14 John – Loving Jesus

By Richard

In John 14: 23 & 24, loving Jesus means following his teaching. Which I guess means putting ourselves in a place where we can learn and practice his teaching. Reading the bible and hearing the preaching of the word (where we can learn his teaching) and being part of a Christ-centred church community (where we can practice his teaching) are important ways that we can love Jesus.

14 John - Answered prayer

By Richard

There’s a great truth to answered prayer found in John 14. Jesus says that we don’t need more “faith”, but simply this, “From now on” says Jesus, "Whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I’m doing, I’ll do it!” (John 14: 11-14).

The key to answered prayer is to twofold. Get to know Jesus and request things in prayer that are in line with who Jesus is. Secondly, try to discover what Jesus is doing in and around you and join with what he’s doing in prayer. Quite simple! Very profound!

14 John – The Way the Truth and the Life

By Richard

Jesus makes this amazing claim that he is the way, the truth and the life. People get upset about the exclusiveness of the claim. “Don’t all roads lead to God” they exclaim. Maybe! But, Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that if they have seen Jesus they’ve seen God. Jesus equals God. When it comes to God, Jesus is both the journey and the destination. Jesus doesn’t claim to be solely a prophet or a good teacher. He says that he is God. If Jesus is God then he can make the exclusive claim. In addition, if all religions somehow lead towards God then the will, eventually, lead to Jesus.

14 John – Room for You

By Richard

John 14 starts with this amazing truth. Jesus tells his disciples that there are plenty of rooms in God’s house. Not only are there plenty of rooms, we are told that Jesus is going to heaven in order to get our rooms ready and will one day return and take us home. I know it’s a bit clichéd, but it’s worth enjoying this thought. I’ve heard it said that God took 6 days to make the universe - so just imagine how great heaven will be as Jesus has been getting it ready for us for the last 2000 years. I for one am looking forward to seeing my room!

13 John – Recognising a Christian

By Richard

How we recognise a follower of Christ. Simple, by the way (s)he loves other believers.

John 13: 35-35 says this, “Let me give you a new command. Love one another. In the same way I have loved you love one another. This is how everyone recognises that you are my disciples – when they see the love that you have for each other.”

It’s also true that this is one command from Jesus that you cannot fulfil outside of being part of the church community. It is impossible to love if you don’t have a community to love.

13 John – Please Note

By Richard

Jesus has a “please note” in John 13: 20. He says, “Make sure that you get this right: Receiving someone I send is the same as receiving me, just as receiving me is the same as receiving the one who sent me.” (the Message).

Jesus tells us to take note. There’s something important being said here. Working backwards! Jesus tells his disciples that if they receive Jesus they receive God. There is a unity between Jesus and God. But Jesus tells us to note that if we receive his messengers we receive Jesus. In the immediate context the Apostles became his messengers. They were the “sent ones” of Jesus and we need to take their words seriously as Jesus is saying they are speaking his very words.

13 John – How to be a good Christian

By Richard

What a complicated set of rules we’ve made out of the idea surrounding being a good Christian. In reality Jesus teaches us a simple yet profound truth in John 13. Before the meal Jesus, the master of the universe, becomes the “slave” and washes the feet of his disciples (foot washing was only reserved for the lowest servant in a household). He does this to show the full extent of his love and establish a precedent for servant leadership. J esus wants to leave the disciples with a simple principle for living. “What I’ve done, you do…If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it – and live a blessed life” (Parts John 13: 12-17, the Message).

The simple principle for being a good Christian is this; get to know Jesus and copy him. When we do we’ll experience a blessed life. Simple to understand, but something challenging and profound to practice!

12 John - God’s approval

By Richard

We have this sad commentary in John 12: 42-43 that in fact many of the Jewish leaders did believe in Jesus, but because they were afraid of being thrown out of the synagogues and the temple they did not come out into the open about it. John writes, “When push came to shove they cared more for human approval than for God’s glory.”

I think that we’ll be tested from time to time as to whether God’s glory or human approval is more important. It’s more challenging than we might expect, as it breaks us open and reveals what we are truly like on the inside.

12 John - Light shining through

By Richard

Jesus wants us to believe that he is the light of the world. He wants us to receive his light. He wants his light to shine through us to the world around us. God wants our lives to be alight with Jesus. Our world needs light and Jesus needs people who will deeply welcome his light so that they can brightly shine out Jesus to the world.

12 John – Follow Jesus

By Richard

A Christian is a Christ follower (literally). Jesus says in John 12: 26 that he wants followers who’ll be ready, at any minute, to serve him. But in order to serve him, at a moments notice, we have to be, “where [he’s] at”. Close enough to hear his voice. Ready enough to respond immediately.

12 John – Reckless Love

By Richard

I love the way that the Message phrases John 12: 22-25. Jesus speaks about how a grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die in order for it to germinate, grow, and produce a harvest many times over. Jesus says that if we hold onto life we’ll loose it, but if we die to self we’ll gain life eternal. Jesus says, “If you let [life] go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.” (John 12: 25).

I am inspired by the idea of “reckless love”. It carries the idea of being generous and unrelenting in our love for God and others. Our world badly needs some “reckless” lovers.

12 John – The Lamb is chosen

By Richard

In understanding triumphal entry into Jerusalem, it’s helpful to set a date for Christ’s death.

The Jewish calendar is not the same as the western calendar. It follows a lunar cycle and has 360 days in the year and the Passover is not always on the same day. Aligning the western and Jewish calendar the Passover (15 Nissan) starts on a Friday in AD 30, AD 33. The start of the Passover on Friday 3rd April AD 33 is most widely accepted as the date for Christ’s death.

John tells us that Jesus went to Bethany 6 days before the Passover and the following day entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Jesus entered Jerusalem 5 days before the Passover. Which is also 10 Nissan (30 Mar) the day that the Passover lambs are chosen. The Lamb of God is symbolically chosen for his death as he enters Jerusalem on a donkey.

Daniel Prophecies, in Daniel 9, that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem 69 x 7 Jewish years (that’s 173.855 days) after the edict by Artaxerxes to restore and rebuild Jerusalem which took place on Nissan 1, 444 BC. If you crunch the numbers needed to align it with a western calendar it ends up being the 30 Mar, AD 33. Added to this the people sing “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. They’re singing Psalm 118, a song which the Jews traditionally sung at the Passover, but it’s also a Messianic Psalm that talks about the death and resurrection of the Messiah.

There's a lot going on as Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

11 John - Resurrection Sandwich

By Richard

If you read John’s Gospel there is a resurrection sandwich. The resurrection of Lazarus becomes the deciding factor among the envious religious leaders to put Jesus to death. From the raising of Lazarus the ball starts rolling, faster and faster, towards the cross. Jesus dies, is buried and 3 days later is raised to life. The death and burial of Jesus is sandwiched between these two resurrections.

11 John - Life beyond Death

By Richard

Writing the last blog it suddenly struck me that Lazarus is proof that we don’t die (our bodies just stop living). I’ve tended to focus on Jesus and his declaration to be the “resurrection and the life.” But, Jesus is also demonstrating that if we are friends with him and follow him we will continue to live even though we die (from John 11:25).

Lazarus’ body was dead for four days, but he comes back to life fully restored. One of the implications from his resurrection is that while his body was dead he was still living somewhere else. I’d love to have been at Bethany and asked Lazarus what had been up during the 4 days that his body was rotting in the grave.

11 John – The Lazarus Factor

The Lazarus Factor

There’s definiteness to Jesus’ actions in John 11. He’s informed that his dear friend Lazarus is gravely ill (no pun intended). We are told that from the disciples perspective Jesus seems to “waste time” and finally arrives at Bethany way late, after Lazarus has been dead for four days. They are afraid to open the tomb because of the stench.

He’s waiting until his friend is stiff from rigor mortis. He’s waiting until Lazarus is getting comfortabletelling stories in heaven. He’s waiting until the onlookers think “impossible.” He’s waiting until he can prove, beyond doubt, that he is, “the Resurrection and the life”. He’s waiting until we can be convinced that if we believes in him will live, even though we die. He’s deliberately waiting to resurrect Lazarus, for a moment when we will see beyond doubt, and believe, and put our faith in him.

Will you believe Jesus and live?

10 John - Believing the Old Testament

By Richard

I am amazed at how many so called Christ followers don’t believe the Old Testament (or much of it). Jesus quotes plentifully from the OT and talks about many of the characters and places as if they were real. Then in John 10:34 we have this amazing statement. Jesus tells the crowds that, “Scripture doesn’t lie!” (The Message)

Jesus has actually brought us to one of those CS Lewis junctions of choice. He’s either right or he’s wrong. If Jesus is right then we need to humble ourselves before God’s word and take the scriptures very seriously. If he is not right we must decide whether he’s a liar (which would not make him a Lord worth following) or misinformed (in which case we’d need to ask ourselves if he’s really the God he claims to be).

He’s backed us into a corner and our view of Scripture reveals what we think about Jesus. If Scripture is all true we must accept Jesus as God. If we believe that it’s not true then perhaps we should stop following this liar or madman or worse.

10 John – The Good Shepherd

By Richard

This is the well known passage about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. In its familiarity we must be careful not to miss some important points that Jesus is trying to make.

1. He’s the Good Shepherd:

The phrase “I am the Good Shepherd” is repeated twice, indicating emphasis. Jesus explains that in the goodness of his leading he is prepared to put our needs before his own and is willing to sacrifice himself for our good. We need to absorb the huge truth that Jesus puts us before himself. He’s on our side. He’s more than willing to die for us. We tend to view ourselves as being in “conflict” with God. I’m a sinner and God is highly displeased with me, and in quite a sulk about it too. My job is somehow to live this amazingly perfect life and then, just maybe, God will love me. NO, Jesus loves me as I am, a silly and often brainless sheep with a tendency to wander off. He longs to lead me with his gentle and cheerful voice. His focus is not on our weakness but on our safety and health. What a radically different picture of God than the one we normally have.

2. He’s the gate:

Jesus also says that he’s the gate to eternal life. He’s the way through which we gain access to the safety of the sheepfold. This is one of those passages that should cause us to rethink our ideas on hell. We’re invited to hear Christ’s voice, follow him and enter into the safety of the sheepfold. Hell is staying where we are. Out in the cold. Out in the open. Vulnerable to the “Destroyer and thief” that will destroy all those who are not safely held by God.

Jesus’ strong point to the Jews is that this amazing offer of salvation was there for the taking, but they must choose to enter God’s kingdom or stay alone in the field. But the choice is not neutral. Christ has shown us by word and action that hs is God. He defeated the dark wolf on the cross. He lovingly and gently calls, but never demands that we come.

How tragic, how great the destruction, for those who fail to hear his voice and follow the Good Shepherd through the gate and into the safely of the sheepfold.

09 John - Looking Forward

By Richard

In John 9, Jesus and his disciples come across a man born blind from birth. The debate among the disciples becomes what sin did he, or his parents, commit to cause this to happen. Jesus points them in a totally different direction. Don’t look back for who to blame, “Look instead for what God can do!” (John 9:3, the Message). In the story the blind man is healed and a large portion of John 9 is given over to his profound testimony and bold responses before the religious leaders, who were tearing him and his family apart. Out of his blindness overflows the glory of God.

There is a guiding principle here. Even when our history may have hurt us we still need to keep a strong forward focus, looking ahead for what God can do. A friend of mine who had anorexia and ended up in hospital prayed this simple prayer every day, "God don't waste my sorrows." She ended up writing a book called Puppet on a String about her faith and experience with an eating disorder. She has helped many common sufferers find faith in Jesus and healing from their condition. Out of her sorrows overflowed the glory of God.

Let's keep looking forward for what God is and can do!

08 John - Careful What You Believe

By Richard

In John 8, the crowd makes a big deal about the fact that they are “Abraham’s children.” Jesus point’s out, however, that if they really were his children they would accept him. They are, in fact, children of the Devil, who, “Fills the world with his lies.” (from John 8: 42-47, the Message)

Jesus is telling us that we don’t live in a neutral world. The Devil is filling up the world with lies. From the context, in John 8, anything that does not accept that Jesus is God is one of these lies that are filling the earth

08 John - Beyond the Horizon

By Richard

In John 8, Jesus accuses the crowd of being too, “tied down to the mundane… [They] live in terms of what they can see and touch.” Jesus on the other hand is, “in touch with what is beyond their horizons.”

This is actually a big challenge for us because we tend to focus on what we can see and touch. Yet the bible describes those with faith as people who focus on a invisible and far greater reality - a God who exists beyond the horizons of our physical world.

07 John – The Ultimate Challenge

By Richard

I find these words of Jesus challenging because they strike at the core of who we are. “A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honour the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality.” (John 7: 16-19, the Message)

Jesus leaves his followers with a profound challenge. Are we ultimately seeking to honour Christ or ourselves?

07 John – Jesus Causes a Reaction

By Richard

Anne Rice, the author of numerous novels about vampires eventually ended up becoming a Christ follower. One of the things that convinced her of Jesus reality was that as she researched all she could about Jesus over several years she discovered that many scholars treated Jesus with a distain that was unparalleled in any other historical person. Many made snide and unfair comments about Jesus. The fact that Jesus caused a reaction helped her believe that he was who he said he was.

Jesus tells his brothers, “The world has nothing against you, but it’s up in arms against me. It’s against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions.” (John 7: 6-8, the Message).

Jesus is clear. He’s under no illusion. He causes a reaction.

06 John - Stop Looking and Start Cooking

By Richard

In John 6 we have some strong and unusual words from Jesus. He speaks to the crowds about eating and drinking his flesh and blood. He says, “My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink”. Obviously some were really confused as John tells us that many of his disciples found this a “tough teaching to swallow” and deserted Jesus.

But this is the point that Jesus is trying to make. “By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you.” (John 6: 53-58, the Message)

In updated language Jesus is sort of saying this.

When he says eat my flesh! I think he’s saying that we should stop looking at the glossy pictures in recipe books. We should stop simply sniffing heavenly aromas. Jesus is saying we should eat the meal. We should feed on Jesus. We should allow his life and ours to become one. We should welcome Jesus into the very core of our being. His life, like real, food should become the source of energy and nutrition for our very DNA.

When he says drink my blood! I think he’s saying that we should not be like a wine taster that examines the colour and aroma and takes a sip only to spit it out again. Jesus wants us to drink him. He wants to be like wine that warms our heart. He wants to be like alcohol that goes to our head. He wants to make us a little tipsy in our relationship with him. Like wine he wants to give us joy.

He’s saying to us that when we come to read our bible or attend a Mountainview gathering that he doesn’t want us to take a little nibble or a tiny sip that we spit out on the floor during the time of refreshments. He doesn’t want us suffer a spiritual eating disorder. He doesn’t want us to go on a low calorie spiritual diet. He wants us to be big eaters and heavy drinkers when it comes to Jesus. Jesus wants his life to become one with our life, every day of the week, every hour of the day, every minute of the hour, every second of the minute. He wants his life and our life to become one, truly one.

06 John - The Pattern of Salvation

By Richard

Jesus says to the crowds, “Anyone who sees the son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns himself with will enter real and eternal life. My part is to put them on their feet, alive and whole at the completion of time.” (John 6: 40, the Message)

There is a pattern to salvation here

1. We have to see Jesus

2. We have to trust Jesus (who he is and what he does)

3. We have to align ourselves with Jesus (deny ourselves and follow him)

4. Allow Jesus to complete our faith (put us on our feet)

5. The goal - to be alive and whole in Christ.

Salvation is clearly a broader concept in the NT It includes both a point and a process. Seeing and trusting in Jesus is just the first step. There is an aligning of our lives with Jesus and an invitation for Jesus to complete our salvation. Hebrews 12 says that Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith.

Will we press into this broader picture of salvation?

06 John - The Triple Whammy

By Richard

In John 6: 16-21 we find the disciples out in the middle of the lake. We are told they were, “About three or four miles out”. It had gotten dark and the wind had come up. Jesus comes walking on the water and climbs into the boat. Now we normally focus on the miracle of walking on the water, but there are actually 2 more miracles. We read that, “In no time they reached land, the exact spot where they were headed.” (John 6: 21, the Message).

John is communicating some extra mysteries here. The boat reached land in an unusually quick time and, even though it was dark, they hit land at exactly the right spot. We must not read our modern prejudices into the story. These were fishermen who knew the lake like the back of their hand. Lake Galilee is 7 miles wide and 13 miles long – they are telling us that they were bang in the middle of the lake.

If you have ever sailed at night, even with the twinkle of lights from houses and flashes from beacons it’s still disorientating and hard to know exactly where you are. I used to live up country in Africa and there were times we lived without electricity. Believe me, without lights of any kind, and especially when there was no moon, it was sometimes so dark you could not even see your hand in front of your face. The disciples are telling us that in the blackness of first century Palestine, in the middle of the lake, they hit land “immediately” and “just at the right spot”.

These verses speak against the anti-super-naturalists who seek to offer ration explanations – like Jesus walked on shallow part of the lake, or that the lake was frozen. Walking on water was just part of their surprise. Four miles covered in an instant. Hitting their destination at exactly the right spot in the darkness of night. To the disciples it was a triple whammy of miracles.

06 John – Waste Not

By Richard

At the end of the feeding of the 5000 Jesus asks his disciples to, “Gather up the leftovers so nothing is wasted.” (John 6: 12, the Message). Someone was telling me recently that something like 25% of all the food sold in the UK is wasted. Not only did it shock me, I think a verse like this reminds us that careful management of our resources, to avoid waste, is part of the biblical teaching. Let’s be careful about using our resources wisely.

06 John – Faith Stretching:

By Richard

Jesus asked Philip to think up a plan to feed a crowd of 5000 men. We read that he asked this deliberately so that he could stretch Phillips faith. That got me thinking. Am I putting myself in a place that stretches my faith? Am I putting the people I lead in a place that stretches their faith?

05 John - Judgement

By Richard

I’d never really though of judgement this way, but at the end of John 5 Jesus says something very interesting. Jesus basically says to the crowd. “I’m not even going to have to judge because you’ll judge yourself. The fact that you don’t believe in me proves that you don’t take God’s word as seriously as you claim. “

So perhaps in a way Jesus doesn’t become so much a judge as a mirror that shows us what we are really like. Salvation is asking God to show us what we are like and crying save me from myself. Judgement is God showing us what we are really like and us crying “Judge me!”

05 John – Jesus is God

By Richrd

Jesus reminds the crowds in John 5: 34-38 that he did not come to earth to get the popularity vote. No, he is God no matter what people think. He gives 4 pieces of evidence to his claim.

The Tasks:

“As I go about completing them they confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me”. The tasks include the healing of a crippled man (this has just happened and was one of the reasons that Jesus was addressing the crowd.). The miracles confirm that Jesus is God and are not option extras for those believers who have the guts to believe in the supernatural.

John the Baptist:

“A torch blazing and bright.” John was the promised messenger that would prepare the way for God.

The Voice:

God audibly spoke from heaven at Jesus’ Baptism, confirming that Jesus was his son. Jesus said to the crowd. “The Father confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice.” Many people are too busy thinking about x,y and z to stop and hear God’s voice.

The scriptures:

Jesus reminds the people that if they will just look carefully at the Old Testament they will find that it is all about Jesus. He says the, “Scriptures are all about me!”

In some ways this becomes an evangelism strategy for us:

1. Live lives that bear witness to Jesus (actions that affirm Jesus is God)

2. Proclaim the Gospel (like John the Baptist we a messengers preparing the way for God

3. Show people from Scriptures the reality of Jesus (The Old and New testament is all about Jesus)

4. Ask people to quieten their hearts long enough to hear the voice of God. (the voice that tells us Jesus in the one)

05 John - Working 24-7

By Richard

Jesus reminds the religious leaders, who were attacking him for healing on the Sabbath that God, “My father is working straight through, even on the Sabbath. So am I.” (John 5:17, the Message).

Not only does Jesus clearly tells us that God is always at work, but he’s clearly putting himself on par with God. The Jews understood this as we read they tried to kill him. Apart from it hinting at Jesus divinity, these verses struck a chord with me that rest is something that reminds us that God is God and we are not.

05 John - Jesus Knows

By Richard

At the beginning of John 5 there is a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. John tells us that Jesus, “Knew how long he’d been there!” (John 5:6, the Message).

Our lives may not be so easy, but let’s take comfort from the fact that Jesus knows and cares deeply. Perhaps we’ve been called to patiently endure over the years, waiting for the time when our healing will glorify Jesus. Perhaps our day is coming soon when Jesus says to us, “I knew and I cared, now be well!”