Ridiculous reasons

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:28-30

Joh 13:28 None of those reclining at the table had come to know why he said this to him.

Joh 13:29 Since Judas kept the money-bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or that he should give something to the poor ones.

Joh 13:30 That was why, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately left. But it was night-time.

Ridiculous reasons

John was the only disciple who knew the real reason that Judas left them as this point. The reasons that went through the minds of the other disciples made sense to them, but they seemed ridiculous to John. Nobody goes out to do business at night, especially this night.

Isn’t it true that we all are in the habit of making up reasons for what happens, and most of those reasons turn out to be fanciful or ridiculous in hindsight?

We don’t have to understand it all. We just have to trust God through it all.

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open eyes to the present

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:25-27

Joh 13:25 That was why that one leaned close beside Jesus saying to him, “Lord, which is it?”

Joh 13:26 Jesus answers, “He’s the one to whom I give the piece of bread after I have dipped it.” That was why, after he had dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas, of Simon Iscariot.

Joh 13:27 After the piece of bread, Satan entered that one. So Jesus told him, “Do what you’re doing quickly.”

open eyes to the present

Only John was close enough to Jesus during that meal to understand the significance of what Judas was going to do. John also witnessed the very moment when Judas had resolved to carry out his plan. John describes it as a moment when Satan entered Judas. It is a heavy responsibility to understand the future. But it is an even heavier weight when the Lord opens our eyes to the present.

Lord, give us the strength to bear the weight of the knowledge you call us to bear – awareness of your plan for today.

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The Judas point

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:21-24

Joh 13:21 After saying these things, Jesus was agitated in his spirit and testified, “I am honestly telling you, one from among you will hand me over.”

Joh 13:22 The disciples were looking into one another– perplexed about which one he was speaking about.

Joh 13:23 One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus.

Joh 13:24 Simon Peter signaled him to find out who it was he was talking about.

The Judas point

It is curious to note that neither of the disciples were perplexed about the actual fact of Jesus’ future betrayal. They were just concerned about who among them would do the deed. Could this be the response of their collective guilty consciences? The fact that they had to ask who it might be showed that each of them had considered (even if for a moment) what Judas had actually done.

Deep inside each one of us is a believer capable of jettisoning his faith, and a bride capable of betraying her loyalty. One of the reasons believers should encourage one another regularly is that we do not know which one among us is close to the Judas point.

Stay in fellowship with other believers, even if you have problems with some of your current church incidentals. You need the strength of reciprocal encouragement, and others need your help.

Lord, help us to encourage one another regularly.

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Identifying with Jesus — good or bad

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:18-20

Joh 13:18 “It is not about all of you that I am saying this; I know those whom I have chosen. But it is so the Scripture can be fulfilled: The one who gnaws my bread has raised his heel against me.
Joh 13:19 I am telling you just now before it happens, so that you will believe when it does happen that I am he.
Joh 13:20 I honestly tell you, whoever takes anyone I send takes me, and the one who takes me takes him who sent me.”

Identifying with Jesus — good or bad

Don’t confuse John 13:20 with Matthew 10:40. They sound similar in most translations, but Jesus is talking about two different things. In Matthew, the context is Jesus sending out the twelve apostles for evangelistic work, and he promises that everyone who welcomes them (δέχομαι) welcomes him. But here in John, the context is Jesus’ soon arrest. He is warning his disciples that they too will be taken (λαμβάνω) I.e., arrested for following him.

We do not know how the world around us is going to respond to our message. They may welcome Christ and his Sender by welcoming us, or they may arrest us and put us away as they did him.

Lord, help us to faithfully represent you and your gospel, no matter how our audience reacts.

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Sacrificial servanthood

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

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John 13:15

Joh 13:15 Because I have given you a model, that you also should do just as I have done for you.
Joh 13:16 “I am honestly telling you, a slave is not greater than his lord, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him.
Joh 13:17 If you have known these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Sacrificial servanthood

This narrative serves to show how translators sometimes can hide the significance of a word by translating it differently each time it occurs. The Greeks had come to Philip, requesting an audience with Jesus, and addressing Philip with the honorific title “Lord” (12:21). It is usually translated “Sir.” Jesus refers to himself with the title “Lord and Teacher” (13:13-14). Then he says that a slave is not greater than his lord (often rendered “master” (13:16). John used the same word (κύριος) in each of these texts.

13:16 also demonstrates a related problem. The word “slave” (δοῦλος) is often translated “servant,” as well as the word I translate “manager” (διάκονος). Both can be translated as “servant,’ but it is best not to do so when they are being contrasted with each other.

John’s point (and Jesus’) is that believers in Jesus may have all kinds of leadership abilities and roles, but we have to always remember that we are slaves to one Lord, and he has given us a model of sacrificial servant hood.

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Worship by washing

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

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John 13:11-14

Joh 13:11 Because he had known his betrayer. This is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

Joh 13:12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer clothes, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I was doing for you?

Joh 13:13 You are calling me the Teacher and the Lord– and you are speaking accurately, since that is what I am.

Joh 13:14 So if I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

Worship by washing

The point of Jesus’ example for his disciples was not to inaugurate a new ritual for the church. There is nothing wrong with foot-washing. I used to do it for the outgoing interns at bible college every year. It is an effective way to model humble service toward one another.

But Jesus is using this event to show his disciples that the best way they can show their appreciation for who he is is to treat each other with kindness and self-sacrifice. Worshiping Christ is more than something we do by coming to church. We also worship Christ by serving others who are part of his body.

Lord, expand the parameters of our worship.

Happy Christmas to you all from the Vann family.

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emotional roller coaster

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:7-10

Joh 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, “You don’t know what I’m doing just now, but after these things you will come to know.”

Joh 13:8 Peter said to him, “You will certainly not wash my feet, and that is permanent.” Jesus answered him, “If I don’t wash you, you don’t have a part with me.”

Joh 13:9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”

Joh 13:10 Jesus told him, “One who has bathed doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is entirely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.”

emotional roller coaster

This little passage is jam packed with emotions. First Peter – you can see him frowning – tells Jesus that that there is no way he’s going to allow him to was his feet – and that is permanent (aiōnios). Jesus looks him in the eye, and softly responds that if there is no washing, Peter is lost to him. At this, a smile breaks out on Peter, and he asks Jesus to wash his hands and head too. That’s when Jesus smiles, and reminds Peter that he has already bathed, and only needs to wash his feet. But a somber look replaces the frown as Jesus points out that not all of his disciples are clean spiritually. In the same verse, Jesus smiles over Peter, and frowns over Judas.

Lord, give us the wisdom to make decisions that bring you joy, and not sorrow.

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he took the towel

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

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John 13:4-6

Joh 13:4 He was roused up from the meal, and put aside his outer clothes, took a towel, and tied it around himself.

Joh 13:5 He poured water into a receptacle and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him.

Joh 13:6 That was why he came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you washing my feet?”

he took the towel

Peter’s first reaction to the idea of Jesus washing his feet leaps off the page. It is like he was asleep until the moment when he realized what was going on. He pauses only to think “What is going on here?” Then he asks the question.

Behind the question may be a stubborn self reliance. This is, after all, the same bloke who jumped out of the boat to walk on the water to his master. He may have thought that if there was any cleaning needed, he could do it himself.

Or, he may have thought that he was not worthy to be helped by Jesus. Surely the right protocol is that the lesser man gets that Job. Obviously, if there is any washing to be done, Peter should grab the towel.

Either of these motivations is a possible explanation for Peter’s reaction, and he might have had both thoughts as he emerged into full consciousness. My point is that both ideas prevent people from coming to faith in Christ. Whether you think you can save yourself or you think you are not worth saving, you need to reject those thoughts, because they keep people from accepting God’s grace. Jesus took the towel.

Lord, thank you for taking the towel.

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Exit hour

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:1-3

Joh 13:1 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus, having known that his hour came to exit from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the last.

Joh 13:2 Now when the meal was happening, the slanderer had already put it into the heart of Judas, of Simon Iscariot, to hand him over.

Joh 13:3 Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he had come from God, and that he was going back to God.

Exit hour

John is giving his readers a glimpse into the mind of Jesus, as he sets up the narrative for the foot-washing. Notice that twice John says that Jesus knew something. He knew who he was: the Son sent from the Father God, and that he was going back to God. But he also knew that his exit hour had come. He knew that this would be his last Passover before his crucifixion.

What would you do differently if you knew you were in your exit hour?

Lord, help us to stay focused – to make each moment count, because our time is limited.

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judgment criteria

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 12:47-50

Joh 12:47 If anyone hears my statements and doesn’t keep them, I am not judging him; because I did not come to judge the world but to rescue the world.

Joh 12:48 The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my statements has this as his judge: The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

Joh 12:49 Because I have not spoken on my own, but my Father/Sender himself has given me a command which I should say and which I should speak.

Joh 12:50 And I know that his command is permanent life. That is why I am speaking the things that I am speaking just as the Father has said to me.”

judgment criteria

The plan of God is being carried out by Jesus as he speaks the words he has heard from the Father, and submits to the cross. His mission is not judgment of others. But the gospel he preaches will be the criteria for the judgment on the last day. The same gospel which brings life to believers will be the criteria for the death penalty for unbelievers.

Sometimes it is hard to share the gospel without being judgmental toward those who are rejecting it. As Christians we do not always get it right. But we cannot stop sharing what to us is the most important news ever.

Lord, give us the wisdom to share the gospel of permanent life to those around us.

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