Jeff Englund

April 1, 2019March 31, 2019

Children of Light – John 12: 35-36

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. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

At night, if I have to get up to use the bathroom, there are all kinds of visual clues that help me navigate the dark room. The green glow from my wife’s digital clock. The pale light from the nightlight in the bathroom. The gentle yellow light peeking out from my alarm clock that says the alarm is “ON.” There is also a power strip on the floor beside my bed. I always know I am past the sharp edge of our bed frame when I can see the red light from the power cord switch.

All in all, there is a lot of light in our bedroom at night. If the power goes off, it is a very different story. Then all the lights in the house go out, and there is utter darkness. Not even any light from the street lights out front. Just blackness.

Walking around in that kind of dark is dangerous and slow.

March 31, 2019March 29, 2019

Expectations – John 12:34

The crowd spoke up, ”We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Expectations are extremely powerful! Sometimes we let expectations shape our world. When the real world does not fit our expectations, the result is disappointment. Or worse.

Psalm 110 is a prophetic psalm that Jesus Himself refers to when He is explaining who he is. In today’s verse, the crowd throws this psalm back at Jesus. Verse four of the psalm says:

The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”

The passage is referring to the coming Messiah. The crowd has been taught, “You are a priest forever” means that the Messiah will come to earth and remain forever.

This is not what the passage means. It says nothing about where this priest will be.

March 30, 2019March 29, 2019

Pondering – John 12: 31-33

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Keeping up with Jesus can be difficult! He is a man, yes, but he is also God. He speaks from the perspective of one who knows God the Father first hand. He speaks as one who has existed before time and who has seen the earth from a heavenly perspective. When he speaks, it is almost always about things beyond everyone else’s experience.

In this passage, he speaks about judgment on this world. What is God’s view of that? Is this like the judgment of the flood in Noah’s day? He is referring to his coming crucifixion, but what exactly does he mean?

He also speaks about driving out the “prince of this world.” In other passages, Beelzebul is referred to as the “prince of demons.” Is this a reference to Satan being driven out?

Jesus says these things will happen “now.” But we already know that Jesus’ perspective on time is much different than ours here on earth. What does “now” mean to Jesus?

March 29, 2019March 28, 2019

The Voice of God – John 12: 28b – 30

Then a voice came from heaven, ”I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, ”This voice was for your benefit, not mine.”

What would you expect the voice of God to sound like? Small and quiet? Loud and frightening? Now that I think about it, God is capable of both. Certainly one doesn’t expect the Holy Spirit to shout when trying to get our attention. At least not audibly.

But God does have a voice. Occasionally, He chooses to speak. Ezekiel records the sound of God’s voice in his vision as being like “the roar of rushing waters.” (Ezekiel 43:2) Daniel, in his vision, records the voice of God as “the sound of a multitude.” (Daniel 10:6) John, in his vision on the Island of Patmos, heard “a loud voice like a trumpet” that was like, “the sound of rushing waters.” (Revelation 1: 10; 15)

March 28, 2019March 27, 2019

Obedience – John 12: 27-28a

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

How many people would willingly go to their death in order that others might live? There are a few brave and selfless souls in the world who have given their lives to save others.

More often than not, people who give their lives were hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. The fireman or policeman who loses their life in the line of duty was doing something incredibly brave. In most cases, they were not planning on dying. The person who jumps in to try and save a drowning person and dies in the process didn’t mean to die, they just wanted to help someone else.

Jesus knew he would have to die. He also knew why, and he knew who would get the glory.

March 27, 2019March 26, 2019

Servant Possibilities – John 12: 26

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Yesterday’s post looked at the ultimate long life: Eternity. The challenge is that to keep eternal life we must give up our love for this life in the world. Jesus follows that statement with today’s instruction: The one who serves Jesus will follow Him and be with Him. Always.

This puts me in mind of the story in Matthew 19 about the rich man. Jesus tells him that to be “perfect” he needs to sell everything, give to the poor, and follow him. The rich man goes away sad, and the disciples, knowing that we all have “riches” of some sort, ask; “Who then can be saved?” I love the answer that Jesus gives them:

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

March 26, 2019March 25, 2019

Baggage – John 12: 25

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

The hour has come. Jesus is now facing the end of his ministry, the reality of his mission on earth. In verse 24 he summarizes his situation. In today’s verse, he applies that same principle to the lives of those who would follow Him.

What is the life that we lose? What is the life that we keep? Clearly, there is a choice here. The question that leaps to the eye is, “How do we discern the difference?”

March 25, 2019March 24, 2019

Seeds – John 12: 24

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Why do we come here? Why bother with this blog? I think the answer might be in today’s verse.

This passage, in the context of John’s gospel, is about Jesus. Like a seed, Jesus has to die before he can bear fruit for heaven. Without redemption for sins, His creation stands condemned. Both He and the Father are righteous and just. They would have to be honest with themselves and find that the whole thing has to be chucked into the garbage bin.

By dying on the cross in the manner He does, Jesus makes it possible to redeem His creation. He now has the power to say to each of us, “Your sins are paid for. You are mine.” In this way, he redeems His creation so it can be salvaged from the trash.

During his ministry, Jesus used seeds as an illustration to explain several heavenly concepts. One of those concepts was the work he was doing on earth (1). He also uses the metaphor for seeds to explain the Kingdom of Heaven (2) and the concept of Faith itself (3). In Mark 4: 28 – 29 Jesus uses the seed illustration to explain that it is not the gardener who makes things grow, but God. Finally, we get to today’s verse where Jesus uses the seed allegory to explain his reason for dying on the cross. He also alludes to our own need to die to this world.

So why bother with this blog?

March 24, 2019March 23, 2019

H-Hour – John 12: 23

Jesus replied, ”The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Clear back in John 2:4, Jesus tells people that his hour has not yet come. John repeats this fact in chapters 7 and 8. Beginning here in chapter 12, Jesus says that the hour has now come.

On June 6, 1944, Allied forces invaded northern France by landing on the beaches of Normandy. The day of the invasion was called “D-Day.” In military lingo, the “D” stood for “Day.” Not just any day though, but THE DAY.

March 23, 2019March 22, 2019

Greeks – John 12: 20-22

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ”Sir,” they said, ”we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

John’s gospel has a very distinct tone and pace to the writing. We start out, “In the beginning…” (John 1:1) and move through a series of stories that all focus on the divinity of Jesus. As Jesus begins his ministry, the story embraces conflict with the Pharisees. Even this speaks to the divinity of Jesus. Eventually, we come to this verse about some visiting Greeks.

What?!