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Gospel of John v

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Look the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me –John 1:29-30

Occasionally in life I come across a married couple who appear set apart from the rest. Their marriage is defined by tenderness, closeness, and harmony.

Such people are rarely young, in fact they are always older, but they still have a sparkle. If you listen to their story, it will not always have been like that though. They will tell you of battles, hardships and suffering; of times when they wanted to quit, walk away, start again (with someone  else) but for what ever reason they ploughed on. Such marriages are almost always Christian in my experience and most couples confess to being held together by the unseen, but ever present Jesus.

We are talking about Jesus through the Gospel of John, and as we come to these verses we gain further insight into Jesus and his purpose. Last time we spoke of his deity, and how so few people are able to accept it. In this verse though, we see Johns supernatural reference to the man, Jesus Christ – how is it that a man existed long before John, when he was younger than John?

In Jesus Christ, God became flesh and walked among us. He is both divine and human and will continue to be forever. Later in 1 John, we are told that he became like us, so that we would become like him. That is for another day.

Sometime in the past, before our creation, before even the Angels were made, the Father and Son considered what was before them. With perfect insight, they could see what this world would look like. Our purpose was to be the bride of Christ, a beautiful people made specifically for the outpouring of the Sons love. Yet it would take some steps to achieve that, many of them pain filled.

With some poetic license, you can imagine the discussion. Will the ensuing sacrifice and separation be worthwhile, the Father asks as he bites his bottom lip. So few will respond, even when confronted with the physical presence of the Son. Will it be worth it? The Son counters with his desire for his Bride, his willingness to make the sacrifice even for just a few. Look what they can become, is his response. Yet he waits for permission from his Father. The Father will create everything around the framework of his Son and their relationship, to honour his Son. All of creation is for him, through him and because of him. Even the notion of a Lamb, so ready and easily sacrificed, would be created with him in mind. The Father and Sons love for us, would be the reason for his death. The journey would be messy, ugly and blood soaked at times, and reluctantly many would be discarded but the end would fulfil exactly the purpose both Father and Son had in mind. The story would find its ultimate completion back in the Son, as the Father always intended. It will end up beautiful beyond compare.

The marriage we talked of earlier is a mirror of that relationship as well; separate identities, with separate roles, yet equal. At its very best, which few rarely achieve, there is a harmony that causes the two to be seen as one, moving together with common purpose, the thought of separation unimaginable. So few of us see it even in others, but when we do we see the mirror of how it was made, its origin. A Godhead of more than one.

This week, may you walk in His grace, with understanding that his love is for you through every step; he went to incredible lengths to secure you and one day, when you see him you will be like him.

Gospel of John iv

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“the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”

What about truth? Pick up any Bible concordance and look up reference to truth, and you get an idea of how much weight God puts on truth. It seems that in Israel’s time, as in ours, clever lawyers and articulate politicians were able to manipulate the truth to line their own pockets, usually at the expense of the poor – and God hated it then as he does now. When truth is twisted, justice is denied.

There are two great truths in the Bible and they come together in the person of Jesus Christ. The first is that God tells us our condition is one of sin. We are sick from sin and cannot change ourselves, and our sin condemns us. Our modern day pride, wrapped up in our sophistication and relative wealth, means that we compare ourselves to others and quite often come to a favourable conclusion in our own eyes. We cannot see our real condition.

When we read in the Gospels the great encounters that Jesus had with individuals, we see that he spoke to the heart of the matter concerning sin. Never judgemental nor condemning, Jesus still had a refreshing attitude of getting to the core of our condition, by telling us the truth about ourselves. “Sin no more” he says to the woman who was about to be stoned, and he says it to each of us. We are all sinners, if only we could face the truth about ourselves.

The second truth we deny as much as the first, is that God loves us. It seems especially difficult for us to accept as believers because somehow we really do know how far things have gone astray. We prefer our own works, our own methods, just in case there might be a catch. What if at the end, God doesn’t come through for me, then at least I’ll be able to rely on my own efforts we tell ourselves. We still measure God’s love in terms of our performance.

Many years ago I stayed with a nurse who treated addicts. She told the story of a young boy, a heroin addict who had been subject to horrible family abuse. She used to clean the boy up, and then watch as he would simply fall back into his habit again; the pain, he would tell her, wouldn’t go away. As a result of her love, along the way, he developed a simple faith in Jesus Christ and every day he would journal his prayers. The local church could never accept him on account of his addiction, yet she was convinced beyond all doubt of his being saved. When he eventually died of his addiction, she read his journal and saw an intimacy with Christ that many believers never experience. He had grasped he was never going to be good enough, but through his desperation pursued Jesus as his only hope, something many in the local church couldn’t do. We prefer our shoddy standards to the truth of God’s love.

The truth we are told of here in John 1:17, is that the law is supplanted by Grace. God loved us and was never going to desert us; we were never going to make it on our own, so he’s done all the work for us. The greatest news in history is that Grace has replaced the law in the person of Jesus Christ and in him there is no condemnation at all. The addict, the liar, the hypocrite we all have a second chance at Grace because of his work.

May we see the truth in that this week; firstly that we so desperately need him, and then that we are free because of his love.

The Veil

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“when Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil”- Exodus 34:33

[read Exodus ch 20-34]
“but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” – 2 Corinthians 3:16
[read 2 Cor 3: 7-18]
We’re going to hop out of John this week, but still maintain our focus on Christ. We’ve been reading this passage in 2 Corinthians for a few weeks in our family, thinking, dwelling and mulling over the words. We have soaked them up, and they have been with us throughout each day.
If you get the chance, read or skim all the chapters in Exodus. Then contrast those with the words in Corinthians. (Read them in the Message, or different versions). What do we see?
Firstly, we see the drudgery of serving God under the law; the rules to be observed, the penalties that we incur, the difficulty of maintaining this perfect record. uP and down the mountain Moses trudges, and for the rest, we are only able to observe, there is no connection.
Then we see the danger that exists with a God who is furious at sin. We find it difficult in our everyday world to see our own sin, and the Bible is useful in confronting us with our condition; such is the nature of God, that he wants to destroy all sin before him. It is almost as if he has to exert self-control not to reach across and put sinful man out of his sight. See how man lives in terror before God, a consuming fire. Our attempts to appease him are doomed to failure.
Throughout Scripture, God warns that nobody may see his face and live. Such is the glory of God, the contrast between us and him, that God’s glory is reflected back to Moses after he has been in the presence of God; Moses must wear a veil over his face, because those near him cannot stand to be in his presence. The notion of a veil is carried through into the temple as well, it is the veil across the ‘Holy of Holies’ that separates man from God.
Is there nothing then that can be done to bring this relationship back together?
2 Corinthians is Paul’s masterpiece on the centrality of Christ to all things, he is the very centre of all that God has in plan for this world and our future. The words in this passage highlight that so beautifully. In here, we see the contrast of the Old Testament, the separation that exists, against the new covenant under Christ.
Instead of the law, we have total freedom in Christ – there is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ. For those who are in Christ, the veil is removed, and we can both see and reflect the Glory of God to those around us. The separateness from God is removed, we can for the first time see him as he really is. We are told that there are angels who cannot see the face of God, even though they are in his presence constantly, yet because of Christ, we can see him in all his glory.
Further, God begins an incredible work of transformation; he begins to turn us into the likeness of Christ. What does that mean exactly? Earlier in 1 Corinthians, we are told Jesus is the exact likeness of God, something that Adam even in his unfallen state, wasn’t like. So we are being remade into something even better than before, beings who are morally pure, free of sin and fit to be in the presence of God.
Friends, if you haven’t grasped this yet, let me encourage you to take these words to heart. Jesus is God’s answer to the separation that exists. We must take hold of Jesus, each day, as much of him as we can. In Christ, we have the very fullness of God himself, and we can join with Christ each day, each of us. Let us share that with those around us, the wonder, the beauty that is Jesus.
There is no other plan, outside of Jesus, to bring us back to God.

Gospel of John iii

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“for the law was given through Moses, but God’s grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” – John 1:17

There’s a little known song by U2, titled simply “Grace” that wanders through the labyrinth of Grace and exposes its many meanings. The story goes that CS Lewis once wandered into a fierce debate amongst senior church leaders over what singularly separated Christianity from other religions. That’s easy announced Lewis – it’s Grace.
The mere mention of the word in the English language summons up images of beauty, of stillness, rest. In this passage, John contrasts Grace with the harshness of the Law. Paul later tells us that the law gives power to sin; in other words, we are able to define our sinfulness because of the law, the law is the standard by which we are to be judged and because of it, our failings are all too obvious. We understand we are fallen.
What then of Grace? Through Jesus, God tells us that we will no longer be measured against the law, but rather through the merits of his Son. That the debt we have built up because of our sin and selfishness has received a never-ending credit, that is the righteousness of Christ. This righteousness covers our debt of yesterday and will cover our failings tomorrow.
Grace tells us that the final whistle has been blown, the game is over and we can all line up for the winners medal because there are no losers. All we need to do is to receive it. Even more, it tells us that everything that the Son inherits in the kingdom of God, also becomes part of our inheritance. There is no second place with God.
Two things about Grace.
Firstly, people find it incredibly difficult to accept Gods grace. We prefer bringing our own works, and measly efforts before God, rather than accept his overwhelming bounty. The man in the street finds it so hard to agree that his efforts at being good are worthless before God, that God in Christ has already done the work entirely. We start to put our own spin on the eternal ‘they’re not good enough debate’ as we decide who is righteous and who is not. The Bible tells us that Grace is sufficient for everyone, all of their sin, no matter what they have done or how often they have done it. The only sin that will cause them to stumble is to refuse the gift God gives us, yet we are told that many will prefer their own efforts to God’s saving Grace.
Secondly, Grace rests on atonement. We need to understand that while Grace is completely free in God’s equation, it is also priceless. There needed to be an exchange made. On the passover night in Exodus, the angel of death flew over the houses of the Israelites if they had put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. The Israelites knew that an exchange was made, that the lamb was sacrificed in place of them (not because the angel couldn’t find his way!). So it is with the Grace that John proclaims here; under the law everyone of us is condemned, and we know we are each of us, deep inside ourselves. But Grace has been given, provided for all of us no matter our condition. We were standing in the dock waiting for our sentence, and because of Christ’s sacrifice, each of us has the chance to walk free.
This week, spend time searching the Scripture for God’s Grace, meditate on it, thank him for it and then tell the world, so desperately in need, that his Grace is available to them if they would only ask. Grace gives us what we don’t deserve.
And, may the Grace of our Lord Jesus, hold you and keep you until he comes again.

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