John 1:19-23 "The Voice"

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.  He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’"

In order to grasp what is going on in this passage we need to understand just a little about the political landscape of Israel at the time.

Anyone who was attracting as much attention as John the Baptist needed to investigated.  First, because of the Romans.  The Jewish people lived uneasily under Roman rule, and it would not take much to set off Roman brutality.  So, Jewish leaders tried hard to keep tabs on what was going on politically in Israel.  Second, many Jewish people were actually expecting and looking for the appearance of the promised Messiah -most people believing that when Messiah came, he would liberate them from Roman rule.

So, the temple leaders sent a delegation to the Judean countryside where John was preaching and baptizing people.  John knew why they were there, and accommodated their questions.  Even before they actually asked, John said, "I am not the Messiah."

Because of a passage from the prophet Malachi, some believed that Elijah, the great Old Testament prophet, would bodily return just before the actual Messiah arrived, so this delegation asked, and John answered plainly, "I am not."

 Other people believed that the Messiah would be accompanied by a new great prophet -someone like Moses who had delivered the Israelites from Egypt.  Maybe, this delegation speculated, John was that prophet.  Again, John answered plainly, "No."

It seemed that John was implying that he claimed no connection to the coming Messiah, so they asked him, "Who are you?  What do you say about yourself?"


John then made clear his role: he was a voice.  His message was a quote from the prophet Isaiah, "Make straight the way for the Lord."  He was, indeed, preparing the way for Messiah.


We can learn an important lesson from John.  In our day, we seem to have a lot of preachers and teachers who do not understand their roles.  Too many are overly concerned with  maintaining and proving their annointings.  Too many are focused on building their ministries.  Too many are trying too hard to be important and influential.  Too many are building their own kingdoms, forgetting that we have a King and we have a Kingdom. 


We, like John, are simply voices bearing witness to the truth and reality of our King.  A voice is focused on the message, not the messenger.  The message of Christ's redeeming love needs to be spoken and demonstrated, not just in mega-churches and TV ministries and religious venues where Christians gather -but in the wilderness.  Christ's love needs to be spoken in the back streets and alleys and sidewalks and marketplaces -to the lonely, the hurting, the fearful, the skeptical and the confused.  We are the messengers, not the message.  This needs to stop being about us and start being about Jesus.  So much depends on our getting this right.


Lord Jesus, help me today to get this right in my own life and ministry.  I am a messenger; You are the message.  Amen.

John 1:16-18 "The Greatest Revelation"

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.   For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.   (NLT)


Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.    (NIV)


 The Old Testament revelation of God is wonderful.  Think about it -God did not have to reveal anything about Himself to us.  He did not owe us an explanation.  He is the Creator, and we are the created.   He chose, however, through the Law and the prophets to give us insight into who He is and how He thinks and what He loves (and hates).   So, in a very real sense, the revelation He gave us through the Old Testament is an essential grace -a foundational, formative, important insight into His nature and character.


Since Jesus came, however, the insight and revelation we have about God the Father is deeper and fuller by far.  This was in fact, at least in part, why Jesus came -to reveal the Father.  This new revelation, not given by prophets, by but Jesus who was and is Himself God, is not simply grace; it is grace upon grace.


Through Jesus we see not just what God says -not just His laws and commandments -rather, how He interacts with people, how much He cares, how He loves in practical terms of real life, how He deals with stress (and hunger, and heartache, and weariness, etc.)  Through Jesus, we see Father's unfailing love and faithfulness.


Jesus is the greatest revelation of Father's heart.  Because of this, Jesus actually said in John chapter 14, (looking ahead) "If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.... Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."

It is also interesting that in John 14 Jesus prophecies concerning the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit "will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."  So, the Holy Spirit reminds us and teaches us and points us to Jesus, who reminds us and teaches us and points us to Father, who gives us the Holy Spirit.  Perfect.  Grace upon grace.

John 1:9-13 "Children of God"

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

 These few sentences contain the Gospel in a nutshell.  There are a few words here that help us understand the bigger picture -to see how much Truth is contained in so few words.


First, "He came to his own" -in the original language that this was written in, the wording here would have implied that "He came to his own things."  This would mean, then, that when it says his "own people did not receive him," it is not specifically referring to the Jewish people, but to all people -the people He created.  The Creator came to His creation and was not recognized and not received.  He was rejected.


But some did not reject Him.  Some did receive Him.  This is still true.  Many reject Him -in fact, most reject Him.  But some do not.  Some believe.  And those who believe, He gives the right to become His children.


Some translations word this, "he gave the power to become children of God."  The Greek word translated here as right or power (exousia),  means endued with ability, authority and privilege to make a choice.

Not everyone believes who Jesus is -the reality of Creator having come to His own creation to be an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity.  Many people outright refuse to believe in any god.  Some believe in other gods, but not in the reality of Jesus Christ.  But some believe.  And to all who believe, He gives the ability, authority and privilege to make the choice to be His children.

The word children (teknon), is not the generic idea that since all humanity was created by God, all are His children.  Instead, this word means literally His offspring, with the intimacy and rights and privileges and inheritance that go along with a parent-child relationship.


An important implication of this passage is that belief in who Jesus is does not directly bring about the intimate relationship with God.  Instead, it opens the door to intimacy with God.  It is possible to believe, and never enter into the relationship.  In the book of James we read, "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." (James 2:19)  But, when we believe, God grants us the ability and authority to choose to enter into a deep, meaningful, intimate relationship.  We can move beyond the intellectual into the spiritual reality of intimacy with Father through Jesus, the Son.


Lord. help me today to choose to move beyond intellectual agreement with the facts of who You are.  I want to be your child.  I desire the intimacy of having a Father who loves me.  Help me make the wise choice of relationship.  Amen.

 

John 1:1-5 :In The Beginning"

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.   All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.   In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.


The ancient Greeks had a philosophical concept of all of the collective wisdom of the gods being manifest in human form.  It was called the Logos (capital g).  The Logos is translated into English as "the Word."  It wasn't something they necessarily believed -it was more a teaching device to put all of their spiritual and philosophical wisdom in one place.


The writer of the third gospel (the Gospel of John), however, makes use of this teaching device to clarify something about Jesus to the early church spread throughout the Greko-Roman empire.  There really is such a person.  He did not contain the collective wisdom of "the gods"; rather, He was Himself God.  He was the author and creator of everything that exists, and He became human and lived among us to teach us things we did not understand about God.


He (the Logos/Word) was the creator and in Him was life.  Apart from Him, there is no life -either spiritually or physically.  He is the source of life (physical) and light (spiritual).  The point is that whether people believe this is true or not, does not change the reality of the situation.  Our belief is not what makes it so. 

He was not just the originator of life, He is the continuing source of life; everything and everyone that exists, exists at His command.  He is the continuing source of light; He is the source of love, joy, peace, goodness, mercy, justice, faithfulness, justice, grace, gentleness, etc.  He continues to shine in the darkness (evil, hatred, bigotry, perversion, etc.), and the darkness does not overcome it. 


Jesus, in a world of darkness, today let me reflect Your light genuinely and accurately.  Amen.

Matthew 28:16-20 "And In Closing..."

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 In these parting thoughts, Jesus made several profound and important statements -statements that mean more than we might imagine at first glance.


First, when Jesus said "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," it implies that before His death and resurrection, Satan acted with a measure of authority.  If that was once true, Jesus makes it clear that it is no longer true.  If Jesus has all authority, the enemy has none.  Period.


It is important as Christ followers that we understand that our enemy no longer has authority.  Our enemy is powerful, but unable to wield that power indiscriminately.  Authority trumps power.  Think of any professional sport and we can begin to grasp the difference between power and authority.  In American football, for instance, we have some of the biggest, strongest men in the world wearing high-tech armor and equipment, using all of their power and strength to move the ball down the field.  The referees, on the other hand, are not necessarily big or strong and have no protective equipment at all.  But when the referee blows his whistle, all of the big strong men stop and obey.  The players have power, but the referee has authority.  We do not have to fear the enemy.  Our enemy has power, but in Jesus, we have authority.  


The second thing we should notice is that Jesus gives us a mandate.  I think that most Christians understand that we are to go, but we get confused about what we are to be doing as we go.  Jesus says that we are to go and make disciples; instead, we usually settle for making converts.


In our ministry, we define a disciple as a person who has become an apprentice of Jesus; someone who is willing to rearrange all of his/her life around the teachings and purposes of Jesus in order to become like Jesus.  That is different than a convert.  A convert is someone who has decided that Christianity will be his/her religion.  A disciple is different even than a follower of Jesus.  A follower is someone who admires and believes and is in agreement with Jesus.  But a disciple is learning to be like Jesus.  Our mandate is to make disciples.


And the final thing that I see in this passage is the promise of Emmanuel (God with us).  Wherever we go, whatever we do, Jesus is present with His disciples.  God is with us.


Lord Jesus, teach me to walk in Kingdom authority as I rearrange my life around your purposes and practices in order to be a disciple so that I can make more disciples.  Amen.

Matthew 28:1-10 "Risen...Just As He Said"

          Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
          Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.  His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.  The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
           Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.  And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
           The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.  And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”


 They came looking for a dead body -the body of a friend whom they had personally witnessed being brutally tortured and publicly executed.  He was dead.  No doubt about it.  Whipped until the brink of death, hung a cross, nails through wrists and ankles, spear thrust into His side.  He was dead.  Dead and, in fact, buried.  Their primary concern on this sad Sunday morning was who would roll away the giant stone sealing the tomb.  The body had not yet been properly prepared for burial.  There was no time for that before the Sabbath.  This was the soonest it could be done and it was unthinkable that their friend could not even receive a proper burial.  He was dead, He was their friend, and they wanted to give Him a kosher burial.


They arrived at the tomb to find that the stone was not going to be a problem as it had already been moved -by angel -to let the Living Lord out.  The angel was there.  It spoke to them. "He isn't here.  He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen."


It's true that Jesus had said that he would die and come back to life.  Once He was so publicly dead, however, it seemed unreasonable to assume that it could actually happen.  It was relatively easy to make true the part about dying; a different story altogether to keep the promise of returning to life.  

In retrospect, we might wonder at the disciples' and friends' skepticism.  I mean, if they actually believed Jesus was the Messiah, shouldn't they have expected His prophecy to come true?   Of course, given the 2000 years of church history and generations of theological understanding concerning the who, what, where, when and why of Jesus' death and resurrection, we have some insight and revelation that they did not have in the moment.  Still, if Jesus said it, shouldn't they have just accepted it at face value?  Shouldn't they have been eagerly anticipating His resurrection?


Now, as I'm thinking, though, I wonder about some of the other things Jesus said that even with 2000 years of understanding we still don't fully believe today.  After He rose from the dead, for instance, Jesus said that His followers would do all of the things He had done and even more because He was sending the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers.  In fact Jesus said it was actually better for us that He leave so that we could enjoy and learn and live in the benefit of the Holy Spirit in us.  But we don't really believe that.  The vast majority of Believers experience with the Holy Spirit is so nominal that it cannot possibly be true that it is better to have the Holy Spirit in us than Jesus beside us.  Either Jesus was lying (or mistaken) or we are missing something profoundly important.


And Jesus said that He was coming again.  In fact, He warned us, seriously warned us, to be ready and to live our lives expectantly.  But we don't.  We might believe (kind of) that He will return some day, but not soon.  This has got to be true because the vast majority of us live just like unbelievers.  We have the same hopes and dreams and buy the same kinds of houses and drive the same kinds of cars and continue to sock away money into the same retirement accounts and basically live exactly like those who never expect Jesus to return.  We can know for sure what we believe by what we do.


So, I think the words of the angel at the tomb have serious significance for we who follow Jesus today.  We should hear them clearly.  "He is risen from the dead,  just as he said would happen."

Matthew 27:45-50 "Who Killed Jesus?"

           From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.  About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
          When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
          Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
         And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 


In light of what the Bible tells us concerning Jesus' death, the debate over who killed Jesus seems trivial and somewhat ridiculous.  Yes, Pilate has guilt.  Yes the temple leaders have guilt.  Yes the Roman culture that enslaved the Jews and others has guilt.  Yes the weak-minded crowd has guilt.  Clearly, however,  Jesus gave His life as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin.  This was God's plan. This is God's love. 

This is love -not that we love God, but that He loved us and gave His Son....  Father sent His Son.  The Son gave His own life.  Neither the Jews nor the Romans violated Jesus' will to redeem mankind.  Max Lucado said it something like this: nails can't hold God to a tree -love held Jesus to the cross.


There is a sense, of course, in which your sin and my sin held Jesus to the tree.  You and I are responsible for His death.  He died for us.  But He did it willingly.  This is love.  He loves us.  He did not have to die.  He chose to die in order to redeem and restore and bring us from spiritual death into life.  His love compelled Him to give His own life.


The question is not who killed Jesus.  The question is not even why did Jesus die.  In fact, the question is not even whether God loves us.  The only legitimate question is why would God love us this much?  And for that I have no answer.


I do not know why God loves me so much, but I am convinced that He does.  And I am grateful.  I choose to love Him in return, and to learn to walk in light of His love.


Lord, I love You; help me love You more.