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He must increase…

Been to youtube lately? Eveyone’s got their moment of fame. Of course, some are immortalized on the web as fools. And some as wanna-bes. But the fact that millions of people work hard to create their video and then post it for the world to see just underlines that truth that the whole idea of “He must increase…” (John 3:30) is so counter-cultural.

Which is good news for Christ-followers because it should make our discipleship so much the more distinctive. Unfortunately, many people watching Christ-followers just think that they’re wierd.

So the challenge is to be intentional in humbly pointing people to Jesus in some clear and compelling way so that the youtube of our lives is distinctively Christ-honoring and not just wierd.

3:16…

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

Simple but powerful words. Deep theology, personal hope, subtle warning–there’s a lot packed in there.

The King James Version that I grew up with had the phrase “his only begotten Son.” That always confused me a bit as it sounded like somehow Jesus was created or produced.

The translators notes in the NET bible (bible.org) point out that “such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Antiquities 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God (τέκνα θεοῦ, tekna qeou), Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).” That’s helpful!

It’s good to rembmer that the Greek text doesn’t have any punctuation marks or any quotation marks. (And of course the words of Jesus are not in red in the Greek!) So it’s difficult to tell where the actual words of Jesus end and John’s comments begin. Most of the scholars who spend time studying John 3 agree that this particular verse is most likely a reflection by the author, John, on what Jesus had told Nic at night–You must be born again!

So John here in his own reflection is continuing to build his case for us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son and God, and that by believing in him we can have life in his name (cf. 20:31).

It never ceases to amaze me the way God has used these ancient words to transform multiple lives even today.

What is your reflection on what Jesus told Nicodemus? What place does John 3:16 have in your own faith story?

When worship is a business…

It’s pretty easy to get down on the guys selling sheep, cattle and birds in the temple of Jesus’ day (See John 2:12-25). Seems pretty crude to us.  And it seems pretty obvious that the temple is not the place for that kind of stuff.

Then again, many churches today have ham and bean suppers to raise money, or sell books and music and whatever trinkets in their buildings.

And worship related things–like praise and worship music and Christian concerts–are big business. And the Cable channels are filled with big business religion of all flavors.

So I struggle with verse like Hebrews 12:28, 29 that say “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'”

When I notice that it says “worship God acceptably…” it makes me wonder if a lot of what we do as sincere but distracted Christians falls under the heading of “unacceptable worship.” 

Then the “…consuming fire” thing catches my eye and brings a little tightness in the gut.

“Lord, please help me to humble my heart to make me think less of myself and more of You. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You O Lord.”

A question about Jesus and baptism…

We never really talked about the verses of John chapter one where John the Witness told the crowd…

“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

Later in John we discover that the disciples of Jesus baptized people. John 4:1-3 tells us…

“1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.”

So here’s my question. Maybe you can help me: What was the nature of the baptism that the disciples of Jesus were doing? Was it the same as John’s baptism, a baptism of repentance (see Mark 1:4)? Was it “Baptism with the Holy Spirit” that John mentioned in 1:33?

If it wasn’t baptism with the Holy Spirit at this time, then when/how is it that Jesus baptized people with the Holy Spirit?

What do you think?

The Wedding at Cana- and Beyond

John 2:1-11

Did you ever see the movie Shrek?

In one of the scenes the ogre Shrek is trying to explain to his sidekick Donkey that there’s more to an ogre than meets the eye. The dialogue goes like this:

Shrek: For your information, there’s a lot more to ogres than people think.
Donkey: Example?
Shrek: Example? Okay, er…ogres…are…like onions.
Donkey: [sniffs onion] They stink?
Shrek: Yes…NO!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave them out in the sun and they turn brown and start sproutin’ little white hairs.
Shrek: NO! LAYERS! Onions have layers. OGRES have layers. Onions have layers…you get it. We both have layers.

The Gospel of John has layers too. When we take a closer look at the events and accounts that John relates in his book, we almost always find a story behind the story. This week’s passage is no different. Chapter 2 contains the narrative of an unnamed couple’s wedding celebration in the village of Cana. During the wedding feast we learn in v.3 that they had run out of wine. So they ran out of wine- big deal. Well, actually it was a big deal. In the traditional 7 day wedding celebration of Jesus’ day, running out of wine in the middle of the feast was a major catastrophe. Believe it or not a guest could by right take the couple to court for throwing a party that didn’t meet expectations. Think about that next time you’re at a wedding. On a side note, conversely, the couple could sue a guest for failing to provide an adequate wedding gift. Well, Jesus steps in to save the day, changes water to wine and the party goes on.

Now there’s much we can learn from this story but let’s look at something going on behind the scenes. In verses 6-7 we read the following:

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

John is careful to tell us that the source of the water for the miracle is six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing. These stone jars each held somewhere between 18 and 27 gallons of water and were essential to the wedding celebration inasmuch as the Judaism of Jesus’ day required the ceremonial washing of the guest’s hands and also of certain utensils. Why would Jesus take these jars and this water that was key to their religious practice and rituals and transform it into wine? What was He trying to say?
The point Jesus was making is that he is taking the old order of Jewish law and custom and replacing it with something new. This theme is repeated throughout the gospel- in nearly every chapter. For example, in John 4 we find Jesus having a conversation with a Samaritan woman. Now Samaritans practiced an “unauthorized” form of Judaism. In chapter four, verse 20 we find this woman arguing with Jesus (a Jew) about the proper venue to worship God.

“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

Samaritans believed Mt. Gerazim was the place to worship and Jews believed it was the temple in Jerusalem. What is Jesus’ response?

“Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus is in essence saying that neither venue is correct because He’s introducing a completely new paradigm where worship will no longer be tied to the temple and the priestly system but true worshippers will now be able to approach the Father directly through the Spirit.

Jesus is replacing the stale, meaningless religious formalism of his day with something new and fresh.

What does this mean for us today? Much like the Judaism of Jesus’ day our faith experience, both as individuals and as a group, can often too become old and stale. Has “church” become a routine for you? Is every week a different, new and vibrant encounter with God or just a carbon copy of the previous week? When we look at Good News corporately we must ask the same questions. Several years ago while vacationing in Europe, my family and I visited an 11th century cathedral. It was under renovation and was almost completely surrounded by scaffolding. The ironic part is that while great care was being taken to preserve the structure, people no longer frequent that building. They haven’t for decades. You will find this is the case with nearly all traditional churches in Europe. The same may be true of America soon as we further plummet into a post-Christian era. Many of us have seen once vibrant churches dwindle away to nothing. How does this happen? When we become comfortable in our buildings, with our rituals and “traditions,” and lose sight of the big picture of our true mission and calling to “go out and make disciples” and burn in unswerving devotion and worship to God, we’ve lost our way.

As we study the book of John we’ll see time and time again that being a Jesus follower is a dynamic, exciting, and often dangerous proposition. How can we, both as individuals and as a group, avoid becoming “religious” people and instead become fully engaged co-laborers with Jesus, carrying his precious message of reconciliation.