John 3:1-21 What Nicodemus Couldn't Yet See

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and one of the most learned scholars of his time.  He was drawn to Jesus by His miracles.  He knew there was something more that he was missing.  So he came to find out what he could.  “He was a man of high moral character, deep religious hunger, and yet profound spiritual blindness,” my commentary said.  That’s not what we’d expect of a spiritual leader, but to his credit, he did come looking!

Jesus tried to explain spiritual birth to him, and “Nicodemus must have had a surprised and yet bewildered look on his face … Nicodemus was born a Jew!  He was part of God’s covenant people.  Certainly his birth was better than that of a Gentile or a Samaritan!  And his life was exemplary, for he was a faithful Pharisee!  He could well understand Jesus telling the Romans that they had to be born again, but certainly not the Jews!” my commentary said.  “The teacher of the Jews knew the facts recorded in the Scriptures, but he could not understand the truths.”

Jesus reminded him of Numbers 21:4-9, where God had sent fiery serpents to kill those who had rebelled against God.  Moses was instructed to lift up a brass serpent, and those who looked up to it in faith would be healed.  Jesus was saying, “That was a picture of Me!”  He would be lifted up – crucified, then glorified – and faith in Him would save those who trusted Him.

Finally, Jesus mentioned darkness in peoples’ lives.  They wouldn’t “come into the light of life because they love the darkness!  They want to persist in their evil deeds, and this keeps them from coming to the light, for the closer the sinner gets to the light, the more his sins are exposed.  It is not intellectual problems that keep people from trusting Christ; it is the moral and spiritual blindness that keeps them loving the darkness and hating the light,” my commentary added.

Father, I remember so well being so blinded and not wanting to come into the light of truth You were showing me.  I too did not want my sins exposed to you and held up to Your Son’s perfect life.  Please help those I love who are struggling to stay in the darkness of their evil deeds.  Bring them into the Your healing light.  Open their hearts and minds to Your truth, and expose the lies of Satan that they have fallen for.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

John 2: 12-25 What HE Saw

“Though He deliberately violated the man-made religious traditions of the Pharisees, our Lord obeyed the statutes of the law and was faithful to uphold the law,” my commentary said.

I wish I could have seen the Temple from Jesus’ perspective.  How special it was supposed to be – the place where God dwelt and people communed with Him and had their sins removed!  But this had stopped being the case years prior.  First, as a convenience for Jews who had traveled a long distance and needed an acceptable sacrifice, the Pharisees had set up a market to provide the means of procuring what they needed.  They also converted foreign coins into local money which was needed to pay the Temple tax.

At first, it had likely worked well, but before long, their greed had set in, and the prices and exchange rates had gone up.  The market had moved into the courtyard of the Gentiles, so non-Hebrew proselytes soon found it very difficult to worship in that outer courtyard with all of the bleating and hawking going on.

They could say what they wanted, but Jesus knew their hearts.  Some only believed because they’d seen His miracles.  “It was one thing to respond to a miracle, but quite something else to commit oneself to Jesus Christ and continue in His Word,” my commentary said.

“He knew what was in a man … He knew that the Jewish leaders did not have God’s love in their hearts, and that one of His disciples was not truly a believer….  At the beginning, it was easy for people to follow the crowd and watch His miracles.  But then, His words began to penetrate hearts, with conviction following, and conviction leads either to conversion or opposition.  It is impossible to be neutral.”

I imagine that the regular people watching Him wondered what they should believe.  After all, He was bucking the religious establishment that they’d always been taught held sway over their lives and their eternal souls.  A wrong decision, and they might find themselves out of the church.  Yet truth rang from His words.  He knew men’s hearts.  Grace and mercy came from Him, while they’d only known judgment from their religious leaders.  This One was different, and they had to make a decision.  Was He the Savior or not?  The religious leaders didn’t think so, and that surely made it tougher for them to decide.

Father, help me never to get in the way of others deciding to commit their lives to You and Your Son.  Let me not be like the Pharisees, for it was all about them and not about You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

John 2:1-11 A Different Take On That First Miracle

John wrote to reveal Jesus’ glory with the wedding feast story.  My commentary saw Him in three roles:  Guest, Son, and Host.

“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.”

I recall one of the first Wednesday night teachings Jason Atchley taught as youth minister at our church.  It was a one-man drama that started out with Jesus as a “roommate” to a guy.  The guy had decided to go to a party, so Jesus invited Himself to go along.  This wasn’t at all what the guy had planned, and he began making excuses as to why Jesus wouldn’t want to attend.  Jesus wasn’t to be dissuaded, and eventually the guy resorted to vicious attacks to keep Him from coming along, finally nailing Him to the cross to keep Him away from the guy’s intended sin.

Another role of Jesus, according to my commentary, was that of Son.  “Mary did not tell Jesus what to do.  She simply reported the problem.  His reply merely means, ‘Why are you getting Me involved in this matter?’ He was making it clear to His mother that He was no longer under her supervision, but that from now on, He would be doing what the Father wanted Him to do.”

Only Mary, Jesus, His disciples, and the servants knew what had happened.  This first miracle was chiefly for the six disciples who had trusted Jesus and started a lifelong walk with Him.  They needed to learn more about Him, and each day and each new event brought marvels that were difficult to understand, my commentary added.

This miracle was meant to reveal His glory (v. 11) and to give His disciples a stronger foundation for their faith. 

It’s worth noting that water was poured into the large jars and water was dipped out.  It was only upon serving it that the water became wine – when the servants cooperated with Jesus and obeyed His commands.  “Whether we pass out bread, wash away mud, or roll away the stone, we are assisting Him in performing a miracle,” my commentary said.

John didn’t use the word dunamis, which emphasizes power, but simeion, which means a sign.  Warren Wiersbe thinks the special sign or message intended here was for Israel – the nation pictured as married to God and unfaithful.  “The wine ran out, and all Israel had left were six empty wash pots!  They held water for external washings, but they could provide nothing for internal cleaning and joy.  In this miracle, our Lord brought fullness where there was emptiness, joy where there was disappointment, and something internal for that which was only external (water for ceremonial washings).”

Father, it’s so interesting to put myself in with those first six disciples, so that I may marvel with them in what they were learning about Jesus!  Thanks for putting newness into this story and for helping me to remember that as Your servant I too am to cooperate and obey, and in doing so, You will still perform miracles through me today!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

John 1:35-51 Personally Drawing Us In

John the Baptist told two of his followers – John and Andrew – that Jesus was the Lamb of God.  This was enough to make them leave John’s ministry to follow Jesus.

The two of them then went to their brothers – Andrew to Peter and John to James – and as a result, those two were added to Jesus’ disciples.

Verse 43, though, says, “Jesus … found Philip…”  Jesus won him personally.  Then Philip went to find Nathanael, who was amazingly honest and somewhat leery about anyone coming out of Nazareth being of any count.  My commentary picked up a thread there, where Jesus saw Nathanael and said, “Here is truly an Israelite.  There is nothing false in him.”  My commentary said, “Jesus was certainly referring to Jacob, the ancestor of the Jews, a man who used guile to trick … Jacob’s name was changed to ‘Israel, a prince of God.’  The reference to ‘Jacob’s ladder’ confirms this.”

I’d always liked the fact that Jesus liked having a man beside him who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind.  But I’d never linked him up as an opposite of Jacob.  It’s certainly not hard to see why Jesus would prefer a guileless person to the type of person Jacob started out being.  What an honor for Nathanael. 

Jesus wasn’t just bringing up Jacob in regards to guile, though.  He clearly used Jacob’s ladder to show Himself as the only way to God – heaven open, with the Son of Man providing the pathway itself between heaven and earth.  The combination of this image and the title ‘Son of Man’ clearly spoke volumes of Jesus being the Messiah.

Father, You spoke in ways that meant so much to those men back then, helping them to understand exactly who Your Son is.  Thank You for the way You approach each of us individually to prepare our hearts to accept Christ’s mission and sacrifice.  Thanks for knowing us completely, which enables You to know the very best way of leading us to Him.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

John 1:1-34 Illuminating MY Darkness

We were so darkened in our souls by sin that we couldn’t fathom that God was loving enough to do something about it.  He illuminated the problem, and His solution, by giving John this incredible new message.

 

Imagine the Jewish leaders going out to see just what he was doing and why – because they couldn’t comprehend God’s plan either.  They asked John, “Who are you?”  He said he wasn’t the Christ.  Then they dared to ask, “Are you Elijah?” “No.”  “Are you the [promised] Prophet?” “No.”

 

He then quoted from Isaiah 40:3, which they knew to be a Messianic verse.  He was a herald.  There was another coming, who would “take away the sin of the world.”  This they couldn’t imagine!  Only God could take away sin!

 

He revealed to them what God had told him:  “You will see the Spirit come down and rest on a man; He is the One … the Son of God.”

 

Don’t you know they ran back and caused an amazing stir among their peers?  “How did we miss the boat on this?  Is this guy nuts?” 

 

John, when he saw Him, said, “Look the Lamb of God …”  John knew Jesus was going to be the sacrifice that would take away the sin of the world.

 

Father, thank You for illuminating my darkness.  Thank You for Your Spirit inside of me, guiding me toward more light from Christ.  Thank You for sending Your Son, as a bay, to live through all that has tempted me, to show me it is possible not to sin, but not in my own power – only in Yours.  Thank You for making Him my sacrificial Lamb.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Peter 5 -- Peter's Final Three Preparation Thoughts

Having warned Christians of the fiery trials to come, Peter wanted the entire church family to be prepared for them, and he gave us three important admonitions to obey so that we would glorify God in those difficulties, my commentary said.  They are:

 

1)      Be humble – “Humility is not demeaning ourselves and thinking poorly of ourselves.  It is simply not thinking about ourselves at all.”  It added:  “One of the evidences of pride is our impatience with God, and one reason for suffering is that we might learn patience.

2)      Be watchful – Regarding Stan we are to respect him because he is dangerous (the way we respect high voltage); recognize him because he is a great pretender; and resist him.  “Before we can stand before Satan, we must bow before God.

3)      Be hopeful – “A Christian always has hope.  We have God’s grace, we know we are going to glory, our present suffering is only for a while, and we know that our trials are building Christian character.”

 

Father, I know that when I’m in the middle of my circumstances, it can get awfully difficult to see You.  But I trust You and know that You are with me.  Show me how to remember all of this in my circumstances so that I will be able to see You and trust You in the middle of them all.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Peter 4:7-19 What We Are To Do While We Wait

Peter left us ten commandments to keep us in balance as we wait for Christ’s return, my commentary said:

 

1)      Keep your mind steady and clear

2)      Be alert and controlled in your praying

3)      Have love for your Christian brothers and sisters – love that you work at like an athlete does

4)      Share your homes with other Christians in hospitality

5)      Minister with your spiritual gifts – you have been given at least one

6)      Don’t think it strange that you are persecuted

7)      Rejoice

8)      Don’t be ashamed of being a Christian or of the way the world treats Christians

9)      Glorify God

10)   Commit yourself to God

 

He also told us to expect suffering.  “The world does not persecute religious people, but it does persecute righteous people,” my commentary said.  “Persecution and trials do not just happen.  They are a part of God’s plans and He is in control.”

 

“It is important to examine our lives to ensure that we aren’t suffering because of our own sin.  The fact that we are Christians is not a guarantee that we escape the normal consequences of our misdeeds.”

 

In our sufferings, we also need to ask, “Am I ashamed or glorifying Christ?” and also, “Am I seeking to win the lost?”, for if we keep our focus on these areas while we are suffering, the lost will be able to see Jesus more clearly through us.

 

Father, it’s so very easy to become self-centered in the midst of suffering, yet Your Word clearly tells us to be God-centered, for You use our suffering to glorify Yourself to a sinful, lost world.  That should help us to stay the course, knowing that You are in control of our tough times, using them not just to glorify Yourself, but also to purify us and to ready us for what You have been preparing for us in Heaven.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford