Daily Archives: January 6, 2014

Don’t Interfere With Me!

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DON’T INTERFERE WITH ME

“Some time later Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

“Now there was in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie — the blind, the lame, the paralysed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?'” John 5:1-6 (NIV).

What a question! Thirty-eight years lying paralysed and helpless on a mat and Jesus asks a question like that!

But Jesus knew the inner workings of this man better that we give Him credit for. Thirty eight years is a long enough time in which to get used to a certain way of life and to develop an attitude. To this man it was normal for him to lie there, day after day, to feel sorry for himself and to watch the world go by and not be a part of it. He had his “spot”, no doubt; he was probably give food by his family and, since he had long given up hope of a miraculous cure in the pool, he just lay there….and even stopped thinking.

Then a strange man came along and asked him an even stranger question, ‘Do you want to get well?’ On the surface it seems like a foolish and unnecessary question but wait a minute, to whom was Jesus talking? Not to someone who has ‘flu or even pneumonia but to a man who had been useless and helpless for a very long time. He had no dreams, no ambitions, nothing to look forward to, and nothing to plan. He just was.

What would it take for this man to have to start thinking and living again? He was used to his condition which required no effort at all. Who did this man think He was, coming here and trying to shake him out of his comfortable nothingness? What was the point of even trying to raise his hopes when it was all hopeless anyway?

“‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no-one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.’” John 5:7 (NIV).

The man’s spontaneous response was to retreat into self-pity mode. ‘Sir, don’t you understand that I am useless, helpless and alone? No one cares enough about me to help me into the pool.’ He was so locked into his situation and mind-set that he did not hear Jesus’ question. He had a pat answer that played in his mind like a stuck record.

What would it take to rekindle hope in the heart of this man? Without hope, healing could never happen. Somehow Jesus had to get beyond his wall of despair and begin to help him to dream again.

A simple command changed everything for the paralysed man. “The Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.” John 5:8, 9a (NIV).

There was no need for Jesus to enter into a counselling session with him. Having gauged his state of mind, He spoke a word and the man responded. There was authority in His command. Healing flowed through the man’s body as he acted.

Is that not the key that opens the door of hope for us too? When Jesus speaks a word to us it requires an act of faith to respond to His command before the miracle happens. Whatever miracle we are needing takes more than a passive “believing”; it needs the active “responding” to activate the power of God.

What is your state of mind? Have you lost hope? Has despair clouded your spiritual hearing and sight? Jesus is asking you, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ That’s the real issue. Do you want to be alive again or are you so comfortable in your misery that it has become the normal for you?

Jesus is saying to you today, ‘Get up!’

Convinced?

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CONVINCED? 

“While he was still on the way his servants met him with the news that the boy was living.

“When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’

“Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he and his whole household believed. This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.” John 4:51-54 (NIV).

The second sign? What was the first sign?

John obviously did not record the first sign. Was the first sign part of the “many other things” that Jesus did which were impossible to record because there were too many (John 21:25)? John was selective about the stories he recorded because he wrote with a specific purpose in mind. Each miracle he wrote about, which he called “signs”, ended with a response of faith in those who were involved in it or those who witnessed it.

Why did he call them “signs”? A sign points to something. The purpose of John’s gospel was to point to Jesus as the Son of God so that His people would believe in Him.  “Jesus performed many other signs, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in His name.” John 20:30, 31 (NIV).

John left his readers in no doubt as to the purpose of his book. It was not just an interesting and well-written story. It was about a man who was more than a man, the God-man, the Son of God and the one chosen and anointed by the Father to represent and reveal Him to the world so that the facts would speak for themselves of who He was.

The sick boy’s father believed that Jesus could heal his son and acted on His instruction, ‘Go home. Your son will live.’ Jesus did not need to be physically present to heal his son. The confirmation came when he learned that the miracle happened at the exact moment when Jesus had spoken the words, ‘you son will live.’

Why was this another sign? To what did it point? Jesus made claims beginning with “I AM” which incensed His enemies because they recognised how outrageous they were if they were not true. Since they had already decided that He was a blasphemer and refused to weigh up the evidence, every time He said, ‘I AM’ was another nail in His coffin.

But, while they refused to be convinced, there were those who responded with simple faith to the miracles that were a witness to whom He said He was.

In the Jewish legal system, there had to be two or three witnesses in a court of law for an accusation to be valid. When the Pharisees accused Him of blasphemy, He called His witnesses — John bore witness to Him, the Father bore witness to Him and His miracles were signs to point to the validity of His claims.

His first miracle at the wedding in Cana in Galilee bore witness to His claim to be the source of the new wine of the Spirit. His healing of the dying boy in Capernaum spoke of His power to give new life to those who are dead in their sin. On both occasions Jesus did nothing more than speak the word and the miracle happened. John’s introduction to Jesus in the first sentence of His gospel was, “In the beginning was the Word…”

As the story of Jesus unfolds, John gathers evidence and piles on witness after witness to show his readers the absolute authenticity of Jesus’ words…miracles…responses…all point to the same thing; this man, Jesus, is none other than the Messiah, the Son of God. But still, the Jews in the main rejected Him. Why? It was their choice.

What’s yours?

 

 

The Power Of Words

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THE POWER OF WORDS

 “After two days He left for Galilee. (Now Jesus Himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honour in his own country). When He arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed Him. They had seen all He had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival. for they had also been there.

“Once more He visited Cana in Galilee where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to Him and begged Him to come and heal his son who was close to death.

“‘Unless you people see signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’ The royal official said, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies.’ 

‘Go,’ Jesus replied, ‘your son will live.’ The man took Jesus at His word and departed.” John 4:43-50 (NIV).

Jesus spent two days with the Samaritans in Sychar. What must it have been like for His disciples? Were they still so wrapped up in their prejudice that they spent an uncomfortable two days, champing at the bit to get out of there, or were they so enthralled with the teaching of Jesus that they forget where they were? Most definitely the former, I think. They were still their old Jewish male selves and probably couldn’t wait to put Samaria behind them!

They must have breathed a sigh of relief when they finally put their feet back on Galilean soil, back to friends and family and familiar territory to take a break from their hectic schedule. But not for long. They were no sooner back in Cana than there was someone clamouring for Jesus’ attention.

John described him as a “royal official”. Was he someone from Caesar’s household or was he of Herod’s clan? John doesn’t tell us. We only know that he was someone important in social circles but that didn’t make him immune from potential tragedy in his family. His son was dying and he had no-one to turn to in his anxiety…until Jesus arrived in Cana.

Jesus could do nothing without it being broadcast around the country. He was the current sensation in Galilee. People who had been at the Passover were buzzing with news about Him. He was the “homeboy” who was making waves wherever He went and they loved it, for now.

The stricken family pricked up their ears when they heard He was back. The father wasted no time in setting off from Capernaum to Cana. He wouldn’t even risk sending a servant to enlist Jesus’ help. When he arrived in Cana and found Jesus, his earnest entreaty received an uncharacteristic rebuff from Him. ‘All you people are looking for are signs and wonders to boost your faith. You want what I can do, not me.’

The frantic father brushed Jesus’ words aside. His errand was too urgent to engage in a discussion. ‘Please,’ he begged, ‘come and heal my son before he dies.’ Jesus was satisfied that the man’s request for help was genuine and not another ploy to get Him to do a miracle to entertain the crowds. He did not even need to be there in Capernaum to heal the official’s son. ‘God,’ He said, ‘your son will live.’

This man’s faith in Jesus was tested to the limit. Jesus did not respond to his plea, ‘Come down and heal my son.’ There was no need for His physical presence to do the miracle. His word was enough and the royal official knew that. He understood how authority worked, and he recognised Jesus’ authority in the unseen realm. He set off home with complete confidence in Jesus’ spoken word.

What will it take for us who claim to believe in Jesus to have that kind of confidence in His word? His promises, printed in a book, have no less authority to do what He has said than the words He spoke to that desperate father that day.

Do you believe that?

An Unexpected Harvest

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AN UNEXPECTED HARVEST

 “Many of the Samaritans of that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days. And because of His words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.'” John 4:39-42 (NIV).

What an amazing conclusion to an unusual encounter! Once again John had a story to tell that ended with a new wave of response of faith in Jesus as Messiah and Saviour.

It’s almost as though His words to His disciples were prophetic. The woman was the first-fruit of a harvest that was waiting to be reaped in an unlikely region through which He travelled on His way to somewhere, but she was the key to that harvest

What was it in the woman’s testimony that captured their attention and their imagination?  One simple statement, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ Jesus was no fortune-teller. It was much more than just His words that captivated her. What He knew and disclosed to her was the wedge that opened up her locked and barred spirit because it revealed His heart for her.

His words were not intended to embarrass or condemn her. They were part of a disclosure that revealed not only what He knew about her unsavoury life but also what He understood about her empty heart. It was His invitation to come to Him because He could give her water that would quench her thirst forever.

Her fellow towns-people were intrigued by her testimony, but they were even more intrigued by the transformation in her. She was very different from the woman they knew and despised. Something had happened to her that had caused her to lose her fear of them. She approached them without shame in spite of her testimony. There was something in Jesus’ words that had set her free and she was desperate to share it with her erstwhile “enemies”.

The people of Scar were not only willing to listen to her story; they also wanted to hear this remarkable man for themselves. Here was an unlikely harvest ready for reaping. Why should they, the people of a race that was despised by the Jews, listen to a Jewish man? Racial prejudice runs very deep and it works both ways.

The miracle is that Jesus transcends prejudice. In His earthly circumstances He might have been born a Jew and raised in the Jewish culture and religion, but He never participated in their attitudes and issues. Jew though He was, He represented another kingdom and another culture. He did not represent a Jewish God or a white man’s God or a black man’s God or any other group’s God. He came to reveal the God of heaven.

He is the Son of God, the Creator of the universe and Father of all the variations of the human race. There is only one race. The prejudices human beings develop are based on superficial external differences, not on our essential unity as members of the human race created in the image of God.

The apostle Paul confirmed the unity of the human race: “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” Acts 17:26 (NIV).

His message is to the world; it transcends geographical, language and cultural boundaries and invites all people everywhere to return to the Father from whom they are estranged because of sin. The woman needed a Father to heal her wounded heart and so did the people of Sychar who were no better than she.

Everyone, regardless of our experience of an earthly, imperfect father, needs to know the Father and to return to His house where we can live as accepted and beloved children of God, and Jesus came to take us to Him.

Have you come home to Him? Why are you waiting?