The Notes are Good

When we think of the things of the world that we thirst for, most of them are lonely.  The vices of this world, whether power or lust or greed are largely self-serving, self-gratifying, self-indulging.

The wrongs we do, but in these vices and in our efforts to grasp them, often leads us to hide.  We do not want to face those we step on.  We don’t want to be with others that we consider ourselves better than or above.  We, too often, want to only be served.

But, that is one of the reasons that these things never fulfill.

We were created for relationship.  One of man’s first desires, recognized and ordained by God, was for a partner relationship between Adam and Eve.  Our coming in to being was an act of relationship with God as He breathed life into us.  We find that our entire beings, all the way down to our body chemistry, interact with other people.

The woman at the well came from many broken relationships.  We don’t know if her past was marred by divorce or death?  We only know that the man she currently was with was not a husband and she came to the well totally alone in the middle of the day.  But Jesus, the least likely person in the world to which she might have a relationship, sought one with her.  He sought to drink with her, to talk with her, to share with her, and to give her the gift of eternal life with Him.

My Answers:

6.
a.
Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again, whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst

b.
The Word of God, the gift of Salvation sealed on the inside by the Holy Spirit

c.
The vices of the world, temptations to sin and then to hide

7.
a.
She asked Jesus for the water, but still equated it only with the physical (so I don’t have to keep coming here)

b.
By inviting me into a relationship with Him. By reminding me that He is Lord – the one who exercises ownership of everything and who provides food, shelter and work

John’s account of Jesus’ encounters with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman (whom I will refer to as Sam), provide bookends to the spectrum of those who approach Jesus.  While they have many similarities, as archetypes, they couldn’t stand farther apart.  Male/female, judge/judged, night/day, scholar/worker, Jew/Samaritan.  But, in the course of their life, either from direct action or consequence, they both have an encounter with Jesus.  Both of these individuals live in the weeds of day-to-day life.  Whether it be the minutia of the law of the tediousness of retrieving water, their focus is on their day-to-day work.  Both also have very specific definitions of how things work in the world, particularly in regard to relationships between people and God.

While Jesus does engage them where they are, His focus is not their focus.  They are in the weeds.  They are in the arguments of differences.  They are in the weeds of power and peoples’ judgments of other people.

But Jesus starts at the mountaintop, not in the weeds.  With Nic, He starts with being born again into eternal life.  With Sam, He talks about gifts and fulfillment to never thirst again and true worship.  With both he speaks truth, about where they are now, but with a focus on where they can go.

How about in your life?  As you study these passages and reflect on your own life, are you in the weeds or are you keeping an eye on the mountaintop?  It is easy to feel lost, to lose joy, to become afraid and worried and concerned, if we live heads-down in the weeds.  But, if we start each day’s journey with a reminder of the eternal gifts that await us, it brings fresh power and joy.

This is also the same way we should address those we evangelize.  Do you find yourself in denominational arguments, or discussions over minute details of belief in the Lord?  Or, do you focus on the big gift and each of our desire for fulfillment, joy, relationship and eternal life?

My Answers:

3.
If you knew the gift of God, If you knew who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water – I seek the gift of God in prayer, in scripture and in trusting in Him each day, both to provide for me and my family, to help me grow in holiness and to show me how I can serve Him and His Kingdom

4.
a.
Both Nic and the Sam were solidly fixed in the physical world and missed the spiritual message.  Nic saw a Rabbi, Sam saw a Jew (someone who acts superior).  Nic came at night, Sam in mid day.  Nic sought something from Jesus, Sam didn’t want anything to do with Jesus.  Nic praised Jesus, Sam’s words had attitude/scorn.
Jesus did not respond in kind but spoke to them with a gift/offer at no cost.  He focused not on the physical, but the eternal.

b.
Do not start at their arguments but at the gift from God.  It is about spirit, not physical.  When their soul not their hangups.

5.
a.
They worshiped the Lord AND other gods.  They worked against the rebuilding of the temple

b.
Language impatience.  Lack of cultural understanding (TLPN)

When John discussed Jesus, he said that He comes from above and is above all.

When Jesus addressed Nicodemus at the beginning of the chapter, He replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  The word used for “again”, is the same word that also means “from above”

When we are “born again”, we are not born again the same.  When we descend into the water of baptism, either in sprinkling or in full immersion, we symbolically follow the path of Christ into the grave, leaving our sins to be washed in the water and to emerge into a new life of the Spirit.  We are born again not of the flesh and to the flesh but from above to the Spirit.

Jesus was the first human to be born “from above.”  He is the first born of the saved and brother to all who follow Him, as the first Son of all the children of God.

As those who follow Him, we are directed to follow the model of John the Baptist.  We must speak the truth.  We must accept Jesus as our Lord.  We must recognize and pronounce Him for all that He is, the bridegroom, the one who comes from heaven, the Messiah.  We must become smaller so that we reflect more of His light.

And, most importantly, we must have joy.  We share the love of Jesus by sharing the joy of salvation, the peace that passes all understanding, that keeps our hearts and minds on Him.

My Answers:

13.
1. He spoke the truth.  2. He pointed to Jesus.  3. He accepted Jesus as His Lord and testified as such 4. He recognized the voice of God present in Jesus

14.
God, the bridegroom, the greater.  He comes from above all and is above all.  He comes from Heaven and is Lord.  He is the Son of God the Father

This week I was having a time of growing weary and discouraged in the events of the world.  I was involved in conducting interviews at work and had a number of candidates discussing their work history and seeing the impact of some of the poor decisions they had made in their lives and the impact those decisions have made.  And, let’s face it, who can read or watch the news these days, especially politics or the economy, and not grow increasingly weary and discourage by the world.

So, when I read our memory verses for this next week, it hit me hard.  John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world…”  How can God possibly love this world.  At every turn we choose sin over holiness.  We choose darkness instead of light.  We choose paths that lead to pain and suffering instead of goodness and glory.  We choose ourselves over others and especially over God.

But the Word of God does not lie.  God does love us, all of us.  He loves us enough that He sent His son, Jesus, into the world to die for us.  He loves us enough to do all the work of redemption of our sins, all sins, for all mankind, for all time.  He also loves us enough to give us free-will and choice, even when He knows we will choose to reject Him.  He even loves us enough to be just, even when justice means condemnation, wrath and everlasting destruction.

But no one is sentenced to being shut out.  No one has done something which is irredeemable.  No one has gone so far that He cannot bring them back.  No one lacks the means to be redeemed because redemption is not paid by our blood but by Jesus’ work on the cross.

I was convicted by these words to not grow disheartened, but to see God’s love.  I can still hate the sin of the world.  It can still anger me and bring me to tears, but, God’s creation is His creation and, as He said “in the beginning”, in His eyes, it is good.  And, while we breath, their is still hope for all people of the world, because God’s love is great enough.  We need only repent, and turn to Him and accept the gift of that love.

My Answers:

10.
J316: shall perish and not have eternal life
J317: not saved, condemned – love darkness, stay in evil
J336: will not see life, God’s wrath remains on them
2T18: punished with everlasting destruction & shut out from the presence of the Lord & His glory

11.
not condemned, has eternal life, no wrath remains on them

12.
Light has come to the world.  Jesus is evident and available to each and every one (God loves “the world”, not just believers).  But many love darkness because their actions (and their hearts) are evil and do not wish for their wickedness to be exposed in the light but to continue to live in the lie of sin

In 1400 B.C. Moses is told by God to make and image of a snake on a stick and hold it up.  Those who looked upon the image and had faith were saved and did not die.  Talk about some strange bible stories!

But, like the rest of the bible, this is a story that points to Jesus and helps us understand the attributes of God.

With Moses, God used snakes, a creature most commonly associated with the serpent from the garden, a representation of evil and wickedness, to bring His people back to repentance.  The snakes desired only to kill.  But God instructed Moses to take the thing that brought death and hang it on a pole so that by looking on it and believing, the people might be saved from death and healed.

With Jesus, He Himself took on all the sin of the world, the thing that desired only to kill.  As Isaiah prophesied in 52:14, His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.  But all who look upon the work of Jesus on the cross and believe are saved from eternal death and are healed.

I was struck as well by the way Satan has always worked to co-opt and corrupt that which God has made.  We see evidence of it in the garden of Eden, in the way he twisted God’s gifts into temptation.  We see it in the image of the snake on the pole, as well.  Moses, at God’s direction, made it in 1400 B.C.  By 700 B.C, the people had begun to worship the item, the image of the snake on the pole, and Hezekiah, at God’s direction, destroyed it.  300 years later, the Greeks bring it back as the Rod of Asclepius, a greek god, who just happened to be the god of medicine (go figure!).  The symbol was adopted through the ages by physicians and still is used on many hospitals and doctors’ offices, ambulances and treatment centers world wide.

But while evil works to hide and disguise, God’s Word, opens the eyes of those who believe in Him and study His word.  Those in darkness see a snake on stick.  Those in the light see our sins hung on the cross through the sacrifice of Jesus.

This is evident in so many other things as well.  Those in the dark see Christmas as a season of spending and profiting.  Those with sight see that all have a yearning to share with each other, like We have a yearning to share the good news and great gifts of the birth of our Lord and Savior.  Those in the dark see a rainbow as a celebration of homosexuality.  Those in the light know it is a promise by God never to destroy mankind again regardless of the level of sin and depravity.

And, like the snake on the staff – what is foolishness to man is a symbol of great hope to those who believe.

My Answers:

6.
The prophets had spoken of an indwelling of the Holy Spirit as well, a new heart, put my Spirit in you and you will live

7.
a.
JTB

b.
He was speaking first to the pharisees and Jewish leaders, but also broader to the Hebrews who looked only for a spectacle.  If they have not been willing to listen to Jesus and John about things going on in the midst, how can they hear about heaven

8.
It was a foreshadowing of the healing power of the Cross.  By taking on the image of that which was causing death (with Moses it was snakes, with Jesus it was the sin of the world), and then being raised up as a “sign” to look at and be healed when accompanied with a repentant and honest heart.

9.
a.
Life was a gift given to me (us/mankind) by God to live in unity with Him.  Sin is a choice I/we have made to stand apart from God.  The result is that I no longer have rights to life.  Death is the cost of that disobedience.  Jesus paid the price to save me.

b.
That He did this for me not based on anything I do or did and while I was still steeped in sin.  It is a free gift for my benefit alone.

The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is, arguably, one of the most interesting in the scriptures.  As noted in our lesson, Nicodemus is a Jewish leader, a pharisee and likely a member of the Sanhedrin.  He is very, very well educated and, most likely someone who is considered both by others and by himself as being very devout in his faith.

He comes to Jesus as a seeker, but as a seeker who already knows what he wants and expects.  He doesn’t come to Jesus with a question, he comes to Him with a statement.  In Jesus he recognizes something different, something from God, something that is not evident (at least to the same degree) in others.  He addresses Jesus as teacher, Rabbi, and, I believe, his expectation is that this teacher will teach him how to add that on to his life.  He is looking for an add-on module, another tool in his already very full toolbox.

And, Jesus, despite not being asked a question, gives Nicodemus the answer to the final exam.  You must be born again.

Nicodemus is looking for some teaching, some knowledge, some power that he can acquire that will add to his life and beliefs.  Jesus says believe and you will have knowledge and power and eternal life.

It is the difference between seeing to believe and believing to see.  It takes us back to Nathanael in John 1 who also called Jesus Rabbi when he believed because of what Jesus told him.

Think of it this way.  The writing that we seek is written on the wall, it is plain, it is freely available, it is everything that we seek to fulfill us and join us in unity with God.  But a wall has 2 sides.  To truly see the writing, we must pass through the doorway.  That doorway is belief in Jesus, it is being born anew.  It is becoming a soul with a body, not a body with a soul.  There is no cost of entry (Jesus paid it all).  There is no penalty or nothing that is demanded from us.  There is nothing we add to or give.  We simply either step through or we do not.  But stepping through the door changes everything.

It is interesting to see the difference that step makes.  Nathanael was able to walk with Jesus and grow in faith and power and love every day.  Nicodemus, while having continued inward struggles, remained fixed on the other side of the wall.  John 7:48-49:  “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?  No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”  Nicodemus missed out.  The last mention we have of Nicodemus is still one in secret as he helps Joseph of Arimathea take the body of Jesus from Pilate without it being known by the Jewish leaders.  He helps wrap the dead Christ and brings 75 lbs of myrrh and aloes and lays Him in the tomb.

My Answers:

3.
a.
It is what must come first – Faith before comprehension, faith before spiritual power, faith before teaching

b.
Jesus is discussing spiritual gifts and Nicodemus is stuck in the physical world.  Nicodemus is searching for God in the physical (signs and miracles), Jesus is explaining that He is to be found in Spiritual rebirth which then bridges the spiritual and physical

4.
Human life comes from human parents, flesh refers to human nature, flesh refers to the physical world

5.
a.
dead in transgressions and sins – Without rebirth we are dead in sin

b.
It is by faith alone that one is reborn.  It is in both the act of accepting the gift of salvation and inviting the spirit to dwell within combined with a desire to grow in holiness and love for Him who first loved me.

We have all been caught, from time to time, in the lure of “what is in”.  It may be the latest fashion, the latest food or fad.  It may be electronics, toys, tools.  It may be news.  It can also be people, events, what has been done or is just new and exciting.

At the Passover Feast, Jesus began to accumulate a following.  It was a following of the curious and hangers on.  Those interested in the works and not the man.

Works can be an interesting thing.  On one hand, James 2 tells us that faith without works is dead.  If we have faith, then we are compelled to live out that faith in our thoughts, words and deeds.  However, Hebrews 9:14 speaks of “acts that lead to death”, or as the KJV called them, “dead works”.  The works that are not done from a basis of faith in Jesus Christ.

In either scenario, it is not the works but the heart that is key.

The crowds followed Jesus because of His works and the power of His name.  They were following Him because “He was in.”  They followed the crowd.  The heard each others’ testimony and stories and followed along. They looked for entertainment and excitement and to see what happened next.  But it did not change their heart.

But Jesus sees “what’s in” differently.  John 2:25 tells us “He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”  For Jesus, “what’s in” is what is in your heart.

My Answers:

11.
a.
The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah and thus He had power and authority.  The many believed He had power and authority because they saw the power and authority, they didn’t see the Messiah.

b.
Everywhere.  WII-FM.  “I’m not getting that much out of reading the bible, praying, going to church.”  That may be true for you but it doesn’t mean it is true for me.  I only believe what I can see.

12.
He knew their hearts.  When I submitted fully to Him in times of worship and especially in times of need.

First of all, let me say that signs are not the problem.  God is active and alive and we see signs of His activity and direction for and in our lives every day.  When we pray, we ask Him to reveal Himself to us and also to reveal the timing and direction that He desires for our specific lives and specific needs and calling.

The problem comes when you substitute a reliance on signs over the word of scripture.  The problem comes when you continue to do what you know is wrong because, well, you are waiting on a sign.

The priests knew the activity going on at the temple was wrong.  One need only look at the care with which the original priestly tribe, the Levites, were tasked with handling every aspect of the tabernacle, from the poles to the cloth to the articles to see the importance.  One need only look back to the original sacrifices of Cain and Able to see God’s desire for a sacrificial heart, not a sacrifice given out of obligation.

I doubt that, all of a sudden, one day, the priests said, “let’s ignore what is written about the temple and set up a lot of shops and dishonest money changers.”  It probably started innocently enough.  Someone, coming to the temple, may have suffered a mishap, such as an attack by wild animals or a disease, and the lamb, dove or other animal that they had planned to bring and sacrifice was killed.  Wouldn’t it be better if a replacement was available?

That is how clutter begins in our own houses.  It is also how clutter begins in our hearts and our own lives.  When it is pointed out to us that our house is a mess or that our life is a mess, we sometimes respond like the priests.  “Who are you to tell me how to run my house, how to live my life?”

The response that Jesus gave to the priests is truly amazing.  In response He said, my authority and your sign is that I came into this world to die and defeat death for you.

So, when it comes to cleaning the clutter of sin out of your heart and out of your life, so you need more of a sign than that?  He also demonstrated that you need not do the work alone.  Jesus is more than happy to chase the sin away from your life, the same way He cleared the temple courts, the same way He sent demons scurrying and the same way He transformed you on the day you first believed: with His power, with His might, with His authority and with His Holy Spirit.

My Answers:

9.
a.
1. burden of proof.  They sided with the money changers and merchants, Jesus had to produce proof and signs to justify His side, although He was in the right.
2. They had all the scripture and the law.  The activity was either right or wrong under the law.  A new sign would not have overturned what was written in the scripture.

b.
I have asked for signs to indicate direction and to confirm my actions, not His authority over me.  I do not ask my parents for signs or proof of their authority, I know love and love them in return.  (I see why this question is worded the way it is and I probably was at that stage at one time in my faith).

10
a.
His body was the temple of God, the dwelling place of the most High – It was an admission, a sign, that He is God.  It also demonstrated His full knowledge of His mission and His power over both life and death.

b.
They twisted to say that He said, “I can/will destroy the temple”.  Their twisted wording made it to sound as if Jesus was an enemy to the temple of God as opposed to the one who would reconstruct it.

When we read the passage of Jesus’ actions with the money changers and merchants in the temple we often see it as both a justification and a call to have “righteous anger.”  When we look at our world today we see things far, far worse, at least in our judgment, that some people making a buck from selling doves and lambs or bankers exchanging currency.  We see massive oppression.  We see terrorist plots.  We see rape and murder.  We see every type of cruelty and sin known to man.  It makes us angry.  We want to take action – to just do something – but we don’t know where to begin.

Psalm 4:4 says, “in your anger, do not sin.” On one hand this sounds a lot like the Hippocratic Oath, “primum non nocere“, “first, do no harm.”  But I think there is a distinction.  It is OK to be angry.  That, however, is not justification to sin.

We can and should be angry and we should be bold to tell the good news of Jesus Christ and draw others to Him.  We should stand out as a contrast to the sin of the world.  We should be a target as one who stands on the side of righteousness.  We should not be afraid or hesitant to speak and act in ways that acknowledge that simply because the will of man deems something to be legal or acceptable, does not mean that it is no longer a sin in the eyes of God (see Matthew 19 for a discussion by Jesus on divorce).  We should not engage in the sins of the world through acquiescence and silence as happened in the day of Lot and his family.

Contrary to the “first do no harm” principle, however, we are always called to take action.  But what type of action we are called by the bible to take does not always match the desire we have to go “straighten out others.”  In most cases, our action starts by cleaning out our own house.  It starts by being filled by the Holy Spirit and repenting of our own sins, both in things we have done as well as in things we have left undone.  It starts by studying and knowing the word of God, the most powerful weapon to attack sin.

Ephesians 4, starting in verse 24, quotes the verse in Psalm 4:4 and then goes on to give more direction:

²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

My Answers:

6.
Passover.  A special offering and tax (donation) was required, Some who came did not have the right coinage or animal and those in the court were profiting from a requirement, not showing compassion and helping.  There was no heart, just greed.

7.
Righteous anger for God is correct.

8.
a.
My strong love/zeal for your house (God’ house, the temple) consumes me

b.
When the Lord comes, He will come to the temple and will be like a purifying fire and like laundry soap… then they will bring offerings to the Lord in the right way (in faith and love, not callous duty to “get by”)

In Jesus’ first miracle there is so much that is unspoken and, thus, unknown, and we must take great care not to read to much into the story.  Since this was his first miracle, we know that Mary had not witnessed previous miracles by her son.  That is not to say that she was unaware of His power and authority, but it wasn’t like she gave Him a list of chores and those got completed miraculously while he sat and talked.  We don’t know what her expectations were.  We also don’t know all of the underlying meaning conveyed by Jesus’ words about his “hour.” In almost all other uses of this word it refers to the time of his death at the cross.

So, sticking with what we do know.  Mary, Jesus, some of Jesus’ new followers and a bunch of other people were at a wedding which ran out of wine.  It would have been very bad form and a significant embarrassment for the host for this to have happened.  Mary pointed out the fact of the problem.  Jesus quietly addressed the problem.

Sure, there is a lot of underlying significance.  It was a wedding which has linkage to the wedding of the lamb to the church.  It was wine which later was used to symbolize Christ’s blood offered for the forgiveness of sins.  It was containers that would normally hold water used for ceremonial cleansing.

Not to take anything away from the miracle or all of this symbolism, but we do also have to keep in mind, at the end of the day, it was just wine.  Jesus’ first miracle did not bring someone back from the dead.  It didn’t heal someone dying.  It didn’t relieve pain and suffering, restore sight, give the ability to walk to someone who was lame or hearing to the deaf.  It didn’t call anyone to repent, convert any of those present at the wedding, or directly apply to the saving purpose of Jesus’ mission on Earth.  It was just wine.

Yes, the bridegroom and family would have been embarrassed and it would have been a bad mark on their name, but no one would have died from the embarrassment.  Sure it was honoring to His mother who must have had some expectation of Jesus given the curtness of the conversation between the two of them.  But, in the grand scheme of things, it was just wine.

But, I think that is part of the message.  Jesus doesn’t just do miracles in the things that are important to Him, He does miracles in the things that are important to us.  He is the creator of everything in the universe and hears the please of all mankind everywhere in the world.  But, He also hears us.  He hears our concerns, the things we messed up that will bring shame and embarrassment to us, the things that are not life and death, they are just sour grapes.  Not only does He hear, but He acts.  He acts in ways that we could not even imagine.  He acts in a level of love and power and compassion that we do not deserve, could not deserve, yet He freely gives.  He takes our fears and tears and turns them into something that is a witness to others as being “the best.”

And, while Christ’s glory is revealed in these acts, to those who are paying attention.  He does it not for His glory, but because He loves us and cares that much.

My Answers:

3.
a.
They ran out of wine.  The groom and matron of the party were expected to have adequately prepared for the guests and the event.  It would have been a negative mark on the entire families name and honor.

b.
No, she knew He had the power and her focus was on compassion to the groom and his family, not of timing of Jesus’ mission

4.
power over matter, power without words or incantations of touch.  Obedience was required to see the miracle, He allowed others to participate.  It was the best of the best.

5.
He honored His mother.  He showed compassion.  He did it quietly without fanfare.  There was no gain to Him in doing this.