Our solo Savior

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:36-38

Joh 13:36 “Lord,” Simon Peter said to him, “where are you departing for?” Jesus answered, “Where I am departing for, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterwards.”

Joh 13:37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? My soul I will give up for you.”

Joh 13:38 Jesus answered, “Will you give up your soul for me? I am honestly telling you, a rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.

Our solo Savior

Jesus was going back to the Father, but he had to go to the cross for that to happen. His glorification was not complete until his resurrected body ascended. Peter offered to give up (τίθημι) his soul as well. He was boldly offering to join Jesus on the cross. Jesus rejected the offer. Peter would eventually give up his soul and be crucified for Jesus, but our Lord’s role as the world’s savior is a solo role.

One consolation I get from reading this text is although Peter was going to fail to live up to his bold offer, Jesus did not forsake him. Jesus knew that Peter would eventually be faithful, even if he failed the test at this crucial moment.

Lord, thank you for being our solo Savior.

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the love pattern

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:34-35

Joh 13:34 “I am giving you a new command: Love one another. Just like I have loved you, you should also love one another.

Joh 13:35 By this everyone will come to know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

the love pattern

Two questions came to my mind as I read this text. First, I wondered why the first ἵνα (hina) clause should not be rendered “a new command that…” We had encountered the same combination of the noun ἐντολή (command) and the conjunction ἵνα (that) in John 11:57, and I translated that text as “the Pharisees had given orders that …” But this appears to be an example of an imperatival use of ἵνα. So the word can be replaced with a colon in translation.

My second question was “In what sense is this a new command?” Jesus had taught that we should love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44; Luke 6:27,35). He taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27). He affirmed the Old Testament command that we should love God with our all (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). So, what makes this a new command?

Two things. First, this is a reciprocal command. It is a command to love one another (ἀλλήλων). Secondly, Jesus specifies the pattern of our reciprocal love. We should love each other just like he has loved us.

Lord, help us to follow the love pattern you have set.

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not yet ready

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Jefferson Vann
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John 13:31-33

Joh 13:31 That is why when he had left, Jesus says, “Now the Son of Man was glorified, and God was glorified in him.

Joh 13:32 [If God was glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him immediately.

Joh 13:33 Children, I am with you a little while longer. You will look for me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I am saying to you: ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

not yet ready

Lots of people think they will see Jesus when they die. They think that all they have to do is shuffle off their mortal coil and they will immediately be glorified and stand in the presence of God. But Jesus explains in this passage that even his followers are not quite ready for God’s presence. We will one day stand in God’s presence, but some things have to happen first.

  • Jesus has to die on the cross (check)

  • Jesus has to be raised from the dead (check)

  • Jesus has to prepare a place for us (14:2-3) (currently happening)

  • Jesus has to come back for us (14:3) not yet

Don’t rush the plan of God. Put your hope in the blessed hope: the second coming of Jesus. Death is not the answer to your problems. Jesus is.

Lord, come quickly. We want to be with you.

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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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