Jeff Englund

January 20, 2019January 19, 2019

I Am the Man

When my youngest son was in high school, he had worn glasses for most of his life and as was the custom for many young people, he had let his hair grow quite long. When he decided to switch to contacts instead of glasses, he also arranged to cut his hair short so that when he went back to school the next Monday he looked like a different kid. In fact, he looked so different that nobody recognized him. For a whole day, he enjoyed being the “new kid” until his friends finally figured it out.

His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ” Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was.
Others said, ” No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, ” I am the man.”

John 9: 8-9

January 19, 2019January 18, 2019

Born Blind

There is a story in the Old Testament about a man named Naaman. He was an important man in his time as he commanded the entire army for the kingdom where he lived. He suffered from leprosy which in those days was a death sentence.

One day he heard about a prophet in Samaria who could cure leprosy, but when he heard what the cure was, he balked. What he was told to do was beneath his dignity. Eventually, he chose to humble himself, and his reward was that he was healed.

After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,’ he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means “Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

John 9: 6-7

January 18, 2019January 17, 2019

The Light of the World

I confess that it is very hard for me to get my head around the idea that Jesus is God. I believe it, but I don’t understand it.

Part of the reason is that being a man, I keep wanting to stuff my image of Jesus into the limitations of what I understand being a man to be all about. But because he is God, he draws on His knowledge of what heaven is like and what his Father is like. When he speaks, he speaks in human metaphors, but he is often talking about things no human has ever seen.

As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

John 9: 4-5

January 17, 2019January 16, 2019

The Works of God

Do you ever wonder what God does with his spare time? I mean sure, He created the universe and all that is in it, and he keeps the whole thing running day in and day out. He also hears everyone’s prayers and keeps busy answering prayer and giving prophets things to say. All of these things tell us who God is and inform us about God. But does he do more?

Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’

John 9: 3

January 16, 2019January 16, 2019

Defects

Today we begin a new chapter in John’s gospel, and with the new chapter comes a new scene. When we left Jesus he was arguing with a crowd of indeterminate size. In this scene, he is walking with his disciples. In the last chapter, he may have been in the temple grounds. In this chapter we do not know where he is, but we know he is in a place with people and as the story unfolds we see that he is near the temple, so he is probably still in Jerusalem.

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

John 9: 1-2

I wanted to stop the story here because I find the question that the disciples asked very interesting. They see a man born blind and they immediately conclude that the reason for his blindness was that someone sinned, either the man’s parents or somehow the blind man himself sinned. This was not a question in their minds, but a fact. The only question was whose sin caused the blindness.

January 15, 2019January 14, 2019

Stones

In verse 23 of this chapter, the Jews ask Jesus, “Who are you?” Finally, all of these verses later, he gives them a clear and unmistakable answer. “I am,” he says. He does not say, I am … Jesus; or I am … a man, but simply, “I am.”

Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

John 8: 56-59

When Moses first meets God at the burning bush, he asks Him his name:

January 14, 2019January 14, 2019

A Liar Like You

Not so long ago, when someone made a statement of questionable veracity, those listening might let it slide as a possible misstatement or simply a difference of opinion. Today, whenever someone disagrees with someone else it is common to hear (or read) the cry, “Liar!”

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.’

John 8: 54-55

So who gets to decide who is a liar and who isn’t? To accurately tell if a person is lying one has to know two things. First, was the statement made actually false, and second, did the person making a false statement make it knowingly? To my knowledge, only two people can ever know with certitude if a person was making a false statement intentionally. That would be the person who made the statement themselves, and someone who knows their innermost thoughts. This second party to knowing the truth is God. No one else on the planet can truly know what was intended when the statement was made.

January 13, 2019January 12, 2019

Who Does Jesus Think He IS?

Just prior to these two verses, Jesus says, “Whoever obeys my word will never see death.” After resorting to name calling again, the Jews Jesus is talking with finally ask a pertinent question: Who does Jesus think he is?

January 12, 2019January 11, 2019

Seeking Glory

One might say that seeking God’s glory is uplifting!

It is truly interesting how we as people can seek glory for ourselves in the name of serving our God. The allure of being the center of attention can be addictive. The Pharisees that argued with Jesus had fallen into that kind of trap. Being seen as important was more important to them than being seen serving God.

I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.

John 8: 50-51

Even Jesus, the one who deserves glory more than any other human being, does not seek it. There is no room in his heart for the desire of glory because He exists solely to serve his Father in heaven.

January 11, 2019January 10, 2019

Hicks

In my lifetime I have lived an amazing number of places. Some of those places have been exceptionally nice. Others have been… well… Hicksville. In Jesus’ day, people who lived in Samaria were considered hicks by people who lived in Jerusalem.

Technically Jesus was born in Bethlehem just south of Jerusalem, so he was every bit as “pure” as the Pharisees who derided him. Of course, he was raised in Galilee north of Samaria in a town called Nazareth. Not the most prestigious place on the planet, but not in Samaria, either. To suggest that Jesus was a Samaritan was an insult coming from a Jew, and to say that someone was demon-possessed was far worse than just an insult.

The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.”

Author: Jeff Englund