We MUST

John 9, I believed, happened six days after John 8. Perhaps Jesus spent some time in Bethany with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for a few days. He got out of Jerusalem to avoid being stoned. But, He came back because had to. It was a Sabbath. Jesus normally got in trouble on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath police were always watching to stop Him from some good work He was sent to do by the Lord of the Sabbath. The occasion this time was a blind man. He had been blind since birth, and old enough to speak for himself. So let's say he was at least 20. He had a pretty good head on his shoulders. He was pretty tough and did not back down from the Pharisees, and even was kicked out of the synagogue, i.e. excommunicated. The scene begins with Jesus' disciples asking Jesus who sinned to cause this man to be born blind. They saw two possibilities, either the man himself or his parents. The first was pretty ridiculous. The second was possible. Maybe mom was a heavy drinker and this man was born with the effects of alcohol fetal syndrome that produced blindness. I don't know if that happens, but I remember somewhere in my upbringing being warned about drinking moonshine because it would make you go blind. No doubt this was a much debated theological issue, much like the question the woman in John 4 asked about where folks should worship. Jesus rarely got pulled too deeply into these questions. And on our occasion He turned the conversation back to a more productive path. We can become so caught up in "cause" that we miss "purpose." If they had spent all day discussing the cause of this man's blindness, he would have still been blind at the end of the day. Jesus, in the words of the country song, wants a lot less talk and a lot more action.

So the purpose was, that whatever the cause of this man's blindness, there is an opportunity to display the work of God in his life. Jesus is about making a difference. Jesus set in motion a series of events that may have not stopped even to this day. Who knows if there may be some descendant of this man who still roams the earth today proclaiming the works of God! It started with a theological conversation. But, Jesus stopped, spat, made mud, put it on a very surprised man, told him to wash, and sat back and watched the action. I was reminded recently of a tract that I gave out when I was a child. It was titled "A better world begins with me" by Becky Burris. I guess I had it in my heart even at 10 to make a difference in the world. So when I look at the child welfare system, or the fire department, or the church, or Drug Free Youth, or Joshua Village, or Haiti I see opportunity for the work of God to be displayed. God's glory MUST be spread throughout the world. It is spread by the work we do in partnership with Jesus. Many see CAN'T. Jesus saw MUST. Many ask HOW. Jesus says MUST. Many say WAIT. Jesus says NOW. It is day. Night is coming. Time is running out. We MUST make the most of the opportunities we have NOW. The lives of the children we serve can be eternally changed if we do not look so much at the obstacles as we look at the possibilities with God's help. We are partners with Jesus. We are junior partners. He is supplies the capital. He provides the wisdom. He provides the miracle. We just work. Yesterday, like the story of Daniel who was allowed to sit in a key place in two world empires, God took me in three years from being a guest to sitting in the inner circle where differences are made. But, why? So that His work can be displayed. So that his work gets done. The children of circuit 12 and the children of Haiti and Kenya are His children, and He is their Father, and they are crying out to Him for mercy and help and life. Surely we MUST answer the call and work while it is day before the long eternal night comes.

I AM

John 8 is the morning after the last day of the Feast of Booths. John 7 and 8 are set in a very short period of time in the life of Jesus, in the temple courts of Jerusalem. The setting is about six months before His death, burial and resurrection. He is under severe attack but His time was not yet come. He sees various reactions from his audience which includes 1) major speculations as to His identity; 2) conviction of sin as they walked away from the adulterous woman; 3) superficial faith in Him; 4) anger and debate over His provocative words; 5) and the attempt to stone Him. In the mix of all these reactions Jesus gives them and us profound words that lead to the grand conclusion in 8:58, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM." I see this statement as the crescendo of this section, if not the crescendo of Jesus' teaching. One of the essentials of Jesus' teaching, around which much of the Gospels spin, is His absolute identity. There is no getting this wrong. There is no almost. There is no maybes. Jesus is the great I AM. His existence was, is, and is to come. He lives in the eternal NOW. He is the only Necessary Being. There is no contingency in Him. He is not "like" and "as" God. He is God. He will not accept casual faith. When it exists He challenges it, tests it to see if it will affirm the great truth of His Deity. In this case it did not. The stones that might have been used to execute a sinful woman was now being raised to execute the Holy One of Israel. No wonder Jesus would not entrust Himself to men. Look at the fickleness they exhibit. They swing from wanting to kill a lawbreaker to wanting to kill the law-giver.

A crescendo needs music that leads to that end. Jesus provides that music, scored in the text of John 8. Jesus builds on the theme of His Divine Nature throughout the day. Here are a few. 8:11-Jesus has the choice not to condemn sin; 8:12-He is the light of the world that prevents us from walking in darkness; 8:14-He is the one who knows where He comes from and where He is going; 8:16-His judgments are supported by God; 8:18-His Father bears witness to Him; 8:19-His opponents know neither the Son nor the Father; 8:21-22-He is going where they cannot follow; 8:23-He is from above, not of this world; 8:24-If people believe in Him they can avoid dying in their sins; 8:26-What He hears from His Father He tells to the world; 8:28-He was taught by the Father; 8:29-He does what pleases the Father; 8:31-Truth will set them free if they abide in His words; 8:36-He is the one who makes people free indeed; 8:38-He does what He saw His Father doing; 8:40-He heard truth from His Father; 8:42-He proceeded forth from His Father; 8:46-He had no sin they could convict Him of; 8:49-He honors His Father; 8:50-He can cause people to never see death; 8:54-He is glorified by the Father; 8:55-Jesus knows the Father; 8:56-Abraham saw Him. CRESCENDO! I AM.

I have a Master's degree in Christian Apologetics. I studied the proofs for God, Jesus, the Bible and the Christian faith. But, no one ever spoke the way Jesus did. His approach to apologetics is unique. He makes His own case in His own way. He lays out the evidences for His Deity based mostly on relational phrases, His relationship to and knowledge of His Father. He demonstrates His intimacy with the Father in the way He speaks of His Father. He also speaks confidently of what He has received from His Father, and what He has come to do in the lives of the people He is speaking to. He does not shrink from speaking truths that might be misunderstood or by dumbing them down. He seeks to pull people up to God and truth by proclaiming it. Each statement Jesus makes is calculated to challenge His hearers to believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that believing they might have life in His name (John 20:30-31). I suggest we cannot improve on Jesus' own words. We need not filter them. We simply need to repeat them. They are true and relevant simply because Jesus is the Great I AM, the one for all times and all circumstances.

Father or father?

In making my way through John 8 and Jesus' discourse with the Jews of His day, the disconnect continues. There are two different languages being spoken. All this talk about "who is my father?" seems to dominate the focus. "Father" carries with it authority, legitimacy, nature, and future expectations. To establish paternity when we are trying to match our DNA with God's DNA is a big deal. A small illustration would be if you were a candidate to inherit a billion dollar estate if you could prove you were a descendent of the deceased. The lab tech takes the swab and begins the test. You wait in anticipation to see the results, proof that you are the heir. Why would that be a big deal to you? A matched DNA carries with it authority, legitimacy, nature and future expectations. When all of these are rolled up together they spell power. God's DNA inside of us is so much more important that the DNA of a billionaire. This was what was at stake. The problem was that there were illegitimate interlopers, Satan and these Jews, who did not have the proper DNA but they thought they did or should, and did not want to admit they had no claim on the Father's blessings. They were children of fornication, i.e. bastards.

These terms seem so out of place today. We want all people to think they are legitimate spiritually. Even in the natural realm it is odd to hear anyone speak of a child born out of wedlock as being a child of fornication, or a bastard child. It is downright offensive. And, of course it is not technically the child who is illegitimate. It was the union that conceived the child that was illegitimate. The only proper lineage to God is one born within marriage. As long as the Jewish system held to the teachings and purposes of God, being true children of Abraham, their children were legit and their inheritance was legit. But, they prostituted themselves with idols, and then rejected the true Messiah, making their union with God a sham and a shame, and producing children from another father, the devil. This teaching coming from the mouth of Jesus as truth was extremely offensive to the Jews. No wonder they wanted to stone Him.

The evidence of God's DNA in a person is whether His word is in them. God's DNA is in His word. And it is only if that word and Word (Jn.1;1ff) dwells within a person that they are legitimate heirs of the Father and of Abraham. Jesus searched the hearts (he took a DNA swab) of the Jews and found no word and no Word in them. He did find evidence of another person's DNA there, one characterized by lies and murder (hatred). Since all children are born of desire (sexual/love), then there should be evidence of the type of desire that produced the offspring. Was it carnal and fleshly only or was it of love and spiritual? Flesh gives birth to flesh. Spirit gives birth to sprit. Jesus saw the DNA of the devil, a purely carnal and fleshly desire that sought to make those who should have been the legitimate offspring of the woman into little copies of himself (Read Rev.12). In Satan's fury he now seeks to implant and supplant his DNA into the hearts of all making them heirs of hell with him. Jesus is offering an alternative, and a return to their legitimate rights as sons (to all who believed in Him he gave the right to become children of God, John 1:12).

Plugged and Unplugged

John 8:35 is a difficult passage. "And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever." Remember context is everything when tackling such matters. Jesus tells us that anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. So the slave in verse 35 is the one who commits sin. But, the text does say that the slave is in the house, though he does not remain there forever. The audience is Jewish. Jewish sinner-slaves are in the house but will not remain there forever unless they become sons. Is this what Jesus is saying? The special place of the Jews in God's plan is sometimes difficult to fit into the teachings of the gospel. It seems to me that those who lived prior to Jesus' arrival were putting their faith in the one who was to come. Abraham's faith was in the one promised to be a blessing to the whole world (Gen.12). But what of those alive when Jesus came. They were confronted with a different component of faith, i.e. the one who was to come had come, and was standing before them. It was no longer faith in a coming Messiah, it was faith in a present Messiah, and they rejected Jesus as being that coming and present Messiah. So what happens when a person has faith that God will send the Messiah but rejects that Messiah when He arrives?

Didn't Paul shed some light on this in Romans 11? "But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them(Jews) jealous." (11:11) "If their rejection be the reconciliation of the world what will their acceptance be but life from the dead." (11:15)  11:20 says the Jews were broken off from the Olive Tree because of their unbelief, i.e. they did not believe in the One God sent. "And they also, if they also do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again." The overall picture here is that the Jews are the Olive Tree, and that wild branches, i.e. the Gentiles when saved, are grafted onto the tree. But, when a Jew does not believe in Jesus, they are broken off the tree. But, if they put their faith in Jesus, then the can be grafted in again. Now how does all this apply to Jesus' statement in John 8:35?

All men are sinners, of course, including the Jews before and after Jesus came, those who believed in the coming Messiah and those who did not. Romans 3 says that God passed over the sins previously committed before Christ came in view of the person's faith in the coming Messiah. He knew these sins would be atoned for on the cross for all who believe. It is like God had put judgment for the Jew on hold and for those in Jesus' day who were able to decide if they would believe in Him everything hinged on whether they would believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Those who did stayed on the tree. Those who did not were broken off due to unbelief, and therefore held accountable for their sins, i.e. remained a slave and did not remain in the house. But, those who did put their faith in the present Jesus became sons of God, and gained a permanent place in His house. This specific audience on this day were putting their faith in Jesus, but Jesus knew that their faith was not solid, and that they were not yet true disciples. For those who became true disciples of Jesus they remained on the tree and in the house as sons, but for those who did not they were cast out of the house and broken off the tree.

Slavery

We all want to believe that we are free and autonomous. We aren't really except through and in Jesus. Liberty is bound up in the human heart. We yearn to be free. The external slavery that plagues the world, be it human trafficking, bullying, extortion, debt, domestic violence, addictions, or fear may dominate the human spirit, but often a flickering spark of freedom's light smolders within and yearns for liberty. We all get excited as William Wallace lies dying as he is being drawn and quartered, yelling with his last ounce of breath-FREEDOM. He was expressing what is in all our hearts. When Jesus suggested that his Jewish audience were not free, but enslaved, the would-be disciples, bucked. I understand this. I grew up in the South. We have Southern Pride. The war (that is the civil war) left deep scars on the South. Even though this was 150 years ago, and 90 years from the day of my birth, there is a remnant of effect still in my heart. Setting aside the issues of slavery of blacks and states' rights (both major in and of themselves), the mere fact that the South was being told (made) to do something they did not want to do, and then the thousands that died to defend our right to do what we wanted, along with the suffering of Southern women and children, we were left with a feeling of defeat. So in order not to feel this, we developed Southern Pride, a type of denial that said we might be defeated on the outside but never on the inside.

I know all this sounds stupid, but it helps to explain the reasoning of the Jews of Jesus' day who declared that they had never been slaves of anyone. They conveniently forgot about the Egyptians, forty years in the wilderness, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, 1500 hundred years of slavery only briefly interrupted by a period of prosperity under Solomon. Jewish Pride was so strong they could easily dismiss the fact there was a Roman soldier on every corner who could compel any one at any time to carry a load for up to a mile. They acted like Roman tax-collectors did not exist. They ruled out the daily politics of the realm where these Jewish leaders tried to keep the balance of power from being tipped by zealots on one side and Roman lovers on the other. Denial in this realm made it very difficult to see that there was a much more tyrannical master afoot in the land, named King Sin. They were so worried about King Caesar and King Herod on the outside that King Sin was taking them captive on the inside. But, they were Abraham's seed (sperma)! That was what they thought was their trump card. Linage, heritage, history, and religious ritual was clouding their perceptions of the enslaving nature of sin.

Paul's best commentary of John 8 is the book of Galatians. Abraham's offspring (sperma) was Christ, the one speaking to them, and promised in Genesis 12:1ff. The true offspring of Abraham are those who are sons of God through faith in Christ. These sons are the offspring of Abraham, heirs to the promise, those who belong to the Messiah, and clothed with the Messiah, whether slave or free, male or female, Jew or Greek. Paul explains that sons are products of redemption not physical birth. The new birth of baptism is accompanied by the giving of the Spirit that confirms sonship, and gives us voice to say "Abba Father." Paul paints a beautiful picture of freedom from the slavery of sin. This message was being missed by the Jewish Pride folks. They were too caught up in their heritage that they were missing their true heritage. This is another illustration of hearing things through earthly ears instead of heavenly ones.

Abiding (II)

Last time we noted that Jesus was seeing some apparent success in winning souls in Jerusalem, but on closer inspection the faith was superficial. As Jesus continued to teach and explain the nature of true discipleship, the conflict with the Jews picked up again. Jesus was explaining that true discipleship demands abiding in His word. In 14:10 Jesus speaks of the same truth. "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works." If we follow Jesus' train of thought we see that abiding in His words is closely related with the intimate relationship He had with His Father, and the fruit or works that result. For Jesus abiding in His word is not merely academic study, but a relational and experiential walk. Jesus expands this further in 14:17 when He introduces the Holy Spirit as one who abides with his disciples. The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit abides with and in the disciple because the disciple knows and receives Him (Compare Acts 19:1ff). In this Jesus connects the Spirit and the Word, not as the same thing, but as working together in the life of a disciple. It must be stressed that "abiding in His word" is not merely daily Bible study, but I cannot see how we can neglect daily Bible study and truly abide in His word. In 14:25 Jesus says He personally spoke these things while abiding with the disciples. The abiding gives opportunity for the speaking.

Of course John 15, regarding the vine and the branches, provides a rich study of this concept. The idea is simple to grasp. Just as a branch must stay attached (abide) to the vine, so we must stay attached to Jesus. Detached branches die. Detached disciples die. Attached branches bear fruit. Attached disciples bear fruit. Simple. But, on a practical level it may not be simple to understand daily how to do this. One way to look at it has to do with the word "student" which is what disciple means. In our world, if you say you are a student it means that you are enrolled in a school, and being enrolled means you have some responsibilities to study by attending classes and doing homework, and in some cases completing practical projects that pertain to what you are learning. Just as "student" implies that you are actually enrolled in a school and are actively doing what students do, so it is with us as disciples of Christ. When a parent asks their child, "What did you learn in school today?" and they say, "Nothing," it makes you wonder if they are truly a student or merely sitting in a classroom impersonating one. The same thing could be said of a disciple of Jesus. "What are you learning from Jesus?" If a "disciple" cannot answer that question, then it could be they are either not enrolled in school or they are not paying attention. Some things just naturally flow from the reality of the matter. A branch that is attached to a healthy vine (and Jesus is a very healthy vine) will naturally bear fruit. So if there is no evidence of fruit, then the branch must not be attached to the vine.

By the nature of the case "abiding" is essential to true discipleship. It does not happen merely because a person believes Jesus or even believes in Jesus. If this faith does not produce some fruit (work) then it is a dead faith (Jas.2). It is a faith that does not abide. It is near the vine but not attached to the vine. In 15:7 four truths come together. True disciples must 1) abide in Jesus; 2) abide in His word; 3) have Jesus abiding in him; 4) have the word abiding in him. If this is not the case, then a person is not a real disciple of Jesus.

Abiding (I)

John 8:30-31 are transitional in the story of what happened that day after the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus came early to the temple to teach. He was interrupted by those trying to trap Him with the woman caught in the act of adultery. He had a very contentious exchange with the Jewish leaders about His identity. But, it appears He may be gaining some ground. "Many came to believe in Him." About this time we would be jumping up and down and preparing to go to press with the headlines, "Tabernacle Campaign A Big Success: Many Believed." We would be counting the numbers of how many walked down front to give their hearts and lives to Jesus. But, not so fast. In the text, it says that "many believed in Him" (30) and "those Jews who believed Him."(31) If we put the two together we see that many believed Him and even believed in Him. But, Jesus was not ready to throw a party over it. He keeps on talking instead of calling it a day and proclaiming victory. As He talks it seems the gains He has is undone. We see the same thing in John 6. He went from feeding thousands and them wanting to make Him a king by force, to everyone but the 12 walking away because His teaching was too hard. Is Jesus trying to win people or drive them away? He is not after some impressive set of numbers. He is about telling people the truth about their condition and the solution He alone offers. This is not a negotiation. This is not a marketing campaign. This is a presentation of truth, and who loves it, and who is willing to abide in it.

Jesus wanted to see who would be a true disciple. Simple impulsive faith does not mean one is a real disciple of Jesus. Many have been impressed with Jesus and His marvelous acts of kindness and power, while at the same time not being willing to listen to His words and follow Him. So Jesus gives the test of discipleship as abiding in His word. This will lead to a knowledge of the truth that will set the person free. If you fast forward to the end of this section (8:59) you will find these same people picking up stones to kill Him. The word they heard previously obviously did not find  the good soil necessary for spiritual growth to take place. The apostle John uses the word "abide" (meno) some 54 times in four books (John, 1 John, 2 John, and Revelation). Some of the references are merely someone staying or abiding in a physical location. But, the others are significant for understanding the doctrine of abiding.

In John 5:38, a parallel passage to John 8, Jesus declares that they do not have God's word abiding in them because they do not believe in Him. Now here in John 8 they do believe in Him, proving the word has gotten in and began to sprout and grow, but this is not the test of discipleship. It must continue to grow. The word "continue" is another synonym for abiding. Temporary abiding does not make one a disciple. In John 6:27,56 Jesus connects our abiding to the food that abides or endures. Some food spoils easily and is good for nothing. The food that abides is the food that like the manna is taken in daily. It is the flesh and blood of the Son of God that is constantly consumed that causes one to remain in Him. Jesus knows that it is easy to "join" His band of brothers, but it is much more difficult to remain in His band of brothers. (More to come)