Jeff Englund

April 14, 2019April 13, 2019

Superhero – John 13: 4-5

…so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

A video or movie is nothing more than a series of still images strung together and shown in sequence. The pictures are shown one at a time. When this happens fast enough the pictures seem to blur together into one moving picture.

John’s gospel is a bit like a movie. Still pictures strung together into a moving narrative about Christ. Yet each picture is worth looking at. Today’s pictures come just after John tells us that Jesus has “all things” under his power. “All things,” in this context, means all things. All things on earth and in heaven. Imagine all the superheroes that have ever appeared in a comic or a movie combined into one. Their combined power would not even register on a power gauge calibrated for the power needed to control “all things.”

In today’s verse, this person with power over the entire universe steps into the role of the lowliest servant on earth. In terms of personal service to another human being, there was nothing more humble than to wash feet. This is what Jesus did.

April 13, 2019April 12, 2019

Mystery – John 13: 3

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God…

If this were a mystery story we would want to know what Jesus knew and when he knew it. John tells us what Jesus knew. He knows that all things are under his power. Presumably that means all things. Even Judas. Even the Romans.

John also tells us that Jesus knows where he had come from and where he was going. That alone is worth a blog post. Who among us knows where they are going? Do you know someone who has a plan for their life and is on a mission? Is this person spectacularly successful? Do they really know where they are going or is there an element of chance in their life?

The real mystery is how did Jesus know? Again and again, in John’s gospel John points to the fact that Jesus is more than just a man. He is a Traveler. He has come from someplace and is going someplace. His time in the Middle East was short but powerful. In three years Jesus changed the world forever.

April 12, 2019April 11, 2019

Prompting – John 13: 2

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

Today’s verse is in between the verses that say Jesus “loved his own” and the Father had “put all things under his power.” Jesus has love and has power. All power. Even so, Satan “prompts” Judas.

“Prompt” is an interesting word. It can mean “incite” or “suggest.” In school, I used to enjoy the opportunities for acting that came my way. My worst fear as an actor was forgetting my lines. Having someone to “prompt” me was a comfort. In today’s verse, the comfort was all Satan’s.

He was nudging Judas. “Remember…” he seems to be saying. Remember what? John does not detail how Judas went to the chief priests and negotiated a price for betraying Jesus. The other three gospels to tell that Judas sought out the opportunity to betray Jesus for money.

There is an important lesson here. Judas could have balked at this point. He could have turned back from what he had done. He could have chosen a different path. He could have confessed. But it would have been very hard. He had already let Satan into his heart. Who knows how long he had been nursing resentment toward Jesus? Who can know why he was tempted in the first place? John tells us that Judas was a thief. (John 12: 6) Could his decision to be unfaithful in a little thing have led to being unfaithful in a big thing?

April 11, 2019April 10, 2019

Agapaō – John 13: 1b

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The Greek word translated as “loved” in this verse is “agapaō.” Unlike English where we use the word, “love” for a variety of purposes, agapaō has a very specific meaning. The Strong’s Concordance defines this word as, “to love (in a social or moral sense).” This is not a possessive love, or a casual love, or even an emotional love. Agapaō is caring for someone who is not worth caring for. Agapaō is being patient with someone who doesn’t understand what you are trying to tell them. Agapaō is valuing a relationship in spite of the million obstacles that tend to come between people. Differences in opinions, beliefs, moods, wants, needs, and yes, even smell all conspire to frustrate love.

April 10, 2019April 9, 2019

Destinations – John 13: 1a

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.

Imagine that you are an interstellar traveler. You have a vehicle that is able to transport you across the galaxy so fast that you can travel from solar system to solar system in a few hours. Because you are able to go anywhere in the galaxy that you want, the earth becomes just a “destination.”

But the earth isn’t just a destination, is it? It is our world. It is the only place we know. Like a lifeboat in an infinite sea of space, we cling to our beautiful planet for dear life.

Now imagine that there is another world in another place that is not in the galaxy. In fact, it is not even in the universe. The universe is constructed inside of this other place as one might put a ship in a bottle and set it on the fireplace mantle. There is only one small problem with this other placed. To get there, you have to die.

Jesus came from this other place. He came by allowing Himself to be born into this world. He left by allowing himself to be put to death.

April 9, 2019April 8, 2019

Ambassador Jesus – John 12: 49-50

For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.

A good ambassador is one who is faithful to their mission. They speak only what they have been authorized to speak. They do not agree to anything that they have not received approval for.

This can be a tough job. Who doesn’t want to look good in front of people you are trying to impress? Life is so much easier if you can “grease the skids” a bit by agreeing to give up something to the people you are negotiating with. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Probably no one will ever find out. Really, who is going to care?

The temptation is real enough. It is hard to hold the line you have been told to hold, especially if you do not understand why the line is there. Our Lord understood the Father’s mission for Him. He was faithful to His mission in every way. He did not succumb to temptation, or bend to pressure. Our Lord held fast during His time on earth. He sets the bar high and challenges us to do the same.

April 8, 2019April 7, 2019

Consequences – John 12: 48-49

Sad picture of toy car upside down on a street.

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

Jesus is telling us something very important here. He has said that he did not come into the world to judge the world, but to save it. (Verse 47) In today’s verses, he explains what he means. Just because he is not going to judge people does not mean there is no judgment! Instead, the “judge” will be the words Jesus has spoken.

So how does this work?

In my job, I have to review collision reports for car crashes in our city. There is a parallel here that might help explain what is going on. I think it works something like this…

April 7, 2019April 7, 2019

Judged? – John 12: 47

If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Sometimes it feels like the pace of this blog could be picked up a bit. After all, how much detail can you expect from one verse? Well, quite a bit as it turns out.

Today’s verse turns the picture of God as JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE upside down. Instead of threatening plagues or floods, Jesus says he is not here to judge. What?

Is this the same God we read about in the Old Testament?

Well, yes.

It turns out that God had a plan to save the world from the very beginning. (Genesis 3: 15) Jesus could have come in chapter 4 of Genesis, but who would have crucified him and why? There needed to be an understanding established. God needed to explain what righteousness is, and what the cost of sin is. The animal sacrifices conducted by the early Jews demonstrated the messy, bloody, deadly price required for sin. The priesthood established by God acted as an intercessor between God and man. Both sacrifice and intercessor are needed.

Finally, the time was right, and Jesus entered the world. His job: Not to judge the world, but to save it.

April 6, 2019April 6, 2019

Fear – John 12: 46

Fear: Man running from light into darkness

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Why would anyone want to stay in darkness? I can think of one reason: They don’t want to be seen.

And why would someone want to avoid being seen: Maybe because they don’t want to get caught doing what they are doing?

To believe in the light is to want to be in the light. Not everyone who wants to be in the light can be. In Jesus’ day, slavery was rampant. The Jews themselves were subject to the Romans. Lives were difficult and physically demanding. Achieving wealth was possible only for the very few. Today we live in a deeply divided world. Not only are we divided by wealth into the haves and have nots, but we are divided by our fears.

Those who live in the darkness of their fears are sometimes trapped by those fears. Some want to get out. Some believe in the fear.

Jesus offers us an alternative to fear. It is as simple as believing in Jesus. When that happens, the light breaks in and the darkness starts to fade.

April 5, 2019April 4, 2019

WYSIWYG – John 12: 44-45

Then Jesus cried out, ”Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.”

In the early days of personal computing (This would have been late 80’s or early 90’s in my world) computers were sort of a glorified typewriter. Getting a paper printout that looked like a professionally typeset page was next to impossible. Even if the software you had was good enough, there was another level of frustration waiting in getting a printer to print what you wanted.

Then some genius came up with WYSIWYG. This stands for “What You See Is What You Get.” It was the beginning of being able to print what you saw on your computer screen and have it look exactly the same way on the printed page.

People in Jesus’ day were used to hearing what righteousness was supposed to be about. They just never seemed to see it in real life. Until Jesus. When Jesus started His ministry, people caught a glimpse of the Real Deal. God incarnate talked the talk and walked the walk. He forgave sins, he healed infirmities, he cast out demons and he confronted the phony-baloney establishment.