I sat here and puzzled a few moments over why John tells us about the calling of Philip and Nathanael when he doesn't include the rest of the disciples. It makes sense that he would tell us about how Peter came to know Jesus, considering the role Peter would play in establishing the infant church. He does not go into the calling of the other disciples, except for Philip and Nathanael. Why?
Two reasons, I think.
First, because of Nathanael's response to Jesus. And second, because of Jesus' reply back to Nathanael.
When Philip goes to find his friend Nathanael, he doesn't say (like Andrew) "Come, we have found the Messiah." No, he says very specifically, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
What does this tell us? Nathanael didn't just know the prophecies about Messiah - passed down from father to son in any good Jewish family. He had actively studied the Law and the Prophets for himself. Jesus himself confirms this when Nathanael asks "How do you know me?" and Jesus replies "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." A true Israelite - one who studied the Scriptures and took them to heart, lived by them.
But even though Nathanael was well read on the Torah, how does he answer Philip's statement? With disbelief! "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Even one who knew the Scriptures backwards and forwards was not expecting Messiah to come in the way that Jesus came.
What makes Nathanael believe? When Jesus tells him that he saw him under the fig tree before Philip even went to fetch him. You can almost hear the wheels turning in Nathanael's head as he processes this, and then his eyes get wide and his jaw drops and he realizes both Who is talking to him and the full implications of it.
"Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Why does he use both terms? Why not just one? Because the Jews were not looking for their Messiah to be anything but a man, a good man, a righteous man - but just a man, like King David. For the second time in John's gospel, he emphasizes that those who encountered the living Jesus with open eyes - immediately recognized Him as not just Messiah, but the Son of God.
I like to think that the next thing Jesus said is said with rueful amusement...."You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." (As in, I saw you before Philip went to get you and you're impressed by that? Boy have you got a lot of surprises in store for you!) And then he gives him a glimpse into what he will be witness to.
"I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
John's story abruptly ends there. I have to think it's because at that point all the disciples were utterly speechless. I think I would have been.
And you know, that's the thing. When I encountered the living Jesus, in his Word, through His people, then at work in my own heart - I was struck speechless. Sometimes I think we Christians spend too much time talking at people about Jesus, instead of showing them and bringing them to Jesus - like Andrew and Philip did.
God help me to remove this mask and let people see Jesus, not me.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
John 1: 35-42
I find it interesting that the first thing Jesus says to Andrew and the other (unnamed but possibly John himself) disciple is "What do you want?"
I mean, it's obvious isn't it? Even if you're not God in the flesh. If someone starts following you around presumably they want to talk to you, hear what you have to say, find out more about you. But Jesus, who "knew what was in a man" would have known everything about them. And still he asks them. Why?
I believe he asks them so that they think about their motives. I even hear the question phrased differently to cover all bases:
What do you want?
What do you want?
What do you want?
What do you want?
As in:
Are you following me for the novelty of it?
Do you know why you want to follow me?
What's you're motivation behind this?
Look deep into your heart - what do you really want?
I think the question covers all that and more - Jesus knows what they want, but he wants them to know what their motivation is.
And then, when Andrew fetches his brother to introduce him to Jesus, Jesus summarizes their whole relationship in one sentence.
"You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas"
I know who you are. I know where you come from. I also know that you will not stay in that place. I see who you really are inside, and who you will become.
I mean, it's obvious isn't it? Even if you're not God in the flesh. If someone starts following you around presumably they want to talk to you, hear what you have to say, find out more about you. But Jesus, who "knew what was in a man" would have known everything about them. And still he asks them. Why?
I believe he asks them so that they think about their motives. I even hear the question phrased differently to cover all bases:
What do you want?
What do you want?
What do you want?
What do you want?
As in:
Are you following me for the novelty of it?
Do you know why you want to follow me?
What's you're motivation behind this?
Look deep into your heart - what do you really want?
I think the question covers all that and more - Jesus knows what they want, but he wants them to know what their motivation is.
And then, when Andrew fetches his brother to introduce him to Jesus, Jesus summarizes their whole relationship in one sentence.
"You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas"
I know who you are. I know where you come from. I also know that you will not stay in that place. I see who you really are inside, and who you will become.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
John 1: 29-34
One of the things I've been doing lately that helps me a lot with passages like this that I have read over and over is to try to imagine what the 1st century Israelites actually heard (as opposed to what I with my 21st century mind hear).
John the Baptist announces to everyone present "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" when he sees Jesus approaching. If you've grown up in the church, this is a very familiar title used when talking about Jesus. But it would have been an unfamiliar and possibly puzzling phrase to the ears of the 1st century Jews.
They were very familiar with the sacrifice of a lamb as a sin offering. The law of Moses lays out in great detail all the many occasions where the sacrifice of a lamb (or other animal) is required as an act of worship as a sin offering, purification offering, etc. All of it stemming from the very first sacrifice of lambs during the very first Passover - when the angel of death, sent by God to slay all the Egyptians' firstborn, passed over the Israelites because they had smeared the blood of the sacrificed lamb on their door posts.
What on earth does this phrase "Lamb of God" mean, anyway? Remember, Jesus death on the cross was a future event at this point.
He then says (referring to seeing the Holy Spirit rest upon Jesus at His baptism) "I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God". Now, the thing is, the Jews were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their Messiah. But they expected the Messiah to be a very powerful human deliverer-king. One who would restore the Israelites proper place in the world, punish their enemies, and ensure peace and safety for them all. Someone along the lines of another David or Solomon. There is no direct reference in the Jewish Scriptures (the Torah, and the Psalms and Prophets) that Messiah will be the son of God.
John the Baptist's declaration must have been nothing less than shocking.
God had left the Jewish people hints, but only those with eyes to see would recognize Jesus for who He really was.
John the Baptist announces to everyone present "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" when he sees Jesus approaching. If you've grown up in the church, this is a very familiar title used when talking about Jesus. But it would have been an unfamiliar and possibly puzzling phrase to the ears of the 1st century Jews.
They were very familiar with the sacrifice of a lamb as a sin offering. The law of Moses lays out in great detail all the many occasions where the sacrifice of a lamb (or other animal) is required as an act of worship as a sin offering, purification offering, etc. All of it stemming from the very first sacrifice of lambs during the very first Passover - when the angel of death, sent by God to slay all the Egyptians' firstborn, passed over the Israelites because they had smeared the blood of the sacrificed lamb on their door posts.
What on earth does this phrase "Lamb of God" mean, anyway? Remember, Jesus death on the cross was a future event at this point.
He then says (referring to seeing the Holy Spirit rest upon Jesus at His baptism) "I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God". Now, the thing is, the Jews were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their Messiah. But they expected the Messiah to be a very powerful human deliverer-king. One who would restore the Israelites proper place in the world, punish their enemies, and ensure peace and safety for them all. Someone along the lines of another David or Solomon. There is no direct reference in the Jewish Scriptures (the Torah, and the Psalms and Prophets) that Messiah will be the son of God.
John the Baptist's declaration must have been nothing less than shocking.
God had left the Jewish people hints, but only those with eyes to see would recognize Jesus for who He really was.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
John 1: 19-28
Having read this passage so many times and seen it as purely informational, this time I sat with it a while. I tried to picture it in my mind, and think about what is not said as much as what is.
So here's the scene. John the Baptist is in Bethany baptizing people in the Jordan river. Now, Bethany was a town outside of Jerusalem to the north, at least a few miles away. It wasn't just around the corner, and to get there through the rugged, mountainous countryside you would have had to walk, ride a donkey, or (if you were rich) possibly be carried in a litter. So it says that the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. Well, there were at least two of each - so at least 4 men. But since there's strength in numbers and they obviously saw John as some sort of threat, I'm sitting here imagining that possibly this whole troop of priests and Levites (who knows, maybe the whole Sandhedrin) and all their various assistants and hangers-on leading a stately parade over hill and dale to go confront John. And I can imagine that they would have dressed in their official capacity - wearing their priestly robes so there was no mistake they were there on business.
And this whole parade of priests, reeking of priestly authority descends on John, wearing his camel's hair robe (or less) tied up around his knees, standing in the Jordan river baptizing people. And when they get there they start peppering him with questions like he's an escaped criminal.
Now, these priests and Levites - they know the law of Moses inside and out. They've been schooled on it since they were young boys and they know every jot and tittle and the application thereof. They know every Scripture pertaining to the Messiah and can quote you chapter and verse. But they don't know what role John is playing, who he represents. Or maybe some of them do suspect, and are afraid of what it means for them.
John answers their questions by quoting their own Scripture at them - from Isaiah 40:3. That still doesn't answer their question so they ask him outright why (basically by whose authority) is he baptizing if he is not the Messiah or Elijah (who they believed would come back at the end of all days).
And when John tells them "I baptize with water, but among you stand one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie" they evidently clam up and have no more to say.
Here was the forerunner of the Messiah, whose Scriptures they knew inside and out, yet they didn't recognize him.
The text doesn't say what they did next. Maybe they all turned around and began trudging back to the city, muttering under their breath. Maybe they all closed their ears and their hearts that day. Or maybe some of them stayed behind, and watched and listened.
Perhaps Nicodemus had come along on this official trip and stayed to see Jesus revealed at His baptism.
This is just my own speculation. But what's very obvious is the religious leaders of the day did not recognize what God was doing, and they were not happy with the answers they received.
So here's the scene. John the Baptist is in Bethany baptizing people in the Jordan river. Now, Bethany was a town outside of Jerusalem to the north, at least a few miles away. It wasn't just around the corner, and to get there through the rugged, mountainous countryside you would have had to walk, ride a donkey, or (if you were rich) possibly be carried in a litter. So it says that the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. Well, there were at least two of each - so at least 4 men. But since there's strength in numbers and they obviously saw John as some sort of threat, I'm sitting here imagining that possibly this whole troop of priests and Levites (who knows, maybe the whole Sandhedrin) and all their various assistants and hangers-on leading a stately parade over hill and dale to go confront John. And I can imagine that they would have dressed in their official capacity - wearing their priestly robes so there was no mistake they were there on business.
And this whole parade of priests, reeking of priestly authority descends on John, wearing his camel's hair robe (or less) tied up around his knees, standing in the Jordan river baptizing people. And when they get there they start peppering him with questions like he's an escaped criminal.
Now, these priests and Levites - they know the law of Moses inside and out. They've been schooled on it since they were young boys and they know every jot and tittle and the application thereof. They know every Scripture pertaining to the Messiah and can quote you chapter and verse. But they don't know what role John is playing, who he represents. Or maybe some of them do suspect, and are afraid of what it means for them.
John answers their questions by quoting their own Scripture at them - from Isaiah 40:3. That still doesn't answer their question so they ask him outright why (basically by whose authority) is he baptizing if he is not the Messiah or Elijah (who they believed would come back at the end of all days).
And when John tells them "I baptize with water, but among you stand one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie" they evidently clam up and have no more to say.
Here was the forerunner of the Messiah, whose Scriptures they knew inside and out, yet they didn't recognize him.
The text doesn't say what they did next. Maybe they all turned around and began trudging back to the city, muttering under their breath. Maybe they all closed their ears and their hearts that day. Or maybe some of them stayed behind, and watched and listened.
Perhaps Nicodemus had come along on this official trip and stayed to see Jesus revealed at His baptism.
This is just my own speculation. But what's very obvious is the religious leaders of the day did not recognize what God was doing, and they were not happy with the answers they received.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
John 1: 14-18
Okay, I got a little stuck writing this post. Not because this passage isn't profound enough, but because I suffered from a case of the "ordinaries" yesterday. I want to be really profound when I write. But as my dear friend D always reminds me, "You're not God. Let God be God and you be you."
So here's what I kept pondering yesterday. I am totally hooked on the reality show, The Bachelor. Why, I have no idea. Because of it's romantic sounding premise or because it's usually a train wreck or some weird combination of both. I'm an arm chair observer of human nature. And while contemplating this passage what kept occurring to me is that what John was trying to get across was that Jesus was the Real Deal.
You think you've met glorious, beautiful, graceful, gracious people. But no matter how good they look, or how wonderful they appear - if you scratch below the surface, you get ugly. Sometimes, real ugly. Like the folks on The Bachelor. They all look beautiful, gracious, glamorous. And then they open their mouths. Or someone makes them mad. See just how gracious they are then.
But not Jesus. Not only did He have God's authority - the law which God gave to Moses - he had God's character. All of it. In fact, despite artists' renditions over the years, the Bible tells us that Jesus (outwardly) was nothing special to look at.
Isaiah 53:2 "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."
And yet people followed him in droves to hear him speak, to receive just a touch from him, to be present at a house where he'd been invited as a dinner guest. God writing with his finger his law on tablets of stone is more than a little awe-full and intimidating. God walking around with skin on was so popular 4 men once dug through a roof to get their paralyzed friend to him.
I need to keep reminding myself that God is both - the glory and the grace. Without the grace that God showed us in and through Jesus, all we have is more rules to follow. I have to remind myself (sometimes daily) that in his earthly lifetime, the only people Jesus got angry with were the hypocrites (like the Pharisees and the money changers). All who came to him in faith, received grace.
So here's what I kept pondering yesterday. I am totally hooked on the reality show, The Bachelor. Why, I have no idea. Because of it's romantic sounding premise or because it's usually a train wreck or some weird combination of both. I'm an arm chair observer of human nature. And while contemplating this passage what kept occurring to me is that what John was trying to get across was that Jesus was the Real Deal.
You think you've met glorious, beautiful, graceful, gracious people. But no matter how good they look, or how wonderful they appear - if you scratch below the surface, you get ugly. Sometimes, real ugly. Like the folks on The Bachelor. They all look beautiful, gracious, glamorous. And then they open their mouths. Or someone makes them mad. See just how gracious they are then.
But not Jesus. Not only did He have God's authority - the law which God gave to Moses - he had God's character. All of it. In fact, despite artists' renditions over the years, the Bible tells us that Jesus (outwardly) was nothing special to look at.
Isaiah 53:2 "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."
And yet people followed him in droves to hear him speak, to receive just a touch from him, to be present at a house where he'd been invited as a dinner guest. God writing with his finger his law on tablets of stone is more than a little awe-full and intimidating. God walking around with skin on was so popular 4 men once dug through a roof to get their paralyzed friend to him.
I need to keep reminding myself that God is both - the glory and the grace. Without the grace that God showed us in and through Jesus, all we have is more rules to follow. I have to remind myself (sometimes daily) that in his earthly lifetime, the only people Jesus got angry with were the hypocrites (like the Pharisees and the money changers). All who came to him in faith, received grace.
Friday, January 9, 2009
John 1: 1-13
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." John 1: 1-5
I turn to this passage often to remind me just how big our God is - how awesome, and all-encompassing, and indescribable. I learned a while back that John started his gospel with "In the beginning" on purpose to tie in with the "In the beginning" of Genesis 1:1. He wanted people (especially his own people, the Jews) to know that yes, he really meant that Jesus was THAT God. The I AM, (YWVH), the thrice Holy and indescribable one whose Name should not even be pronounced.
The original Greek for Word is Logos. LOGOS means "something said, including the thought, by implication a topic or subject of discourse, also reasoning." So in the beginning of all things, Jesus was that which was said (God spoke all of creation into existence), the subject, and all the thought and reasoning behind it. Well. That about sums it up. Case closed, let's go home.
So, that guy that John the Baptist baptized, who worked as a carpenter for a while, then went around teaching about God and performing miracles - yeah, you're looking at, talking to, eating with God Who Was In The Beginning who was also the thought and reasoning behind everything that was created. Wow.
John the Baptist was sent by God to testify about the light, that is, Jesus. The Greek for light meant to shine, or make manifest (also fire.) In the Old Testament, God manifested himself as a pillar of fire to go before the Jews as he led them out of bondage in Egypt. Jesus is that holy fire burning in the bush that Moses saw.
And yet, John tells us, the world did not recognize Him. How far we have fallen from the Garden of Eden, when God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. You light a match in a dark room, it's pretty obvious. Even more so, a bonfire or a forest fire. Yet they (and we) miss the HOLY fire, the biggest one of all - even walking among us.
Despite this, God makes his amazing offer:
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."
Even though we are so blind as to miss this blazing bonfire that is God before us, He still wants us back as his children.
I turn to this passage often to remind me just how big our God is - how awesome, and all-encompassing, and indescribable. I learned a while back that John started his gospel with "In the beginning" on purpose to tie in with the "In the beginning" of Genesis 1:1. He wanted people (especially his own people, the Jews) to know that yes, he really meant that Jesus was THAT God. The I AM, (YWVH), the thrice Holy and indescribable one whose Name should not even be pronounced.
The original Greek for Word is Logos. LOGOS means "something said, including the thought, by implication a topic or subject of discourse, also reasoning." So in the beginning of all things, Jesus was that which was said (God spoke all of creation into existence), the subject, and all the thought and reasoning behind it. Well. That about sums it up. Case closed, let's go home.
So, that guy that John the Baptist baptized, who worked as a carpenter for a while, then went around teaching about God and performing miracles - yeah, you're looking at, talking to, eating with God Who Was In The Beginning who was also the thought and reasoning behind everything that was created. Wow.
John the Baptist was sent by God to testify about the light, that is, Jesus. The Greek for light meant to shine, or make manifest (also fire.) In the Old Testament, God manifested himself as a pillar of fire to go before the Jews as he led them out of bondage in Egypt. Jesus is that holy fire burning in the bush that Moses saw.
And yet, John tells us, the world did not recognize Him. How far we have fallen from the Garden of Eden, when God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. You light a match in a dark room, it's pretty obvious. Even more so, a bonfire or a forest fire. Yet they (and we) miss the HOLY fire, the biggest one of all - even walking among us.
Despite this, God makes his amazing offer:
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."
Even though we are so blind as to miss this blazing bonfire that is God before us, He still wants us back as his children.
Introduction to the Gospel of John
If you really want to know something about a person, you ask their best friend. The apostle John was Jesus' best earthly friend. The "beloved disciple." Or, as John himself puts it, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." The Gospel of John is my personal favorite. It's the one I turn to the most for comfort, encouragement, and strength. It's the one I tell someone to start with if they tell me they want to read the Bible but don't know where to start. Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke (whom experts believe all used the same source material) John's gospel is fresh, different. It pulses with the vibrancy of one who knew Jesus personally, and not just personally, but as an intimate friend as well. It includes stories about Jesus and things that He said that are not included in the other three gospels.
Mostly I read it often because I keep hoping that what John knew and experienced of Jesus will rub off on me. I long to think of myself as "a disciple whom Jesus loved."
(A sidenote: I had thought to post on a chapter per day, but as I dig into this gospel, I am realizing that I must simply go where the Spirit leads - there is just too much in a whole chapter to do it justice. Each day will be more of a topical section than a whole chapter.)
* Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
** Hebrew and Greek definitions from The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Copyright 1995, 1996 by Thomas Nelson Publishers
Mostly I read it often because I keep hoping that what John knew and experienced of Jesus will rub off on me. I long to think of myself as "a disciple whom Jesus loved."
(A sidenote: I had thought to post on a chapter per day, but as I dig into this gospel, I am realizing that I must simply go where the Spirit leads - there is just too much in a whole chapter to do it justice. Each day will be more of a topical section than a whole chapter.)
* Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
** Hebrew and Greek definitions from The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Copyright 1995, 1996 by Thomas Nelson Publishers
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