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Sunday August 25, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 75 – John 21:15-17 “Serving and Loving Jesus”

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Sunday – August 25, 2024

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Word On Worship – Sunday – August 25, 2024

John 21:17
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.

I believe the best way to understand verses 1-14 is in terms of evangelism—being fishers of men. But it is not enough to simply bring a lost sinner to faith in Jesus Christ; that person should also be discipled, and thus brought to maturity in Christ. This seems to be implicit in the Great Commission. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these do?” Our Lord’s addition of the words, “more than these do,” really got to the heart of the matter. Peter could truthfully affirm that he did love Jesus, but he would not go so far as to claim that his love was greater than that of his fellow-disciples. He also speaks of his love in terms of the Savior’s assessment of it: “Yes, Lord, You know I love You.” To this our Lord replied, “Feed My lambs.”

How Peter wished that Jesus would leave it at that. Peter was grieved because he realized that the bold and even arrogant claims he had made proved to be empty. Peter is not distressed with Jesus; he is grieved over his own sin. Jesus is not attempting to shame Peter; he is seeking to reaffirm his call to service. Did Jesus question Peter about his love for Him three times? Then note that three times Jesus instructed Peter to care for His sheep. Does Peter fear he has been cast aside as useless? Jesus tells him to return to His work, three times!

Peter really did love Jesus. But Peter needed to understand that his love for the Savior was not as great as he thought, just as his ability to catch fish was not as great as he seemed to think.  Even in the thing Peter did best (fishing), he could not hold a candle to Jesus, who proved to be far better at fishing than he. The way I understand verses 15-19 is something like this: “Peter, do you really love Me as much as you say? Then prove your love for Me by taking care of My sheep.” Jesus is the “Good Shepherd,” Who cares for His sheep. If Peter really loves his Lord, then his passion will be the Lord’s passion. Jesus came to be the “Good Shepherd.” If Peter really loves the Lord, he will be a good shepherd, and shepherds shepherd by feeding the lambs, by caring for the weakest and most vulnerable of the flock.

You become like the people you love. The things they love, you love. If Peter really loves his Lord, Who is the Good Shepherd, then Peter will surely seek to shepherd in the same way. He will seek the lost sheep (evangelism). He will feed and tend the young and vulnerable lambs (discipleship). And, like the Good Shepherd, he will lay down his life for the sheep. Love manifests itself in service—humble, sacrificial, service.

Sunday August 11, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 73 – John 20:24-31 “Seeing and Believing”

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Sunday – August 11, 2024

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Word On Worship – Sunday – August 11, 2024

John 20:30-31
Many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

The disciples seem to have been convinced of our Lord’s resurrection, except for Thomas who was not there. He did not see the resurrected Lord, nor did he behold the Savior’s wounded hands and side. And so it was that when Thomas was told that Jesus had appeared to them, he refused to believe. He insisted that in order for him to believe, he would have to see Jesus with his own eyes. He would have to personally inspect the Lord’s nail-pierced hands and His pierced side. Only then would he believe. Before we become too harsh with Thomas, let me remind you that the other disciples did not believe until they saw, either. Thomas is really demanding to see the same things that convinced the others. He is not asking for anything more than what the others saw.

Eight days passed and the disciples were all together once again, including Thomas. The doors were locked, but in spite of this Jesus arrived and stood in their midst. Jesus repeats the greeting He gave at His earlier appearance, “Peace be with you” (verses 19, 21). Immediately, Jesus turns His attention to Thomas. He summons Thomas to come and to put his finger where the nails had pierced His hands, and to feel His side where the spear had pierced it. He challenged Thomas to forsake his unbelief and to believe.

We do not know whether Thomas actually pressed his fingers into our Lord’s nail-pierced hands or not. Since John does not tell us that Thomas actually felt the wounds of our Lord, it may well be that after seeing Jesus alive he no longer required this proof. It may have taken this sight to convince Thomas, but once convinced, Thomas got it right. He does not merely profess a belief that Jesus has risen from the dead. Thomas professes to believe in what the resurrection proved—that Jesus was God, and that He was Lord (verse 28).

The contrast Jesus seeks to emphasize is between those who must see in order to believe, and those who will believe without seeing. Peter seems to take up this same thought in his first epistle: “You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9). It is not too hard to see what John is leading up to. John is writing this Gospel for those who have never seen the risen Lord. He has selected just a few of the many miraculous signs Jesus performed to demonstrate that Jesus is who He claimed to be.

Sunday August 4, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 72 – John 20:19-23 “Mission Possible”

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Sunday – August 4, 2024

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Word On Worship – Sunday – August 4, 2024

John 20:26-27
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

John’s gospel deals with four of our Lord’s four post-resurrection appearances in the Gospel of John. The first appearance is to Mary Magdalene, and the next three are to the disciples. Jesus will appear to Mary Magdalene (20:10-18), then to the disciples, minus Thomas (20:19-23), then to the disciples, with Thomas (20:26-29), and finally to the seven disciples, including Thomas, who were fishing on the Sea of Tiberias (21:1ff.). What is striking to me is that we do not really know a great deal about the time between our Lord’s resurrection and His ascension.

When you stop to think about it, a significant portion of each of the Gospels is taken up with the events of the last week of our Lord in Jerusalem. And yet, the 40 days following our Lord’s resurrection gets very little attention in comparison. The material we do have about this period is not meant to satisfy our curiosity about all that happened during this time, but is recorded to prove one important fact: Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father!

Of the details we do find regarding our Lord’s ministry after His resurrection, a number of them are recorded only in Acts and 1 Corinthians. I am not sure why I had concluded that my understanding of the post-resurrection period was dependent solely upon the Gospels. It was probably due, in part, to my assumption that if one Gospel didn’t mention something I knew about this time period, it was because it was recorded in one of the other three Gospels.

If it were not for Acts 1 and 1 Corinthians 15, we would not know nearly as much about the Lord’s ministry during the 40 days following His resurrection. From Acts 1:3 we learn that during this time, Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom of God which was yet to come. While our Lord’s instruction to His disciples to wait for the coming of the Spirit can be found in Luke’s Gospel (24:49), we probably remember this command from Acts 1:4-5. Apart from 1 Corinthians 15:5, we would not know that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time after His resurrection. It is from Paul (1 Corinthians 15:5), as well as from Luke (24:34), that we know Jesus made a private appearance to Peter. We would certainly not expect the replacement for Judas to be Saul, to whom our Lord made another (albeit, a later) post-resurrection appearance (1 Corinthians 15:8). A great part of what little we know of this period in our Lord’s life and ministry comes from outside the Gospels.

Sunday June 2, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 64 – John 18:1-11 “Jesus Lord at Thy Death”

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Sunday – June 2, 2024

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Word On Worship – Sunday – June 2, 2024

John 18:4-5
So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.”

In chapter 18, John’s Gospel describes the betrayal, arrest, and initial appearances of our Lord before Annas and Pilate. Never before have I appreciated how much earlier events paved the way for this crucial moment in history. We should recall that Jesus not only foretold His death, but also indicated that He would die by crucifixion (3:14; 8:28; 12:34), after having been betrayed by one of His own disciples (13:18, 21). The Jewish religious leaders were committed to our Lord’s death as well, but they were determined that He would die at a different time (not during the feast) and in a different way (stoning).

They did not want to try to take Jesus into custody in public, nor during the feast, lest the crowds riot. The population of Jerusalem had swollen considerably during the feast, due to all the pilgrims who came to celebrate Passover. Since messianic hopes ran very high at this time, Rome was very much on alert during this religious holiday. Pilate, who normally lived in Caesarea, would remain in Jerusalem, along with a sizeable army, lest a riot break out. To attempt to arrest Jesus during the feast would be foolish, and the religious leaders were determined not to make fools of themselves one more time. But Jesus was in control, forcing His adversaries to act in a way that was contrary to their plan.

We should not be surprised, then, that when we come to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of our Lord, John makes it very clear that Jesus is the One who is in control—not the Roman soldiers, not the Jewish religious leaders, not the mob, not Judas, and certainly not the disciples. Jesus is in control. And so it is that He confronts those who seek to arrest Him. So it is that they fall down before Him. So it is also that Jesus prevents a massacre and secures the release of His disciples. Jesus is able to bring about His death at just the right time, and in just the right manner, even though the Jews wanted to stone Him at some time other than during Passover. Jesus is Lord at His death, just as He was Lord at His birth.

Jesus is always Lord, as He is Lord at this very moment. I think many of us who profess to be Christians need to be reminded of this fact daily. Does our world seem chaotic and out of control? When governments start wars, when leaders die or are removed from office, when stock market fears send some into a state of panic, we need to be reminded that our Lord is employing “all things” to bring about His perfect plan.

Sunday May 26, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 63 – John 17: 23-26 “Blessings Now Heaven Ahead”

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Sunday – May 26, 2024

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Word On Worship – Sunday – May 26, 2024

John 17:24
“Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory you have given Me because You loved me before the creation of the world.”

In the introduction to this Gospel, John wrote, “No one has ever seen God. The only One, himself God, who is in the presence of the Father, has made God known” (John 1:18). Our Lord’s mission in life was to make the Father known to men. That He has done. Soon, our Lord will have completed His mission of providing an atonement for sin. But at this moment, He is dwelling on the fact that He has revealed the Father to men. His disciples have gotten the message; they have come to believe that the Father did send Jesus down to earth from heaven.

From Jesus’ words in our text, as well as from other texts in the Bible, we can safely say that there are at least two “glories.” There was, for our Lord, the glory of His humiliation at the incarnation and of His sacrificial service in His life and death on earth. But there is also His “future glory,” the glory that will be restored to Him, with interest, because of His obedient service and sacrifice. We should likewise look upon our earthly trials and difficulties as our present “glory,” while we anxiously await our future glory in heaven with Him.

This recognition that there are two glories solves what has been a real mystery for me. I have always been troubled by these words, written by Paul: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Paul is writing about the great glory of the New Testament ministry which God has given us under the New Covenant, a ministry of the Spirit. He contrasts the glory of his apostolic ministry “in the Spirit” with the previous but inferior glory of Moses’ ministry “of the Law” under the Old Covenant. The ministry of Moses was glorious, but it was a “fading glory.” That is why he placed a veil over his “glowing” face. That glowing face grew dim over time, because that glory faded.

Paul says that the glory of New Testament ministry is unfading. And every time the gospel is proclaimed, and people trust in Jesus as the Messiah, the veil is removed. With “unveiled face,” we are transformed from glory to glory. I think he is saying that we are being transformed from this present glory (of suffering for Christ’s sake) to the even greater glory of Heaven. We are being transformed from the earthly glory of suffering for Christ to the heavenly glory of reigning with Christ. I wonder how many of us are really ready and willing to speak of suffering as glory. Jesus did. The apostles did. I think that tells us how our thinking should change in regard to suffering for Christ’s sake.

Sunday September 10, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 28 – John 7:53 – 8:11 “Drawing A Picture of the Gospel”

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Sunday – September 10, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – September 10, 2023

John 8:12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles. At that same feast, the Jews performed a ceremony where they lit four huge candelabras or torches in the Court of the Women in the temple, commemorating the fact that the Lord had been a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night to protect and guide Israel in their wilderness wanderings for 40 years. That cloud appeared on the day when Israel left Egypt, standing as a barrier between them and Pharaoh’s armies on the night before they crossed the Red Sea. Then as it went with them in that wilderness, it was a graphic symbol of the fact that the Lord God was with His people.

In the Old Testament, the Jews recognized the pillar and the cloud as the Lord (Exodus 13 & 14). Furthermore, light is often used as a metaphor for God. Psalm 27:1 proclaims, “The Lord is my light and my salvation ….” In a prophecy about Jesus Christ, Isaiah 9:2 predicts, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.” In Isaiah 42:6, the Lord tells His Servant, the Messiah, that He has appointed Him to be “a light to the nations” (or, “world,” in John 8:12).

As I consider Jesus as the “Light of the world,” I am reminded of the conversion of Saul as described three times in the Book of Acts. Saul, who would become Paul, was the personification of the unbelieving Jews we find in John’. He thought he was serving God as he persecuted Christians, just as the Pharisees thought they were serving God by persecuting Jesus. Paul was saved when our Lord intercepted him on a mission to arrest more Christians. Saul was blinded by the “light” of the glory of the resurrected Jesus, whom he persecuted as he persecuted the church of our Lord. That “light” blinded Saul for three days. It was after this three-day period of blindness that Ananias came to him with the gospel, and Saul was saved.

Our text reminds us that while Saul’s conversion was extraordinary in some ways, it is typical in others. We, like Paul, are blinded by our own sin. We oppose God, we oppose Jesus Christ, we oppose the people of God because we do not like the light; we do not want the light. And all the while we are deceived into believing that we’re doing the right thing. If it were not for God’s “enlightening” us, for His seeking us out, for Him opening our blind eyes, we would never see. If you have come to see Jesus as your Savior, remember that it was He who found you, He who gave sight to your spiritually blind eyes.

Sunday July 2, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 22 – John 6:1-15 “Look Who Is Coming to Dinner”

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Sunday – July 2, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – July 2, 2023

John 6:5-6
Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”  This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

When I began as a pastor 24 years ago, I was extremely unsure about whether I could do the job. I didn’t know whether I could come up with new sermons week after week without running dry. I wasn’t sure about whether I could adequately shepherd God’s flock or fulfill the other demands of the position. So, I told the Lord, “I’ll try it for a while and see where I’m at.” Although many weeks I still feel so overwhelmed with inadequacy that I think about quitting, by God’s grace alone, I’m still serving as a pastor.

No text in the New Testament has helped me do what I do as much as the story of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. Aside from the resurrection of our Lord, the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle found in all four of the Gospels. It’s not just a literal miracle witnessed by thousands of people. It’s also a parable with many lessons about the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ to meet the vast needs of the world through His inadequate disciples. Although they were completely inadequate to meet the needs of this hungry crowd, they gave the little that they had to the Lord, who blessed it and multiplied it so that they could distribute it to the people. That’s been my experience for nearly a quarter of century.

The lesson I have learned through this is  that Jesus commands us to do more than we are (humanly) able, because He is the One who enables us to do what He commands. The disciples are inclined to shirk their responsibility to feed these folks because the task is “impossible.” Jesus does not let them off the hook, but rather lays the responsibility for feeding the 5,000 at their feet. What the disciples are not able to do on their own, they accomplish by the power of Jesus Christ. And not only are they able to feed this crowd so that all are filled, they even end up with a surplus.

God ministers through our weakness. He does not select “strong” people so that He can use their strengths; He chooses weak people so that He can demonstrate His power through their weakness (1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5). He gives us tasks which we do not have the strength to do ourselves, because He gives us His strength to carry them out. We are to be about this task, in whatever ways God puts before us. Let us see the magnitude of the mission as the occasion for faith, obedience, and prayers, and not as an excuse for apathy and idleness.

Sunday April 9, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 13– John 3:22-30 “Jealousy and Joy”

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Sunday – April 9, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – April 9, 2023

Romans 4:23-25
“Now not for his [Abraham’s] sake only was it written that it [faith] was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

If I were to ask, “What is the most crucial question for which you would like a definitive answer?” we would probably get many different answers. Some might say, “What career path should I pursue?” Others may say, “Whom should I marry?” Or, “Where can I find a decent-paying job?” Some might want to know, “How can I live longer with good health?” These are all important questions, of course. But as I’ve often said, the most crucial question that we all must answer is Jesus’ question to His disciples (Matt. 16:15), “But who do you say that I am?” Your answer to that question not only determines how you will live the rest of your life, but also where you will spend eternity.

The correct answer to that question largely rests on the historic fact that Jesus rose bodily from the grave. If that is really true, then He is who He claimed to be, the eternal Son of God in human flesh, the Lord of all creation, who is coming to judge the living and the dead. That means that you must trust in Him as your Savior and bring all of your thoughts, words, and deeds under His lordship. If you trust in Him as your risen Lord and Savior, He promised that you will spend eternity with Him.

In the Book of Romans, Paul says that Jesus “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). This does not mean that He became the Son of God through the resurrection, but rather that the resurrection distinguished Jesus to be who He is, the eternal Son of God. By virtue of His resurrection, Jesus was appointed to be seated at God’s right hand of power. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11).

Paul’s reference to “Jesus our Lord” in Romans 4:23-25 emphasizes again both His deity and His humanity. Jesus took on human flesh so that He could bear our sins, but He did not give up His deity. He is the Lord. When Paul says that Jesus “was delivered over because of our transgressions,” he means that Jesus died to pay the just penalty for our sins. When he says that Jesus “was raised because of our justification,” he means that when God raised Jesus, He put His seal of approval on Christ’s death as obtaining our justification. Because Jesus was raised, we can know that God accepted His substitutionary death on the cross, so that if we believe in Jesus our sins are upon Him.

Sunday March 5, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 9– John 2:12-22 “Jesus Cleans House”

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Sunday – March 5, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – March 5, 2023

John 2:15-16
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

All of us have owned something we consider very special, something we would not wish to be “defiled” by misuse. Whatever this precious object may be, it could not be as precious to us as the “temple” was to our Lord. John considered this incident one of the more significant actions of our Lord at the outset of His public ministry. Our task is to learn why this is true, and what the temple cleansing has to do with men and women living centuries later.

John does not focus on the way in which these merchandisers go about their business, but rather on where they are conducting their business—in the temple courts. The Gospel of Mark’s Gospel takes up this theme as well, pointing out that “where” these businessmen are doing business interferes with an essential purpose of the temple. The temple was to be a “house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17). The outer courts of the temple are the only places where Gentiles could worship, they were not allowed to pass beyond a certain point (Acts 21:27-30). Can you imagine trying to pray in the midst of a virtual stockyard, with all the noises of the animals and the bickering businessmen? Think of what it would be like to have to watch where you walked, lest you step in something undesirable?

What Jesus sees going on in the temple courts troubles Him a great deal! The place of prayer has become a place of profit-taking.  It appears that Gentile worship is functionally prohibited, and I doubt this troubled many of the Jews, who were not excited about including the Gentiles in their worship in the first place. It sounds more like the trading floor of a stock exchange than the outer courts of the temple of God. It smells more like a barnyard than the place where one would seek God’s presence. Jesus enters the outer court of the temple, fashioning a whip from materials at hand and proceeds to drive the vendors all out of the temple area.

Many like to think of Jesus as a “God of love,” who never criticizes, never judges, never condemns, whose calling is to affirm everyone and to make them happy. I must remind you the way our Lord chose to publicly reveal Himself to the world was not by the turning of water into wine, or by raising the dead or healing the sick; Jesus revealed Himself to Israel as her Messiah by His cleansing of the temple. I would remind you that while John the Baptist foretold the coming of one who was the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” he likewise urged men and women to repent, because the Messiah was coming to judge the world. The Jesus of the Bible, the “real Jesus,” is the One who is merciful and gracious to those who trust and obey and the One who will judge those who resist and reject Him.

Sunday January 15, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 2 – John 1:1-5 “What Child is This”

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Sunday – Date

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Word On Worship – Sunday – Date

John 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

John begins his Gospel in stunning fashion by never mentions Jesus’ name until verse 17, but it becomes clear right away that he is talking about Jesus. Rather than beginning with the story of His birth, John confronts us with His deity in eternity. John’s prologue provides us with insights which enhance our understanding and appreciation of the birth narratives in the Gospel of Matthew and Luke. These two Gospels highlight the humanity of our Lord, without denying His deity. John’s Gospel highlights the deity of Jesus Christ, without minimizing His humanity.

The truths John sets out in his prologue are not only foundational to his Gospel, but foundational to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. While the other Gospels build up to the realization that Jesus of Nazareth is God incarnate, John blurts it all out at the beginning of his work. Jesus is “the Word,” the God who existed from eternity, who was present and active at creation. And, wonder of wonders, the Word who existed in eternity past with the Father took on human flesh at the incarnation. He is the source of light (truth) and of (eternal) life. Through Him, grace and truth are abundantly provided by the Father.

Because He is the eternal God, we should believe in Him and submit everything in our lives to Him as the Sovereign Lord. Because He is the Creator, we should worship Him as we see His handiwork in what He has made. If His life is in us, our salvation is secure. Because He is our life, we should be filled with hope because we will spend eternity with Him. Because He is our light, we should let Him shine into every decision we make and into every area of our lives. If you want to know God, look to Jesus, the eternal Word of God!

John does not tell us the “old, old, story” of the birth of our Lord. Instead, he chooses to tell us that this One born of the virgin Mary was, as the prophet Micah said, one “whose goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2b). What John tells us sheds a whole new light on what we read when God incarnate entered His creation. He chooses to tell us that this birth was a unique event in history, never to be repeated, and always to be the source of great wonder, joy, and gratitude. May you know what it is like for God to dwell in you, to His glory and for your eternal good.