June 12 – Thoughts on Ezra 3-5 & John 20

“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”  John 20:31

This is the theme verse for John’s gospel and originally the final verse of the book.  It was probably later, after John’s original writing, that Ch. 21 was added, along with much of Ch. 1 as a Prologue.  John’s purpose was to convince his readers that Jesus was God and Messiah, so that they might have life, even “Abundant Life” (John 10:10).  And isn’t that the primary purpose of the church as well?

We get wrapped up in other purposes for our lives and our churches.  Acting correctly, following the rules, finding friendships, growing deeper in our faith, fixing this broken world, taking sides on social issues… all of these are singular purposes for different churches and for different Christians.  But shouldn’t they all take a back seat to John’s purpose in his gospel:  to help people have life in Jesus’ name?  Everything else should be secondary.  Important, yes, but not primary.

A friend once asked churches how many roses they had put on their altars in the past year.  This assumed that roses on the altar marked a new conversion, a new life committed to Jesus.  He told me he virtually never got more than 2 or 3, and usually these were kids from camp.  His point was that when it comes to evangelism, to sharing the story we read today or a version of it with those who don’t know it, we stink.  We are afraid of it so we’re bad at it so we excuse ourselves from having to do it.

But if evangelism was the primary purpose of John’s entire gospel, shouldn’t we consider it at least important if not primary for our churches and lives?

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June 11 – Thoughts on Ezra 1-2 & John 19:23-42

Perhaps we’re getting tired of hearing this, but in Jesus’ last moments, like in the whole of His passion week, Jesus is in complete control.  He has orchestrated the events of His own death because He is fully obedient to the Father’s will, and the Father’s will is that He die for the people, die to pay for our sins, die to bring us salvation.

We can understand Jesus orchestrating the events leading up to His death, but even while suffering on the cross, He is still directing events.  He finds His mother someone, John himself in fact, to care for her in her old age, though at this point she is not quite 50.  He asks for something to drink not because He is thirsty but in order to fulfill scriptural prophecy.  And finally, having done all that needed doing, “He gave up His spirit.”  In control to the very end.

And this is important because all too often our lives are out of control.  From the political to the religious, from the social to the personal, from the physical to the emotional, everything seems to be out of control.  And it seems to be growing more out of control rather than less as time passes and as we age.  Which makes this lesson that much more important.

When everything seems out of control, God is still in control.  When we weep over the pain in the world and in our lives and can do nothing about it, God is in control.  When the world seems to be falling apart, God is in control.  In sickness and in health, in poverty and in plenty, when comfort and pleasure just aren’t enough to bring meaning to our lives, God is in control.

Ours is simply to trust.  As hard as it is, trust that God is in control.  And life becomes much easier.

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June 10 – Thoughts on 2 Chron. 34-36 & John 19:1-22

This section of John’s gospel is the center of a literary device called a “chiasm”.  This is a large “V” in the text that looks like this…

A – B – C – D – C’ – B’ – A’

Verses A and A’ are parallels or even restatements of each other.  The same goes with B and B’, and with C and C’.  The purpose of this kind of writing is to point with emphasis at verse D, which is the main point of the whole passage.  A good explanation and example can be found at God Questions: Chiasm.

In this passage, the chiasm is long, but centers on a verse 19:2, where Jesus is dressed as a king.  As we’ve been saying, each character except the Jews themselves, are proclaiming Jesus as king, and here it’s the soldier’s turn.  They mockingly bow before him, proclaim Him king, and even dress Him as king with a crown and robe.

I asked some of our folk to talk about Jesus as king, and the bulk of the conversation revolved around the question of His responsibility to us as king.  We expect Him to protect us, to provide for us, and to be there when we need Him.  But we seldom spend the same amount of time on our responsibility to Him as our king.  Ours is to obey unquestioningly, to give our taxes/tithes, and to stand up to defend the kingdom.  So… how are we doing?

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June 9 – Thoughts on 2 Chron. 32-33 & John 18:19-40

Yesterday we mentioned that nearly every character in John’s Passion narrative will state or imply that Jesus is King of the Jews.  From the Roman guards in the garden of Gethsemane, to the servant who lost an ear there, player after player in this drama acknowledges that Jesus is God and King of the Jews.  Except one.  The Jews themselves

It is here that John emphasizes that with all the Romans taking part in this plan, it is the Jews themselves who refuse to recognize their own King.  In fact, it is they who will insist, “We have no King but Caesar”.

Why is it often the very people closest to Jesus who refuse His loving advances?  Why is it that absolute strangers, foreigners, and the least likely are the ones who most quickly accept Him?  From a Samaritan woman at a well to an Ethiopian eunich, those with little exposure to Jesus find it easiest to fall in love with Him.  While it is we who have known of Him since birth who find Him the slowest.  Some have even said that Christianity is a vaccine against truly knowing Jesus.

Are you open to all that God wants to do through you?  with you?  to you?  Are you prepared for something you don’t expect, something brand new from God, or are you so well versed in your own expectation of God that He is stuck in His little box?

Today, open yourself to the possibility of God being bigger than your tiny expectations of Him.  Allow yourself to believe that He may be able to do far more than you can possibly ask or imagine.

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June 8 – Thoughts on 2 Chron. 30-31 & John 18:1-18

Today, we begin the Passion narrative of the Gospel of John.  Not every gospel records Jesus’ birth, and few of the miracles are in all four.  But the last week of Jesus’ life, the Passion narrative, is clearly and consistently found in every gospel narrative and beyond.  Yet John’s presentation of His last days takes a very different tone than any other.  John’s gospel shows Jesus completely in control of every aspect of the last days of His own life.

This is important to John’s purpose.  While Matthew’s purpose is to show Jesus as King, Mark’s to show Jesus as servant, and Luke’s to show Jesus as Savior, John’s purpose in His gospel is to show Jesus as God.  As God, Jesus is not a victim of the Romans or the Jews, and He is not Plan B.  He is the orchestrator and implementor of the cross and resurrection, and He is in control.

At the garden of Gethsemane, we get our first glimpse of this fact.  And from here on, nearly every character we meet will show, state, or imply that Jesus is the true King of the Jews, God Himself.

For John, Judas was doing exactly what was needed, though not knowingly.  When the Roman guard shows up, we find Jesus directing them as well.  He asks them whom they seek and, when they fall to the ground in front of him which is a normal position of worship, He reiterates His identity and demands they leave His followers alone, and so they do.  Peter proceeds to cut off a servant’s ear, and that servant’s name, given only in John’s gospel, is Malchus, which means “My King” in Hebrew.    Jesus then completes the scene by commanding His disciples.

In the days to come, we’ll see Jesus in control again and again, and we’ll see character after character proclaim Him as King of the Jews.  But the eternal question for us is the same that John was trying to answer:  Is Jesus in control of this world, even with all it’s turmoil and pain?  Is He in control of your life, even when it takes a direction we don’t like or understand?  Is Jesus your King?

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