Three Minute Bible

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.

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019

Secret Admirer – John 12: 42-43

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

What good is a “secret admirer?” I don’t know if I have ever had one, but I have been one. There were a few girls whom I admired during my school years but never asked out on a date. They seemed above my station I suppose. Does it do a girl any good to have an admirer she doesn’t know about?

April 3, 2019April 2, 2019

Puzzle – John 12: 38- 41

This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

”Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

”He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
    nor understand with their hearts,
    nor turn—and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

There is a lot in this short passage from Isaiah. John includes these words from long ago because they refer to a human condition rather than a particular time and place.

So what is the condition that Isaiah is referring to? Unbelief?

April 2, 2019April 1, 2019

Accepting Change – John 12: 37

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

What is it going to take to get you to believe?

Skeptics are a hard lot to convince of anything. Skeptics with a vested interest in being skeptical are even harder to convince. A believer in a false construct is the hardest to convince of all.

Where do such beliefs come from? How do people get drawn into them? Why do they stay?

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.”