For those who have been on our weekly Journey
Through John since April, this will be a review. For those who just happen upon this message,
it may serve as prologue to your journey.
Let’s begin in the beginning.
Read
John
1
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 all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it.
John began his gospel in the beginning. John puts his own
Genesis executive summary at the beginning of his gospel.
We are introduced to John the Baptizer
and the next thing you know it’s Merry
Christmas. The word became flesh and
dwelt among us.
John goes straight to adulthood. There is no temple
time at twelve in Jerusalem. There
was no temptation
in the wilderness. John the Baptizer
sees Jesus walking towards him and declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world.”
Jesus began calling disciples. We see Jesus calling fishermen but
don’t get the lakeside
stories.
Read
John
2
The next thing you know, Jesus and his
disciples are attending a wedding in Cana.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is there as well and breaks the news to Jesus
that they have run out of wine.
That right there should have been a
lesson about inviting so many fishermen to a wedding, but somehow that lesson
is overlooked.
Jesus told his mother that his time
had not yet come but she just told the servants to do whatever Jesus said. You know the story. It’s water to wine, right?
No!
It’s water to the best
wine ever. For those keeping score
at home, that’s miracle #1.
Jesus didn’t stay in Cana very long. Soon he was off to Jerusalem and found his
Father’s house being disrespected. The surrounding areas had been turned
into a marketplace. He made a whip and
started turning over tables.
The Jews were not happy about this and
wanted
a sign from Jesus so they might accept his authority. Jesus told them to destroy this temple and he
would rebuild it in 3 days. The Jews
thought he meant the temple it had taken 46 years to build. Jesus was talking about his body.
To be fair, not even his own disciples
understood this until after his resurrection.
Read
John
3
People who know very little of the
Bible, often know at least parts of this chapter. This is the Nic@Nite chapter. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to see Jesus at
night. Nicodemus started with small
talk. Jesus cut to the heart of the
matter. You must be born again to live
in my Father’s kingdom. You should
understand this as a teacher of Israel; yet you don’t.
This discussion brings us to the words
that our denomination calls the gospel
in miniature. In these parts, we
don’t separate the coupling
of these verses.
For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life. For God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
The chapter wraps us with a discussion
of John’s mission and that of the Son of God.
This was before John went to prison.
John was still baptizing but many were now following Jesus. John reminded people that he was not the
Christ.
The chapter ends with an affirmation
of belief
in Jesus and life.
Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath
remains on them.
If we jump
ahead a little, we find that we are already dead unless we believe in Jesus. Then we pass from death to life.
Read
John
4
Jesus left Jerusalem for Galilee but
went through Samaria. He arrived a
Sychar and rested at Jacob’s well while the disciples went into town looking
for food. It was about noon.
A woman came to the well to draw
water. Jesus asked her for a drink. That was unexpected. A Jew asking a Samaritan, a Samaritan woman
at that, for a drink.
The conversation led to Jesus talking
about living water and never having to thirst.
This sounded appealing to this woman who came to draw water in the heat
of the day. She asked Jesus for some of
this living water.
Jesus replied: Go call your husband and come back.
That was the last thing this woman
wanted to hear. She hoped to get off
easy by telling Jesus that she had no husband, but she had yet to realize the
identity of the other party in her conversation.
Jesus told her he knew that she had no
husband. She had gone through 5 husbands
and the man she was shacked up with now was not her husband.
That upped the ante. This woman wasn’t going to get away with any
half-truths here. It would be best to
change the subject and talk about religious things. This guy was obviously a prophet.
So she started talking about where to
worship and Jesus set the record straight so the woman just noted that the
Messiah will make it clear when he comes. That should keep the conversation focused
somewhere other than her life.
Jesus told her, I’m here.
There is an OMG moment for sure. The woman left her water jar and headed back
to town proclaiming to have seen the Messiah.
Some believed because of her and come to see Jesus.
They later changed their tune and
stated they believed because they have seen Jesus. People are fickle like that.
In the course of this part of the
chapter that takes place in Samaria, there are a couple verses worth noting for
further consideration.
The first is that Jesus declared that
those who truly desire to worship God will do so in both spirit
and in truth. Their worship will be
genuine not geographical. It’s not the
geography that counts. It is the genuine
reverence for God in the believer’s heart.
The next is when the disciples return
from rounding up lunch in town. They
asked Jesus if he wanted some food. He
said that he had food they knew nothing about.
What could that be?
Jesus told his followers that his
food—his
sustenance—is to do the will of his Father.
His bread is to complete his mission.
Yes, Jesus needed calories like all of us do, but his true food was to
finish the work that he was sent to do.
Later Jesus would tell his followers
that he
was their sustenance.
Jesus continued to Galilee. There was a royal
official whose son was sick, perhaps near death. He pleaded with Jesus to come with him to
Capernaum and heal him. Jesus, after
scolding the crowd around him for their unbelief—always wanting miracles but
not believing—told this man that his son was healed.
He said, you may go your son will
live.
The man’s servant met him as he was
going home and told him his son had recovered.
Further dialogue revealed it was at the exact time that Jesus told him
his son would live. Miracle #2.
Read
John
5
Jesus returned to Jerusalem after a
while and went to the pool of Bethesda which is by the Sheep Gate. The pool was surrounded by shaded areas where
disabled people would gather. If the
water stirred, they believed the first one in would be healed.
Jesus spoke to a man here who had been
paralyzed for 38 years. Jesus asked him,
“Do you want to be well?”
That was a straight-forward question
for which you might expect a yeah buddy or you betcha or even a
simple yes.
But the man explained how he can never
get to the water in time. Somebody
always beats him to it.
Jesus cut to the chase. “Pick
up your mat and walk.” The man
complied immediately. He was
healed. John does not note that this was
the third recorded miracle but that it was the Sabbath.
The religious leaders seeing the man
carrying his mat on the Sabbath condemn him instead of celebrating the miracle
of healing that was done in this man.
There will be more of that to come.
When the religious leaders figured out
this was Jesus who healed the man, they confront him about healing on the Sabbath. Jesus replied: “My Father is always at his work to this very
day, and I too am working.
The Father who at
the creation of the world set the model of work six and rest one is now
working all the time. So
too was Jesus.
The religious leaders had already
decided to persecute Jesus. He was a
trouble maker for sure and now he was talking about doing the work of his
Father in heaven and that his authority came from the Father and that people
needed to believe in him.
Jesus told the people that they were
already dead. Only by believing in him
would they pass
from death to life.
Read
John
6
Jesus
headed out to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. This was across the water from
Capernaum. A very large crowd followed
Jesus. They knew that there was
something special about this man and they wanted to know more. Had they known that they were going as far as
they did, they might have packed a lunch.
One kid did.
In dialogue with Phillip and Andrew,
Jesus takes the two fish and five loaves, gave thanks, and distributed the food
to the people who were now seated in groups.
The disciples collected up more leftovers than what they had at the
beginning. Chalk up another
miracle. This one was in the midst of
thousands of people.
Jesus
knew that the people wanted to make him king then and there, so he headed
up a mountain all by himself. The
disciples headed out in the boat and started making their way to
Capernaum. I’m presuming that this is
what Jesus told them to do and not that they just forgot to take Jesus with
them.
The disciples were in the boat about 4
miles from shore. It was stormy
weather. They were without their
Master. I’m sure there was some interesting
discussion aboard that boat not recorded in the gospel.
The disciples saw someone walking on
the water towards them. It was
Jesus. How did they know it was
him? Because he told them.
Jesus said, “It is I.” In the Greek, that includes the words Egō eimi. Big things happen when Jesus speaks the
words, I Am.
Jesus got into the boat and the next
thing they knew everyone was ashore at Capernaum. There are one or two more miracles right
there.
Things got a little tougher in this
next part. Jesus gave the first I am
metaphor—I am the bread of life. Then he
told people that this bread is the real sustenance they need. Manna from heaven was consumed but belief in
the One whom God sent brings eternal life.
The more Jesus explained the more
difficult it was to understand. Many
departed. They had their free lunch
the day before and this day was just graduate level instruction and they wanted
none of it.
Jesus looked at the 12. He asked, you guys want to bug out too?
It was Simon Peter who answered for
the group. Where would we go. You have the words of eternal life. You can pick on Peter all you want to for the
things he said and did, but he nailed this one.
You have the words of eternal life!
Read
John
7
In this chapter we get a glimpse of Jesus
and his brothers. Evidently, his
brothers were not convinced that Jesus was anything other than the older
brother who got to use the bathroom first when he was home. They taunted him to go the Jerusalem during
the festival and make a name for himself.
The brothers knew that the religious leaders were gunning for him.
Brothers, you gotta love ‘em.
Jesus did go to Jerusalem by himself,
keeping a low profile and just listening to what people were saying about him.
Jesus did not keep a low profile for
long. He
began teaching and many were amazed that he knew so much without formal
education. Who could know all of these
things and not be a graduate of Oklahoma State University?
There was only one answer. Jesus
learned everything directly from his Father.
The religious leaders and the
God-fearing Jews who tried to keep the law had their feathers good and ruffled.
Jesus confronted them. You wave your Moses and the Law flag proudly
but none of you can keep the law. You
get excited and upset and indignant of me healing on the Sabbath but if one of
you has a son and the eight day falls on the Sabbath, you can rest assured that
he will be presented for circumcision.
Jesus commanded the people to stop
judging by mere appearances. That
should sound familiar. God
sees the heart.
The more Jesus taught, the more people
became confused and divided.
He is a prophet.
Maybe even the Messiah.
But how can the Messiah come from Galilee?
He promises
living water—the Spirit of God.
Some knew that Jesus was tipping over
their apple cart and they wanted to seize him and try him for blasphemy then
and there, but he slipped away.
We know why. His time had not yet come.
The temple
guards who let Jesus slip away were chastised by the religious leaders.
The guards could only say, We’ve
never heard anyone talk like him.
That had to get the goat of the
Pharisees. They were supposed to be the
ones who amazed people with their teaching.
The Pharisees would be bested a few more times before all was said and
done.
Read
John
8
You know this story. The religious
leader wanted to trap Jesus, maybe get him to ignore the law or show him to
be heartless in complying with the law.
In any case, a woman who was caught in
the act of adultery was brought before Jesus.
Whach ya gonna do? C’mon Jesus, are you gong to tell us to
stone her?
Jesus could have out lawyered these
yahoos in an instant. Where’s the
man? According
to the Law of Moses by which you want this woman tried and sentenced to
death, both should be tried and stoned. Where’s
the man?
Jesus was not confrontational. He said let the person who has never sinned
throw the first stone. Let he who is
without sin, cast the first stone.
Oldest to youngest, rocks started hitting
the ground and the crowd hungry for blood began to depart until all were gone.
Jesus said to the woman, who is
there to condemn you?
None, sir.
Jesus said, then neither
do I. Now go and sin no more.
Much discussion followed between Jesus
and the religious Jews. Some believed
and some did not believe and opposed him.
Jesus called them out. You are playing for the wrong team. You think you are serving God but you serve
the devil as if he was your father.
Ouch!
Then out of this whole discussion, we
find these
words that echo in our hearts today.
To the Jews who had believed him,
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free.”
Jesus went a couple more rounds with
the self-righteous Jews who claimed Abraham as their father and thought that
this alone sets them right with God.
Jesus, broke out those two words again—I am. This time he said: Before Abraham was I am.
They want to seize Jesus right then,
but he slipped away. Again, we know
why. His time had not yet come.
Read
John
9
I’m not going to spend much time here as I
spent a lot of time when we went through this chapter. This was during our online only time. I’ll just say that a man born blind turned
the tables on the self-righteous Pharisees when Jesus healed him. OBTW—it was on the Sabbath.
Catch up with these written and video
messages if you need to:
Food for Thought: Looking a Blind Man in the Eye.
I will touch on one point often
overlooked in this chapter. It’s about
the blind man sitting on the side of the road for his entire adult life, but
when he was healed, people did not recognize him. How could this be?
They probably never
really saw him. They knew he was there and quickly proceeded past him
surely in some discussion of world-saving importance. They didn’t want to
look his way.
They didn’t want to look
a blind man in the eye for if they did, they might just be compelled to
compassion and mercy. They might have seen another person—someone made in
the image of God—and they would have been compelled to mercy.
That might have cost
them money or time. It would have taken them off their path of urgent demands
and out of their comfort zones. It might have given them eyes to see and
left them without excuse for not showing mercy.
How was it that the
people that had walked by the blind man hundreds or thousands of times on their
way back and forth on that road over the past decade couldn’t tell if it was
the same man who could now see? They never really saw him.
Just as the priest and
Levite walked on the other side of the road in the parable of the Good Samaritan, most of the people
who had walked by this man daily wished the road was wider and that they could
walk on the other side as well.
Fortunately, this
doesn’t happen today. Actually, it happens much, much more but we
have become more subtle about it. We find ways not to see the blind
man on the side of the road.
Programs and movements
lump people into groups and categories and divide them according to the whims
of the program or the movement instead prompting the power of compassion to
jump into action. Programs have metrics. People need
relationship. Programs let us keep our distance. Mercy makes
connections.
See a man not a
movement.
Look the blind man in
the eye and be led by the Spirit. Do not
surrender the Spirit that God placed inside of you to something that voids the
relationships he intended for you.
Build God’s kingdom in
this age one relationship at a time. Be known by your love not your
membership.
Meet people where they are but lead them to
life for God has given life to us thorough
relationship with him
Enough for chapter 9. Watch the videos if you need an extended
review.
Read
John
10
Jesus beats
up the Pharisees a bit in a couple metaphors but they don’t get it. For people who made their living being smart,
they were dull when it came to knowing God.
We get two I Am metaphors here,
which I will save for the next service.
For this fast-paced review remember that the sheep know his voice. What’s that mean?
We who follow the Good Shepherd know
his voice. We won’t be deceived by the
enemy. We won’t be deceived by the
world. We know his voice because we live
in his word and are in continual prayer.
The sheep know his voice. If you are struggling to know the voice of
your Master, spend more time in the word.
Spend more time in prayer. Find
good study partners—as
iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Know his voice!
We also have a memory verse that we
should hone until it is a part of us.
It’s John
10:10 and many of you know it already.
The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The religious leaders and Jews who
held the law in such high esteem, even though they could never live by it,
wanted more from Jesus.
Jesus
told them that he had given them enough but they just wouldn’t
believe. The people were divided.
Jesus told those who did not believe
that they were not his sheep. They
refused to see the works of the one whom the Father sent and surely did not
believe his words.
These people wanted to seize Jesus
right then, but as you know so well, his time had not yet come. It was, however, time to get out of town for
a while, so Jesus and his disciples headed to the Jordan where John the
Baptizer had begun his ministry.
Read
John
11
Jesus
had some friends. It wasn’t just he
and the twelve roaming the country-side.
It wasn’t just those who showed up and went away when things go tough. Jesus had some friends. We know of three for sure: Lazarus, Mary,
and Martha of Bethany.
While at the Jordan, Jesus received
news that Lazarus was very ill. Upon
hearing the news, Jesus was so compelled with mercy that he decided to wait a
couple of days before doing anything.
Jesus told his disciples that the sickness would not end in death.
But after a couple of days at the
river, Jesus told his disciples that they were headed back to Judea. Lazarus was dead. They couldn’t believe
it. People wanted to kill Jesus
there. Did he forget?
Jesus told his followers that if they
walked with him they walked in the light and would not stumble. They didn’t understand but would go with him
anyway.
Thomas gave us his
version of it is a good day to die.
Jesus
arrived in Bethany but was met by Martha before he reached the home. If you had only made it here sooner.
Martha was distraught. Oh, you could have healed him.
We see something similar with Mary,
but it was Martha who received the next
I Am metaphor. You know it.
Jesus said to her, “I am the
resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though
they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe
this?”
To Martha, resurrection was a someday
date on God’s calendar. Jesus told her
that resurrection was standing right in front of her. Relationship with God and the Son he sent
into the world was what resurrection was all about.
These bodies will give way but you
will live.
We also see that Jesus was fully
human. Even knowing what he would do
next, Jesus cried at the loss of his friend and the hurt he was witnessing.
We know this hurt when we lose a loved
one. We believe with all of our hearts
that the one whom we lost is with the Lord.
He or she has no more pain. God
himself will wipe the tears from our loved one’s eyes; yet we still cry and
hurt and long for the one we lost.
It’s the shortest
verse in the Bible. Jesus wept.
But it was on
to the tomb. Jesus prayed to his
Father so that some gathered there might believe. His prayer was for the benefit of the
witnesses of what came next.
The girls did not want the stone
rolled away. Their brother had been in
there long enough that there would be a smell.
What purpose could this serve?
But the stone was removed and Jesus
called for Lazarus, and
only Lazarus, to come out. Lazarus—a
living Lazarus—exited the tomb. Jesus
told the crowd to get him some new clothes.
You might think that would have gone without saying, but Lazarus was a
guy. Hey, I’ve only worn these for 4
days. I can wait until laundry day. Yes, I took some liberty with that one.
Some
believed in Jesus and some decided it was time to kill him. It was time to take this trouble maker out.
It is here that we get some prophecy
from the Chief Priest, Caiaphas. He was
surely speaking from a political perspective, but what he spoke was surely the
will of God.
“What are we accomplishing?” they
asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then
the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who
was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you
that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
Jesus would die for many, but the one
who prophesied had no idea he spoke the words of God.
The religious leaders had put the word
out that anyone who saw Jesus was to report him to them right away.
Read
John
12
You know the first part of this
chapter. Jesus is anointed for his
burial with a perfume called Nard. It
took place in Bethany at a dinner held in his honor. Many other Jews were in the town. Some heard Jesus was there. Some were there just to catch a glimpse of
Lazarus. It’s not every day you get to
see a dead man out and about.
Some were there because they were
sizing up how to trap and kill Jesus.
The action moved from Bethany
to Jerusalem. It was not a subtle
entry. Jesus rode
into Jerusalem and the people
shouted. Many of them had seen the
miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
Many had spread the word of the signs given by Jesus.
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
The Pharisees were frustrated. Something had to be done. One thing that had to
be done was that Lazarus had to be killed as well. You just can’t have evidence like that walking
around.
Some Greeks came to see Jesus. He didn’t have time for them. Why?
His hour had come. The next several
hours would be an intimate time with his disciples before Jesus would go to the
cross.
The people were still divided as to
who this Jesus was.
Read
John
13
It was time for post graduate
school. Jesus would have his disciples
drinking from a firehose in his hours before the cross.
He began by washing
the feet of the disciples. Nobody
was ready for this, especially Peter.
But by the end of the lesson, Jesus had demonstrated that service would
be at the heart of their ministries.
The action moved quickly to the departure
of Judas. Why? His betrayal of his Master was essential to
kick starting this processing of sending Jesus to the cross.
Jesus had been telling his disciples
all along that he must die. They didn’t
really buy into that one. It must have
been like a parable that was too hard to understand, but now the time had come
for Jesus to bring glory to God by giving his life.
Peter wanted none of this this. At least Peter was consistent in his first
responses. Peter would die to save his
Master so he really didn’t want to hear what Jesus had to say next. Before the rooster crows in the morning,
you will have denied me three times. Ouch!
It is also in this part of John where
we get those words
so close to our hearts. They remind
us that our discipleship is best exhibited in loving one another.
“A new command I give you: Love one
another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.”
Love one another. Let us never be pulled off course from this
command.
Read
John
14
You have to love the words that begin
this chapter.
Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God; believe also in me.
The disciples believed in Jesus, but
they wanted to see the Father. Jesus
explained that if they have seen him, they have seen the Father. Jesus is in the Father and the Father in
him. He wants the same sort of
relationship between himself and his disciples.
He explained
it this way in yet another I Am statement.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The disciples had already professed
Jesus as Lord, Master, and Messiah. They
believed him to be the Son of God. They
believed, but they thought Jesus was holding something back. They thought that after all this time, they
should get to see the Father.
Jesus told them that they had seen him
and that those who sought the Father would find him only through the Son.
Jesus continued this teaching. If you love me then keep my commands.
That’s straightforward but what about
when you are gone? What will we do?
Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit
would come to be with them. This is the
Spirit of God—the Advocate, the Comforter, the Counselor, the Helper, and the
Spirit of Truth.
Jesus told his closest friends that
they would not be orphaned. When the
Spirit came, those things that were hard to remember or understand would become
crystal clear.
Jesus told his disciples that this was
a good trade for them. The Spirit would
be with them as they went into the world.
The chapter ends with the disciples
leaving the room in which they dined.
Perhaps on their walk, they passed a vineyard.
Read
John
15
The vine and the branches are the
metaphor. Yes, it’s another I Am
metaphor. It’s about connection and
continued relationship.
If you are in right relationship, you
will obey the commands of your Master.
You will love one another. You
can only bring joy to your Father in heaven by remaining in good relationship
with him. He will prune
away that which does not produce fruit.
If we live the way that we are called
to live, it is pleasing to God, but it also brings us joy. Jesus wanted to make our joy complete. These few men would be the first to experience
this joy.
Jesus told his disciples that he no
longer called them servants. They knew
the will of their Master. He now called
them friends.
This section includes one
of the widely known verses in the Bible.
Greater love has no one than this: to
lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Jesus would lay down his life for all
of us. The disciples too in time would
give their lives. We are called to give
our lives if required. We are to love
one another as
Christ loved us and he loved us all the way to the cross.
The chapter concludes with these simple
words: love one another.
Read
John
16
OK guys. Reality
check. Things will be tough for you
for a while, then they will get better.
You will do incredible things once you have received the Spirit, but for
now, get ready for some tough times.
When the Spirit comes pay
attention. The Spirit will guide you in
all truth.
Jesus
continued. Things will be tough for
a while. You will be scattered. You will
weep and mourn but like in birth pains, when the child comes everything turns
to joy. Hang in there.
The chapter
concludes with a verse of continued assurance.
“I have told you these things, so that
in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world.”
Read
John
17
This
chapter is a prayer by Jesus. Within
this prayer also is the definition
of eternal life. Again we find
eternity like resurrection defined by relationship.
Now this is eternal life: that they
know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Jesus affirmed to his Father that he
has done his will and prayed for the men he prepared to take the good news of
salvation to the world. This brings
glory to God.
Jesus was about to leave the world but
his disciples were not. Jesus prayed for
their protection. They would remain in
the world to fulfill their
commission to take the good news to the world.
Jesus prayed for us, those who would
believe somewhere down the line. Jesus
prayed for us.
Read
John
18
It was time
to get this show on the road. The
disciples had crossed the Kidron Valley and were in a garden. The disciples came here often enough that
Judas knew where to find them. He
brought soldiers, Pharisees, and delegates from the Chief Priests.
Jesus took charge of the action and
asked, “Who are you looking for?”
Jesus of Nazareth was the reply.
I am he. These
words by Jesus caused the lynch mob to fall back onto the ground. There’s the power of those I Am words
again.
Jesus knew he had to go to the cross
so he asked again if they were looking for him.
They were and Jesus said, here I am but leave the others alone.
Peter wasn’t going to give up his
Master without a fight. He grabbed a
sword and cut the ear off of an unarmed servant. Jesus had to go to the cross, so he told
Peter to put the sword away. Jesus would
drink the cup given to him by his Father.
The
night continued—yes, this was at night.
That’s when they hold kangaroo courts.
Jesus was brought before Annas and Caiaphas, apparently in their
homes. The Jews wanted to kill Jesus
but couldn’t muster up a real charge, so they took
him to Pilate.
Concurrent to the kangaroo court that
was underway, Peter denied Jesus three times, and then it was dawn.
Pilate didn’t want anything to do with
this man. The religious leaders couldn’t
even tell Pilate what he had done. They
just said that we would bring him to you if he wasn’t guilty.
Jesus did not say anything to Pilate
that would give him reason to proclaim his innocence and tell the Jews to leave
him alone. Jesus was on a mission that
required him to go to the cross.
In the course of his discussion with
Pilate, Jesus noted that his kingdom was not of this world. Pilate would have no authority over him unless
it was ordained by God, and here that authority was for the purpose of sending
Jesus to the cross so he might be lifted up.
Stoning by the Jews would not fulfill this essential element.
Pilate made an appeal to the crowd to
set Jesus free in accordance with the local custom negotiated. The crowd asked to free the murderer Barabbas
instead.
Read
John
19
The absurdity of the kangaroo court
held by the Jews is matched by the fact that the Roman governor put up with the
pettiness of these people and would send Jesus to the cross.
Jesus was flogged. The soldiers mocked him. Pilate brought him before the crowd as if to
say, is this not enough punishment for an innocent man?
The crowd still shouted crucify. He claimed to be the Son of God. That part scared Pilate. He was probably ready to release him but
others shouted he claimed to be a king and we have no king but
Caesar.
Realize these are Jews saying these
things, surely prompted by their religious leaders, but haters of the Roman
Empire nonetheless. Some of these could have been the same people who only days
earlier were crying out Hosanna.
Jesus
carried his own cross up to the Hill of the Skull. Pilate had a sign posted that read: JESUS OF NAZARTH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
That upset the religious leaders and
they asked that Pilate do some editing to say he claimed to be the King of
the Jews. In the only exercise of
any gumption on Pilate’s part that we see anywhere, he replied: I have written what I have written.
Before dying on the cross, Jesus made
provision with John for the care of his mother.
Then, all things accomplished, Jesus said: It is finished. Everything required by the law and the
prophets was accomplished and Jesus died on the cross.
The bones
of this Passover Lamb—the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world—would not
be broken as was the custom if those crucified were still alive at quitting
time.
Joseph
of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. They couldn’t leave him on the cross with
night coming. Pilate granted the request
and Joseph and Nicodemus put the body in a new tomb and prepared it with 75
pounds of spices.
There are two things of note
here. First, Joseph was a believer but
in secret. We don’t know about
Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee and had respect
for Jesus as a rabbi, but did he believe that he was the Son of God? We don’t get that answer.
Read
John
20
Finally, we get to chapter 20. Chapter 19 might have been rough for many, but
now it’s time to have the resurrection
revealed. Mary Magdalene went to the
tomb early on the first day of the week.
The stone was not covering the entrance.
She saw no one inside.
She reported to the disciples that
someone had taken the body. That was
surely her assessment for she had talked to no one at the tomb.
Peter and John raced to the tomb. John won the race but stopped at the
entrance. Peter caught up and went
directly inside. The only thing there
was the head cloth and burial cloth. The
scripture said that they believed but did not understand.
So, they went back to where they were
staying.
Mary
returned to the tomb. She was crying
and encountered two angels and then later Jesus. She did not know it was Jesus until he
spoke. She returned to the disciples
once again with a report. I have seen
the Lord!
That
same day, the disciples were in a locked room and Jesus entered saying peace
be with you. That’s a cool trick
right there—entering a locked room. He
breathed the Holy Spirit on them. It
might take about 7 weeks to do it’s work to prepare these men for their
ministries, but Jesus delivered the Spirit to them at this time.
OBTW—Thomas wasn’t there and he would
not believe without some solid forensic evidence. He got what he asked for a few days later
when Jesus once again entered a locked room and told Thomas to touch whatever
he needed to in order to believe.
That wouldn’t be necessary. Thomas proclaimed, my Lord and my God. Seeing was believing.
This
is one to put into permanent storage in your brain housing group because
it’s about us. Jesus was talking to
Thomas but this is about us.
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have
seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed.”
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed!
The chapter concludes with John’s
words for us. He said that you may
not have everything that Jesus did recorded for you, but you
have enough to believe he is the Son of God and in so doing come to life
through him.
You have enough!
The resurrection was big time but
these two statements at the end of this chapter are powerful even in our time.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed!
You have enough to believe he is the Son of God
and in so doing come to life through him.
Read
John
21
What can follow this? How do you wrap up this gospel? Jesus reinstated Peter for one thing. Following Jesus telling several of his
disciples who had gone fishing for the night without a catch to cast their net
on the right side of the boat and that filled the nets beyond their capacity,
John recognized it was the Lord talking to them.
Jesus was on the shore and had some
fish on the fire. He asked Peter three
times if he loved him. Peter affirmed
his love three time. We generally
interpret this as the reinstatement of Peter after his denials.
Jesus instructed Peter to follow him
and not to be concerned with what he had called the other disciples to do.
John noted that if everything that
Jesus did was recorded the world would not be a big enough library to hold all
the books.
We must remember though, that we have
what we need to believe and know life in Christ.
I have titled this review Jetting
Through John. It’s a high-speed fly
over at 10,000 feet. It didn’t cover
everything, but hopefully covered enough to keep your hungry and searching in
God’s word for your sustenance.
Amen.
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