John 11 - Fully on earth, fully in heaven

< John 10 | Index | John 12 >

In John 11 we see both aspects of Yahshua's life coming together. this is not surprising as events are coming to a focal point, his death on the cross and resurrection three days later.

First there is the deep love he had for his close friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (verse 5) - so much so that he wept with the tenderness he felt for them in their grief. They lived in Bethany just outside Jerusalem and he often stayed with them when he was in the city. Here we see the human aspect of the Lord, his fondness for these friends and his concern for them in their trouble. The disciples must have been surprised when he received the news of Lazarus' illness but didn't go right away to help him. Perhaps they thought it was because Jerusalem was unsafe for him.

So they are surprised again when, two days later, he does decide to head for Judaea. (verse 7)

Then we see his powerful heavenly aspect as he calls Lazarus out from the tomb. (verse 43) Is there any significance in the fact that this miracle came just before his own death? It would have been fresh in his mind as he was hanging between the two thieves. Those who witnessed his tears were agreed that he loved Lazarus deeply. Some of them referred to the Messianic miracle of healing the blind man and expressed surprise that he hadn't prevented the death of such a deeply loved friend. But later, divided as ever, many of them believed because of the raising of Lazarus. (verse 45) Those that did not believe went to tell the Sanhedrin.

Yahshua is totally focused on obedience to the Father in fulfilling all he had been sent to do, and care for the people amongst whom he lived. These two aspects of his nature, love for the Father and love for his friends are an outworking of the new commandment, the one that fulfils the Law in every respect - love the Almighty with all that is in you, and love your neighbour as you love yourself.

The Lord taught this throughout his ministry, demonstrated it throughout his life, and now demonstrates it finally again as his earthly life approaches an end that will be as extraordinary and unexpected as its beginning had been thirty years earlier.

Truly he is fully here on earth yet fully there in heaven, he is human yet also the great I AM. HalleluYah!

< John 10 | Index | John 12 >

Great Doddington - a broken world

We began by chatting about work, and how staff cuts have made life harder - even for those who have retained a job.

Barbara read from Isaiah 40:31 about how those who hope in the Lord will be renewed like eagles, soaring on wings. It seemed all the more significant because she had read it and then heard it again as the basis of a sermon on TV. Humble yourself and I will raise you up and honour you.

Jody mentioned Nehemiah. Although circumstances can bring us low, she still searches out the Lord. We do need to be humble. She also mentioned Haiti and the recent earthquake and the subject of prophecy came up. Why would the Lord not warn us about a disaster like that? Why does he allow us to be brought low? Some people have said that the earthquake was because of the presence of occult practices in Haiti.

I suggested that we live in a broken world and we must expect disasters to happen sometimes. When the tower in Siloam fell and killed people, it wasn't because they were more guilty than others (Luke 13:4). We must be prepared to follow Yahshua regardless of disasters. Rachael thought that trouble, if we face it in the right way, helps us grow to know him and understand him. And Peter pointed out that Jesus suffered and died in fulfillment of a great promise. We need to learn to see things through - come what may.

Glenn reminded us about the manna in the desert which was provision but also brought an important lesson (man does not live by bread alone). He told us the story of an island that escaped damage in the Tsunami. Pentecostals living there had prayed for safety for the people, not knowing what was coming. Everyone was saved while neighbouring islands had big death tolls.

Jody spoke about William Wiberforce and his portrayal in the film 'Amazing Grace'. He had some humbling experiences and difficulties in his life, but he honoured God. Rachael referred to Joel 2:28-29 where we read that the Lord will pour out his Spirit on everyone. What an amazing prophecy, he will pour himself into us! And Glenn reminded us that Jesus said, 'When you see these things happen, don't let your hearts be troubled.' (Matthew 24:6) Rachael said we should focus on him, listen to him and his voice.

I spoke in a tongue which Glenn interpreted. He saw a lion released from a heavily barred cage. The lion came bounding out, it had a big mane. He realised that Jesus has been released and his roar goes out to the nations and also reaches the church. 'Are you there? Are you listening? Are you coming?'

At this point Barbara saw the words 'Maple Leaf', and Jody described a picture of the aftermath of a forest fire. She saw a huge tree with charred debris all around it. She realised that charcoal can be used as fuel; even in the aftermath of disaster there will be something left in our hearts that is useful for our development. He can turn any disaster into something of value. Jesus is the light and the energy, he tells us not to focus on the problems. Instead we should focus on Jesus himself.

Rachael saw a bolt of lightning hitting a tree. And the Lord told her, 'This is my power, this is who I am. The lightning can destroy a tree but it can also light up the sky all around.

We spent a few minutes learning more about Church of Two (CO2) and testing it for ourselves.

John 10 - Shepherds and sheep

< John 9 | Index | John 11 >

In John 10 Yahshua uses shepherds and their flocks as an illustration. He gives an agricultural parable in the first five verses, but his hearers don't understand. He's not speaking to the disciples and crowds only here, but also to the scribes and Pharisees who were assessing his Messianic claim. (See verses 19-21)

It will help our understanding if we consider the role of a shepherd in 1st century Judaea, sheep didn't live in fields or grassy hill farms as they do in the British Isles. Sheep in fields are securely fenced and can't wander, hill farm sheep wander freely all year and have to be caught and penned for dipping and shearing. Judaean sheep were (and still are) quite different.

The shepherd lives with the sheep and does not use a dog, by day he walks ahead to a place where he knows there will be some greenery and the sheep follow. Much of the landscape is stony and barren. After the rains the countryside turns briefly green and flowers blossom and set seed, at other times the only green things are the leaves of deeply rooted trees and limited amounts of grass and weeds in creek bottoms, along riverbanks, or on dried out riverbeds. The sheep depend for food and water on the knowledge of the shepherd.

At night shepherds lead their sheep to sheepfolds, roughly built out of stones with a single entrance. A number of different flocks spend the night at each sheepfold, the shepherds take turns at keeping watch while the others sleep. The sheep form one, large, mixed flock - there's no attempt to keep them separate.

In the morning, the shepherds head off in different directions, calling their sheep. The sheep recognise the voices and follow their own shepherd. These sheep are not penned in fields, but nor do they wander wherever they like, they follow the shepherd.

Yahshua makes the following five points.

• Anyone who climbs over the wall is up to no good.
• Genuine shepherds go through the opening knowing that the one who's on watch will recognise him and let him through.
• The shepherd calls his sheep and they follow him.
• They recognise his voice.
• They run away from people whose voice they don't recognise.

They didn't understand so he explained it for them. He told them that he is the gate, but all others who came were thieves. Everyone who goes in through the gate will be safe and come and go and be fed. Thieves come to destroy, Yahshua comes to give life in full.

He demonstrates that as his people (his sheep) we know him and follow him and he gives his life for us. Furthermore he has other sheep that are not from this fold, but in the future there will be one flock and one shepherd.

As before, some of them thought he was crazy while others were convinced. People today are no different, some think this is madness, delusion. Others are convinced.

How many flocks are there? Are there house church sheep, Anglican sheep, Pentecostal sheep, and evangelical sheep? No, we are all part of one flock.  That is what the Lord said, he made it plain. There is much broken in our thinking that remains to be mended. Our thoughts are not his thoughts. Whoever you are, however you meet, consider yourself to be part of Yahshua's one flock.

< John 9 | Index | John 11 >

Colworth (CU) - Gone back to fishing

I had volunteered to bring something for today's meeting and decided to use John 8 as I'd already made notes on it for the Scilla Blog. There, I've been sharing a thought from a chapter of John each day.

I explained how some verses of John 8 had jumped out at me as I read the chapter, and how a quick inspection had identified nine ways in which the Father does something for the Son. There is some repetition of these points, but there are nine unique thoughts. Looking at them further they fell naturally into three groups of three. These groups deal with the Father's position in relation to the Son, the communication between Father and Son, and the Father's approval of the Son. You can see the detail from the original blog post.

After I'd shared these details, Dud suggested reading the chapter through. This was an interesting exercise as it put things into context and made the Lord's interaction with the Jewish authorities seem very real. His words would have been rather arrogant if anyone else had spoken them. Nonetheless, coming from him it's just the plain truth!

We discussed the chapter. One of the thoughts we had was that many people at the time struggled to understand what Yahshua meant by some of the things he said. This was especially true before the Holy Spirit began to work in the believers from Pentecost onwards. (Acts 2:1-4)

Aby pointed out that after the crucifixion, Peter and the other disciples went back to fishing. John 21:1-3. Although the Lord had told them, 'I will make you fishers of men', they were at a loss as to what to do next. They so much needed encouragement at that time, and Yahshua appeared on the beach with some grilled fish and gave them just the challenges and encouragement that they needed.

We thought about Saul's conversion on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-19). If Saul had been present he would have agreed with the Jewish authorities during the discussion in John 8. Later he was a prime persecutor of the church. But then everything changed and the renewed Paul was mightily used in spreading the early church through the Greek world.

We also had the thought that often we don't wait for the Lord to show us what to do. We should do! It's always better than heading off to do our own thing in our own way.

We finished with prayer before heading back to work.

John 9 - A man born blind

< John 8 | Index | John 10 >

Ah, John 9, one of my favourite chapters! First I'm going to explain about the so-called Messianic Miracles, then you'll see why I like the chapter.

The rabbis in Yahshua's day had constructed a lot of rules which were designed to ring-fence the Law. Although miracles were not unknown in Israel, the Pharisees had specified three Messianic Miracles that nobody but the Messiah would be able to perform. These were healing a Jewish leper, casting out a dumb demon, and healing someone blind from birth. If someone performed these miracles there was a specified procedure for checking if he was the Messiah. First he must be observed at work, then he must be interrogated. Remember, none of this is in the Law given by Moses, it's just rabbinic teaching accumulated over the centuries.

Notice in verse 1 how Yahshua and the disciples see this man, blind from birth. Perhaps they had a conversation with him or with people who knew him. They had a discussion about the case after the disciples asked why the man was blind. And then the Lord made mud and put it on the blind man's eyes (which would have counted as working on Shabbat according to rabbinic tradition) and told him to go and wash.

Do you see how, in verses 8 to 12, the people who knew the man and his history want to know how he could now see? This was a Messianic Miracle and they knew it! And in verse 13 they take the man to the Pharisees who can't agree amongst themselves over this extraordinary event. They quizzed the man, they quizzed his parents, then they quizzed the man again and got more than they bargained for! (verses 30-33)

What they would have done next would be to observe Yahshua very carefully for a while, and then interrogate him. This is not the only Messianic Miracle he performed, he did all three. Notice that later, Yahshua himself pointed to the miracles when he says, 'The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me.' (John 10:25) And he mentions the miracles again in John 10:32 and 38.

Now can you see why I love this passage? It has hidden within it things that would have been obvious to Greek or Aramaic speaking Jews in Jesus day. These are some of the things Saul would have taught before he became Paul on the Damascus Road and they are details that speak loudly to modern Jews about the veracity of the gospel accounts as historical documents.

< John 8 | Index | John 10 >

John 8 - Things the Father does for the Son

< John 7 | Index | John 9 >

John 8 is mostly a record of a conversation between Yahshua and groups of scribes and Pharisees. It's a rather lopsided exchange with lengthy explanations from him, in response to short questions and statements from them.

There is a great deal here for us to investigate and digest. So let's look at just one small aspect, the remarks Yahshua makes that highlight what the Father does for him. There are nine of these, we'll deal with them in three logical groups (not in the order they are given in the chapter).

As we look at these remarks, notice how they are true of all healthy parent/offspring relationships. In other words they are true for fathers towards their sons and daughters, and for mothers towards their sons and daughters. Since everyone reading this must be a father, mother, son, or daughter (and in many cases two of those things) everything Yahshua says about his Father can be applied to our own lives too. Think about that as you read.

The first group is about the Father's position in relation to the Son

• The Father sent him (verse 16) - Our children grow up and we send them out into the world to live their own lives. And although the Word was with the Almighty even before creation, he was sent into the world. And once here in bodily form he had to be born, feed on milk, wean, grow, learn to speak and walk, learn a trade, and prepare for his adult life. He was sent into the world to live as Elohim with us (Emmanu-El).
• The Father stands with him (verse 16) - How could he not stand with his Son? Everywhere the Son goes, the Father is too, they are inseparable (except for that awful time at the Place of the Skull). That is why Yahshua could say to the disciples, 'If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.'
• The Father is with him, he doesn't leave him alone (verse 29) - This is similar to the last point, yet subtly different. Standing is a passive thing, but when we are with someone we are not necessarily passive. I am certain that the Father and the Son are in constant conversation. And I know the conversation didn't stop while the Son was here on the earth. (See the next group of remarks.) Also, the Father's heart is for the Son.

The second group of remarks describes the Father's communication with the Son in more detail

• The Father speaks to him (verse 26) - This is the conversation mentioned above. A constant flow of sharing.
• The Father teaches him (verse 28) - Not only is there a conversation going on, but part of it is in some sense instructional. Yahshua often said that he only did what he saw the Father do.
• The Father shows him things (verse 38) - There's great joy in a parent showing things to a child. This is a pleasure all parents should experience, and something all children should enjoy. It remains true even when the child is an adult. The same pleasure and enjoyment are shared between the Father and the Son.

The third group is about the Father's approval of the Son

• The Father is pleased by the things his Son does (verse 29) - We all know the joy of being pleased with a child's achievements or knowing that a parent is pleased with us.
• The Father is his witness and testifies for him (verse 18) - What better or more reliable witness can a person have than their own parent? What a tragedy it is when a parent will not testify on behalf of their own child!
• The Father glorifies him (verse 54) - And in the end, the Father's purpose is to glorify the Son. This is one of those facts the Bible shares with us that shows the Father and the Son are co-equal. If the Father had precedence over all he would surely not glorify another, not even the Son. The Father crowns his Son with glory after glory.

< John 7 | Index | John 9 >