Monday, June 14th, 2010 | Author: Chris
The blog is back! For our daily readers, I apologize for the confusion. Basically, I felt like posting a blog for every chapter of our Bible reading plan was no longer a good idea, because only a few comments were being made on each blog. However, we have been averaging about 20 readers a day. That being said, here’s the new direction: I’ve decided to post one blog for each book of the Bible we read, rather than individual chapters. This month, we’re reading “The Gospel of John.”
So, feel free to share your thoughts, revelations, questions, and other comments on any passage of John, at any time. Looking forward to reading your posts 
Chris
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Wednesday, 16. June 2010
John 17:13 “I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”
Here Jesus, probably while walking toward Gethsemane, prays for our joy. That’s amazing to me. God wants us to be joyful, even in the face of persecution (which he is also praying about). Not phony-joyful, acting joyful when we’re not. He wants us to really have joy, and when I’m in a place where I’m not feeling that joy, then I need to seek him for it to be restored. The joy of the lord is our strength – Neh. 8:10.
Wednesday, 16. June 2010
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
This reminds me of Ephesians 2 and Romans 9. When we were born the first time, we came as objects of wrath. We were born into an evil age with an evil nature, and we were under God’s wrath. But because of His kindness, God sent His Son so that we might receive a second birth. We must be resurrected with Jesus and changed into a new object, one that is now on the receiving end of God’s kindness and affection.
“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
Thursday, 17. June 2010
@ John 4
In this chapter, Jesus heals a Royal Official’s son. It has a lot of similarity with the healing in Matthew 8, but some differences also. I wonder if the man in John 4 was Jewish, because the man in Matthew 8 is a Gentile.
The New Testament, including John, pick up on the rejection of Jesus by the Jews and the acceptance by the Gentiles. The man in John 4 believes, but seems to need more prodding. The man in Matthew 8 seems to have a strong faith, one that astonishes the Lord.
Friday, 18. June 2010
@ John 5
“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Back in chapter 1, John says that the Law came through Moses, but that Jesus brought grace and truth. These Jews were hoping to find God’s blessing through Moses (Law keeping), but Jesus said that Moses will be the one that ends up accusing them (the Law is the very thing that condemns us).
Jesus’ New Covenant didn’t just fly in out of the blue though. Moses and the Prophets foretold His coming. Romans says the same thing (1:1, 3:21). Ever wonder why THIS was the plan of God? Why the Bible deals with these 2 Covenants? What does God want you to understand?
Saturday, 19. June 2010
So I have one of those NIV study bibles that gives me extra content or understanding of the scriptures. Example: meanings on certain words, historical cross references, etc etc. Anyway, it says that the earliest manuscripts didn’t have John 7:53 – 8:11.
That being said, why not and when did they enter into the equation? Anyone know?
Sunday, 20. June 2010
I remember reading a little about this in a couple different places. Some scholars say the best MANUSCRIPT evidence doesn’t support its existence in the Bible.
Others counter by saying that it was REMOVED from the Bible by men who feared it would give their wives excuse to commit adultery. I think Augustine actually said that.
So, I get the impression that the heavy scholarly types tend to lean toward its omission, whereas more traditional types tend to support its validity.
Who knows if John wrote that section of Scripture or not? I think its a good “problem” that people need to mull over, and perhaps in the process their faith will grow. For me, it doesn’t present significant trouble one way or the other. It seems pretty consistent with Jesus’ style, and I suspect that that event actually occurred.
Sunday, 20. June 2010
@ John 6
This chapter has a lot of thought provoking material. Among some of the more interesting things, we can see Jesus’ calculatedness (in a good way though
). He asked a question to “test” Philip. He also provides just enough information to the people following Him so as to separate many of the true and false believers.
Among some of the most profound and memorable quotes:
28-29
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
40
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
67-69
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “LORD, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Monday, 21. June 2010
John 7:37-39
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
This is so beautiful. I’d like to see this in a movie. I can imagine Jesus saying this amid all the rituals, shocking everybody in the middle of their ceremony. He made such grand claims about Himself. In John 6 He likened Himself to food, and now He is promising to quench man’s thirst.
Previously in chapter 7, He had told them that they were both recipients and breakers of the Law, asking rhetorically who had kept it. I think many of us have “decided” to follow all of God’s commands in the past (Exodus 24), and been frustrated with our inability to follow up. That’s when you really understand that only Jesus can quench your thirst.
Tuesday, 22. June 2010
John 8
Ekklesia showed a video during a Sunday service once that featured Bono from U2. In it, Bono was claiming that all Christians, Jews, and Muslims were children of Abraham, and his conclusion was likely that that made them acceptable to God.
While the Jews and some Arabs may be able to trace their genetic lineage back to Abraham, Jesus lets us know that this is irrelevant if they do not believe that He is who He says He is. There is no salvation in parentage, ethnicity, religion, rule keeping, or even the First Covenant. Only the Son of God can save you, and no one will slide into heaven by means of something else.
“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins.”
Wednesday, 23. June 2010
@Ken–
I didn’t catch your question until yesterday, and I know Shane already responded to it, but I thought I’d add a little. There are minor differences among Greek manuscripts, mostly involving copying errors or attempts to clarify what the copyist thought was obscure. These differences amount to less than 2% of the text, most of them don’t change the meaning at all, and no essential Christian teaching is based on a disputed text. You can trust your Bible!
That being said, there are two passages of significant length that don’t appear in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts we have. One is the ending of the Gospel of Mark, and the other is this passage in John. Not only do several manuscripts omit this passage, others put it in a different place in John, and two manuscripts put it into the Gospel of Luke. So it’s pretty clear, from a textual perspective, that this passage wasn’t in the original version of John’s gospel.
On the other hand, the passage bears the earmarks of an authentic story about Jesus. His character is the same as what we see in the rest of the Gospels, his dealings with the religious leaders and with the woman are consistent with what we see elsewhere. Therefore, this passage is generally considered an authentic and true account of an incident that actually happened, and was written down and added into the Gospel, perhaps by John himself, pretty early on–but after some copies of John had already been released without this passage.
So, no, it’s probably not a part of the original version of John’s gospel, but yes, it probably is an authentic story about Jesus.
Wednesday, 23. June 2010
@ John 9
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
The Jews were really stoked about having the Law. They thought it made them wise and gave them the ability to possess ethical superiority. They believed that they could see, and that those without it were blind.
It was this reliance upon it that was their downfall. They were still blind, yet they claimed they could see. They were sinners who thought that they were righteous. They were diseased but thought that they were well. Why would a well person, after all, go to Jesus to receive healing?
But, those who know they are sick know that they need Jesus. God pulls the cosmic rug out from under the self reliant, saving the poor and needy who call out to Him instead.
Thursday, 24. June 2010
@ John 10
Jesus demonstrates some shrewd debating tactics in this chapter, hehe.
“I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
Then He makes an interesting point about being the Son of God. He doesn’t deny being equal with God, as John 1 and 8 state it quite plainly. But He side steps the issue by referencing something from the Old Testament where some people are called ‘gods’.
This kind of speech that Jesus uses catches unbelievers all the time. The cults are quick to latch onto this sort of thing, being eager, like the Jews, to take glory away from Christ. But, Jesus’ sheep know His voice, and they will believe the right things about their Lord.
Friday, 25. June 2010
@ John 11
“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Jesus let Lazarus die to show everyone how cool He was. Jesus was showing everyone that He could not only HEAL a SICK person, but that He could RESURRECT a DEAD one. It doesn’t get much more powerful, awesome, all-sufficient than that! And that is exactly what this Book is all about. Jesus is your food, your water, your life. He’s the only thing you need.
Now, if you talk with enough people about the Good News, you’re bound to get someone asking this basic question: “If there is a God, why is everything so messed up?” Well, if how Jesus treated the Lazarus situation is any indication, I’d say it was so that He could show everyone how cool He was in fixing it. Things aren’t going to always be as bad as they are now in this dead, evil age. Jesus is coming back to bless His friends.
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”"
Friday, 25. June 2010
@ John 11
I can’t help but bring up yet another example of Jesus being misunderstood (verses 11-15), even though He speaks plainly afterwards to clarify.
I only mention it because I’m contentious and I think we ought to re-examine how we understand many of the statements of our Lord. He wasn’t always plain, and I don’t believe it was His intention to be so.
Sunday, 27. June 2010
@ John 12
Verses 37-41 are referencing Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6 communicates Isaiah’s experience seeing the Lord Almighty (Yahweh) and His glory. John says that Isaiah in fact saw Jesus’ glory though. This is another Biblical proof that Jesus was the Hebrew God Yahweh manifested in human flesh.
This is a good bit of Biblical reasoning to use on your friends in cults. Or to those who come to your door, like the “Jehovah’s Witnesses”. They teach that Jesus is not Yahweh (Jehovah being a version of that name).
Monday, 28. June 2010
@ John 13
“As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.”
One of the recurring themes in this Book is light/darkness and day/night. Jesus’ light shined in the darkness, but the darkness did not understand it; Jesus said he was the light of the world; He told His disciples to work while it was still day, because the night was coming when no one could work; etc.
Whenever you get away from Jesus, you’re in darkness. You’re confused, and you can’t see what anything is or where you’re going. Judas was demonized by Satan himself, and he walked out into the night to betray God. Man and angel were cooperating together, bringing about the crucifixion of the Lord of glory. However, they were in darkness and blinded to God’s plan. Their very betrayal of the Lord would bring about the salvation of man and the destruction of the evil rulers of this age, Satan included.
Tuesday, 29. June 2010
@ John 14
Jesus is about to be crucified. He’s going to atone for man’s sin and defeat Satan, then be raised again. The Second Covenant is about to be established, and a New Age will break forth into this present evil one. The Spirit will come and not only empower believers, but He’ll remind them of the words of Jesus. The disciples probably needed this, because they had a knack for misunderstanding Jesus. I believe the Holy Spirit needs to illuminate us so that we will understand the Lord’s words, even today.
Thursday, 1. July 2010
@ John 15
Jesus said He was the True Vine. In Jeremiah 2, Israel was compared to a vine, but it ran wild, and not in the good way like hulkamania.
I believe Jesus is letting His disciples know that He is the Real Thing. God’s lasting Covenant will be established in Him ONLY. This is why Paul says in Galatians 3:
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.”
We’re not individual vines. We receive the promise of the Spirit when we are in Christ through faith. We’ll be included in the True Vine, and God will bear much fruit in us. This fruit won’t come through our own energy, it will come by God’s Spirit.
I also like the simplicity of Jesus’ command in this chapter. Love each other.
Friday, 2. July 2010
@ John 16
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
I think this looks ahead to the Apostles increased understanding that will precede their upcoming ministries. The Spirit would remind them of what Jesus would say, and He’d talk with them more after His resurrection. Paul would receive probably several revelations of Jesus later on also.
Up until the Apostolic ministries, the world was largely in the dark about God’s master plan of forgiving people of all of their sins and giving them life through faith in His Son.
This passage from Colossians 1:25-29 really echoes the words of John 16 pretty well I think:
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness– the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
Saturday, 3. July 2010
@ John 17
This chapter shows Jesus praying for His present and future followers. You really see what God is interested in in this chapter.
1) God loves. The Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves the Father. They love believers, They want believers to love Them and other believers. Love is going to make us stand out, because this lets people know we’ve been with Jesus.
2) God also likes to receive glory. He wants everything He’s made to recognize how cool He is. Are you smitten with the coolness of God?
Isaiah 40:25-26, 28
“”To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing… Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”"
Monday, 5. July 2010
@ John 18
“Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.”
The madness of the Jews here is striking. They were leading the perfect Son of God to be executed, yet were careful not to make themselves unclean so that they’d be able to celebrate the passover. The passover was one of the sacrifices the Jews practiced. It celebrated God’s protection of them while they were in Egypt from the destroyer. Proverbs 21:27 says:
“The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable– how much more so when brought with evil intent!”
Their religious zeal was ironic and in vain. They were crucifying God in the flesh! Through their evil, Jesus would become the true passover Lamb of the Second Covenant.
1 Corinthians 5
“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Tuesday, 6. July 2010
@ John 19
I’ll just note how many Old Testament prophecies our Lord fulfilled by His death. John mentions some in this chapter. The Law and Prophets certainly looked ahead to the death of and resurrection of Jesus.
Tuesday, 6. July 2010
@ John 20
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
This is sort of the purpose statement for the book of John. For this book, and I’d contend the entire Bible, its ultimate purpose is to get you to learn about and say yes to Jesus. God wants you to know that He’s real, and to put every ounce of your confidence in Him.
When you acknowledge the Lord and place your faith/trust in Him, God gives you eternal life and changes who you are and what you want to do.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” -Jesus
Wednesday, 7. July 2010
@ John 21
Throughout John, we’ve seen Jesus’ miracles and the theme of day/night. At the end of this book, we see that the disciples were fishing at night, and having no success. But Jesus came to them, and the morning was with Him. He told them where to put their nets down, and their work was immediately successful.
If you’re trying to work in this life without Jesus, you’re going to be burned out and your work will be fruitless. Maybe you feel like your spinning your wheels and not really getting anything done for the Lord. Remember, the disciple that Jesus loved cleaved to Him out of affection. He knew He needed the Lord for everything. In all of our labors, we ought to never forget our affection for and dependence upon Jesus.