John 19: Surprising Disciples

Today’s reading is John 19.

What would happen to our congregation if persecution happened with intensity. If the government or our community decided to take up arms against the disciples of Jesus and His churches, how would we fare? If false religions or even false Christianities decided to imprison, torture, or execute genuine disciples (as has happened in the past), who among us would endure?

I’m guessing we might be surprised. John presents a surprising turn of events in the crucifixion of Jesus. Granted, what happens at the crucifixion is not the final say in the matter, but I can’t help but notice the reversal of place John presents of the disciples in this trying moment. The twelve are scattered. That is, the ones who have been most committed, most public, most stalwart while Jesus was conducting His public and relatively popular ministry abandoned Jesus. One of them betrayed Him. One denied Him three times. The rest were simply nowhere to be found. Even after the resurrection had been reported, they were hiding in a room for fear of the Jews.

However, by contrast we see Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Nicodemus first came to Jesus under the cover of darkness, by night. Then we see him not fully defending Jesus, but at least trying to forestall some of the worst treatment. When does Nicodemus finally step up and demonstrate allegiance to Jesus? Now that Jesus has been executed and seemingly defeated. Joseph of Arimathea is a completely new person. His “discipleship” has been so secret we haven’t even heard of him until John brings him up in this chapter. And John says Joseph “was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews.” That’s not much of a disciple, is it? In fact, previously, in John, not publicly confessing Jesus for fear of the Jews was not a good thing. We are not to think Joseph has been fully faithful up until this point. He’s been a coward up until this point. But at this surprising point, his discipleship becomes confessed.

Had it been left up to the apostles, Jesus’s body would have been removed from the cross and unceremoniously dumped in a common grave. But secret disciples, stepped out of the darkness into the light and the most surprising of moments. What a shocking reversal. What a shocking time for it to happen.

Please, don’t misunderstand. This doesn’t justify being a cowardly, unconfessing disciple right now and simply hoping you’ll eventually come through in the clutch. Far better to be Daniel whose habit of public submission to God was developed when it was easier and therefore already established for when it was hard. Rather, let this be an encouragement to you that if you haven’t been forthright and courageous about your faith in Jesus until now, today is a good day to start. Sure, you’ll be a surprise to some people (maybe even to yourself), but its never a bad time to step up, confess Jesus as Lord, and give your allegiance to Him completely. Joseph and Nicodemus did so at the oddest of times. But they did so. And that’s what matters.

Tomorrow’s reading is John 19.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does John 19 prompt or improve your hope in God?

John 1: Come and See

Today’s reading is John 1.

Two of John’s disciples heard him announce:

Behold! The Lamb of God!

They started following Jesus. I don’t mean they started listening to His teaching (that comes later). I mean they literally started following Him. Like the private detective on some show, tailing a suspect, they just started walking behind Him. They didn’t go up to Him. They didn’t grab His attention. They just tagged along. Only when Jesus turned around did He start a conversation with them.

“What do you want?”

“Where do you live?”

Jesus said, “Come and see.” They did. But first, one of them, Andrew, found his brother Simon and brought him along.

The next day, in Galilee, Jesus found Philip and actually said to him, “Follow me.” He decided to. But first, Philip found Nathanael and said, “We found the One Moses and the prophets promised. It’s Jesus from Nazareth.”

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.

Philip said, “Come and see.” He did.

Two things we need to see in these events. First, if we are going to follow Jesus, we need to invite others to join us. “Come and see” should be a mantra. “Come and see” my life in Christ. “Come and see” the Scriptures. “Come and see” the church Jesus built. “Come and see.” Test if for yourself. Experience it yourself. I have to tell you what I’ve found in Jesus. But don’t just take my word for it, “Come and see.”

Second, John is setting the stage for the rest of the book. Philip was talking to Nathanael, but John is talking to his reader. “Come and see” is an invitation to keep reading. Not already convinced Jesus is the fulfillment of Moses and the prophets? That’s okay. “Come and see.” See His signs and wonders. See how people respond. See what Jesus does. See where He goes. See how He acts. See His teaching. “Come and see.” Which prophet is Jesus? Come and see.

We are finishing the first chapter today, but we are starting an exciting journey. Keep reading. Come and see who Jesus really is.

Next week’s reading is John 2.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from John 1?

If a Eunuch can be Baptized…

Today’s reading is Acts 8.

The Ethiopian Eunuch had traveled a thousand miles to get to Jerusalem, but not been allowed fully into the assembly of God’s people. He wasn’t allowed to fully participate in the Jerusalem temple worship. Deuteronomy 23:1 explained he was not allowed in that inner circle of participants. It is no wonder when Philip preached Jesus to him and explained water baptism for the remission of sins as entrance into the kingdom of Jesus he asked, “What prevents me from being baptized?” He had been prevented from so much of Judaism, would Christianity be the same? Nope. The only potential hindrance was himself. If he didn’t believe, he wouldn’t get baptized. But if he believed, he could have the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus Christ that came through baptism in His name. And that really gets to the point for us, doesn’t it. If this Eunuch could be baptized, forgiven, saved, who else can be? I can be. You can be. Anyone can be. If we believe, no matter our background, our family, our heritage, our lineage, our past lives, we can be baptized. Then we can go on our way rejoicing. So, let me ask you. Have you been baptized? If not, can we help? Let us know in the comments below.

Monday’s reading is Acts 9.

Proclaiming the Christ

Today’s reading is Acts 8.

Yesterday, we learned the scattered Christians went about preaching the Word. The very next verse describes this preaching a different way. Philip made his way to Samaria. He proclaimed the Christ. Preaching the Word means preaching the Christ. It means preaching the Anointed One who is the Savior and the Lord. If we are not careful, we can drop Jesus Christ right out of our preaching, all the while convincing ourselves we are preaching the Word. When we jump from passage to passage finding tidbits about moral living, proper marriage, financial planning, relationship development, successful career growth, we can convince ourselves we are preaching the Word. After all, every sermon, blog post, podcast has an anchor verse found in the Bible. Folks will applaud how relevant we are. They will eat up our preaching as they do the self-help, business management, and leadership sections of the Amazon library. But that is not preaching the Word. We aren’t preaching the Word unless we are preaching the Christ. Certainly, preaching Christ and the Word will impact many aspects of our lives. But Jesus didn’t come to give us good health, prosperous wealth, fulfilling relationships. Jesus came to save us from sin. We need Jesus. We need to proclaim Jesus. That is what Philip did. He did it using the Scriptures. He did it in Samaria. He did it with the Eunuch. And when he did, folks believed, received, were baptized, and were saved. Let’s preach the Word. Let’s proclaim the Christ.

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 8.

They Wish to see Jesus

Today’s reading is John 12.

Alright. I admit it. I have yet to hear a good explanation of why the Holy Spirit had John include this bit about the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. I’m sure there is some contextual point that a great scholar could pull out and explain. However, I do think it shows the place of the disciple. These Greeks hadn’t come to see Philip. They hadn’t come to see Andrew. They hadn’t come to see any of the disciples. They had come to see Jesus. What is the disciple’s role, to show people Jesus. That is still our role. I have to especially remember that when I’m preaching. People aren’t coming to see me. They are coming to see Jesus. If too much of me gets in the way, I’m clouding the proper view. The same is true for everyone. We are disciples. What we are doing isn’t about us, it is about Jesus. Let’s make sure we are showing people Jesus today.

Tomorrow’s reading is John 13.

Rejoice

Today’s reading is Acts 8.

Can you imagine being the Ethiopian eunuch? Clearly, he is devoted to Yahweh. He travels thousands of miles to make the Jerusalem pilgrimage. However, according to the Law, he actually isn’t allowed to be a citizen of the kingdom (see Deuteronomy 23:1). No wonder when Philip shares the good news of Christ’s kingdom with him, he questions, “What hinders me?” Philip’s answer really is, “Nothing!” He enters the water, is immersed for the remission of his sins, and then goes on his way rejoicing. He wasn’t allowed in the assembly of the Jews, but he is now part of the assembly of Jesus. Here’s the cool thing. In reality, we are all in the same boat as that eunuch. According to the law, we really don’t get to be part of the kingdom. We are sinners. The law condemns us. However, that doesn’t hinder us from being part of Christ’s kingdom. Let us surrender to His gospel, confess Him as Lord and being buried with Him in water immersion for the remission of our sins. Then let us rejoice. There are no second-class citizens of Christ’s kingdom/ Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 9.