trying to find His way
“I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” (John 8:18). The Jews believed that God was their (Israel’s) Father, and they were God’s children.This analogy was meant to help them understand God’s great compassion and love.Yet they failed to see and appreciate the wonder of God’s gracious love.Which…
“‘Neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” (John 8:11) Some people stress the first words Jesus says, ‘neither do I condemn you!’Others stress the last words, ‘go now and leave your life of sin!’Both need to be taken together, and in the order Jesus speaks them.In my experience…
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) This story is disputed because it is not in the earliest manuscripts.But whether it is original or not, God speaks through it in a powerful way.Like a parable, it’s lesson is in its meaning, not in…
“This mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” (John 7:49) There was something different about Jesus’s message.He spoke with a depth and power that impacted people deeply.His message was at the same time comforting, convicting and compelling.He backed His words with His actions, living out the love He spoke about.Most people…
“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit…” (John 7:38-39) According to Genesis 2:7, humans were made when God’s Spirit breathed life into dust.We could not be human or alive without the Spirit of God in us.Yet in another sense we have…
“You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” (John 7:28-29) I believe that Jesus is somehow one with God (later theology described this as the trinity).But I don’t think that Jesus says ‘I am from Him’ because of His eternal, divine nature.Jesus put aside His divine…
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24) As I see it, the Law is not just a line we shouldn’t cross.Rather the Law is a lane to be followed, a pointer towards love.The Sabbath was meant to be a gift of love, for all people.It pointed towards wholeness, the removal of burdens…
“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.” (John 7:16) If you want to know God’s will, look at Jesus.If you want to know what the Law of Moses was about, look at Jesus.Though the religious people had Moses’s Law, they did not understand it.They were focused on following the…
A wake up call to the church…
“After his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.” (John 7:10) Why did Jesus say He wasn’t going, and then go anyway?By not going He meant not going to publicly announce His arrival.The brothers were challenging Him to publicly declare Himself.To confont and stand up to the religious and…