Category: JOHN

Re:Verse passage – John 20:1-21 (day three)

“They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him.”

Three years ago, these disciples were workaday peasants in an occupied corner of the sprawling Roman Empire—law abiding citizens existing in a politically and spiritually totalitarian state with little-to-no civil rights, trying their best to live at peace with however much of God their religious teachers deemed they were fit to understand. But that was then. Now they were intimately connected to a capital criminal branded an enemy of the state, summarily executed. But it was worse than that. They loved him. This empty tomb meant, apparently, that the state, with the cynical support of religious leaders, was now sealing the disciples’ doom by its power to extinguish all dignity and hope. Suddenly, Jesus, dead no more, shifted their understanding of history with one word: “Mary.”

Re:Verse passage – John 20:1-21 (day two)

The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. vs.4

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” vs. 15a

The women were the first to arrive. Surely they had questions. How were they to get to the body of Jesus? What state would he be in? It never occurred to the them that he might not be there, and their first reaction was that his body had been stolen. They ran back and called for the disciples to come. Peter and John set out and eventually broke into a dead run. Why? If the body was gone what good would it have done to get there quickly? What were they expecting to find? What was their urgency?

Scripture does not reveal to us what exactly was in their hearts and minds at those moments, but we do see them meet Jesus and they did not recognize his face. In their surprise, they never thought that he would be the one speaking with them. Which begs the question, for whom were they searching? If he is standing in front of you, speaking with you, why should it matter that he doesn’t show up as you would expect. He is here, now, calling you. Don’t let your expectations get in the way of the Savior.

Re:Verse passage – John 19:1-30 (day seven)

In the weakness of the crucifixion we hear Jesus living out Scripture perfectly. In Matthew 27:46 Jesus quotes the famous line from Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and in John 19: 28 Jesus fulfills another line from the Psalms by announcing his thirst. Scripture flows from the mouth of Christ at the most devasting moments of His earthly existence.

My prayer is that we find a similar way. A way that is built upon the Word of God as our foundation so that when the wind and waves of life pummel us the Holy Spirit will bring forth a fortifying Scripture. May we fill our heart and mind with verses that we can cling to in the darkest days.

Re:Verse passage – John 19:1-30 (day five)

Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.

With these instructions for John, Jesus begins a new paradigm for relationships and ministry within the community of faith- the responsibility of loving and caring for one another.  The custom would have been for Jesus to place his mother in the care and provision of his brothers.  Keep it in the family. Jesus has a new model for love and care- the family of God. We are meant to find encouragement, love, provision, and great care in our church family.  Have you received this kind of  kindness and concern from brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you show it to others in your Bible Study group?  Circle of 6? Network of church friends?

As we live together in our community of faith, let us do (Body Life) loving and caring for each other in the Body of Christ.

 

Re:Verse passage – John 19:1-30 (day four)

“It is finished!”  These words seem to close a very sad event, but it is a wide-reaching statement.  God had a plan for the redemption of man from the beginning of time.  The prophets foretold the work of Christ for centuries before it happened.  Jesus’ assignment from the Father had been to live a sinless life and die for the sins of man on the cross.  When Jesus said, “it is finished”, He meant all of it…He had completed everything that He was supposed to do!  Even down to the sour wine at the end, Jesus was perfectly obedient.

When we walk in obedience, are we careful to walk in full obedience?  Do we do everything God asks us to do or do we go for just a majority?  Are we just concerned with tipping the scales toward obedience and calling it good?  Jesus’ life was a life of obedience, growing out of a deep love.  It was actually a celebration when He said “it is finished!”  Will you be able to say that at the end?

Re:Verse passage – John 19:1-30 (day three)

“He bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

It’s not uncommon for one to encounter reasoning that de-emphasizes the body. This happens in the church as well as in the world, albeit in different ways. The world often declares both that the bodily appetites must be obeyed, and also that the desires must rule the body in any way they see fit, and that such living is without consequence—as if the body has no bearing on the soul. The church often declares that the body is merely temporary because “I’ll fly away”—as if the body were only a stopgap measure. In Jesus Christ, we see these misunderstandings corrected. He bore our sins in his body, and they dis-integrated him; body and spirit were no longer integrated, resulting in death. That death—the cross—rescues your spirit and your body.

Re:Verse passage – John 19:1-30 (day two)

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”  18:38

For today’s post I backed up a few verses in this Passion narrative to talk about one of the most chilling and prescient verses in this story. Pilate’s question to Jesus sounds like it could have come straight from a Twitter feed this morning. Although not new, this concept of “finding your own truth” has gained much traction over the past two years. It sounds so affirming, doesn’t it? Find what works for you and go that direction. What happens when your truth collides with the person right next to you? What about if your truth changes based on age or perspective? Are we all universally leading lives that have no unifying truth to them? NO! When we become morally bankrupt and seeking only “truth for the moment” we end up standing beside Pilate pushing the redeemer of the world towards the cross. If there is a truth for Jesus, there must be the same truth for me. And if for me, for you, and for the world. Frankly, it is too exhausting trying to keep up with my own truth and everyone else’s as well. I would rather have Jesus.