Monthly Archives: August 2025

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE PATH TO THE FATHER – 24

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There followed, after His reassurance that His departure was not forever, Jesus’ next profound statement. After Thomas’ plaintive question, “How can we know the way when we don’t know where you are going?”, Jesus responded with these immortal words…

John 14:6 NIV
[6] “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus’ words were always both all-exclusives and all-inclusive. How could that be? The great divide that excluded many and included many was only one condition…faith!

Those who cannot understand the significance of faith, accuse Jesus and, by association, His followers, of “hate speech”! How could He insist that He is the only way to attain heaven? Yet, truth is narrow since, as one preacher declared, “Truth is a knife edge and error a wide, flat land.”

If it is true that there can only be one way to the Father, how can this be “hate speech” to speak the truth. Yes, this excludes all who are foolish enough to deny the truth but it includes everyone who believes.

According to Scripture, Jesus came from heaven for more than one purpose. He came to reveal the true nature of God and to introduce Him to His own people as Father. He came to remove the barrier of sin and open the way to the Father. He came to escourt those who believe in Him, to the Father.

Therefore, in summary, He declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life!”

In this statement, Jesus was not saying, “I will show you the way. I will teach you the truth. I will give you life.” He is much more than what He does. He is, in Himself, everything we need. Apart for Jesus, we can never be on the way, know the truth, or have the life He came to give us. It all depends on one profound truth that we are” in Christ”.

Paul’s favourite expression, “in Christ”, is much more than that, just an expression. It is the key to the full basket of benefits we have through our faith in Jesus. Paul sets out this truth in Ephesians 1 where he describes every blessing we have “in Christ”.

Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV
[3] “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing IN CHRIST. [4] For he chose us IN HIM before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, in accordance with his pleasure and will— [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us IN THE ONE he loves. [7] IN HIM we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, [9] he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed IN CHRIST, [10] to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth UNDER CHRIST. [11] IN HIM we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope IN CHRIST, might be for the praise of his glory. [13] And you also were included IN CHRIST when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked IN HIM with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

What more could Paul have written to convince us that only in union with Jesus can we have access to the blessings and benefits of the salvation He accomplished through the cross. We owe Him, not only our very existence but our access to the Father and to eternal life.

This must have been a foreign idea to His disciples, who were schooled in a religion of rules, ritual, and sacrifice to gain access to God and then only at a distance since a great, heavy curtain separated them from His presence. To be in a personal relationship with the God whom they feared because of His awesome holiness, was foreign and unthinkable…yet Jesus was declaring that the only way to the Father was to be in union with Him.

Even more radical are the words of the writer to the Hebrews…

Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV
[19] “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, [20] by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

His body, His blood, a high priest…these are all terms that linked them to their understanding of what God required to access Him, but so much more.. All the pictures and types of the Old Covenant finally came together in Jesus.

In His words,” I am…Yahweh, I am who I am…”, Jesus was placing Himself in their understanding, in the shoes of the God of the Old Covenant. He was the Yahweh they worshipped and, only in Jesus, who is in fact, Yahweh Himself, could they reach their goal of everlasting life with Yahweh.

Was it beginning to dawn on them, in these intimate moments before His death, that this man Jesus, with whom they had kept company for a number of years, was much more than a man. He was God and man in one person and personally assigned to take them, through union with Himself, to realm where in three persons, the Godhead reigned in power and glory and invited them to join in that union.

It’s no wonder He said to them…

John 16:12 NIV
[12] “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”

He had told them enough set their minds spinning.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE WAY TO THE FATHER – 23

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Imagine the uncertainty, the anxiety, the fear, like a threatening storm cloud hanging in the air above them, when the disciples gathered in the Upper Room. Jesus was saying strange things, doing strange things, as though He were preparing them for some disaster about to happen. They had learned that He never said or did anything without a purpose.

What now?

First, words of reassurance…

John 14:1 NLT
[1] “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. “

“Guys, I know you are upset and disturbed. You need to trust me in this as much as you trust God.” How important that they heed His words when their world began to shake… was shattered when events took a turn for the worst.

Then followed some of the most profound promises ever made…

John 14:2-4 NLT
[2] “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. [4] And you know the way to where I am going.”

This was wedding talk! After the betrothal, and the drawing up of the marriage contract, a Jewish groom-to-be would make this announcement to his finacee, “I am returning to my father’s house to build the bridal chamber. When it is complete, and at my father’s instruction, I will come for you.”

Jesus added, on another occasion, when He was speaking of the end of the age…

Matthew 24:36 NLT
[36] “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

… exactly as the groom would speak to reassure his bride of his return for her.

When the bridal chamber was ready, the father would give the signal, the son would return for his bride, the wedding would take place, and then, the groom would carry his bride (rapture her) over the threshold into the bridal chamber to consummate the marriage. Blood would be the evidence that they had become one!

What a perfect picture of the completion of our salvation…our eternal union with our bridegroom. Among the many beautiful symbols of the Father’s dealings with His wayward children is the theme of marriage which reoccurrs throughout Scripture, the courtship and marriage of the Son of God to His chosen and perfected bride.

The story is completed in the graphic prediction of the great wedding of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7-9 NLT
[7] “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. [8] She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. [9] And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

After all the trials and tests of this life, the Bride of Christ, the composite woman, the church, made up of every faithful believer, made spotless and blameless in preparation for her wedding day by the blood of her own bridegroom, the wedding will take place at the end of time.

Paul gives us the pattern for an earthly marriage which is to reflect the union between Jesus and His church.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NLT
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. [27] He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

This promise sums up everything that Jesus did for His church, and provides an unshakable reassurance that He will finish what He started.

When their world began to shake out of control, did these words steady their hearts? Perhaps only in hindsight would the disciples have remembered with gratitude what He had spoken to reassure them. When this shaking was all over, under them was the rock of solid truth that could never be shaken. No matter what happened in this life, no matter how bad the world would became, no matter how much they were called to endure, He promised that He would return to complete His mission and to take them home to Father’s house to live in union with Him forever.

And for us who follow in their footsteps, no matter what our lot in this life, we have the same promise that Jesus is coming to finish what He started. Each one of us has been wooed and won by the love of our Bridegroom. We all have His promise that He is coming again to take us home to Father’s house, whether by death or by transformation, to live with Him forever in a union so deep and profound that no one on earth can imagine what it will be.

So, as for the disciples in that moment in the Upper Room, so you may be standing where they stood, on the edge of a precipice so frightening that you dare not look ahead, you dare not imagine what may happen in the next moment. So, He says to you…

John 14:1-3 NLT
[1] “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. [2] There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

JOHN’S GOSPEL… LOVE IS THE KEY – 22

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John 13:1 NIV
[1] “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

These words preface five chapters in John’s gospel rich in the revelation of the Trinity… Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… working together in harmony to bring about the greatest event in human history, the death and resurrection of the God-man, and to bring the effects of that event into the lives of ordinary people.

Jesus’ first intention, in these final treasured moments in the Upper Room, alone with His disciples, was to show them that love is the key to all that He was about to reveal and to do to bring heaven to earth.

How did He demonstrate this love? ? He washed their feet!

No big deal for us who live in the 21st century. Most of us still have water in our taps. We wear closed shoes. Farm animals don’t coexist with us. At least many of us are not obliged to walk on dirt paths contaminated with filth!

In Jesus’ day, washing feet was both essential and the task of the lowliest of slaves… not in the job description of a rabbi, least of all a rabbi with authority, and certainly not the task of the one whom they held in highest honour and treated with the greatest respect.

Yet, Jesus deliberately disrobed, took a basin of water, and a towel, and knelt on the floor to wash His disciples’ feet. What a reversal of roles! What a demonstration, what a way to reinforce a lesson! A leader is a servant, not a boss… a slave, not a slave-driver.

Love alone makes it possible to ignore, to cancel rights, position, protocol… whatever elevates one above another, obliterating everything but common humanity to serve, to lift others up at the expense of the server.

Jesus could do this because He had nothing to prove and nothing to defend.

John 13:3-5 NIV
[3] “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; [4] so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. [5] After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

How unique it was to enjoy the company of one so free that no provocation caused offense, no situation created crisis, or displayed emotional immaturity. Jesus was just such a person. He could wash filthy feet with the same dignity as when He engaged people in discussion or debate.

This love was the love Paul described in 1 Corinthians 13,the famous “love” chapter.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
[4] “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6] Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Jesus’ demonstration of love was not so much to give them a new ceremony to follow but to highlight the attitude in the heart of a true disciple. Real love puts aside self for the sake of others. Only when we can do the lowliest, the most undignified or humiliating task for another without revulsion, can we show the love in our hearts that mirrors the love of Jesus.

This is a standard so high that few ever reach it in our ministry to one another. There is often a sneaky attitude of pride even in our most humble service. “Look at me…” However, Jesus urges us, not to carry out another ceremonial act for show but to serve each other with the selfless devotion that comes from a heart transformed by grace.

Our old nature rebels against any affront to its ego. Our self-centred pride demands to be protected at all costs. The disciples, especially Peter, balked against this demonstration of the kind of love which was absolutely foreign to him. He first resisted then went overboard…

John 13:8-9 NIV
[8] “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” [9] “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus had to drive home the message…washing their feet was symbolic of the daily cleansing from the contamination of their walk in the world. The deeper cleansing of their souls was effected by the work of the cross. It was their role, as members of one body, to care about the way they related to each other, preserving unity and fellowship by transparent and loving service.

John 13:10 NIV
[10] “Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

Later on, He would explain…

John 15:3 NIV
[3] “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”

Through the message He was to them, His disciples were aready washed by the Word. Their role was to apply that cleansing to their daily walk, in their togetherness and fellowship.

What was Jesus showing and telling them?

John 13:34-35 NIV
[34] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

By His demonstration of love, He showed them that all the commandments of the Old Covenant would be fulfilled by their loving service to one another. So, John, with understanding, would later write…

1 John 3:16, 23-24 NIV
[16] This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters…
[23] And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. [24] The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

And Jesus’ final disclosure? How is His message ever going to reach the world of wicked and rebellious people?…

John 13:35 NIV
[35] “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

… Not by bashing people with Bible but by the power of the sacrificial love of Jesus poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE OUTCOME – 21

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Let’s finish the story.

Six days before Passover, Jesus returned to Bethany for a celebration. Once again the scene was set, the three siblings finally in their appointed places… Martha serving, Mary worshipping at Jesus’ feet, and Lazarus…

John 12:2-3 NLT
[2] “A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. [3] Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”

…”was among those who ate with Him.”

What happened to Lazarus that changed everything? Let me again, use a little “poetic license”.

If Lazarus had a difference with Jesus that kept him out of the company when Jesus visited, perhaps Jesus used this opportunity to reveal something important to this man. He had a “near death experience”, except that he was really dead… for four days… already decaying in the tomb.

Is it possible that he tasted, for a brief time, the horrors of the place reserved for unbelievers? Was he the same Lazarus who featured in Jesus’ parable about the rich man and Lazarus, the only Lazarus named in Scripture? If so, then, in Jesus’ story, he was in paradise, not in hell, but what happened to change him from an absentee to a guest at the celebration? Did Jesus purposely let him die so that he would experience what it was like to die in unbelief? There must be some explanation for the change that came over him.

In no way am I trying to add to Scripture. I am only asking the question, what happened to Lazarus? The Jesus of Scripture is the Saviour of sinners, full of mercy, using every opportunity to search for the lost sheep, to bring it home, rejoicing in its rescue. As He always did, perhaps Jesus did the unthinkable…He purposely let Lazarus die to save him from hell!

Let’s examine the outcomes, all of which fitted into Jesus’ perfect timetable.

  1. Lazarus rose from the dead, a new man with a new attitude and a new destiny.
  2. The Father was glorified, always Jesus’ goal in doing miracles.

The blind man..

John 9:3 NLT
[3] “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

Lazarus…

John 11:4 NLT
[4] But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”

  1. This miracle was Jesus’ opportunity to throw down the gauntlet, sealing His own fate.

John 11:47-48, 53 NLT
[47] “Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. [48] If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”…
[53] So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.”

  1. Judas was humiliated in public, and strengthened in his resolve to betray Jesus.

John 12:3-5, 7 NLT
[3]” Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. [4] But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, [5] “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.”
[6] Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
[7] Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.”

John 13:21, 26-27 NLT
[21] “Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”…
[26] Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. [27] When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”

John 18:1-3 NLT
[1] “After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. [2] Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. [3] The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.”

  1. Jesus was in charge of His own timetable. Everything regarding His arrest and crucifixion was on course. How amazing that Jesus, knowing that He had come from heaven to die for the sin of the world, deliberately orchestrated the circumstances that led to His arrest and crucifixion. Before the right time came, He evaded arrest. However, when all the circumstances came came together for the perfect moment, He was in charge, even to the exact time He died, when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

When Jesus predicted that He would lay down His life for His sheep, He meant exactly that.

John 10:17-18 NLT
[17] “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. [18] No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

So, even in His earthly life, Jesus was always in charge, exercising His sovereignty in union with the Father, to fulfill His purpose. What people did or did not do fell in line with His will then and always, will now since, He is Lord.

The Lazarus event forms the apex of His miracles, the trigger for His death, and the perfect confirmation of His declaration..

John 11:25-26 NIV
[25]… “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; [26] and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE PLOT THICKENS – 20

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Let’s return to our story. Let’s watch how Jesus’ movements played out in this magnificent drama, to achieve, precisely, His purposes for each player, as He grasped His opportunity.

What was His ultimate purpose for doing His many miracles? According to John, they were signs… signs pointing to what? John records only seven miracles, each a sign pointing to and confirming an aspect of His identity as God’s Son. Some of those who witnessed His miracles believed in Him, e.g., His disciples after the wedding in Cana.

John 2:11 NLT
[11] “This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

How imperative that Jesus’ dearest friends would also be convinced that He was who He said He was. What better opportunity to do a miracle for them so great that they would never forget.

The sisters’ reactions were different, but for both, life-changing. Martha, the practical one, confronted Jesus with a rebuke…

John 11:20-22 NLT
[20] “When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

Martha ran out to meet Him, chiding Him for His delay, expressing both a spoken rebuke and a hidden hope. Just like Andrew’s tentative response to Jesus’ question when they were confronted with a vast crowd of people to feed (John 6:8-9), so Martha hesitantly expressed faith in Jesus, that He would do something, she knew not what…

John 11:21-24 NLT
[21] “Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” [23] Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
[24] “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

What was Martha saying? Would she have to settle for the hope that Lazarus would eventually come back to life in the general resurrection of the dead? Cold comfort for her in a time of devastating loss!

For Martha, this miracle demonstrated that Jesus Himself was the key to the resurrection. Outside of Him, there was no hope of resurrection. This was huge. Martha’s hope moved from a vague notion about resurrection to a powerful conviction that there would be a resurrection and that it would happen because of Jesus. Was Jesus telling her, in advance, that He would rise from the dead?

Martha saw, in the resurrection of Lazarus, the Jesus who was who He said He was because He did what He said He would do. “Your brother will rise again.”…and she believed.

As for Mary, the sensitive one, her disappointment in Jesus was so great that she didn’t even want to see Him. When He arrived in Bethany, she refused to meet Him. She stayed in the house, wallowing in her grief, compounded by her misery because Jesus has failed them. Hammering in her brain was the accusation, “You didn’t come!”

When Jesus called her, all she could say was, “It’s your fault! You didn’t come!” Unlike Martha, her devastation was complete. She could see nothing beyond the moment.

It’s no wonder Jesus wept, no because Lazarus was dead but because Mary had failed to trust Him. His compassion for Mary overwhelmed Him. If only she had trusted Him, she would not have put herself through so much pain.

What was Mary’s lesson in this great miracle? “Before you collapse in a heap of misery, Mary, let Jesus finish what He started. Trust in Him. That will save you from unnecessary emotional pain.”

How much we also need this lesson when trouble hits and we can find no way out! God will always finish what He started. Instead of descending into depression, if we trust Him, our faith is refined, like gold in a crucible in the fire, when we wait for the Lord to complete His work.

Philippians 1:6 NLT
[6] “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

What will it take for us to trust Him when the fire is hottest? Will it take a “Mary meltdown” before we learn to trust Him in the process?

God is always faithful to His promises. We will inherit them when we wait in faith and patience for Him to act, fully convinced that He will do what He said He will do.