Author: Jim Cantelon

Key Verse: John 13:16 “…a servant is not greater than his master…”

I think most of us have the instinctive ability to discern between the merely obsequious and the purely altruistic. Huh? How’s that again? What I mean is, we can usually tell when someone is being self-serving even while appearing to be serving us. And we can tell when someone is helping us purely for our sake, with no ulterior motive. In most cases, the altruistic person is ministering from a position of strength; not physical, mental, or financial strength, necessarily, but from moral strength. However shy, retiring, or self-effacing they may appear to be, there is a deep inner security characterizing their private world. They have moral fibre rooted in spiritual peace.

Notice the foundation of inner strength out of which Jesus ministered in this chapter — He “knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God…” (v.3). Jesus had nothing to prove and nothing to gain by washing His disciples’ feet; but He did have a lesson to teach. Because He was their Master and Lord, His disciples would never be able to justify a superior attitude to the masses who would embrace Christianity over the succeeding centuries. Jesus had assumed the most lowly posture in washing His disciples’ feet; for the remainder of the world’s history, no Christian leader could afford to do less.

So we don’t serve to get; we serve to give. Rather than striving, we rest in the confidence that we are loved. God has committed Himself to us, and He never backs down from what He has promised His children.

Key Verse: John 12:43 “…they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

The Sanhedrin was the ruling council of Jerusalem. They were Pharisees of high education, wealth and reputation who acted as judges, or rulers, over the Jewish people. Under the high priest, they acted as a sort of “Supreme Court”, meeting from time to time as the situation warranted. In this chapter we read that “many even among the rulers believed” in Jesus. But they did so secretly, because their political survival depended on “the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

Jesus warned these secret yet timorous believers, “When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but the One who sent Me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness. As for the person who hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day” (vss. 44-48 NIV). No doubt, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, both members of the Sanhedrin, were listening.

These two men must have gone through months of soul-searching. Like Christian politicians of today, they must have debated within themselves, or perhaps even together, as to whether they should outwardly vote with the party against their hearts in order to remain in a position to influence the system slowly and subtly, or whether they should openly declare their convictions and risk being voted out of power, thus nullifying their “salt and light” influence.

Nicodemus and Joseph finally decided to be “salt and light” outside of the political arenas. For it was they who, just a few days later, publicly identified with the crucified Christ — lovingly taking Him down from the cross, anointing His body for burial, and laying Him to rest in Joseph’s own family sepulchre. They lost their earthly power but gained a heavenly kingdom.

Key Verse: John 11:50 “…it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people…”

The raising of Lazarus from the dead was the final straw. The religious authorities were running scared. “If we let him go on like this…the Romans will come and take away our place (temple) and our nation”, they cried (v.48). Especially threatened was the high priestly clique. As long as there was no messianic movement attracting the attention of Rome, the high priest and this “country” were virtually in charge of Jerusalem and the rich temple income, but an hit of political insurrections would end this comfortable situation. Jesus was now a political threat. He was a people mover and , indeed, a People Movement — a threat to the status quo. So Caiaphas, the hight priest, decided the time to act had come. What he said was incitement to murder, but it seemed the only alternative. Jesus had to die.

“You do not realize”, Caiaphas said to the Sanhedrin, “that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” John, the writer of this book, makes an editorial comment, “He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one” (vss.51,52). Caiaphas was making an unconscious prophecy that Jesus would die for both Jew and Gentile. His incitement to murder was unknowingly a bold declaration of the purpose of God.

John would put it another way in another place, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Key Verse: John 9:25b “I was blind but now I see!”

What a great story we read in chapter nine! Let me summarize it. Jesus is walking along and sees a man who was born blind. The disciples ask a question typical of orthodox religion of the time, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answers, “Nobody sinned here.” This offended the disciples’ religious sensibilities, you can be sure!

He then goes through a little ritual of spit and mud and orders the blind man to find his way to the pool of Siloam. Onlookers must have felt some pity for this poor guy tottering down to the pool with his face disfigured by the mud. “Maybe he’s gone off the deep end”, some of them may have though. But he did what Jesus commanded, and he “came home seeing”, although he had yet to see his healer.

Then follows a series of discussions, interviews, and confrontations between the man and his religious superiors. The Pharisees (remember, they were the ancient equivalent of a lot of us orthodox evangelicals!) are so obtuse as to discredit the miracle because it happened on the Sabbath. The parents are brought into it, but they remain neutral, because they don’t want to be thrown out of the synagogue over any Jesus Christ controversy. In the middle of it all is a man who had never seen but now sees. He’s so stubborn in insisting on seeing and refusing to bad-mouth Jesus, that finally he is thrown out of the synagogue.

Then the man gets to meet his healer, face to face, eye to eye. At first he didn’t recognize Jesus. How could he? But there must have been something about Jesus’ voice or His touch. “Lord, I believe”, the man says, and “worships” Jesus.

What was Jesus’ assessment of it all? “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (v.39). Let’s never think ourselves beyond need. If we do, we may find that our “guilt remains” (v.41).

Key Verse: John 8:31 “If you abide in My words, you are My disciples indeed.”

I like the way the NIV puts it, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.” The word  “hold” is a strong verb; it speaks of mothers embracing their newborn, and ship-wrecked sailors clutching the life-line, refusing to let go. It speaks of commitment.

Whenever young couples come to me for premarital counselling, I tell them there are three words to remember in terms of making marriage last. Those words are, 1) commitment, 2) commitment, and 3) commitment. The marriage ceremony underscores the word –“… to have and to hold from this day forward. For better or for worse. In sickness and in health. For richer or for poorer. Till death us do part.” That’s the kind of foundation you can build a life on!

I’ve sometimes wondered if it might not be a bad idea for some of us evangelical pastors to make a bit more of a person’s commitment to Christ at salvation that merely have the publicly “come forward”. Why not put together a public ceremony wherein vows are expressed to Christ: where a new believer is gripped with the thrilling but awesome responsibility of what it means to call oneself a follower of Jesus, after he has made that initial “come forward” move.

The vows could go something like this: “I _________________ take you now, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, as my Saviour and Lord. I have acknowledged and confessed my sin; now I declare before this body of sin, and walk in a new direction. And, even as I do so, I charge this body with the responsibility of correcting and guiding me, as I grow from faith to faith. I am no longer my own. I belong to Christ even as I now take my place in His Body. I take hold of HIs teaching. I am His disciple. So help me God.” Amen.

Key Verse: John 7:43 “So there was division among the people because of Him.

The setting for this chapter is Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. As you read it, you get a fascinating insight into the uproar surrounding Jesus in the public sector: He really rocked the boat.

For instance, He was an amazement to people simply in terms of His ability as a teacher — “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”, they asked (v.15). Some were sure He was demon-possessed (v.20); others couldn’t believe how immune He was to arrest, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him.” So, some reasoned, maybe he is who he says he is, “Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?” (vss. 25, 26)

Then there were those who tried to figure out Jesus’ teaching, but succeeded only in becoming more confused. “Where does this man intend to go, that we cannot find Him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What does he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

So some thought Jesus a prophet; others the Christ. Still others saw Him as a dangerous revolutionary, the sooner dead the better. But whatever your opinion of Jesus, you couldn’t stay neutral anymore then that today — “the people  were divided because of Jesus” )v.43).

Even the temple guards and the Pharisees were divided, and the Pharisees attributed any credence imputed to Jesus as nothing more than ignorance, “Has 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” (vss. 48,49).

There was only one clear voice in this “mob”, only one clarion note in the chaos: the man Nicodemus. After his talk with Jesus by night, he had become a believer (albeit secret, at this point), and he was prepared to publicly give Jesus the benefit of the doubt (vss. 50, 51).

Jesus still rocks the boat today. He is divisive. He’s an either/or kind of person–there’s no middle ground. You either accept Him or reject Him. He refuses to let us “halt between two opinions”.

Key Verse: John 6:51c “…the bread I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Jesus certainly was skilled in alienating people. First of all there were His very exclusive claims to deity. Secondly, there was His flagrant disregard for the religious sensibilities of the Pharisees. Then there was His “lonerism”; He would get a big crowd, hanging on His every words, and thought nothing of walking (or boating, as the case may be) away. But the great offense was what is recorded in this chapter.

A day after Jesus had fed the five thousand with five barley loaves and two small fishes, He took the rest of the day off. That night he took a stroll on the lake–much to His disciples’ astonishment. The next morning, some of the crowd from the day before caught up with Him in Capernaum. They wanted another free meal, but Jesus wouldn’t co-operate. Then they asked for a sign–“How about some heavenly bread, Jesus?”, they asked. Can you believe it? The food they had ingested at the previous day’s miraculous meal wasn’t even digested, and they’re asking Jesus to perform “a miraculous sign” so they can believe in Him. Were they blind? Stupid? Or just plain dense?

Jesus ignores their lobotomous density and tells them (to continue the bread imagery) that He is, metaphorically, the “bread of life”. Then comes the great offense.

He tells them they’re going to have to “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood” if they want to have “life”. While they’re gasping at that, He goes on to compare the bread of His flesh to the manna which their forefathers ate. Little wonder we read, “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (v.66). Jesus had gone too far. They had all heard or read enough of pagan religious systems which incorporated cannibalistic practices, and wanted nothing to do with this. “His ego has exploded”, they must have thought. And Jesus just let them go, without any further explanation.

Little did any of His disciples realize that Jesus was speaking of His death on Calvary, where He became the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The Passover seder’s broken and blessed bread and the outpoured and blessed wine became the symbols of salvation. And every time we partake, we “remember His death, until He comes.”

The great offense has become the great atonement.

Key Verse: John 5:46 “…if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.”

Can you trust someone who says he is God? Not likely. Maybe you heard the story of the pastor visiting a mental hospital. He walked by tow of the patients sitting on a bench in the sunshine outside the main entrance.

“How ya doin’, Reverend?” one of them asked brightly.
“Oh, quite fine, thank you,” replied the pastor. “And what is your name, if I may ask?”
“Napoleon.”
“Napoleon? The Napoleon?”
“Yep!”, declared the the man proudly.
“How do you know?” the pastor asked.
“God told me,” he said.
“I did no such thing!” the other patient blurted.

One man thinks he’s Napoleon; the other God. Little wonder these poor souls are being cared for in a hospital. It doesn’t matter how sincere you are, or how convinced, the objective evidence doesn’t line up with the subjective claim. So why should we believe Jesus when He says that He is God? The greatest objective evidence, I think, is the empty tomb. But Jesus himself said there were three other powerful objective evidences for His claim to deity. Here they are:

Firstly, “the very work that the Father has given Me to finish” (v.36). Secondly, “the Father who sent Me has Himself testified concerning Me.” (v.37). And thirdly, “The Scriptures–…testify about me” (v.39). The work, the Father, the Scriptures. These are the three witnesses to Jesus.

His work included teaching , miracle working, and disciplining. The Father (His Father) declared both at Jesus’ baptism and on the Mount of Transfigurations that He was His “beloved Son. Hear Him!” And the Scriptures, from Moses to the Prophets, speak clearly and unequivocally about Israel’s Messiah who was to come. “I am He”, says Jesus.

And who, in the light of the empty tomb, the post-resurrection appearances, the ascension and the profound, timeless impact of His work, can build a case against His claim? It’s one thing to say He wasn’t God. It’s another thing to prove it.

Key Verse: John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

I love this story. For several reasons. First, because Jesus was such a free spirit that He had no qualms about talking to a woman on equal ground. That ground, in this case was at Jacob’s well near Sychar in Samaria. But what made it even more astonishing, as far as onlookers were concerned, was the fact that this woman was a Samaritan and Jesus a Jew. Jews hated Samaritans, and the feeling was reciprocal.

Secondly, I love it because it’s such and excellent example of Jesus’ Semitic teaching style. It was a style that saw clear, concise, easily understood assertions as artless. In semitic teaching you whet the appetite, you baffle, you lead your student on–to the point where the light suddenly dawns and he asserts the lesson himself. Almost as if he’d known it all along. The Greek philosopher, Plato, had some insight into this method as well.

Jesus whets the woman’s appetite here. Perhaps, more accurately, He creates thirst. He does it artfully, by asking for a drink, as if He’s the one who is thirsty. Then He leads the woman on, until finally He is able to say to her, in reference to the Messiah of Israel, “I who speak to you am He.” It is marvellous!

Maybe one of the reasons I most love this story, though, is the woman’s honesty. She had every reason to hide her marital status from Jesus, but didn’t. She told it like it was, “I have no husband.” I think this honesty was critical in the conversation. Jesus can speak to hones hearts. Expose your heart to Him, and He will expose His heart to you; hidden hearts, on the the other hand, remain hidden.

This is why I chose verse 24 as the key verse. No question, we relate to God on the spiritual level, but our spirits are clouded as long as there is untruth in us. With God you’ve got to tell it like it is.

Key Verse: John 3:3 “…unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Have you ever been challenged to explain what you mean by the term, when you refer to yourself, or to someone else, as a “born-again” Christian? Maybe you’ve found it a bit difficult to say what you mean. If I can be so presumptuous, allow me to suggest what you mean!

You mean that the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality–unseen except with newly-born eyes. Your physical eyes won’t do. Although, ironically, as useless as your natural eyes are, you can’t have spiritual eyes until you have physical eyes. That’s why u’be got to be naturally born (“of water..”) before you can be spiritually born (“…and the Spirit..”–v.5). First flesh, then spirit. Jesus doesn’t relate to disembodied spirits in the human realm. You’ve got to have a body, both now (“au naturel”) and in eternity (“au glorified”).

You also mean that this spiritual birth is affected by the Holy Spirit–God Himself. “Spirit gives birth to spirit”, Jesus says. It’s only at the initiative of the Spirit that any mere human spirit even considers, let alone commits itself to, coming to Christ.

That’s right–I’ve just introduced a new ingredient: “coming to Christ”. Being “born again” is meaningless without belief in and commitment to Christ. “The Son of Man must be lifted up” on the cross that all men and women throughout history can see Him and decide. If the decision is to believe, then the believer “may have eternal life”.

Finally, you mean that you’ve been born to a new life that is eternally inviolable–no one can take it away from you. Not that the forces of evil won’t try to wrest it from you, or if that fails, to erode it from you casually and swimmingly imperceptibly. But, in being born again you’ve been “saved” from destruction. When Satan counts his victims you won’t be among them. You’ve entered a new life.