3-23-14- The Way, Truth and Life

 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.7If you really know me, you will know^b my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?  (John 14:5-10)

Thoughts: Thomas and Philip speak for those of us in the West who have a hard time believing if we do not see.  Jesus had more confidence in them than they had in Him, in themselves, or that the way would really work for getting them to heaven.  Jesus was trying to get His disciples who had lived with Him and seen His miracles, love, and grace to trust that He is the One who will pave the way to heaven for them.
      Jesus makes the outstanding and unique claim that he is the only way to the Father.  Then He says He is the way, truth, and life.  The way- was not just the gate to heaven, but the path of righteousness and holiness that led to the holy Father (Dt. 5:32,33; 31:29; Isa. 30:21; 35:8).  Jesus not only is holy and teaches holiness, He is able to make us holy by His sacrifice-providing a way of restoration to the right path to God.  He is the truth.  Pilate asked- looking at Jesus- "What is truth?" For many there is no purpose, meaning, or truth in life- but Jesus stands against them all as a marker of truth and hope.  Jesus is the life.  He makes life worth living- giving direction and purpose to it.  Jesus earlier had said He comes to give us life to the full (Jn. 10:10).  He offers us meaningful life here and eternal life after this life is over.  Many others would claim to know the way, teach the truth, and show us how to live- but Jesus claimed more- to actually be the way, truth, and life.  He claims divinity here when He claims that to see Him is to see the Father.  His claims to be more than human are everywhere in the Gospels, and they make a claim to give the path, the truth, and life to us.  

Prayer:  Lord, keep me from going the wrong way, seeking falsehood or apathy instead of truth, or giving up on life instead of living my life for you and in you. 

3-19-14 Jesus Shows His Love

1It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:1-17)

 

Thoughts: One of the last things Jesus did besides the last supper was to train His disciples on the concept of service and love.  First the Master played the role of a slave, washing the dirty feet of His apostles.  He teaches not only that He washes us and cares for us, but that He came in humility.  For us to follow Christ, we must not want the first place at the table, nor want everyone to respect us.  The Lord wishes us to serve others in love and humility. 
     The Last Supper is prominently in the background.  John mentions it here (13:2) and later in 13:22-27- not in the same sense as the synoptic gospels.  John does not emphasize the sacrificial/Passover nature of the meal.  He mentions the preparation of the meal- washing feet by the Lord.  Then John mentions the betrayal at the meal.  But above all that is mentioned is the humility, servitude and love.  Jesus was teaching the embodiment of the Christian ethic he taught in the Beatitudes.  One translation says of this act: "He showed them the full extent of His love."  So we are called by Jesus' example to humble ourselves, serve others, and love in His name.

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your beautiful example of love.  Help me to love in humility and service because you have loved me. 

 

(Jesus washing Peter's feet- 1876 Ford Maddox Brown)

3/6/14- Jesus as the Gate

1“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^a They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:1-10)

Thoughts: Jesus is the gate to life.  Not just to eternal life to come.  He is the gate to the abundant life now.  Too often the image is that Jesus comes to take our joy away.  So he comes to take our drugs away; our drunks away; our ability to do whatever we want-even-if-it-harms-us-away.  There is a way that leads to death.  Jesus would steer us away from that.  On Ash Wednesday, perhaps the most important thing is to give up the way of death- and head toward doing what is right.  Calvin said that the Christian [abundant] life consists of giving something up- but not just stopping there.  We are to live for something more.  He called it mortification and vivification.  Dying to self and living to God.
We are to die to the way of the thief and robber- who would rob us of real joy and life.  Instead we are to live for God who enables us to live the way we are designed to live.
     Jesus claims to be the Gate.  This is one of the seven "I am" sayings in John.  It is an overlooked title.  The  Gate title is given in the context of sheep.  The shepherd would sometime lie down at the mouth of the opening and serve as the gate itself to keep the wolves out and the sheep within.  As our protection from the wolves- the evil in this world- He is our gate.  As the one who opens for us so that we may come in to hope- He is our gate.  When enemies attacked a walled fortress, they usually attacked at the gate.  But strong gates were also a great blessing of defense.  Jesus defends us- He is our gate.  

Prayer: Lord, be my gate.  Be my way into your love.  Be my way out of my own problems and evil.  Be my way into your protection and care.  Be my way out of my own danger and meager means.  Be my way into rest.  Be my way out of restlessness and anxiety.  

2/10/14- The Law and Christ

45“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.46If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (John 5:45-47)

Thoughts; The Law (Moses) convicts us. It shows us where we are wrong.  But the Law also is our ideal- our hopes.  In some ways it still is.  We want to keep the Ten Commandments deep down, but we know it is impossible.  We sin daily in our thoughts, words, and deeds. 
     The other part of the Law is not just the commands, but also the way to forgiveness through sacrifice- when we break the commands.  Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice.  At the same time Jesus is the ultimate Law- showing us how to live by His example of love and grace. Jesus is the ultimate teacher with His words and example.  Moses spoke of God raising up a "prophet like me" (Dr. 18:15).
The Law is fulfilled in the person of Jesus.  Jesus said he did not come to break the Law but to fulfill it.  God gave the Law to show us His ideal life.  But Christ is the One who helps us live for God.  Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).  When we fail, Christ is our sacrifice.  The good news is that we are not left alone- with no direction, no help to keep that direction, and no help up when we fall down- failing to keep to our direction.  

Prayer: Help us to listen to your Law and to you.  

1-2-13- John 1:1-4 Light and Life

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-4)

I will begin 2014 with a fairly deep study of the Gospel of John. 

Thoughts: John was the last of the Gospels written.  It is written mainly for Gentiles.  The early church of the east and the west testified that the author was John the Son of Zebedee and Salome and had a brother James.  John's family was in the fishing business and appeared to have a house in Jerusalem knowing the high priest.  John was given the care of his mother Mary by Jesus on the cross, and traditionally cared for her and died in Ephesus.
    It is only in later years that scholars began to question the date and author of John- mainly driven by non-believing scholar-skeptics.  Some, even up to the 1930s were saying John was written around 200 AD despite early Christian writers quoting some of the Gospel of John.  Then the Rylands manuscript of 125 AD was found in Egypt in 1920.  This pushed the date to before 90 AD.
    Let's look at the text, for the text of John has been used of God to draw people to the Lord for centuries.
     The word "logos" (Word) is the Messiah, Jesus,- pre-existent, and omnipotent.  The Word (logos-Messiah)was with the Father thus distinct from Him.  The Word (logos- Messiah) was at the same time God Himself.  Some sects (like the Jehovah's witnesses) add the word "a" in verse one to read: "and the word was a god."  But there is clearly no "a" there nor a reason to add it in.  Jesus is divine, and as verse 14 says also human (incarne).
    John then goes on to mention two of his favorite adjectives for Jesus- life and light.  They are similar- for without the light of the sun there would be no life.  Without the light of the Son there will be no life.  Not only did He create life, but He also gives the second eternal (second birth) life.  Evil and darkness may appear to reject Jesus and win- but evil and darkness do not overcome the light of life- the Son of God.
    We would do well to not let ourselves be overwhelmed with the evil and darkness around us.  As one man- the god-man Jesus- changed the world, so we can make the world better.  We reflect the light of Jesus as the moon reflects the sun.  We reflect and give the life of Jesus as hold out to a loveless- selfish world- His love.  We reflect His life and light as we give the world His hope. 

Prayer: Lord, may your light and life shine through me.  Thank you for coming to give me hope.  May I live in that hope and spread it.