John 3:1-9

Today we meet the religious ruler, Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a group of 6,000 Jewish religious leaders devoted to keeping the Law down to the tiniest detail. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he would have been part of the elite group of rulers (70 in all), so he was surely a highly respected member of the community. We know he was wealthy because in John 19 he gave expensive burial spices to help with the burial of Jesus.

I have always loved this man, because I feel I can identify with him. He seems to have been someone whose head got in the way of his heart, someone who was more interested in the debate than the answers. I have to guard myself sometimes, when approaching the Scriptures, that it doesn’t become just a brain exercise. When I originally read this part of John’s gospel over thirty years ago, I saw a picture of someone wanting to come to Jesus for an intellectual discussion, to investigate this man who had been performing miracles and overturning tables. And I felt he was probably uncomfortable with the answers Jesus gave him, and maybe went away a bit more puzzled than when he came. We certainly don’t see the deal sealed. Nicodemus apparently did not fall at Jesus’ feet and become a disciple at this point. But surely seeds were planted.

When I was first truly confronted with the need to make a decision for Christ in college, I was made extremely uncomfortable by the experience, and I found it like hearing nails on a chalkboard to even say the name Jesus. I would have had no problem discussing Buddha or Mohammed or Confucius, because I could keep them at a distance. But something about the name of Jesus made me squirm. It was personal - too close for comfort - to have to think about Him and the demands He would make on my life. He’d actually want to change me! So I can feel the churning of thoughts in Nicodemus head and the conflict in his heart as he meets with this Rabbi:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:1-3)

Note that Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. I had always figured this was kind of a stealthy way to talk to Jesus without Nicodemus’s buddies knowing what he was doing. But Jon Courson speculates that maybe he came at night just because it was Passover and both Nicodemus and Jesus would have ben busier during the day. And he says that the cool of the evening was the time for personal conversation among men. We don’t know for sure why he came at night.

Now, right off the bat, Jesus goes completely beyond the niceties of pleasant conversation to the core of Nicodemus’s problem. Nicodemus does the friendly dance with some flattery, starting with some affirmation of the miracles Jesus had been performing. Obviously God was with this Carpenter-Rabbi, so He was worth checking out. However, Jesus instantly points Nicodemus to the need for a complete makeover: Nicodemus needed to be born again!

Since Jimmy Carter called himself a “born again Christian” over thirty years ago, that term has offended many people. And I wonder if it didn’t maybe offend Nicodemus a little, too. His response to Jesus can possibly be seen as almost dismissive:

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” (vs. 4)

What Jesus was suggesting was preposterous! Not possible! And isn’t it interesting that Nicodemus keeps the discussion at arm’s length: he doesn’t ask, “How can I be born again, “ but “How can a man be born again?” I remember using this tactic when the Campus Crusade for Christ people approached me at UCLA. I did everything to keep the discussion from getting personal.

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (vs. 5-8)

Jesus brings it home here. He takes it from no one, in verse 5, immediately to the pronoun you. “I’m talking to YOU, Nicodemus!” “I’m talking to YOU, Sally!” YOU must be born again! Now He’s got Nicodemus’s full attention:

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. (vs. 9)

We’ll find out tomorrow!

 

John 2:18-25

After Jesus had cleared out the outer court of the temple, the Jewish leaders demanded to know by what authority he had done such a thing. In fact, they asked for a miracle to prove his credentials:

Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”


Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”


The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

Jon Courson points out that they did not ask why He had turned over the tables and taken a whip to the money changers. Apparently they knew the place was corrupt - they just wanted to know who had given Him the authority to do it!! That cracks me up! So often when someone points out our sin, we don’t deny it, but rather we will want to know who gave that person the right to judge us! Forget that there is a problem - what gives them the right to point it out???

It looks like Jesus isn’t answering their question directly when he responds, but truly, when He says, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it up again in three days,” He is declaring His authority. He is the One with the resurrection power. Verse 22 tells us that after the resurrection, the disciples remembered that Jesus had made this claim and they believed.

The Jewish leaders completely misunderstood and looked at Him like He was crazy. It had taken Herod 46 years to construct this temple. Who was this man who thought he could build in it three days?

The last verses in this chapter show that Jesus did, indeed, display His authority:

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man. (vs. 23-25)

Even though many believed in Jesus because of these signs, He did not commit Himself to them. He knew their hearts and knew that they wanted His miracles, but they did not really want Him. Their “faith” was based on seeing these signs. Sometimes we can be like that. We’ll believe as long as He keeps answering our prayers in the way we expect and in our timeline. The minute things get tough we figure He has deserted us. That is why our faith needs to be based on the truth of His Word, and the assurance that He keeps His promises and loves us, even when things are tough and we are facing trials and persecutions.

While the people only sought what He could do for them, in the next chapter, we will meet someone who wanted to know more. Stay tuned!

 

John 2:12-17

After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.


When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”


His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:12-17)

What a contrast in scenes in this chapter! In Cana we saw a very quiet Jesus unobtrusively performing his first miracle at a celebration. Then, in this next scene in Jerusalem, Jesus went on a rampage, overturning tables and using a whip to clear the temple court of money changers who were ripping off the people. The disciples must have been alarmed to see this other side of the Gentle Carpenter! But the reality is that while God is surely a God of love, He is also holy, holy, holy. And His holiness requires righteous judgment.

How offended Jesus must have been to see these men hawking animals for sacrifice in the very place where His Father should have been honored and glorified. The temple had four courts, and the outer court, where these money changers did their business, was the court of the Gentiles. This was the only place Gentiles were allowed. It was a place where they should have been drawn to God. This was where they should have witnessed the glory and power of Jehovah God. Instead, it had become a corrupt marketplace, where money changers would defraud those who had come to offer sacrifices to God. Worshippers would be told that the animals that they had brought were blemished and not good enough to offer for sin. So they were forced to buy the animals from these merchants.

Courson says that up to this point we have only seen Jesus as the Lamb of God, but in this scene He shows Himself as the Lion of Judah! When we turn to Christ, He is going to cleanse our temples as well. Whatever is offensive to His Holiness must go! He will not be satisfied until He has overturned every area in our lives that is held by sin. What would He find in our temples? Would He want to overturn our TV viewing habits? Would He take a whip to our tongues that wag in gossip? Would He scatter our pride, our tempers, our bitterness, the grudges we are keeping? And what kind of witness are we displaying in our outer courts? Do those who don’t know God feel drawn to Him or shocked by what they see in us?

As we cluck our tongues in disgust over the money changers, let’s remember that we are the temple of God. His Holy Spirit lives in us! What about our own temples needs to be cleansed? The good news is that Jesus is just the One to cleanse us!  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us ours sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9)  PHEW!


 

John 2:1-11

Today we come to chapter 2 and witness the first miracle of Jesus: changing water into wine at the wedding at Cana. There is so much to just this little passage! And, once again, I’m grateful to Jon Courson for pointing out some things that I have missed! This wedding took place only three days after his baptism by John according to the first verse:

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”


“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” (John 2:1-4)

As Mary saw that the host had run out of wine, she turned to Jesus. Jon Courson asks us to think about the possibility that Mary was maybe thinking more about just filling a need for wine when she made this request of Jesus, because Jesus actually gives her a mild rebuke. When he says, “Dear woman...” the term for Greek word used for woman here is gune, which is a term of respect but not warmth. The King James Version translation makes the rebuke a little more apparent: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

Courson speculates that Mary may have wanted Jesus to finally show Himself to the world as the Messiah, because, for more than thirty years, she had been living with the tarnished reputation of being pregnant before she was officially married to Joseph. She wanted people to know what she knew so that she might be vindicated. Jesus told her that His hour had not yet come. In other words, He would not fully glorify the Father until his death, resurrection, and ascension.

Undeterred, even though rebuked, Mary turns to the servants, and, in her last recorded words in scripture, she tells the servants to obey Jesus. She did not act as a mediator between Jesus and the servants, but sent them directly to Him. Jesus did not exalt Mary at any time. He loved her and cared for her (giving her into John’s care at the cross), but she did not receive special treatment. In Luke 8:21, when He was told His mothers and brothers wanted to see Him, His response was, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” 

Later, in Acts 1, when the disciples are all in the Upper Room praying, Mary is not a leader at the meeting, nor is she given any special recognition. She is just one of the disciples mentioned along with the others. Now, that is not to say that Mary is not a most special woman, because of ALL women in history, SHE was the one chosen to be the mother of Jesus. I can’t wait to meet her one day! But I think Mary knew that her job was not to be glorified, but to also glorify her Savior, even as that is also our job.

The behavior of the servants is amazing and has lessons for us.

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.


Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.


Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”


They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” (vs. 6-10)

Jesus did not tell the servants, nor did they ask, what the plan was ahead of time. Jesus gave them directions one step at a time, and that’s how they obeyed Him. He told them to fill the jars with water - and they filled them to the brim! He then told them to take some to the master of the banquet, and they did. Only then, when the master reacted, did they understand what Jesus had done. Courson writes, “Too often I want to know what steps two through five are going to be before I follow step one.” Oh my goodness! Isn’t that our way??? But like the servants, we are just to trust and obey at each step, one step at a time. The result of their obedience was that they got to be part of an exciting work of God. They knew something that the master of the banquet did not know about that wine: Jesus had performed a miracle!

Oh, that we would have the patience and faithfulness of these servants to participate in what God is doing by just faithfully obeying one step at a time! Great stuff, eh?

 

John 1:43-50

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”


Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”


“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.


“Come and see,” said Philip. (John 1:43-46)

Jon Courson points out something very funny here. Notice that we are first told that Jesus found Philip. But as Philip takes the news to Nathanael, he says “We have found Him!” God is the One who initiates our relationship. He’s the One Who finds us! That has been true since the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve hid from God and He came looking for them! In fact, Romans 3:11 says there is no one who seeks God! Don’t we love to take credit for being “smart” enough to find Christ?? :) When I became a Christian 36 years ago, there was a popular bumper sticker, “I found it!” It really should have said, “He found me!” We are the ones who are lost - not Him!!!

When Philip tells Nathanael that the Messiah comes from Nazareth, Nathanael’s reaction is hysterical! Nazareth???? No way! That hick town? No one important could come from there! Nathanael would have to be convinced, so Philip challenges him to just come and see for himself. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” (Psalm 34:8)

Philip had personally tasted the real thing and he had been convinced, and he was sure that Nathanael would come to the same conclusion if he would just come to Jesus. Although Philip, at this point, could not defend the faith theologically or intellectually (he did not yet know that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, for instance), he knew experientially that Jesus was the Christ. Later, in chapter 8 of Acts, Philip was finally equipped in the scriptures enough to fully explain theologically to the Ethiopian eunuch how Jesus fulfilled prophecy and was, indeed, the Messiah.

At this point, however, Philip was just a truly convinced new believer, who wanted disbelieving Nathanael to come and see. And, indeed, Nathanael went from disbelief to belief faster than a speeding bullet. All it took was that personal encounter:

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”


“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.


 Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”


 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”


Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (vs.47-50)

Jesus was making a reference to Genesis 28:12 here, which is the vision that Jacob had of the ladder going from Earth to Heaven. Jesus IS that ladder - He is the One who bridges that gap between us and the Father.

According to my Bible footnotes, when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you shall see...” the Greek for you is plural. So, while Jesus was initially addressing Nathanael’s faith, he wants us all to know that at some point all will understand Who Jesus is.

Do you have friends or family who are skeptics? Of course you do! There are LOTS of Nathanaels out there who disdain the simple message of the gospel - the story of the humble carpenter from Nazareth. Are you too intimidated to share your faith because you don’t have your masters degree in theology? Just point the way - invite them to “taste and see.” Jesus is looking for the lost, which includes your friends and family. Trust Him to find them!
 

John 1:35-42

There’s always something! Saturday morning I went to a fellowship with my Bible study group, and as my friend dropped me back home, I waved good-bye to her, then realized I was completely locked out of my house! Don was over at Molly’s house helping her with a project, and the neighbor who has our key wasn’t home. So I sat down on the steps in front of our house and turned on my cell phone, while I waited for Molly to come with a key. I saw I had a voicemail from my niece, Amanda. When I listened to it, I discovered that my sister, Susie, who lives in Florida, had been taken to the hospital that morning - something about memory loss. So I quickly made the call to my brother-in-law to find out the following:

Susie and her husband, Don (too many Don’s in our family) were going to pack him up for a trip he was to take Sunday morning. Susie went in to first do her makeup and hair, while Don got on his computer. Susie came in a few minutes later mumbling incoherently, having difficulty walking, then started vomiting! Don, who is a retired sheriff, knew what to do - he called 911 and the ambulance took her to the hospital. They did a CT scan and an MRI and various other tests, all showing no signs of a stroke and no blockage of the carotid artery. They don’t believe it was a TIA (mini-stroke)either. They are doing more tests today to rule out epilepsy, but we may never know what it was. She was back to normal before they admitted her, but has no memory of the event. She is exhausted, but we are all so grateful that there doesn’t seem to be anything life-threatening. However, it is frustrating to not know for sure. Please pray that the doctors will be able to give her some kind of answer that makes sense, and that there will be no more episodes! Ye gads!

Back to John:

In the last verses of John’s first chapter, he relates the calling of the disciples. In verses 35-42 we learn that one of the first disciples was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist, but John directed him to Jesus. In turn, Andrew was one of the disciples of Christ who brought others to Jesus, the first one being his own brother:

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. (John 1:40-42)

Andrew couldn’t wait to tell his brother, Simon Peter! Jon Courson points out that, later, Andrew also brought to Jesus the young boy with the lunch that fed five thousand (John 6:8-9); and, with Philip, he brought a group of Greeks to meet Jesus in Jerusalem (John 12:20-22). We never know when we bring someone to Jesus what the impact will be. We just need to be willing to make the introduction, then we can leave the results to Jesus.

When Simon came to Jesus, he received his name change:

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). (vs. 42b)

I looked up the meaning of Simon - it means “he has heard.” Simon heard about Jesus from Andrew, but more importantly, Jesus heard the cry of Simon’s heart. He saw in Peter what no one else saw, and he changed his name on the spot to Cephas or Peter, which means “rock.” I like what Courson says about this:

“In changing Peter’s name, it’s as if Jesus said, ‘Simon, you’re about as stable as the sand on the seashore. But I see your potential; I see what you will become. That’s why I’m changing your name to Cephas, or Rock. Stick with Me, Peter, and you will see incredible changes take place in your person.” (Courson’s Apllication Commentary:New Testament, P. 442).

No one stays the same after meeting Jesus! Have you thanked Him recently for the changes He has made in you? The exciting part is that God is the one Who does the work in us. And God finishes what He starts. Unlike us, He does not leave projects half done. Paul assured the Philippians that God would complete what He had begun in their lives (Phil 1:6), and He will do that for us!

Tomorrow we will see Jesus pick up two more disciples as we complete chapter 1.

 

John 1:29-34

First off, I want to thank you for your prayers for Judi! She had her kidney removed yesterday. There was a 2-inch cancerous tumor, and they are very hopeful that it was contained and that there is no further cancer. They will be doing additional tests to be sure, but the outlook seems extremely positive, thank you, LORD!

I’m on my last day of antibiotics (doing cartwheels over that), and it seems like the infection has been controlled. Still have the facial numbness on the right side (although you would never know by looking at me), which is nothing more than a minor irritation. Monday I will have the root canal completed, then we’ll let everything settle before the dentist puts on the final crown. Onward to John...

Today’s verses describe the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when He first appears as the Lamb of God, as declared by John the Baptist:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”


Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34)

Somehow God had indicated to John the Baptist that he would know the Messiah when John saw the Holy Spirit come upon the Christ. John declared that his whole reason for being in the river baptizing was just so he could reveal the Christ to Israel (vs. 31). So, when he saw the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, come upon Jesus, he knew that this was the Lamb of God. I am glad to turn to Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament study on this passage for some very interesting observations!

In pronouncing Jesus the Lamb of God, John the Baptist hearkens back to Genesis 22:7-8, according to Courson. This is where Abraham has taken Isaac to Mt. Moriah and is preparing to offer him as a sacrifice to God. Isaac sees the fire and the wood, but asks, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham, by faith, assures Isaac, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” (KJV) Here in John 1:29, that Lamb at last appears! Courson says that the cry of the Old Testament is, “Where is the Lamb?” The hope of the New Testament is, “Behold the Lamb!” And the summation of eternity will be, “Worthy is the Lamb!” (Rev 5).

Throughout the Bible the lamb is used to remove sin. Jon Courson points out how the “message of the Lamb of God becomes more encompassing as you trace it through Scripture.” (Courson, P. 440)  He refers first to Genesis 4:4-5, where Abel brings a lamb as a sacrifice for an individual. Then in Exodus, during the Passover, there is the lamb offering for an entire family. In Leviticus, the Jews were instructed on the sacrifice of a lamb for the sins of the nation. Finally, here in the New Testament, Jesus is the Lamb whose sacrifice is made for the sins of the world.

Okay, aren’t those exciting observations?? I just love the wholeness of God’s Word! It truly is His Story! Next week we’ll see the calling of the disciples. So much to apply to our own lives!