Category Archives: Apostle John

Reflecting Jesus – John 9:4-5

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While in the act of healing a man blind from birth, Jesus makes the following declaration,

“4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The first word that stands out is the first word, “We.” Jesus does not intend to act alone. Here I do not think he is referring to his Father, but to the disciples, who are to work alongside of him.

The next thing that stands out to me is the phrase, “night is coming, when no one can work.” At this moment there is no need to speculate as to when this is or will actually be. It is enough to know there is such a time coming, to motivate us. We will not be able to work whenever or for as long as we want. Procrastination may be a fatal error in this case.

Finally, I see the phrase, “As long as I am in the world,” which somewhat limits the statement, “I am the light of the world.” Jesus is not, or does not intend to be the light of the world in the same way forever. From this statement it seems he no longer fills that role at the present time, since he has left the world physically to be with his Father.

Are these then the days of darkness? Is there no light to be seen or by which to see? Well, not exactly. Jesus has left some light behind if we are prepared to accept the mission.

Remember that first word “We”? There is still work to be done and we are the ones to do it. If we need any further confirmation of this, we find it in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:14-16.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

In John 8 Jesus first announced that he was the light of the world. In John 9, he added the stipulation that he was the light of the world as long as he was in the world. In Matthew 5, he tell his disciples that they are the light of the world and explains how they are to fulfill that function: Through their good works.

There are numerous reasons to serve Jesus in this world. One of them is this. He expects his light to shine through us, to be reflected off of us, to give the world some way of seeing him. The moon has no light of its own, but can only reflect the light of the sun. Nonetheless on a clear night, a full moon appears to be very bright. Let’s become experts in reflecting Jesus.

John 8 – Verse by Verse

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Still at the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem, Jesus proclaims himself the light of the world, his opponents children of the devil and, further, identifies himself as the I Am of the Old Testament.

John 08.pdf

John 08.mp3

Here is a link to the livestream video:

A Prayer Prompted by John 8

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Heavenly Father,

Help us to take an attitude toward sin and toward sinners much like the one that Jesus had.  Help us to demand repentance in ourselves, earnestly desire it in others, but help us to avoid condemning them, knowing that we ourselves have sinned. 

Cause us to always see Christ as the light of the world, so that we might walk in that light and not walk in darkness ever again. Make us Christ’s true disciples, people who would abide in your word and let your word abide in us.  Let that word transform us and help us to grow.

Since we know and understand that Jesus is truly God, we worship him, Father, even as we worship you.

We know that people’s eternity hangs in the balance and is decided on their response to Christ. Make us useful in the proclamation of the gospel, in calling children of the devil out of darkness, out of the bondage and slavery of sin, and into freedom, into the bright, clear vision of your marvelous light.

In Christ,

Amen 

“Your father the devil” – John 8:42-45

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42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

Wouldn’t it be nice to skim right past this section as if it weren’t there? Wouldn’t it be nicer still if it if fact really weren’t there at all to skim over?

Alas, it is there, confronting us in the Gospel of John like a neighbor we would like to ignore and who refuses to go back inside his house. The implications of this passage are profound. It is so filled with content, all of it coming from the mouth of Jesus, that it practically bursts out of the page. Let’s list just a few things.

  1. There is a real personal devil.as well as a real personal God.
  2. The devil is a murderer.
  3. He pretty much always lies, because his character is such that lying comes naturally to him.
  4. Jesus, on the other hand is truthful.
  5. Jesus was sent by God in accordance with God the Father’s perfect will.
  6. If we love Jesus, then that reveals that God is our Father.
  7. There are people who do not love Jesus.
  8. They cannot seem to tolerate what he actually has to say.
  9. These people are children of the devil,
  10. They desire to do their father’s, that is, the devil’s will.

That is a lot of information to take in, all pouring forth from a few short verses, and it is all life-changing if we truly let it sink in.

Dear God, help us to clearly see the difference between the truth that we receive from Jesus and the devil’s lies. Help us not to distort your word, as the devil has from the beginning, only using it in such a way as to serve his deceptive purposes. Make us genuine lovers of God, lovers of our Lord Jesus and lovers of the truth. In this way let us reveal that we are your children. And help us to do all that we can to call the devil’s children out of the realm of his deception and into the truth of Jesus Christ. Amen.