former believers

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (28)

former believers

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2426

John 8:30-32

Joh 8:30 While he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Joh 8:31 That was why Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you stay in my word, you are truly my disciples.
Joh 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will liberate you.”

former believers

There are two groups mentioned here: the many who were starting to believe in Jesus, and “the Jews who had believed him.” There are a lot of “former believers” today as well. These are people who might have had an experience at some time, and professed Christ, but now no longer walk according to that profession. Jesus speaks into the lives of such people, just as he did the Jews who had stopped believing in him. He invites all such former believers to get into his word, and stay in his word. Knowing the truth can liberate. But ignoring the truth only perpetuates the slavery.

LORD, make us competent disciples of your truth, and agents for the liberation of others.

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things that are right by him

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (27)

things that are right by him

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2425

John 8:25-29

Joh 8:25 This is why they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus told them “That one I’ve been telling you about from the very beginning.”
Joh 8:26 “I have many things to say and to decide about you, but my sender is true, and what I have heard from him– these things I am saying to the world.”
Joh 8:27 They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father.
Joh 8:28 That was why Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I am doing nothing on my own. But I say these things just as the Father taught me.
Joh 8:29 My sender is with me. He has not left me alone, because I am always doing things that are right by him.”

things that are right by him

When I tried an internet search for ἀρεστός, it sent me in the wrong direction, because the word has taken on a different meaning in modern Greek. From its New Testament usage, it seems to have had the connotation of something that is proper and virtuous, of excellent moral character. That is what Jesus is talking about. He describes his activities as “things that are right by” his sender. That is what we all should be striving to do.

LORD, give us the moral courage to do things that are right by you.

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Jesus’ escape

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (26)

Jesus’ escape

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2424

John 8:19-24

Joh 8:19 That was why they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered “You know neither me nor my Father, if you knew me, you would also know my Father.”
Joh 8:20 He spoke these words by the treasure room, while teaching in the temple. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Joh 8:21 That was why he said to them again, “I’m going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you do not have the power to come.”
Joh 8:22 So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you do not have the power to come’?”
Joh 8:23 He also told them “You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
Joh 8:24 That was why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

Jesus’ escape

Already the Jewish mob had made plans to have Jesus killed. They were just waiting for the right time to arrest him — what John calls his hour. But then Jesus starts talking about an apparent escape. He says that he is going away, and the crowd will look for him, and not find him. They surmise that he must be planning to kill himself, because they are watching him closely, and cannot imagine him escaping from theirb plans.

But Jesus is not talking about escaping the cross. He’s looking beyond the cross, beyond his death. He is planning to return to his Father, because he knows that he came from above, not this world. His escape is a return to his former glory, and his pursuers do not have the power (δύναμαι) to follow him there.

Jesus made good his escape, not in death, but by resurrection and ascension. He is coming back to be our rightful king on this earth. But he chooses to give permanent life only to those who believe that he is who he says he is. All others will die in their sins.

LORD, we choose to believe in Jesus. Help us to reach as many as possible with the gospel truth about him.

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Galilee’s light of the world

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (25)

Galilee’s light of the world

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2423

John 8:12-18

Joh 8:12 This was why Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
Joh 8:13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
Joh 8:14 Jesus answered, “Even if I am testifying about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going.
Joh 8:15 You decide based according to the flesh. I am deciding about no one.
Joh 8:16 And if I do decide, my decision is true, because it is not I alone who is deciding, but I and the Father who sent me.
Joh 8:17 And even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true.
Joh 8:18 I am the one who is testifying about myself, and the Father who sent me is testifying about me.”

Galilee’s light of the world

I don’t include John 11:53-8:11 in my translation, because I think that story was added to John’s Gospel afterward. One of the reasons (besides the manuscript evidence) is the Pharisee’s reference to Galilee in 7:52. John then explains that this is why (οὖν) Jesus responded with a reference to him being the light of the world. He was reflecting on Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would indeed emerge from Galilee as a light for the nations (Isaiah 9:1-2).

Jesus is not ashamed of having been raised in that foreigner’s outpost region of Galilee. He knew what he was, and that was what mattered. God chose to shine his light first in a very dark place. The fact that the Pharisees could not see that shows that they were not willing to even take the testimony of the father himself.

LORD, thank you for Jesus, the light of the world.

___________________________________________________

[I am not commenting on the authenticity of the story of the woman caught in adultery , per se. It sounds to me like a legitimate event that could have happened in the life of Jesus. My choice not to include it is based on its not appearing in the early manuscripts, and it seems to break up a conversation that for John would have been best kept together, and not separated by the story.]

 

 

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then there’s Nicodemus

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (24)

then there’s Nicodemus

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2422

John 7:45-52

Joh 7:45 Then the assistants came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why have you not brought him?”
Joh 7:46 The assistants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!”
Joh 7:47 Then the Pharisees answered them: “Have you been led astray too?
Joh 7:48 Have any from the rulers or Pharisees believed in him?
Joh 7:49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”
Joh 7:50 Nicodemus– the one who came to him previously and who was one of them– said to them,
Joh 7:51 “Our law doesn’t decide about a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it?”
Joh 7:52 “You are not from Galilee too, are you?” they replied. “Inquire and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

then there’s Nicodemus

In an age like ours, we think that the truths of Christianity have been buried behind a meter thick façade of agnosticism. It was like that in Jerusalem at the time recorded in this text. But, then, there was Nicodemus. He was not ready to feed Jesus to the popular wolves just yet. Today we have such people in leadership as well. They deserve our support.

LORD, bless those in leadership who are willing to stand for your truth, and show us how to bless them as well.

 

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yes, no

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (23)

yes, no

Devotions by Jefferson Vann # 2421

John 7:40-44

Joh 7:40 After those from the crowd heard these words, they said, “This truly is the Prophet.”
Joh 7:41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But they said, “Wait … the Messiah doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?
Joh 7:42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s line and from the village of Bethlehem, where David lived?”
Joh 7:43 That was why there was a schism in the crowd because of him.
Joh 7:44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.

yes, no

The word used in the Greek for the division caused in the crowd over Jesus is σχίσμα, from which we get our word schism. It means ‘something that is in parts through force’ like a tear in fabric. Like it or not, the question of who Jesus is has always been a cause for controversy and division. It takes faith to affirm all that the scriptures say about him. It takes insight, and the ability to suspend judgment upon the questions that pop up in us because of our limitations.

LORD, give us the courage to believe all that you have revealed about your Son, and to trust him implicitly.

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streams will flow

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (22)

streams will flow

Devotions by Jefferson Vann # 2420

John 7:37-39

Joh 7:37 On the most significant last day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, and this is what he said, “If anyone is thirsty, let that person come to me and drink.
Joh 7:38 The one believing in me, like the Scripture has said, streams of living water from inside him will flow.”
Joh 7:39 He said this about the Spirit. His believers were about to receive the Spirit, because the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been made glorious.

streams will flow

I cannot help but link this passage with what John records of Jesus’ discourse with the woman at the well in Samaria (4:13-14). But there is a difference here. The woman was primarily interested in her own salvation. She wanted to drink of the water that would keep her from ever getting thirsty again. But even she could not resist the urge to share Jesus with her village.

Now, Jesus explains through this metaphorical language that such will be the case with all those who are saved by believing in him. They will automatically become the resource leading to the salvation of others. The Holy Spirit will flow from inside them.

Jesus says that anyone who believes will have this Holy Spirit (38). John notes that Pentecost had not yet happened, but Jesus’ assurance is that this flowing Holy Spirit resource is not the result of a second experience or second blessing. If you believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is inside you, and will flow to others.

LORD, thank you for your Holy Spirit, and the chance to bring others to eternal life.

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lost among the Greeks

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (21)

lost among the Greeks

Devotions by Jefferson Vann # 2419

John 7:30-36

Joh 7:30 Then they tried to arrest him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come.
Joh 7:31 But many from the crowd believed in him and were saying, “The Messiah when he comes won’t do more signs than this one has done, will he?”
Joh 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crowd grumbling these things about him, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent servants to arrest him.
Joh 7:33 Then Jesus said, “I am only with you for a short time. Then I’m departing to my sender.
Joh 7:34 You will look for me, and not find me; and where I am, you are not able to come.”
Joh 7:35 Then the Jews said to one another, “Where is he about to go so we will not find him? He doesn’t intend to go to the diaspora among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he?
Joh 7:36 What is this word he said: ‘You will look for me, and not find me; and where I am, you are not able to come’?”

lost among the Greeks

The Jewish officials thought Jesus was referring to his getting lost among the Greek speaking Jews of the diaspora. They misread Jesus when he predicted that very soon they would be looking for their Messiah but he would be gone. He was, of course, referring to his returning to his sender, his Father in heaven.

If you have been looking for the one missing piece to the puzzle of your life, and have not found it, maybe you have felt like it is lost among the Greeks. Perhaps you think your answer is where you never intend to go. Just look up. It is cliché to say that Jesus is the answer, and the only way to the Father. But it is also true.

LORD, whatever we get in life, may we never lose you.

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what we think we know

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (20)

what we think we know

Devotions by Jefferson Vann # 2418

John 7:25-30

Joh 7:25 Then some of the Jerusalemites were saying, “Isn’t this the man they are looking for to kill?
Joh 7:26 Yet, look, he’s speaking publicly and they’re saying nothing to him. Can it be true that the authorities know he is the Messiah?
Joh 7:27 But we know where this one is from. When the Messiah comes, nobody will know where he is from.”
Joh 7:28 While teaching in the temple, Jesus cried out, “You know me and you know where I am from. Yet I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me is true. You don’t know him;
Joh 7:29 I know him because I am from him, that one sent me.”
Joh 7:30 Then they tried to arrest him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come.

what we think we know

What strikes me as I read this is the misinformation that the Jerusalemites thought they knew about the coming Messiah. It makes me wonder how much of the Christology that we hold to has come from the biblical text, and how much is a product of our history and culture. If the Jerusalemites had really known who Jesus was, and why he had come, they would not have tried to arrest him. If there is one part of my life that I will never regret no matter how it turns out, it is my biblical studies. I want to really know what’s there. I also want to know him because he is my sender.

LORD, we want to know you as our Savior and sender.

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one work too many

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (19)

one work too many

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2417

John 7:19-24

Joh 7:19 Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none of you does what the law teaches. Why are you looking for me to kill me?”
Joh 7:20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon!; who is trying to kill you?”
Joh 7:21 Jesus answered, “I did one work, and you are all amazed,” .
Joh 7:22 “This is why Moses has given you the circumcision ritual — not that it comes from Moses but from the fathers– and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
Joh 7:23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses won’t be broken, are you angry at me because I made a man entirely healthy on the Sabbath?
Joh 7:24 Don’t decide this kind of thing according to outward appearances; decide right decisions instead.”

one work too many

The one work Jesus referred to was his healing of the crippled man at the Sheep Gate (5:1-15). The man had no one to bring him into the pool — possibly because no one dared break a Sabbath rule by doing so. Jesus called on the man to actually break one of those “outward appearance” rules by picking up his pallet and carrying it away. When “the Jews” saw him doing that, they objected to his obedience.

Fast forward two chapters, and the controversy continues. Jesus points out that the problem is not with the Mosaic law. It was designed to promote mutual love and healthy living. But the legalism that had enslaved the law kept people from making right decisions about things.

LORD, show us how to do the right thing, even when it does not always look right.

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