5/16/11 John 8:41-47 Belonging to the Father or Not

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

(Robert Schuller and son Robert A. Schuller)

Thoughts: Today, to prove paternity, all we have to do is have DNA testing.  It was not so in Jesus' day. In verse 39 the people claimed to have Abraham as their father.  In verse 40 they claimed to have God as their father.  But Jesus claims in verse 44 that their real father is the devil.  Jesus gave some criteria for being from and belonging to God- that 1) they would recognize him- who was sent from God; that 2) they would be able to hear and respond to His words (which are truth).  To really belong to our Father, we should imitate His works by imitating His visible Son, Jesus.  If we cannot see that Jesus shows us God- how can we imitate the Father?  How can we do His will?  The greatest lie is to not recognize holiness when it is right in front of us.  Jesus was saying if they lied about Him they lied about God, and the father (beginner) of all lies is the devil.  It is important to believe in the holiness and truth of God's revelation in Christ. 

Prayer: May my life reflect you, Father.  May people be able to look at me and see you in me.

John Calvin Abridged: He calls them of "their father the devil"- the ultimate enemy of God- because they imitate the devil and are instigated by him to fight against Christ.  When the scripture calls us "children of God" it is not because of some transmission of substance (as the Manichees believe), but the grace of His Spirit which gives us new life.  When we are born children of the devil it is not creation's fault, but sin's fault.  The two faults of the devil mentioned by Christ are cruelty and falsehood. 

5/15/11a John 8:31-41 Truth Sets us Free

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

(You will know the truth and the truth will set you free)

Thoughts: "Hold to my teaching" has been traditionally translated "continue in my word."  It is not enough to believe in the beginning.  To be a real disciple we must continue to hold onto the teaching of Christ.  Not just the meat of His teaching (like love and kindness), but also the specifics of His teaching.
If we lose his teaching, we become slaves to sin.  There are many who are so enslaved of sin, they seek justification for it rather than give it up.  We would rather be told that we shouldn't feel guilty than be told that our behavior is wrong and we need to change our behavior.  Abraham, by contrast, would do anything God said- even if it didn't make sense.  He would move to a new land; fight outnumbered against trained soldiers; and even be willing to sacrifice his only son.  His desire was to do God's will.  As His children of faith- we are called to not follow sin, but listen to Jesus teaching- hold to it, and follow God.

Prayer: Help me to hold, Lord, to your whole teaching. 

John Calvin Abridged: Though the Jews at that time resembled barren soil, the Lord did not permit the seed of His Word to be entirely lost.  Christ warns that it is not enough to begin well if we don't persevere.  The knowledge of the Gospel restores freedom.  Nothing is more valuable or blessed than the Gospel which delivers us from slavery.

5/14/11 John 8:25-30 Who is Jesus

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

(Presbyterian Disaster Volunteers help clean up storm damage from southern tornado 4/2011)

Thoughts: Who is Jesus, really, and what difference does that make?  Of course, Jesus is the Son of the Father- God in the flesh.  But here Jesus emphasizes that as His Son, Jesus does the will of the Father.  A few days ago a preacher was killed in Columbia, SC (Billy Dean Randall) driving his car back from a repair shop by a 20 year old college student who was driving while drunk.  The preacher was known for flying medical supplies to Haiti and people in need.  The family and church spoke words of mercy and forgiveness in court.  Who is Jesus- He is the One who sacrifices and forgives, and changes us so we may do so as well.  Thousands of volunteers from churches are pouring into the flood swept plains of middle America and the tornado swept areas of Alabama.  They take their time to go to a different land to help strangers, easing their plight.  Who is Jesus?  He is the one who was "sent" and whose God never left Him.  He was the One who always sought to please God even to the point of being "lifted up" on the cross to help others out of their ultimate tragedy of sin.

Prayer: May people be able to see who you are, Lord, by looking at my life.  May my attitude to those around me glorify you- reflecting who you are as in a mirror.

John Calvin Abridged: Jesus has spoken plainly of his identity, and the prophets had spoken of him since the beginning of scriptural revelation.  God, as judge, will vindicate himself and his truth against the wicked in the end, as He is the author of the truth.  Christ is singing as it were, to the deaf, so he stops arguing and leaves their judgment to God. As Christ speaks only what He gets from the Father, so ministers are not to speak beyond what God has said. 

http://www.thestate.com/2011/05/14/1818734/waddell-30-w-mug-1-box-for-the.html

5/12/11 John 8:21-24

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

(Bronzino 1545)
Thoughts: Jesus talked three times here about dying in sin.  Dying in sin is staying in this life and not making it to the next.  It is like we are almost tied or trapped by a barrier of sin that keeps us from going to the next place where Jesus is.  Belief that Jesus is the saving Messiah (the "he" of vs. 24) ties us to the One who can enable us to be where He is.  He is the key to the door of heaven that keeps us from dying in our sins.  He died in our sin so that we would not have to die in our sin.

Prayer: Keep me Lord, from dying in sin.  Help me to believe in you and be set free.

John Calvin Abridged: Christ does not say this lightly.  We must breathe either the odor of life or death (2 Cor. 2:16).  The meaning of these words  amounts to this. “The wicked will at length feel how great loss they have suffered by rejecting Christ, when he freely offers himself

to them. They will feel it, but it will be too late, for there will be no more room for repentance.”  Therefore, when Christ knocks at the door, we should open it, for now is the time of salvation.

5/11/11 John 8:19,20 How to Find the Father

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

(Jesus teaching in the Temple Tissot)

Thoughts: Not having a father in those days was seen as a curse.  Sometimes the father wouldn't claim the son.  To be without a father at that time meant struggle and poverty.  Jesus' reply was that they did not know who they were accusing.  Jesus was not fatherless, He had the greatest Father of all in God.  Jesus also replied if they could not even recognize their own Messiah, it meant they had blinded themselves to God Himself- for He and the Father were one.  If you want to find the Father, then you must look at the One who reveals Him- the Son.

Prayer: May we see the Father working in you, Jesus. May we grow in knowledge and trust in you.

John Calvin Abridged: Their question to Jesus was mocking, not believing what Christ had said about his heavenly Father.  Too many despise Christ today because they do not recognize from where He comes.  They inquired about the Father, but they had the Son before their eyes.  Seeing they did not see. How can anyone ascend on high to God unless they are raised by the hand of His Son?  Whoever desires to know God but does not start with Christ will wander as in a labyrinth. 

5/10/11 John 8:13-18 Jesus' Testimony

<sup>For the next few weeks I will be going back over the Gospel of John chapters 8 & 9- impotant passages about Jesus' authority.

13</sup> The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

(Jesus teaching in the Temple- pointing up- James Jaques Tissot 19th cent).

Thoughts: How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?  Is it by our guesses?  Is it by what His friends say?  Is it because He says so?  The Gospel of John is written that we might believe and then have life (20:31).  John makes it clear that this great teacher made his own claim about his divinity- and that it was not just made up for him.  Jesus here points out that the only two really valid witnesses needed are his and the Father's witness.  Other witnesses may be distorted, blinded, corrupt.  Jesus is the true discerner of truth and falsehood- the ultimate judge of right and wrong.  The One who came from God and heaven can tell us more validly about such things than we who are only guessing about them (vs. 14).  The real question, is can we trust what Jesus says?  Can we trust that what John (an eyewitness) says Jesus said is true?  In the end, it is a matter of faith in His testimony. The resurrection adds power to the already powerful words of Jesus.  Faith is more than just guessing or thinking really hard in the dark.  Jesus came as the light to show us to God. 

Prayer: Lord, give me faith to believe your testimony. 

John Calvin Abridged: The Pharisess object that no one person ought to be trusted when they are speaking of their own cause.  Jesus' answer is that He is not just a single person among many- just a common man.  Jesus' status is above the whole world and common human standards.  Jesus was now clothed in the form of a servant, and they could not perceive His glory.  But He infers to His future glory in the resurrection as a proof of his testimony. 

5/9/11 John 21:23-25 The Never-Ending Story

He only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
²⁴ This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
²⁵ Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

(St, John the Evangelist-

Il Domenichino 1625-8 Bob Jones art gallery)


Thoughts: The story of Jesus does not end with this writing of John.  John also admits this gospel is incomplete in the sense that it is not exhaustive- it doesn't contain every single thing Jesus did or said.  John admits to editing in what he saw were the main things and leaving out secondary things.  The story of how God's love works in the world is never fully comprehended or completed either.  God works often in hidden ways.  Even in heaven there appears to be a process of continual enjoyment, and continual learning.  There is more to God than meets the eye.  He still works today. 

Prayer: Work in me, O Lord.  Help me to never tire of you.  Help me to grow in my hunger for knowledge of you and the creation you have made.  Help me to have an appreciation for your work in the world. 

John Calvin Abridged: John relates that an error arose by misunderstanding Christ's words.  Those who had heard them interpreted them wrongly- believing John would not die.  If they could interpret Christ's words in error- how much more we can who are far away from Christ in time, and have not been better schooled? The teaching of Christ is simple and plain, but we obscure his teaching by our wicked inventions.  Christ was not giving a definite time for John, but was affirming his power over his life and death.  We will never cease to err unless we unreservedly receive what Christ has for us, and avoid human inventions.  The hyperbole John uses comes from the infinite work of Christ which work is not always visible.  John anticipates that some would object that he left some things out.  John admits that he has included what is necessary for our salvation and for the glory of God.