In the Spirit and in Truth

 Read John 4:1-26

How do we deal with verse 4? Jesus had to go through Samaria.  Why?

Let’s look at the original word: δεῖ (dei).  What does it mean?

·       Properly

·       What must happen

·       Absolutely necessary

·       Inevitable

·       A duty

·       What is proper

Jesus went through Samaria because it was the correct thing to do. It was proper. It was necessary. Jesus had to do this to fulfill the will of his Father.

Jesus had an appointment with a woman at a well in Sychar. The woman did not know she had an appointment.  Unlike appointments with my dentist, she probably didn’t get 3 emails and 20 text messages.

If I don’t show up on time, they put out a Silver Alert.

This woman didn’t know what she was about to get into. She was just on her way to draw water at noon in hopes that she wouldn’t see anyone. People tended to condemn her.

She had gone through 5 husbands and was shacked up with another man now.  We don’t know if she just outlived her husbands, was divorced multiple times, or if some other course of events brought her to this point, but we know that she was not inclined to talk about her personal life, but Jesus knew already.

Why was this appointment important?

There were of course those Samaritans in the town that would end up believing in Jesus, but there was a personal aspect to this meeting that went beyond the overall ministry of Jesus.

This woman was content in her circumstances.  If she had to live as an outcast among an outcast people, she would. She had grown indifferent to her ungodly lifestyle.

It had become acceptable to her.

When Jesus mentioned living water and never thirsting again, this piqued her interest, not so much because she was talking to a man who could do this, but because it would make her current miserable life easier.

She wouldn’t have to draw water in the heat of the day anymore. If she could just get some of this water.

But to get to the water, she would have to go through the truth. The truth was Jesus and she wasn’t ready.

She tried to misdirect the conversation.  Let’s talk about something else, anything else.  How about them Cubs?

Oh, you must be a prophet. Let’s talk prophet things. You Jews say that we should worship in Jerusalem. We worship on this mountain.

How about them Cubs.

I heard the Messiah was coming soon. I’ve got $20 on the fourth day of the third month next year.  It pays 1000 to 1 odds.  You want in?

How about them Cubs?

Jesus said that they were not playing this game.  You’ve got some stuff wrong about worshipping God. Salvation will come from the Jews and by the way, I am the Messiah.

The woman left her water jug and headed into town. She was out of excuses and distractions. She had come face to face with the truth.

Jesus is the truth and the only way to worship God is in the Spirit and in truth.

How many hoops will we jump through not to put the words of Jesus into practice?

How many of us are avoiding real conversations with our spouses, with our family, with our employer, and most of all with ourselves?

What conversations?

Is there someone that we dislike that we should be praying for and reaching out to? It’s time for a conversation with the One who is Truth.

Is there someone that we should have forgiven but haven’t? No matter how hard this is, it is what we are commanded to do.

Are there things yet unconfessed to God?  He knows what they are. He is just waiting for you to have this conversation. He promises to forgive you.

Are we just going through the motions in parts of our lives? Are we not engaging each moment as an opportunity to bring glory to God’s name.

Don’t make Jesus have to cross all of Samaria to have this conversation. He already went to the cross for us. Let’s give our lives completely to him.  Let us confess and converse about our struggles in this world.  Jesus is ready to help.

Let’s learn how to worship in the Spirit and in truth.

Let’s make an appointment with Jesus this week and come to the point where we can worship in the Spirit and in truth.

Amen.

Behold the Lamb of God

Read John 1

It’s a new day at the Jordan.  John is back at work.  I imagine that he is waterlogged from the waist down.  The baptism business is good but not the main business that John is about.

He is preparing the way for the one who is so much greater than he is.  He may or may not have seen him growing up.  John jumped in his mother’s womb when Mary, the soon to be mother of Jesus came to visit, but from this part of the text, it sounds like these two did not grow up together.

But on this day, John sees Jesus walking his way.  He has no doubt who is approaching.  He exclaims, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

What powerful words.  This is the one that I was talking about.  This is the one who has come with a divine mission.  This is the one who will do what we couldn’t do from the beginning.  He will take away our sin.

That’s a tall order and there is much more to it than is revealed in this proclamation, but this is a big proclamation.

We don’t get a full sequence of events here.  John knows Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, because the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him. 

How did John know all of this?  John was on a mission of his own, yes, a mission from God.  God told him this is how the Messiah, the Christ, will be revealed to you. 

John was headfirst into baptizing people preparing the way for the Messiah.  He didn’t know how long this assignment would be but he was fully engaged in calling people to repent and be baptized.  Then the very person whom he had been preparing the people for arrived.  From this point forward, John’s ministry decreases—not brought to a halt—and that of Jesus begins and grows.

The Spirit descended upon him and John makes one more pronouncement.

I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.

This could have been considered blasphemy.  Who is this character to call anyone the Son of God?  This guy said he wasn’t the Christ.  He wasn’t Elijah.  He wasn’t even a prophet according to his own words, but now he has proclaimed a man, an ordinary man by all evidence thus far, to be the Son of God.

These two statements are going to be on the final.

Behold the Lamb of God who
 takes away the sin of the world.

I have seen and I testify that
 this is the Son of God.

Today, we consider these statements as basic elements of our faith.  This is an account of Jesus who is the Son of God and who has come to take away the sin of the world.

 

But think of being at the Jordan and hearing these words for the first time.  Many of God’s promises take a long time.  The people knew what the prophets of old had said and how patient God was before what the prophets foretold came to pass. 

So, is this person who is so much greater than John coming today or in 200 years?  Imagine what it would have been like to be among the people at the river at this time. 

Imagine what it would have been like to hear the man you walked a long way to see, hear, and receive his baptism say, “Here he is.  This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  This is the Son of God.”

We were not there.  We did not see, but if we turn ahead in John’s gospel 20 chapters, we find these words.

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

This is the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ.  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world had about 3 years to minister to this lost world before he would die for us. 

Each gospel account varies in many ways and for many reasons, but all of them see the ministry of Jesus begin with John at the Jordan.  Remember these two very foundational statements.

Behold the Lamb of God who
 takes away the sin of the world.

I have seen and I testify that
 this is the Son of God.

Things were about to start happening in the ministry of Jesus whom John had proclaimed Savior and Son of God.

Amen.

John 1 - Part 4

Read John 1

In this part, John speaks to those gathered and then answers some questions from the religious leaders who had been selected to find out what was happening at the Jordan River, somewhere near Bethany.

Realize that if you were reading Mark’s gospel instead of John’s, this is where his story begins.  Mark doesn’t even give us a one sentence Christmas Story.

John testifies that the One who comes after him is greater than he is by a whole bunch.  The One who comes next has been around since the beginning. 

And then John talks about grace and blessings.  Humankind has enjoyed both grace and blessing from the Lord all along.  But God was kicking things up a notch.  The One whose place is at the right hand of the Father had set aside that place for a time and came into the world.

The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.  This is the first instance in John’s gospel where he refers to our Savior as Jesus Christ.

The grace and truth of Jesus surpassed John and the law.  The glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ surpassed everything and everyone who was now or had come before.

But the priests had some questions.  Are you Elijah?  John said no.  Are you a prophet?  No.

Well then, just who are you?  We have people to whom we must answer.

I am the voice of one calling in the desert:  Make straight the way of the Lord!  Most would have recognized those words in that day.  They were of the prophet Isaiah.

Now the Pharisees stepped up to bat.  Why do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or a prophet?

John replied, my baptism is only of water.  Elsewhere we get a little more of an answer that this water baptism was for the forgiveness of sins and that the One who came after him baptized with the Holy Spirit.  In one account he charged the religious leaders to produce fruit worthy of repentance.

But in John’s gospel, the focus is on a warning, sort of a heads up.  The One that he is preparing the way for is already here.  He has been among you and you have not recognized him.

OBTW—I am not even worthy to tie his sandals.  For the following that I have acquired—surely the reason that you have ventured from your comfortable places to see me—that following is nothing compared to what is to come.  I am not even worthy to be a servant good enough to tie his sandals.

The religious leaders had been looking for the Christ.  He was here among them but they did not recognize him.  You would think that a 12 year-old kid amazing the teachers in the temple almost 20 years before might have tipped them off, but no.

They only paid attention to the parts of scripture that they wanted to see.  They wanted the King of Kings and they wanted him to fit into their pharisaical box.   In our time we would say that they rejected the full biblical witness and only saw what fit their expectations.

We shouldn’t show too much disgust for them.  We still do this today claiming one scripture over another as it is easier than continuing to search for the full biblical witness given to us.  It is much less work to adopt a doctrine that fits your comfort zone than to let the word of God which is alive and active do its work.

Back to John’s gospel.  Jesus was coming.  John was preparing the way.  He wasn’t fixing potholes in the road.  He was calling people to repentance. 

Those who should have been most prepared to recognize him were not.

This was the state of our fallen and sinful and rebellious world as that day came to an end, but joy would come in the morning.

We live in a different time.  The preparation that we make to receive the Lord is in our hearts.  We don’t get baptized to get ready to receive the Lord.  We are baptized when we receive him, first with the Holy Spirit and publicly with water.  We must have hearts of repentance to receive the Lord when he comes into our lives.  Many have done this.  Many know this joy.

John the Baptizer is not out at the river today calling people to repent and be baptized, but we who have received Jesus as Savior and Lord are here and we are calling.  We call people to repent and believe the good news.  We are commissioned to this task in this time.

We are called in our commission and our discipleship to prepare the way for the Lord to come into so many hearts.

Amen.

John 1 - Part 3

Read John 1

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I often add the words, Merry Christmas, after reading this verse.  This is about as short a Christmas story as you will find. 

God—almighty God—entered this world in human flesh and stayed a while.  He didn’t just pop in.  He dwelt—he tabernacled among us.  He set up his home here.

While he likely had a home in Capernaum, that’s not what tabernacled with us means.  It’s not about a house of stone or stucco.  It’s about dwelling in the human condition on purpose. 

It’s about bringing the glory of God to humankind in person.  He came because it was his Father’s will which he fully embraced as his own.  He came to bring grace and truth.

We as people deserved condemnation but the truth that Jesus brought was centered in how much the Father loves us.  The Father desires mercy—forgiveness that we have not earned.  The Father desires to give us grace—blessings that we do not deserve.

What are the trademarks of the one whom the Father sent?  Mercy and grace!  He is the way, the truth, and the life, but we will get to that later.

Later on, it would be John who would pen the words, God is love.  We see the manifestation of that love in Jesus who came to bring grace and truth.

We don’t get the babe in a manger story here.  There are no angels and shepherds.

John skips the poetry of the birth and goes straight to the mission.  Jesus came to live with us and bring us truth and grace.  The truth—if we would really see it—would bring us to repentance.  Grace would bring us home, a home that we have forsaken again and again.

Much like the father in the Prodigal Son, God stood ready to receive his children once again in spite of what we had done.  He loves us so much that he sent his own Son into the world to be the light of the world, the hope of the world, and the sacrifice that brings reconciliation to the world.

God is love.  His Son came with mercy and truth.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Merry Christmas.

Amen.

John 1 - Part 2

Read John 1

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive 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.

This is not an autobiographical section.  John is not speaking of himself but of the one whom we often call John the Baptist or John the Baptizer.  We get a little more background on John the Baptist  from the Synoptics, but here he sets the stage for the arrival of Jesus.

Here we find that while John the Baptizer was getting a lot of attention, John the Apostle notes that this man was a witness to the light and not the light himself.  He knew who was coming, one whom he would later call the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

We also get a little time shift from the eternal perspective of Jesus to the temporal time of John.  Jesus was on his way.  We know that John was born shortly before Jesus.  He was the forerunner who was to prepare the way for the Messiah.

Jesus always was.  He created everything but when he entered that which he created—coming in the flesh—his creation didn’t know who he was.  Humankind did not recognize him.  This is a generalized statement for some did recognize him and believe in him and were born again, not like the first time to a human mother and father.  This time they were born as children of God.

Imagine one day that your children did not recognize you.  This is not impossible.  Many mothers and fathers having surrendered their lives to drugs and alcohol become unrecognizable to friends and family.  As we grow older and our mental capacity diminishes, we sometimes have difficulty recognizing those we love the most. 

But we are talking about the Creator not being recognized by the creation, at least by humankind.  How rebellious a people had we become at the time of our Lord’s first advent?  What a bunch of bums!

We should not be so critical as today our society is at least as rebellious as the one from two thousand years ago.  I would venture to say, that we are even more rebellious.

People—as I said a generalization—did not recognize their Lord; except, some did and some would in the days and years and centuries to come.  These people would be what Jesus would call born again.  We will get to that in the third chapter when our Lord and a Pharisee named Nicodemus have and interesting conversation that culminates in some very familiar scripture.

As we look at our Savior entering a world that didn’t know him, we find a promise for those who do know him and have received him and believed in his name.  We will be born of God.  We will be God’s children. 

We are God’s children.  John has a wonderful introduction that connects his gospel to the beginning of the story between God and humankind, but John does not bury the lead.

For those who believe in the name of Jesus, we have been given the right to be children of God.  Now that’s the headline of some good news.

Amen.

John 1 - Part 1

Read John 1

There are three creation stories in the Old Testament and 1 in the New Testament.  Some have more detail than others.  Some are given in the context of something else, but this one from John is meant to tell us that what proceeds from his gospel account goes back to the very beginning.

At some point if you are not already familiar, read the creation accounts from Genesis.

For now, let’s consider John’s words which take us to the  beginning.

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.

God, whom we know best through Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  God did not create us and say, “Good luck.  See you at the judgment.”

He has always been with us, guiding us, disciplining us, rebuking us, but most of all loving us.  We are not his experiment.  We are his masterpiece.  God wants us to live a full life and bring glory to him

He walked with Adam and Eve.  He sent angels.  He sent prophets.  All were to show us the way to right living. 

God also let us make our own choices.  I guess it’s hard for a robot with preprogramming to bring glory to God, but an individual of free will who seeks the Lord over his own comfort and welfare is someone who does bring glory to God.

But the angels and prophets didn’t get us to the destination.  The law, which worked from the outside in, never got us out of our disobedience.  In fact, it increased our disobedience.

So, it was time for the judgment.  It was time for God to say, “You had your chance and you blew it.”

Yes, the axe was at the root of the tree.  This was going to be a done deal for humankind, except that God was not in a hurry to condemn us.  He was patient, not slow to judgment.  His love and mercy exceeded anything that we could imagine.

But what else could he do that he had not already done?

He came in the flesh.  He manifested himself in human form.  We will get to that part in a few more verses, but for now, know that the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us has always been there.  He was with God from the beginning. He is God.

Through him everything that is was created through him.  Father, Son, and Spirit were there in the beginning.  Now come four important statements compressed into two sentences.

·       In him was life

·       That life was the light of all humankind

·       The light shines in the darkness

·       The darkness has not overcome it.

Light invades darkness.  Life reaches out to the lifeless.  Everything proceeds from Christ Jesus.  We will find many references to light and life and darkness as we proceed, but understand that light and life originate in Jesus.

This letter was written in Greek but had it been written in Hebrew and the Hebrew traditions continued, it would have been called bə·rê·šîṯ, or In the beginning. 

John is telling us that this gospel account is not a stand-alone story.  It goes back to the beginning.  It accounts for the manifestation of God’s Word who was present at creation into this fallen world some two millennia ago.

John reminds us that however the story appears to unfold—and in writer’s terms, the human situation would have been what writers sometimes call the dark night of the soul—this world could not overcome the One who was from the beginning.

John tells us before we know the whole story that we will be singing Victory in Jesus. 

Three of the gospels follow a generally parallel track.  These are often called the synoptic gospels.  John is more reflective.  John accounts for the life of Jesus while he was with us in the flesh, but John also prompts us with statements such as these first five verses.

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.

Amen.

Full of Grace and Truth

Read John 1

And the word became flesh and pitched his tent among us.  The Greek word is σκηνόω (skay-no'-o).  You might think that you missed that part in the gospel.  You didn’t.  Words have changed over the past two thousand years and somewhat in translations.

The word became flesh and tabernacled among us.  You probably have not seen tabernacles used as a verb in most of your readings, but that’s what happened.

For the Christian, Jesus did more than pitch a tent.  He came to dwell with us as his Father dwelt in him.  It’s more than just claiming a camp site and making sure that your satellite television antennae is set up right.  It’s about intimacy between the Creator of the universe and us.  He is with us and within us.

We have been talking about truth for a few weeks and we come to this wonderful pericope about grace and truth.   The gospel author notes that Jesus came in glory that could only belong to the one and only Son of the God who sent him.

He came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  Grace and truth have a nice ring to them but in actuality may seem to be opposed to each other.

Let’s look at truth.

We know God is the Creator of all things.  He has the right to make the rules.  He has authority to reward and to punish.  He is eternal and not swayed by man’s thoughts about what is right. 

We miss the mark on a recurring basis.  Truth says that we deserve punishment.  We deserve punishment. 

Truth says that we do not have a passing grade.  Truth says that we did not live up to expectations and requirements.

Truth is sometimes a bitter pill to swallow.  Had Jesus come only in truth, our pucker factor might have been off the charts.

But he came from the Father full of grace and truth.  I have earned nothing as far as right standing with God goes, but he loves me more than I can comprehend. 

I have missed the mark so many times, but Jesus tells me that he took care of that.

John wrote that the law came through Moses but grace comes through Jesus Christ.  Both are from God and essential to our relationship with the Almighty. 

We know that we have all fallen short of the glory of God.  We know that.  I don’t know anyone here who thinks otherwise.  We have all fallen short, but that is not the end of the story.

In some cases, realizing that we missed the mark is truly our beginning. Having eyes to see that:   We can’t fix it.  We can’t mend it.  We can’t make it like it was.

But God can.  David, a man that sought after God perhaps more than others noted in the Old Testament, knew that he was broken.  He knew that he could not fix his own brokenness.

David had done many great things in the Lord’s name.  David was a warrior’s warrior.  David was a poet and musician.  David brought a broken kingdom together.  David had many accomplishments to his credit but he could not cleanse himself of his transgressions.

Sure, there were sacrifices required by the law but David pleaded with the Lord to create in him a clean heart.  Create in me a clean heart.

David knew the truth.  He had sinned against God and his fellow man.  He had lived in the favor of God and God had richly blessed him but now, he had thrown all of that away.  God had done so much for him; yet he gave in to his selfish nature.

But David had some insight that we could all learn from.  He sought to be made right again.  He pleaded with God, he petitioned God, to create in him a clean heart.

Truth said, “You blew it.  You threw it all away.”

Grace said, “Let’s move forward after I put you back together.”

Truth brings us to the cross.  Grace leads us to life.

Truth brings us to confession.  Grace says, I have already forgiven you.

Truth shows us our acts of omission.  Grace tells us, there is still time so long as it is called today.

Truth examines our history.  Grace leads us to eternity.

Both truth and grace came in one package.  The only human flesh to have lived in God’s heavenly presence who was in fact God in the flesh, came in grace and truth.

We love the grace part, but sometimes we avoid the truth. 

We live in a world of idolatry.  We don’t want to admit it, but we have more idols than Rome or Greece or Asia Minor had two thousand years ago.  

They come in the form of star athletes, our favorite teams, movie stars, and even in shows named America Idol and all of its spinoffs.  We adorn our homes and our cars with posters and stickers and license plates.

We covet like no other nation in no other time.  It’s not so much that our neighbor has something, it’s that the world has something and I want one.

God is seldom first.  We work him in after ourselves and our kids and the things we just have to have.

We often do not worship in Spirit and in Truth.  More and more, we look at our phones during worship.  Are we bored with this He is worthy stuff?

Sometimes it seems easier to throw some money at somebody’s problem instead of speaking the truth in love.  How many times do we forget that to come to salvation we first repented of our sin and then rejoiced in the good news.

I’m not going to go on.  We could be here a long time.  When you get home, look in the mirror and ask the man or woman in the mirror who is first in your life.  Do a fearless and searching inventory of your life.  Anyone who has been through a 12 Steps program knows this as step 4:  Conduct a searching and fearless moral inventory.

You don’t have to be an addict to conduct this inventory, but if we did a searching and fearless inventory instead of the surface level look we give ourselves day-to-day, what would we find?

And here is what I can say with confidence to every one of you.  God still loves you.  In spite of everything that truth revealed to you, grace has yet embraced you.

The mercy of God is more than we can fathom.

The love of God is more than we can comprehend.

The grace of God that we know in Christ Jesus goes far beyond any sin that the truth has revealed to us.  We need the truth to receive God’s grace.  If we do not have eyes to see that we have fallen short of the glory of God, why would anyone believe they need the grace of God.

The western world today is so afraid of offending someone that God’s truth has been glossed over if not outright set aside.  Why do we need grace if the world says that however we live is just fine?

There is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln that goes like this.

How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg?

Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn't make it a leg.

We who seek to follow Christ must stand in and live in the truth of God every moment of every day.  We are not going to get everything right, but knowing God’s way and seeking it are essential to our well being.

Remember, God told his own people, I’m giving you these directives for your own good.  The law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Christ Jesus.

We need to know where we stand with God.  The law helps, but the truth that came with Christ is what prepares us to receive his grace and continue to live in his grace.

The law without Christ was incomplete.  Jesus came to complete the law, not so that we could be condemned but so we could finally live.  Jesus completed the law.

Truth and grace came in one package.  His light shone in the darkness and the world did not comprehend it but that same dark world cannot overcome it.

We are a mess.  We who follow Christ know that we are a mess.  We have the truth.  We can’t fix our condition.

But the truth also introduces us to grace, favor from God that has always been there but which we could not see before the truth set us free.

God has never stopped loving us.  He will never stop loving us.  We are his and he wants to keep us close to him for all eternity.  Where we are weak, his strength is even more visible.

We are saved by grace.  To which everyone says, “Amen!”  But we already knew that.  Couldn’t you save this verse for Christmas.  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Merry Christmas!

We know this but are we conversant in what we know.  Can we, without condemning another person, explain the truth to them, and lead them to the grace of God that we know in Christ Jesus?

Can we do that?

If we are following Jesus, we need to be people of truth and grace.  We need to help people understand that we all have fallen short of God’s glory.

We all have fallen short but he loves us anyway.  If we can’t speak the truth, why would people think they need Christ?  The world has convinced them otherwise.

Jesus showed us the glory of the Father.  He came in grace and truth.  We are to live in grace and truth.  We should not be afraid of the truth for it prepares us for God’s grace.

Again, you say, we know this.

So again, I say, share this.

This is our message that leads people to Christ.  Let us live as people not only of grace but of truth.

Amen.