruity was to kill Him so they could
retreat back into their bubble wrapped boxes and wait for the real Messiah.
What about us? Do we think we can
hunker down into our bubble wrapped boxes and find the real Jesus at the same
time?
Seems highly unlikely...
John Day 72 - The Curse of Insecurity
7:32 "The Pharisees heard
the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the
chief priests sent officers to take Him. 33 Then Jesus said to them, “I shall
be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 You
will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.”
35 Then the Jews said among
themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He
intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What
is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am
you cannot come’?”"
More tension. More confusion.
More revealing of the control the religious leaders had over the people.
However the most revealing thing in today's passage is the insecurity of those
religious leaders. In fact if you are paying attention in life you will always
find insecurity and control tightly linked together. One leads to the other and
then feeds the latter.
We saw a couple of days ago that
the general population were also confused by Jesus. Because He didn't fit the
mould of their preconceived ideas some flat out rejected Him but others saw the
things He did and the person He was and believed He was Someone special at the
very least and quite likely the Messiah. In our western culture editorials
would be flying, bloggers blogging, talk shows would be talking, and radio call
in shows would be buzzing. Not in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem people were afraid to
utter His name because it was strictly off topic. However He was so magnetic
and controversial that they had to talk about Him. Eventually like kids in a
classroom the whispered chat and passing of notes catches the attention of the
teacher and he/she reacts.
The reaction of the leaders is
swift. He must be stopped. He must be apprehended. He must be silenced. Their
insecurity leaps from the page. This is why they are so controlling. This is
why all the rules and all the fear mongering. A person who is secure in
themselves has no need to control situations or people. They are confident in
who and what they are.
A spouse who trusts has no need
to control their partner. An employer who trusts has no need to spy on
employees. A religious leader who is confident in the message they carry has no
need to censor other messages. Truth will prevail. Right will always come out
on top.
Insecurity is the opposite. It is
a toxic soup. It is a relentless foe. The Bible describes it this way:
"And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of
your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling
heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul."
Israel was in the wrong place. The
result of this "being out of sync with God" was no rest, a trembling
heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.
After 16 years in pastoral
ministry I can tell you of all the things that are hard to deal with when
working with others, insecurity is the worst. It leads to affairs, toxic
relationships, anger issues, fear, and all kinds of other problems. The
Scriptures reveal the root cause of insecurity is being out of sync with God.
He's in one place and we're bubbled wrapped in a box somewhere else. Try extracting
a fearful insecure person with a trembling heart and anguish of soul from their
bubble wrapped box... Have you ever dealt with a terrified animal trapped in a
corner?
Jesus actually tries to comfort
them while opening their box at the same time. He assures them they don't need
to get rid of Him because He is leaving anyway and returning to His Father. In
one statement He both disarms their need to get rid of Him while restating His
true identity. They miss it though because part of their condition is
"failing eyes" - insecure people wrapped up in their fears can't see
what is right in front of them.
Tomorrow we'll see what happens
next.
John Day 73 - Thirst Quenchers
7:37 "On the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts,
let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has
said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke
concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy
Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
40 Therefore many from the crowd,
when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” 41 Others said,
“This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Will the Christ
come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from
the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” 43 So there
was a division among the people because of Him. 44 Now some of them wanted to
take Him, but no one laid hands on Him."
45 Then the officers came to the
chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man
ever spoke like this Man!”
In case you haven't noticed the
tension over the true identity of Jesus is reaching the boiling point. The
crowds are debating even though they are not supposed to be talking about Him.
Officers have been dispatched by the religious leaders to arrest Him. The
conflict between His undeniable "differentness" and their bubbled wrapped
boxes of precise expectations continue to be at odds. In the midst of all this
Jesus stands in His temple built according to a model He gave to Moses
centuries before and cried out "If anyone thirsts let Him come to
Me..."
There are two simple
qualifications for coming to Jesus. First you must be part of
"anyone" and second you must be thirsty. Now if you're locked into
human thinking you're saying to yourself "I just have to turn the tap and
fill a glass and I can drink whenever I want."
Clearly this is not the thirsty
He speaks of.
When I was 18 God taught me a
lesson I pray I never forget. I grew up around cars. Specifically we were
raised to love V8 rear wheel drive Fords. My first year at CUC at the very end
of the school year I found an old Capri for sale for almost nothing that had
absolutely no rust on it. For a kid from the east this was like gold. A Capri
was Mercury's version of the iconic Ford Mustang. Like Achan of old I saw it
and I had to have it. I was thirsty for it. My first date with my wife was the
trip to pick it up in Spruce Grove.
Long story short I took it across
Canada (10 litres of oil) and spent from after supper until midnight every
night of the week and all day on Sundays building this car. In late August I
headed back across the country with a new engine, shiny black paint, and a
smile on my face.
For years I had dreamed of this.
I had been thirsty for it and had pursued it. Now I had it and I soon realizes
I was really no happier...
The Lesson I learned is that we
can pursue and attain what we want and in the end be no better off.
If you are anyone and despite all
your pursuits you are still thirsty you qualify to come to Jesus. Nicodemus
tried to satisfy his unquenchable thirst with religion. The Samaritan woman
tried men. The man by the pool put his hope in the superstitious rippling of
the waters. Perhaps you have a thirst quencher in sight and are in hot pursuit.
Here is a spoiler alert. If Jesus
is not the object of your pursuit you will remain empty and unsatisfied but if
you find Him... no one will ever have the power to empty you again...
See you tomorrow
John Day 74 - We Tried But...
7:45 "Then the officers came
to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought
Him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man
ever spoke like this Man!”
47 Then the Pharisees answered
them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees
believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is
accursed.”"
It might not be immediately
obvious but I love this passage. It is one of my favourites. Why? Because
officers were sent to arrest Jesus earlier in the chapter and now they return
empty handed. It's possible and even likely that these officers had never seen
Jesus before.
These were not Roman officials.
These were temple officers. They were the policemen or security detail for the
temple. They were sent on a mission to bring Jesus before the council on a
technicality. Like a cop harassing a person for tinted windows or exhaust they
deem too loud or stereo playing too loud or some other incidental offense,
these officers were sent to find an excuse to drag Jesus before the ruling
council. The goal of course was simple. By dragging Jesus before the council He
would no longer be speaking to the people. That was the goal. The amusing part
is the officers returned empty handed. Jesus was still on the loose. Jesus was
still opening bubble wrapped boxes in the temple. He was still freeing minds
and opening them to a much greater reality.
These officers were trained for
moments like this. Renegade preachers with radical ideas trying to gather a
following were not new. The Scriptures open to us that several have risen up
previously trying to influence the people. One of the main jobs of these
officers is to deal with such people and get them down off their soapbox.
The officers return empty handed.
The ruling council is ticked off. They demand an explanation. The officers
quickly give it: "No man speaks like this Man." The implication is
clear. The officers are saying "If you had listened to Him you would not
have harassed or arrested Him either."
I love it. They were tasked to
listen and catch Him on some technicality so they would have an excuse to
arrest Him. They listened. In their listening the unexpected happened - They
actually heard Him.
Hearing Him was all it took for
them to conclude that He was not to be interrupted. They turned and returned
empty handed.
Notice the response of the hard
hearted council: "Are you deceived also?"
Fascinating. Those drunk on power
and control. Those obsessed with a turf war. Those determined to maintain their
profitable grip on the masses. Those intent on murder. These are the ones
calling others deceived.
The world is full of theories.
Full of men who claim all the answers. Full of men who desire to control the
thinking of others. On the flip side Jesus forced no one. He didn't insist on
getting His way. He didn't manipulate or use fear to motivate. He simply said
if you Allee thirsty come. If you recognize you need more, different, better
than the empty and unsatisfying answers the culture pushing on you and religion
is pushing on you come to Me."
For officers familiar only with
being told what to think and what to do His message and His very presence and
person offered something much different. Risking their employment and perhaps
even their lives they returned empty handed with a simple explanation. "We
heard Him and if you heard Him you would have left Him alone too."
Have you heard Him? Have you
really given Him a chance or are you stubbornly clinging to your bubble wrapped
box? It's entirely up to us. We can listen or not. We can consider or not. We
can be challenged and changed or we can dig in and deceive ourselves that He
has nothing to offer. The choice is entirely ours.
Today if you hear His voice do
not harden your heart...
John Day 75 - Out of the Shadows...
7:45 Then the officers came to
the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought
Him?”
46 The officers answered, “No man
ever spoke like this Man!”
47 Then the Pharisees answered
them, “Are you also deceived? 48 Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees
believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”
50 Nicodemus (he who came to
Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man
before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
52 They answered and said to him,
“Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of
Galilee.”"
Focus on verses 47 to 49. The
rulers are boiling. They sent the officers to accomplish a simple task and all
they have to say is "no one speaks like this Man."
The response of the council is
quick and definitive. "Are you fools deceived too? Have you seen anyone
with a brain who believes this imposter? We expect this kind of foolishness
from the uneducated masses but have you found a single Pharisee or ruler of any
kind that believes this insanity?!!!"
Picture the scene. The officers
are huddled together in stunned silence. They thought their explanation was a
good one but now they feel shame and doubt. The rulers are glaring at them with
an intense contempt and hatred they have never seen before.
There is a long uncomfortable
pause. As one of the officers looks up wondering what will happen next he
notices one of the rulers is shifting uncomfortably and suddenly he breaks the
awkward silence. The ruler is Nicodemus. The man who came to Jesus at night
with his questions now is forced to play his hand. He can't stay in the shadows
any longer. For months now his body has been on the ruling council but his head
and heart have been with Jesus. Stepping forward he breaks the ominous silence.
7:51 “Does our law judge a man
before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”
In one simple sentence there appears
a crack in the wall. Until now the ruling council, the Pharisees, the
Sadducees, the scribes, and the lawyers have stood in solidarity. They had many
issues they did not agree on at all but up until this moment they had appeared
unanimous that Jesus was a fraud that needed to be stopped.
Their argument to the officers
was simple "Anyone with any position, influence, and intelligence knows
this guy is a joke. Do you really want to side with the uneducated masses on
this one?"
You must consider this pivotal
moment. The officers stand next to the door where they first entered the room.
The ruling council stand shoulder to shoulder glaring at them. Between the two
groups appears to be not just some empty floor space but a huge invisible wall
that can be felt if not seen. The challenge of the ruling council hangs heavy
in the air: "Are you fools really going to let yourselves be deceived like
the stupid crowds?"
The deafening silence is broken
by a lone voice, a single voice, one man. He steps from the shadows into the
empty space between the two groups. Suddenly there is a crack in the wall.
When I was in Berlin I saw the
wall. A wall that used to divide the city and the nation. The wall is no longer
standing except for a few sections preserved as historical monuments. In fact
all through the city there are bricks in the pavement to mark out where the
wall used to be so it is not forgotten. How did the wall come down? By hammer
blows. The people tore down the wall. How did it start? What precipitated the
tearing down of that seemingly impregnable wall? One ruler stepped forward. One
man (Ronald Reagan) said what many hearts were already believing. He stood in
Berlin at the wall among rulers and the masses and said "Mr. Gorbachev
tear down this wall".
One sentence and the wall almost
came down by itself.
Nicodemus stepped from the
shadows and shattered the silence and put the first crack in the wall.
Are you standing in the shadows?
The time will come when you will have to step into the awkward silence and play
your hand. None of us can remain in the shadows forever. At some point the love
that is growing for Jesus within us will overpower any fears and resistance
around us. Nicodemus couldn't remain silent any longer. The injustice
constantly leveled at Jesus couldn't be tolerated any more.
Someday we'll be the Nicodemus in
the silence. It may be in our own home or family. It may be in church. In may
be in the workplace. It may be among friends. Who knows where and when but at
some point the love for Jesus within us will overpower any resistance around us
and the dam will break.
Light overcomes darkness.
The kingdom we couldn't see
becomes all we can see.
The shadows flee.
The silence breaks.
The wall cracks.
Through the crack someone else
sees the light you have seen.
Praise God for men like Nicodemus
who can't stay quiet any more...
John Day 76 - Alone Time
7:52 "They answered and said
to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen
out of Galilee.
53 And everyone went to his own house."
I was eager this morning to begin
chapter 8 but He has stopped me right here. Two simple verses that would be
easy to pass by quickly.
As we know Nicodemus has stepped
from the shadows. He now stands alone in the middle between the bewildered
officers who clearly saw something more than ordinary in Jesus and the incensed
ruling council who just want Jesus gone.
He stands and points out that
they have already determined the sentence upon Jesus without even hearing Him
out properly.
The response is not expected. The
council points out that Jesus is from Galilee as if that is decisive proof that
He can't be anyone of significance much less the One they have been waiting
for.
It reeks of desperation. It has
lame written all over it. Nicodemus put a crack in the wall by stepping out of
the shadows. Now with this ignorant statement dripping in prejudice and
arrogance the unnamed council member who said it has opened the crack wider.
Desperate people with no
substance behind their position eventually do and say desperate things that
betray their darkness. Error eventually exposes itself.
I have no definite number of
prophets God had sent to His people by that point. Most were men but some were
women. Many were descendants of Abraham but not all were. The truth is there is
no bubble wrapped box you could design that would create definite boundaries
around who could be and who could not be called as a prophet. Most were adults
but some were children. Age, gender, race, birthplace, class, education, none
of these or any other distinctions either qualified or disqualified a person
from being called by God to be His voice to the world.
All this being obviously the case
from the historical record found in their own Scriptures this unnamed member of
the ruling council proclaimed with attempted finality that Jesus did not
qualify as a prophet because he came from Nazareth in Galilee.
Desperate foolishness that
actually served to weaken the wall in which Nicodemus had already put a crack.
Notice what happens next. The officers
are not punished or fired as at first seemed imminent. In fact nothing happens.
In stunned and even embarrassed silence the council dismisses and each one goes
to his own home.
Think about that. As brief as the
Bible account is an entire verse is dedicated to the line (7:53) "And
everyone went to his own house."
The verse jumped out at me this
morning. My mind was entirely captivated and locked in on it. I envisioned the
silent shuffling of feet, the uncertain fleeting glances as eyes caught eyes
before looking down and away. Everyone knew it but no one said it. "Our
strong united front is no longer strong or united." What to do? They
didn't know what to do so they just went home. Suddenly each man was left alone
with his thoughts. 'Group think' was shattered. The force of the peer pressure
of the majority has been broken at least temporarily. Now each man is left with
his own thoughts and walks home.
'Group think' is what makes cults
possible. It is what makes mobs possible. It is what keeps religions alive long
after their true purpose and identity is over and gone. Until this moment it
had appeared that the religious leaders stood as one. So powerful and
determined was their stand against Jesus that it created a tide of complete
conformity.
However even as that was the
official position and appeared to be the truth Nicodemus was not fully
convinced. He had dared to think for himself. He had dared to investigate for
himself even if it was done in the shadows. Now he has stepped from the shadows
and by one step and one sentence he has at least momentarily broken the power
of 'group think'.
Then each man went home by
himself.
I cannot emphasize this enough.
There are times in our life journey when we need to hit the pause button. There
are times we need to step out of and back from 'group think'. We need to
evaluate where we stand. We need to consider the other side of the wall. We
need to open ourselves to the possibility that the very things we are fighting
against are the truths we need.
Maybe your wife/husband has been
right all along despite your determined resistance. Maybe your pastor has a
point you have been unwilling to consider or maybe you've accepted a point that
you shouldn't have accepted at all. Maybe your political views need a second
look. Maybe your attention to politics needs to be questioned entirely. Maybe
you've taken at position against your children that needs to be reviewed. I
don't know where you are or what you are struggling with but when Nicodemus
spoke in that room it awakened voices of conscience that until that moment
those men had never allowed to speak.
God wants to talk to us all. He
wants to shift our thinking. He wants to realign our views and opinions. His
thoughts and our thoughts are as far apart as the east is from the west in so
many ways and areas yet we are convinced we are right in all things.
Never be afraid to take a quiet
walk by yourself. Go "home" and let God examine your position. Let
Him check your mind and heart.
"Examine my heart oh God and
see if there be any wicked way in me..."
John Day 77 - Naked In The Temple
But Jesus went to the Mount of
Olives.
2 Now early in the morning He
came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and
taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in
adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher,
this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law,
commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they
said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But
Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did
not hear.
7 So when they continued asking
Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you,
let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on
the ground.9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went
out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left
alone, and the woman standing in the midst.10 When Jesus had raised Himself up
and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers
of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither
do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
So yesterday after Nicodemus
dropped his bomb on the council everyone went home but not Jesus. He went to
the Mount of Olives. That's code for He spent the night with His Father
praying. The tension and hatred are building and Jesus needs the wisdom and
strength of His Father - Wisdom to know how to handle His enemies and the
strength to keep returning to the battlefield. It takes a lot of strength to
continually face opposition and a lot of wisdom to handle it.
It turns out Jesus was going to
need that wisdom and that strength. The next morning he returned to the Temple
and again taught those eager to learn. Suddenly He was interrupted. Into the
Temple and through the listening crowd came a group of pompous religious men
dragging a shamed and naked woman. If she wasn't physically naked she was
certainly exposed in the most shameful way possible. It was announced in the
midst of everyone that she had been caught in the very act of adultery. There
could be no greater shame. There she was thrown at the feet of Jesus in the
Temple of God in the middle of the worshippers.
With feigned holiness and concern
that couldn't conceal their venemous intentions they asked what should be done
with her. They didn't stop there either. They framed their question very
carefully. "Moses wrote that she should be stoned..." they pointed
out, "but what do You say?"
This is a carefully crafted trap.
Apparently on their humiliating walk home the day before one of the ruling
council was inspired with a devilish scheme, a seemingly airtight way to frame
Jesus and finally turn the tables. If they could entice Him to break the laws
of Moses, they could prove He wasn't from God. I mean how could God tell Moses
one thing and now send this hillbilly Galilean to teach something else?
If the interruption wasn't enough
to shock the listening and watching crowd the question certainly was. Like an
unexpected gun shot at a picnic everyone froze. What would happen next?
She was trembling, waiting to be dragged
away again and stoned to death. Rules are rules right? God has standards. Sin
is sin and must be dealt with.
The silence is not broken by
Jesus. He says nothing. Instead He stoops down beside her and begins to write
in the sand on the stone floor. The silence is so complete that He can hear her
trembling and she can hear every scratch of every grain of sand that is dragged
over the stone floor by His constantly moving finger.
Finally the men who brought her
can't stand the silence any longer and demand an answer. Jesus stands and
speaks...
We will continue the story
tomorrow but I want to leave you with one thought today. It is the thought He
brought to me as I read this familiar story: "If you are going to demand
an answer from Me be prepared for what comes..."
Sometimes we have a picture of
God that is carefully defined and bubbled wrapped in a sealed crate. Then He
says or does or reveals something that blows the crate open shattering it into
splinters. Be prepared for it.
Consider this quote:
"We have many lessons to
learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those
who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have
occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our
own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity
for which Christ prayed."
These men came to trap Jesus with
what they thought was an airtight case. He had to keep the law or He was a
fraud...
See you tomorrow.
John Day 78 - Naked In The Temple Part II
8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount
of Olives.
2 Now early in the morning He
came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and
taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in
adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher,
this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law,
commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they
said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But
Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did
not hear.
7 So when they continued asking
Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you,
let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on
the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience,
went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was
left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised
Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are
those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither
do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
12 Then Jesus spoke to them
again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk
in darkness, but have the light of life.”
"What shall be done to her
Teacher? Something must be done!!!"
Jesus isn't deaf. He also hasn't
been fooled by their pretended concern for upholding the law. He can see right
past their words to their murderous hearts. Standing up He finally speaks.
"He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone."
Then He quietly returned to writing on the ground. The silence was deafening.
What had he written? What was He
writing now? We are never told. Whatever it was it convicted those men of their
hypocritical position. Some say it was a list of their own sins and perhaps it
was. Others say perhaps He was writing out all the laws they had broken which
in the end is really the same thing. Still others get more creative and say
perhaps He was writing a list of times, dates, and events from their own lives
that they thought no one knew about. No matter what He wrote, we know the
results - they were brought face to face with their personal record.
I don't know about you but had I
been there I would have been forced to turn and flee in embarrassment and
humility was well.
Jesus was not fooled by the trap.
They said she was caught in the very act. Was she committing adultery all by
herself? If not where is the other person? They had no concern for the law or
for breaking it. They just needed a victim to use as a trap to force Jesus to
either break Jewish law by not stoning her or Roman law by stoning her. However
with the wisdom He received on the Mount of Olives the night before Jesus
quickly turned the tables back on them.
"Woman where are they? Has
no one condemned you?"
"No one Lord." She
called Him Lord!!! The religious leaders who should have known who He was were
trying to discredit Him but this woman they felt was so worthless she called
Him Lord.
"Neither do I condemn you.
Go and leave your life of sin".
Now for the first time in the
story there is a legit problem. Jesus said the one without sin was to throw the
first stone. Is Jesus a sinner? Why didn't He throw the first stone? Did He
break the law of Moses? Moses did say adultery carried the death penalty.
Somehow we're missing something. Let me tell you what is clear. She did sin and
sin needs to stop. That's why Jesus sent her away with the final words "Go
and leave your life of sin". He said the same thing to the man he healed
by the pool. Sin is not some arbitrary list of rules. Sins are actions that
bring pain, regret, shame, and destruction. Find me someone who will say
"I committed adultery and it was the best decision I ever made".
So she was guilty and there was a
law broken and it carried a penalty. All that being the case why did Jesus let
her walk away?
Now some disagree with me on this
point but I believe it is the answer. As we've seen throughout the gospel of
John we have a problem with literalism. Jesus says "be born again"
and we think of the uterus and birth canal. Jesus says "eat my flesh and
drink me blood" and we think of cannibalism. We struggle to see true
meaning in what God says because we don't know the heart of God.
Stone her. Jesus did stone her.
She left that day with the Rock imprinted on her heart and mind forever. Is
Jesus not the Stone? Did not the Psalmist write "He alone is my Rock and
my salvation"? Did not Moses get life giving water from the Rock? Did not
Moses sit on the Rock while the battle raged in the valley? Was he not
sheltered by the Rock when God's glory passed by? Did not Daniel describe the
return to earth of Jesus at His second coming as "a Rock cut out without
human hands"? Are we not told that we must fall on the Rock and be broken
or the Rock will fall on us and we will be crushed? Is He not described as the
Chief Cornerstone? Did not the hymn writer declare "Rock of Ages cleft for
me, let me hide myself in thee"?
Jesus did stone her. While she
was placed humiliated before the crowd He sheltered her. She was protected in
the cleft of the Rock. When guilt seemed sure to seal her doom He poured new
life from Himself offering a new chance. When she left she not only had new
life but something much more. She experienced a love and compassion she'd never
known. He had become her Rock and her salvation, her mighty fortress and strong
tower.
Now she knew the truth of the
words "I have come to save and not to condemn."
Sin needs no added punishment.
Sin is evil precisely because it is its own destroyer. If Jesus came as the
Rock of ages to offer shelter from the storm of guilt and shame and offer hope
to the sin burdened masses what should we who profess to be His followers be
doing?
There is a reason why His Book is
called Good News...
John Day 79 - The Pot Is Boiling
8:10 When Jesus had raised
Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are
those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither
do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
12 Then Jesus spoke to them
again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk
in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Things are now beyond tense in
Jerusalem. I know I've used the word tense several times and it was an
appropriate word but we're past tense now. The desire to get rid of Jesus has
been building among the religious leaders but now it's at a fever pitch. One of
the most consistent criticisms religion is that more lives have been lost
through religion than by any other single impetus.
They are so desperate now that
they have agreed together to have this woman set up and taken in the very act
of adultery and then brought into the temple, God's sacred dwelling, and thrown
at the feet of Jesus. As the Scriptures tell us their motive was singular. They
wanted to trap Jesus, have a reason to accuse Him, and then discredit Him and
get rid of Him.
Let's think about this. The
religious leaders did this. The men who wear the "sacred" robes and
pretend to be holy and demand holiness of others conspired together to eliminate
a man who so far is only "guilty" in Jerusalem for healing a man on
the Sabbath who had been crippled for 38 years.
Does that make sense? It doesn't
in our culture. We don't live in a country where religion and government are
one. We don't live in a place where religious laws are more strictly upheld
then ordinary secular laws. We don't live in a place where our leaders power,
prestige, and control is primarily derived from occupying the position of God
on earth. In our culture we elect leaders so they derive their power and
popularity from making us happy. One wise person in history said democracy will
always end in failure because it requires leaders to buy popularity by pleasing
the people which always ends in financial disaster. Seems to describe our
government quite well.
What is interesting is that the
book of Revelation says we're going to migrate toward and end up living in a
culture where religion rules the government again.
Now why am I talking about
government? Because you have to understand their culture to understand what is
happening. Then and ONLY then can we apply what we're reading to our lives.
Jesus healing on Sabbath is not an issue for us but it was a HUGE issue for
them! It was huge because it went against the law. Going against the law was
more than an infraction. It undermined the power of the government and their
control over the people. If Jesus is permitted to continue His renegade
behaviour unchecked it will lead to religious, political, and social chaos. See
if Jesus was really the Messiah (in their eyes) He would affirm and strengthen
their power and laws and turn His "guns" on Rome and the Gentile
world.
They are so desperate to maintain
their control and power that now they have thrown this woman "under the
bus", they have done it in the Temple, and when the trap was set and Jesus
seemed caught, suddenly the tables turned and they were forced to leave
humiliated and defeated again without Jesus ever saying a word against them.
Now if the council broke up in
silence after what Nicodemus said and each man went home alone, what do you
think they did now? However they didn't stay home long did they? They quickly
regrouped and mounted another attack. Now that this attack has been thwarted do
you think they will quietly surrender and admit defeat? Not a chance...
Now what does all this mean for
us? Yesterday I heard a story shared where a man prayed and prayed and got
others to pray for a specific outcome. He didn't get what he wanted and it
created a barrier between him and God. He came to Jesus with a trap and left
angry. Have you left the presence of God angry? Have you come to Him with a
trap? Have you painted a scenario where God only has one option and if He fails
to meet your requirements then you walk away satisfied He is a fraud?
See the culture of Jesus' day had
a very definite and narrow view of what God was like and it was for Jesus to
fit their picture. Any colouring outside the lines was evidence enough that He
was an imposter. We may not yet live in such a culture where the laws of a
particular religion rule the land but you and I have very definite ideas in the
government of our heart and mind of what God is like and when He does not meet
our demands and expectations we feel justified and satisfied in writing him off.
Maybe we don't do it to God directly but maybe we do it to men and women He
sends to speak for Him. We hear a preacher who doesn't express things just as
we would and we write him or her off. We hear a new idea that grates against
our comfortable well worn perspective and we rise up against it.
Several years ago I went to visit
my grandma and took her to church. It was a church I had attended many times
over the years as it was my grandmas home church. We were invited for lunch to
members homes and I soon realized we had been invited into a lynching meeting.
The church had a new pastor. He along with some of the members had introduced
some new songs that weren't in the hymnal. It was for this infraction that they
were conspiring together to "lynch" the pastor. I was appalled. They
turned to me and asked what I thought about the whole mess. I calmly as
possible shared that music was a matter of taste and as long as the songs were
uplifting and supported the gospel story we should have room to "sing a new
song". My opinion created some awkward silence before the conspiring
ensued. I followed the situation and it wasn't long before the group succeeded
in getting the pastor moved out. If a professed Bible believing, Jesus
following church could go down that road over a simple preference in music
imagine the vitriol Jesus has created in Jerusalem where in one healing He
threatened both the foundations of the church and the government in one blow.
The question is what will we do
when Jesus rocks our world with a perspective we either aren't familiar with or
don't like? Will we write Him off or shoot His messengers?
John Day 80 - Resistance or Surrender?
8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to
them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not
walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees therefore said
to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to
them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I
came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where
I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if
I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father
who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is
true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears
witness of Me.”
19 Then they said to Him, “Where
is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You know neither
Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
20 These words Jesus spoke in the
treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His
hour had not yet come."
Today we're going to review a
little since we've reached the boiling point. Others may disagree with me but I
believe John chapter 8 is the breaking point in His ministry. From the
beginning until now the tension has been building over who He is and what He is
about. However we must be clear that His "hidden identity" is not on
Him. He has been quite clear over and over that He is the Son of God.
Nicodemus was a religious ruler
and teacher and he couldn't see it. The woman at the well could even though she
was a Samaritan and had lived a less than ideal life. The Temple officers could
see it in Him but the Council members could not. His uneducated disciples could
see it but the Pharisees who memorized the Scriptures could not.
The pattern is unmistakeable.
Those who should be able to see can't and those who seem like they might not
get it do. Why?
Chapter 8 reveals why: The
Pharisees come at Jesus again and say "You are the only one promoting
yourself so it has no merit. Time after time they come at Him with some new
reason why they shouldn't listen to Him. Here is the plain, simple, painful
truth. It's not that they don't see it, it's that they don't want to see it.
Desperately they are looking for an out. Desperately they are looking for some
reason, any reason to get out of admitting that Jesus is the Son of God.
Why are they so opposed?
We saw in the story of the woman
brought to Jesus that each of those accusing men trying to trap Jesus walked
away because of a guilty conscience. This means they had a conscience. This
means the voice of God was still penetrating their darkened minds and touching
their calloused hearts. That's why Jesus said "I am not the only witness
speaking on My behalf. My Father witnesses of Me." Jesus was saying
"It's not just My voice that is telling you the truth about Me. My Father
is talking to you about Me also."
That was the most maddening thing
about Jesus. They could leave His presence but they could never get Him from
their minds. They went to sleep thinking about Him. They woke up thinking about
Him. His message and His very Person was shaking them to the very core.
Nicodemus has already started to melt. The crack has opened in the wall. The
bubble wrapped box is opening at least for some of them.
Will they soften fully? Will they
surrender their stubbornness and opposition?
What about us? When Jesus
challenges us with ideas and perspectives that fly in the face of our
preconceived ideas and make us uncomfortable will we resist or surrender? Will
we dig in or let Him plant His seeds of character into our very being?
It's plain from the story that I'm
more likely to resist than surrender, more likely to defend the status quo than
step from the shadows.
Have Your way with us Jesus.
John Day 81 - Many Believe Him
8:21 "Then Jesus said to
them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.
Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He
kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
23 And He said to them, “You are
from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not
believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who
are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just
what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say
and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the
world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that
He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When
you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do
nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He
who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those
things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in
Him."
We are the midst of the longest
back and forth dialogue between Jesus and the people that we have in Scripture.
This is the moment of truth for many of them. Many will be making their
decision in this chapter, the decision that will determine their eternal
destiny. I don't want you to miss the flow of Jesus' words. He is leading this
conversation. He is doing everything He can to break down the wall and open
blind eyes. When He tells them He is leaving and going to a place where they
cannot come they immediately think suicide. The truth is they are on the right
track. Jesus is going to die but not by His own hand.
Jesus goes on and says "You
are from beneath and I am from above. You are of this world but I am not of
this world."
It's important to understand that
the Jews had developed an earthbound theology. They did not speak of heaven.
They had no view of living with God forever. God for them existed to improve
their fortunes on earth. Their religion centered around behaving better so God
could bless them more. Like the older son in the story Jesus tells in Luke of
the two sons they did not want the Father, they were just working so they could
get His blessings, His wealth, their inheritance.
Their eyes, ears, and hearts were
tied to the earth, locked in to the here and now.
I was at JFK airport a few years
ago going through security. As I approached there was a small elderly asian
woman in front of me. The security person asked her to remove her shoes. She
did not move. The security person repeated herself with more volume. Nothing
happened. Then with anger in her voice and almost yelling she repeated herself
again. Nothing happened. I finally clued in to the problem and I stepped
forward and tapped the lady on the shoulder. This little asian grandma looked
around and up at me with fear and bewilderment in her eyes. I smiled and
motioned with my hands and foot to remove her shoe. Suddenly the fear and
confusion in her eyes turned to recognition and understanding and she turned
back around and removed her shoes.
She did not understand the
security guard. It was a language she had no knowledge of. The Jews were like
that little Asian grandma. They had spent their centuries learning one
language. Jesus came speaking another. They had an understanding and world view
but Jesus just brought confusion to it. Now He explains why. They are from two
different places. He is in all practical sense an alien speaking a completely
different language.
The strangest part is that He is
speaking their language but from a perspective that is entirely foreign. They
were expecting a Messiah, a hero, but they did not expect him to be anything
but human. Like past heroes David and Solomon they expected a man,
extraordinary yes, but no less just a man. They expected him to improve their
fortunes here on earth, to raise the nation to the top of the world and bring
back the glory days and surpass them. This was a language they could
understand. However Jesus did not speak this language. He flashed the ability
to be the great hero they longed for but refused to become him. Instead He
spoke of strange things like being God's Son and even worse He broke the sacred
laws of Sabbath observance and paid little regard to the religious practices or
the religious leaders.
In a word Jesus was a confusing
character to them. They couldn't figure Him out. Finally they blurt out
"Who are you?!!" and it's actually a sincere question. Jesus answers
it by saying "I am who I have been saying I am all along". Like the
security guard He has one message and He keeps repeating it but they just can't
understand.
Further down in verse 28 He says
"When YOU lift up the Son of Man you will know that I AM."
Guess what happens?! "Many
believed". The crack Nicodemus created is letting light through. For the
first time they are, like the officers did, beginning to listen. See they don't
have the problem that asian grandma did. They understand His language. It's the
concept they can't grasp but now the lights are coming on. When Jesus said
"I Am" suddenly their knowledge of the Scriptures began to connect
with His words.
Tomorrow we'll go deeper as Jesus
makes connections that will turn the lights on in full brightness.
John Day 82 - Roaring Lion
8:31 "Then Jesus said to
those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples
indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are
Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You
say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave
does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if
the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
If we can grasp what Jesus is
saying here the power of bad religion will be forever broken in our lives.
Notice who He is addressing. We saw yesterday that many in Jerusalem for the
first time are starting to believe Him. He turns to these ones - to the
believers - do not miss this. Jesus is talking to the believers and His first
word is "if".
“If you abide in My word, you are
My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.”
If you abide, remain, stay, do
not move, then you are my disciples and you will know the truth and be set
free...
Later in the new testament Peter
writes that the devil goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may
devour. Lions don't roar when they hunt - well almost never. There is one
exception. If a lion finds prey that are in a safe spot, in a spot not
accessible to the lion, the lion will roar. The lion knows that he has an
accomplice inside his prey. That accomplice is fear. Fear once awakened will
override common sense. The prey is safe but it sees the lion and it's pulse
quickens. Then lion looks into it's eyes and lets out a mighty roar. His teeth
are sharp. His muscles bulge. Suddenly they prey can see nothing else but the
threat of death at the claws of this mighty lion. Gripped with fear the prey
runs for it's life. It runs from it's place of safety and is now exposed and
vulnerable and the lion takes up the chase.
The devil goes about as a roaring
lion. He is only interested in the safe prey. He is only interested in
intimidating those who have found refuge and inciting fear so they will run in
an attempt to save themselves.
"Stay, abide, remain, do not
move." That's what Jesus said to the believers. If you stay you'll know
and by knowing become free. See the prey was safe but did not know it and since
it did not know it was not free. Free from what you ask. Free from fear. See
bad religion has only one currency. That currency is our fears. "Do this
or else." "If you don't do this and this and this watch out." If
you don't follow our system you will be shunned, hopeless, excommunicated, and
you will burn forever and ever - Daniel 3 - bow or burn. Fear is the currency
of bad religion. Truth is the antidote.
Their response is quick. "We
don't need freedom. We're not in bondage. We've never been in bondage to
anyone." It's an insane response. First it shows they don't understand and
secondly it isn't true. The nation was very much in bondage in Egypt and now
they are under Roman control. However none of that is what Jesus is talking
about. He is not speaking about physical bondage to an oppressor. He is
speaking of bondage to fear and bad religion. These people have been so bound
by it that they didn't even dare discuss who Jesus might be for fear of the
religious leaders. Their entire existence is governed by fear.
Jesus responds by saying
"anyone who sins is a slave of sin..." What sin is this?
Tomorrow we'll find out the rest
of the story…
John Day 83 - Slave of Sin
8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave
does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if
the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s
descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I
speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your
father.”
39 They answered and said to Him,
“Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were
Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to
kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did
not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were
not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God
were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God;
nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My
speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father
the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth
in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a
liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe
Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not
believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear,
because you are not of God.”
I apologize for the longer passage
but finding a spot to stop was tough. The entire chapter from the end of the
story of the woman caught in adultery onward is one conversation and the most
intense conversation in the entire gospel. It begins where we ended yesterday.
Jesus tells them that they need freedom from bondage which offends them. They
deny they need freedom. Then he tells them anyone who sins is a slave of sin.
What sin is He referring to?
From there the conversation
erupts into one of identity. The Jews insist they are children of Abraham and
ultimately of God. Jesus insists neither are true and that they are children of
the devil.
Before you get the idea that
Jesus is trashing them remember He came to seek and save. Remember He is the
one who prayed on the cross while dying "Forgive them for they know not
what they do." Jesus is the one who sat alone looking over the city of
Jerusalem weeping because He longed to save them but they refused to believe
Him.
Jesus is not telling them they
are children of the devil to humiliate them or put them in their place or cut
them down to size. He is exposing their true condition in a desperate attempt
to wake them up and open their eyes so they can see things as they really are.
"Anyone who sins is a slave
to sin." What did He mean? From a religious law perspective Jesus was the
sinner. He was the one breaking the Sabbath and touching the unclean and
disrespecting the religious customs and leaders. From their point of view He is
out of line yet He is calling them sinners. What is the sin that holds them
hostage?
Remember the roaring lion
yesterday? Remember the prey that was safe yet ran because of fear? Fear is a
byproduct of unbelief. First you don't believe you are safe, then you fear,
then you run.
This whole conversation began
with Jesus saying to those who were believing Him: "If you remain..."
It's one thing to believe for a
few minutes or a few hours or a few days but if we only believe until the
roaring starts and then we fear and flee what good did the believing do us?
Either we believe we're safe with Jesus all the time or we really don't believe
at all.
Abraham believed and it was
counted as righteousness. His descendants are those who believe as he believed.
Those who constantly submit to the roaring lion are the children of the devil.
Believing, truly believing, in Jesus means we listen to no other. The
traditions and traps of bad religion must be let go of. We can't serve two
masters. We can't remain and flee. Every understanding we have must be brought
to the light of God's examination and kept or let go of according to His Word,
and not our traditions or cultural norms etc... To change is frightening but if
we believe what is there to be scared of?
Jesus had no need to bend to the
roar of peer pressure and cultural norms and religious rules because He was
remaining in His Father.
You will find no rest, no peace,
no freedom, until you find it in Him and Him alone.
John Day 84 - Thankfully We Aren't Like Them...
8:52 Then the Jews said to Him,
“Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You
say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53 Are You greater
than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You
make Yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I honor
Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say
that He is your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I
say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and
keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and
was glad.”
57 Then the Jews said to Him,
“You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
59 Then they took up stones to
throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through
the midst of them, and so passed by."
"They picked up stones to
stone Him."
Before we get all judgmental it
would do is well to remember that Jesus was seemingly just a man, born under
questionable circumstances to parents from the wrong side of the tracks. To
take that bio and stretch it to say He was really God's Son is understandably
hard to believe. They were not expecting God in the flesh. They were expecting
another hero like King David had been.
In addition to the unlikelyhood
that a kid from Nazareth is actually God's Son, He did Himself no favours by
bucking the established norms of right and wrong at seemingly every turn.
On the flip side He healed
diseases and fed thousands with a one lunch. This evidence combined with His
deep knowledge of the Scriptures and spiritual truths were made a compelling
case that He was no ordinary man.
Many were convinced not least
among them Nicodemus, a high profile member of the ruling council. Now the
tension has reached a fever pitch. There is no where to hide for Jesus or His
followers and the lines in the sand were being drawn.
In this most intense back and
forth of His ministry Jesus tells the people that they aren't Abraham’s offspring.
This is like telling Abraham Lincoln he isn't American or Nelson Mandela that
he has no ties to South Africa. Furthermore being Jewish was not just a
national or cultural identity. It was also a spiritual birthright virtually
guaranteeing the favour of God. Into this mindset comes Jesus and declares they
aren't children of Abraham but rather children of the devil!
To this bombshell He adds -
"Abraham longed to see My day and he saw it and was glad."
Abraham has been dead for roughly
2000 years at this point. The people are incredulous. "You are not yet 50
years old and you have seen Abraham?!" they respond. The ridicule us
palpable. Who does this guy think he is?
To this Jesus drops the final
bomb: "Before Abraham was, I AM."
This was the final straw. In one
sentence of 5 words Jesus declared both His eternal existence and His Divinity.
To these claims He tied Himself to the burning bush encounter that Moses had
and the near offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah by Abraham. Essentially He was
saying "I've been walking with your ancestors and prophets all along and
if you knew God or them you would know Me but since you don't you are not
Abraham’s children."
When they heard it they picked up
stones to stone Him.
Fascinating. A religion
completely disconnected from it's God and it's prophets. Is that possible?
Still carrying the flag and honouring the names and places but devoid of the
true character and identity it all represents. Could that happen again? Could
history repeat itself? The Bible says "What has been will be again and
what's been done will be done again for there is nothing new under the
sun."
Not only were they completely
disconnected from God and His true followers but they were so committed to the
wrong way that when God's Son showed up Himself to repaint the picture they
picked up stones to stone Him.
Thankfully we are never like
this. Thankfully we never are so committed to our own ideas that we murderously
refuse to consider anything else. Thankfully we don't create religions that
carry God's name while promoting racism and prejudice and hatred and division.
Thankfully we don't have racially segregated and sexist church structures and
policies. Thankfully we perfectly reflect the character of a God who sits down
by a well in a foreign country full of worthless half breeds and offers eternal
life to a woman who's life is in shambles.
"God forgive us for our
blindness and do whatever it takes to help us see with Your eyes and develop a
heart like yours."
John Day 85 - He Saw It
"Abraham longed to see My
day, and he saw it and was glad."
Truth be told we could spend many
days exploring this 8th chapter of John. Jesus refers back to their own history
and their own ancestor/heroes to reveal more of who He is.
The reference to Abraham wanting
to "see His day" and then "seeing it" is unmistakable. The
reality is that Abraham too was a product of bad religion. The Bible tells us
his father was an idol worshipper. In general terms the philosophy of idolatry
is to form a god that through give and take will provide what you want - you
scratch his back and he will scratch yours.
Abraham was raised under this
view of the gods yet aware that there was supposedly a Great God who made the
earth and then flooded it with water etc. God came to Abraham and spoke the
language Abraham understood. He said "Go to a land I will show, leave
everything and everyone behind. In exchange I will make you a great
nation."
Abraham lived in a time when
success was measured by the size of your family. His was easy to count. He had
no children, zip, nada and he was already 75 years old. The offer of many
children was an appeal he could not resist and so he went. Theologically flawed
but believing that the God of Noah and Shem could keep His promise Abraham
followed. Through a series of ups and downs that spanned about 37 years Abraham
finally had his promised son and he was about 12. God was still eager to have
Abraham understand the truth about Himself. It was a mystery Abraham had not
yet solved. One of the central practices of worshipping the Great God of Noah
was altar building and the sacrificing of animals. However it was a practice
that was grossly misunderstood. One of my favourite authors describes it this
way: "The sacrifices that were meant to demonstrate His love were offered
instead to appease His wrath."
For generations since the dawn of
time worshippers of this Great God had been building altars and offering animal
sacrifices thinking it was a payment to God so He wouldn't be angry and/or so
He would give them what they wanted. Abraham was raises to think this way.
Finally one night God spoke to him and asked him to go to Mount Moriah and
offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Now among the pagan idol worshippers child
sacrifice was common. The idea was that the more valuable the sacrifice, the
more effect it had on the gods. Abraham worships the Great God but his view of
Him is the same - pay Him and He will pay you back. God was longing to reveal
His true character to Abraham and this was the means by which He did it.
Abraham longed to see the Truth,
to understand God, and see His plan. Watch why Jesus declared 2000 years later
that Abraham saw His day and was glad:
In both stories…
"The father leads his son to
be sacrificed.
A donkey is involved on the road
to the sacrifice.
They leave their “homeland” to go
to the place of sacrifice (Abraham & Isaac travel to the mountain, Jesus
leaves heaven to come to earth).
To get from where they are to the
place of sacrifice requires a journey.
Each son is the “one and only
son” of his father.
The son is a descendant of
Abraham.
The son had been born with divine
intervention.
The sacrifices take place on the
same mountain (called Mt. Moriah in the Old Testament, called Mt. Calvary in
the New Testament — also known as Mt. Zion, by the way)
The companions that were with
them stayed behind (most likely on the hill across the valley, called the Mt.
of Olives) when the son went with the father for the sacrifice.
The son carried the wood/cross to
the place of sacrifice.
The son asked questions of the
father.
The father knew what he was
called to do.
The son was submissive to the
will of the father.
The father believed in
resurrection.
The father loved the son.
A resurrection was prophesied
(Abraham said, “we’ll come back to you.” Jesus said, “I will rise on the third
day.”)
The son was laid upon the
wood/cross.
The son was bound to the
wood/cross.
Abraham had a knife to pierce his
son, Jesus’ skin was pierced by whips laced with bones, glass and rocks and His
side with a spear.
The Lord Himself provided the
sacrifice (the ram, Jesus). [Note, the word order in the Hebrew text of Genesis
22:8 could read, “The Lord will provide Himself the lamb for the burnt
offering, my son.” - a foreshadowing of Jesus
Blood was shed.
The sacrifice was a substitute
(ram a substitute for Isaac, Jesus a substitute for us).
The sacrifice was a demonstration
of love for God.
Both men had great faith in God
and were committed obediently to the will of God.
The ram was caught in the thorns,
and Jesus had a crown of thorns on his head.
Abundant blessings flow because
of the sacrifice (abundant life).
Abraham was tested, Jesus was
tested.
The son ultimately survived the
sacrifice.
The son was resurrected on the
third day.
This last one requires a little
explanation. Jesus was literally resurrected on the third day. As for Isaac:
Abraham heard from the Lord that he was to sacrifice his son. As far as he was
concerned, Isaac was as good as dead at that point. The journey from their home
to the place of sacrifice took three days. On the third day, God provided the
ram so that Isaac was spared his life, i.e., he was “resurrected” on the third
day. The Bible tells us that Abraham had great faith all along, believing that
even if God did call him to slay his son that God would bring his son back to
life!" http://derekspain.com/2014/…/10/the-answers-30-similarities/
See you tomorrow
John Day 86 - "I Am"
8:56 "Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jews said to Him,
“You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
59 Then they took up stones to
throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through
the midst of them, and so passed by."
One last day in chapter 8. One
more look back into the old testament connections Jesus is making here. We've
hinted around at this but have never made it the focus of our look into what
John is trying to tell us. The phrase is so short and compact that it is easy
to miss. Two words, three letters, yet jam packed with deep significance - I
AM.
Here is the deepest significance
of all in these two little words: Jesus speaks our language.
You weren't expecting that were
you? See the Bible says God's ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than
ours. Sometimes my dad will come in from working in the garage and engage my
wife in detailed conversation about what he is working on. It is a language she
does not speak. He could be speaking Mandarin Chinese and her level of
comprehension would be about the same. Imagine if Jesus had communicated on
God's level? Who could have ever understood Him? So what does God do? He sends
Himself in a package we can relate to and understand. Jesus became one of us
and one with us. Then Jesus went a step further. He connected His teaching to
things the people were super familiar with. When we read and get confused or
feel like we're out of the loop it's because we probably are. We are not Jews
living 2000 years ago. If Jesus were here now He would speak our language.
Actually He is here speaking our language but that's a topic for another day...
Notice that when Jesus says
"Before Abraham was, I AM" they immediately pick up stones to stone
Him. This means they immediately understood. No explanation or deep thinking
was required for them to "get it". The question is, what did they
get? Why were they incited to commit murder over two tiny words?
Let's review what was for them a
familiar story:
Exodus 3:1 "Now Moses was
tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led
the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of
a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush
was not consumed.3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great
sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the Lord saw that he
turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said,
“Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”"
3:13 "Then Moses said to
God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God
of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’
what shall I say to them?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM
THAT I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM
has sent me to you.’”
Now fast forward to John's
account of Jesus' life. At least twenty-three times in all we find His
meaningful “I AM” (ego eimi, Gk.) in the Greek text of this Gospel (4:26; 6:20,
35, 41, 48, 51; 8:12, 18, 24, 28, 58; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:16;
15:1, 5; 18:5, 6, 8).
In several of these He joins His
“I AM” with seven tremendous metaphors which are expressive of his saving
relationship toward the world: “I AM the Bread of life” (6:35, 41, 48, 51).“I
AM the Light of the world” (8:12).“I AM the Door of the sheep” (10:7, 9).“I AM
the Good Shepherd” (10:11, 14).“I AM the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25).“I
AM the Way, the Truth, the Life” (14:6).“I AM the true Vine” (15:1, 5).
They wanted to stone Him because
He flat out declared "I was the One speaking to Moses at the burning
bush" and by implication and extension "I have been here all along
because I Am God".
Now before you get bogged down
here is the point. God sent Himself in a Person we could relate to and
understand. A person we could see and touch. A person who taught things we had
never heard or known in a language we could grasp. He did this by using the familiar
and known to teach the unfamiliar and unknown. This is why when Jesus taught He
often began by saying "The kingdom of heaven is like..." and then
speaking about something they were very familiar with. He always begins where
we are and then takes us to where we've never been.
For communication to be effective
both communicators need common ground to work from. This is why reading the
Bible is so important. Much more than a religious duty or exercise, it is
giving us a place to create common ground with God. By familiarizing ourselves
with His Word we have more in common with Him. He has more material to draw
from to communicate with us the things He wants us to know. Abraham understood
his inability to have children and God used that as the common ground from
which to get his attention. Moses understood the hopeless slavery of the
Egyptians and his inability to help them and God used that as the common ground
from which to get his attention.
God sees and knows us and He will
meet us where we are. He will use the circumstances of our lives to get our
attention. He will come in a way that makes sense to us. It may be through a
tragedy. It may be through a need. It may be through a common friend. However
He comes the reality is He will come because His love for us is immeasurable. I
hope when He does come we don't stone Him for saying something we think is
crazy...
John Day 87 - Who is to blame?
9:1 "Now as Jesus passed by,
He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this
man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in
him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is
coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of
the world.”
There is some deep deep stuff
going on here. After the intensity of chapter 8 as Jesus plainly exposed the
darkness of the religion of the time, chapter 9 takes the theme of light and
darkness to a whole new level. In order to do that he "uses" the case
of a man born physically blind. This chapter has personal significance for me
having worked many summers at a camp for blind people. I remain friends with
many to this day. The fact that Jesus healed blindness more than any other
affliction is a fact not lost on me. There are in fact 7 different times where
Jesus healed blind people. I have also noticed with great interest that He
never healed blindness the same way twice.
However to begin this chapter
about the most detailed and prolonged healing of a blind person we have to deal
with the elephant in the room and that is the blame game. His disciples see the
man and clearly he is known by at least one or some of them because they know
his story. He is not just blind in the present. He was born blind. This created
cognitive dissonance in the minds of the disciples. They couldn't figure it
out. It was a puzzle piece that didn't fit in their picture.
Picture? Yes. We all have one. It
is a conscious and sometimes unconscious view we have of the world and how it
works. The play and interplay of events and circumstances are all explained or
rationalized or categorized according to the view we have. For the disciples,
pain, suffering, and disease were explained as punishment. God was the punisher
and he handed out afflictions and trouble on people according to what they
deserved.
With this view, the blind man
presented a problem. Had he become blind later in life they would have accepted
it as a result of his own wrong actions. However he was born blind. Can he or
did he sin pre birth? That seems odd and unlikely. If not him than did his
parents sin and he was born blind as a punishment for their actions? This seems
cruel and unfair for the poor man to suffer on their account.
The cognitive dissonance is
palpable and they have to know the answer.
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or
his parents, that he was born blind?”
They call Him Rabbi because it
means teacher and they need to learn. They want an answer. We hate to not know.
It is our nature to seek answers that resolve our cognitive dissonances so we
can make sense of the world again and be at peace.
Notice they give Jesus only two
choices for an answer. Notice that neither answer is outside of their picture.
Somehow this incongruous piece of the puzzle is going to be forced to fit their
picture which is safely tucked away inside their bubble wrapped box.
Jesus' answer is unexpected. The
answer is neither. The answer is no. The answer is that they need to
reconfigure their entire picture. The answer is that the piece does not fit
because the puzzle is wrong. The answer is that blame is not always the answer.
Some things that happen cannot be pinned on anyone. They aren't a reaction or a
result of some inaction or wrong action. Some things have a deeper purpose that
we can't see or comprehend in the present...
This man was born blind. It was
nobody's fault.
Next time a piece doesn't fit
your puzzle bring the entire puzzle to Jesus without the bubble wrap or the
box...
See you tomorrow.
John Day 88 - I'm Right and You Are Wrong
9:4 "I must work the works
of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When He had said these things,
He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes
of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of
Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back
seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors and
those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat
and begged?”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others
said, “He is like him.”
He said, “I am he.”
10 Therefore they said to him,
“How were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered and said, “A Man
called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of
Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
12 Then they said to him, “Where
is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought him who formerly
was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay
and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had
received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and
I see.”
16 Therefore some of the
Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the
Sabbath.”
Others said, “How can a man who
is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them."
Yesterday the disciples were confused.
Today the Pharisees are confused. The cause of the confusion is different yet
the same. The disciples were confused over why this man was born blind. The
Pharisees are confused over how he can see. Different but the same. The same
because both groups are confused based on false assumptions. The disciples
assumed someone was to blame for his blindness and his condition was a
punishment. The Pharisees assumed healing on Sabbath was a sin.
It is amazing to me how one false
assumption can skew everything and send us down a path to a conclusion that is
totally warped. In this case all the Pharisees would have written Jesus off as
a sinner for "breaking" the Sabbath except for one rather large
detail - a man born blind can now see. John tells us because of the conflicting
evidence the Pharisees were divided.
You will remember that up until
recently the Pharisees were never divided when it came to Jesus. They had all
been certain or at least appeared certain that He was a law breaking fraud.
This united front continued until Nicodemus stepped out of the shadows and
questioned their methodology and certainty. That one man being willing to
question the group has now opened the way for others to consider Him more
fairly.
You may feel I'm being repetitive
but it's the Bible that keeps bringing us back to the same point. The same
tension is raised again and again. The tension between the real Jesus and our
personal and/or religious views of who we think He should be.
Look at Christianity today. Far
from homogenous, there are Christians of all viewpoints. There are professed
Christians who are diametrically opposed on some pretty major issues. How is
that possible? How can we all be following the same Jesus and be headed in
opposite directions? Name the topic and you find groups of
"Christians" on either side. The young "man" who opened
fire and murdered 9 people at a prayer meeting in Charleston was raised a
Christian and claims to be one himself. Bible based racism is nothing new.
Hatred in the name of religion is nothing new. How many times already in the
gospel of John have religious leaders attempted to kill Jesus? We all know
these ideologies exist but how does it happen? How can one person who
"follows God" have polar opposite views with another person who also
"follows God"?
The answer is quite simple. Too
many of us are following ideas that we hold tightly in our bubble wrapped
boxes. Ideas we have assumed are truth that we won't allow to be scrutinized by
the Light. We are so sure we're correct that no questioning is necessary. We
even take the position that to question is a betrayal of faith.
It is past time that we learn to
distrust ourselves and our 'sacred views'. Jesus warned His disciples:
"The day will come when men will kill you and think they are doing God a
favour". We always assume we'll be in the right and someone else will be
the bad guy. We assume this because we assume we're right in every position we
hold.
John chapter 9 is not about
physical blindness at all. It's much deeper than that. See you tomorrow...
John Day 89 - Bad Religion
9:13 "They brought him who
formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made
the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he
had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed,
and I see.”
16 Therefore some of the
Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the
Sabbath.”
Others said, “How can a man who
is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17 They said to the blind man
again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 But the Jews did not believe
concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they
called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them,
saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now
see?”
20 His parents answered them and
said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what
means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is
of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things
because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone
confessed that Hewas Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore
his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
You don't have to be an expert on
the life and times of Jesus to deduce how much control the Pharisees had over
the people in religious matters. Imagine being in a culture where people on the
street would see you doing something they didn't think you should be doing and
then hauling you off to the church to be grilled by the religious leaders.
The leaders were confused because
making mud and healing on Sabbath were both violations of the law so how could
a law breaker be a healer or a prophet or anything of the sort? To explain the
apparent incongruity of the story they decided the man must have never been
blind to begin with. To confirm this theory they now called in his parents.
This is where we find out just how deep the religious control is. The parents
confirm that the man is their son and that he was born blind but refuse to say
any more. They are afraid to say anything because they know if they give any indication
that they believe in Jesus or in what He did they will be cut off from the
synagogue and essentially shunned.
To avoid that potential outcome
they refuse to say any more and tell them to cross examine their son again
instead because "He is of age and can speak for himself."
Fear. The foundation of the
religious system of the Jews was fear. You either conform to the demands of the
church or else... This fear based religious economy then leads to a fixation on
self preservation. "I belong to this religion to save my soul and do
whatever they tell me to preserve my position because my soul is in their
hands, my standing in the community is in their hands, my everything is in
their hands." The fear is so deep that parents will throw their own child
"under the bus" to save their own skin.
The sickest part of all this is
that God is portrayed as the One running this fear based religious system. He
is the tyrant at the top. He is the One saying: "Conform or else".
Question: "How can you love
someone who relates to you this way? How can you truly believe He loves
you?"
The answer of course is that you
can't. A husband who rules his wife with fear and control might be obeyed but
he won't be loved by her. She will never feel safe in his arms. Parents who
rule by fear may be obeyed for a time but those children will flee when the
opportunity comes.
It was a dark, sick, and twisted
world at that time in Judea and it was all done in the name of God. Dark things
continue to be done in this world in the name of God. Jesus came to turn the
light on and expose the evil for what it was.
We have a choice. If our choice
is made out of fear, we're making the wrong one. The Bible says "Perfect
love casts out fear..."
See you tomorrow.
John Day 90 - An Investigation?
24 "So they again called the
man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man
is a sinner.”
25 He answered and said, “Whether
He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind,
now I see.”
26 Then they said to him again,
“What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I told you
already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also
want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they reviled him and
said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God
spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30 The man answered and said to
them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from;
yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but
if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the
world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was
born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said to him,
“You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him
out."
Interrogation round 2. Today is
going to be short simply because it doesn't need to be long. Here's the problem:
The rulers launched an investigation. Nothing inherently wrong with that. The
problem is that it wasn't really an investigation at all. An investigation
follows the evidence wherever it leads and comes to an unbiased hypothesis or
conclusion based on the evidence. The investigation in this story was never
about following evidence or arriving at truth. It was only ever about finding a
way to maintain control by discrediting any evidence that implied anything
other than their bubbled wrapped tightly closed box view of the world.
First they denied Jesus healed
him, then they admitted He did heal him by asking how it was done. Finally when
they couldn't avoid the truth through argument they "got rid" of the
truth by throwing the man out.
Some claim following God is for
superstitious people who lack intelligence. This is a denial of the evidence
since some of the most brilliant minds ever to be part of the human race were
passionate believers. Some say the miracles of the Bible are bogus and such
things don't and never happened. This too is a denial of the evidence for
miracles still happen today.
Some judge others as not true
believers because they don't understand or follow God exactly as they do.
Jesus was rejected by His own
simply because He didn't conform to their man made rules and traditions despite
the massive evidence that He had a living connection with God.
Are we open to truth wherever it
leads or do we stubbornly cling to our box no matter what? The truth is that
this is not so much a religious problem as it is a heart/pride problem.
See you tomorrow as the story
continues.
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