Now I Can See

John 9:1-34

I think about the blind man's mother and father, back when they were
young, anticipating the birth of their child. Was it their first? I
feel their joy as they received a son into their lives. How long did
they hold him in their arms before discovering he was blind? Their
delight mingled with devastation. Were they cursed by God? Neighbors
talked in whispers, couldn't help but wonder what dreadful sin had
caused this catastrophe. Did anyone have compassion and try to comfort
them? Was it hard to love a son who brought them such disgrace?

Surely they did their best to raise this child. They helped their
toddler learn to walk. Perhaps they protected him too much, but they
taught him to navigate on his own. They attempted to describe to their
son a world he could not see. But the feeling of guilt and shame never
left. What did we do, that he should be born blind? The boy couldn't
attend synagogue school with all the other boys. The parents held on to
the community of faith as their only hope of salvation, despite the
shunning.

Now, they are faced with a dilemma. They are afraid of the Jewish
leaders. They can't openly rejoice in this unexpected miracle - the
work of God displayed in the life of their son. Afraid of being put out
of the synagogue, they hold their tongues.

It's at this point that I ask myself, how often do I see the work of
God displayed and remain silent? Do I cling to what feels safe? Too
often, I say the acceptable thing rather than speak the name of Jesus.
Right now, is there a risk I'm afraid to take? Lord, make me more bold.

Bold. Like the man born blind. Bold enough to leave his old way of
life. Bold enough to believe and obey. Bold enough to stand up to his
interrogators.

I recall John Newton's words: "I once was lost but now am found; was
blind, but now I see." I, too, was blind from birth.

Deetje Wildes

Spiritual Darkness

This is rather heavy material to read and understand isn’t it?  The last verse we read yesterday said these words of Jesus, “…There is no room in your hearts for my message.”  John 8:37.  Well, what about each of us?  Have we made room in our lives for Him…really?  Before going on, state some evidence of such in your own life.  Jesus continues to teach them and us.  Jesus and the Father are One.  Vs. 38 – He also said to the people that there was scant evidence that they were the children of God by their actions, behavior and beliefs.  Jesus is making it clear that people live in spiritual darkness and in unbelief because _________________.  Vs. 44 – Jesus said, “Your real father is the devil.  Wow!  Consider the spiritual darkness of the people to whom Jesus was speaking then.  Also, consider how true is that of people today?  Jesus said, The Father will glorify the Son.  Remember and appreciate (even though our knowledge is so limited) that Christians believe in the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  A confirmation student wrote in a paper she submitted to me, “Believing in something you can’t explain isn’t foolishness, its faith!”

 

Donald E. Pardun

 

John 8:21-37

Good Day,

 

The leading Jews of that day are doing their best to get rid of Jesus.  In this next altercation with them Jesus is very firm and plain to them, yet there is strong gospel dripping from His seemingly harsh words to them.  Jesus begins by saying that he is going away; this is the very thing the leading Jews were hoping for, but on their terms not on Jesus’ terms.  Jesus goes on to say that unless they believe in Him, they will die in their sins.  That sounds pretty harsh doesn’t it.  That is not a kind thing for Jesus to say, right?  Well, how do we feel when our doctor tells us we will die of our sickness unless we receive medical treatment?  We are very grateful to our doctor and for those who did painstaking research to attain a cure for our disease.  When Jesus uses the word “unless”, He is holding out the gospel to them.  They are staring right at the cure for their disease of sin which leads to eternal death.  Verse 30 says that many who heard Jesus teachings believed.  Yet we know that many didn’t believe as well.

 

Our reading closes with Jesus saying that some of them are trying to kill Jesus because there is no room in their hearts for Jesus or more literally, “because my word finds no room in you.”  Let us remain in Jesus’ word and teaching.  Let us pray that God’s Word finds room in us.  Let us hold fast to the cure for our souls.  Thank you Jesus, for your indescribable gift.

 

Grace and Peace,

 

Pastor Adam

 

Light of the World

John 8:1-20

Jesus said I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. (John 8:12)

This morning I am driving my mother home to Minnesota, and will return to the blog when I return, but the great curiosity that grabbed my attention as I read this morning was recalling the quite different description of Jesus as light in John's prologue to his Gospel. In John 1:4-5 he wrote his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (or has not understood it).

So what's the difference? Can you help? How is it that Jesus as light can be described so differently, have such different effect?...

PPaul


Monday Eve PS: Thanks to all of you for your good insights!

I, too, pondered this passage while driving today , and my mind came to rest upon the phrase from 8:12, If you follow me. It seems, as others noted, that our personal positioning in relationship to the light makes all the difference. Having been a 'driving' day for me, an illustration from it. If I am caught in the light as when staring into glaring high beams of an oncoming car, (or as when the Jews dragging the woman before Jesus are found out to be only different from her in that she was caught in her adultery), then that light is an offending, bothersome light. Some never understand it. But if that light having exposed me now reveals Him, I may come to see that this light not only shines ON me, but FOR me. If I follow this Light, it will surely guide my way, preserve my life, and lead me home.

Is Jesus The Christ?

Does the title sound like a silly question to you because you are a follower of Christ and therefore have no problem saying , "well, of course, He is the Christ?" But this IS the question for today, and in light of our culture and the direction that some of Christian faith is turning, it is a question of great impact. Today's scripture poses this question throughout the text of John 7:1-29. In this part of the Gospel of John,  we see Jesus deciphering how people are deciding who He is, while He teaches the crowds. He hears their debate, He listens to their thoughts and notes their confusion. Then He declares who He is, but still many  cannot seem to understand. Their hearts are not ready. Their ears refuse to hear. Their eyes are still covered and their minds are in a tunnel of what they have expected the Christ to be. They seem to want their own version.

 

This question – Is Jesus the Christ?—is still being asked by many in 2007. Just in the last year, we have witnessed the book and the movie The Da Vinci Code become popular and  touted by the media. Indeed, they could not seem to get enough of it. The book lays claim to a very different Jesus then the one in the book of John. This one fakes death on the cross, and escapes to France to live out his life with Mary Magdalene and their child.  Then there was the book called The Gospel of Judas, which was a supposed account by Judas about Jesus and an explanation of why Judas did what he did.  And just recently, James Cameron the director of Titanic fame, was sure that he and some half-baked journalist, had found the tomb of Christ's family, including Jesus.

Never mind that the Da Vinci code is a novel, for some it has been treated as fact. Never mind that Judas more then likely did not have time to compose his account of why he did what he did before hanging himself, some saw it as truth. Never mind that most credible archeologists on the planet have debunked the notion that the tomb that Cameron found could be Jesus' family with Jesus himself buried in this spot, the Discovery Channel ran a documentary of it as scientific drama. Needless to say, for each of these sensationalistic, nonsense pieces, the hullabaloo has died down. The last one especially fizzled like a short sparkler. 

But of  much greater concern, is what is occurring in real churches and real denominations that claim Christ, but who are moving further and further away from scripture as they re-invent Jesus to their own liking. When Jesus says something tough and hard for us to hear, as he does many times, there are denominations who are now ignoring these parts of scripture and Christ's words so that they will not offend anyone.

Moreover, for the last 20 years the famed Jesus Seminar,  has met twice a year with a team of 135 New Testament scholars whose purpose is to use methods to determine what Jesus, as a historical figure, may or may not have said or done. From what I understand, they have thrown out most of what Jesus said and left little intact. Which leaves us a very thin faith. The seminar's reconstruction of Jesus portrays him as a "wandering wisdom sage who did not found a religion or rise from the dead, but preached in startling parables and aphorisms." Incidently, several churches in Eau Claire banded together two years in a row to bring information about the Jesus Seminar to our populace. In reviewing the promotion, it would appear that they were in agreement with the findings of the Jesus Seminar.

Which raises the question about truth, reliability and conviction. With every chink out of the divinity of Jesus, we lose the center. It is a slippery slope. Is Jesus the Christ? Johns words are breath taking as he begins his Gospel account of Christ. They are God-driven. He leaves no room for us to sway to doubt. He is a witness who has seen with his own eyes the savior.  He has heard His words. He has known the light of the world.  Sometimes we live in ignorance and conclude it is bliss, but only until we hit the wall of truth.  God is not deaf to those who tear at the center.

And blessed and merciful Jesus hears our debate.  He listens to our thoughts and notes our confusion. His words continue to declare who He is and, yet, there are many who cannot seem to understand. Their hearts may never be ready. Their ears may always refuse to hear. Their eyes will remained covered and their minds will be shut forever in a tunnel of what they expect the Christ to be. They will continue to search for  their own version, and will remain in darkness because they have rejected the light that was given. 

Laurie Erdman

 

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Bread From Heaven

John 6:43-71

Many of the people who had been following Jesus from place to place said, “This is a hard teaching,” and deserted Him. So Jesus turned to the 12, and said, “You’re not going to leave, too, are you?”

Peter declared, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

In their journey through the wilderness, God sustained the Hebrews with bread from heaven. Each morning they woke up and found bread on the ground for them to eat that day. Jesus says, as wonderful as that was, all those people still died. Jesus, too, had demonstrated that He had the power to provide “bread from heaven,” as He fed over 5,000 people. It was exciting for the people to get free food and to be part of that historic moment. Still, Jesus challenged the people then and challenges us today to consider that there’s a greater need than satisfying our stomachs. Jesus tells us that there’s a hunger in us more desperate than our hunger for food. We have a greater need than surviving or being satisfied one more day. More consuming, though more difficult to define, we have a desperate hunger for life, a life greater than earthly life, a life that doesn’t end.

It’s an interesting picture, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you be tempted with me by a free pass at Old Country Buffet, the chance to come and eat ‘til we’re satisfied? At the feeding of the 5,000, in John 6:11b, it says, “And they all ate as much as they wanted.” But here they are, chasing Jesus around, in hope of getting more. We’re so easily consumed by our hunger for food. As a kid I said it all the time, “I’m starving! When are we going to eat?” And yet, soon after filling up, I would be ready to eat something more. God has given us this incredible picture that we have an almost insatiable need. Even miraculous bread isn’t enough to sustain us, only our Savior can. Only Jesus satisfies. Only He can forgive us, redeem us, and give us life.

As we trust in Him, He satisfies us, sustains us, and provides for us. To whom else would we go?

Just Believe

The people are following Jesus everywhere...fascinated by His miracles and intrigued by His teaching. Reading their interactions with Him, I'm quite sure my questions would have sounded a lot like theirs - naive, demanding, and a bit too self-sufficient.

I especially relate to the question asked in Verse 28: "We want to perform God's works, too. What should we do?" More and more, I want to be used by God for His glory and in His Kingdom. But, like the undertone that I sense in that question, I also fight the same temptation to try to earn God's favor and look good in front of others.

The people who asked that question of Jesus must have thought that they were perfectly capable of performing "God's works". Maybe they thought there was a formula that went something like this:

Desire + Performance = Pleasing God= Eternal Life

They knew they already had the desire, so perhaps they just needed to figure out the right "work" to do, and then God might be pleased.

Are we so different? We are inundated by cultural messages which teach us that love is fickle and conditional. If earthly love is not completely performance-based, then it is certainly performance-enhanced. Not surprisingly then, we ever-so-slightly incorporate our experiences with human love with the love that is transcendent and divine, and we sometimes end up wondering what we can do for God to make Him love us more.

But Jesus said, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the One He has sent (vs. 29)." The simplicity of the gospel and God's message of unconditional acceptance was God's reminder for me today. God is already pleased with me....and He is pleased with You. Not because of what we can do for Him, but because of what Jesus has done for us.

Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up on the last day( vs. 38-39)." Whether or not we will be with him "on the last day", does not depend on our performance in this life -- thank God. For you and me, for our friends and our families, it simply comes down to this: Believe in the One He has sent.