Tag Archives: Andrew Kikkert

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 October 8, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 34 – John 9:13-34

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Sunday – October 8, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – October 8, 2023

John 9:24-25
“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!“

Every college philosophy major has to take epistemology, which deals with the question, “How do you know what you know? How can we be sure about what we think we know? When anyone authoritatively states, “We know,” the obvious question is, “How do you know?” Often, when you examine the evidence, you discover that there are knowledgeable people on both sides of the issue. The obvious question remains, “How do you know what you think you know?”

When it comes to spiritual truth, the common view today is that there is no such thing as absolute truth in the spiritual realm. So any spiritual views that you hold are just a matter of your subjective opinion or personal experience, but there isn’t universal, absolute spiritual truth. If you claim that you know the truth and that all other views are wrong, you’ll be labeled as a narrow-minded bigot. Tolerance and open-mindedness, especially on spiritual matters, are the prevailing values of our day.

It’s easy to confuse religious traditions or rules with biblical mandates to the point where you assume that your traditions or rules are equal with Scripture. But you can end up denying a miracle, even if he’s standing right in front of you! Back in the hippie era, when most people dressed up in their nicest clothes to go to church, many older church members could not accept that a bearded, long-haired guy in tattered jeans, a T-shirt, and bare feet had really been converted. Why doesn’t he look like us and dress like us?  But they never stopped to question what the Bible says about how a Christian should look and dress. Wrong presuppositions based on religious rules hinder true spiritual knowledge.

The problem we see historically has become even more popular and pervasive today. Today, in the rugged individualism and relativism of our culture, the truth is whatever I as an individual want and define it to be. Truth is my truth, truth as I want it. The first thing we must do is to confess our blindness, our rejection of the truth, and submit ourselves to Him who alone is the truth, the way, and the life. When we accept God’s Word as the truth, and Jesus as the Word, then we will confess Him to be the Son of God, just as the once-blind man did. And when we trust in Him as the One who died for our sins on the cross of Calvary (and rose from the dead), then we become a child of God, whose sins are forgiven, and whose destiny is heaven. I pray that you have come to trust in Him, and that if you have not, God will grant you no rest nor peace till you come to “see” the truth in Him who is the truth.