John’s Gospel – Lesson 20

Jesus' command to not let your heart be troubled comes right after the revelation that Peter would deny Him and someone would betray Him. Jesus says that He is going someplace that they can't go. This is pretty disturbing but Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. The way to do this is to believe God and to believe Jesus. Jesus looks forward through the Cross to the finish line.

 

Jesus promises a place for us. He promises that He will prepare a place for each of us and take us there. For whatever reason as I read that again I found it very comforting even in a new way. How can I worry when He says that he has it under control?

 

John 14:8-14

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

 

Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father. You can't ask for a different view as Philip did. It is a nonsensical question. It isn't possible to answer the request. This was impossible to the core. My mother's name was Lucille … like B.B. King's guitar … and I could have walked up to her and said, "Mom I want you to show me Lucille …" There is a sense in which we speak that way. We want to know our parents as they are to other folks. But Jesus was a perfect, complete, whole, and accurate representation of the Father. You can't ask for more because Jesus is complete and whole.

 

The disciples, just like us, have the perfect words spoken in perfect accord with all of Scripture. Jesus, in effect, says, "Either believe because of the perfect agreement between Me and the Father or else believe because of all the signs the Father gave to testify to my teaching."

 

The signs multiplied through the Church after Pentecost. We have the Cannon of Scripture so we are not in the position of the first century Church in which we require apostolic authority in teaching to be established by signs and wonders. However, we err on the other side when we are in need because we don't ask for what we need to glorify the Father.

 

Ask the Father in Jesus' name so that we can do what God says, in the way He says, and at the time He says with no thought but for His glory. Or … we may ask "amiss" or wrongly for things that don't build us up spiritually. Jesus doesn't give us a "wild card" to simply ask at random. God is not random we need to

 

 

John 14:15-17

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

 

A relationship with Christ is transformative.

 

First, relationship with Christ transforms our will within us. Our "want to" is changed. Jesus says if you love Him then you will keep His commandments. What Christ commands will modify you and cause you to desire more of Him. This is not to say that you'll never sin by either action or inaction. Sins of commission and omission will still be present. You will sin but it will not be your practice. It will cease to be your nature and you will no longer have a calloused conscience that cannot bleed.

 

Secondly, and as a foundation to the first point, Jesus will intercede for you and the Father will give you the Helper. The παράκλητος (paraklētos) the Helper, Counselor, Encourager, and Mediator. Not only does He intercede and pray for us with words that are beyond human speech but He also witnesses to truth within us and encourages us in trials.

 

This was prior to Pentecost and so Jesus says, "he dwells with you and will be in you" to foreshadow the outpouring of the Holy Spirit after His resurrection.

 

John 14:18-21

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

 

I'm sure they did feel a little like they were being orphaned. However, the final position of the disciples is to be better than before. Better than being in the presence of Jesus in His humanity is to be in Him, and Him in you, and Him in the Father. That puts you in the Father too. The Trinity is united in our salvation. The three persons of one essence that make up the Trinity were in perfect agreement and it is never more obvious than in these verses.

 

Jesus says that He will manifest Himself to the disciples. So this raises the question of, "how"?

 

John 14:22-24

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

 

So the question is how you can manifest yourself to us without anyone else noticing it. The Holy Spirit will dwell, or make a home, within us. The transformation is produced from within and not by a discipline applied without. The idea of a manifested earthly kingdom was hard to let go of but it was not part of the work for Jerusalem in 33 AD.

 

Jesus continues to stress that you'll be able to tell who is in Christ and who is not in Christ objectively. This is not to say that works equal salvation but that salvation necessarily changes us. It is by definition the change between a heart that is stone and a heart that lives. So behavior is an indicator but is not the motivator. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A Christian may sin seriously and for an extended period of time but ultimately the Holy Spirit's discipline will bring the prodigal child back. If there is no coming back then they are proved in the end to have never been a prodigal child in the first place but simply prodigal in the Latin sense of prodigus (prodigere) to drive away and squander.

 

A Christian may act prodigal as if they are driven away and will squander it all but not be prodigal as the Holy Spirit drives them back and may even graciously restore losses. However, restoration is an act of God's grace. Restoration of what is squandered is not a right. Costs and losses and injury to those around the prodigal are real and have consequences. Only God knows the full extent of what has been wasted.

 

John 14:25-27

"These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

 

The disciples were losing their teacher. Jesus was the rabbi or teacher so his students, who knew they were not ready to graduate, were scared and feeling lost. The Holy Spirit has a teaching and "prodding" ministry.

 

The peace that Jesus gives is manifold. It is almost impossible to exhaust the ways in which it is found in our lives. I want to briefly mention 2 ways in which it is different than what the world gives. First of all the peace comes from within and not from without. It can appear irrational for those who don't know Christ. To have peace in the world you need resources. You need those things that make you feel safe. It is generally money but can also be a particular social standing or health or all of these. The peace that Jesus gives comes from within and can stand when you have no money, no social standing, or health. The peace that Jesus gives has extended to the last moments of many martyrs before they were welcomed into the presence of God.

 

Secondly, the peace that Jesus gives is most importantly with God. Your sin, apart from the work of Jesus on the Cross, will keep you from God because your sin is rebellion against a perfectly holy and righteous God. You all have committed treason against a perfect God. It is bad to commit treason in any case but treason against an infinitely holy and just God makes your treason infinitely sinful. You have not obeyed Him and you have done what you pleased. Jesus pays that price on the Cross that you owed and His righteous life is imputed or credited to you.

 

John 14:28-31

You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

 

I wondered it Philip said, "Hey! Wait a minute. How come my question was a dumb question? You just said the "Father is greater than I" and you told me that you and the Father were the same." Maybe he just grumbled a little bit and left it for later. Remember that Jesus was fully God and fully man without mixture, confusion, or separation. So both points are well taken. He is the perfect representation of God but He is/was also incarnate. We are all "in Christ" because of His glorification. He is at every communion service (even the simultaneous ones) because of His glorification. So we who love Jesus do rejoice in this knowledge and in His accomplishment on the cross.

 

John 15:1-4

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

 

After they left the room where they had the meal, they were walking and Jesus was teaching. They almost certainly were passing a vineyard when Jesus started this lesson.

 

This is another of the "I am" statements of Christ. He is the true vine. There is only one true vine and God the Father is the vinedresser. I've mentioned before how odd grapes are. The branches need a vinedresser to keep them from getting too far from the roots. We are utterly dependent on the vine for life and fruit. Our relationship is not external it is necessarily internal or no life would be imparted. The life imparted internally is manifested outwardly by fruit and we are disciplined to produce more fruit. Difficulties are not without purpose for Christians.

 

John 15:5-11

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

 

To be out of relationship with Christ is to make the light of the world and air (the word used for the Holy Spirit) your enemies. Plants wilt and curl their leaves to avoid light and air when they are not abiding in the vine. Men run from the Light of the World and the Holy Spirit when they are not in Christ.

 

Don't miss the point that Jesus said these things to bring His joy into us so that we'll be filled.

 

 

 

John’s Gospel – Lesson 19

As we return to John, we left off with Jesus teaching on foot washing and service to the Body of Christ. Jesus, as a servant, ministered to all twelve with 2 main points. First, that we should serve the Body of Christ in humility not seeking honor. Secondly, we need the daily ministry of Christ to keep ourselves clean from the impact of the world.

 

Jesus, as fully God, in Chapter 12 and Verse 27 said that his soul was troubled at the task of paying the price for our sins. Here, after washing the feet of the Disciples and caring for them, Jesus, as fully man, is troubled again by Judas. I don't mean to indicate any division in the 2 complete natures of Christ but in the first case His divine holiness was about to be assaulted by our sins and in this present case His perfect love of the men called to be disciples is betrayed.

 

John 13:21-30

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table close to Jesus, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it." So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

 

Jesus was fully aware of what was about to happen and how it was going to happen. He didn't just know the general (John 12:27) but here we see He knew specifically how He would walk out being the Lamb of God.

 

No one suspected that Judas was not truly a believer in Jesus. Remember that these guys didn't fellowship just once or twice a week for an hour. These guys lived together 24/7 being disciple by Jesus as Rabbi and yet Judas was not submitted to the process in reality and never really submitted to Christ as Lord. His superficial behavior was a cloak for a heart that was far from God. It fooled the eleven other disciples but could not fool Christ. Judas, and us as well, are transparent before God. Other men, and even Satan, can't know your thoughts. However, God knows your thoughts before you know them and He knows them fully and perfectly and not as you know yourself only partially and imperfectly.

 

The disciple "whom Jesus loved" was John and he was leaning against Jesus. Peter signaled for John to ask who it was. It is difficult to know how long all of this took. Jesus told John to watch the bread. To whomever He gave the bread after he dipped it was the betrayer. Matthew tells us in Chapter 26 Verse 25 that Judas had the nerve to ask if he was the one and Jesus confirmed it but it seems it was a private moment and the others didn't know. It is possible that Judas was seated in the place of honor on Jesus left with John on the right. This would have made a private moment possible, passing a piece of bread easy, and explain why Peter needed John to ask who it was. When Judas got up and left it was a normal thing and the others, in general, thought that he was going to purchase something.

 

Judas had three years with Jesus but it didn't result in redemption. Judas is often viewed as a tragic character and sometimes people attempt to paint him as the unfortunate one because it was his "destiny" to betray and die. When Jesus looked at him and said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly" then Judas was fully given over to Satan. Especially it seems in the last few decades there has been an effort to "justify" Judas and to paint him as a tragic character. He is tragic but he is not "justified."

 

We use the following argument in various forms …

 

Romans 9:17-24

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

 

God will be glorified in each man's life. It will either be by God's patient endurance prior to destruction or by His mercy on those He redeems. Judas was morally responsible for his rejection of Christ. Apart from the riches of His glory in us – as vessels of mercy – we would have been able to spend 3 years with Jesus, sit under His teaching, and sell Him out at the end. We have men who listen to the Gospel over and over in this nation without a change of heart. Churches as a whole – even Baptists as a whole – in our nation have drifted from the doctrines that gave us birth in the Reformation and we are either ignorant or proud or both for rejecting passages of Scripture like these in Romans.

 

In our culture we have a high and exalted view of each of our wills. We bow up at verses like these in Romans and don't really take it to heart. We should be overwhelmed by the riches of His glory for us as vessels of mercy. But we are not. We are so convinced of our fair mindedness that we "don't understand" how Judas could be with Jesus and not have Jesus as Lord when the opposite should be true. We should wonder at how could the 11 could be with Jesus and accept Him as Lord because they were rebellious sinners like us? Jesus says that it was because of His work to keep the disciples as a good shepherd that they were saved. Our worship becomes diminished because we do not rightly value the riches of His mercy in our lives.

 

God is sovereign in all aspects of creation and upholds all of creation and there is not an atom outside His sovereign will … but you are morally responsible from your sin.

 

 

 

John 13:31- 35

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

 

As Judas departs Jesus says that the Son is glorified, that the Father is glorified in the Son, the Father will glorify the Son in Himself, and that it will happen quickly. Jesus also points to his work on the Cross and His departure to return to Heaven as being almost ready to occur. He steps into the pater familia role here as the head of household for us with the phrase "little children."

 

So what is new about being told to "love one another?" Well I think it is a contextually new command. When the Church is betrayed and opposed by the religious and secular powers surrounding the Church then your love – expressed as active care for the brethren – is to be the mark of discipleship. This love is a love commanded within the Church to exceed that love we are required to show to all men.

 

John 13:36-38

Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." Peter said to him, "Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

 

The failure of Judas and Peter should make all of us cry out to God for strength to stand. I don't think the full weight of the failure hits us. We rationalize the failures of Judas and Peter as the failure of men with tragic flaws in their nature. We don't think of ourselves as flawed. I've spoken of the noetic effects of sin before. Sin has an effect on your mind and you don't think as well as you should. This is especially evident in spiritual discussions. You look in the mirror of Scripture and then go away and immediately forget what manner of man you are. Ask God to help you to not think more highly of yourself than you should.

 

In spite of the treason of Judas, and the pending failure of Peter and all the disciples, Jesus immediately gives some of the most comforting words in Scripture.

 

John 14:1-7

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

 

These words come on the bombshell of Peter's bad news and of course at this point John and Peter knew that Judas was a traitor. Jesus says that He is going someplace that they can't go. This is pretty disturbing but Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. The way to do this is to believe God and to believe Jesus. Jesus looks forward through the Cross to the finish line. Jesus promises a place for us. He promises that He will prepare a place for each of us and take us there.

 

As Thomas finds out, Jesus is the way and there is no other way. The riches of God's mercy are mediated in Christ. There is no second method of coming to God. There are not multiple paths up a mountain in which all religions meet at the top. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. The Cross is the only way to forgiveness.

 

John 14:8-14

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

 

Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father. You can't ask for a different view as Philip did. It is a nonsensical question. It isn't possible to answer the request.

 

The disciples, just like us, have the perfect words spoken in perfect accord with all of Scripture. Jesus, in effect, says, "Either believe because of the perfect agreement between Me and the Father or else believe because of all the signs the Father gave to testify to my teaching."

 

The other aspect is that the signs will multiply through the Church to establish it. We have the Cannon of Scripture so we are not in the position of the first century Church in which we require apostolic authority in teaching to be established by signs and wonders. On the other hand, we don't want to be in need because we don't ask for what we need to glorify the Father. Ask the Father in Jesus' name so that we can do what God says, in the way He says, and at the time He says with no thought but for His glory.

John’s Gospel – Lesson 18

The Holy Spirit was beginning to move in new ways and even drawing Greeks to Christ. Jesus speaks of His sacrifice and the discipleship of believers under the power of the Holy Spirit that will follow.

 

John 12:27-36

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."

 

Jesus was repulsed by what He was going to need to do to pay the price for our sins. He was made sin who did not know sin. We are comfortable with sin but Jesus was repulsed by it. Jesus continually makes it clear that He is going to willingly laying down His life and that it is not being taken from Him. His soul was repulsed by the prospect of bearing your sins but He rejoiced in the work of creating the universe. I think that contrast helps keep the seriousness of our sins and the holiness of God in clear view. This is the third time that the audible voice of God was heard in confirmation of the works of Jesus. The first was His baptism (Matthew 3:17), then at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and here as He prepares to offer Himself up.

 

Note that the word "draw" is a forceful word. Pray for salvations with confidence and faith that God will accomplish it by His power and not by your power.

 

The crowd didn't like what they heard. It didn't fit with their preconceived notions of what the Son of Man was supposed to do. They had the light of the Word but they refused it and fell back on a broken understanding. They didn't embrace the Messiah because He didn't look and act in the manner they thought He should act. They couldn't be instructed because they wouldn't bow their understanding to the Word. So they stumbled through unbelief. They were ready for an earthly king who pushed all their enemies out and gave them what they wanted but they weren't ready for a Lord who would confront their sins head on.

 

Some of this attitude exists today and we see it surrounding Christmas. Many of the feelings and concepts of the incarnation are acceptable but the lordship claims of Christ are not. The "Peace on Earth" is a product of Christ's sacrifice. The lack of peace with God is what required the incarnation. We also use it as a prayer for peace on earth among mankind and that is a good thing to pray for. However, peace among men when those men are at "enmity with God" (in rebellion against God) is a hollow peace.

 

We often underestimate the Holiness of God and the seriousness of our sin. We begin to think, erroneously, that a just God can forgive us and accept us as we are. Our acceptance before God is because of the payment for our sins that Jesus makes for us and the merit of His perfect life lived for us.

 

He is our high priest, familiar with the weaknesses of His people constantly making intercession at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, constantly sending forth the Holy Spirit to glorify God in our justification and sanctification as we each work out our salvation. I pray we'd yield with complete abandon to the Holy Spirit.

 

John 12:37-43

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them."

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

 

People do not spontaneously regenerate and we need a revelation of His glory to respond because apart from that revelation we choose to remain our own "lords". It is fashionable to make fun of early scientists who thought that life came from rotting fruit and meat spontaneously because they saw flies emerge. It was called spontaneous generation. It is even fashionable in some Christian circles to make fun of Darwinists for similar reasons. But at these Scriptures, and many others, we modern Christians can stumble because God makes it clear that there is no spontaneous regeneration either.

 

When sinners are left to themselves they hear without understanding, they see but don't recognize what they see, and they become more blind, deaf, and hard of understanding. We simply will not ever turn from sin apart from God's Holy Spirit. We desperately need revival sent from a Holy and Sovereign God. That is what we are called on to pray for this spring.

 

What a message for a prophet and what a shocking understanding for the Apostle John. Unlike Jonah, this preaching from God incarnate would not bring general repentance in the Jewish people. Isaiah's question was, "How long?" and God's answer was grim. God would only save a remnant. Only a burned stump would remain. But even in judgment on a nation, our God keeps a people for Himself. There is no such thing as spontaneous regeneration but there is such a thing as regeneration.

 

It is God's will to keep His people. We can pray for God's action in the life of the unsaved and not worry about the hard heart of the unsaved. We know the heart of the father in the story of the prodigal and see the sovereign hand of God in the events that brought him back to the father. We can see God do great things in the life of those we pray for and we must not be guilty of the sin of prayerlessness.

John 12:44-50

And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me."

 

Jesus is "THE" way and not "A" way among other ways. He is a perfect representation of the Father and has God's authority in all He says. His perfect obedience is the basis of our merit before God. We don't come to God on the basis of our own merit and qualifications. We come, "dressed in His righteousness alone".

 

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

Oh, may I then in Him be found;

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

 

Refrain:

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

—Edward Mote (1797-1874)

 

We will be faultless as a result of the sacrifice that the Son made for us and the work of the Holy Spirit on earth to glorify God. It is amazing grace and an underserved blessing that we receive from God. The majesty of His grace is something we only comprehend in hindsight after He makes us spiritually alive. However, it is something we should meditate on constantly. The puritans had a form of meditation called "discursive meditation" in which you would take a verse and essentially preach it to yourself. We need this in our lives. Take a verse or a psalm or a hymn and tell yourself about it to the praise and glory of God.

 

John 13:1

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

 

John is amazed, as we should be, that Jesus didn't withdraw to Himself and become uncommunicative. If you knew you were going to die then I suspect you'd like a little time alone. Jesus ministered with no moment wasted and He was teaching until the end. He didn't stop loving Peter knowing what He knew about Peter or John and all the other disciples. How would you have acted toward Judas having the knowledge that Jesus did of what he was going to do to betray him. Jesus loved them (actively not passively) until the end.

 

John 13:2-5

During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

 

Once again John is amazed at Jesus' response to the situation. Given that Judas was in the crowd, that all authority was in Christ's hands, that He was from God, that He was returning to God … He took the role of the servant or lowest disciple and washed their feet.

 

John 13:6-11

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."

 

Peter didn't have a problem speaking up. Because of the roads and footpaths, feet got dirty and so rather than a full bath the custom was to wash feet because they were dirty. Some compare this process to baptism but it really doesn't fit that well. This process has a greater analogy in our daily fellowship with God in which we turn from the world and He cleanses us again from our interaction with sin in the world. It is hard to avoid sin in this world but you should be taking all of that before God daily. For the Christian – those who are clean – then you need this daily foot washing before God. Daily fellowship isn't an option. As James says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (1:27).

 

But this is not just a verse that we spiritualize to Jesus ministering to us each day – even though that is important – Jesus was teaching a key point to the disciples.

 

John 13:12-20

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, 'He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."

 

We are to serve each other with humility and without worrying if a job is important enough for us to do. Foot washing isn't a sacrament but Jesus has commanded humble service to each other. I don't have anything against foot washing in churches but it misses the point. The point is real practical humble service. When those gifted in helps change the oil for widows then that is foot washing. People don't walk around with dirty feed anymore. We've just about paved our whole county. People do walk around with practical needs that men with servant hearts can meet. You are not greater than your Lord and He served as an example so you serve.

 

Jesus told them these things and they only partly understood. But they were seeds planted in those He chose so that they would recognize Him as the great "I am" later on. I love verse 20. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." After declaring Himself the "I am", then He says that whoever receives the one He sends (The Holy Spirit), receives Him (Christ), and then as a result receives God the Father. We get to participate in this process with evangelism and become the one sharing the Gospel and seeing this happen before our eyes.

John’s Gospel – Lesson 17

The miracle of Lazarus resurrection resulted in some watershed events among the leadership of the Jews. To raise someone from the dead that was so obviously dead was a sign that was hard to ignore. It was hard to ignore but not impossible to misinterpret and misrepresent.

 

John 11:45-53

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

 

The response to the sign of Lazarus was divided among those who believed and those who didn't believe and reported to the Pharisees the magnitude of the problem Jesus was creating. The various ironies or sharp contrasts between the truth and the meaning of what was said I think we find these verses very interesting.

 

1. The Jews were concerned that the signs and wonders that God had provided as a testimony to the truth of Christ's teaching would cause people to believe that God had sent Him and accept what He said as true,
   
2. The Jews worried that Jesus will cause problems with the Romans. However, they were also waiting for the Messiah to deliver them from the Romans. So when the Messiah who came to set the captives free showed up the captives were concerned that their captors would be upset by Him, and
   
3. The high priest prophesied that it was better for one man to die in order to save the nation. This was true in a sense that he did not understand but it rang true to the other Pharisees and they made plans based on their flawed understanding of the prophecy.
   

 

Remember that God will be glorified in each man's life. God will either be glorified by your calling Him Lord and serving Him or God will be glorified in the judgment that is poured out as a result of your lack of repentance and sin. God was going to be glorified in the life of Caiaphas the high priest and the other Pharisees but not because of their submission to the Lordship of Christ.

 

John 11:54-57

Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, "What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?" Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

 

The plan to kill Jesus resulted in his withdrawal to a town northeast of Jerusalem and near the wilderness as he prepared for Passover. Then Jesus started back toward Jerusalem.

 

Currently there is a Techno-Pop musician known for vulgarity who calls herself Peaches. She is getting ready to do her one-person version of Jesus Christ Superstar. She was quoted in Saturday's NY Times as saying, ""I'm not trying to push buttons with this, I see it as one of the basic human stories: someone with good intentions tries to put forward something that he believes in, and then it all goes wrong." What Peaches is showing is that she has no more clue about the "what and why" of Christ than Caiaphas did. Jesus accomplished all that He set out to do and now we are entering into the portion of John in which He prepares to lay down His life as an atoning sacrifice.

 

First Jesus moved back to Bethany from Ephraim so that He was just a few miles from Jerusalem

 

John 12:1-8

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, "Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

 

This event was made possible because Jesus didn't destroy His relationship with Mary and Martha when He came into Bethany and was blamed by them for Lazarus' death. Martha was serving and Mary, moved by the Holy Spirit, took ointment worth about 1 year's wages and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair. This is not the same as the event found in Luke 7:36–50 but is the same event as found in Matt. 26:6–12 and Mark 14:3–9. I think there are a couple of reasonable assumptions to make here.

 

1. "Therefore" in the sentence following the view of Jesus and Lazarus at the table indicates that Mary (Martha too) was moved emotionally at the sight of her brother and Jesus sincerely enjoying each other's company.
   
2. The quantity of ointment was likely purchased for Lazarus's burial but not used in all the confusion surrounding that death.
   
3. The disciples' reaction was natural and was not limited to Judas (Matthew 6:28) although he was the vocal one.
   
4. The idea that Jesus carries our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4) and turns our sorrow into joy (Jeremiah 31:13) is so wonderfully illustrated by Mary taking the sorrow of death represented by this perfume that could only mask the smell of death even with the wages of a full year and then pouring it out with the sorrow turned to worship and joy on the head and feet of our Savior.
   
5. I also am blessed that without a word the blame and bitterness toward a perceived failure of God to meet our needs is turned into a sacrifice of praise and identification with His atoning sacrifice for us.
   

 

John 12:9

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

 

The appropriate response of the crowds in response to the signs only caused the Pharisees to seek to eliminate the Messiah and the sign. But on the next day Jesus moves to Jerusalem.

 

John 12:12-15

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

"Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!"

 

Psalm 118:26 is the source of the text used in praise but they appended "the King of Israel" to the praise. This would have been particularly upsetting to the Pharisees and then the manner of Christ's entry into Jerusalem was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9 approximately 500 years before the birth of Jesus

 

John 12:16-19

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him."

 

As the people were praising Jesus the people who had seen Lazarus raised from the dead were witnessing and the crowds were growing larger and larger. This was very depressing for the Pharisees who felt they were losing control but of course they never really were in control in the first place.

 

John 12:20-26

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Notice that the comments of Jesus here were produced by the news that the gentiles were asking to see Him. The Holy Spirit was beginning to move. Jesus speaks of His sacrifice and the discipleship of believers under the power of the Holy Spirit that will follow. These Greeks were just the first few raindrops of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was to come.

 

John 12:27-36

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?" So Jesus said to them, "The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."

 

Once again, Jesus is making it clear that He is willingly laying down His life and that it is not being taken from Him. His soul was troubled by the prospect of bearing your sins but not in the creation of the universe. I think that helps keep the seriousness of our sins in clear view. This is the third time that the audible voice of God was heard in confirmation of the works of Jesus. The first was His baptism (Matthew 3:17), then at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and here as He prepares to offer Himself up.

 

Note that the word "draw" is a forceful word. Pray for salvations with confidence and faith that God will accomplish it by His power and not by your power.

 

The crowd didn't like what they heard. It didn't fit with their preconceived notions of what the Son of Man was supposed to do. They had the light of the Word but they refused it and fell back on a broken understanding. They didn't embrace the Messiah because He didn't look and act in the manner they thought He should act. They couldn't be instructed because they wouldn't bow their understanding to the Word. So they stumbled through unbelief. They were ready for an earthly king who pushed all their enemies out and gave them what they wanted but they weren't ready for a Lord who would confront their sins head on.

 

We often underestimate the Holiness of God and the seriousness of our sin. We begin to think, erroneously, that a just God can forgive us and accept us as we are. Our acceptance before God is because of the payment for our sins that Jesus makes for us and the merit of His perfect life lived for us.

 

He is our high priest, familiar with the weaknesses of His people constantly making intercession at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, constantly sending forth the Holy Spirit to glorify God in our justification and sanctification as we each work out our salvation. I pray we'd yield with complete abandon to the Holy Spirit.

 

John’s Gospel – Lesson 16

The verses we study today – Chapter 11 of John's Gospel – are, for me, some of the most emotional verses in Scripture. They speak to me of the tremendous example of emotional maturity and manhood found in Christ Jesus.

 

John 11:1-4

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

 

The name Lazarus means "whom God helps" and he was probably the younger brother of Mary and Martha. The reaction of the community later on would indicate they were wealthy and socially prominent people. The word love in "whom you love is ill" is φιλέω (fil-eh´-o) and indicates that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were friends of Jesus. They lived only a couple of miles from Jerusalem and had probably spent lots of time with him. There was a depth of personal relationship here. These people were friends of Jesus and he had a deep love for them.

 

I think it is important to realize that Jesus had friends. If we don't stop and realize that Jesus had an emotional life with a mother, brothers (likely sisters too), and friends (even old friends) then we start to think of Him as distanced from humanity. In part, when we say that Jesus was "fully man" we affirm this complete healthy emotional life that Jesus had. The Church Council in Chalcedon (451 AD) has been the great statement on the person of Christ that has endured for more than 1500 years but we slide toward the heresy of monophysitism mentally because we have trouble thinking of Jesus being fully human as we embrace His full divinity.

 

Jesus knew what was going to happen and what God was calling Him to do. He wasn't making a mistake and He – as always – was in perfect submission to God. Note also that it is probable that the messenger carried back the message, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son."

 

John 11:5-8

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

 

The word for "loved" here is ἀγαπάω (ag-ap-ah´-o). I think John uses this stronger word with a since of obligation to specifically draw attention to the delay in departing. This particular Lazarus is only mentioned here in John's Gospel but Jesus' love for these sisters and for Lazarus has made this story one of the most familiar in the New Testament and made his name a shorthand expression for life from death. I also think John wants to make it clear that Jesus didn't wait because he was worried about the Jews who wanted to kill him. This was clearly on the minds of the disciples but it wasn't determining Jesus' course of action. Jesus was moving in perfect submission to the Father.

 

John 11:9-16

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

 

Thomas didn't really speak a word of faith; did he? But he did the right thing. Jesus knew He wasn't going to be killed before He chose to lay down his life at the right time as directed by God the Father. Jesus was doing the works of His Father at the right time in the right way. Thomas was correct in a sense because it was the last trip to Judea.

 

Jesus statement that Lazarus' illness doesn't lead "to death" now is revealed to mean that the illness leads "through death" to resurrection.

 

John 11:17-22

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."

 

The first words out of Martha's mouth were an accusation. She was saying that my pain is your fault. If you had done what you should have I wouldn't be hurting like this. The second statement is that "I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you" is not necessarily a statement without accusation. I think you would have had to heard the tone to be sure of the meaning. But in context and based on what she said later it seems that it was really part of the accusation.

 

Martha essentially says, "Jesus if you had been here I wouldn't be hurting and I know God still gives you whatever you ask for, you don't have an excuse. The only reason I am hurting is because you didn't ask." She was surely aware of Jesus healing from a distance at a word. They surely heard from the messenger that Jesus said, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son." Well that was (in the natural) obviously not the case. And yet Jesus patiently spoke the truth to Martha because she was willing to listen and He did not react to the accusation.

 

John 11:23-

23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

 

Jesus was able to speak the truth to Martha and she could give intellectual assent to what he was saying but she had given up hope for Lazarus. Their culture had a doctrine that for 3 days the spirit would hang out around the body just in case there was some mistake. It had been 4 days. For Martha, all hope was gone and it was Jesus' fault. She was disappointed in Him but she was still a believer and would "soldier on".

 

Mary was so wrapped up in sorrow that she was still back in the house.

 

John 11:28-37

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"

 

Once again Jesus was accused of being the cause of her pain and in this case Mary couldn't even be consoled. He couldn't even speak the truth into her life as he had been able to with Martha. Mary was so lost in despair that she couldn't even receive the word of truth.

 

Jesus was deeply hurt because of the situation. Friends he loved blamed him for their pain and He had acted exactly as He should have. Martha was (true to the other scripture stories) very practical and came to discuss it with Him but didn't get the answer into her heart. Mary didn't come out to meet him and, when he asked for her, she came, accused him of failing her, and collapsed at his feet in grief. He hadn't done anything wrong. He left for Bethany when he was supposed to. He arrived in Bethany when he was supposed to. Lazarus was supposed to die.

 

Jesus was deeply moved and troubled in His spirit and He wept. Well of course He wept. The amazing thing is that He didn't yell at the faithless and unhearing best friends he had. This is not the same pain of rejection by the unbelievers that occurred at the Cross. This is a rejection by believers because they believed that Jesus had failed them. On a human level this is deeply moving and troubling.

 

The level of self control we see in Jesus is amazing to me. He only shared the truth. He didn't damage relationships by saying something stupid. I wonder if it is a lesson that sinful man can ever learn. To turn the other cheek and keep your mouth shut. Can we ever value friends so highly that when you can't speak into their lives you'll stop speaking and not return abuse for abuse? When they are wrong?

 

John 11:38-44

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

 

Jesus didn't speak one word out of time. He knew when to speak the word of truth, like he did with Martha even when it was not received; he knew when to keep silent, like he did with Mary. That didn't isolate him from the pain of rejection, love would not provide for that. Love (Agape) enables you to love in a situation that is painful. It never fails because of its strength not because it helps you avoid the trial. God's love enables you to lay down your life, it certainly won't help you avoid laying it down. God's love makes it possible for you to turn the other cheek; it won't help you avoid getting slapped in the first place. Love made Jesus more susceptible to the pain of rejection and unjust criticism not less. But He never sinned. Jesus was angry but he didn't sin.

 

There is a part of me that would have wanted to tell them all off, either before or after raising Lazarus I don't know. But I sure would have wanted to straighten them all out. Why? for my flesh's sake. Have you ever daydreamed saying, "what I should have said is"? Well Jesus never did that. We feed our pride with our daydreams.

 

It is probable that they could smell Lazarus as they approached the tomb because the stone wouldn't seal that tightly. Lazarus had not been embalmed. The confusion around Jesus' statements and the despair of the sisters apparently had prevented it until it was too late. He had been dead four days; he did smell because he was decaying.

 

Jesus wanted it to be clear that it was his relationship with God that made this miracle possible. He didn't want any Pharisee to be able to say that he did it by the power of the devil.
This is the first time recorded in scripture that Jesus shouted. The only other time he would shout would be on the cross. Here it is a testimony to his power and for the crowd that he didn't need some magic spell or special words, he just said "Lazarus, come out!"

 

Lazarus is a picture of the resurrection that occurs in our salvation and not the final resurrection that will occur at the last trumpet. The picture of new believers coming into the Church and needing help with the grave clothes is true. Those who are new in Christ need help to see and identify those stinking grave clothes that are to be put off as you put on clothes of righteousness. However, as you grow in Christ then you will see and help remove those parts of your past life and practice that smell of death and rottenness. You'd never cling to anything like that.

 

Lessons from Jesus' Response to Martha and Mary:

    Consider the validity of the criticism. Jesus didn't need to do this but we do. Don't even respond right away if you want to pray about it later. Just say thanks and move on. But even something that you have prayed through before may be important to consider. God has to bring us around to the same issue sometimes over and over before we work through it.

 

    Not Respond with Anger. It is OK to repeat the criticism to the one who has brought it to your attention. This lets them know you heard what they said and then it also lets them hear what they said. Then at least say you'll consider it and possibly say you'll try to change.

 

    Reply only with the Truth. It may be necessary for you to explain your point of view. If the other person is too upset to hear it then you should wait until later to explain your point of view. You should really guard against making excuses at this point. This is the point at which you can avoid hearing what God is saying if you aren't careful and if you are good with excuses. Be sure to ask God if your version of the truth is just an excuse you are making up.

 

    Never Seek Revenge. Pray for someone who has attacked you unfairly. If you are really in the right then they are in danger so pray for them. God showed you Grace. You show them Grace. If you seek revenge then you are in God's way at best and, if you are in the wrong, may be setting yourself up for a big trial.

John’s Gospel – Lesson 15

Today we need to learn a little bit about shepherding and sheep. I've thought that the following portion of Scripture was interesting for a while because Jesus shows up in multiple places in His allegory.

 

John 10:1-6

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 

The sheepfold was a defensive structure to protect the sheep. The analogy that Jesus is developing makes sense because of the production practices used in that day. Sheep lack defenses and the shepherds took care of the sheep. In this picture, there are no electric fences and no dogs that either look like sheep or help you move the sheep. There were two places to have sheepfolds. First there was often a sheepfold attached to the house but that is not what is in view in Jesus' teaching. Secondly, there were relatively large stone structures located out in the pastureland. These structures were shared among shepherds with multiple flocks in the same sheepfold at night during the grazing season. The door was guarded and they had to guard the perimeter of the sheepfold to keep thieves from stealing sheep. Stealing food was common and this was where the "food" was.

 

The sheep needed to eat and when it was time, the shepherd would have the gate opened and call his sheep. The sheep would only respond to the correct shepherd. Sheep are dumb and smell bad but they do bond to a shepherd and they don't respond well to novel situations or new shepherds. They listen to the voice. So note the door, the gatekeeper, the shepherd, and the voice in relation to the sheep. However, the Jews of His day didn't understand how what Jesus was saying was relevant in a spiritual sense. Jesus needed to explain the significance of this example.

 

John 10:7-13

So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

 

In His explanation then we see Jesus in multiple places. He is both the door and the shepherd. God the Father is the "Gatekeeper". God the Son is the door. This is confirmed by other Scripture telling us that Jesus is the "Way" (John 14:6) and by Jesus telling us to, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14). Right after this saying in Matthew, Jesus tells us that there will be those who are in the flock but not of the flock and are wolves rather than sheep. This precedes His frightening statement about those who say they have done great things for Christ but have come over the wall rather than through the Gate and will not be with us in eternity.

 

Being the "Way" or "Gate" is intimately tied to the Cross. It is a once and for all time payment for our sins because we can't pay. It is also that application of Christ's perfect obedience for our righteousness so that we may stand forgiven and righteous before God's judgment. So the "Gate" is tied to Christ's actions here on earth. His perfect life and sacrifice are in view as the "Way" in which we are atoned for or become "at one" (atone) with God and have peace with God. This grace or undeserved blessing is the only way to have peace with God. Without being dogmatic about it, I'd like to use the "Gate" as Jesus in humanity today. This is only generally because, as we will see, there is no separation in Him but I think we can see why He stands in two places in this example.

 

Jesus is also the Good Shepherd. He is a shepherd who focuses on the sheep in contrast to the thieves and hired servants who either want to take and destroy or simply abandon the sheep when they are under attack. This is not just a New Testament picture (as here in John) but is of course an Old Testament picture of God (For God as the Shepherd of His people, see Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps. 23:1; 28:9; 78:52; 80:1; Is. 40:11; Jer. 31:10; Ezek. 34:11–16. A prophecy in Zech. 13:7 concerning "the Shepherd" of Israel was applied by Jesus to Himself in Matt. 26:31).

 

So today I'd like to think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd referring to Jesus in His divinity. The reason why I'd caution against trying to make this dogma is that this imagery is so rich that you should spend time thinking about it in other ways. The Lamb of God is the Good Shepherd and He is the Gate and He is the Sacrificial Lamb and through Him all things were created that were created (including all sheep, shepherds, and gates). It is a useful way to think and understand this passage but Scripture is deep on the Person and Work of Christ.

 

Think of His voice and His sheep hearing it as the Holy Spirit. In that case we have a complete picture of the actions of God the Father, God the Son as both human and divine, and God the Holy Spirit sent to save the lost.

 

My work has brought me in contact with bad shepherds and good shepherds. In Indonesia, there was no history of shepherding in the people we were working with. People who were gardeners were relocated from Java to Sumatra and given too little land. We were trying to introduce sheep so that they could feed themselves. We had a herd and would give a few sheep and they would pay back the sheep from the offspring. We hired men from the native population to take care of our herd. They liked to show up and get the sheep out by 10 am and put them away about 3 pm so they could get home early. The sheep didn't get enough grazing time but the local employees were more concerned with their schedule than the sheep. It was tough. I remember once we found the herd headed off the property because one of the shepherds forgot his lunch and went back to get it. He just left the sheep. No wolves to deal with but plenty of hungry people who would simply grab one and eat it.

 

In contrast, I worked in France. In France the shepherds had thousands of years of shepherding experience. The fathers taught the sons the trade. They would wake up and think of the needs of the sheep. They had the whole day planned and they knew where the best pastures were and they would lead the flock to the best places and change places and pasture to keep them eating and give them rest. They would save the best for last and try to bring them back home near sundown with as full a belly as possible. The shepherd's schedule was all about the sheep's needs. The contrast with the Indonesians was like night and day.

 

You can be so thankful that your shepherd thinks of your needs. Think of the following verses from 139 in the context of the Good Shepherd.

 

Psalm 139:

1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

3 You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

5 You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

…

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

 

It is mind boggling that our Shepherd has such deep knowledge of us and has identified with us. Meditating on this degree of care and knowledge of our needs should bring us faith and confidence in our Savior.

 

John 10:14-18

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."

 

Jesus makes a particular doctrine clear at this point that we mentioned a few weeks ago. I generally call it "Specific Atonement" but it is also "Definite Redemption". As I said last time, Jesus didn't die with just a hope that someone would respond to His call. He knows His own and when the voice of God in the Holy Spirit enlivens our dead hearts then we respond to the Shepherd. You are (at least most of you) the sheep from another fold. The move of the Holy Spirit in the gentiles was a mystery and that we would become the Offspring of Abraham by the power of God.

Jesus is likely speaking directly to more than one of those who would be directly responsible for His death. He makes the point that He lays down His life for the sheep. Without this action we would have no "Gate" and this is the will of the Father. Christ has the authority to lay His life down and take it up again.

 

John 10:19-21

There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, "He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?" Others said, "These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

 

So His words brought division because only the Sheep responded positively. The others could not "hear" what He was saying.

 

John 10:22-31

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

 

This occurred during Hanukkah so we are reading about what happened in December during the last year of Jesus' ministry.

 

It is a little hard to have much sympathy for people who take up stones to kill Christ for telling them that He is the Christ when they asked Him to tell them plainly if He was the Christ. Sin is a overwhelming thing. Jesus points back to the signs which were given to validate His ministry to those who were questioning Him. Here we also have the doctrine of the Preservation of the Saints. It is the root of our eternal security to realize that it is God holding our hands and not we ourselves. The Preservation of the Saints is a testimony of God's faithfulness and not our faithfulness. When you were going somewhere and your father said, "hold my hand" then was it your strength or his that made that a safe thing to do? God gets all the glory for our assurance of salvation.

 

John 10:32-39

Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

 

Jesus is using an argument with a "least" to "greatest" example here. First, He draws them back to the signs. They reject the signs and accuse Him of blasphemy so He points back to what seems to be a legal example of judges functioning to deliver the word of God (Psalm 82:8, Elohiym) being called gods (the least) to the example of God's Anointed One (the greatest) being criticized for using the term "Son of God". He also again points at the works as signs that should make them stop and think long enough to see that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. But sin blinds them and Jesus withdraws.

 

John 10:40-42

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true." 42 And many believed in him there.

 

So, for the sheep, the witness of John, the signs given by God, and the voice of their Shepherd was sufficient and the foundation began to be built in this last winter of Christ on earth.