Luke 22:22-27 and John 13:1-2

Intro: G. C. Morgan was a well-known preacher in the early 20th century

He was one of my dad’s favorites – in his commentary on John, Morgan wrote:
“The key phrase to this section is ‘His own.’ The thirteenth chapter begins, ‘Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end.’ His public ministry completed, our Lord devoted Himself for a brief period of a few hours to the inner circle of his apostles, those who were designated ‘His own’ . . . .”
– we will soon see how true this is
• the crowds were fickle, but these men truly belonged to Jesus

The setting is upper room where they shared their last supper together
– chapters 13 and 14 consist of Jesus’ “Table Talk”
• he engaged his disciples in an evening of interactive teaching
– it began with a surprise–more than surprise, something of a shock
• Jesus washed his disciples’ feet
◦ when he finished, Jesus asked them,
“Do you understand what I have done to you?”
◦ Peter already proved that he did not
What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand
• there is another “not now, but afterward” statement
Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward (v. 36)
◦ this is the advantage of John’s gospel
▫ the Synoptic gospels tell the story in real time–as it happened
▫ John writes from both real-time, but also a “fulfillment time” later on
◦ we’ve been tracking the deeper meaning John perceived in Jesus’ life and teaching

The Synoptic gospels report the Communion words that Jesus spoke

John does not include what Jesus said over the bread and the cup
– Christians had been celebrating Lord’s supper for decades
(cf. 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
• John did not need to report these well known words
• but what he does report was what his experience that evening
◦ he saw more and felt more than the bare words
◦ he felt a fullness in what Jesus was passing on to them
– Luke tells us, after Jesus announced betrayer, first the disciples
began to question…, which of them it could be who was going to do this
• but immediately after that,
a dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest (Lk. 22:23-27)
◦ Jesus outlined the hierarchy (authority structures) of this world
◦ then he explained how hierarchy for them was the exact opposite
Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves
(Matthew and Mark also record this teaching, but occurring at a different time in Jesus’ ministry)
• in John, Jesus gives them a picture of this inverted hierarchy that they would never forget
◦ I don’t think they’d ever forgot the feeling of his touch
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet, For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you (Jn. 13:14-15)

Another instance in which John says more than Synoptic gospels

This comes in chapter 14

Matthew, Mark and Luke have little to say about the ongoing ministry of Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles
– only Luke says God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Lk. 11:13)
• in all three, Jesus tells the disciples they do need to plan their defense, because the Spirit will speak through them
◦ Luke reports Jesus as saying,
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say (Lk. 12:12)
• John also records Jesus saying the Spirit will teach you
◦ John, however, adds much more!
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you (Jn. 14:26)
◦ John unlocks more regarding their relation to God’s Spirit
◦ he would be “another” Helper
(the Greek word allos means “another of the same kind,” that is, the same kind of helper, encouragement, comforter as Jesus had been to them)
• regarding the Spirit, Jesus tells his disciples,
You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you (Jn. 14:17)

John also remembers Jesus comforting them that evening

Let not your hearts be troubled
– to appreciate impact of these words, let’s follow the conversation
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you. the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Let not your hearts be troubled . . .” (Jn. 13:36-14:1)
• John remembers Jesus encouraging them to trust him
Believe in God; believe also in me (Jn. 14:1)
◦ he was not going away so much as going ahead
◦ their separation would not be forever,
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (Jn. 14:3)
◦ he was not abandoning them,
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (Jn. 14:18)
• John remembered Jesus promising them his peace
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (Jn. 14:27)
• John remembers Jesus reminding them what they know
◦ they know the Father, because they know Jesus (14:7)
◦ they know the Spirit, because he dwells with them (14:17)
◦ they know the way to where he was going (14:3 & 6)
– this statement created a complication for them
• Thomas was right when he said,
Lord, we do not know where you are going (14:5)
◦ Jesus had been rather vague about the “where”
◦ so vague, that he had the crowds making wild guesses
Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? (Jn. 7:35)
Will he kill himself, since he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come?” (Jn. 8:22)
• but twice in this conversation he will say,
I am going to the Father (Jn. 14:12 & 28)
◦ they knew the way, because they knew the Father
◦ and they knew the Father, because they knew Jesus

All this John remembered
– and disciples were not the only ones who needed to hear it
• John was telling Jesus’ story for second and third generation Christians
◦ they needed this understanding
◦ they needed to know this kind of experience for themselves
• we need to hear this too!
◦ we need to know that we have not been abandoned
◦ and all that John tells us in these two chapters is made present to us in the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Supper

I believe that John gives us the most intimate portrait of Jesus

After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot (Jn. 13:21-26)

When John was leaning back against Jesus, his head was in Jesus’ chest
– that is, the area from neck to waist; where parents holds their child
• the place we go to each other for closeness, for comfort
– also, John identifies himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved
• he is showing us that Jesus is God’s Son
• who loves his followers and desires their love
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another (Jn. 13:35)
If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn. 14:15)
There’s no greater intimacy than Jesus describes:
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you (Jn. 14:20)
Listen for the word “love” in what Jesus says here:
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (14:21-23)
– we don’t serve each other because this is what we’re told to do
• or to qualify ourselves as saints
• we serve one another, because we love

Through most of chapter 14, Jesus is soothing his disciples’ fears
– that’s what love does

So John tells us that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet
After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (Jn. 13:21)
– how did John know Jesus was troubled in his spirit?
• well, he had said as much earlier (Jn. 12:27)
◦ and he either revealed this later or it was apparent in his body language
• Jesus opened his soul to his disciples, he gave them access to what he felt
– this is how we come to know another person intimately
• they give us access to their deepest feelings
◦ this is how we come to know Jesus, intimately
◦ we hear it from John, because it’s meant for us too
• the flip-side to what Jesus reveals to us,
◦ is revealing ourselves to him
◦ and that is where we run into difficulty

Conclusion: Only John mentions that Judas was the son of Simon Iscariot

He adds this note three times in his gospel and two of those times are here in chapter 13
– and I’m not sure why–unless it’s possibly linked to Simon Peter
(which John uses four times in this same chapter)
• John may have been deliberate in how he referred to Peter
• Peter was a person who struggled with two selves
◦ Simon and Peter were conflicted at times and fused at other times
◦ he could be both well-meaning and wrong-headed at once
– this is easy to illustrate in both instances that he speaks in chapter 13
You shall never wash my feet
I will lay down my life for you
• you see? well-meaning, but wrong-headed

This is the dark side of contemplative prayer
– the self awareness that is sometimes given to us
• I sit in silence, open and receptive to God,
◦ and suddenly this ugly truth about myself rises to the surface
◦ stuff I’ve unconsciously suppressed – the sad truth about myself
– the old self is not so easy to get rid of
• it isn’t like a used shirt we can fold up and give to a thrift store
• it’s wired into our brains
◦ I can piously renounce it, quote scriptures about it being dead
◦ but I have to admit, my old self is me
◦ I am still sometimes Peter, sometimes Simon
– it is in getting to know Jesus that we come to know ourselves

Years after this incredible night with Jesus,
I can imagine the disciples getting together and saying,
“Oh, that’s what he was trying to tell us”

Jesus was a mystery, kept secret for long ages,
waiting to be revealed (Ro. 16:25-27)
I am also a mystery waiting to be revealed–
and so are you
For the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the sons of God (Ro. 8:19)
Beloved, we are God’s children now,
and what we will be has not yet appeared;
but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he is (1 Jn. 3:2)
Again, that is how it works:
discovering who Jesus is, I discover who I am,
and also the person that he is making me to be

What John makes clear in these chapters
is that Jesus wants us to know a love
that makes us better people

Podcast

Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:1-7; 12:1-3

Intro: John will bring Jesus’ public ministry to a close in chapter 12

But just before reaching the end, there is this amazing crescendo!
– Jesus goes to the grave of a dead man and calls him back to life
– this is one of those points where John’s story differs from the Synoptic gospels
• Matthew, Mark and Luke say nothing about Lazarus’ resurrection
• in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus’ ministry comes to an end
◦ but in John’s gospel, it is only Jesus’ public ministry that comes to an end
◦ he still has a lot more to give his disciples before leaving them (chs. 13-17)

In spite of the different direction John goes,
– the way his story overlaps with the Synoptic gospels is recognizable
• for example:
◦ Martha and Mary, whom we met in Luke, enter the story
◦ the story of a woman who poured perfume on Jesus occurs here
(as we find in Matthew and Mark)
◦ John also records Jesus grand entrance into Jerusalem
◦ Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, as he did in Matthew
(and partially in Mark and Luke)

In Luke, Martha and Mary are one-dimensional characters

Martha is a doer and Mary is a romantic
– Luke presents them this way to make a particular point
• nor do they break character in John’s gospel
• yet in John, both women have more depth and color

The first thing about the sisters that we learn from John:
– there was a special quality to their relationship with Jesus
Lord, he whom you love is ill (Jn. 11:3)
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus (Jn. 11:6)
[Bystanders at Lazarus’ grave] See how he loved him! (Jn. 11:36)
• this makes Jesus’ immediate response hard to understand
• their message was urgent, he loved them, but he delayed
◦ that is not what we would expect from a loved-one
– this is why, from the start Jesus had to define the course of the illness
• it was not about death, but glory – God’s and his own
• the theme of glory persists through this chapter and the next
◦ 12:23-24, my hour has come – strangely, it includes a death
◦ 12:27-28, how Jesus felt about what his coming hour:
▫ what he wanted to pray, but did not, Father, save me from this hour
▫ what he did pray, Father, glorify your name
▫ God answered, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again
◦ what would happen at Lazarus’ grave side was a prelude
▫ to an even greater event and a greater glory

I want to go a level deeper into this

We return to Martha and Mary
– too late to heal Lazarus, Martha heard Jesus was coming
• true to form, she jumped up and went out to meet him
◦ but not Mary – John says she remained seated in the house
• Martha’s complaint, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died
◦ after saying this, Jesus and Martha have a conversation about Lazarus, death and life
◦ John does not report all of it, but he gives us enough
– I find it heartwarming that Jesus spent more time in conversation with Martha
(than he did with Mary, his disciples, or anyone else in this chapter)
• we could get the impression Mary was the more receptive sister
◦ so Jesus would have more to say to her
◦ but Mary got what she needed from Jesus’ teaching
• Jesus knew that Martha was also a good listener,
◦ that he could be straight with her,
◦ and that she would trust what he told her, because she knew he loved her

Martha’s first words, Lord, if you had been here . . . – then she added,
But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you (v. 22)
– I don’t think she meant, “Even now, you can bring him back”
• as the story goes on, we’ll see that idea never crossed her mind
• rather, she was saying, “I still believe that if you had come in time, he would not have died”
◦ she had lost her brother, but not her faith in Jesus
– at some point in their conversation Jesus told her,
If you believe, you will see the glory of God
• Martha knew Jesus could have healed Lazarus
◦ even her friends and neighbors assumed he could do that (v. 37)
◦ but no one knew Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead!
• had Jesus healed Lazarus, it would have been a miracle, but with less impact
◦ raising Lazarus intensified the revelation of God’s glory

When Jesus delayed coming to Lazarus’ rescue,
– it was not that he was too busy or did not really care
• it was a matter of timing
– when the disciples objected to returning to Judea, Jesus said,
Are there not twelve hours in the day?
• that doesn’t make much sense at first
• but what it tells us, is Jesus was alert to the timing of his next move
◦ his timing was not off – it was perfect (it always is!)

We’re not yet through with Martha and Mary

But first, one more word about “glory”
In Matthew and Mark, Jesus had to explain to his disciples why he taught in parables
– the reason, he said, was so that,
they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven (Mk. 4:12)
• this is a quotation from the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 6:9-10)
◦ John includes the same quote in chapter 12
• but instead of applying it to parables, he applies it to Jesus’ entire ministry
◦ the inability of people to see, hear and understand explained the Lord’s limited success
◦ John adds that Isaiah was given this prophecy when he saw his [meaning Jesus’] glory and spoke of him
– there was another reason why some leaders did not confess their faith
(yes, some of them did believe in Jesus)
Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God (Jn.12:42-43)
• this is painful, but all too common
• we compromise our faith,
◦ because we are overly concerned about how we appear to others
◦ for some religious leaders, public opinion is everything
(drawing attention to their accomplishments is more important than serving for God’s glory alone)

Jesus’ conversation with Martha was about faith

Jesus had explained to his disciples that although Lazarus had died,
– they still had good reason for going to him
Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe (Jn. 11:14)
• then, when Jesus told Martha Lazarus would rise, she said,
I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day (Jn. 11:24)
• Jesus responded with perhaps his most brilliant “I am” statement in John’s gospel
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (Jn. 11:25-26)
◦ he begins with a universal possibility: whoever and everyone
◦ but then narrows it down to this one person: Do you believe this?
– Martha reached as far as her faith could take her
Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world (v. 27)
• that’s actually pretty far–almost exactly what Peter said in his great confession
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16:16)
• but Jesus wanted to expand her knowledge and faith beyond that statement
◦ he was more than enlightenment and healing
◦ he was resurrection and life

Mary had waited for a call or invitation to go to Jesus

True to form, she fell at Jesus’ feet
– every time we see Mary with Jesus, she is at his feet (Lk. 10:39; Jn. 12:3)
• but, surprisingly, she says the same thing her sister said
◦ we could expect something more characteristic of each sister
• but grief has a way of sucking the same desperate feelings out of all of us
– after this brief encounter, Mary quickly fades into background
• they do not have a conversation like the Lord did with Martha
• but Mary reappears in the next chapter
◦ Jesus is again in the sisters’ home and
they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served [of course!], and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from [an aromatic plant], and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (Jn. 12:2)

Matthew and Mark also tell this story (Mark also mentions that it took place in Bethany)
– but only John identifies the woman who anointed Jesus and the disciple who complained
• the most beautiful statement in story is followed by the ugliest statement
The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume
But Judas Iscariot…said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
– Judas immediately poisoned the atmosphere
• no one had opportunity to savor Mary’s extravagant love
• her lavish devotion to Jesus was reduced to dollars and cents
◦ in Matthew’s gospel, the question began, Why this waste? (Mt. 26:8)
◦ as if anything given to Jesus could be considered a waste!
– Jesus once again came to Mary’s defense as he had in Luke’s story of the two sisters
• John has painted a vivid contrast between these two followers of Jesus:
◦ one a lover and the other a traitor
◦ one a giver and the other a thief

Conclusion: Martha and Mary do not represent a Christianity divided between doers and dreamers

St. Augustine and St. Aquinas saw in Martha and Mary the distinction between
The Active life and the Contemplative life
– but they saw these as two practices of every Christian
• the active life has its arena where it is most effective, but also has its limitations
• the same is true of the contemplative life
◦ Martha, as we see, was also able to contemplate and reflect
◦ Mary, as we see, could also get up and do something for Jesus
(something that he appreciated and in which he saw a hidden meaning)
Thomas Aquinas wrote, “under the active and the contemplative lives is comprised that kind of life which is made up of both. But just as in every mixture one of the simple elements predominates, so in this mixed kind of life now the contemplative and now the active predominates.”
– and so with us, now Martha and now Mary

The point is that we exercise both of these spiritual muscles
That in contemplation we stretch our faith,
staying alert, open and receptive to God’s grace,
and in service we do what we can to bless the lives of others
bringing to them the love and goodness of Jesus the Christ,
the Son of God

Podcast

Intro: Let’s review important terms Jesus has used

– first, there is the living water
• he offered it to the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:10)
• he also offered it to everyone in the temple (Jn. 7:37-38)
– next, Jesus said, I am the bread of life (Jn. 6:35)
– more recently he said, I am the light of the world
• and he promised to those who followed him the light of life (Jn. 8:12)

Notice how these same themes appear in Psalm 36
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light (vv. 7-9)
This is not only metaphorical poetry
– it is mystical verse
– it describes seeing light within light

Last week we learned about a light, invisible to human eyes
– a light that shines in darkness as well as in light–e.g., Ps. 139:11-12
• God lights things up for us
• the various TV crime series programs have made much of forensic light
◦ with it, investigators can locate finger prints and traces of blood and other evidence not visible to normal sight
◦ God’s light enables us to see what is invisible
– that is the sort of light John brings to the Synoptic gospels
(Matthew, Mark and Luke)
• it reveals things that were hidden from the disciples
◦ but even when that light is shining, there’s another problem
◦ we can be blind to the spiritual light of Christ
• John wants us to be able to see in God’s light
◦ and he provides important instructions in this chapter

John chapter 9 begins with a blind man

Jesus healed him, but because it was the Sabbath, the healing created complications
– first there was a stir among the crowd in temple (vv. 8-12)
• then the man was interrogated by a council of Pharisees (vv. 13-17)
• next, his parents were brought in and interrogated (vv. 18-23)
• then the man was once again interrogated (vv. 24-34)
– we’ve seen that John does not include any of the parables found in the Synoptic gospels
• but at the same time, John saw certain events in the light of Jesus that for him were revelations of truth deeper than the words and actions
• for him, the story of the blind beggar became a real-life parable

There were only three times in the four gospels Jesus used spit to heal

Two of those instances were in Mark’s gospel–the third instance is here
– in Mark 7:33, Jesus used saliva to a man who was deaf and mute
• then in Mark 8:23, it was a blind man who was healed
• and spitting was not the only similarity unique to these two stories
◦ with both men, Jesus first separated them from the crowd (Mk. 7:33; 8:23)
◦ with both men, his touch was specific
he touched the first man’s ears and tongue (Mk. 7:33)
he spit in the eyes of the second man and laid his hands on him (Mk. 8:23)
◦ when healed, the first man spoke plainly and the second saw . . . clearly
– these two stories frame an episode that took place between Jesus and his disciples (Mk. 8:14-21)
• the deaf man came before this episode and the blind man came after
◦ what Jesus said to disciples in between these healing miracles was

Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?
• literal blindness and deafness are also metaphorical and spiritual

When, in John’s gospel, we come to this only other place where Jesus used spit
– and where he applied it directly to the man’s eyes,
• it would be difficult to not see a connection with these events from Mark’s gospel
◦ not with the historical details–person, place, or timing
• but the disabilities and their implied meaning
◦ also, the fact that Jesus heals these disabilities

There is one other interesting detail re: blind man in Mark
– Mark 8:23-25 is the only place where a healing took place in stages
– in John 9, the spiritual enlightenment of the blind man also occurred in stages
◦ he first referred to Jesus as the man called Jesus (v. 11)
◦ later he referred to him as a prophet (v. 17)
◦ then, he decided Jesus was from God, (v. 33)
◦ and finally he cam to believe in Jesus, the Son of Man (35-38)

The whole ruckus in this chapter began with a question

Jesus saw the blind man, and it seems the disciples followed his gaze
– perhaps they felt powerless to do anything for him
• they could not heal him, they could only speculate
◦ so they asked Jesus a question about guilt and blame

Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

• it’s easy to see how this could be a problem
◦ if the parents’ sin, then the punishment was unfair for him
◦ if he sinned, was it prior to birth – or retroactive?
– what they were doing was shooting in the dark
• the question reveals their own blindness
◦ that there had to be someone to blame
◦ and they were unable to determine where to place the blame
• this was also a blindness that was endemic to their culture
◦ they applied a rule of cause and effect to sin and suffering

I want to pause here to ask,
Whose voice from the Old Testament does Jesus’ voice most resemble?
– not Abraham–he was righteous and enjoyed material prosperity
• not Moses–he gave Israel two choices: obey and prosper or disobey and suffer
• not the voice of the sages in the Book of Proverbs
– here Job is the person whom Jesus sounds like the most
• Job had once lived and thrived in the blindness of his culture
◦ until everything fell apart for him
◦ that was his eye-opener
• he became a spokesperson for everyone who suffers
◦ for sure, sin has consequences
– but those are more like running a red light and getting ticket
– there’s no guess-work of guilt or blame like we see here
◦ the disciples needed to be less concerned about cause
◦ and more interested in cure

For the rest of this chapter, it seems that blindness is contagious

First, the crowd was not seeing so well
– “Isn’t his the blind beggar?” – “No, but he is like him” (v. 9)
• they couldn’t trust their eyes
– then there was the blindness of the Pharisees
• regarding Jesus they declared, This man is not from God (v. 16)
◦ everything pointed to a miracle and the uniqueness of Jesus
◦ yet they persist in their blindness
◦ throughout the interrogation, they were groping for answers
– the man’s parents were blind too
• “We don’t know how he got his sight”

The only one who is beginning to see the light of Jesus
– was the man who had been physically blind
• and he comes so far that he even sounds like Jesus (cf. v. 32-33 & Jn. 5:19 & 30)

After the ruckus, the blind man has a second encounter with Jesus

This to me is the beauty of Jesus
– he heard that the man he healed had been tossed out of the synagogue
• being blind, he had lived on outskirts of society
◦ now that he had the opportunity to join in, he was kicked to the curb
◦ that is what he got for his integrity – he could not deny his experience

Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see (v. 25)

• Jesus went looking for him, found him somewhere outside the temple
◦ Jesus wanted to complete his healing — his enlightenment

Some of the Pharisees overheard what Jesus had to say to the blind man
– they asked Jesus,

“Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains” (vv. 40-41)

• when or how did they say, “We see”?
◦ in verse 24 when they said, We know that this man is a sinner
◦ and in verse 28 when they said, We know that God has spoken to Moses
• that’s the danger of trusting too much in your religious dogma
◦ thinking you know, you reject evidence that is right in front of you

Conclusion: In Luke chapter 11, Jesus said,

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light (vv. 34-36)

– eye refers to sight and body refers to the whole person
• what we typically mean by “healthy” sight is clarity
◦ but Jesus was referring to where we direct our attention
◦ for example, the psalmist wrote,

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things (Ps. 119:37)

◦ that is, Direct my attention away from empty images and pursuits
• to what do I give the majority of my attention?
◦ what do I allow to enter my eyes, my mind, my heart, my body?
– the Pharisees remind us that blindness can be willful
• but we also learn here that sight can be improved
◦ I recently learned about vision exercises
◦ we need exercises to improve our spiritual sightedness

For the time being, we would do well to follow the advice of Abbot John Chapman, who wrote, “God is taking you in hand and teaching you. Be courageous. Let Him work. You can help by not interfering—that is, by not worrying or complaining, but trying to be peaceful and confident and content.”

Podcast

March 3, 2019 – Mark 8:27-30 and John 8:25-30

Intro: John chapter 8 begins with one of most beautiful stories of Jesus

It’s the kind of story we enjoy reading again and again
(If you don’t remember well the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery who was brought before Jesus in an attempt to ambush him, grab your Bible and read John 8:1-11)
– there’s just one problem with this story
• biblical scholars agree that it John did not place it here
◦ it is not found in the majority and most ancient Greek manuscripts
• some copies of Luke’s gospel contain it,
◦ and in some copies of John it appears in different places
– what we can surmise is that it was a well-known and much loved story
• too important to lose – so it had to be preserved and put somewhere

To me, this seems to be the perfect place for this story
– certain themes in this story are expanded and played out in the chapter:
• The temple — the story begins with Jesus entering the temple
◦ and the chapter ends with him leaving it (an “envelope structure”)
• Sin — no one present who accused the woman was without sin (v. 7)
◦ later, Jesus said those in the crowd would die in their sin (vv. 23-24)
◦ whoever practices sin is a slave to sin (v. 34)
◦ no one in the temple could convict Jesus of sin (v. 46)
(he was the one person without sin)
• Condemn or judge — in Greek, katakrinos and krinos
◦ none of the accusers stayed to condemn the woman
◦ and Jesus, who could have condemned her, did not (v. 11)
◦ later Jesus said, I judge no one (v. 15, as he just demonstrated)
• Central to woman’s story is stoning
◦ and that’s how Jesus’ story ends the chapter
So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple (v. 59)
– so the story fits the chapter

Following this story, Jesus made an announcement

Pharisees who heard him reacted immediately
– from that point on, Jesus is answering objections
• the crowd misunderstand and underestimated him
• so he walked them through the maze of their wrong thinking
– in three instances, I see him revealing truths that were hidden in the Synoptic gospels

First, his announcement: I am the light of the world

In the Sermon On the Mount, Jesus said, You are the light of the world
– how did the disciples (and crowd) become the light of the world?
• we could say, “By living the beatitudes”
◦ but it is doubtful that they had mastered them already
◦ Jesus went on to say that people do not

light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand (Mt. 5:15)

• I wonder if Jesus is explaining where they got their light
◦ that he is the one who lit their lamps
◦ here he says,

Who ever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life(they “have” it by receiving it from Jesus)

◦ in next chapter Jesus will say:
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world (Jn. 9:5)

– John emphasizes light and sight all through his gospel
• The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world (Jn. 1:9)
• . . . and we have seen his glory (Jn. 1:14)
• what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? (Jn. 6:30)
• Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails…I will never believe (Jn. 20:25)
– but “seeing” is not how we know God or walk with him

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18)
for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7)

• rather than helping us to know God, sight can get in way
◦ after all, why did Jesus have to blind Paul to save him? (Acts 9:3-9)

Jesus is light, but not the kind we see with our eyes
– we make distinctions between natural light and artificial light
• but there is another light and it is visible only to the spirit
◦ “uncreated” – not like when God said, Let there be light
◦ but the light of God himself, God is light (1 Jn. 1:5)
• uncreated light is a cornerstone of Orthodox spirituality
(the light revealed to the disciples in his “transfiguration”)

Gregory Palamas (14th century mystic), “This mysterious light, inaccessible, immaterial, uncreated, deifying, eternal, this radiance of the Divine Nature, this glory of the divinity, this beauty of the heavenly kingdom, is at once accessible to sense perception and yet transcends it.” [Quoting St. Basil,] “. . . it is visible to the eyes of the heart”

– The light shines in the darkness (Jn. 1:5)
• for a long time I assumed this meant the light shined like a beacon or lighthouse
◦ but now I realize that the darkness is still dark,
◦ but it is illuminated with a light invisible to human eyes

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you (Psalm 139:11-12)

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:3-4)

• Jesus also spoke of spiritual blindness

(of the Pharisees) Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit (Mt. 15:14)

◦ when it comes to having life in God, follow One with the light
◦ Jesus is the light! – And this brings us to the next question

Verse 25, So they said to him, “Who are you?”

Later they ask, Are you greater than our father Abraham? (v. 53)
Do you remember the Samaritan woman asking Jesus,

Are you greater than our father Jacob? (Jn. 4:12)

– they asked, because they sensed a challenge to their heroes
• in Matthew 12, Jesus referred to someone and something

greater than the temple, greater than Jonah, and greater than Solomon

◦ but Jesus left it there without explicitly pointing to himself
◦ nor did he suggest how he was greater
– but here, John allows us to hear Jesus speak in a clear voice (vv. 14, 19)

Let’s back up – in Mark chapter 3, two stories are “sandwiched”
– this means the two stories are told together, one inside the other
• each one illuminating the other
– the outside (slices) tell of Jesus’ family; the inside tell of the scribes
• both were trying to make sense of his actions
◦ his family thought he had lost his senses
◦ the scribes said, He has an unclean spirit (demon)
• John takes us deeper into both stories
◦ in John 7, we see that his family’s actions resulted from unbelief
◦ in John 8, the religious leaders were openly hostile

“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I don not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.” (Jn. 8:48-49)

John brings all of this to the central question, Who is Jesus?
– it’s a question Jesus himself raised in all three Synoptic gospels (e.g., Mt. 16:13-15)
• John shows us that Jesus dropped plenty of clues:
◦ God is his Father–to know Jesus is to know God (v. 19)
◦ They’re from below and of the world; he’s from above and not of the world (v. 23)
◦ he has the truth that sets people free from sin (vv. 31-36)
◦ he came to them from God (v. 42)
• some of these statements are ambiguous
◦ but there is no ambiguity in verse 58

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I day to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

◦ his meaning was clear to them; they picked up rocks to stone him

A third truth hidden in the Synoptic Gospels

Verses 27 and 43 specifically address why the people did not understand
– the reason in verse 27, It is because you cannot bear to hear my word
• it clashed too much with their cherished beliefs, prejudices and paradigms
– a second reason they did not understand (v. 47, & I emphasize “of God”)

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

• they were religious, but they were not of God
– a third reason they did not understand Jesus was,

because my word finds no place in you (v. 37)

• he had told them,

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples (v. 31)

• do you remember how Jesus redefined family in Mk. 3:35?

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.

• the problem here, is that his word could not find a place in them
◦ this is like the parable of the seed and the soil (Mt. 13:1-23)
◦ Jesus’ words need a special environment to flourish

Conclusion: I will finish with this thought

When we read Jesus’ teaching, his word searches for a place in us
– one that is open, receptive and responsive
• willing to hear the truth, whether pleasant or unpleasant
• the place in us that wants to know God
– God searches for the place in me that is searching for him
• they had no place for Jesus – in their theology, thinking, or lives
◦ his word was rendered ineffective – powerless to generate life

At the end of his ministry, Jesus said,
I go to prepare a place for you
I have to ask myself,
What place have I prepared for him?

We were privileged to have Jacob Caldwell as our guest speaker this morning. In conversations with Jacob I have been impressed by the extent of his research, the depth of his thought, and the sincerity of his devotion to Jesus Christ. A physiotherapist by profession, Jacob has probed the relation between Christian spirituality and the human body. Listening to him share what he has learned throws a new light on an ancient truth and makes more real the fact that our bodies really are the temple of the Spirit of God.
chuck smith, jr.

Living by the Flesh

What does it mean to ‘live according to the flesh’?
● You probably think it’s the body.
It’s needs, desires, functions–all the wrong things we can do with it
● Jesus and Paul seemingly agree.
The following sound as if they envisioned two universes
(this is the conclusion drawn by many Evangelical Christians, including Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality, pp. 60 -70)
One universe is superior, transcendent and good, while the other is inferior, material and intrinsically bad
The human body naturally belongs to the material universe

“My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 KJV).
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17 KJV).
“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29 NASB).
“… if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee” (Matthew 5:30 KJV).
“… flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50 NASB).
“… for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:12-13 NASB).
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts” (Rom 6:12 NASB).

● We have this image of the good spirit above and the evil body below.
● However, this is the ancient Manichean heresy
And it was soundly rejected by the earliest Christian theologians

● “For God so loved the world…” — the cosmos–that is, the whole of creation
The goal of Christian spirituality is not to escape the body into pure spirit

“It is a resurrection, not from the body, but of the body. The new creation is not a fresh start, but the old made new” (Robinson, The Body, pp. 82-3).

● We’re been missing something: the Incarnation
● Sarx is Greek for flesh: sarcophagus (a lime-filled coffin, literally a “flesh-eater”)
sarx is dead meat, a body without spirit — a corpse
● Soma is Greek for body: life, flesh with spirit, flesh fused to spirit

“. . . the body without the spirit is dead . . . (James 2:26)

● Sarx will pass away, but soma is for God
Even more amazing, is that God is for the soma! (1 Cor. 6:13)

“While sarx stands for man … in his distance from God, soma stands for man … as made for God” (Robinson, The Body, p. 31).

● It’s not that we’ll leave these bodies and this physical world, but that the veil will be lifted.
We come to a realization of spirit as another dimension of the same reality
● The Kingdom of God is seeing the spiritual in the physical: the fusion of spirit and matter.

Why are we heretics?

Our culture has been shaped greatly by two theological and philosophical influences; that of St. Augustine and Rene Descartes:

“More than anyone else, Augustine shaped Western theology … throughout the Middle Ages his authority stood second only to that of Scripture. Historians have with some justice described the Reformation as a struggle between two sides of Augustine: Protestantism began with his doctrine of grace, and the Roman Catholic response grew out of his doctrine of the church. Descartes began modern philosophy with a series of arguments paraphrased from Augustine, and much of Freud reads like an extended commentary on Augustine’s Confessions. For better or worse, today’s thinking about God, or human personalities, or history, or sex still owes him a great deal” (Placher, History of Christian Theology, p. 108).

Augustine was a Manichaen before he converted to Christianity
(he was also influenced by Plato, whom he held in high regard)

● Descartes’ famous philosophical starting point: “I think therefore I am”: this is the Manichean heresy stated succinctly
● But more than the influence our culture is the fact that the Kingdom of God is terrifying:

“We have utterly separated spirit and sense [experience]; but [the cosmos] is both, with a double allurement so strong that we fear it. So we are Manichees at heart; for the Manichaean heresy is but the conscious, deliberate statement of a fear, and the assertion that it is wisdom and truth. The fear is latent in all men, and the facts of life seem to justify it. Spirit and flesh are manageable if we separate them, but fused together they sweep us away. So we are always trying to separate them, and to conceive of the universe itself as not one but two, the one all and the other nothing, the one real, the other unreal, the one pure and cold and the other warm and foul. And, whether we are devout or sceptical, we are afraid of the reality in which matter and spirit are fused” (Clutton-Brock, “Spiritual Experience,” in Streeter, The Spirit, p. 288-9).

● If we really entered the Kingdom of God, we would have to live accordingly and that’s overwhelming.
So we push God’s kingdom into the future or an alternate reality
That allows us to still be religious without the terrifying encounter with spirit

What are we going to do? Continue reading →

How God Makes Himself Known

Yahweh! Yahweh!
The God of compassion and mercy!
Slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations. Exodus 34:6-7

Intro: Last week Moses asked God for the ultimate experience

Show me your glory – Let me look at you; see you as you are
– he knew the truest way to know someone was to experience that person
• Moses’ request was denied
• nevertheless, God gave Moses all he had to give at that time
◦ and all that Moses was able to take without being obliterated

Everett Fox, “. . . it is almost as if the text is saying ‘This is all that can be known, intimately, of this God, and this is all one needs to know”

– all our tools for exploring the universe are in our bodies
• if something exists that we cannot see, touch, deduce or imagine,
◦ we will not be able to discover it through any technology we invent
• God is here in our universe, but in a dimension beyond it

This was Job’s frustration. He could see all the marvelous things that God did in the world, but
when he comes near, I cannot see him.
When he moves by, I do not see him go (Job 9:11)
Job’s friend, Zophar, asked him “What did you expect?”
Can you solve the mysteries of God?
Can you discover everything about the Almighty? (Job 11:7)

As Paul wrote to Timothy, No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will (1 Tim. 6:16). This is because our human senses are not equipped to see into God’s dimension. They were made for life in our four-dimensional universe.

The only way we can ever know God, is if he reveals himself to us
– this knowing comes with a condition: I must experience what God is willing to reveal
• if I treat what God reveals as mere information, I will not know him
• I can have an encyclopedic knowledge of God yet not know God himself

Arthur Vogel, “To be able to reduce the Christian option to choice between ideas is to have totally lost the essence of Christianity. . . . Knowledge and [informed thinking] play an essential role in the Christian religion, but they do so in the service of something that is more than they. If the ‘more’ is lost, all is lost, and the first step has yet to be taken.”

– we come to know God by our experience of him as he reveals himself to us
• this means, whatever he reveals is within the realm of our experience

Vogel, again [because he says it so well], “Many people feel the absence of God in their lives, which means that his presence should be recognized by feeling too.”

◦ by feeling Vogel did not mean emotion, but perception
◦ like feeling loved or a gust of wind
• whatever we experience, we own — it is our truth, our reality
◦ and nothing else is more personal or more convincing

When Jesus’ critics could not disprove the fact that Jesus healed a blind man, they announced that he was a sinner because he performed the healing on a Sabbath day. “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (Jn. 9:25)

◦ he was not ready to tackle the theological challenge, but he was certain of his experience

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4-6 Once again Moses climbed Mount Sinai and God came down

We have primed for this dramatic moment
– God told Moses that he would see something (Ex. 33:22-23)
• but the way the event unfolds is sort of strange
• all we are told is that Moses heard something 
◦ I assume that what he heard was more important than his visual experience
– Moses first heard God announcing his own name
• this is significant, because a person was considered inseparable from his or her name

Walther Eichrodt, “. . . this proclamation of the divine Name was treasured as an act whereby God himself came forth from his secret place and offered himself in fellowship . . .”

• God called out his name twice – I do not know why
◦ but remember, in their first encounter God spoke Moses’ name twice
◦ perhaps the double announcement stresses the momentous nature of this event Continue reading →

The Book of Jonah

(This overview was printed and handed out as a supplement to the Bible study)

More than anything else, the book of Jonah is a story and the narrative becomes more fascinating the deeper we go into it. A few characteristics of this story include the following:

• The protagonist (main character) is Jonah, but he is not necessarily a “hero”.
• The antagonist (typically the bad guy or villain) is also Jonah. In other words, Jonah is his own worst enemy. There would have been no storm, no “great fish,” no worm or scorching east wind if not for his stubborn resistance to God’s will.
• The plot in a story usually involves some kind of conflict. In this instance, the tension that moves the story forward is between God’s will for Jonah and Jonah’s will for God. Jonah was convinced that he knew what God should do, but was afraid of what he would do.

The Book of Jonah is a carefully constructed story

• The story ends where it began, with “Nineveh, the great city.” This creates an envelope around the whole book, that lets us know the circle is complete even though it leaves us hanging at the end (1:2 & 4:11).
• The story divides into two narratives that run parallel to each other 
  Part One (chapters 1-2): Jonah runs from God to avoid Nineveh 
  A great wind, a great storm and a great fish
  The sailors “called on their gods” and on Yahweh (1:5, 14)
  The concern of the captain and his crew, “not perish” (1:6)
  Jonah learned his lesson (2:8)
  Part Two (chapters 3-4): Jonah goes to Nineveh and argues with God
  The people of Nineveh “call on Yahweh” (3:8)
  The concern of the king and his people, “not perish” (3:9)
  A scorching wind and a dead plant (4:8)
  The lesson Jonah was supposed to learn (4:10-11)
• Key words and phrases. We recognize key words in the way that they are emphasized in the text. The emphasis comes through repetition, being doubled (e.g., “feared a great fear,” being new or unusual expression, or in some way by drawing attention to their usage.
  Great, greatly
  Cast, throw, hurl
  Fear
  Cry out (call)
  Appoint
  Evil
  Know

We will discover more elements of the story’s structure as we go through it.

Questions regarding the point or purpose of this story 

Is it:

• God’s sovereign power over elements and nations? (This seems to be taken for granted rather than appear as a theme)
• The miracles–e.g., the great fish and Jonah’s survival?
• The revelation that no one can run from God or dodge his will?
• The eternal reliability of God’s self-revelation to Moses? (4:2)
• God’s justice?
• God’s compassion for all people?

What kind of story (genre) is the best fit for Jonah?

• Historical?
• Wisdom writing?
• Prophetic?
• Comedy? (The story certainly contains comic elements)
• Ironic tale? (We will encounter irony in some of the scenes)
• Satire?
• Mashal or parable?
  The word mashal appears in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and is translated by a number of different words into English. The one idea that connects to these various meanings is that a comparison is being made. When mashal is a parable, its purpose was to illuminate or illustrate a truth, be thought provoking, or provide an insight. Some Rabbis’ taught that “before parables no one understood the Torah, but when Solomon and others created parables, then people understood” (quoted in Stories with Intent, Klyne Snodgrass, p. 8).
  We cannot say the book of Jonah is a mashal, and one reason is because no other Old Testament book is entirely a parable. But neither is there any other book in the Bible quite like Jonah.

The book of Jonah is a prophetic message, delivered in narrative form. It is more concerned with the message God communicates through the story than with the details of a specific historical situation.

IsraelTour2015

Waking Up To God

So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; ad from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.” Genesis 28:1-2

INTRO: The first nine verses of this chapter are continuation and conclusion of last week’s story

Rebekah cooked up a plan to get Jacob out of harm’s way
– I wonder why she couldn’t be straight with her husband Isaac
– I notice this with some people
• they don’t tell you exactly what they’re after, but try to draw you out
○ if you ask them a question, you never get a straight answer
• I’ve also noticed, these people tend to be devious themselves
○ perhaps their own devious thinking causes them to suspect others
– anyway, this sort of behavior prevents the formation of healthy relationships
• it sabotages any hope of intimacy, which requires openness, honesty, and trust

As a result of Rebekah’s ploy, Jacob was sent on a quest
– Isaac sent him off with a twofold blessing:
• God would bless Jacob with prosperity of his own
• God’s promise to Abraham would pass on to him
– through Isaac’s interaction with Jacob, Esau realized two things:
• Isaac didn’t want Jacob to marry a local girl
• the local girls displeased his parents
○ so Esau attempted to win his parents’ favor by marrying a third wife

Jacob’s journey would be long, difficult, and dangerous
– was he lonely? Excited? Afraid? Did he have regrets about what he had done?
– the storyteller doesn’t show any concern for Jacob’s emotional state
• he is more interested in getting to the main event Continue reading →

The Birth of Laughter

Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to Him. Genesis 21:1-2

INTRO: The two lines that introduce this next story could be considered “poetic”

A literal translation might look like this:

Now Yahweh visited Sarah as He had said
And Yahweh did to Sarah as He had spoken.

– the point is, the storyteller begins this episode with an artistic flare
– he is not trying to load this story with heavy theological information
• he enlists the art of storytelling so his hearers will enjoy the experience
• we may find that the Scriptures enter our hearts more if we enjoy them than if we only study them
○ the maximum spiritual benefit comes by entering and experiencing God’s word

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Vv. 1-7, God’s promise finally lighted upon Sarah

Se got pregnant, gave birth to a son, and had a good laugh
“God has made laughter for me” – or “with” me
– “Together we produced this bundle of Laughter. I could not have done it on my own”

The Hebrew word for laughter has many related meanings
– something that evoked or involved laughter or its feeling
• we don’t see here our distinction between an emotion and how it was evoked or expressed 
• laughter was both the action and its cause
– one of the possible meanings for the Hebrew word is “to tease” Continue reading →