trying to find His way
“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40) These words have transformed my understand of the Bible.I used to focus all of my attention on the Bible.Now I use…
“He has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” (John 5:27) For the Jews, the Son of Man was the promised human Messiah.God promised this serpent-crushing seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).Daniel had a vision of this beat-defeating Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).Jesus as a human did not have this authority, it was…
“For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” (John 5:20) Jesus claims to do only what He sees the Father doing.But how can He see what the Father is doing, if God is invisible?Can we see what the Father is doing too?Jesus can look at creation itself, and uses it often in…
“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” (John 5:16) Does Jesus say this because He is fully divine, equal in substance to God?Or does He say this because He is fully human, claiming to be God’s Son?Adam and Eve before sin could call God their Father because…
“Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14) Jesus’s command to ‘stop sinning’ is not a general statement said to everyone.As a general statement, it is not really helpful.Jesus is speaking specifically to something He has discerned for this man.There was something unloving and cruel that needed to be rebuked.Sin is the opposite…
“Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6) When Jesus heals people, He deals with each one uniquely.He seems to discern the inner spirit or need of each person.For this man He asks about how much he WANTS to get well.For some people, this is a critical issue, a barrier to their getting well.Is there a…
“So (this royal official) and his whole household believed.” (John 4:53) This man works for King Herod Antipas (literally ‘belonging to the king’).He knew Herod’s authority, how his word made things happen.He also knew about Herod’s character, that he was not a great man.This Herod, who divorced his wife to marry his sister-in-law, who beheaded John.This…
“Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.” (John 4:44) While in Nazareth (in Galilee), Jesus says “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” (Luke 4:24)John refers to these words when writing about Jesus going to Galilee.And yet John adds, “when he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him.” (John 4:45)There…
“We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know…” We cannot convince people to put their confidence in Jesus.They need to experience the goodness of Jesus for themselves.This applies to witnessing, but it also applies to parenting.This is the difference between first and second-hand faith.We…
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34) There have been times I was so immersed in a task that I forgot to eat.I wasn’t hungry in the moment because the work itself was feeding me.Jesus finds deep satisfaction in representing the God of grace.He…