Mon, Jan 19th - 11:59AM
Book of John Chapter 8
The Light of the World, what mankind needs.
"Then Jesus spoke again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (verse12)
What often is missed in reading this verse is the "I am"statement. This is a deity statement that is emphatic. It began what is a two-fold promise to people: follow Me and you shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life. I do not possess light by nature. I am in darkness by nature. I was delivered "out of darkness" by following Jesus. This is a continuous action, not just a one time event. Colossians 1:14-15 informs us as to why we are to follow Jesus.
A man exists in darkness until he follows Jesus. The meaning, purpose, and significance of life can't be seen and known except to follow Jesus. It is He that throws light upon life, revealing what life really is.
"The Pharisees therefore said to Him, You bear record of Yourself; your record is not true. Jesus answeredand said to them, Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true: for I know whence I came, and where I go; but you cannot tell whence I come and where I go. You judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, My judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of Myself and the Father that sent Me bears witness of Me." (verse13-18)
Of course, the religionists objected to this claim made by Jesus. They understood what Jesus was claiming: that He was the Messiah and that only He could give light to the world. In their mind only God could do this. They tried to box Jesus in by saying that only He was witnessing this claim. But Jesus brought God the Father into the debate. If you recall Jesus provided five witnesses to who He was back in John 5:31.
"Then they said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You neither know Me, nor My Father: if you had known Me you should have known My Father also. These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come." (verse19-20)
What is tragic is that Jesus was rejected while teaching inside the temple. The religionists wanted nothing to do with Jesus, opposing Him and desiring to get rid of Him. Note that it says no one laid hands on Jesus. It was not the appointed time for man to be able to put their hands upon Him and drag Him off to be murdered. How often does this scene of disbelief among leaders of religion get repeated within the church? Down through the centuries many religionists have wanted nothing to do with Jesus, choosing self over Him. It continues to happen even today. II Timothy 3:5 says to us, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it: from such turn away." Or perhaps in Titus 1:16 "They profess that they know God; but in works thy deny Him, being abominable, and diobedient, and to every good work reprobate."
It is possible for the Light, Jesus Himself, to be in men and for men to become children of Light. John uses the word light 21 times. So wht exactly is meant by the Light? Light is the symbol of purity and holiness and means the absence of darkness and blindness. It has no spots of darkness or blackness, nor of sin and shame. Light reveals what darkness hides. Jesus therefore, clearly shows the nature, the maning, and the destiny of all things. His light shines into every nook and cranny, opens up, identifies, illuminates, and shows things as they truly are and not as men want them to be. The Light shows the truth about the world and man and God. It reveals how much that God loves and cares for people and wants people to love and care for Him.
Following the Light allows us to walk out of darkness for He reveals the path to freedom. You and I no longer have to grope, grasp, and stumble around trying to find our way through life. The path of life can now be clearly seen. Light does away with chaos for it routs, wipes out, and strips away and erases the darkness. In the beginning the empty chaos of creation was routed by the light given by god in Genesis 1:3. Go back and reread John 7. Jesus proclaimed to be the Light of the World at the great feast of Tabernacles. The first ceremony was the Illumination of the Temple and was held in the Court of the Women. Four huge candelabra sat in the open space of this court. At darkness these were lit, and the elders danced nad led the people in singing psalms before the Lord of light. Against this background Jesus made His claim to be the Light of the World.
Darkness is translated from "skotos, skotia."In Scripture it is used to describe both the state and the works of man. Darkness refers to the world of the natural man who does not know Jesus(John 8:). Natural people walk in ignorance of Jesus, of God, and of the real purpose and destiny of life as shown by Jesus. These are people who know nothing other than the things of this world as they see them. They hope for a long life before death inevitably overtakes them. Darkness also symbolized unpreparedness and unwatchfulness for the time when evil happens. Sinful people love darkness because it covers their actions. They hate the light since it reveals and uncovers their sinful behavior. Darkness is hostile to Light.
Now Jesus' claim to have come from the Father in heaven is objected to by unbelievers. They can't penetrate nor see the spiritual world hence they claim that it simply does not exist. Physical eyes are blind to the spiritual realm. For there to be any communication with the spiritual dimension, the spiritual world must come into this physical world. This is exactly what happened when Jesus was born of Mary. Jesus came from heaven, from the spiritual realm of being. He had been an eye-witness of heaven. He had been in the very presence of God the Father, God had sent Him from heaven into this world to declare the glorious message of salvation. Good News!!
People judge after the flesh: by what they can see, hear, taste, touch, and detect/measure. But people are limited since we are physical beings dwelling in a physical dimension. So how can people judge Jesus' claims? They can't do so based on physical evidence because God/Jesus is not of this physical dimension. People must judge solely by faith. They are reduced to either accept or reject His testimonies. Jesus claimed that He was not alone, that the Father was with Him.
Jesus also appealed to the law of man. It required two witnesses to validate a claim. The life, words, and works of Jesus' demonstrated God's presence and power. Of course, the Pharisees mocked Jesus. They told Him to go get Him and bring Him so He can bear witness of your claims. They judged strictly by the flesh, by sight and appearance. They wanted physical evidence. Jesus had provided ample evidence in His own person and miracles but their unbelief blinded them to the truth.
When they saw Jesus all that they could see was the Man. But Jesus was also the Son of God. Unbelievers do not know Jesus. They also do not know God. To ever know God is for God to reveal Himself: God must come from the spiritual dimension and enter this physical world to reveal the truth about Himself. It is still up to the person to accept and believe, if not, then they will never believe.
Jesus said that He was God incarnate in human flesh. That is a revelation of God! He is the express image of the invisible God (Col :). The great tragedy back then was the utter rejection of Jesus in the temple by the Pharisees. The tragedy today is that supposedly really smart people continue to reject Jesus' claims based upon lack of physical evidence. I hope some day that that changes.
Next time I shall look at our futile search for a messiah and utopia. Until then, peace and love of Christ Jesus be with you all!
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Sat, Nov 1st - 4:16AM
Book of John Chapter 8
In chaptter 8 Jesus reveals Himself to be the Light of life. Man is viewed as gripped by sin. Man is pictured as being critcal, condemnatory, self-righteous, and adulterous. In the woman taken in adultery man is seen as adulterous and guilty; living a life of darkness without purpose and meaning and significance. In the hypocritical religionists man is seen as deceitful, critical, condemnatory, selfish, self-righteous, and loaded with guilt. Jesus reveals Himself to be the Light of the World, the One who brings liberty, forgiveness, purpose, meaning, and significance to the life of man.
"Jesus went to the mount of Olives. And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in their midst, They said to Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned: but what do You say? They said this tempting Him, that they might have excuse to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He had not heard them. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her. And He again stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard Him, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus stood up and saw none but the woman He said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? has no man condemned you? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more." (8:1-11)
Here we are given a picture. Jesus quiet and worshipful life versus the turbulent and judgmental lives of the religionists. Jesus is drawn within the turbulence to calm, settle, and even leaven it. We can apply this picture as being drawn of the Christian life as quiet and worshipful versus a turbulent and judgmental world. What was Jesus' calm and peace? He got alone to be with God. He often went to the mount of Olives to be alone with God. It was a place where He could be alone with God and His disciples, a place of quiet. Jesus began teaching early in the morning. People kept coming to Him and He kept teaching them. He demonstrated how our ministry ought to be. Each of us ought to be worshipping God, teaching and ministering to people. Everyone needs to be taught.
We are also given the example of the guilt of the woman and some unknown man to picture man's guilt and sin. Both people were guilty of the sin of adultery, a sin that today affects so many lives. Under Jewish law the punishment was death by stoning.(Leviticus 10:10). All sin is a work of darkness. Most sin is actually done under the cover of darkness as an attempt to hide it from wife, husband, mother, father, employer, or friends. Most people who commit sin, thinking that no one will ever find out, are found out. Especially today where so many people have smartphones in hand every where they go. God always sees the sin being committed. In this case, the adultery took place at the time of the Feast, where the atmosphere was very party-like and men and women were brought together by drinking and dancing. Temptation filled the very air.
Perhaps there were some witnesses of the sexual act who were offended by the woman particularly. Jewish law required two witnesses in order to convict a person. It is highly unlikely that the religionists witnessed the adultery taking place, they would not have been in such a "defiled atmosphere." Did the Pharisees and scribes hire some scoundrel to trap this woman? Again, most unlikely since plotting a sin of the flesh does not fit in wih the nature of these religionists. Their sins were more of the spirit, much much deeper, but less visible to the general public.
The reality here is that the two witnesses were themselves great sinners. They wanted to publicly expose her. She was unmercifully dragged before the public to expose her sin, to shame and humiliate her while trying to use her to entrap Jesus. Why wasn't the man who was also guilty of adultery not exposed? Perhaps he escaped. Perhaps he bought off his potential accusers. Perhaps he was someone to be feared. Perhaps he was released because sin by men was more acceptable than by women.
So here is the woman dragged out into the public eye to be brought before Jesus. If Jesus said the woman was not guilty He would be breaking Jewish law and be leaving Himself open to the charge of being too lenient wth sin. If Jesus said the woman was guilty and should be killed, He would be breaking Roman law which did not consider adultery a sin worthy of death. He would also be criticized as lacking mercy and love, compasion and forgiveness. Please recognize several things about the nature of man that are revealed in this passage. There was a spirit of self-righteousness that lacked forgiveness, of criticism that lacked love, of judging that lacked compassion, of censoring that lacked understanding, of condemning that lacked sympathy, of punishing that lacked restoration, of savagery that lacked curing, of destroying that lacked the second chance. There was hypocrisy. These men felt that they were better than this woman, free from any sin serious enough to be exposed. None of thm "loved their neighbor as thyself." They failed to embrace and pull the woman from out of the sin and hurt gripping her. They should have set about a ministry of restoration and reconciliation to God and man.
Jesus did ignore these men for awhile. But then He arose, faced their sin, and judged it. This woman was guilty of a very serious sin and the people were "legally" justified to stone her. They all needed to be corrected and rebuked. "He that is without sin throw the first stone." No person is without sin. Jesus never told them they couldn't throw stones and kill her. He simply placed a limitation on throwing the stones. Throwing stones is based upon moral goodness and perfection, and no person has ever achieved that.
Thus we arrive at the revelation that only Jesus has the right to condemn and forgive people. This woman is everyone. Each of us stands before Jesus naked and stripped of all righteousness. There are no accusers among men. Christ Jesus aone is worthy to stand in judgment. But we still must note this:
1. Jesus did not condemn, but gave a second chance.
2. Jesus wished to forgive and did forgive.
3. Jesus challenged but warned: Go, and sin no more.
The warning is clear to all of us: repentance is essential for forgiveness. (John 5:14; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:12; I Corinthians 15:34). Before we begin "throwing stones" at people we had better do some self-examination of ourselves first.
Next time we consider mankind's great need.
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Fri, Oct 31st - 4:18PM
Book of John Chapter 7
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man is thirsty let him come to Me and drink. He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this He spoke of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the scripture said, That Christ comes out of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of Him. And some would have taken Him; but no one laid hands on Him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said to them, Why have you not brought Him? The officers answered, Never has a man spoken like this man. Then the Pharisees said to them, Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed Him? But this people who do not know the law are cursed. Nicodemus said to them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them) Does our law judge any man before hearing him and knowing what he does? They answered and said to Nicodemus, Are you also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee no prophet arises. And every man went to his own house."
The Feast of Tabernacles was the most popular feast among the Jews. It was also known as the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16) and the Feast of the Lord (Leviticus 23:39). It was celebrated for seven days. This feast celebrated two significant events. It celebrated the day when Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, a time of remembrance. Secondly, it was a period of thanksgiving for the completion of the harvest season and for the goodness of God in all of life. There was a grand processional each day of the feast, the people came to the Temple with fruit as an offering. Then the priest took a golden pitcher and led the people down to the pool of Siloam where he filled the pitcher with water. During the march people played flutes and sang the Hillel(Psalms 113-118). Then they all returned to the Temple.This is what was happening when Jesus stood up and cried out His claim.
Jesus made three claims. He is the source of life. He is able to quench the thirst of all people if they come to Him. He is the source of abundant life. Rivers of flowing water can flow out from a person. This source of living water did not become available until Jesus died upon the cross. Living water only comes through believing in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the source of the Holy Spirit. The rivers of flowing water represents the Holy Spirit. Giving the living water is the giving of the Holy Spirit.
Now water does at least three things. It cleanses or purifies; it refreshes; and it revitalizes or energizes.
Here are the responses of the people. 1) Some said He was the Prophet 2) Some said He was the Christ. 3) Some questioned if He could be the Messiah since He was from Galilee, where He had grown up. They ignored the fact that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. So we see people arguing over Jesus then just as people continue to argue over Jesus today. Many do question Jesus' origin and continue in unbelief because of it. When they consider Jesus they may see a great or wise man, but only a man. They see and believe that Jesus was flesh and blood, but not God incarnate in human flesh. They refuse to believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. Some would take and do away with Jesus. They want nothing to do with Jesus. He was, and is, a threat to their peace and security and to their desire to live just as they wish. The religious leaders did not even want to listen and consider what one of their very own said to them. The Sanhedrin was wrong in claiming that no prophet ever came from Galilee: Jonah came from Galilee. God is fully able to raise up prophets from anywhere He chooses.
Next time we must look into the dark sinfulness of mankind and God's great forgiveness. That is at the beginning of chapter eight.
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Wed, Oct 15th - 2:35PM
Book of John Chapter 7
Here is the response of the authorities and rulers: They bring a charge of being a rabble-rouser.
"The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning Him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go to Him that sent Me. You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, there you can not come. then said the Jews among themselves, Where will He go, that we shall not find Him? will He go to the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles: What manner of saying is this that He said, You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, there you can not come?" (7:32-36)
Jesus foretold His destiny: His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. He foretold man's destiny: men shall seek Him but can't come to where He is. The Pharisees reached out to the chief priests, who were primarily leaders among the Sadducees who held most of the highh offices of Jewish government under the rule of the Romans. When in the four gospels we read about the Pharisees, chief priests, and scribes standing against Jesus it means the entire ruling body of the Jews is taking action. This body was called the Sanhedrin. At this time, the Sanhedrin had decided to send the temple police to arrest Jesus. But they also did not want to cause a riot in the streets. What caused these men to be so disturbed? People were murmurring. Many were believing in Jesus. Jesus was becoming too much of a threat to them and their security and positions of power and influence. They did not want anyone rocking the proverbial boat.
A person often speaks against and opposes Jesus because Jesus is a threat to his/her way of life. They are unwilling to change their lifestyle, so Jesus is a threat to their secuity and comfort. So the effort is one of disposing of Jesus and His influence the best way they can. What is tragic to unbelievers today is that Jesus foretold His destiny. He described His death, His resurrection, His ascension back to heaven. What does the death and resurrection have to do with those who oppose Jesus? Jesus said that anyone who opposes Him could get rid of Him. They can reject and have nothing to do with Him. They are allowed to do just that. Jesus went away. But Jesus also said that He would not cease to exist; He would not be annihilated. His life would not be extinguished. He would arise and return to the Father who sent Him to earth. Jesus gives great hope to all who believe in Him.
Jesus also foretold the destiny of man. He predicted a tragic future for all who oppose Him. He who rejects Jesus will face the day when he will seek Jesus. At the day of judgment the unbeliever wil seek Christ Jesus but will not find Him. It will be far too late.
What is the reaction of the Sanhedrin? They are puzzled. They can't figure out what Jesus is talking about. The diaspora refers to the Jews who were scattered all over the world. They thought that maybe Jesus was talking about leaving Israel and go teach those Jews wo were living among the Gentiles. What Jesus talked about was actually offensive to them. Jesus' predicted death, resurrection and ascension simply could not be grasped by any of them at this point in time. It remains a stumbling block to many people even today. Spiritually blind, deaf, mute, lame, and walking in darkness continually. This condition confuses people today who look at those who claim to be Christians but their actions and words do not line up with the claim.
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Wed, Oct 8th - 3:40PM
Book of John Chapter 7
The third reaction to Jesus came from all of the people---pilgrims and the local residents of Jerusalem. Their charges ranged from being demon possessed to being merely being a man.
"The people answered and said, You have a devil: who goes around trying to kill you? Jesus said to them, I have done one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave circumcision to you; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers) and you on the sabbath day circumcise a man. If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are you angry at Me, because I have made a man completely whole on the sabbath day? Do not judge according to appearances, but judge righteous judgment. Then some of them from Jerusalem said, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he speaks boldly, and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? However we know from what place he is: but when Christ comes, no one knows from what place he is. Then Jesus cried in the temple as He taught, saying, You both know Me, and you know from what place I come from: and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him: for I am from Him, and He has sent Me. Then they tried to take Him: but no one laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come. And many of the people believed on Him, and said, When Christ comes, will He do more miracles than these which this man has done?" (7:20-31)
The pilgrims charged Jesus as being demon possessed and insane. The pilgrims did not know Jesus very well at all since they came from all over Israel. All that they knew was that Jesus opposed the religious establishment, their leaders, and their religion which was founded by their forefathers, the most godly men in history. Only an evil man or a man filled with an evil spirit would oppose such a religion. He must be mad. The pilgrims believed that their leaders would never harm anyone, or be unjust or immoral, or act in an unholy manner. The truth is any establishment or leadership group can be quite wrong. Everyone fails and falls short of the glory of God, some simply fall further short than others. The Sanhedrin struggled with making a choice. Believe Jesus was their Messiah or choose to keep going with their religion and traditions. Same choices must be made even today.
Jesus simply tried to convince the pilgrims by pointing out His miracles that He performed. He healed a man on the sabbath day and caused all sorts of anger. Sabbath was meant to have no work done on it. But circumcisions were done on the sabbath day, wasn't that work? Jesus pointed this out and said that He healed the whole man on the sabbath so wasn't that even better than circumcision? Jesus told them that judgment was not to be about appearances but according to facts.
Now the local peoples' reaction was of reasoning and coming to a tragic conclusion. Is this man the one so opposed and feared? Is this the man that our leaders seek to kill? They observe that Jesus continues to speak boldly and openly but no one is stopping Him. Does this mean that Jesus really is the Messiah? But they all concluded Jesus couldn't be their Messiah since they knew where he came from. They knew his family and his upbringing. Ahh, he is just a carpenter from Nazareth, just another man. They expected that their Messiah would come from an unusual place, someplace that they did not know anything about.
What was Jesus' reply? Yes, I am a man. I was born of Mary and lived in Nazareth, but that is not all. I was sent by God. The people did not know God and did not know much about heaven. Technically speaking, the local people did not know where Jesus had come from. God commissioned Jesus and sent Him to earth to proclaim and live the truth before people. The reactions of the locals was either of two things. Some still did not believe and some even became sworn enemies and tried to stop Jesus but failed. Others believed Jesus.
These are the exact same reactions that we see around us today. Established religions and their leaders frequently become out of step with what Christ has asked all of us to do. They become stuck on maintaining traditions and not focusing on reaching people with the Gospel of Christ. They even become angry when asked why they will not change and follow what JESUS has taught. Or they have accepted many of the doctrines of the world around them, making them part of what the church now believes. The world is not supposed to change the church but the church is supposed to change the world.
Next time we look at the response of the Sanhedrin and the chief priests to Jesus.
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Name: Eric Rajaniemi
