Exposed

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 16:8-11

Joh 16:8 When he comes, he will expose the world in connection with sin, righteousness, and judgment:

Joh 16:9 In connection with sin, because they do not trust me;

Joh 16:10 in connection with righteousness, because I am leaving for the Father and you will no longer see me;

Joh 16:11 and in connection with judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Exposed

The greatest sin the world has ever committed is being exposed by the Holy Spirit today. That sin is the failure to trust in Jesus.

The greatest righteousness the world has ever witnessed is being exposed by the Holy Spirit today. That righteousness was the relationship between the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit reminds us of that pure righteousness in the absence of Christ on earth.

The greatest judgment the world has ever witnessed is being exposed by the Holy Spirit today. That judgment is not the future judgment day, but the present day, because our world’s ruler – Satan – stands condemned of betrayal and apostasy.

Lord, thank you for the light which your Holy Spirit has flooded our lives with – exposing your truth, and Satan’s lies.

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Advantageous for us

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 16:5-7

Joh 16:5 But now I am leaving for him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you leaving for? ‘

Joh 16:6 Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless, I am saying the truth to you. It is advantageous to you that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Discipler will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.

Advantageous for us

It was advantageous for us that Jesus returned to heaven. Although we certainly look forward to his return, we have the other discipler, the Holy Spirit, who continues his ministry among us and through us.

Lord, thank you for sending the Discipler,your Holy Spirit.

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When their hour comes

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 16:1-4

Joh 16:1 “I have spoken these things to you to keep you from getting tripped up.

Joh 16:2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, an hour is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

Joh 16:3 They will do these things because they haven’t discovered the Father or me.

Joh 16:4 But I have spoken these things to you so that when their hour comes you will remember I said them to you. I didn’t say these things to you at first, because I was with you.

When their hour comes

Jesus and his disciples had enjoyed at least the toleration of the religious community in which they operated. But Jesus predicted that the hour of opposition, persecution, excommunication, and martyrdom was coming.

That hour has come for many followers of Christ today. If it is not that bad for you right now, be thankful. But also be careful, because any society that does not openly follow Christ is liable to turn against his disciples.

Lord, give us the courage to be faithful to you when the hour of persecution comes.

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Powerful partner in evangelism

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:26-27

Joh 15:26 “When the Discipler comes, the one I will send to you from the Father– the True Spirit who proceeds from the Father– he will testify about me.

Joh 15:27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the first.

Powerful partner in evangelism

There are two witnesses – testifiers – mentioned here. The Discipler – the Holy Spirit – will testify by means of the written word he inspires and by means of the miracles he performs. The disciples (“You also” (vs. 27)) will testify too.

We disciples of Christ testify because of our relationship with him. We testify to what we discover just by being with him. Added to that testimony is the powerful testimony of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced in the Bible, and in the miracles He is still doing.

Lord, thank you for our powerful partner in evangelism – your Spirit among us.

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No reason – no excuse

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:22-25

Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin.

Joh 15:23 The one who hates me also hates my Father.

Joh 15:24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not have sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

Joh 15:25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.

No reason – no excuse

The generation that saw Jesus in the flesh had claimed to respect and love God. But when Jesus came, in spite of all the miracles he performed among them, they hated him for no reason. Because of that animosity toward Jesus, they are guilty of the sin that really matters: failure to trust him. There is no excuse for that.

Lord, give us all the wisdom to trust in you for our deliverance.

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Incongruous love

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:19-21

Joh 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would care about you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have selected you out of it, the world hates you.

Joh 15:20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Joh 15:21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.

Incongruous love

Should a Christian expect the approval and acclaim of the society in which she lives? She should not. It is incongruous that we, the slaves of Christ, should be treated more respectfully than our master did.

What Jesus is getting at here is the world to which he came – the world he loved – did not care for him. It hated him. It crucified him. So, when we experience an indifferent or hating world, we should not be surprised. What should surprise us is when we start experiencing an incongruous love. We should be very careful when that happens, as it may be a signal that we are not being faithful to him.

Lord, give us the wisdom to be skeptical of the world’s approval.

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Our two destinies

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:16-18

Joh 15:16 You did not select me, but I selected you. I destined you to leave and produce fruit and that your fruit should stay, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

Joh 15:17 “This is what I am commanding you: Love one another.

Joh 15:18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.

Our two destinies

Jesus has been conversing with his disciples about his future. He had warned them that he was about to leave and go back to his Father and that he would return. These are Jesus’ two destinies, Now, Jesus reveals two destinies for the disciples as well. They too will leave this life. They will die as well. But before they die, they will produce fruit, and that fruit will stay. In the larger context, that fruit includes other disciples. But in this present context, we can see that it also includes reciprocal love, perseverance through unjust suffering, and prevailing prayer.

Our time is short. We need to stay on task.

Lord, give us the courage to live out our destiny, to produce lasting fruit.

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What the gospel mission entails

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:11-15

Joh 15:11 I have spoken these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may reach its peak.

Joh 15:12 This is my command: Love one another just like I have loved you.

Joh 15:13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

Joh 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Joh 15:15 I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends because I have made you aware of everything I have heard from my Father.

What the gospel mission entails

He’s still our master, but he does not call us slaves anymore. The reason our title has changed is that he has made us aware of the gospel mission. Christ’s gospel mission was to lay down his life for us out of love. Our gospel mission is to love others with the same sacrificial love – to love just like he loved. It may not mean we actually get executed for someone. But it may.

Lord, give us the courage to embrace all that your gospel mission entails.

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Lettering in the red letters

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:7-10

Joh 15:7 If you stay on me and my sayings stay in you, ask whatever you want and it will happen for you.

Joh 15:8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and show that you have become my disciples.

Joh 15:9 “Just like the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Stay in my love.

Joh 15:10 If you keep my commands you will stay in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love.

Lettering in the red letters

Kim Erickson writes… “Not for His benefit … but for their joy! And not just some ordinary joy, but to be full of His joy, overflowing with divine joy.”1

Jesus’ commands are all about living life today to its fullest and tapping into the resources of the divine relationship. Obedience is the key. But it is not blind Pharisaical obedience. It is obedience not to some ritual or practice, but to the actual commands of Christ. We need to letter in the red letters.

Lord, help us to live and breathe your commands.

1 His Last Words: What Jesus Taught and Prayed in His Final Hours (John 13-17)

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The consequences of separation

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 15:4-6

Joh 15:4 Stay on me, and I in you. Just as a shoot is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you stay on me.

Joh 15:5 I am the vine; you are the shoots. The one who stays on me and I in him produces much fruit because you can do nothing without me.

Joh 15:6 If anyone does not stay on me, he is thrown out like that detached shoot and he dries up. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned up.

The consequences of separation

I have to be a bit inconsistent with the preposition ἐν here, because Jesus is talking about a reciprocal relationship, but still keeping up the vine/shoot metaphor. So, “on” is appropriate, because shoots can only produce grapes if they stay on the vine. This is an example of what Danker alludes to “with numerous other resources in Engl. to express contextual nuances of ἐν: at, on, among, near, with, by.”

Jesus also refers to final punishment in Gehenna here by saying that detached shoots are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned up (καίω). While the word can refer to the mere lighting or kindling of a fire, in this reference it is to a consuming fire which ultimately produces the second death (Revelation 21:8).

Some people have convinced themselves that final punishment merely means being thrown out – separated from the presence of God forever. Jesus shows here that as a consequence of this separation, the lost will also be gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned up. Hell is a terrible place, but the only way to escape it is to stay on the vine – stay in Jesus.

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