The Voice from Heaven

Lesson #198

We closed our last lesson with Jesus saying, “Father, glorify your name.” If you were standing there when Jesus spoke those words, how would you feel, what would be your reaction when a voice spoke from heaven saying, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:28). When the people were camped before Mount Sinai and God prepared to speak, “. . . [and] all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:18 – 21 ESV). If we have truly encountered God and know and understand him, should we not experience some fear before the living God of the universe? How can a sinner stand before a holy God and not have some semblance of feat? We seem to have lost this respect for him today!

This is one of three recorded times when the voice from heaven spoke during the earthly ministry of Jesus. The first was at his baptism: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16 – 17 ESV). The second was at his transfiguration: “[Jesus] was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”” (Matthew 17:5 ESV).

“The crowd that stood there and heard the voice said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”” (John 12:29 ESV).  People who write commentaries can’t agree whether the speech was distinct or not. I believe the words were clearly spoken based on the words being understood in the first two instances listed above and on what Jesus will say about this in the next verse. I believe the voice was so loud and majestic that the people described the sensation like that of thunder, maybe like the voice of an angle as some in the crowd said. “Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine.”” (John 12:30 ESV). This comment, I believe, establishes that the words were understandable and were for their sake; to convince them that he was the Messiah, and engage them to believe in him, or to leave them without excuse.

This lesson is a bit shorter, but this is a good break point in the text.  

Prayer

Father, three times you have spoken from heaven to validate that Jesus is your Son, the Messiah and these three times the people had the opportunity to hear the Father speak. Several times Jesus made claims as to who he was and backed up his claims with a miracle. Father, today in areas of severe persecution you are giving visions and dreams to people to validate who Jesus is. All around us is evidence to validate the claims of Jesus Christ, but people continue to disbelieve what they hear or see. Father, have mercy on us for our disobedience and continue to encourage us to walk with the Lord as we should. 

My Soul is Deeply Troubled

Lesson #197

With this lesson we will start the next section, defined by John 12:27 – 36, in which Jesus teaches about his coming death on the cross. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour” (John 12:27 ESV). What a verse! Have you ever experienced a time when you faced something that totally overwhelmed you and set your adrenaline surging through your body? Jesus is drawing closer and closer to an event that is beyond our understanding because we have never been without sin and about to experience the sting of death and the cup of God’s wrath, which will separate Jesus from his Father. Try to imagine what it would be like for Jesus, the holy righteous Son of God, to absorb our sin with the death that comes with it and the curse of God as punishment.

When Jesus saw Mary and the Jews weeping, in John 11:33, he became deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled as he thinks about the evils and curse of death that took the life of his friend Lazarus. This God Man is beginning to more fully realize that his state of holiness is about to become indescribably horrid; something he has never experienced in all of eternity. “Now” that Jesus is closer to the cross, he again is reminded about what lies ahead and as a result his soul is troubled or stirred up and unsettled. He is so deeply troubled that he doesn’t know what to say to his Father. Think about having the knife to your throat with the command to deny the Lord or else you get sliced. What shall you say? Do you deny Jesus to save your body or do you stand firm and give your body as a living sacrifice to God as many of our brother and sisters who are living under persecution?

The Son of Man feels the full weight of what lies ahead (the horrific suffering from scourging, the agony of the cross, and the separation from his Father) and he says, “What shall I say?” He thinks of the coming agony and would like so much to avoid it, but he realizes it was for this purpose that he has come to this hour and he cries out, “Father, glorify your name” (John 12:28a ESV). A heavy dark cloud seems to be hanging over him, but for a moment there appears to be a slight break in the gloomy darkness of agony and instead of crying out for a legion of angles to deliver him from the impending tremendous trial, he utters a prayer from the depths of his heart and cries out, “Father, glorify your name.” How do you think his Father will respond? We will find out in the next lesson.

Prayer

Father, there are times when I feel overwhelmed by a trial that seems to close in on me with its deepening darkness of despair. I know this trial is for my benefit, to know my spiritual growth, but I feel alone and wonder where you are. Like my exams in college when my teacher watches, I know you are watching and I know that the trial will not overwhelm me and will be for my benefit. Father, I pray that each trial will develop greater endurance and reveal areas of needed growth. Lord, through my suffering I need to stay focused on the cross where you suffered for me and know that not only am I crucified with you, but I will rise with you. 

Death, Life, Service, Fruit

Lesson #196

Jesus continues his response to the Greeks: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24 ESV). Again Jesus turns to nature to help him explain why he must die. He asks us to consider a grain of wheat. If it remains protected in a granary someplace, it will continue as a grain of wheat, but if it is taken and sown into the soil it begins to deteriorate as though it was dying, but as this is happening a hidden force from within brings forth new life which roots into the soil and sends up a shoot through the soil to light and air above. The plant continues to grow and eventually reproduces the seed sacrificed with many more seeds. Stored in the protection of the granary, the seed accomplished nothing, but sown into the soil to die it is able to reproduce itself many times. Jesus, as the Son of God, could have remained in the safety of heaven, but he was sent to earth to die and in so doing, life emerged from him to become the life of men. The life we sinful people needed was locked up in the Son of God and through the death of Jesus it was made available to us. Jesus is the Life, the source of Life for us and through his death on the cross that life is made available for us only if we believe and come to Jesus, denying ourselves, to be crucified with him. Only when we are crucified with him through faith will we be dead to the world to rise in the newness of life. As crucified ones, as we are poured out as a sacrificial offering which allow Jesus to live out his life in us producing much fruit. As believers in countries of persecution offer their bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), they bear much fruit and Christianity experiences tremendous growth.

“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25 ESV). To make his point, Jesus speaks here in absolute terms to emphasize a point. He who “loves his life” means to delight your life in this world more than you delight in God, and “whoever hates his life in this world” means to think so little of your life and so much of God, that you are willing to sacrifice it all for God. Here in the west, examples of this are few and far between, but in nations where persecution is the norm, people are willing to sacrifice their life just to be a Christian, to own a Bible, and to stand with Jesus and defend their faith in him. These who love God so much more than their own lives, who are willing to sacrifice their body as a demonstration of their love, are the ones who in the end demonstrate that they have eternal life.

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26 ESV). Verses 24 through 26 are not for the faint of heart or one who is looking for a life of comfort. Verse 24 speaks of dying in order to bear fruit, verse 25 indicates that our love for the Lord is to be so great that in comparison we hate our life in this world, and here in verse 26 we find that service means sacrifice and suffering. The one who is truly born again will desire to serve Jesus and in order to serve him we must follow him to be where he is. The language of these verses suggest that we must follow him to the cross because there we are to be crucified with him, which is required if he is going to live his life in and through us. A Biblical Christian is one who is willing to sacrifice everything, including his life to follow Jesus. A clear picture of what this is like is obtained by learning from our persecuted brothers and sisters.

I have been engaged in such a study for the past two years and as a result I am finding a fresh understanding of many passages in the Bible. Believers in the west must understand the culture in which the Bible was written and interrupt the text through that culture. Those who are being tortured and suffer in prison describe the honor of suffering, the blessing they experience, the fellowship of suffering, and the closeness of the Lord. They describe the love they feel and the ability to forgive. Unless we experience this ourselves or get close enough to these who are suffering, we are unable to adequately understand verses on suffering. I am so thankful for the experience I obtained in China teaching in an underground school, being followed by police, getting through checkpoints to meet up with believers in unfinished high-rise buildings or in remote apartments. I learned to sleep on plywood and eat food I didn’t realize you could eat. I miss the relationship I had with students whose parents were in prison for sharing their faith. Are we willing to be where the Lord wants us serving him? If we are and are serving him, the Father will honor us.

Prayer

Father, I don’t believe many in America understand the implications of the verses covered in this lesson. If we truly understood and lived out these verses, I believe our lives would be radically different. In fact, people might refer to us as aliens and strangers as described by Peter and as a result we would probably experience persecution as they were when Peter wrote 1 Peter. Lord, our love for you has grown cold and with passion we seek the things of the world, not the things from above. Maybe it is time for us to carefully read Matthew 7:21 – 23 and be sure we are not part of that group the Lord doesn’t know. Father, have mercy on us. 

Seekers

Lesson #195

With this lesson we open a new section, defined by John 12:20 – 26. In previous lessons we saw Jesus teach with authority and with miraculous power demonstrate that he was the Son of God, the Messiah and in so doing the religious Jewish leadership turned against him, rejecting his claims to be their coming Messiah. In this section, for the first time, Gentiles approach Jesus seeking to know how to obtain eternal life. In a way, the appearance of these Gentiles singles to Jesus that his ministry to the Jews is about to come to an end, but before Jesus can reach out to the Gentiles he must first die on the cross to provide a way for their salvation. In John 10:16, Jesus said, “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd” (NASB). These other sheep are the Gentiles from other nations. Because of the death of Jesus on the cross and then his resurrection from the dead we find, from Revelation 7:9 – 11, a great multitude “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”” All believers, whether Jew or Gentile, will be part of one group with one Shepherd, Jesus Christ, leading them.

“Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks” (John 12:20 ESV). These Greeks are not necessarily from Greece, but refers to Gentiles. These people would be non-Jews, who are God-fearers, who have come to Jerusalem to worship at the Jewish festival. While they are there they would like to have a word with Jesus, “So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”” (John 12:21 ESV). Some say it is possible that these Greeks lived in or near Bethsaida and knew Philip, who was from there. I don’t think so, because if they lived there they would have learned from Jesus as others did. John didn’t make it clear why they went to Philip, so I am not going to speculate.  “Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.” (John 12:22 ESV).  Why did Philip take Andrew with him when he went to tell Jesus about the request of the Greeks to speak with him? Possibly it was because “. . . if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19 ESV). We will see shortly that Jesus was teaching and people were around him, so maybe Philip felt that he had a better chance of getting the attention of Jesus with Andrew along. They did and Jesus took time to listen to their request, “And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified”” (John 12:23 ESV).

“The hour” that John speaks of is the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, at which time his saving work is accomplished in his atoning death. Jesus stating that the hour has come is a clear indication that from now on we will see his teaching and events preparing for the cross. In order for Jesus to be glorified and on which the destiny of the world would turn, he would have to endure the cross and rise from the dead. From his death on the cross he would rise to his glory and bring with him his sheep; those provided by the Father, which Jesus calls into the fold to rise with him into glory when he returns. In his response to the Greeks, Jesus makes reference to “the Son of Man”, not to “the Son of God”. The highest Man, the supreme Man, who is to rule the world is about to ascent to his eternal throne and clothe himself with all authority of judgment and mercy in heaven and earth. One of the main themes of the Gospel is the glorification of the Son of man. Its justification is to be found in the fact that the Son of man is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and the Lamb who was slain (Revelation 13:8), and like the Serpent is being lifted up (John 3:14, Numbers 21:9), and as the true Shepherd is laying down his life that he might take it up again (John 10:17 – 18).

Prayer

Father, indeed the hour has come for Jesus to fulfill his mission to provide the means of salvation. Father, as I prepared this lesson I thought about where this plan of salvation started at Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (ESV). This is where this thread of salvation begins, in the Scripture, that we can follow through the Bible that leads to where we are here in this lesson; a thread with prophesies made hundreds of years before being fulfilled; a thread so delicately woven through history that it couldn’t happen by chance, but by your sovereign hand. Father, a plan so wonderfully planned and now being fulfilled before us in our studies. How can we not humble ourselves before you in thanksgiving, praise and worship? 

The Popularity of Jesus

Lesson #194

Our text brings the focus back from the disciples lack of understanding to the people who had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead. “The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness” (John 12:17 ESV). Conversation about that remarkable event continue to spread among the people. How could it not? If you had been there and saw what had happened and heard Jesus claim that he was the resurrection, with the implication that as a believer he would raise you from the dead to eternal life in heaven, would you not talk about what had happened and what Jesus meant by what he said?

“The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign” (John 12:18 ESV). As the conversation about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and about Jesus being the resurrection and the life spread, a growing number of people wanted to know more and hearing that Jesus was coming they went to meet him. At this point, Jesus is still pretty much a celebrity because people feel important around him or they feel he will benefit them in their desired ways. When they realize that Jesus is not who they now think he is, they will turn against him and being incited by the Jewish leaders they will cry out for his crucifixion.

“So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”” (John 12:19 ESV). This statement is obviously an overstatement, spoken out of frustration over the growing popularity of Jesus. However, when the time is right their resentment and frustration will erupt and lead a disillusioned crowd to cry out for the crucifixion of Jesus. But opposition against Jesus Christ will not prevail and will accomplish nothing, because God is in control and will accomplish his own purposes in spite of them. There may be times when the opposition may seem to gain ground, for example, the crucifixion, but soon to follow is the resurrection as God accomplishes his purpose. God is sovereign and nothing will thwart his plans.

This is a short lesson and since the next verse starts another section, we will end here.

Prayer

Father, writing a prayer at the end of these lessons is often a challenge. It forces me to look for something from the lesson I can apply to my life and for my readers.  As I think about this lesson, my heart is impressed that people are viewing Jesus through the wrong lens, the religious leaders see Jesus as a bad infection to be eliminated, the disciples don’t understand what is going on, and Jesus continues to live outside the walls of established tradition. It appears that we have some similar problems today.

P.S. Pray for me as I write these studies and let us pray for one another as we read, that the word of God would not return void, but would accomplish the purpose for which the Lord intends. Pray especially for those readers in several foreign countries, that they would be blessed by what they read. Share with others and check the link at the top of the page for My Faith Notes blog. 

How Shall We Live?

Lesson #193

As I sit here in front of my computer screen looking at the prayer I wrote at the end of the last lesson I think of all we have witnessed Jesus say and do and with such authority and extraordinary power. We have watched the God/man live among people with many emotions felt about him; from those who loved him and worshiped him to those who hated him and are making plans to kill him. It is clear that Father sent his Son as Jesus, not to live for himself, but to live to die a sacrificial death for you and me. I am thinking about you and me and about what he accomplished for us on the cross. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8 – 10 ESV). My salvation is not my doing; it is totally a gift God gives to those he in his sovereignty chooses. But the thing that grips me as I sit here and think, is that Father had work for Jesus to do and sent him to earth to accomplish it on our behalf. Likewise, Father has work prepared beforehand for you and me and prepared us as new creatures in Christ to do that work. We are flesh, but we have God living in us. Should our lives not stand out as being different than the unsaved; should the lives we live not reflect that we children of God with a heavenly citizenship and should the lives we live not divide the people we live among into two groups like those who knew Jesus? Are we as committed as Jesus to live to die, if necessary, to complete the work we have been assigned to do? Have you really thought about what that work might be and how effective you are in doing it? With these heavy thoughts before us, let us return to our text and continue with our lesson.

The disciples obtain the requested donkey and Jesus rides into Jerusalem, surrounded by a large celebrating crowd over the arrival of their long awaited Messiah and deliverer. The disciples watch this and maybe recall Jesus saying that he must go to Jerusalem and die. What must they be thinking? “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him” (John 12:16 ESV). Jesus spoke of this many times about his pending death and resurrection, but they just could not understand because they had nothing in their experience to relate to and they were not yet spiritually prepared to understand. This was true for the people that Jesus was among and it is true for people today. Without being spiritually alive one is not able to understand spiritual things. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, when he met with them they began to understand much more clearly and then at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to indwell them, understanding was enforced with power and now God had a people that would multiply and carry out his plan to form the body of Christ.

There is a mild break point in our text, so we will stop here and continue in our next lesson.

Prayer

Father, as I reflect on this lesson, a passage from 1 Peter comes to mind: “[Beloved], I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul, and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears” (1 Peter 2:11 – 12 NET). Father, it is clear that we are to be a people set apart by our lifestyle and by the work we do we will incite some to malign us, to persecute us, but others may see our good deeds and be drawn to Jesus Christ to salvation. Father, through your grace have mercy on us and encourage us to live as set apart from the world, doing your assigned work. 

The Triumphal Entry

Lesson #192

With this lesson we will begin the next section, defined by John 12:12 – 19, which relates to Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This event is spoken of in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (ESC). The description of this king is not what you would expect of a king that would bring national deliverance. This king is described as being righteous and having salvation. Being described as humble and mounted on a donkey is the not the image of a great king that was about to deliver this nation from the bondage of Roman. It is easy to pick from a verse what you want it to say and ignore the rest and come up with something that is not true.

“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem” (John 12:12 ESV). This “next day” is probably Sunday of Passion Week, which we call Palm Sunday. The feast the large crowd came to was Passover and the large crowd was primarily made up of country people that came from remote parts to worship at the feast. It seems that the farther the people were from the temple in Jerusalem the closer they were to Jesus.

Word had gotten around that Jesus was coming, “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”” (John 12:13 ESV). I am sure excitement and expectations were high as the people got palm branches and went out to meet Jesus, crying out the words from Psalm 118:26a: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”, hoping that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Unfortunately, there was a great misunderstanding on the part of the people, as there has been all along, thinking that Jesus was coming to use his amazing powers in a political and military sense to resist Roman rule and lead the nation of Israel to independence. In a few days they would figure this out and then they would turn against him and call for his crucifixion.

Prior to coming into Jerusalem, “. . . Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!”” (John 12:14 – 15 ESV). Luke gives us the following details about obtaining that donkey or colt as Luke says. “When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” (Luke 19:29 – 31 ESV). Here we see Jesus portrayed as the humble shepherd-king of Zechariah 9:9, given above, who comes to the Holy City to take his rightful place. An early messianic prophecy speaks of this in Genesis 49:10 – 11: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him. Binding his foal to the vine, and his colt to the choicest vine, he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes” (ESV).

What do you suppose Jesus’s disciples are thinking about all of this? We will find out in our next lesson.

Prayer

Father, it so strengthens my faith to see prophecies written so long before the events happen and then to see the event unfold just as foretold. For nearly 200 lessons, we have watched Jesus teach with authority and perform with extraordinary power as he steadily moved closer and closer to his death on the cross. Everything he says and does is in perfect sync with you and results in people who believe in him and those who hate him. Father, how much we can learn about how to live by following Jesus.