Category: Daily Devotionals

John 2.1-11

How good are you at taking the right gift when you have been invited to a meal or party? Are you a grab a quick bottle of rioja red wine and a bunch of artificially bright flowers from Morrisons type of person or do you ponder deeply and try to find a gift that fits the hosts just perfectly? I’ll leave you to guess which side of the divide I fall on but I have to say Morrisons is very reasonable when it comes to wine and flowers, or so my Mother said. Weddings are a particular challenge, especially if one is one of those marginal guests and somehow all the presents on the John Lewis website that come under the ‘I can just about afford that’ category went three months ago. It’s funny how what is a suitable gift has changed over time. I can remember when duvets were a big thing, I don’t mean literally as in Super King Size, I mean that most people still fought over blankets and sheets and duvets were strangely European and exotic. Towels always seem a safe bet, but the poor ‘newly weds’ probably never get to actually choose a towel for the first thirty years of marriage and they never match the bathroom décor. Truly a first world disaster. Cheeseboards were the present of choice at my daughter’s wedding.

I wondered if there was any helpful biblical advice for this type of eventuality. Luke records these words of Jesus,‘give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.’ ^{Luke 6.38} Brilliant advice, if expensive, but then I realized that this giving was even more expensive than I realized at first sight. Give did not have a capital letter in the bible, it was preceded in the same sentence with: ‘Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;’ giving according to Jesus is much more costly than might be thought if scripture is taken out of context.

The thing about Jesus is he lived what he taught and as he was God incarnate both what he said and did revealed the purposes and nature of God. All this brings me back to the wedding in Cana. Jesus turns up with his Mum and his newly found disciples. The party had probably been in full swing for a day or two, weddings were commonly a week long affair. They hadn’t been there long when an embarrassing situation developed, the wine had run out and there was no Morrisons round the corner. Mary turns to Jesus, and this is where Mary is much more in the know than anyone else, after all she had been told all about Jesus even before conception, so she makes one of those observations that are really a question and an instruction. ‘They have no more wine.” ^v3 Jesus doesn’t seem to be too happy about being put on the spot. I can just imagine the look he got from Mary when he came out with, ‘My hour has not yet come.’ ^v4 She ignores him and speaks directly to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ ^v5

Jesus does what Jesus is, over abundantly generous, kind and loving he turns water out of vessels for ceremonial washing into the finest of wines. Not just a couple of cases but gallons and gallons and gallons. Of course, this is packed with symbolism, the washing ceremonies and sin offerings of Judaic religion in those days were going to be replaced by the cleansing and forgiveness that never needs repeating. Wine in the Old Testament was a repeated symbol of God’s abundant blessing and the removal of reproach. ‘The Lord had pity on his people. The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach amongst the nations”.’ ^{Joel 3.18,19} This was a forerunner of the new covenant wine which Christians celebrate every time they remember death of Jesus with bread and wine.

What a joyous thing it is that the first sign of the glory of Jesus is a super abundant gift, miraculously achieved because he is also the creator Word of God.

Is your vision of Jesus as the super abundant generous bringer of joy?

Has the Spirit of God worked in your heart to make you a giver of gifts, pressed down and shaken, a forgiver as well as forgiven?

Joy – Rend Collective (Wait for it)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=VDiETOLBvxA%3Flist%3DPLcj8l6w_IlvMpX_TzgcBL_2YEDFX0tRvO

^{John 1.43-51}

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” _{John 1.51}

Jacob had cheated his elder brother, Esau, out of Isaac his father’s blessing and inheritance. Isaac was now concerned that Jacob should not marry a Hittite and so he sent him to his wife’s brother to marry one of his daughters. This was to be fair, mainly due to his wife Rebecca complaining about how much she hated Hittite women. But that was a ruse in itself as Rebecca had heard that Esau was planning to kill Jacob as soon as Isaac died in revenge for Jacob’s deceit and she wanted Jacob out of the way. It is incredible how despite all the deviousness of mankind God works out his purposes. Jacob did what he was told and set out for Harran where his Uncle Laban lived. It was a long journey so he slept in the open with a stone for a pillow. That night he dreamt of a ladder or stairway resting on earth and reaching to heaven, ^{Genesis 28.12} going up and down the ladder were angels. At the top of the ladder the Lord stood and promised Jacob that his descendants would be numerous and occupy the land he was sleeping on. In effect he would be the father of a new nation. God additionally promised that, ‘All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’ ^{Gen 28.14} Even from the very beginning God’s people were intended to be people of mission or blessing to the world. On a second personal encounter with God, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious man throughout the night and refuses to let him go until he is blessed. At that point the man renames Jacob, Israel, from which his descendants took their national name. This is the turning point in Jacob’s life he now has a new relationship with God following a great personal struggle.

It was this account that Jesus was referring to when he said to Nathanael, a man very conscious of his biblical heritage as a man of Israel, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’ ^John1.51 As a line of communication was opened for Jacob and his descendants, Jesus was indicating that he, Jesus, would open a new two way connection between humankind and God, pointing forward to his death, resurrection and ascension. Jesus was going to found a new people of God, starting at that point with just five men, Andrew, John, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael leading on eventually to the universal church.

Jesus had been able to detect in Nathanael a depth of character and someone conscious of Israel’s unique place in God’s plans. When they met for the first time Jesus’ words about him were, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’ ^v47 Cautious, even skeptical, Nathanael had previously questioned Philip as to whether anything good could come out of Nazareth in response to Philip’s urging to meet Jesus, as he is the one prophesied about in the scriptures. Nathanael was probably well aware that the ‘anointed one’ was meant to come from Bethlehem and did not know Jesus’ early life story. Jesus met him with symbolism laden with significance to an Israelite. Jesus stunned Nathanael by having previously discerned him under a fig tree. To Nathanael’s question, how did Jesus know of him, ‘Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were under the fig tree before Philip called you”.’ ^v48The fig tree and in particular enjoying life under the fig tree is a repeated image of Israel living under God’s blessing. It was part of God’s blessing in Deuteronomy 8.8 as the people entered the promised land if they were obedient to his commands. A sign of God’s discipline of his people in Jeremiah 8.13 is the destruction of their fig trees. The possibly most importantly sign of life under the fig tree is as the servant who will remove his people’s sins pointing once again to the cross of Jesus Christ. ‘“I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! (The High Priest) There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. In that day each of you will invite your neighbour to sit under your vine and fig tree,” declares the Lord Almighty.’ ^{Zechariah 3.8-10}

Nathanael immediately recognized the implications of Jesus’ words demonstrating a heart already prepared by the Spirit to believe and follow Jesus. Jesus connected with Nathanael in the way that was meaningful to him and trusted him with profound truths. Nathanael’s reactions contrast sharply with the religious leaders and teachers of the law later in the gospel when the signs John records were far more obvious and accompanied by clear teaching.

Pray for people to come to Jesus with open and Spirit prepared hearts and minds.

Pray that like Philip, Christians will keep inviting people to find out more about Jesus.

Thank God that he has made a worldwide spiritual nation so that they are a blessing to all people.

Bri (Briana Babineaux) – Jacob’s Song

John 1. 9-12 & 35-51

We are keen on our rights and get very upset when they are objected to or taken away. We prize our right to freedom, to live our life as we choose, which is why imprisonment is the strictest sanction our society imposes. A high profile professional footballer has been in trouble this week because according to the Greek courts he thought his wealth and celebrity status gave him the right to get away with abusing and attempting to bribe the police as they broke up a fight. Even following a death family disputes can become highly vitriolic if some believe their right to an inheritance has been denied when they are the deceased’s child. Wars have been fought because a monarch’s  ‘illegitimate’ child has believed they have been denied their right to succession.

The right to be recognized as our parents’ child goes to the heart of our sense of self.  Who then has the right to be called a child of God and if we are what is our inheritance? There is a common assumption that we are all children of God. This can be associated with a belief that people are naturally good and that it would be unfair of God to differentiate between people including people of differing faiths.

The priests and Levites sent by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to investigate John the Baptist ^v19 believed they had a birth rite because they were the chosen people of God. The Pharisees would have narrowed it down even further to those who obeyed their strict laws, many of which were additional to the laws passed on by Moses. The apostle John though gives a very different perspective.

John says that our starting point is that to be a child of God requires a spiritual birth that comes from the will of God. ^v12 He clearly differentiates between natural birth and spiritual birth as a child of God. Spiritual birth as a child of God is in the gift and will of God. If natural birth does not automatically give us the right to be a child of God then race and natural parenthood are not qualifying factors.

The qualifying factors are our responses to Jesus, who in the early section of John 1 he calls the Word and the Light because he is the one who reveals God and the way of being in relationship with God. The default position for people is not recognizing Jesus for who he is. ‘He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.’ ^v10 This sadly included many of the Israelites including the majority of the religious leadership. It took a brave and honourable member of the leadership to stand out against their peer pressure.

However, in the crowds of people who travelled to hear John preach there was a deep sense among ordinary people of their need. They knew their lives were not right, they knew they needed a fresh start. They would have been of all ages from the poor to the rich. When John condemned their lifestyle and told then to prepare for the promised Messiah confessing their sin and being baptized as a sign of repentance they did so in large numbers. John called it making, ‘straight the way of the Lord’. ^v23 But, was that enough? John, the gospel writer, makes the point that simply wanting to start again and live a better life is not the whole journey to becoming a child of God. One needs to receive Jesus. ^v12 I find that term receive him difficult to pin down. The NIV study bible (2015) helpfully clarifies what receiving or believing in Jesus means. Receiving or believing in him includes, ‘personally welcoming, trusting, and submitting to Jesus’.

When John the Baptist and Jesus met up the day after Jesus’ baptism two of John’s disciples make that step with the blessing of John. One was Andrew, Peter’s brother, and the other is unnamed but assumed to be John the gospel writer. ^{vv 35-40} It is of great significance that Andrew’s first instinct after making the decision to follow Jesus was to invite his brother to meet him as well. ‘ “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.’ ^v41

Have you the right to become a child of God?

Have you invited someone close to you to meet Jesus?

Who You Say I Am – Hillsong Worship

John 1.29

The phrase “the Lamb of God” has meant so much to generations of followers of Jesus, since John the Witness (Baptist) first said it when they met in the wilderness by the Jordon river. I wonder though how that phrase can be made meaningful to people not brought up in the Christian faith. To the crowds who went to hear John preach in the desert it would have readily been understood because it represents the culmination of Israel’s Old Testament history, prophesy and worship rituals as laid down in the Mosaic law. The bible makes clear that it is an eternal title for Jesus, a name by which Jesus is revered and worshipped in heaven. ^{Revelation 15.3} However that seems very remote from most of everyday modern life. There is no exact modern parallel to the meaning of the Lamb of God that I know of but a story of a prisoner in a second world war Japanese prisoner of war camp captures some of the meaning. The camp was on its daily parade following a breach of camp rules. It was made clear to the prisoners that a number of them would be executed unless the person who breached the rules stepped forward to own up and nobody did. When it became clear that the threat would be carried out immediately an innocent man took that step forward to take the punishment and at least temporarily save the lives of his fellow prisoners.

How is this similar to Jesus being the Lamb of God? An unblemished lamb was an offering that was made for the sin of the people on the eve of Passover. It also reminded the Jewish people of how God freed them from slavery in Egypt and the Angel of Death “passed over” their homes prior to their leaving for the promised land. The blood of the lamb was painted on their door posts and its presence protected them from God’s judgement. Jesus as the Lamb of God was to become the vicarious sacrifice for people’s sin. He took the judgement and punishment of God for others voluntarily. The brave prisoner of war was not a completely innocent man in the same way that no human is, however he was innocent of whatever misdemeanour the Japanese guards deemed had taken place. He chose to be a vicarious sacrifice for the sake of others. It was an act of extreme bravery. It came from love for others. Whether knowingly or not he was obedient to Jesus’ own command to his disciples, ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.’ ^{John 15.12,13}

How is the story not similar to Jesus being the Lamb of God? Firstly Jesus’ death whilst being unjust and the work of an evil corrupt set of religious and political leaders, was at the same time Jesus taking upon himself the just and fair judgement of God the Father for the sins of all who trust in him. Jesus was not only innocent of the “crimes” the authorities accused him of, he was also innocent of any sin. Jesus was not only an innocent man he is also the Son of God, creator of all things and therefore taking such a punishment was an act of supreme humility. Jesus’ sacrifice not only benefited his “friends” temporarily it opened the door to eternal life.

It took the Holy Spirit to reveal to John that Jesus was the Lamb of God even though John would have known Jesus his whole life as he was his cousin. ‘John bore witness: I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me (God, John 1.6) to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’ ^v32-34 Similarly it takes the intervention of the Holy Spirit for every individual who understands and believes that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

Are we praying that the Holy Spirit reveals the true Jesus to our friends?

Have we taken on board Jesus command to love one another as he has loved us?

How would you explain the phrase, the Lamb of God, to someone who had no knowledge of the bible?

Lamb of God – Twila Paris

John 1

Our legal system, at least in part, is based on establishing the balance of probability. Above the Old Bailey in London is a statue commonly called the Scales of Justice but is more accurately named Lady Justice. She holds in her left hand a balance scale denoting fairness. In her right hand she holds a sword symbolizing authority. Her imagery comes from the mythical Greek god Themis, goddess of divine law. She is often depicted standing on a snake representing evil. Law in the UK has different levels of proof or probability required depending on the area being judged, the highest level is beyond reasonable doubt. To establish this, evidence needs to be provided through witnesses. Some might have specialist knowledge others have first hand experience through their senses.

The whole of John’s gospel is John presenting the case for Christ bringing evidence from a series of carefully chosen witnesses including Jesus’ own testimony. We saw in John 1.3 that creation itself testifies to the existence of and goodness of God. Paul in Romans confirms this, ‘For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.’ ^{Romans 1.20} However early in his gospel John introduces a human witness, John. Known elsewhere as John the Baptist but more appropriately known in John’s gospel as John the Witness. John self identifies as the one Isaiah prophesied, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’” ^v23 John was in a long line of witnesses to the coming Christ stretching back through the Old Testament. Each one, like John, sent from God. ^v6

Confusingly, the only John mentioned by name in John’s gospel is John the Witness (Baptist) and not the author. However, John, the gospel writer includes himself in the same line of God sent witnesses. In the penultimate verse of his gospel John makes clear he also is a first hand witness to Jesus’ words and life. ‘This is the disciple who testifies to these things, and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.’ ^{John 21.24} Jesus himself handed on the baton of being witnesses at his ascension. ‘You are witnesses of these things.’ ^{Luke 24.48}

The point of being a witness is that others might believe that Jesus is the Christ or as John is terming Jesus at this point, the light. ^v7 When being a witness, that is speaking about one’s experience of God through Jesus, it easy for oneself to become central to the narrative. This detracts from the evidence and the reason for the evidence. John the Witness provides a clear example of how to be a witness. I do not mean, go all native and dress in odd clothes, eating uncooked scavenged food. He is repeatedly clear that the message he had to give was not about him, it was about the coming Christ. ^v8 When questioned by the priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem he said, I am not the Messiah ^v20 then when pressed again he repeated the statement. ^v21

John was eager to give his testimony regarding the coming Christ. ‘He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely’. ^v20 This is a real challenge for us all. John gained his confidence and passion from being filled with the Holy Spirit. The angel of the Lord spoke to Zechariah, his father and prophesied that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born. ^{Luke 1.15} Have we prayed that God would fill us with the Holy Spirit so that our lives are a witness to Christ?

John also had a clarity to his message. He knew what he knew, he did not over elaborate. He understood that Jesus is the embodiment of the grace of God. God had up to this point revealed himself through his creation, the prophets and his chosen people Israel. Now in the coming of Jesus God has fully revealed his grace and truth. ^v17 Jesus is the perfect revelation of God. As John writes, ‘No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.’ ^v18

Do we see the church as being in the line of succession of witnesses to Jesus as the Christ?

What can we learn about being a witness from John the Witness?

I Will Stand as a Witness of Christ