Author: Jeff Englund

John 8: 19-20

“Then they asked him, “Where is your father?’

“You do not know me or my Father,’ Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.”

 

Jesus was raised by Joseph, but Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father. In a sense, Joseph was a “stepfather” to Jesus. However, it would probably be more accurate to say that Joseph was a “stand-in father” because God picked him to “stand in” for Him in raising His Son.  Continue reading “Fathers”

John 8: 13-18

” The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.’

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.'”

 

Back in chapter 5, we did a series on how many witnesses were required to establish something according to the law. In this passage, Jesus takes another approach to the question of testimony. One of the things he points out is that he knows where he came from. Interestingly, the Pharisees could not get their head around the facts. In the first place, Jesus “came from” Nazareth only in the sense that that is where he lived when he started his ministry. He was actually born in Bethlehem. Then there is the fact that Jesus originally came from heaven to be here on earth. This concept totally blew past the Pharisees.  Continue reading “Traveler”

John 8: 12

” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

 

There are a lot of things Jesus says that might be considered subtle. Take his parables for example; you have to think about them to discern their meaning. They are often quite subtle. Of course, some of them were less so, but at the very least their meaning was veiled in metaphor. Not so in this verse.

Here Jesus says quite bluntly and plainly: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Continue reading “Unsubtle”

John 8: 9 – 11

” At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’

‘No one, sir,’ she said.

‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.'”

Imagine, if you will, that you have been hauled before the judge and accused of a horrible and heinous crime. The evidence was twisted to make what seemed like what you did was worse than it really was. Instead of condemning you, the judge looks at your accusers and tells them that whichever one of them has never broken a law of any kind may be the one to cast you into prison. Continue reading “Uncondemned”

John 8: 6b-8

” But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.”

God is definitely one very cool dude. I apologize if that sounds disrespectful. It is not meant that way. It is a little lingo from my youth. (Yes, I’m getting to the “Older Than Dirt” end of the age spectrum.)

Confronted with what amounts to an unsolvable puzzle meant to trap Jesus into either (A) Confirming the Covenant Law given by Moses and being guilty of breaking the Roman law, or (B) choosing to honor the Roman law governing Judea and disavowing the laws given by Moses under the Covenant Law instituted on Mt. Sinai, Jesus bends down and ignores the whole situation.

Talk about cool! Continue reading “Let ‘Em Sweat”

John 7:53-8:6a

” Then they all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”

 

Imagine going to work in the morning knowing that you will be publicly challenged by the boss, the bosses’ boss, the police, and the city council, and also knowing that their intentions are to humiliate and ridicule you before your friends and coworkers. Imagine also that you know that they would really, really like to see you dead. Do you go to work anyway? You do if you are the Son of God! Continue reading “Ambush!”

John 7: 49-52

“‘ No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?’ They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.'”

 

Yesterday we examined the topic of rationalizing what one believes. The Pharisees had decided that Jesus was a deceiver because he had people convinced he was the Messiah when he did not follow the Sabbath laws. (The idea that God was not subject to the laws of man obviously hadn’t occurred to them.)

In this passage, Nicodemus tries to reason with his own kind, Pharisee to Pharisee. Continue reading “Plots”

John 7: 47- 48

 “‘ You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. ‘Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?’”

 

Yesterday Nathan commented, “ … even the Pharisee’s couldn’t avoid the fact that something supernatural was going on – they just responded by claiming it was the power of Satan.” Yes, even the Jewish leaders could not deny the signs that Jesus did, but they could rationalize about why he was able to do them. If he wasn’t the Messiah, and they could not afford for Him to be the Messiah, then he must represent the other major supernatural power that they know about, Satan. Anyone who doesn’t “see” this “truth” has been “deceived.”  Continue reading “Rationalization”

John 7: 32, 44-46

” The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?’

“No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied.”

 

The way John tells this part of the story makes me smile. In verse 32 he tells us about the temple guards being sent out to arrest Jesus. It is not until twelve verses later the temple guards show up again without Jesus. What were they doing all of this time?

Apparently, based on what they told the Pharisees, they had been listening to Jesus. Think about that for a moment. Armed men sent out to arrest Jesus are stopped from doing their job by the power of what Jesus was saying.  Continue reading “Power”

John 7: 40-43

” On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

Others said, “He is the Messiah.’

Still, others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?’ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.”

What do we know about Jesus so far from John’s Gospel? He has changed water into wine in Cana. He has cured diseases and made the blind see. He tells people that their sins are forgiven. He cleaned house in the temple courtyard. He has gathered people to him called disciples who are convinced he is someone special. Oh, and he is really good at ticking off the Pharisees.  Continue reading “Incognito II”