Monthly Archives: November 2021

A BIG MAN IN A LITTLE BOOK

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A BIG MAN IN A LITTLE BOOK

“Because of this the rumour spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; He only said, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?’

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for all the books that would be written.” John 21:23-25.

What a strange way to end his story! It’s almost as though John could not think of anything more to say, so he ended with a rather weak statement which could possibly fit any other busy or famous person.

First of all, it seems that John had a perfectly good reason for including his bit about the misunderstanding that Jesus’ words had spawned. The story became twisted in the telling, like most stories do, and John needed to correct it because the rumour that had spread that he would remain alive until Jesus returned would set off a chain reaction among believers. They would give up on life and sit around waiting for Jesus to rescue them from the evil world. This was never Jesus’ intention.

What about the final paragraph? Was it just an inane statement to end the book because John didn’t know what else to say? At face value it might seem like that, but let’s look at his declaration.

“Jesus did many other things as well.” John had so much material to work with, written records, perhaps; memories that he treasured from his years in the company of Jesus; little incidents that took on new meaning as he thought about them. He had plenty of time to ponder on the many things he had seen and heard. He must have felt overwhelmed at times as he wrote about this amazing man.

Without a set purpose for writing, John would have got lost among the mass of material he had to work with. Talk about writer’s block! John surely knew what that was! Fortunately, he had worked out a plan before he started so that he would use only that which served his purpose for writing.

As he thought about his life with Jesus, he felt overwhelmed by the enormity of this man. John was utterly convinced that He was the Son of God, and nothing would ever again shake his conviction, especially after what he had seen in the empty tomb. That was his “light-bulb” moment. The burial cloths spoke volumes about the miracle that had just happened. Jesus had left them undisturbed, as though His body had melted right out of them! Only God could do that.

Yes, John realised, as he looked back, that Jesus was a really, really big person, and that everything He said and did had significance. It’s no wonder that he marvelled at Him so that, to do justice to His story would take all the paper, all the ink and all the energy of all the people of the whole world to write it down! And that was impossible. People would have to be content with what he and his fellow authors had written because it was enough to convince their readers that He really was who He was.

John could not help but assure his readers that he was telling the truth because he was an eyewitness of what he had written. For John, this was an important affirmation of the authenticity of his story because, in a Jewish court of law, there were severe penalties for anyone who gave false information.

And so, John ends his book, not with a weak statement that makes his story fizzle out, but with a ringing affirmation that he was carefully selective with his facts, that he was a faithful eyewitness and that he was attempting to tell about someone whose life story was too big for this world.

He makes a grand exit with words something like this, “Hey guys, I did my best to squeeze this huge man into the pages of a small book. I know it’s impossible, but what I have told you is enough to show you that Jesus really is the Son of God. If you believe Him, you’ll know what it’s like to live, really live!”

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

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MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

“Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who leaned against Jesus at the supper and said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’).

“When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.'” John 21:20-22.

What did Peter think this was, a little fortune-telling time? He had just been told what his future had in store for him and it wasn’t pretty. He was curious to know what was in store for John as well. In spite of everything that had happened, the old rivalry was still there, sitting just below the surface.

Don’t you love John’s honesty? He could have left this bit out. No one else reported on it. Peter, at least, could have told Mark and had it included in Mark’s gospel, except that it didn’t make Peter look good. Was John having a little dig at him? It could be, except that John was writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit so we have to look for another reason for its inclusion.

John was eavesdropping on this exchange between Jesus and Peter, Perhaps Jesus had invited Peter to go for a little walk with Him after breakfast while the other disciples dealt with the fish. Instead, John took up his stance behind Jesus as a disciple should, except that he had not been invited to join them. Whatever the reason for him being there, he was listening to the conversation and Peter knew he was there.

There is a good reason why this incident was included in Scripture, although it seems a strange way for John to conclude his gospel. God has a strong opinion about people who meddle in other people’s affairs. What is it in human nature that prompts this rivalry, even among Jesus’ own disciples? And it’s no different today.

The Ten Commandments end with one that searches the heart. “You shall not covet.” The other nine commandments might be measurable — yes, I kept that one; no I didn’t keep that one — but how do I measure whether I have coveted or not? What does it mean to covet?

To covet means to compare myself with someone else and conclude that the other person has more than I have or better than I have. It is actually an inward expression of my discontentment with what God has given me and a judgment on Him for being unfair. Isn’t this where it all started in the Garden of Eden? God put a restriction on one tree in the garden and that tree became the focus of Eve’s discontent.

I think it was more than curiosity that prompted Peter’s question. He was not coveting anything that John had at that moment, but coveting starts with comparing. He wanted to compare his future with John’s to see whether John’s lot was better than his. Jesus quickly nipped that one in the bud.

This is an important lesson for every believer to learn. The undercurrents of competition are very real in the church and between church groups and even denominations. Strangely enough, the Bible puts busybodies together with murderers. Every person’s walk with the Lord is intensely personal. It is not our business to look around and compare ourselves with others or to want what others have or do.

What was to happen to John was none of Peter’s business and Jesus let him know it in no uncertain terms. Peter had only one responsibility and that was to keep his eyes on Jesus.

Paul could have said to him, as he wrote to the Roman church: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.”  Romans 14:4.

To judge someone else, I have to set up a standard, myself, and then compare the other person with myself. Of course, in my opinion, he will fall short, and that will make me feel superior. If I am superior to the other person, why has God short-changed me? God must be at fault and therefore I degrade Him and lose confidence in Him. Isn’t that exactly what the devil wants?

There is only one antidote to this poison in our hearts. Mind our own business. It’s as simple as that!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

A THORNY ROAD AHEAD

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A THORNY ROAD AHEAD

‘Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, ‘Follow me!'” John 21:18-19.

There it is! Full circle!

Jesus put the last piece into the puzzle of Peter’s commission. As far as He was concerned, everything that had happened in the past was behind Him. Once again, He issued His simple two-word call, ‘Follow me!’ Peter’s love for Him had been reaffirmed and there was no need to mope about what had happened or bite His nails in case Peter failed Him again.

Jesus knew that Peter was a man, and fully capable of repeating his failure many times over, but that did not deter Him from calling him or putting His confidence in him to do what he was called to do. He did not give him a detailed map of the future. It was enough that Peter obey His simple instruction, ‘Follow me.’

Jesus gave him no grandiose ideas about what lay in the future for him — only an ominous hint that his life would not end in a blaze of glory, with adoring crowds egging him on, but in a way that he would not choose for himself. Peter and his fellow disciples, like their Master, were being sent out into a hostile world. Both the Roman and the Jewish world were about to hound them to death.

The Roman government, headed by an arrogant and despotic Caesar, would not tolerate any challenge to their supreme authority, and the Jewish leaders would continue their campaign to exterminate those who followed the crucified Galilean who said He was God and whom they claimed to be alive.  

Why did Jesus warn Peter of what lay ahead of him? Was He just being a fortune-teller who took delight in hanging a dark cloud over Peter’s head? Most so-called fortune tellers at least paint a rosy picture of the future for their clients. Money…fame…a tall, dark and handsome lover waiting in the wings, or something similar!

Jesus held out no hope of a rosy future for Peter; no preaching in the coliseum to thousands of attentive Jews and Gentiles; no Caesar himself answering the altar call; no churches springing up all over the Roman Empire, living under the protection and favour of the Roman government. No, it would be an uphill battle all the way, and would end for him in a very unpleasant death.

Peter was to carry this warning in his heart, not to scare him but to remind him of his dependence on the Master for grace to do what He called him to do, to follow Him, and to trust Him for every step of the way. He was to die to any dream of success according to the world’s way of thinking. His success lay in his obedience to Jesus’ call.

He was to live realistically, realising that he was in enemy territory. At no time was he to entertain rosy thoughts about his life, or think that he could escape the trouble that His Master had suffered. Following Jesus meant doing what He did — entrusting himself to God and trusting Him for direction every moment of every day.

Why is it that believers today, and especially many so-called spiritual leaders, think that it is any different for us? We qualify our “call” by adding, “I have been called to do this or that.” Really? Every believer is called; called to do only one thing — to follow Jesus. It is His prerogative to decide where He leads and what He intends for us to do.

Some are called to follow Him into the limelight because He can trust them to stand behind Him. Others are called to follow in obscurity because He needs them there too. It is not what we are called to do that is the issue; that we are called to follow Him is what matters. The problem arises when we think we know what He has called us to do, and run ahead instead of simply following where He leads.

It is enough that we stay one step behind Him.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE POWER OF LOVE

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THE POWER OF LOVE

“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ The third time He said to him, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’ “John 21:15-17.

This was not Peter’s first encounter with Jesus after the resurrection. He had seen Him in the Upper Room on the morning of His resurrection. He had been there a week later when Jesus reassured Thomas that He was really alive.

I think that Peter did not doubt that Jesus had forgiven Him. He did not take off and commit suicide like Judas had done. He knew his Master well enough to know that He would forgive him for his failure. After all, hadn’t Jesus answered his question about forgiveness, ‘Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother for the same sin against me?’

So what was this encounter all about? It was not about forgiving Peter; it was about Peter’s future. How did he stand with Jesus with regards to his calling? Would Jesus trust him enough to count him among His disciples or must he step down and go back to his fishing? What were the thoughts that were running through his head when he saw his Master cooking breakfast on the beach?

There was significance even in that simple action. Jesus was inviting His disciples, all of them present there because they had all deserted Him at the critical moment, to a fellowship meal. Eating together meant relationship – reconciliation – nothing to disturb their togetherness. And Peter was also invited. They were all in it together; failure and restoration.

Peter needed to have his nagging insecurity settled once and for all, and Jesus knew it. Would He put Peter through a period of probation, a time to rebuild trust in him?  Would He suspend him from service for season so that Peter could be “rehabilitated”? Would He demote him to a lesser status, a sort of “tea boy” for the others?

Peter was shocked at Jesus’ question; not “Why did you do it?” or “What do you think I should do with you?” but “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Three times the same question! It was not what he had expected. Perhaps he would have felt better had Jesus given him a good dressing down and suspended for a while. After all, he was guilty and he needed to be punished, but “Do you love me?”

What was Jesus doing? He was redirecting Peter to the core of his future ministry. Nothing but love for his Master would steady him in the days to come when all hell would break loose against him. He would need the same power of love that held Jesus steadfast to Him mission in the face of hatred, antagonism and opposition – the power of love – to keep him loyal to his Master even in the face of a brutal death. It was Jesus’ love for the Father that kept Him true to His commission, and so it would have to be for Peter.

An invisible bond as strong as a spider’s silk, held Father and Son together through every human experience Jesus had to endure. Now it was Peter’s turn to learn the power of that love. Not even love for the sheep would hold him – only the power of Jesus’ love flowing back to Him through Peter.

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

“Many waters cannot quench love, rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned.” Song of Solomon 8:7.

So sang the beloved of her lover, and this is the love that Jesus had for Peter. “Peter, my love for you is as strong as death, burning like an unquenchable fire. Peter, do you love me?”

No amount of discipline or rehabilitation will hold our hearts to Jesus when we fall – only the love that holds us in an unbreakable bond. That alone is the foundation of our calling. “Do you love me? Then take care of my sheep.”

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!

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JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!

“Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples dared ask Him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.

“Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.” John 21:12-14

Jesus and His disciples on the beach; the ripples on the lake sparkling in the early morning sunlight; the boats on the shore nearby dripping water from their latest fishing trip; the nets full of writhing fish; it was all so familiar, just like old times. Was it possible that so much had happened in the meantime?

Only one thing was radically different. Jesus had been dead and buried, and yet, here He was, serving breakfast to them as though nothing had happened. They knew it was Jesus, but they still longed to be sure. Nothing like this had ever happened before in the history of humankind. They were too afraid to ask Him if it was really He. What if their imagination was playing tricks on them and it wasn’t Jesus after all? Was it possible that they could all be fooled at the same time?

Then they heard the same familiar invitation, ‘Come and eat,’ and saw the same familiar gesture, breaking the piping hot flat loaves of bread and handing the pieces out to them, and they were reassured. Twice before in the past few days, He had appeared out of nowhere. Closed doors did not deter Him. He even heard their whispered conversation in His absence.

Thomas, at least, had no more doubts about Jesus. He had had an in-your-face encounter with Him and an opportunity to finger the wounds of His recent horrifying death, not that he needed to push his finger into the wounds that still appeared raw and painful, the only visible remnants of His ordeal. Thomas was convinced, once and for all and would never forget his faith-exploding meeting with Jesus.

Every time Jesus appeared to them, He had something meaningful to achieve. When He was no longer personally on earth, they would be so bound to Him in the confidence that He was alive that they would go to the ends of the earth, face the worst that their unbelieving fellow men could throw at them, endure suffering and even lay down their lives for Him because they had seen Him.

These men had not joined a movement or subscribed to a cause. They had not signed a decision card or answered an altar call. They had not “accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour” in order to go to heaven. They did not connect with Him because He could solve their problems, meet all their needs, keep them healthy and happy and make them rich.

They had spent three years in His company. They had watched Him die and seen Him alive. They were convinced that He was the Son of God, the Messiah. They had not yet understood the implications of His teaching and miracles, His life and death, His resurrection and appearances to them, but they remembered His words, ‘When the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead you into all truth,’ and they would go to the ends of the earth for Him. They would follow Him, no matter what.

They were standing in the threshold of something new and big and beyond their imagination but they did not yet know it. At that moment they were overjoyed to be with Jesus, content to know that He was alive, and to share a meal with Him like old times. He would give them instructions about the next step when the time came; of that they were sure. They knew Him well enough to be assured that He knew what He was doing even if they did not.

Why did He eat a meal with them? It was the Jewish was of saying, ‘Guys, I have forgiven you. There are no issues between you and me. We are reconciled and we can share this meal in harmony. I have put everything that has happened behind me. This is a new start.’ Can you imagine their relief and joy that their Master was alive, that He had forgiven them, that they were still very much His disciples and that He would lead them on from there?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.