we love you, go away

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (15)

we love you, go away

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2413

John 7:1-5

Joh 7:1 And after these things happened, Jesus moved around in Galilee, since he did not want to move around in Judea because the Jews were looking for him to kill him.
Joh 7:2 The Jewish Festival of Shacks was near.
Joh 7:3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave from here and go to Judea so your disciples can see your works that you are doing.
Joh 7:4 Because no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking to be public. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
Joh 7:5 (Because not even his brothers believed in him.)

we love you, go away

You would think that Jesus’ home region would welcome him back with open arms, seeing that he had a reputation for literally being a miracle worker. But that is not how it was. It was more than just the “prophet without honor in his own country” thing. After Jesus started explaining the “why” for his miracles, people everywhere starting rethinking his superstar status. Was their world big enough for another I AM?

Even his brothers got this. When it came to the question of redefining their world, they were not willing to do that. If Jesus was going to keep talking about his special relationship with his Father — not meaning Joseph — It would be easier if he did that kind of thing from a distance. Their response to Jesus was “we love you, go away.”

If you have ever felt like an unwelcomed stranger in your own country or family, you have had a taste of what Jesus felt like. Ironically, Jesus was the only one with the words about permanent life, and their rejection of him was a rejection of hope.

LORD, draw us to Jesus, don’t send him away.

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courage for fickle times

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (14)

courage for fickle times

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2412

John 6:66-71

Joh 6:66 From that moment many of his disciples went away and no longer walked with him.
Joh 6:67 That was why Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to leave too, do you?”
Joh 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, whom would we go away to? You have the words of permanent life.
Joh 6:69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One from God.”
Joh 6:70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I select you, the Twelve? Yet one from you is a devil.”
Joh 6:71 He was referring to Judas, from Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, because he was going to hand him over.

courage for fickle times

It is quite significant that Peter’s confession of Christ at this point mentions the ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου. It was these words about permanent life that came to Peter as the reason  the disciples to stay with Jesus, even when others are deserting him. Like Peter, we live in Fickle times. One moment, our society is lauding our evangelists, the next they are persecuting our churches. Peter understood that the hope of a resurrection into permanent life is worth identifying with Christ, even when our world turns against him. He offers a solid hope for any times, even fickle ones.

LORD, give us the courage to stand by you, even while others around us are falling away.

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hard word test

Posted on June 13, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (13)

hard word test

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2411

John 6:59-65

Joh 6:59 He said these things in the synagogue while teaching in Capernaum.
Joh 6:60 That was why, after many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This word is hard. Who can listen to it?”
Joh 6:61 Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you?
Joh 6:62 Then what if you were to watch the Son of Man ascending to where he was formerly?
Joh 6:63 The Spirit is the one who makes someone alive. The flesh is not at all useful. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Joh 6:64 But there are some among you who do not believe.” (Because Jesus knew from the first those who did not believe and the one who would hand him over.)
Joh 6:65 And He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is given to him by the Father.”

hard word test

Look back at what Jesus had told his disciples about how people come to faith in him:

Joh 6:37 Each one the Father is giving to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out.
Joh 6:38 Because I have come down from the sky, not to do what I want, but what my sender wants.
Joh 6:39 This is what my sender wants: that each thing given to me by him I will not destroy, but resurrect it on the last day.

One of the things that will demonstrate the authenticity of a disciple is her ability to respond in faith to the hard words of Jesus — the gospel truths which are a bit more difficult to understand or endorse. The eating and drinking Christ as a sacrifice word is one of those hard words.

LORD, give us to Jesus. May we learn the courage to accept all his words — even those which are difficult for us.

 

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gnawing on and drinking the sacrifice

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (12)

gnawing on and drinking the sacrifice

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2410

John 6:52-58

Joh 6:52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Joh 6:53 That is why Jesus said to them, “I honestly tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves.
Joh 6:54 The one who gnaws on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,
Joh 6:55 because my flesh is a true consumable and my blood is a true drink.
Joh 6:56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood stays in me, and I in him.
Joh 6:57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who gnaws on me will live because of me.
Joh 6:58 This is the bread that came down from the sky; it is not like the manna your ancestors ate– and they died. The one who eats this bread will live into the age.”

gnawing on and drinking the sacrifice

The antagonistic Jewish audience had refused to accept Jesus as the new manna from the sky. Now, he goes on to an even more difficult metaphor. He compares himself to the Old Testament sacrifices, particularly the ones that were to be consumed by the worshippers. These sacrifices were like sharing a meal with God the king, and symbolized the shared relationship and covenant with God.

The referent does not change with this new metaphor. Gnawing on the flesh and drinking the blood of this new sacrifice still means believing in Jesus (6:47). But Jesus changes the metaphor because gnawing on the flesh and drinking the blood are actions tied to the covenant aspect of the consumable sacrifices. Believers celebrate that covenant relationship every time we partake of the symbolic meal that commemorates Christ’s death on the cross.

LORD, thank you for providing the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and thank you that we share a relationship with you because of his sacrifice.

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sacrifice from the sky

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (11)

sacrifice from the sky

Devotions from Jefferson Vann

John 6:47-52

Joh 6:47 “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has permanent life.
Joh 6:48 I am the bread of life.
Joh 6:49 Your fathers ate the manna in the desert, and they died.
Joh 6:50 This is the bread that comes down from the sky so that anyone may eat from it and not die.
Joh 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from the sky. If anyone eats of this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Joh 6:52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

sacrifice from the sky

Jesus had already explained his metaphor by saying that anyone who believes has permanent life. In this passage, Jesus ties that teaching to an Old Testament type which prefigured his ministry. That type was the manna. Eating the living bread means believing in Christ, who sacrificed his flesh on the cross for us.

The Jews arguing among themselves missed the point completely. Just like their ancestors, who questioned the gift of manna, these unbelievers would rather have an explanation than a salvation.

There are lots of things in life, and in God’s word that we will not understand. That should never be an excuse for unbelief.

LORD, increase our faith, and help us to have faith in you in spite of the things from your word we do not understand.

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extricated

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (10)

extricated

John 6:41-47

Joh 6:41 This was why the Jews started grumbling about him — because he said, “I am the bread that came down from the sky.”
Joh 6:42 This is what they said, “This is not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from the sky’?”
Joh 6:43 Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves.
Joh 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me extricates him, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me–
Joh 6:46 not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father.
Joh 6:47 “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has permanent life.

extricated

The Greek word ἓλκω  (helko) in verse 44 is often translated “draw,” so I always thought of it as some kind of force from God attracting those who would believe. But the word has a more interesting history. It is the word used for extricating or extracting a sword from its sheath.

What is this power that extracts people from their antagonism to Jesus? It is being taught by God. The ones who listen to the Father’s word, and learn from him, believe who Jesus really is, and are promised permanent life.

LORD, extricate us, and teach us how to believe in your Son.

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what my sender wants

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (9)

what my sender wants

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2407

John 6:34-40

Joh 6:34 Then they said to him, “Sir, always give to us this bread .”
Joh 6:35 Jesus told them “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will not at all be hungry, and the one who believes in me will not at all ever be thirsty.
Joh 6:36 But I said to you that you have seen, and you are not believing.
Joh 6:37 Each one the Father is giving to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out.
Joh 6:38 Because I have come down from the sky, not to do what I want, but what my sender wants.
Joh 6:39 This is what my sender wants: that each thing given to me by him I will not destroy, but resurrect it on the last day.
Joh 6:40 Because this is what my Father wants: that everyone who is seeing the Son and believing in him has permanent life, and I will resurrect him on the last day.”

what my sender wants

If you are ever concerned with what God wants of you, reflect for a while on this passage. God wants you to get to a point where you will never be hungry and thirsty again — where you will have permanent life. You have two obstacles keeping you from experiencing what God wants for you. You are sinful, and you are mortal. Christ’s atonement on the cross took care of the first problem, and his plan to resurrect you and give you permanent life will take care of the second problem.

But there are conditions that you and I must meet in order to qualify both for the salvation from sin and the resurrection to permanent life. We must come to Christ, and we must believe in Christ. Knowing about Christ is not enough. There were those in the crowd whom Jesus was speaking to who even saw and experienced his ministry and miracles, but did not believe.

Do you want to experience both forgiveness and a future from Jesus? Believe him.

LORD, draw the readers of this post to yourself through Christ. Forgive them and free them from death.

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true bread from the sky

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (5)

true bread from the sky

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2406

John 6:28-33

Joh 6:28 They said to him, “What can we do to work the works of God?”
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God– that you believe in the one that he sent.”
Joh 6:30 This is why they said “What sign are you going to make so we may see and believe in you?” they asked. “What are you working?
Joh 6:31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert, just as it has been written: He gave them bread from the sky to eat.”
Joh 6:32 Jesus said to them, “I am honestly telling you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from the sky, but my Father gives you the true bread from the sky.
Joh 6:33 Because the bread of God is the one who comes down from the sky and gives life to the world.”

true bread from the sky

God answered Moses’ prayer and gave the manna to the Israelites in the desert. That was a miracle, a work of God. But the people had to believe that work, collect and consume the manna to save themselves from starvation.

Now, Jesus tells his listeners that he is the true bread from the sky. If the people do not listen to him, believe his words, and follow him, they will starve. God has no other means to permanent life.

LORD, thank you for providing the true bread from the sky — Jesus Christ.

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lasting rust

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (7)

lasting rust

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2405

John 6:22-27

Joh 6:22 The next day, the crowd that had stood on the other side of the sea saw there had been only one boat. They also saw that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone off alone.
Joh 6:23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
Joh 6:24 When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
Joh 6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you happen here?”
Joh 6:26 Jesus answered, “I honestly tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Joh 6:27 Don’t work for the consumable that perishes but for the consumable that lasts for permanent life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.”

lasting rust

I though it interesting that the word John uses here (the word I translate “consumable”) is not the normal word for bread, or a meal, but the word βρωσις that is elsewhere translated “rust.” Moths and rust are things that consume (Matthew 6:19). But Jesus uses the word here for something that is consumed. Some consumables (like ordinary bread) are eaten and then disappear. They offer temporary maintenance of life, but do not last. Even the miraculous bread and fish the 5000 had experienced was like that.

Jesus offers a consumable that lasts for permanent life. That is his promise to those who believe in him.

Thank you LORD, for the promise of permanent life through Christ.

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when Jesus happens

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky June 2018 (6)

when Jesus happens

Devotions from Jefferson Vann # 2404

John 6:16-21

Joh 6:16 When evening happened, his disciples went down to the sea,
Joh 6:17 and got into a boat, and started across the sea toward Capernaum. Darkness had already happened, but Jesus had not yet come to them.
Joh 6:18 And the sea, due to a high wind blowing, began to stir up.
Joh 6:19 This is why after they had rowed about twenty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was nearing the boat, and they were afraid.
Joh 6:20 But he said to them, “I am. Don’t be afraid.”
Joh 6:21 That was why they wanted to take him into the boat, and at once the boat was at the shore where they had intended to reach.

when Jesus happens

What struck me when reading this text in the Greek is how many times John used the word γίνομαι (to become or happen). It appears four times in this short passage (16,17,19,21). Other Gospel writers emphasized other things when relating the story of Jesus walking on water. John appears to emphasize the fact that our experience with Jesus cannot be controlled or manipulated. He is the I AM, so he is going to happen to us. We may not be ready for him when he happens next. We may not be “prayed up” or spiritually in tune. But it is not about the measure of our faith or our frame of mind. It is about him.

LORD, interrupt our lives. Come and happen among us.

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