The Reason Why

As we close out our time in John 15 and move on to chapter sixteen, Jesus gives us the perfect segue as He continues to impart life-giving teaching to His disciples.  He gives us the reason why He’s investing so much time and energy into the teachings and doctrines of the Upper Room Discourse.  So take a look at this verse:

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”

~John 16:1

Without Excuse

As we come to the end of John 15, a few verses pop out at me as an important word for us.

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me hates my Father also.  If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.”

~John 15:22-24

In this passage, Jesus is speaking of the world and more specifically the Pharisees who persecuted and hated Him despite the signs and wonders He had done among them.  They were the descendants of Abraham, the treasurers of God’s promises, the academic elite, and the ones to whom the entire nation of Israel looked to for spiritual knowledge and guidance.  The Pharisees knew all the promises about the coming Messiah, but when they finally saw Him they rejected Him and refused to believe that Jesus was the One.  Amazing right?!

Hated by the World

Have you ever been on a walk in the woods and found a fruit-bearing apple tree in the midst of the wild, overgrown forest?  It’s such an unexpected blessing, a thing of beauty in the midst of an untamed wilderness and the only thing bearing life-giving fruit.  So also, we, as fruitful branches abiding in the Vine, are like rare apple trees living amidst a forest of evergreens, hardwoods, or conifers.  And just like the wild forest slowly tries to overgrow the lone fruit-bearing tree, so also the depraved and perverted world we live in slowly tries to squeeze us until we break.  However, in John 15, Jesus told His disciples—which includes us!—to expect this.

Fullness of Joy

What is one of the first things you think of when you hear the word joy?   Do you picture the sheer excitement of a child on Christmas morning or the radiant smile of a bride on her wedding day?  Well, this week we’re going to take a closer look at the meaning of joy, where to find it, and the many positive benefits of possessing it.

After laying out the sobering reality of what happens to the branches that bear fruit and those which do not, Jesus gives the reason why He was telling the Twelve these things:

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

~John 15:11

The Fruitful Branch

The image of the grape vine is a vivid example of how our relationship with Christ ought to be.  It consists of a main vine that extends out to many, many branches pruned by an expert gardener to spread far and wide and bear much fruit.  Have you ever seen a vineyard of well-maintained grape vines?  It is pristine and beautiful to behold, with endless, perfectly straight rows of greenery stretching to the horizon.   If you’ve ever visited or passed through Napa County California you’ve seen what I’m trying to describe.

The Divine Helper

In our last look at John, we studied peace—the kind only God can give. Now imagine that you are with the disciples in the Upper Room listening to Jesus teaching and you hear Him say that He is leaving to return to the Father.  What would your first thoughts be?  Would you understand what He was talking about?  And if you did, would you fear a future without Him and His guidance?

Oh Troubled Heart Be Still

Welcome to a new chapter of the gospel of John!  I pray that your studies are going well and that God has been opening your eyes to the great treasures He has for you in each passage.  I apologize for not writing last week, but hope you enjoyed my Valentine’s gift to you.  In this week’s study of John, we’re going to focus on the first verse of chapter fourteen.

Life can be full of worries, anxieties, stressful situations, and sometimes tragedy, and these cares and concerns often burden our soul.  However, as we learn from the verse above, Jesus commands us to trouble not and believe in God.  Yet how often do we forget this and instead waste our time fretting over mundane concerns?  Why do we so easily forget that God is always in control?

A New Commandment

Last week we saw the humility of Christ and how He displayed that humbleness by performing one of the most menial tasks of that era.  Now we’re going to look at the first teaching Jesus imparted during this rich Upper Room Discourse.  The topic—divine love.  

Servant of All

Chapters thirteen through seventeen of John are known as the Upper Room Discourse and are the recorded words of Christ the night before His arrest.  As the shadow of Calvary loomed in front of Him, Jesus spent the night teaching, encouraging, and praying for His disciples, both the twelve with Him and those in the future—us.  However, before the night began, our Savior did something quite unexpected…

Loved to the End

“When Jesus knew that his HOUR had COME to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he LOVED them to THE END.”

~John 13:1

Welcome back!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and joyous New Year!  Back in November, we completed studying the first twelve chapters of the gospel of John, and are now, as promised, returning to finish the book.  For we couldn’t end at chapter twelve!  It would be like quitting a book right before the climax of the story!

To Receive or Reject

In John 12, Jesus was wrapping up His ministry because, as we studied last week, His hour had come in which to truly glorify the Father.  His words, as recorded in verse forty-eighty, were part of a final appeal to the Jewish populous.  Jesus knew that He was heading toward the cross, and therefore, was making one last effort to make people understand who He was and why He had come.   But the question is, do we understand?  Like the Jews of early A.D., we have walked with Jesus throughout His ministry, as we’ve studied the gospel of John.  We’ve watched as Jesus turned water into wine, healed the sick, fed the thousands, made the blind see, and declared that He is the I AM.  Therefore, Jesus’ words in John 12:48 apply to us also.  Have we received or rejected Christ’s words?  Or as literally translated from the Greek, have we taken hold of the teachings and signs Jesus performed or have we disesteemed or brought to naught the things that He said and did while on earth?

Father, Glorify Your Name!

Is your soul weary or troubled?  Are you in the midst of or approaching a difficult journey and don’t know how to go on?  Does your heart want to cry “Save me from this trial!”?  Well, I have encouraging news for you, you are not alone!  Our Savior, Jesus Christ the perfect Son of God, also faced heartache and unrest on the journey to the cross.  In John chapter twelve, we get a glimpse of His inner turmoil and how He managed to continue on the road placed before Him.  So let’s study and learn from our Lord’s perfect example.

Faith that Sees

This week we’re going to wrap up our study of the Lazarus miracle.  But before we do, carefully read or re-read the verse at the top.  How do these words speak to you?  Take a moment to ponder them…

In this verse, Jesus is speaking to Martha who was questioning His instructions to open up the tomb of her dead brother.  Throughout the gospel of John we find the word believe, which is generally used regarding belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior and that He is God.  But what about this instance?  Was Martha doubting Jesus’ divinity?  No!  Ten verses earlier she declared Him to be “the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  So then, why was Jesus chastising her for her unbelief?  Let’s answer that by putting ourselves in Martha’s place.

Unusual Love

“Now Jesus LOVED Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  

SO, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he STAYED 

two days LONGER in the place where he was.”  

~John 11:5-6

Did you know that God loves you?  And that His love for you surpasses that of all the people in your life—siblings, parents, friends, family, spouses—put together?!  The psalmist said that as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him.  And through our study of the gospel of John, we’ve seen God’s inexpressible love put into action.  So this week as we begin chapter eleven, we’ll discover another example of Divine love, displayed in an exceedingly unexpected way.

In His Hand

Last week we looked at Jesus as our Good Shepherd, who knows us and calls us each by name, and this week we’re going to discover that we are held in His capable hand.  Verse twenty-eight of chapter ten gives us a glorious promise that we, believers in Jesus Christ, have eternal life and will never be snatched out of Christ’s hand that holds us.  What a reassuring promise!  What a beautiful picture!

Called by Name

John 10 is a beautiful picture of how deeply and tenderly the triune God loves us, His flock.  Throughout Scripture, God’s people are pictured as sheep.  The psalmist of Psalm 95 wrote, “We are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”  Sheep are totally dependent upon their shepherd for protection, guidance to new pastures, and a myriad of other things.  Likewise, we must be totally dependent upon our Good Shepherd and allow Him to take care of us.  Because just as woolly little sheep have dangerous enemies and predators,

Was Blind, But Now I See

“For judgment I CAME into this world, 

that those who DO NOT see may SEE, 

and those who SEE may become BLIND.”

- John 9:39

The story of the blind man is full of many, great treasures; however, this week we are only going to look at one found in verse thirty-nine.  After the blind beggar miraculously received his sight, preached a mini sermon in the synagogue, and then was consequently kicked out, Jesus found him and asked him the question all must face, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  And the formerly sightless man believed.  Why did the man so readily believe?

God's Display Cases

After the discourse with the Jews in John 8, Jesus left the temple and came upon a man blind from birth.  Do you think that this meeting happened by chance?  No!  We see from what Jesus tells His disciples that this was a divine appointment.  Divine appointments generally happen when we least expect them, because God does not operate on human time and schedules!  And because of this, we can easily miss them.  So be open to God’s schedule so that when He brings you a special appointment, you may be available to experience the awe and wonder generated by His power at work.

Free Indeed

This past week, our country commemorated the fourteenth anniversary of September 11th, and as we remembered and reflected the day so many civilian and military personnel lost their lives, I hope you remembered the One who also made the supreme sacrifice and gave His life for our eternal freedom.  May we be sure to at least give Him the same honor and reverence we bestow upon the heroes of 9/11, thanking Him for what He has done and not taking for granted the freedom for which He paid the ultimate price.  To Him belong all honor, glory, and praise!

Go, and Sin No More

The story of the woman caught in adultery found in John 8 has many applicable points for us.  While we might not be actively committing adultery through thought and/or deed, we are all sinners in need of saving grace.  And like the woman in our story, each of us has been caught red-handed by the Omniscient Judge and will one day stand before the Great White Throne.  On that day, will grace to be given or justice dispensed?  And the sobering thing is that the answer to this question is in our hands.