John 4 -- Jesus Says OUTRIGHT That He IS The Son Of God

My commentary says that in this chapter, John was showing us how "various kinds and classes of people came to believe in Jesus as the Son of God.  The first was the Samaritan woman.  We have no clue today about true racism.  This would blow away today's critics.  The Jews despised Samaritans as half-breeds.  And my commentary also mentioned that rabbis were quoted as saying, "It is better that the words of the law be burned than be delivered to a woman."  Wow!

Yet Jesus had a divine appointment with this woman, telling her everything she'd ever done and using that encounter to show us how shallow faith can be dealt with.  "The only way to prepare the soil of the heart for the seed is to plow it up with conviction ... He forced her to admit her sin.  There can be no conversion without conviction.  There must first be conviction and repentance, and then there can be saving faith ... He had to touch her conscience, and that meant dealing with her sin."

Jesus also made it clear here to her and to all of us that "all religions are not equally acceptable before God, that some worshipers act in ignorance and unbelief.  The only faith that God will accept is that which came through the Jews ... Jesus said, 'Salvation is of the Jews."

When I had pulled away from God after college, I remember reading in a New Age book that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God, and I am still shocked at how readily I'd accepted that statement!  I had never read the Bible completely through at that point, but somewhere along the line afterwards God did reveal to me verse 26 of this chapter, where the Samaritan woman said, "I know that the Messiah is coming.  When the Messiah comes, he will explain everything to us."  Then Jesus replies, "I AM He -- I, the One talking to you."

I'd so easily bought into a lie from Satan back then, and I know millions of nonbelievers and believers still do today!  And the "I AM" He uttered is earth-shaking.  As my commentary described, "He dared to utter the holy name of God!" doubling down to make sure she didn't miss it!  But I did at some point, and I'm so glad God showed me that years ago!  There are so many great events in this chapter, including the healing of the nobleman's son from a distance.  Thank You for continuing to fuel my faith, Father!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

John 3:22-36 John the Baptist Wasn't Competing

John the Baptist had disciples who sounded worried about his ministry because people were leaving his crowds to follow Jesus.  My commentary said there must be no competition between preachers.  Only God should get the glory.  John knew that and used the illustration of a bridegroom to show them Jesus' true place and how happy John was to be the best man!

We don't know if it was John the apostle or John the Baptist who pointed out the key points in the last six verses, but all we should care about are the truths given there:  God authorized His Son's ministry.  "He sent Him, gave Him the Word, gave Him the Spirit, and gave Him all things.  What a commissioning!" my commentary said.

My commentary also said God's love for us, even as sinners, is "a love that can hold nothing back."

One thing to remember is, "Everlasting life does not simply mean eternity in heaven.  The believer possesses that life right now!  It is the life of God in the believer."Father, thank You for not giving up on me and for gently coaxing me back when I'd strayed.  You've taught me so much about real love.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

John 3:1-21 The Teacher As The Pupil

My commentary says, "Nicodemus himself was 'the teacher of the Jews' (John 3:10 literal translation), and he had great respect for the Teacher from Galilee."  

The man who apparently taught all others had come to try to understand what Jesus was teaching.  "Our Lord stated clearly Nicodemus' knowledge of the Old Testament should have given him the light he needed.  Alas, 'the teacher of the Jews' knew the facts recorded in the Scriptures, but he could not understand the truths."

Jesus told him about spiritual birth being the second birth.  He'd said unless one is born again (physical birth followed by spiritual birth), he cannot be in God's kingdom.  I suppose that would also mean that since angels were created and not born, they've had a spiritual but not a human birth, so accordingly, they will be servants, not rulers, in God's kingdom.

One comment I liked said, "The child inherits the nature of the parents, and so does the child of God ...Nature determines appetite, which explains why the Christian has an appetite for the things of God.  He has no desire to go back to the foul things of the world that once appealed to him."

It reminded me of how, as a child, I refused to eat any food any longer that I'd ever gotten sick on.  The taste of it brought back the bad memories of throwing up.  That should be our reaction to thoughts of our lives before Christ and the sin we fed on.

Father, thank You for Your Holy Spirit living inside of me.  Help me not to make Him sick by thinking of or doing things from my life before Christ.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

John 2:12-25 Revealing His Zeal And His Knowledge

In these verses, John shows us Jesus' zeal and His knowledge, my commentary says.  He revealed His zeal for God by cleansing the temple.  It's important to note that He did not destroy anyone's property.  He didn't even release the pigeons being sold -- He told the sellers to get them out of the temple.

"The condition of the temple was a vivid indication of the spiritual condition of the nation.  Their religion was a dull routine, presided over by worldly minded men whose main desire was to exercise authority and get rich ... the glory had departed the temple."

"He also revealed His zeal by giving His life" -- the only sign He said He would give them to prove His authority.

My commentary mentions that Herod's temple was started in 20 BC and not completed until 64 AD, which would have been years after Christ's death on the cross, but only six years before it would be destroyed by the Romans, so it was incomplete when Jesus walked through it.

My commentary also mentioned how "John included a number of vivid pictures of the death of the Savior.  First, the slaying of the Lamb in 1:29 as a substitute for sinners; second, the destroying of the temple in 2:19, suggesting a violent death that would end in glorious resurrection; third, the serpent lifted up in 3:14, the Savior made sin for us; and finally, the planting of the seed in 12:20-25, teaching us that His death would produce fruit to the glory of God."

I really liked this:  "When Jesus suggested that their precious building would be destroyed, their angry reaction was predictable.  After all, if His body is the temple, then the Jewish temple would be needed no more.  In this cryptic statement, our Lord actually predicted the end of the Jewish religious system."

Wow!  I love these fresh insights, Father.  Show me more!

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

John 2:1-11 Some Amazing Details From A Wedding

"Our Lord was not a recluse as was John the Baptist.  He accepted invitations to social events, even though His enemies used this practice to accuse Him.  Our Lord entered into the normal experiences of life and sanctified them by His presence," my commentary began.

At this point in His life, He had not yet performed any miracles, and many people barely knew Him.  He arrived at the wedding with six disciples and Mary.  The groom's family paid for and prepared the wedding feast, which by Jewish tradition lasted an entire week!  At that time, wine, diluted with water, was the normal drink.

His mother made Him aware of the host's problem.  The host might not have even known that the wine had run out.  My commentary suggested that Mary might have been helping to prepare food for the feast and that is how she found out.  She only told the servants to "do what He tells you to do," and the writer of my commentary says that would be wise for all of us to obey!  I know when I'd read this years before I got the impression that Mary was forcing Him to reveal His divinity or to do what she ordered, but that was certainly not the case!  Jesus took command and solved the problem.  Mary only pointed others to Him.

"Our Lord's first miracle was not a spectacular event that everybody witnessed.  Mary, the disciples, and the servants knew what had happened, but nobody else at the feast had any idea that a miracle had taken place," my commentary added.

Warren Wiersbe, the writer of my commentary, has impressed me with the wisdom he shows in many things he writes.  Here's an example:  "We are not told that all of the available water in the [six 20-30 gallon] jars turned into wine.  Only that which the servants drew out and served was transformed into wine."  I went back to check out those verses, and nowhere does it explicitly stated that all of the water in all of the jars turned into wine.  In fact, it says, "So they took the water to the master.  When he tasted it, the water had become wine."  This miracle wasn't a flash miracle that instantly converted up to 180 gallons of water into wine ready to be served!  This miracle kept occurring as each guest put the cup to their lips!

"The miracle did something for His disciples.  It revealed His glory and gave them a strong foundation for their faith ... The disciples had to begin somewhere, and over the months, their faith deepened as they got to know Jesus better."  And that's what we are called to do -- to get to know Jesus better!

Father, thank You so much for making my quiet time fresh by continuing to reveal to me things I'd read before but hadn't fully connected.  I feel like the things You drew out and served to me today are as incredible as that wine surely was for the wedding guests!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

John 1:35-51 The First Guys

John the Baptist had two men who had been following him and absorbing his teachings.  They were John, who wrote this book, and his friend Andrew.  As they walked, he'd seen Jesus and identified Him to them as "the Lamb of God", meaning God's sacrifice for our sins.  When he'd said this, they left him and went to follow Jesus.  My commentary said, "John the Baptist was happy when people left him to follow Jesus, because his ministry focused on Jesus."

"When Jesus asked them, 'What are you seeking?', He was forcing them to define their purposes and goals ... He revealed their own hearts to them ... usually God prepares a person before He calls him," my commentary said.  Just think about this very thing occurring in our own lives!  In time order, it would be God preparing a person to receive Him, then Jesus asking us, "What are you seeking [out of life]?", forcing us to define our purposes and goals.  Then, He reveals our own hearts to us, which shows us both what we want and how we're not getting there because of our current beliefs and actions!

John later gets his brother James and brings him to Christ.  John's friend Andrew goes immediately to bring his brother Simon.  "Simon's interview with Jesus changed his life.  It also gave him a new name -- Peter in the Greek ... 'Thou art .... thou shalt be' is a great encouragement to all who trust Christ.  Truly, He gives us the power to become."

I can just hear Jesus telling me, "You are _______ (this now) ... but you shall be _________(in the future, now my present)."  And I know that that happened.  At the time, I never could have believed it.  I had settled on His being my Savior, but I had completely missed the part about Him being my Lord.

The next day, Jesus traveled and found Philip in Galilee.  Philip just happened to be from the same town as Andrew and Peter!  They knew each other!  Then Philip found Nathanael, who spoke of the general belief everyone had at that time that nothing good could ever come out of Nazareth.  Jesus actually rewarded that statement by saying that nothing false would come from Nathanael because he always spoke his mind!  

Nathanael asked Jesus, "How do you know me?"  And just like this instance, I think many of us once doubted that God knew anything about us, only to discover that, because He is God and He created us and knew us from the beginning, He knows us better than we know ourselves!

Jesus then told Nathanael that He is the Son of Man.  That title is used 83 times in the Gospels.  "The title speaks of both the deity and humanity of Jesus ... As Son of Man, Jesus is the living link between heaven and earth," my commentary said.  Jesus even used the illustration of Jacob's ladder to show that very thing, later driving the image home by saying, "No man comes to the Father, but by Me," the ladder between heaven and earth."

I really loved what I read and heard from God today.  God's been refreshing my link with him, and today was no exception.  Keep it up, Father!  I'm loving it!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

John 1:1-34 John the Apostle starts telling us about Jesus

I've got to say that it really feels odd "chewing on" part of a chapter for several days before I journal, but I'm finding that my understanding of what I'm reading is really improving by doing so.

There are two Johns here -- John the apostle is telling about John the Baptist.  John the apostle calls Jesus "God's Word" and my commentary explained, "Much as our words reveal to others our hearts and minds, so Jesus Christ is God's Word to reveal His heart and mind to us."  That sure makes it more understandable.

Here are some things John told us:

He is "the eternal Word" -- "He existed in the beginning, not because He had a beginning as a creature, but because He is eternal.  He is God and He is with God."  That helps us see that He has always known God's heart and mind and never missed anything.

 

He is "the creative Word" -- "God created all things through Jesus Christ, which means that Jesus is not a created being.  He is eternal God."  It also mentioned that the verb "was made" is Greek perfect tense, meaning it's a completed act.  Creation is finished and is not still going on, my commentary said.

He is "the incarnate Word" -- Incarnate meant "coming in flesh and blood.  It's a reality that Jesus had a physical, human body for almost all of the time He walked on earth.  Why would that be important?  "The Son of God came in the flesh and was therefore subject to the sinless infirmities of human nature."  This ties in with something I read last week that said the human body itself is neither holy nor sinful.  It is neutral.  The soul is what is classified as sinful or holy.  Jesus walked as we do in a neutral human body, which is subject to sinless infirmities.  I take that to mean that the physical urges or responses our physical bodies exhibit are neutral.  It is how we respond to those infirmities that causes us to be sinful or holy.  That helps explain how Jesus could be "tempted in every way that we are" and yet He never sinned.

John also said Jesus was "the Light".  My commentary said, "People love either the light or the darkness, and this love controls their actions...  the new creation begins with the entrance of light into the heart of the believer," just as the old creation began when God said, "Let there be light!"

The Jews were so "shackled by religious tradition that they could not understand spiritual truth ... they could not understand Him and would not receive Him."

Jesus wasn't the son of a man.  He was the Son of God.  That meant He is different from us.  He is eternal like His Father.  He has fullness of grace and truth like His Father.  And He reveals God to us.

He is also the Lamb of God.  Jews had been watching for centuries as two lambs were sacrificed every day in the Temple, and they'd brought a lamb for their family every Passover to be sacrificed, and they'd seen untold numbers of lambs brought as personal sacrifices.  They knew the lambs were presented to be killed.  "Those lambs could not take away sin," my commentary said.  More than anything, the people should have learned the futility of trying not to sin and the great cost of sin, and its destructive force.  Now, God had given the lamb that would remove sin forever, for the whole world and not just for the Jews, if they would accept Him.

There are more descriptions of Jesus that John the apostle will be giving in upcoming verses.

Father, thank you for refreshing my view and my understanding of all of this.  Sometimes the words get jumbled, lost, and forgotten.  And that causes them to get in the way of the message.  I need my understanding scrubbed clean and replenished every now and then.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford