Tuesday, June 01st, 2010 | Author: Chris
Yesterday we started the Gospel of John. Today we’re in chapter 2. If there is anything in chapters 1 and/or 2 that you’d like to comment on, we’d love to read it 
Category: Daily Scripture Reading
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Wednesday, 2. June 2010
I have always wondered why Jesus did the wine miracle because he clearly says that my hour has yet not come. Did he give in to his mom? It looks like His answer was No, yet Mary persists.
I believe Jesus did this miracle because Mary persisted. This is a good lesson for all of us. When we want something from the Lord we should be just like Mary, persistent. That is what we are doing today and every Wednesday when we fast together. God likes persistent people and there are examples throughout the Bible of persistent people that got what they wanted from God. For example Hannah persisted before God in prayer and God gave her Samuel who became a judge, priest and prophet in Israel.
Wednesday, 2. June 2010
I just recently had a class on this book. Its my favorite of the 4 Gospels, and possibly my favorite book in the Bible. So much to talk about, but I’ll try to be briefish:
JOHN 1:1-18
This is a powerful block of text. It establishes Jesus as God, gives great evidence to support the doctrine of the Trinity, and gives a great introduction to the book. I like verses 10-13:
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
God made everything, but His own creation rejected Him. Now He has come meekly, as a Man, to fix the problems created by Satan and people. Nobody knows their own Maker. But He’s come to freely give life to the human race and make those that receive Him the very children of God. Hollywood couldn’t write a better story! As tragic as the tale is in many aspects, God is the protagonist of the best real life story ever! And fortunately, there is a happy ending
Wednesday, 2. June 2010
John 1 is really excellent. It’s such good news. I can’t add to it; it stands on its own. But I love it.
John 2 as well. What strikes me about these is how clear they are.
Wednesday, 2. June 2010
At Ekklesia there is alot of emphasis on how church is not a building, yet in John 2 it seems we see Jesus getting offended when people are selling things in the temple. The question that has to be asked is, if Jesus walked into Ekklesia, would he flip over our welcome table because we sell T-Shirts?
Obviously I don’t believe that, as I don’t think Ekklesia is making any profit on anything sold at that table, but none the less, the comparison is interesting.
Still I ask myself, why does Jesus get so angry at the individuals selling in the temple if we are to believe that the temple is the same as any other building.
Well I believe that Jesus is doing this to make a statement about his authority, not the building necessarily..
Thursday, 3. June 2010
Good question, Jon.
To some degree, I think we’re dealing with an overlap of the Old and New Covenants; in the Old Covenant, the Temple really was a very special place, and God had a lot to say about exactly how it was to be constructed and exactly how He was to be worshiped there.
But also, everyone who worshiped there was corrupted by the corrupt system. I think that’s what Jesus was offended at: that people offering their sacrifices were being taken advantage of, and they had no recourse, because sacrifice at the Temple was the way God had told them that their sins were to be covered. And when he said, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” he went on to do exactly that: in his crucifixion, he destroyed the necessity for the Temple system once and for all by providing the one perfect sacrifice, and in his resurrection, he raised up a new Temple: he himself would become the means by which people’s sins would be forgiven. They would never have to go through a moneychanger or a livestock seller again.
Thursday, 3. June 2010
@Jon
In the Old Covenant, the earthly Temple was very significant. But in John 1 we see that Jesus was bringing the New. His actions honored the Old Covenant (getting rid of the money changers), but His speech foreshadowed what He Himself was ushering in with the New (referring to His own body as the temple).
So the Church today exists somewhat differently than did the Jews who were to go to the Temple in the Mosaic Law.
Thursday, 3. June 2010
JOHN 2
Jesus performs many ’signs’ in this book. John calls them something different than the other Gospels, because He’s emphasizing the unique reason for the miracles. They are intended to inspire belief in Jesus as the Son of God.
The sign of water into wine is cool, because I think it shows us that Jesus is taking the more ordinary and changing it into the extraordinary. Given the theme of this book and other factors (which I wont go into for the sake of brevity), this sign is probably communicating the arrival of the Spirit and the New Covenant (wine) replacing the old way of things (water).
Friday, 4. June 2010
In John 5: 19 says: Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
I believe that Jesus’ time had not yet come, when Mary told Jesus there was no wine left, but Mary knew who her son was. She knew He was the Messiah. I believe that it was her faith that moved the heart of the Father, and then the Father showed Jesus that he was turn the water into wine, and Jesus, doing only what He saw His Father do, transformed the water into wine.
But I love that it’s Jesus’ first miracle, making the best wine for a bunch of drunk people. If that doesn’t mess with your theology, I don’t know what does. It makes me realize that God does things a lot differently from how I would do them, and at times I just don’t understand Him, but He is good, and gracious, and just absolutely loves us. He is a mystery that I will have all eternity to try to figure out.
Thursday, 10. June 2010
Wow Chapter 8 gets crazy intense. Jesus is simply tell the truth which He knows the Jews will not except and will provoke them. He says in V55 He is not a liar and keeps God’s law so He must tell the truth. It would go against His very nature not to but it almost seems like He’s trying to push buttons especially in V56 with the whole “I Am” comment.
In V56 was Jesus referring to the transfiguration or the fact that Abraham is now in Heaven?
Saturday, 12. June 2010
My bad it was Moses not Abraham
Thursday, 17. June 2010
@ Cecile
I think Jesus may be referring to when God seems to have announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham in a spot in Genesis. It says “The Word of the Lord” came to Abraham, and that phrasing is rare in Genesis. John is the book that identifies Jesus as “The Word”.
Thursday, 24. June 2010
Wow cool blog! Hope I’m not barging in as uninvited??
To my mind, John’s Gospel, at least Chps 1-12, is structured as a lawsuit against the Jews (Pharisees). It’s likely that John’s audience was both Jews and Gentile proselytes. The occasion for his writing certainly must have been the temple’s destruction (some 15 or so years prior). Yet, ironically, John does not mention it. John’s purpose appears to be evangelistic in nature, narrowly to his audience, yet broadly to the world. There are several inferences within John that his audience is familiar with the stories/ events that he is telling, while it also appears that his audience is not exceptionally familiar with the geography surrounding Jerusalem. The likely inference is that some, or all, of the Synoptic writers’ Gospels had been read by John’s audience.
Thus, in writing, John identifies Jesus as- the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God, the Word of God, and, the in the flesh God. John identifies Jesus as present at creation, who was the agent of Creation, who is both the light and the life of the world. John makes it abundantly clear that eternal life is acquired by believing in Jesus. And, that eternal life is knowing God.
John utilizes much OT in his writing. My favorite theological thread, in John, (there are many) is the improvement of man’s relationship with God. Reaching back to Moses, while on Sinai, the Jews told Moses, “You talk to God for us, because if we hear His voice, we will surely die.” John bridges that first relationship between fallen man and God, to the second relationship- Jesus, God in the flesh with us. As we approach the end of John’s Gospel (Chps 14-16), John explains that the Holy Spirit, after Jesus’ departure, will be sent by the Father and He (Holy Spirit) will live inside us. God has moved humanity from- fear and distant, to present with, to now indwelt by- Himself!
Thus, to my mind, the occasion for John’s writing, the temple’s destruction, is overcome by Jesus’ death and resurrection, as Jesus returned to the Father and sent another, the Holy Spirit, to abide in us!
Saturday, 26. June 2010
Welcome Randall. As far as I’m concerned, you’re not barging in! But I’m not in charge of the blog either
Do you attend Ekklesia too?