When We Listen – January 24, 2023

Read with Me

1 John 1:1-4 (HCSB)
What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we have observed

and have touched with our hands,

concerning the Word of life—

that life was revealed,

and we have seen it

and we testify and declare to you

the eternal life that was with the Father

and was revealed to us —

what we have seen and heard

we also declare to you,

so that you may have fellowship along with us;

and indeed our fellowship is with the Father

and with His Son Jesus Christ.

We are writing these things

so that our joy may be complete.

Listen with Me

John knew about the eternal nature of Jesus from Jesus own lips. Jesus’ testimony is the source of the prolog to John’s gospel, especially verses 1-3 and 14. Jesus was not only with God before time began, He was eternally with God, and was and is God the Son

It was this eternal Word of God that was made flesh in Jesus through whom all creation came to be. And it was that eternal Word who appeared on earth to convey God’s grace and truth to all humanity.

Now John, in this his first letter, testifies to the real humanity of the divine, eternal Word made flesh. Contrary to the docetists who were proclaiming that Jesus only had the appearance of humanity, but that his physical body was just an illusion, John gives eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ real humanity. The disciples had not just seen Jesus, they had touched Him, both before and after His death and resurrection. And He was a real flesh-and-blood man.

But at the same time, John attests to the real divinity of Jesus. Only one who was and is fully God can be said to be the eternal life that John is proclaiming. Only one who was and is fully God could be accurately described in the terms John is using: the one who was from the beginning, the one who was with the Father, and who has now appeared to humanity.

John was not a theologian. He had no degree from a prestigious university. He was by trade a fisherman who had become a messenger of the kingdom sent by Jesus. But he had experienced in Jesus the truth of both natures, divine godhood, and real flesh-and-blood humanity. And in that experience, it had all made sense to him. He lacked a sophisticated Greek vocabulary with which to convey the truth of this simple conviction born of experiential knowledge, so he laid out layer after layer of nouns, adjectives, and verbs in an attempt to paint what he knew experientially to be true.

And he did this not to persuade, but to confirm. The audience for his letter was decidedly Christian, people who had already had a personal encounter with the risen and exalted Savior themselves. His goal was greater unity and more complete joy in that unity for both himself and his readers.

Pray with Me

Father, the truth is that it often seems like many theologians, with all their grandiloquent words and deep research, are struggling to analyze and describe something that they themselves have not experienced personally. And all the arguments about terminology and theories tend to cloud the plain and simple identity of Jesus Himself. Often the most profound theological analyses of Jesus as truly God and truly human do not come from the pens of erudite theologians, but from the lips of simple men and women who have had a powerful transformative experience with the risen Jesus, and who simply share that experience. They are much like the blind men whom Jesus healed: “One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25b) Lord, help me to not try to clothe Jesus with long words and profound theology. Help me instead to merely share with others the real Jesus as I know Him. Amen.

Today’s Scripture – December 30, 2021

Hebrews 4:14-16 (HCSB)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

The high priest was a revered figure in all Judaism, more for the calling on his life than for the person himself. The high priest, as the only one who could go into the holy of holies in the temple to make atonement for the people in God’s very presence, was seen as the most holy person in the world, the key mediator between God and mankind.

But for all the glory and eminence of his position, every high priest was, in the end, simply a man, a fallible human being, who needed God’s mercy and forgiveness just as much as the men and women he represented before God.

But Jesus was completely different. In Jesus, a new high priest was available who not only could approach God’s throne on behalf of sinful mankind. He actually lives forever in God’s presence, so He can continually intercede for humanity. He can atone for the sins of the world because He had not a single sin of his own that required atonement.

But at the same time, Jesus was not so high and mighty that he could not relate to real people. He was not so far above humanity that he could not understand suffering, or pain, or the deep struggle against sin. Jesus had been a real human being for more than thirty-three years. During that time, He had experienced pain, and suffering, and weariness, and even temptation, just as strongly as anyone. Yet, despite all that, He never sinned, not even once. Thus, He knows how to live genuinely holy life in the midst of living, and can help those who seek Him to do the same.

Because Jesus really was a real human being, no one who goes to Him humbly need fear being rejected or rebuffed. He is loving, merciful, and full of grace. And He will receive and show grace and mercy to anyone who turns to him wholeheartedly.

Father, it is so easy to slide off the true path into one ditch or the other. Some so deify Jesus, put Him so far above mere humanity, that they see Him as too high and holy for mere mortals ever to approach. They see it necessary to enlist the aid of saints and angels to act as go-betweens, to convey their needs and request to the Savior who they do not dare to approach in their sin and dirt. Others so humanize Jesus that they effectively demote Him to a mere human being, a good man, a great teacher, but fallible, and perhaps even sinful in His lowest moments. But both pictures are wrong. In Jesus we have the perfect amalgam of God and man. He was a real human being, but never sinful. He was God in the flesh, but He is completely approachable and relatable, with no go-betweens required. In a very real sense, Jesus made God approachable for all mankind – for any who will approach Him humbly, repentantly, seeking His forgiveness, His grace, His love. Thank You for a Savior like that! Amen.

Today’s Scripture – December 6, 2021

Hebrews 1:13-14 (HCSB)
Now to which of the angels has He ever said:
Sit at My right hand
until I make Your enemies Your footstool?
Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

The writer of Hebrews continues to contrast Jesus with the angels, because some of the Jewish Christians had been taught that Jesus was divine, but only in the sense that angels are divine; that He was not literally God in the flesh. There are some Christian sects and cults today that teach the same thing. Some even teach that Jesus was not the incarnation of God, but the incarnation of Michael the Archangel. The writer of Hebrews tells us that that is clearly a false theology.

In addition to the previous Scriptures, the writer turns to Psalm 110, undisputed as a messianic psalm among the rabbis. In this psalm, God clearly invites the Messiah to sit in the place of highest honor, at His right hand. No angel could ever attain that place of honor, essentially Gods co-regent of the universe. But the Messiah is promised that high and exalted position.

The writer then goes on to conclude this section by reminding the readers of the purpose of angels. They were not created to save, but to serve. Even though their appearance is awe inspiring and majestic, they are only God’s messengers and are, in an important sense, lower than mankind to whom they are sent to serve. Thus, the Messiah, Jesus, though he lowered himself, emptied himself to become a human being, even then was higher than the angels. That those who equate him with angels or claim that He was the incarnation of an angel, even an archangel, are clearly wrong.

Father, as humans we can easily be awed by anything supernatural, not just You and angels, but by satan and demons as well. It is easy for us to assume that, since they are all supernatural, they are all superior to us. But your word tells us otherwise. Help us to see ourselves as You see us – in need of Your love and grace, absolutely. But in our saved and sanctified state, as You created us to be, and as You can make us in Christ, true children of God, and co-heirs with Jesus of all you possess (Romans 8:16-17), capable of literally changing the world in Your power that lives and works in us, and with angels called to serve and to help us do all You have called us to do. Amen.

Today’s Scripture – November 16, 2021

Hebrews 1:4-7 (HCSB)
So He became higher in rank than the angels, just as the name He inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did He ever say, You are My Son; today I have become Your Father, or again, I will be His Father, and He will be My Son? When He again brings His firstborn into the world, He says, And all God’s angels must worship Him. And about the angels He says:
He makes His angels winds,
and His servants a fiery flame,

The starting premise for the writer of Hebrews is that the Son of God is superior to the angels. He won’t stop there, but he is starting with the lowest of the heavenly hierarchy, and will work out as he goes.

Some of the Jewish Christians who had been taught that since God is one, He can’t have a Son, were nonetheless willing to concede that perhaps Jesus was divine in the same sense that angels are divine. Or that maybe he was even an incarnation of an angel! But the writer pulls out numerous Old Testament Scriptures to show that that is absolutely not the case. The Son is vastly superior to any angel.

He begins with two well-accepted messianic Scriptures (Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14) to show that God calls the Messiah his Son, something that He never calls any angel in any Scripture. And at the same time, He calls himself the Father, the title Jesus used for Him consistently, and the name by which He taught His followers to refer to Him.

The next two scriptures (Deuteronomy 32:43 and Psalm 104:4) show that, instead of sons, God refers to the angels as servants and messengers, beings who worship Him, and who thus should not themselves be worshipped. This stands in strong contrast to Jesus, who was rightfully worshipped throughout the Church.

The writers overarching point here is that Jesus, the Son of God, falls into a completely different category from the angels, and Christians must not view His being an incarnate angel as even a possibility. Jesus is declared by God repeatedly in both the Old Testament and the New (Luke 3:22, 9:35) to be God’s son, and God His Father. And with His own testimony, no alternatives need to be looked for.

Father, I love how the writer of Hebrews approaches things so logically, starting with clear statements, and then countering arguments and “fallback” positions strongly. You really have been so consistent in how You have communicated about who Jesus is and what He would do from the very beginning (Genesis 3:15), all the way to the end (Revelation 22:20). Thank You for Your powerful testimony and Your absolute truth in this as in all things in Your word. Amen.

Today’s Scripture – April 15, 2015

John 1:1-3 (NIV): In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In all of the hubbub that surrounds human speculation and opinion of who Jesus was, amid all of the search for the “historical Jesus,” so many people overlook the fact of who Jesus is, as God has clearly communicated through His servant, John.  (And the correct verb is “is,” not “was.” Jesus is still today all that He ever was.  In fact, Jesus is, strictly speaking, not a “historical” personage at all.  He is as alive today as ever!)

Jesus is the living Word of God.  That means that He is the most direct form of communication that God ever had with humanity.  In Jesus, God didn’t just speak, as He did frequently through the prophets and writers of Scripture.  In Jesus, God actually came to His people and spoke with them directly, without an intermediary, without a translator, without a prophet.

Because Jesus spoke God’s words directly to the people who should have been prepared to hear them through their careful study of the Scriptures, He was often amazed that these people didn’t seem to be able to understand Him.  “Why is my language not clear to you?” (John 8:43a NIV)

But Jesus was not just a messenger; He was more than a prophet.  As John says clearly, Jesus is God, and has been God since the beginning.  This is confusing to some.  They wonder, if Jesus was God, and He was here on earth, who was minding the store?  But such questions completely misunderstand the nature of God.  God is everywhere at the same time, in all places, in all dimensions.  He fills the universe.  Even though Jesus, through the incarnation, limited Himself to a human body, God was still present everywhere, in addition to being fully present in that human body.  He was “minding the store,” even while Jesus slept.

The concept of the Trinity is a difficult one for human minds to grasp, sometimes even more so when people try to invent illustrations and analogies to try to make it understandable!  The fact is, Jesus is God; God the Father is God; the Holy Spirit is God.  Yet they are not three Gods; they are God.  And they are One.  So where any one is, all are.  Where any one acts, they are all acting.  Nothing in the created world can illustrate who God is, or how He works as a tri-unity – the reality must simply be accepted.

John had come to understand that the man he knew as Jesus was more than He seemed.  By the time John wrote his gospel, he grasped that Jesus was God in the flesh.  This was confirmed to him when he saw Jesus as He truly is in his vision on Patmos (Revelation 1:12-18).  As God, John realized that Jesus did not come into existence when Mary first conceived Him.  Instead, He had always been, from all eternity.  The incarnation was merely the method used to introduce Him into the world.

John also could see that, as God, Jesus was not just someone who knew about the universe – He was the Creator of it all.  Some have tried to parse out which Person of the Trinity was responsible for which aspects of creation.  But that is unnecessary.  God is One.  When one planned, all planned in unison.  When one spoke, all were speaking.  When one exerted power, it was the power of the whole Godhead together.  “Through Jesus all things were made, without Him nothing was made that has been made” John was not crediting a specific creation task to Jesus.  It was one more way of him trying to communicate as clearly as he could that Jesus was no “avatar,” or phantom.  He was not a prophet, or even an angel.  Jesus was and is God Himself – the same God who spoke everything into existence.

When people listen to Jesus, they are listening to God.  When people worship Jesus, they are worshiping God.  When they obey Jesus’ commands, they are obeying God.  And when they reject Him, they are rejecting God Himself. (cf. Matthew 10:40)  This is the opening message of John’s gospel.

Father, I can see very clearly that, even if we can’t completely understand it, the truth is that Jesus is God.  The mystery of the incarnation, how the fullness of the God of the universe could inhabit a human body, is still a mystery.  But even more mysterious to my mind is the fact that You were fully present in Jesus, yet completely filled the universe at the same time.  But no definitive understanding of all of that is necessary for me to understand and accept what John is saying in these first verses of his gospel:  Jesus was God, is God, and always will be God.   Amen.

Bread of Life

          Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?  Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:28-34 (NIV)

As Jesus continues to speak to the crowd at the synagogue at Capernaum, the crowd to whom He had fed the miraculously multiplied loaves and fish the day before, the conversation seemed to be taking a hopeful turn.  Jesus had just told them all, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27a NIV)  And their response was, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  Oh, how a shepherd’s heart rejoices to hear a question like that from the members of the flock!

But any joy that Jesus may have felt was to be short-lived.  The people weren’t really interested in fully devoting themselves to Jesus; they were still trying to figure out what they had to do in order to keep getting fed free bread and fish!

Jesus laid out very clearly the answer to their question:  “The work of God is this  to believe in the One He has sent.”  In other words, the people didn’t have to do some amazing “work” or keep a long list of rules in order to win God’s approval; all of the heavy lifting was already done.  They simply had to accept the amazing work that God was doing right in their midst, His coming to them in the flesh in order to heal them, and free them, and provide for them, and ultimately, to die for them.  And they could do that by believing in and receiving Jesus for who He really was.

But the people were still focused on the wrong thing.  The clamored for some sort of miraculous sign to prove that Jesus really was someone unique.  They pointed out that producing bread wasn’t that big a miracle, since Moses had provided bread for forty years for the Israelites in the desert!  Jesus had fed 5000, but He hadn’t fed 2 million for 40 years.  So the challenge was laid down:  Top that!  We need more if we’re going to believe in you!

Jesus brought the conversation right back to the basics of their own faith history.  It was not actually Moses who had given the Israelites bread from heaven – it was God Himself who provided the manna each morning for all those years.  Moses wasn’t even a middle-man in the process – He was just as dependent on the manna as the rest of them.  But Jesus was a different thing altogether.  He didn’t just provide bread to the masses; He is Himself spiritual bread that provides spiritual life to all who will receive Him.  One greater than Moses really was standing in their presence (cf., Hebrews 3:3).

But the people still didn’t get it.  If there was bread that was even greater than manna, they wanted it!  “From now on give us this bread.””  Not the bread that left them hungry in just a few hours, but the bread of eternal life.  Just like the woman at the well who wanted Jesus to give her the water of life so that she wouldn’t have to keep coming back and drawing water from the well (John 4:15), these people were still interested primarily in what Jesus could do to meet their physical needs, and in the process they looked right past the glorious miracle of the incarnation!

Jesus began to lay the foundation for revealing Himself more fully:  “I am the bread of life,” the first of the famous IAM statements in John’s gospel, and one that He repeats with variations four times in the remainder of this chapter.  Jesus didn’t come simply to nourish the bodies of the people, He came to feed their souls.  He didn’t come to help their physical bodies live longer, but to make their souls live forever in God’s presence.

Today there are still a lot of people who challenge God to perform a miracle for them in exchange for believing in Him.  For some it is part of a desperate bargain, a last ditch effort, trying anything to help their life to be better, or to save the life of a loved one.  For others, it is almost a dare, challenging God to show Himself by performing a miracle.  At other times, behind the request is a sincere desire to know the God that they sense really is out there, if only they could see Him.  But the simple fact is, any time we lay down a condition to God for our belief in Him, we are missing the point:  God has already done the greatest miracle in the history of the universe; in fact, even greater than the universe itself.  The maker of the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them; the One who created mankind from the dust of the earth and breathed into his lungs the breath of life so that he became a living, eternal being; the One who has lived in unapproachable glory for all eternity; has lowered Himself, humbled Himself, shrunk Himself down to our size, and entered the physical universe that He created – not in order to stun us with His glory, but to lay down His life so that we could live.  The Almighty God put on skin and bones, inhabited a body that could suffer, and bleed, and die, so that He could pour out all of His blood to pay the death penalty for our rebellion against Him.

Jesus’ statement, “You have seen me and still you do not believe,” is sadly true even in our own generation.  Even many who know about Jesus, many who have read of Him, or seen television programs or movies about Him, still don’t believe.  Their heels are dug in hard, and their hearts have been petrified by doubt and rebellion, so that no light can get into them.  It’s just got to break God’s heart.