Today’s Scripture – October 16, 2018

John 12:37-43 (NIV)
Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

There were two groups of people that John identified in the crowds that were listening to Jesus. The first group was composed of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, who rejected Jesus in spite of the amazing miracles that He was continuing to do. John noted that their rejection of Jesus as Messiah and Lord was a direct fulfillment of a prophecy in Isaiah 53:1. Isaiah foresaw that, even though the news of the coming of the kingdom of God should have been a cause of great rejoicing, the hearts of many of God’s people would be so hardened and their necks so stiff, that they would not receive it.

The second prophecy is from Isaiah 6:10, and shows why they were rejecting the Messiah. The Pharisees in particular, and many of the other Jewish leaders in general, had developed a religion in which they believed it was possible to scale the heights to God’s throne by their own efforts. So, they rejected the idea that they needed an intermediary between them and God, or that they would need a better sacrifice than those they continually brought to the temple.

Because they were so secure in their own efforts to achieve godliness, and because they rejected God’s plan, He gave them over to their delusions. He closed their eyes so that they could not see and deadened their hearts so that they could not understand, although in their self-deceived state they believed themselves to be the most clear-eyed, wise people of the day.

The other group consisted of those whose hearts were drawn to follow Jesus. But far too many of them would not publicly proclaim their belief in Him because the Pharisees had sworn to oust from the synagogue any who believed Jesus to be the Messiah (John 9:22). The tragedy is that these were just as lost as those who outright rejected Jesus, because they chose to fear man rather than God, and they craved the praise that came from people rather than the praise that comes only from God to those who are obedient.

 

Father, we can easily fall into those same two traps today. It is absolutely possible (and clearly evident in some places) for us to build ourselves a “do it yourself” faith in which we strive to reach You in our own effort, to climb over the wall of the sheep pen instead of entering the one and only gate that You have provided (John 10:1-2, 7-8). And it is possible for even those of us who trust in Jesus to pull back and be silent instead of obedient because we fear the disapproval of those who would shame us for our belief. Protect us, Lord, from either of those grievous errors. Instead, help us to put our full faith in Jesus for salvation, and to fully obey Jesus and share the good news of the kingdom with everyone, whether that is approved of by those in authority or not. Amen.

If you are enjoying my blog, I invite you to check out my new book, When We Listen, A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Just follow this url: http://eagerpress.webstarts.com/ Thanks, and God bless you all!

Today’s Scripture – October 15, 2018

John 12:34-36 (NIV)
The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

The crowd fully understood from Jesus’ words that He was predicting His own death. Many believed Him to be the Messiah (they were right), but these words didn’t go along with what they had always been taught about the Messiah. Traditional teaching included the concept that the Messiah would be immortal and would reign forever. And, if that was the case, if Jesus was killed wouldn’t that mean that He wasn’t the Messiah?

Like most prophecies, though, the prophecies about the Messiah were best understood by looking back to see how they were fulfilled in Jesus rather than looking forward and trying to understand what might happen to fulfill them, squinting through the darkness that always obscures the future from human sight.

The fact is, the Messiah was prophesied to live and reign forever. But He was also forecast to suffer and die for the people BEFORE He lived forever. These two conflicting ideas were almost impossible to hold in one’s theology at the same time, so the vast majority of teachers jettisoned the concept of the Messiah suffering and dying, and simply taught that He would live forever.

Jesus, on the other hand, knew precisely how that would all work out in His own life. He would indeed suffer and die as a sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. But then He would rise again on the third day and live eternally from that moment forward.

All this was going to take place in just a few days, and Jesus warned the people that their window to hear and learn from Him was short. Before long, His light would be snuffed out. Even after he rose from the dead, He would not be seen and heard by everyone, but only by a relative few. So, they needed to be willing to lay their theology aside and to receive the light of truth while it was available.

John tells us that Jesus then left and hid Himself from them. He was not hiding out of fear, but out of prudence. He left town and went to the private garden on the slopes of the Mount of Olives where He had set up camp, a place that was known only to His followers. In a few short days, however, Judas would lead the temple guards to that same hidden spot in order to arrest Him.

Father, how often do we allow our theology to blind us to Your complete truth. Once we get an idea into our heads, even if what we have been taught is incorrect or incomplete, it affects how we see everything else. And it limits what we are willing to believe to that which goes well with what is already present in our theology. Lord, help us to see Your words with clear eyes, and not allow our present beliefs to limit what we are willing to accept from You. Help us to know and understand the real truth of Jesus, who He is and what He wants from us, so that we can follow Him into all truth as it is in Him. Amen.

If you are enjoying my blog, I invite you to check out my new book, When We Listen, A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Just follow this url: http://eagerpress.webstarts.com/ Thanks, and God bless you all!