John 11: 1-6
We may be living in an age of great medical advancements, however, most of us have heard the words, "I'm sorry, there is nothing else we can do for them", spoken by a doctor regarding someone we love. These words can fill us with despair; if the doctor is helpless against the disease, we are even more so.
This is where we find Mary and Martha, the two sisters of Lazarus. Concern fills their hearts, Lazarus is very ill. It doesn't mention a doctor's visit, hospital stay, or aggressive testing. Most of what we know about healing the sick didn't exist at the time of Jesus. So it isn't hard to understand why people followed Jesus to ask for a healing touch - for themselves and their loved ones.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus knew that Jesus had the power to heal. When Lazarus is ill, it is natural that the sisters would send a message to Jesus, "Lord the one you love is sick."
I've always found what happens next somewhat troubling. If you love someone who is sick, and you have the power to heal them - wouldn't you drop everything and rush to their side? Jesus doesn't do that, instead He stays where He is for two more days. Troubling, until I remember Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
The higher purpose in this case is God being glorified through Lazarus' sickness.
Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus; they know He loves them. Because He loves them He stays where He is for two more days.
Which makes me wonder - when we are praying desperately for Jesus to heal someone we love, and it looks like He doesn't hear us, isn't answering - is staying away, could it be because He has a higher purpose for that illness to serve?
What comfort to know that our great God, "...has gracious intentions even in seeming delays." (Matthew Henry)
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Are You the Deliverer?
John 10:22-42
"How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly." The Jews had gathered around Jesus and want to know, "Are you the Messiah, the One foretold by our prophets, the Deliverer promised to us?" Was Jesus the One who would finally release them from thier captivity?
These men knew God had delivered their people in the past. When their ancestors were living as slaves in Egypt, God sent Moses to lead them out of slavery to the Promised Land; "...The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God...The Lord said,'I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering...So now I am sending you (Moses) to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt." (Exodus 2:23, 3:7,10)
In Jesus' time they were living in thier land, but under the brutal rule and occupation of the Roman government. The story of God's deliverance from Egypt was repeated each year at Passover. God could deliver them from the Roman occupation, He just needed to send a deliverer! So they are gathered around Jesus asking, wondering...
Jesus reminds them that He has performed miracles in the Father's name, and yet they don't believe. It's interesting that when Moses first went to the Israelites to tell them that God was going to deliver them from thier slavery, they don't believe either, "...but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage."
Then Jesus tells them "I and the Father are One." They pick up stones to kill Him - the Man who might be their Deliverer has claimed to be God! Moses delivered God's people without ever claiming to be God, this is blasphemy!
Or perhaps they were having a conversation, but not talking about the same thing...
They wanted delivery from the Romans, to have thier present situation fixed. Jesus wanted to give them so much more, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."
Jesus was their Messiah, Deliverer, the One God sent to release them, not from Rome, but from the sin that held them captive. Jesus was concerned about that kind of slavery, " I tell you the truth," He said in John 8:34-36, "everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Jesus left these men and went back to where John had been baptizing in the early days. "And in that place many believed in Jesus."
Delivered forever from the bondage of sin...delivered into eternal life!
"How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly." The Jews had gathered around Jesus and want to know, "Are you the Messiah, the One foretold by our prophets, the Deliverer promised to us?" Was Jesus the One who would finally release them from thier captivity?
These men knew God had delivered their people in the past. When their ancestors were living as slaves in Egypt, God sent Moses to lead them out of slavery to the Promised Land; "...The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God...The Lord said,'I have indeed seen the misery of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering...So now I am sending you (Moses) to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt." (Exodus 2:23, 3:7,10)
In Jesus' time they were living in thier land, but under the brutal rule and occupation of the Roman government. The story of God's deliverance from Egypt was repeated each year at Passover. God could deliver them from the Roman occupation, He just needed to send a deliverer! So they are gathered around Jesus asking, wondering...
Jesus reminds them that He has performed miracles in the Father's name, and yet they don't believe. It's interesting that when Moses first went to the Israelites to tell them that God was going to deliver them from thier slavery, they don't believe either, "...but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage."
Then Jesus tells them "I and the Father are One." They pick up stones to kill Him - the Man who might be their Deliverer has claimed to be God! Moses delivered God's people without ever claiming to be God, this is blasphemy!
Or perhaps they were having a conversation, but not talking about the same thing...
They wanted delivery from the Romans, to have thier present situation fixed. Jesus wanted to give them so much more, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."
Jesus was their Messiah, Deliverer, the One God sent to release them, not from Rome, but from the sin that held them captive. Jesus was concerned about that kind of slavery, " I tell you the truth," He said in John 8:34-36, "everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Jesus left these men and went back to where John had been baptizing in the early days. "And in that place many believed in Jesus."
Delivered forever from the bondage of sin...delivered into eternal life!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Sheep in His Pasture
John 10:1-21
Reading the poetry of the Psalms paints beautiful pictures of God's care for us. In Psalms 100:3 we find, "Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture." With that I envision the sheep I saw in Ireland. Healthy, contented, in pastures full of green grass, protected by stone walls from predators, sheep farmers ready to care for thier needs. "The Lord is my Shepherd...", I am a sheep in His pasture.
God gave overseers to care for His sheep; priests, prophets, teachers to guide and care for thier spiritual growth. Moses and David are two such leaders that cared for God's people. As we continue to read the Old Testament we find that other leaders led the people astray. Instead of staying in God's pasture where He would feed them from His Word, they were led to follow false gods and religions. These leaders left God's sheep vulnerable to predators and the disease of sin.
God saw what was happening to His sheep. "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" He declared. (Jeremiah 23:1) "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray..." (Jeremiah 50:6)
When Jesus came He looked out at a crowd of people - the sheep of God's pasture,and, "He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)
"I am the good shepherd." Jesus proclaims. "The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
The hireling left the sheep during danger, he did not care for the sheep, "you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally." (Ezekiel 34:4)
Time and again we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd, searching for the lost, healing the sick...
"Hirelings" exist today. Those that would lead the sheep away from God's Word, then use them for thier own selfish purposes, " ...and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock..." (Ezekiel 34:9-10)
There is only One that can be called the Good Shepherd; Jesus, who laid down His life for us when He willingly went to the cross of Calvary and died for our sins.
Jesus laid down His life in love for the sheep, and His sheep know Him...
Do you know the Good Shepherd?
Reading the poetry of the Psalms paints beautiful pictures of God's care for us. In Psalms 100:3 we find, "Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture." With that I envision the sheep I saw in Ireland. Healthy, contented, in pastures full of green grass, protected by stone walls from predators, sheep farmers ready to care for thier needs. "The Lord is my Shepherd...", I am a sheep in His pasture.
God gave overseers to care for His sheep; priests, prophets, teachers to guide and care for thier spiritual growth. Moses and David are two such leaders that cared for God's people. As we continue to read the Old Testament we find that other leaders led the people astray. Instead of staying in God's pasture where He would feed them from His Word, they were led to follow false gods and religions. These leaders left God's sheep vulnerable to predators and the disease of sin.
God saw what was happening to His sheep. "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" He declared. (Jeremiah 23:1) "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray..." (Jeremiah 50:6)
When Jesus came He looked out at a crowd of people - the sheep of God's pasture,and, "He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)
"I am the good shepherd." Jesus proclaims. "The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
The hireling left the sheep during danger, he did not care for the sheep, "you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally." (Ezekiel 34:4)
Time and again we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd, searching for the lost, healing the sick...
"Hirelings" exist today. Those that would lead the sheep away from God's Word, then use them for thier own selfish purposes, " ...and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock..." (Ezekiel 34:9-10)
There is only One that can be called the Good Shepherd; Jesus, who laid down His life for us when He willingly went to the cross of Calvary and died for our sins.
Jesus laid down His life in love for the sheep, and His sheep know Him...
Do you know the Good Shepherd?
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Can Your Guide See?
John 9:35-36
Jesus said, " For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.". Some Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
The physical healing of a blind man sparks the anger of the religious Pharisees. The man is thrown out of the synagogue for acknowledging Jesus as his healer. Jesus searches him out, and comes right to the point, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man asks who He is, so that he may believe in Him. Jesus tells him, "You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you." The man believes in Jesus and worships Him!
The Pharisees, who are there listening, ask if they are blind also. Interesting, because in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 23 we find Jesus calling the Pharisees blind guides, blind fools, blind men...
If you were climbing Mt. Everest, a life or death experience, would you put your trust in a guide that is blind? No, that would most certainly result in death, especially in the case of a climber who had never been to the summit. Why then, do we trust "religious" guides who are blind?
These guides - the Pharisees - were shutting "the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces". (Matthew 23:13) They wouldn't enter the Kingdom by trusting in Christ and following Him, nor would they allow those who wanted to enter the Kingdom to do so. Their blindness would lead others to death because, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life..." (John 3:36) Though we are referring to the Pharisees from Jesus' time in this Scripture, would you not agree that there are many who would guide us away from belief in Christ in our own day?
Are you following a blind guide? Or, more importantly, are you following Jesus?
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
Jesus said, " For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.". Some Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
The physical healing of a blind man sparks the anger of the religious Pharisees. The man is thrown out of the synagogue for acknowledging Jesus as his healer. Jesus searches him out, and comes right to the point, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" The man asks who He is, so that he may believe in Him. Jesus tells him, "You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you." The man believes in Jesus and worships Him!
The Pharisees, who are there listening, ask if they are blind also. Interesting, because in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 23 we find Jesus calling the Pharisees blind guides, blind fools, blind men...
If you were climbing Mt. Everest, a life or death experience, would you put your trust in a guide that is blind? No, that would most certainly result in death, especially in the case of a climber who had never been to the summit. Why then, do we trust "religious" guides who are blind?
These guides - the Pharisees - were shutting "the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces". (Matthew 23:13) They wouldn't enter the Kingdom by trusting in Christ and following Him, nor would they allow those who wanted to enter the Kingdom to do so. Their blindness would lead others to death because, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life..." (John 3:36) Though we are referring to the Pharisees from Jesus' time in this Scripture, would you not agree that there are many who would guide us away from belief in Christ in our own day?
Are you following a blind guide? Or, more importantly, are you following Jesus?
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
From Celebration to Explanation
John 9:13-34
The man who had been blind since birth can now see. Jesus Christ's touch brought light to the man's dark world. The beauty of God's creation, the faces of those he loved, must have amazed him as he viewed them for the first time. Can you imagine the celebration going on in his heart at that moment?
The religious Pharisees were so concerned with whether or not a law was broken during the healing, that they fail to see the bigger picture - a blind man's sight was restored! Praise God! A miracle happened and instead of rejoicing, they are nit-picking.
The man's parents are called because the religious leaders doubt the miracle. Was this man even blind to begin with? Really, Pharisees! You passed by him for years - did you even look at him, or was that beneath you? The parents verify that the man was blind, but are afraid - to acknowledge Christ would cause them to be put out of the synagogue.
So they summon the man back for more questioning. He doesn't know anything about Jesus, except this: "I was blind, but now I see!" Then he goes on to share some profound wisdom with them. "We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." The man who has been blind since birth knows more about God than the religious men who have studied the law for years. Were they impressed? No, they threw him out!
When we believe in Christ, the Light, and He heals our spiritual blindness, the darkness is gone and we live a new life of faith in Him. Like the blind man we will face those that ridicule or doubt the miracle Christ has performed in our lives. When this happens will we be ashamed to acknowledge who Christ is, like the man's parents, or we will we choose to follow the man's example and tell the truth about Jesus?
The man who had been blind since birth can now see. Jesus Christ's touch brought light to the man's dark world. The beauty of God's creation, the faces of those he loved, must have amazed him as he viewed them for the first time. Can you imagine the celebration going on in his heart at that moment?
The religious Pharisees were so concerned with whether or not a law was broken during the healing, that they fail to see the bigger picture - a blind man's sight was restored! Praise God! A miracle happened and instead of rejoicing, they are nit-picking.
The man's parents are called because the religious leaders doubt the miracle. Was this man even blind to begin with? Really, Pharisees! You passed by him for years - did you even look at him, or was that beneath you? The parents verify that the man was blind, but are afraid - to acknowledge Christ would cause them to be put out of the synagogue.
So they summon the man back for more questioning. He doesn't know anything about Jesus, except this: "I was blind, but now I see!" Then he goes on to share some profound wisdom with them. "We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." The man who has been blind since birth knows more about God than the religious men who have studied the law for years. Were they impressed? No, they threw him out!
When we believe in Christ, the Light, and He heals our spiritual blindness, the darkness is gone and we live a new life of faith in Him. Like the blind man we will face those that ridicule or doubt the miracle Christ has performed in our lives. When this happens will we be ashamed to acknowledge who Christ is, like the man's parents, or we will we choose to follow the man's example and tell the truth about Jesus?
Sunday, February 26, 2012
The Light Takes Away Darkness
After struggling with a major glitch that was keeping me from posting, suddenly, today I have access to compose on this blog! I'm not sure how, or why it wouldn't work before, but rather than spend time puzzling over those questions I will seize the opportunity to carry on in the book of John!
John 9:3-12
Jesus, the Light of the World, meets a man who has been blind - in the dark - since birth.
Does Jesus leave him in darkness? No, He tells His disciples that while it is day He will do the work of the One who sent Him. On that day, God's work would be displayed in the life of that particular blind man.
Jesus spit on the ground, made mud, and put it on the man's eyes. It makes no sense that dirt and saliva would heal this man's eyes, and perhaps that's the point. An expensive tube of ointment, far beyond the man's reach in its cost, might be expected to heal - but mud? If a healing occurred, then it would be a truly unexpected miracle! Something only God could accomplish.
Jesus then gave instructions for the man to wash in the pool of Siloam, the man did, and went home with his sight.
On his way home he passes neighbors and people who had seen him begging. There was a debate over who he was - the miracle left him a changed man that some couldn't even recognize. The man insists that he is the same man they knew as a blind beggar. "Then how were your eyes opened?", they demanded. The man gave them a testimony that displayed the work of God in his life - the story of Jesus's healing touch that brought light to his darkness.
When we believe in Jesus, our life, like the blind man's, is forever changed. The people that we have lived and worked with may not recognize us, because the difference He makes in our life is so great. As we share the story of how Christ has touched our life, God will be glorified. And the ones we share our testimony with may have a question: "Where is this Man?" The blind man didn't know where Christ was at the moment they asked, but if we know Christ as our Lord and Savior we have an answer for those who ask: "He's in my heart - and can abide with you, too. All you need to do is ask!"
John 9:3-12
Jesus, the Light of the World, meets a man who has been blind - in the dark - since birth.
Does Jesus leave him in darkness? No, He tells His disciples that while it is day He will do the work of the One who sent Him. On that day, God's work would be displayed in the life of that particular blind man.
Jesus spit on the ground, made mud, and put it on the man's eyes. It makes no sense that dirt and saliva would heal this man's eyes, and perhaps that's the point. An expensive tube of ointment, far beyond the man's reach in its cost, might be expected to heal - but mud? If a healing occurred, then it would be a truly unexpected miracle! Something only God could accomplish.
Jesus then gave instructions for the man to wash in the pool of Siloam, the man did, and went home with his sight.
On his way home he passes neighbors and people who had seen him begging. There was a debate over who he was - the miracle left him a changed man that some couldn't even recognize. The man insists that he is the same man they knew as a blind beggar. "Then how were your eyes opened?", they demanded. The man gave them a testimony that displayed the work of God in his life - the story of Jesus's healing touch that brought light to his darkness.
When we believe in Jesus, our life, like the blind man's, is forever changed. The people that we have lived and worked with may not recognize us, because the difference He makes in our life is so great. As we share the story of how Christ has touched our life, God will be glorified. And the ones we share our testimony with may have a question: "Where is this Man?" The blind man didn't know where Christ was at the moment they asked, but if we know Christ as our Lord and Savior we have an answer for those who ask: "He's in my heart - and can abide with you, too. All you need to do is ask!"
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Something Good Out of the Bad Stuff
John 9:1-3
Jesus passed by a man, blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The disciples are asking this question because it was taught that a person with a physical ailment from birth had parents or grandparents who had committed sins that caused the ailment.
Imagine, for a moment, the burden in that belief. When our children were born I remember waiting anxiously as they were checked to see if there were any physical problems that required medical attention. What relief we felt when they were declared healthy. The parents of the blind man wouldn't have known that relief. They would instead have a burden of guilt they carried, wondering what sin they had committed that resulted in the loss of thier baby's sight.
Jesus tells his disciples that, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
The man's blindness wasn't caused by his parents, or himself. I don't believe Jesus is saying they had never sinned because Romans 3:23 tells us, "... all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." What He is telling His disciples is this - their sin was not the cause of the blindness. And somehow, in that blindness, the work of God was going to be displayed in his life.
If we skip a few pages to John chapter 11 we read the story of Jesus' friend Lazarus, who becomes gravely ill. When Jesus received word of this illness, He responds, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Lazarus did die, and was placed in the tomb, but that wasn't the end. Jesus raised Lazarus up to live again, and many that were there and saw what Jesus did put thier faith in Him. The illness and death of Lazarus had a greater purpose. The work of God was about to be displayed in the blind man's life also.
There are times when trials come to our life as the consequences of our sinful actions. Sometimes, though, hard things happen for no apparent reason. We see from the Scripture we've looked at that these may be opportunities for the work of God to be displayed in our lives, and used to bring others to believe in Him.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
Jesus passed by a man, blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The disciples are asking this question because it was taught that a person with a physical ailment from birth had parents or grandparents who had committed sins that caused the ailment.
Imagine, for a moment, the burden in that belief. When our children were born I remember waiting anxiously as they were checked to see if there were any physical problems that required medical attention. What relief we felt when they were declared healthy. The parents of the blind man wouldn't have known that relief. They would instead have a burden of guilt they carried, wondering what sin they had committed that resulted in the loss of thier baby's sight.
Jesus tells his disciples that, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
The man's blindness wasn't caused by his parents, or himself. I don't believe Jesus is saying they had never sinned because Romans 3:23 tells us, "... all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." What He is telling His disciples is this - their sin was not the cause of the blindness. And somehow, in that blindness, the work of God was going to be displayed in his life.
If we skip a few pages to John chapter 11 we read the story of Jesus' friend Lazarus, who becomes gravely ill. When Jesus received word of this illness, He responds, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Lazarus did die, and was placed in the tomb, but that wasn't the end. Jesus raised Lazarus up to live again, and many that were there and saw what Jesus did put thier faith in Him. The illness and death of Lazarus had a greater purpose. The work of God was about to be displayed in the blind man's life also.
There are times when trials come to our life as the consequences of our sinful actions. Sometimes, though, hard things happen for no apparent reason. We see from the Scripture we've looked at that these may be opportunities for the work of God to be displayed in our lives, and used to bring others to believe in Him.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
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