John 3:22-36

Dear RTB’ers,

Three verses to comment on today… First, John the Baptist speaking: He must increase, but I must decrease. (v. 30) For all the attention that John was getting from the Jewish leaders and from the common people, in his heart he remained humble. We should speak these same words as John – Jesus must increase, we must decrease.

[A brief aside… There is discussion among scholars as to whether John the Baptist is still speaking after the quote above in verse 30. That is, in verses 31 to 36, is it John the Baptist speaking or John, the Apostle writing commentary? It doesn’t sound much like the “repent and believe” message that John the Baptist typically speaks, so I tend toward it being John, the Apostle’s commentary.]

The second verse that struck me was verse 34: For He Whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The first “He” in this verse clearly refers to Jesus – just look back at the context, the previous few verses. And no doubt, Jesus received the Holy Spirit without measure. However, what if we bring it to ourselves, that each one of us is one of those people “…he whom God has sent…”, that God has brought us to Himself and He is sending us out to bring His message to those around us. Change that “He” pronoun to “he” and the Holy Spirit is ours without measure. That’s a thought worth believing!!

Finally, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life… (v. 36a) I’ve been hearing this message again and again that this verse is a present tense verse. Although it also suggests our future heavenly life, what is true for us today is that we are currently living that eternal life. Our earthly time is much more than just our working and paying the bills. In a sense, as Jesus has ascended to the Father, He has brought us with Him. That’s another thought worth believing and acting upon!!

Blessings.

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See also:

• January 20 (2021) / John 3:22-36
• January 31 (2019) / John 3:22-36

John 2:23-3:21

Dear RTB’ers,

Clarification… Yesterday I discussed the Jews seeking signs and wondered at how they knew about Jesus’ signs. Today we see that Jesus was, indeed, performing signs (healings?) in Jerusalem, leading to the Jewish leaders requesting additional signs: Now when He was in Jerusalem … they saw the signs that He was doing. (v. 2:23) We also see Nicodemus acknowledging these signs in John 3:2.

The Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments (Baptism, the Eucharist, Reconciliation [Confession], Confirmation, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction [anointing of the ill]), while mainline Protestant denominations recognize only two – Baptism and the Eucharist. One of the Catholic Church’s sources for Confirmation comes from Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (v. 3:5) So, is Jesus instituting Confirmation as a sacrament? The early church acknowledged the laying on of hands as a particular spiritual ritual for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 8:14-17, 19:6.) Sacrament or not, we celebrate Confirmation in our Anglican tradition as a special service where we ask to be “born of the Spirit” (v. 3:8b). We all need to be Spirit-filled!

Blessings.

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See also:

• October 13 (2023) / John 1:35-3:36
• January 19 (2021) / John 3:1-21
• January 29 (2019) / John 3:1-9
• January 30 (2019) / John 3:10-21

John 2:1-22

Dear RTB’ers,

It’s a strange question the Jews asked Jesus after His cleansing of the Temple, What sign do you show us for doing these things? (v. 18b) The NASB helps our understanding of their question, in that their interpretation includes the Jews asking about Jesus’ authority for doing these things. So, as to the Jews asking for a sign… Perhaps they had already heard of the miracle at Cana and wanted to see more? Maybe Jesus has performed some healings while He was at Capernaum? (John 2:12) It won’t be the last time that the Jews are seeking a sign. Here’s another request and Jesus’ reply to them about their sign-seeking: Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.” But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (Matthew 12:38-39) Paul, the Apostle also commented on the Jews seeking signs: For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified… (I Corinthians 1:22-23a)

And us… Do we seek signs before we move on with some big or small decisions in our lives? How do we know when or how to move on? Carol and I have had to do some serious thinking (and praying) as we’ve sought to sell the farm and move to Lexington. I don’t think that we’ve asked at all for specific signs, but we have looked at past and current events in our lives that have pointed us in one direction or another, to the end that we are at peace with our move. I guess what I’m suggesting is that looking backward for “signs” is generally better than asking for signs before we would move forward. That is, asking why God has brought us to a decision point might be the better prayer than asking God to point out His new direction for us.

I hope to hear from some of you on this topic! Maybe even some of your personal stories…?

Blessings.

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See also:

• January 18 (2021) / John 2:1-25
• January 27 (2019) / John 2:1-12
• January 28 (2019) / John 2:13-25

John 1:35-51

Dear RTB’ers,

When a book is made into a movie, the book reader’s perspective on their original reading can become influenced by the way the movie portrays the book. That is clearly the case with me and the gospels. The series, The Chosen, has influenced my own imagination (or my own understanding) as to what the gospels are saying – not negatively, just different. The movie writers and directors add much to the script that is not in the gospels, although they do have their own disclaimer that “all Biblical and historical context and any artistic imagination are designed to support the truth and intention of the Scriptures.” (https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueChristian/comments/1jlgl1p/is_the_chosen_a_bad_show/)

Still, it’s hard to read the gospel words and not let my imagination run to the way incidents are portrayed in The Chosen. Just that.

Jesus speaking: Come and you will see. … Follow Me. (vv. 39, 43) Philip speaking: Come and see. (v. 46) Invitations – that’s all, nothing more, no evangelical preaching, no proselytizing! Just an invitation, possibly even part of a normal conversation, an add-on, as in “Do you attend a local church?” Invitations – that’s all. We can do this!

Blessings.

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See also:

• January 17 (2021) / John 1:35-51
• January 26 (2019) / John 1:35-51

John 1:19-34

Dear RTB’ers,

John the Baptist answering the Jews’ questions, I am not the Christ. … I am not. … No. … (vv. 20-22) No matter how John the Baptist answers their questions, they keep asking. But all their questions are about him, and he finally gets their thinking back to the Messiah: … I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness… I baptize with water, but among you stands One you do not know, even He Who comes after me, the strap of Whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. (vv. 23a, 26b-27). I could surely follow John the Baptist’s example – it’s not about me, it’s about Jesus.

Blessings.

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See also:

• January 19 (2019) / John 1:19-28
• January 21 (2019) / Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34

John 1:1-18

Dear RTB’ers,

Based on familiarity alone, there are probably few passages in all of Scripture with which I am more familiar. As a child in the Catholic Church, until I was almost twenty years old, these first fourteen verses in John’s Gospel were spoken at mass as the Last Gospel, the final words spoken or sung before our Amen at the end of the service. But familiarity does not imply comprehension or understanding. To get into John’s Gospel, where we are now headed, we truly need the Holy Spirit as our guide, as our interpreter, as our teacher. That will be my prayer for us as we move forward these next few weeks.

I have long found John’s Gospel to be the most difficult for me to understand – especially Jesus’ answers to his listeners’ questions. Today’s prologue has none of that, only John’s narrative. John uses simple sentences to amplify eternal truths – Jesus as God, from the beginning the Creator, Who became our earthly Brother, Who was scorned by those to whom He came, and then became our Savior.

Having read or heard these words so many times, the verse that stood out for me today was verse 11, He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. In another study that I am doing we are at the point where the Scribes and Pharisees are asking Jesus questions. These are the people that I see as His own people [who] did not receive Him. And just yesterday I read one of my posts from 2019, my incredulity that these people could continue to scorn Him, in spite of the miracles, the teachings, and the answers to their questions that overwhelmed them: And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions. (Matthew 22:46) He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. What verse stands out for you? Share your thoughts with the rest of us.

Blessings.

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See also: October 9 (2023) / John 1:1-18; Luke 1; Matthew 1:1-17.

I Kings 22

Dear RTB’ers,

Ahab is dead, but his legacy lives on – sadly. There was one unusual item that caught my eye: Ahaziah … did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. (vv. 51-52) Typically the authors write that a king did “whatever” in the way of his father, but in the case of Ahaziah the mother is also mentioned. Why? His mother was Jezebel!

Jehoshaphat is generally regarded as a good king. (vv. 43a, 44) He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. … Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. I don’t recall that there is further war between Israel and Judah after Jehoshaphat, but I’m not certain of that. His major failure was that … the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. (v. 43b) For that he is not regarded as highly as other kings of Judah.

First we have 400 prophets speaking: And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” (vv. 12) Then we compare their words to those of Micaiah: Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you. (v. 23) And I wonder how often I have gone along with a speaker or an action or a proposal simply because I didn’t want to be verbal in my opposition or, even more challenging, to be alone with a different perspective. It can be a tough question – when is it time to speak out and when is it time to stay silent? My thoughts hearken back to WWJD, “What would Jesus do?”, but in this case, WWJS, “What would Jesus say?” And the rest of you, speaking out or staying silent? Got any stories to tell…??

Blessings.

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See also: May 25 (2023) / I Kings 20-22:50.

I Kings 21

Dear RTB’ers,

Lust. That’s the word that came to me from today’s reading. We typically think of lust in a sexual context, but it’s also a good word for expressing any excess desire. I have occasionally joked about lusting after something that I really like that I haven’t enjoyed for a while, like wings at Madison Garden in Richmond, one of my all-time favorite foods. So, lust is a good word for expressing Ahab’s desire for Naboth’s vineyard. Being turned down left him sullen and vexed (again, as in I Kings 20:43 from yesterday), such that his wife, Jezebel intervened with her murder plan. Her plan for Naboth’s death brings to mind David’s plan for Uriah’s death. There it was David’s lust for Bathsheba that brought about the entire episode.

As for Jezebel… Let’s go back a few chapters: [Ahab] took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. (I Kings 16:31b) Jezebel came from pagan roots, strikingly different from the Covenant Law under which Israel was supposed to act. Ahab’s inability to simply take Naboth’s vineyard was a foreign concept for her; pagan kings could do whatever they wanted, confiscate whatever land they desired. Still (possibly with Ahab’s guidance) she made Naboth’s death look as if it was following Covenant Law. Trickery. Treachery. Evil. We’ll see more of Jezebel’s evil influence as we read on.

Back to lust… It’s not a good thing – certainly not one to joke about for me from now on! For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (I John 2:16, NASB)

Blessings.

I Kings 20

Dear RTB’ers,

An entire chapter devoted to Israel’s King Ahab and his battles with Aram (Damascus/modern-day Syria), with no mention of Elijah or Elisha or Jezebel from previous chapters. It’s hard to understand Ahab’s persistence in his seeming failure to acknowledge the Lord’s work. First he saw the Lord defeating the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel. Then an unnamed prophet comes to him and predicts his victory over Aram’s siege of Samaria with a powerful message: Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the LORD. (v. 13b) The writer offers no response from Ahab as to this battle victory brought about from the Lord. Then months later Aram again tests Israel in battle and a prophet again predicts victory from the Lord: …I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD. (v. 28b) Again, no acknowledgement of the Lord’s deliverance. Finally, without seeking the Lord, Ahab lets his enemy go free and is chastised for it, with his own doom predicted. Today’s final word is fitting: And the king of Israel went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria. (v. 43) Vexed and sullen!

What to make of Ahab’s silence with respect to the Lord’s deliverance, especially when these two victories had been foretold? Or perhaps the greater question is why the Lord continued to deliver Ahab and Israel when he/they seem to have abandoned Him and are busy serving the Baal gods? We closed our Avanza video yesterday with the following quote from Paul, …but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) God’s love for Israel, in spite of their rejection of Him…? And us?

Blessings.

I Kings 19

Dear RTB’ers,

Elijah, continued. Fearful of Jezebel’s death threat, Elijah flees Israel and passes through Judah to Beersheba, the southernmost city in the Promised Land, where an angel ministers to him. From there he goes on to “Horeb, the mount of God” (v. 8b), which could be an alternate name for Mt. Sinai, the mountain where God delivered the Ten Commandments. There God, Himself speaks: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 9b) Presumably unsatisfied with Elijah’s response, God then sends a mighty wind, an earthquake, and fire to get Elijah’s attention. However, it’s the sound of a low whisper (v. 12b) that brings Elijah out of his cave wherein God asks him again, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (v. 13b)

A couple of reflections… First, What are you doing here, Fred?

I’ve never heard God specifically ask me that question, but I’ve often asked it of myself, “What am I doing here?” Even now, as Carol and I have moved to Lexington, what are we doing here? Last fall at this time we were preparing to teach in Slovakia. What were we doing there? Every morning I prepare a post for RTB. What am I doing? What am I doing? And you, readers, what are you doing here?

Second, the sound of a low whisper is a still small voice in the KJV translation, words that are commonly cited worldwide, suggesting how God speaks to us. I guess it’s because we need to listen more carefully to understand a whispered voice. It’s a good reminder that we need to quiet our own lives in order to hear Him. Shhhh…!

Blessings.

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See also: May 24 (2023) / I Kings 16:21-19:21.