John 8:21-30

“Notice what you notice.” Yesterday I chatted about “the Father” and Jesus’ comments about His Father. And it was all very confusing to me, this talk of Jesus about His Father when the Jewish leaders knew that He had come from Galilee and that His father was the carpenter, Joseph of Nazareth. I regularly try to “put myself into the story”, to imagine what His listeners thought when they heard Him. That’s how I came up with yesterday’s comments.

Today, just now, I thought of a different approach. What if His listeners knew (or at least imagined) that Jesus was claiming that His Father was God? (Verse 30 says that “many came to believe in Him.”) That would make Jesus the Son of God (which He was) and the words that He was speaking would make a lot more sense to His listeners: …where I am going, you cannot come; You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world; …unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (vv. 22b, 23a, 23b, 24b, all respectively). Once His listeners took that first step of faith, the rest of what Jesus said would simply reinforce what they were beginning to believe.

And that’s the way it is for us today – that first step of faith is typically the most difficult. Father David has a favorite line that He asks “seekers”: “Are you willing to be willing?” If Jesus’ listeners back then were willing to imagine that He was speaking as if His Father were God, then His statements would follow through more clearly. And today if someone is willing to take that first step and imagine that Jesus could be God and to read the Bible as if Jesus’ statements were true, faith can follow much more easily.

I just thought of an alternative phrasing for “Are you willing to be willing?”: “Is it possible for you to stop being stubborn?” Ouch!! I like David’s softer approach!

Slava Bohu!

John 8:12-20

“Notice what you notice.” If I were a Pharisee in Jesus’ time I would probably be angry with Jesus for what I would perceive to be a high degree of arrogance. I would also be confused, in that those very words that seemed so arrogant were also consistent with the miraculous deeds that He was accomplishing. Knowing myself as I do, I might be astonished by what I was seeing, or I might suspect some sort of trickery behind those deeds – like He was working with someone who was faking blindness or being lame, then being healed. But soon we will see Jesus heal a man blind from birth and astonishment would again overwhelm me.

Still, His words are demanding to the ear! I could go along with His claim that “I am the light of the world” (v. 12), but His talk of His Father would be mind-boggling: …it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me; …the Father who sent me bears witness about me; If you knew me, you would know my Father also; (vv. 16, 18, 19, respectively). I would wonder, “Who is this Father of Whom He speaks? Isn’t this the man from Galilee whose father is Joseph?” He would leave me confused. Yet there is also hope in His words…! I would continue to follow at a distance!

Slava Bohu!

John 7:53-8:11

“Notice what you notice.” Today’s reading is another incident where it is difficult to find something to say that has not already been said. We can easily marvel at Jesus’ wisdom in responding to the Jewish authorities and the final outcome for the woman. There is a lot of controversy over whether these verses are actually part of John’s Gospel or whether they were added by later writers. Setting the controversy aside, it is clear that the entire incident is consistent with many other dealings between Jesus and the Jewish authorities:

1. The leaders want to test Jesus’ knowledge or authority;
2. They bring to Jesus a test case, a woman caught in adultery;
3. They ask Jesus to pronounce judgment;
4. Jesus responds in a way that evades their trap and puts the leaders on the spot; and
5. Jesus wins the day!

I looked online for other insights that I might gain from the story and saw something that I had not seen before. In bringing the woman forward the leaders were obviously asking Jesus to pronounce judgment. But they went one step further by putting Him to the test of the Law: “…Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (v. 5) Had Jesus responded as the authorities hoped, He would have condemned the woman and initiated the stoning. At that point He would have been in violation of Roman law which allowed no one but the Roman authorities to put someone to death. They thought they had Jesus trapped. By answering their question with His question He evaded their trap.

I daresay this is one incident that ranks near the top for most Christians in how Jesus responds to the Jewish tests. He was filled with the Holy Spirit in responding as He did. We are all also filled with that same Holy Spirit (to the extent that we allow ourselves to be filled). So that same “wisdom” is available to us. Don’t be trapped by difficult questions. Stoop down and write on the ground (that is, pause to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you), then give a Spirit-inspired response.

Slava Bohu!

John 7:37-52

“Notice what you notice.” Earlier in this chapter we saw that Jesus went quietly, silently up to Jerusalem to the Feast after telling His brothers that He was not going. Now following the discussions we have covered in the past two days, He stands up and cries out…!! I think that if I were one of His followers, I would be confused also!!

Very intriguing…: But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (v. 39) Our Creative Arts Camp focus two weeks ago was the Holy Spirit. My talk that Wednesday was about Jesus not leaving His disciples alone, but that His Father would send the Holy Spirit, the “Helper”. And throughout the week there was some discussion in my head as to when and where the Holy Spirit was present in Scripture. So this verse above is definitive – the Holy Spirit would not be given to the disciples (or to us) until Jesus was glorified. I take that to mean His Resurrection. So this verse clears it up for me a bit! And yes, we read of that manifestation of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. GLORY!

There is much in John’s Gospel that is lost on me in the past because I have read it fast and in long passages. Nicodemus appearing in this reading is one of those lost opportunities. Today’s reading is the second time we have seen Nicodemus. We all remember the first, in John 3, when Nicodemus first came to Jesus and shared a long conversation. Then we see him again with Joseph of Arimathea preparing Jesus’ body for burial. His appearance in chapter 7 has been lost on me!! BTW, both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are canonized as saints in the Roman Catholic Church and certain Eastern Orthodox churches.

I find there is much more that I could say today, but travel cries out and I want to get this posted. Be blessed, folks!!

Slava Bohu!

John 7:25-36

“Notice what you notice.” But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?” (v. 31) What a powerful testimony from the crowd! They saw what they saw – and simply believed! Unlike the Pharisees their eyes were not clouded over with specific expectations and “alternative facts”. Makes me wonder if we have specific expectations with respect to our interpretation of Scripture…? And the same question to those who disagree with our understanding of Scripture…!

I’ve read it probably hundreds of times and it’s been there all along in John chapter 7, this focus on the leaders’ seeking to kill Jesus and Jesus’ knowing that His time had not yet come. I had always thought of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus as the turning point for what I always called “the Passover Plot”, where Caiaphas offered Jesus as that one man who would die for the nation (John 11:47-53). But here we have this back-and-forth “kill talk” (vv. 1, 19, 20, 25) with the crowd, the Pharisees, and Jesus at the Feast of Booths (commonly known as the “Ingathering”), at least half a year ahead of His actual crucifixion. During our readings in John’s Gospel for the next couple of weeks Jesus will continue teaching and healing in Jerusalem and the surrounding region. The Synoptics will then pick up the same threads in July and August. It will be late August before we finally reach Palm Sunday and Holy Week. That is, Jesus will continue to do what He has been doing; there seems to be very little in Jesus where He has fear for His own death.

Traveling has made it difficult for Carol and me to stay regular in our readings. Carol fell far behind and is now catching up, and thus far I’ve been able to read and post every day – sometimes very late and sometimes very little. We are now halfway through our sixteen nights in Europe. Tomorrow we meet up with Vlado and Maria – Slovaks who attended St. Andrew’s intermittently during 2012-2016. It’ll be a real joy to be with them!

Slava Bohu!

John 7:10-24

“Notice what you notice.” The entire first paragraph of today’s reading is intriguing. John seems to be distinguishing between “the Jews” and “the people” (or the crowds). When he mentions the Jews, I’m thinking that he means the Jewish leaders. In this first paragraph John writes that the Jews “were looking for him” and the people were speaking cautiously “for fear of the Jews”. On the other hand, John has the people split between those who say that “He is a good man” and those who say “He leads the people astray” and in both cases, people are afraid to speak openly.

Then in the next paragraph John has the Jews astonished (or marveling) at Jesus’ teaching. There could be at least two different takes on that statement. First, it could be that the Jewish leaders were truly amazed at Jesus’ teaching because He was so powerful, so convincing, in spite of Jesus’ lack of formal education. On the other hand, it could be that they were antagonistic toward Him simply because He did not have that formal teaching, that “pedigree”, that stamp of approval from the established teachers. Put it all together and Jesus has this sense that they want to kill Him (vv. 19-20). We find out later how correct He was!

Verse 21 refers to the “one work” (or one deed) that Jesus did that made the crowd marvel. Presumably he is reflecting back to His healing of the man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1, ff.), the only account that I can recall thus far of Jesus healing someone in Jerusalem. After that healing Jesus returned to Galilee and worked many more healings, but there is no record of more healings in Jerusalem.

I am hoping that this daily dose of John’s Gospel for two weeks can help me to better unlock Jesus’ teachings therein, especially His responses to questions that do not seem to be straightforward answers.

Slava Bohu!

John 7:1-9

“Notice what you notice.” Now we are leaving the Synoptics for a while. For the rest of this month we are in John’s Gospel. Today we have Him in Galilee talking with His “brothers” about travel to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. They want Him to go, but He says no and stays behind (until tomorrow).

It will probably be the case for the rest of this month that there are many sentences and even entire paragraphs that I do not understand. So there will be many things that will be new to me – or at least new to my understanding! For today, however, I must focus on the old, something that I do understand: For not even his brothers believed in him. (v. 5) It must have been difficult for Jesus to have such opposition, not just with the Jewish leaders (who wanted to kill him – verse 1), but also within His own family. At this point He knew who He was. And presumably His mother surely also knew who He was. So I always wonder at His brothers’ lack of faith. Didn’t Mary tell them about Him? Or did she simply “treasure all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19), but kept them to herself?

The good news is that at least a few of Jesus’ brothers came to faith in who He was. So I continue to pray that my own brother will soon find his own faith in Jesus.

Slava Bohu!

Luke 9:46-50

“Notice what you notice.” Today from Luke… John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” (v. 49) A very short comment, given that it’s late in the day and we’ve had a full day! So, short and sweet.

It’s intriguing to me that someone is casting out demons in Jesus’ name, even though that person is not one of Jesus’ disciples (“…does not follow with us.”) There is power in that name – Jesus!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 9:33-50

“Notice what you notice.” Three short vignettes today from Mark, repeating two from Matthew and one repeated in Luke tomorrow. So for today, “Who is the greatest?” Matthew has the disciples coming to Jesus (location uncertain) and asking Him that question. Mark has them all in Capernaum in “the house”, having been discussing the item along the way. Luke simply has that “an argument arose among them”.

So, back to Mark. And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. (vv. 33-35a). So a number of disciples were involved in this discussion, not necessarily only the twelve. I wonder about their discussion. Were they discussing what it meant to be one of the select twelve? Or were they considering only the “big three” (Peter, James, and John) as the greatest since Jesus had now twice singled them out and taken them with Him separately? And were Peter, James, and John part of the conversation? Surely not!! It’s an interesting, intriguing exercise to read between the lines and write them out a conversation.

But more to the point… Do we at St. Andrew’s make these comparisons? Do we think back to St. John’s or wherever we’ve come from and wonder “who is the greatest”? I’m sure we feel blessed to be part of St. Andrew’s and the whole movement of the Holy Spirit that is ACNA, but as we look back, do we also look “down”? (I know that I’m guilty of that!) We consider ourselves “better off”, but are we also “better”? We need to be careful! Yes, we are thankful, but let’s leave it at that.

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 17:24-18:9

“Notice what you notice.” Three short vignettes today from Matthew – the temple tax, becoming like children, and temptations to sin. Two of these are also covered in Mark and Luke, but only the temple tax is covered in Matthew. Later Jesus again deals with taxation in Matthew (the former tax collector) and quiets the Pharisees with His famous line, Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. (Matthew 22:21) So let’s focus on the tax item.

I’ve always been amazed at Jesus’ knowledge in this incident. How did He know that there was a coin in some fish’s mouth and that this particular fish would be the one to bite onto Peter’s hook? And did His Father or the Holy Spirit so intervene in our world to make this outcome happen? This item has amazed me possibly more than any other bit of knowledge that Jesus possessed while He was on earth. And when it all happened as predicted, the disciples in turn must have been astonished! How could Peter ever fail to believe?

So, is Jesus, His Father, or the Holy Spirit now acting in our world in similar fashion today? If we pray for a particular outcome (“if the Lord wills”) is there in fact Divine Intervention on earth that brings about that outcome (“in His will”)? A coin in a fish’s mouth is a small item in our great big world. What would happen if we were to believe for really big items??!! Unreal…!!

Slava Bohu!