LookingtoJesus

The Bread of LIfe

Bible Reading: John 6

John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

Jesus spoke to the multitude.  It had gotten late, and they were hungry.  Miraculously, He multiplied the loaves and the fishes and fed them all (five thousand men in addition to the women and children: John 6:10).  The people saw the miracle and assumed Him to be the prophet spoken of by Moses.  They intended to take Him by force, to make Him king (John 6:14-15).  He withdrew from them.  They followed Him.  When they found Him, they asked Him how He got there.  He responded with what is commonly referred to as “the Bread of Life” discourse.

The context of Jesus’ message is that great miracle.  The people were seeking after Jesus, but for all the wrong reasons, as Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26).  They were seeking after Jesus because He filled their bellies.  The rest of the discourse is Jesus’ corrective response.

Prominent in the discourse are the words “life,” “live,” and “living.”  I count eighteen occurrences of these terms.  I’m reminded of that which was stated in the beginning of the gospel account — “In Him was life” (John 1:4)—this chapter is another example of the continued emphasis on this theme.  Some main points regarding the Bread of Life: 1) The Bread of Life was sent from heaven by the Living Father (John 6:32, 41, 51, 57); 2) The Bread of Life is true and living bread (John 6:32, 51); 3) The Bread of Life is able to impart life, those without it have “no life” (John 6:33, 35, 50, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58); 4) The Bread of Life must be “eaten” to be of value (John 6:50, 53, 54, 56, 58).

The people did not respond well to Jesus’ message.  His statement, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves” (John 6:53), was too difficult for them (John 6:60-61).  Many of His disciples withdrew and turned away (John 6:65).  “Jesus said therefore to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away, do you?’” (John 6:67).  “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:68-69).  Multitudes were seeking after Jesus, but for all the wrong reasons.  They liked that he filled their bellies with earthly bread, but had no interest in the Bread from Heaven.

Numerous varieties of bread are available at the local supermarket, but no bread on earth can impart true life to the spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1).  And while much concern and effort in life is directed towards obtaining physical bread (food), every man’s greater and deeper need is for the true bread that can impart true life.  True life is bound up in the person of Jesus Christ.  True life = eternal life (John 17:3) = abundant life (John 10:10).  The Father and the Son have true life in themselves (John 5:26).  It is God’s prerogative to impart this “true life” on His terms.  He draws sinners to the Son (John 6:44, 65).  In believing in Him (John 6:29, 40, 47, 69) they receive eternal life (John 6:40, 51, 54, 58).  He is the bread of life.  Have you partaken?  To eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:53) is to receive Him by faith (John 1:12).  His promise?  “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).  True life, eternal and abundant, is to be had in Christ alone.  He is the “food which endures to eternal life” (John 6:27).  He alone can satisfy man’s deepest needs and desires. True life is bound up in Jesus (1 John 5:11-12). Do you have the life?

BREAK THOU THE BREAD OF LIFE

Break now the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
as once you broke the loaves beside the sea.
Beyond the sacred page I seek you, Lord;
my spirit waits for you, O living Word.

Bless your own word of truth, dear Lord, to me,
as when you blessed the bread by Galilee.
Then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall;
and I shall find my peace, my All in all!

You are the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
your holy word the truth that rescues me.
Give me to eat and live with you above;
teach me to love your truth, for you are love.

O send your Spirit now, dear Lord, to me,
that he may touch my eyes and make me see.
Show me the truth made plain within your Word,
for in your book revealed I see you, Lord.

Power to Heal

Bible Reading: John 5

John 5:6, “Do you wish to get well?”

It’s been 10 years, but my friend Nancy still has a picture of Ronald on the door of her refrigerator.  She met him in his home in a village in Uganda.  Nancy had gone there as a member of our mission team.  As a hospice nurse, she had much experience in caring for folks in needy situations.  Ronald’s situation was dire, and she went there to help.  He wasn’t very old, maybe about 15 years of age.  Some mysterious illness had caused him some debilitating pain, so his parents took him to a clinic, but the clinic was unable to diagnose his problem.  So they then followed the dubious advice of a pastor who superstitiously sprinkled dirt from the church floor on him. That didn’t work either.  Next, they consulted a witch doctor who promised to illicit a cure for a fee.  Still, there was no healing, so the family put him to bed and there he laid until Nancy’s visit. With tears flowing from his eyes, the father shared this story with Nancy and me and an interpreter.  His son was bedridden, with a huge bed sore now threatening to do him more harm.  Despite all his father’s efforts, and the expenditure of lots of funds, he was without hope.  We talked and prayed and directed our focus on Jesus.  I suggested he abandon looking to witch doctors and superstitions for a cure and look to Jesus instead.  I shared the gospel with him and assured him of Jesus’ ability to intervene in our lives for good.  He returned home.  Members of our team went to work.  Two men built a hand lift over his bed, which allowed Ronald to get out of his bed.  Then Nancy helped to train him to use it.  She then asked the team for funds to buy Ronald a wheelchair, so that he could get out of his room and see and do things.  We never saw Ronald healed, but through the compassion care of fellow believers, he escaped his bed and made some progress towards healing.  Amidst our problems, be they large or small, its good to direct our focus to the One who loves and cares and is able to intervene in our lives in miraculous ways.

“Do you wish to get well?”  What kind of question is that to ask of an invalid?   But that’s exactly what Jesus asked the man lying beside the pool (John 5:6). The man had been an invalid for 38 years.  He was paralyzed and all alone and completely helpless.  He was gathered there with a multitude of others desperate souls—blind, lame, and paralyzed.  Some manuscripts, but not the earliest and most reliable, insert the following after verse 3 by way of explanation, “waiting for the moving of the water for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had” (John 5:4). 

It seems likely that some kind of superstition developed regarding the healing powers of that pool.  There were community pools in Jerusalem in that day.  Some were spring fed, which could account for the movement of the waters.  There were a lot of sick people in need of healing.  Desperation can give rise to various superstitions—not too many years ago, bloodletting was a common practice!

So, in the Bethseda pool “lottery” the first one into the water won.  The prize was to the swift or the strongest or those with friends who would help them to get there first.  But this man had no one to help him get into the water.  When the water was stirred up, and while he was going, another stepped down before him (John 5:7).  The man had been an invalid for 38 years.  For nearly four decades he had suffered.  Jesus saw the man and “that he had already been there a long time” (John 5:6).  And Jesus said to him, “Do you want to be healed” (John 5:6)?

Not every sickness or malady directly results from sin, but all human maladies are rooted in original sin.  Adam and Eve sinned against God and unleashed a contagion of ills that have infected us all.  No descendant of Adam is untouched in life by the grievous consequences of the curse.  And in response, man is prone to look to all kinds of supposed solutions for deliverance. 

“Do you wish to get well?”  There is a sense in which God asks that question of us all.  In response to our sin problem, we look to a variety of solutions and rationalize or excuse our sin-sourced infirmities with a wide array of explanations.  A multitude of the spiritually paralyzed gather at the “pool” of superstitious and humanistic solutions to man’s besetting ills.  But if we do wish to get well—with respect to being cured from sin—there is but one alternative.

Jesus did for the invalid what no one else would have been able to do.  He healed him —compassionately, instantly, and perfectly.  He didn’t need an angel’s help.  He required no “stirred up” waters.  He told the man to “get up, take up, and walk,” and that’s what the man immediately did (John 5:8-9).  Jesus is able to do the same with the sin-paralyzed (Ephesians 2:1).  He is willing and able to forgive, cleanse, and re-birth them so that they might walk “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).  It matters not if they’ve been a spiritual invalid for many years or few.  The presence of no external means of support is no hindrance to His ability to heal.  He alone is able to heal us “from all our soul’s diseases.” 

I AM TRUSTING THEE, LORD JESUS

I am trusting you, Lord Jesus,
trusting only you;
trusting you for full salvation,
free and true.

I am trusting you for pardon;
at your feet I bow,
for your grace and tender mercy
trusting now.

I am trusting you for cleansing
in the crimson flood;
trusting you who made me holy
by your blood.

I am trusting you to guide me;
you alone shall lead,
ev’ry day and hour supplying
all my need.

I am trusting you for power;
you can never fail.
Words which you yourself shall give me
must prevail.

I am trusting you, Lord Jesus;
never let me fall.
I am trusting you forever
and for all.

Living Water

Bible Reading: John 4

John 4:13-15, “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water’.”

We kind of take it for granted. It’s easy for most of us to get the water we need, from a faucet or from a bottle. Not so in other parts of the world. I’ve seen children laboring to carry large jugs of water from a creek to their home in the villages in Uganda. Water is a necessity and they oftentimes must work hard to get it. Jesus spoke to the woman at the well of another kind of water, which is even more valuable. Most live unaware of its existence. But Jesus has worked to make it available to all.

It should not escape our attention that Jesus, “who came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), was not averse to conversing with a woman like the woman at the well (John 4:18).   The woman, being a woman and a Samaritan, was surprised that He did (John 4:9).  The disciples were likewise surprised (“They marveled that he was talking with a woman”; John 4:27).  Any Pharisee certainly would not have been seen with her (Luke 15:1-2).  But Jesus was not bound by cultural expectations or phony social distinctions.  He “came into the world to save sinners” and found in that woman one well qualified that way (1 Timothy 1:15). 

Jesus was well aware of her situation.  He said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here,” to which she replied, “I have no husband.”  Jesus then said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.  What you have said is true” (John 4:16-18).  Jesus knew all about these matters.  Later, she would testify, “He told me all that I ever did” (John 4:39).  He knew about her sins, failures, and present estate.  But none of these things worked to prevent Him from reaching out to her.  The religiously proud would have readily disapproved of and discarded her as irredeemable, but Jesus valued her and spoke to her of precious spiritual truths.  God is well aware of our sinful estate, but in Jesus, we find One who nevertheless sought us out (Luke 19:10).

The conversation between Jesus and the woman and the well was all about water.  He asked for water.  She wondered why a person such as Him would ask for that from a person such as her (John 4:9).  Jesus spoke to her of the gift of God and the living water He alone could provide (John 4:10).  He offered her living water and said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). 

None of us can live long without water.  Regular consumption of H2O is essential to a person’s physical health.  There is no kind of physical water which can forever quench a person’s thirst.  It is therefore necessary to drink again.  What is true in the physical realm holds true in the spiritual.  We are born with a thirst for God that cannot be fully satisfied in any man devised way (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  The pursuit of meaning and purpose in life apart from God is compared to drinking from “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).  Sin promises satisfaction, but the “fleeting pleasures of sin” leave us thirsty still (Hebrews 11:25).  It is as St. Augustine once said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” Or, to put it another way, we were created with a spiritual thirst that God alone can satisfy. The woman at the well had experienced such matters.  She had a thirst for God, but did not know how it could be satiated.

Jesus offered living water to her, living water that would forever satisfy her deepest longings and become in her “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).  On a later date, He would stand before a multitude and declare, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).  Who doesn’t thirst?  Life can leave us parched of soul, but Jesus invites us to come and satiate our soul needs in Him.  The open invitation is to “whoever” — religious and irreligious, men and women, Jew, Samaritan, Gentile, rich men and poor—no matter their present estate, they can have their soul needs fully met in Him.  He is a “fountain of living water” to those who trust in Him (Jeremiah 2:13; Revelation 22:1).  She went to well to get water but found in Jesus One who could satisfy the deepest longings of her soul. 

FILL MY CUP, LORD

Like the woman at the well
I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy
And then I heard my Savior speaking
“Draw from My well that never shall run dry”

Fill my cup, Lord
I lift it up, Lord
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul
Bread of Heaven, feed me ’til I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole

There are millions in this world
Who are craving
The pleasures, earthly things of gold
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord

Fill my cup, Lord
I lift it up, Lord
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul
Bread of Heaven, feed me ’til I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole
Here’s my cup, fill it up and make me whole

For God So Loved

Bible Reading: John 3

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

She had been on hospice care for many months before I started in my job as hospice chaplain.  Her life had not been easy, and it was said that she was a little “round around the edges.”  But our hospice team had cared for her with tender-hearted compassion, taking great care of both her and her caregiver.  The kindness they showed worked to open a door…

Not being a spiritually minded person, she had never wanted a visit by the chaplain, although she was growing increasingly aware of the nearness of her death.  My co-worker nurse made a deal with her.  What if the new chaplain were to come with me to visit?  If you don’t like him, you won’t have to see him anymore.  She agreed. And afterwards agreed that I could keep on coming.

I soon found out that she had never attended church and she had never read the Bible.  She had no idea what God was like and didn’t understand the differences between all the various religions.  I began conversing with her about such things—God, creation, sin, Jesus, salvation, and heaven—and found a Bible for her.  A large print Bible wasn’t big enough, so I found a giant print version.  I directed her to the gospel of John and challenged her to answer to questions as she read: 1) Who is Jesus? And 2) What does he want you to do?  I was pleasantly surprised later to hear of how she had read through the gospel account and then kept on reading through the Book of Acts! 

Week after week, I visited her, inviting her to trust in Jesus that she might be saved and assured of a home in heaven.  Her health continued to decline and her pain level more difficult to manage.  It was not too many weeks before she died that she prayed, expressing her faith in Jesus as her Savior!  At that moment, according to the promise of God, she “passed from death to life” (John 5:24)!

According to the Bible Gateway website, John 3:16 is the most searched for of all Bible verses.  No verse is more memorized or more cited or more quoted.  It’s simple enough for a child to understand yet profound enough to engage a well-studied theologian.  At its heart, it speaks of the love of God for lost sinners, a love so great that it worked to bring Jesus to this sin-cursed world.  A love so great that it put Him on a cross, to pay the penalty for sins not His own.  All this working to rescue us from perishing in a “punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)!

Praise God for the truth of this amazing verse!  This world is not very lovable.  You yourself were “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Colossians 1:21).  You were doomed.  But there is a God, and He so loved you that He gave His Son to rescue you from hell and deliver you one day to heaven!  Praise Him for it! Thank God for such a wonderful gift! Find a way to share this wonderful verse with someone!

HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Songwriters: Stuart Townend
How Deep The Father’s Love For Us lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing

What a Glorious Savior!

DATE	THEME	BIBLE PASSAGE
1	Come and See	John 1
2	Power to Transform	John 2
3	For God So Loved	John 3
4	Living Water	John 4
5	Power to Heal	John 5
6	The Bread of LIfe	John 6
7	Rivers of Living Water	John 7
8	Sin’s Sole Remedy	John 8
9	Power to Enlighten	John 9
10	The Good Shepherd	John 10
11	Power to Enliven	John 11
12	Why He Came	John 12
13	The Servant King	John 13
14	The Way, and the Truth, and the Life	John 14
15	The True Vine	John 15
16	His Divine Itinerary	John 16
17	A Prayer for the Ages	John 17
18	Divine Acquiescence	John 18
19	God on a Cross	John 19
20	Why He Wrote	John 20
21	Power to Restore	John 21
22	You Shall Call His Name Jesus	Matthew 1
23	Wise Worshippers	Matthew 2
24	Nothing Will Be Impossible with God	Luke 1
25	Go and Tell	Luke 2
26	To the Praise of His Glory	Ephesians 1
27	From Death to Life	Ephesians 2
28	No Greater Love	Ephesians 3
29	Truth is in Jesus	Ephesians 4
30	Loving Like Jesus	Ephesians 5
31	The Strength of HIs Might	Ephesians 6

Powerful to Transform

Bible Reading: John 2

John 2:11, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.”

The immediate transformation of the water into wine by Jesus at the wedding in Cana was a manifestation of Jesus’ glory.  His disciples witnessed the miracle, literally an “attesting sign” (John 20:30-31), and “believed in him” (John 2:11).

A wedding celebration was the setting of the miracle. It happened only three days after the calling of Jesus’ first disciples (John 2:1).  Jesus’ mother was there, along with many others.  A Jewish wedding was foremost amongst the community events in that day.  The accompanying celebration would go on for days.  It was expected that sufficient wine would be made available for the guests.  But the wine ran out, a potential cause for much embarrassment for the bridegroom.

Mary was aware of the problem and brought it to Jesus’ attention (John 2:3).  It is noteworthy that she directed her concern to Jesus.  One can safely assume that she had had many opportunities, throughout His upbringing, to witness His ability to intervene and resolve troublesome situations.  His response to her was, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4).  The second part of His response includes a phrase which He would henceforth use on repeated occasions, regarding His pending sufferings (John 4:23, 5:25, 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 12:27, 17:1, etc.).  In the beginning of his public ministry a transition was made—in the “hour” of His ministry His works would not be governed by mere circumstance or human demands—they were done in full submission to the Father’s sovereign will to accomplish His divine purpose (John 4:34, 5:17).

The miracle was one that demonstrated Jesus’ creative power.  The wine had run out.  He directed the servants to “fill the jars with water” (John 2:7).  They were filled to the brim, leaving no room to suggest that wine had been merely added to the jars.  Then Jesus commanded the servants to “draw some out and take it to the master of the feast” (John 2:8).  “When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.  But you have kept the good wine until now’ (John 2:9-10).

There is an entire field of education, called “viticulture,” devoted to the study of how to prepare the best wine.  Not long after this event, in about 65 AD, the Roman writer Columella produced a detailed work (a twelve-volume text) on Roman viticulture called De Re Rustica.  And even today, Viticulture is a field of study at major universities.  It takes a lot to prepare a superb wine—study, time, energy, etc.  Grape vines need approximately 1300–1500 hours of sunshine and about 27 inches of rainfall to develop.  The process, from beginning to end, takes many months.

Jesus did it all in an instant.  He took ordinary water and made extraordinary wine out of it.  He didn’t need soil, vines, grapes, rain, harvest, preparation, etc.  He skipped all the steps.  “All things were made through him” (John 1:3), good wine was created by Him instantaneously.  The question of the propriety of Jesus’ turning water into wine sometimes overshadows the wonder of what happened on that occasion.  He was a man, but no ordinary man—He was and is “the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31)—His identity was clearly demonstrated in His miraculous creation of the wine.  The disciples saw that affirmed by His power and believed (John 2:11).  They were ordinary men, but by His transforming influence, they would become extraordinary leaders.  He who “does all things well” (Mark 7:37), has the power, through His creative and transforming influence, to take ordinary men and women and make something extraordinary of their lives.  He’s at work to do the same with you!

FAIREST LORD JESUS

Fairest Lord Jesus,
ruler of all nature,
O thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows,
fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior!
Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be thine.

Come and See

Bible Reading: John 1

John 1:39, “He saith unto them, ‘Come and see’.”

John 1:46, “Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’.”

Let me borrow this phrase, “come and see,” from its immediate context because it serves as a befitting introduction to the Gospel of John and its first chapter.

John chapter 1 introduces major themes that are reiterated and expanded upon in subsequent chapters.  These themes are commonly bound to John’s purpose in writing his inspired account.  His purpose is stated in John 20:30-31, “May other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”  It would be fair to say that John’s gospel is an invitation to us to “come and see” that which the Apostle John himself witnessed regarding Jesus Christ.

John’s first chapter is replete with words having to do with this “come and see” matter.  The word “Word” (which speaks to Jesus as self-revelation of God) is used 4X.  The word “light” (Jesus as the source of spiritual enlightenment) is used 6X.  The words “see” is found 5X.  The words “behold” or “beheld” occur 6X.  The word “witness,” which means “to bear testimony” of something seen, is found 7X.

Correlating to this great theme is the precious declaration made by the Apostle John in verse 14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth.”  The word “glory” speaks of “the nature of God in self-manifestation” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  John’s testimony was that he beheld the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.  What did he see in Jesus?  He spoke of Him as the Word and thus identified Him to be the divine Son of God.  Certain related truths regarding Jesus are affirmed from the very beginning of John’s gospel: 1) He is eternal (John 1:1); 2) He was with God (John 1:1); 3) He is God (John 1:1); 4) He is the creator of all things (John 1:3); 5) He is the source of life (John 1:4); He is the source of light (John 1:4-5).  His identity as the “only begotten from the father” was confirmed by His many miracles (lit. “attesting signs”).  John highlights seven of them in His gospel account, though no book could ever hope to record the “many other things which Jesus did” (John 21:25). 

The Word became flesh.  Jesus “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).  He dwelt among men.  John was a witness to the truth regarding Jesus.  He saw Him, heard Him, and touched Him (1 John 1:1).  What did he see and hear?  He heard a man who spoke as no other man and saw Him do things that no man had ever done before.  He saw the glory of His divine nature, for He was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14; John 1:17). 

The Apostle John was a witness to the truth concerning Jesus.  He beheld the beauty of His godly and sinless character.  He saw Him lovingly minister to the needs of others.  He saw Him healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, feeding the multitudes, and walking on water and calming the storm.  He was there, when with a word, Jesus called Lazarus forth from the tomb.  He was a witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  He was one who saw and then pleaded with others to “come and see.”  He faithfully devoted his life to that cause (1 John 1:2-3).  He “could not help but speak of what (he had) seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).  He willingly suffered persecution for “the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9).

The Apostle John wrote His gospel that we might “come and see” what he saw, and in seeing, believe in Jesus Christ unto eternal life (John 20:30-31).  Indeed, all the Scriptures were written that they might “bear witness” to Him (John 5:39).  The Holy Spirit has that same ministry (John 15:26; 16:14) and He invites us to behold the glory of the person and work of Jesus as we read through this precious gospel account.  Look for it—yearn to behold it—as you read!

TELL ME THE STORY OF JESUS

Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart every word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels, in chorus,
sang as they welcomed His birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”

Refrain:
Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart every word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.

Fasting alone in the desert,
tell of the days that are past;
how for our sins He was tempted,
yet was triumphant at last.
Tell of the years of His labor,
tell of the sorrow He bore;
He was despised and afflicted,
homeless, rejected, and poor. [Refrain]

Tell of the cross where they nailed Him,
writhing in anguish and pain;
tell of the grave where they laid Him,
tell how He liveth again.
Love in that story so tender,
clearer than ever I see:
stay, let me weep while you whisper,
love paid the ransom for me. [Refrain

Amazed by Jesus

Bible Reading: John 1:1-14

John 1:14, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

According to Webster’s dictionary, the term “amazed” means “to fill with wonder.”  The Greek word commonly translated “amazed” refers to “that alteration of the normal condition by which the person is thrown into a state of surprise or fear, or both” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary).  It is a term which is commonly used in the gospel accounts regarding the person and works of Jesus Christ.  Other synonyms such as “marvel” (“to cause to wonder”) and “astonish” are also used.

Jesus was no ordinary man.  He is the Divine Son of God who came in human flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-3, 14).  The Apostle John testified concerning Him, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  The God-man, Jesus Christ, was utterly unique and incomparable to any other man before or since.  In His utter “otherness” He amazed people.

He was amazing in His birth, having been born of a virgin.  His birth came in fulfillment of prophecy and was accompanied by angelic pronouncement.  Lowly shepherds and wise men were summoned by God as witnesses.  The shepherds reported what they had seen “and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2:18).

He was amazing in His wisdom and understanding.  As a twelve-year-old boy he conversed with the teachers at the temple “and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:47).  A common response to His teaching was what happened at the end of His “Sermon on the Mount”: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching” (Matthew 7:28).  Matthew chapter 22 records how His opponents, the Pharisees and Sadducees, questioned Jesus, seeking to trap him.  The Pharisees “marveled” at His response (Matthew 22:22).  The crowds “were astonished at his teaching” in His response to the Sadducees (Matthew 22:33).  And after all that took place that day, “no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions” (Luke 22:45).

He was amazing in His deeds.  The people were repeatedly amazed at the things that He did.  He cast out the demon from a mute man and “the crowds marveled, saying, ‘Never was anything like this seen in Israel’” (Matthew 9:33).  The “great crowds” saw all the miracles He was doing— “the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing”–and “wondered” and “glorified the God of Israel” (Matthew 15:30-31).  A healed blind man testified, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32).  The disciples saw Him calm the winds and the waves and “marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even winds and seas obey him’” (Matthew 8:27)?  The answer is, of course, that He is no ordinary man!

He was amazing in His speech.  Officers were sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Jesus but returned without him.  When asked why, they responded, “No one ever spoke like this man” (John 7:45).  He was full of grace and truth and spoke according to His nature (John 1:14).  Never a sinful word.  Never a misplaced word.  Never a word that didn’t perfectly meet the need of the moment.  He could speak the truth in love on one occasion to a self-righteous Pharisee (John Ch. 3) and just as easily turn around and address on another occasion the needs of a sinful Samaritan woman (John Ch. 4).  How gracious the words uttered from the Savior while dying on the cross in our stead!  From the cross, assailed by mocking insults, He spoke instead words of forgiveness and loving concern (1 Peter 2:22-23). 

He was amazing in His sinless perfection.  His life was perfect submission to the Father. He never thought a sinful thought, never did a sinful thing, and never uttered a sinful word.  He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  The greatest of God’s servants before or since have been flawed men.  Isaiah was a man of God and a prophet, but when his eyes were opened to the Holiness of God, he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am lost” (Isaiah 6:5).  But Jesus was unique from every other man who has ever walked on earth in this respect—He was and is altogether perfect in His holiness (1 John 2:29; Hebrews 7:26).  Even Pilate and the thief recognized His innocence (Matthew 27:23; Luke 23:41).

He was amazing in His death.  His death was unique in many respects, but especially in that He voluntarily gave up His life.  No one took His life from Him.  The beatings, the sufferings, the crucifixion did not kill Him.  He had previously stated, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord” (John 10:18).  When the time came, after He had declared His redemptive word complete by declaring “It is finished,” (then, and only then) he “bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).  A Centurion was a witness to Jesus’ death.  He saw the “way he breathed his last… and said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’” (Mark 15:39)!

He was amazing in His resurrection.  Jesus died, but death could not hold Him.  He rose from the dead.  “Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, (the women) went to the tomb” (Mark 16:2).  They saw the stone rolled away, and the angel there, “and they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them” (Mark 16:8).  He rose from the dead and triumphed over sin and death and the devil himself.  And accomplished for us an amazing salvation.  Well did the hymnist write, “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean!”

He will be amazing in His return.  There are “unsearchable riches” bound up in the person of Christ (Ephesians 3:8).  The richness of His love “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19).  In Him are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).  The “immeasurable greatness of His power” is at work in us to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 1:19, 3:20).  We can’t see Him now (1 Peter 1:8), but when He comes for us, He will be “marveled at among all who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:10). 

He was amazing in His birth, His person, His works, His words, His death, and His resurrection.  He is likewise amazing in His humility, His love, His salvation, and in every other way.  People were amazed by Him when he walked on this earth.  We are even now privileged and instructed to grow in the grace and knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18).  But no matter how much we grow or how much we now know, we will nonetheless be utterly amazed on that Day when we will see Him just as He is (1 John 3:3).  To behold His glory, to be amazed by Jesus, is a blessed privilege given to those who have been born again (John 16:14; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:6)!  Jesus is amazing!  Consider Him so, and pay attention to His Word, seeking to know Him better “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19)!

MY SAVIOR’S LOVE

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how he could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

Refrain:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed, “Not my will, but thine;”
He had no tears for his own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine. [Refrain]

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them his very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered and died alone. [Refrain]

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
‘Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of his love for me. [Refrain]

The Weapons of our Warfare

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

“Spiritual strongholds begin with a thought.  One thought becomes a consideration.  A consideration develops into an attitude, which leads to an action.  Action repeated becomes a habit, and a habit becomes ‘a power base for the enemy,’ that is, a stronghold.”

Elizabeth Elliott

Our text presupposes the existence of a war, but not of the typical variety.  This war has been ongoing since the Adversary first left his appointed place in heaven.  In his great deception, he worked to bring the sons of Adam into a state of rebellion against their creator.  A long war against God has been raging ever since.  The world, the flesh, and the devil are antagonistic towards God.  There is no place on the planet where one can escape the conflict.  It is a battle for truth, and we are all involved in one way or the other. 

Though delivered from sin’s penalty and power, the believer still wrestles with a foe: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).  There is a “good fight” to “fight” (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7), but it will do no good to fight in our own strength with weapons of the flesh.  We must “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11).  The Word of God (i.e., truth) is essential to each element of the armor.

It is foolhardy to fight the good fight with inadequate weapons.  When Jesus was arrested, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest.  He was boldly prepared to take on all of Jesus’ opponents with his sword, one ear at a time (Matthew 26:51).  But Peter’s weaponry was useless in the spiritual conflict that was raging on.  Jesus met the conflict with devotion to prayer and complete submission to the Word.  My friend has compared the attempt to fight with fleshly weapons to engaging the foe with a small plastic cocktail sword (you know, the 3-inch kind they stab olives with) and a police badge sized shield.  But. as Jesus said, “the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

The battlefield is the mind, and the battle is a fight for truth.  It was in departure from truth that Satan won his strategic advantage over man, and it is in truth that victory is availed.  The gospel of truth works to gain a positional triumph for the believer, but that’s not the end point of the conflict.  There is the need for the renewing of the mind and that is something that the truth alone can do (Romans 12:2).  There are thoughts (“strongholds,” “arguments,” every lofty opinion”) contrary to Christ.  Such deceptions prevail in the lives of the lost and linger on in the lives of the saved.  These contrary thoughts “are raised up against the knowledge of God,” and must be taken “captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5; Philippians 4:8).  They are renegades which work to undermine spiritual health and well-being.  How are they to be identified, marked, and destroyed?

The Word of God has “divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3).  Prayer is likewise a powerful weapon.  Having been graciously provisioned (2 Peter 1:3), they are in the arsenal of every Christian soldier.  They are what can make us “strong and brave to face the foe.”  We neglect the careful use of them to our own peril.  But in taking up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and keeping “alert with all perseverance in prayer” we have divinely powerful weapons with which to fight (1 John 2:14b).  The battle for truth rages on.  The “Father of lies” is hard at work spreading all kinds of falsehoods.  But “the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21) and His holy Word (John 17:17).  The urgent need of the day is for believers to take up these divinely powerful weapons in the fight for truth!

ONCE TO EVERY MAN AND NATION

Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever
Twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble,
When we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit,
And ‘tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses
While the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue
Of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs,
Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calvaries ever
With the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties,
Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still and onward,
Who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet ‘tis truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong:
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above His own.

Loving the Truth

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”

I owned a Bible, and I’d open it up from time to time, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t make any sense of it.  But family members and friends were praying for me, and though I didn’t know it at the time, the Spirit was working to convict me of sin and open my eyes to the truth.

One day, having been encouraged to attend by my fellow submariners, I found myself in a gospel preaching church.  The Pastor spoke of the death and resurrection of Jesus.  I recall asking him afterwards how he could know for sure that Jesus rose from the dead.  He spoke to me of how the risen Jesus had worked to change him.  After the service, a fellow with the Navigators approached me and wanted to know if I knew for sure that I was saved.  He saw my hesitation and then proceeded to clearly explain the gospel to me.  Soon after, I placed my trust in Jesus.

I didn’t understand a lot of what was happening back then, some 40 years ago.  But now I know better.  The Spirit was at work.  That’s why I was so burdened by sin guilt (John 16:8).  It was by His working that my blind eyes were opened to the truth of who Jesus is and what He had done for me (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).  It wasn’t me “figuring it out,” it was God intervening in my life (1 Corinthians 1:30). 

An amazing thing happened to me when I was born again.  I don’t recall the details of my first birth, but I do remember what happened in my second, when I was “born of the Spirit with life from above into God’s family divine.”  That huge burden of unrequited guilt in sin was taken away, and I joyously had a sense of that.  The other obvious change had to do with my perspective towards the Word of God.  I was Spirit-borne to a love for truth.  I was amazed when I discovered that I could read the Bible with some degree of understanding.  A whole new world (of truth) was unveiled to me.  I got myself a pocket New Testament and took it with me wherever I went.  I was in the Submarine Service at the time.  I had a lot of free time, so I spent a lot of it in that New Testament.  I couldn’t get enough of it.  It was all new to me.  I read it with a certain sense of awe.  I bought a little package of memory verse cards at the Bible Book store and started memorizing Scriptures.  I would take those memory verses and go over and over them in my mind so that I knew them by heart. 

I was Spirit-borne to a love for truth.  My experience was not unique to me. It has been the shared experience of every believer since that day on Pentecost when the Apostle Peter preached that very first sermon.  And those saved were henceforth Spirit-led to devote themselves to the Apostle’s teaching (Acts 2:42).  They were saved by the Spirit through the Word to a love by the Spirit for the Word.  They were spiritual newborns and by the Spirit, they instinctively knew what to do.  By the Spirit, they devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching—they yearned to hear what the Apostles were teaching them—what has since been recorded for us, as a part of God’s inspired word, in the New Testament.

I have an Old Catholic Bible.  In the preface of that Bible, it instructs the readers to apply themselves to the practice of reading their Bibles.  The motivation it offers is contrary to that which was the experience of myself or of those early believers.  That Bible erroneously promises to the reader, for their Bible reading time, certain indulgences that will alleviate for them punishments that they would otherwise experience., saying: “An indulgence of three years is granted to the faithful who read the Books of the Bible for at least a quarter of an hour with the reverence due to the Divine Word and as spiritual reading.”  Bible reading is promoted as a religious endeavor through which religious merit is achieved.  And we might be tempted to look at reading our Bibles as a burdensome religious duty that we must do out of necessity. But that is not the way the Spirit works.  The Spirit of Truth works to impart a love for truth for truth’s sake.  There is an inherent beauty to the truth.  The Word of Truth is the truth of the reality of God unveiled to us.  It speaks to us of a Glorious Savior and a Glorious Work whereby lost sinners are saved and provisioned and instructed in how to live in Christ.  The Bible is inherently compelling because it unveils to the Spirit-enlightened the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The ministry and work of the Spirit coincides with the subject matter of the Bible.  Jesus said of the Spirit, “He shall glorify Me” (John 16:14).  The Spirit works through the Word to that same end.  The Bible is a book all about Jesus and that’s reason enough to love it and yearn to know its truths (John 5:39).

We live in difficult days!  The aversion to the truth that we see in the post-modern day has spilled over into the church.  What is needed is a return to our roots as Christians.  Every revival of soul or society has been accompanied by a Spirit-borne love for truth.  It’s a very simple thing.  Newborn babies love mama’s milk.  Newborn Christians love the truth.  And they need to keep loving the truth that they might grow in Christ.  Lord, bless us in this needy day, with a Spirit-borne passion for truth, that will prove to be a blessing not only to ourselves, but to others who need to hear!

SPEAK, O LORD

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness

That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory

Teach us Lord, full obedience
Holy reverence, true humility
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity

Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority
Words of pow’r that can never fail
Let their truth prevail over unbelief

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity

And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory

Songwriters: Keith Getty / Stuart Townend
Speak, O Lord lyrics © Thank You Music Ltd.