Reading for Oct 1: John 12:1-11

 1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

My Comments:

Today we start Chapter 12, which is a transition chapter in John. Up to this point Jesus' teachings have been in public; now all of His teaching will be done in private with His followers. In these remaining chapters we are going to get instruction on what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.

In today's passage we see a contrast between a true follow of Christ, someone who has turned over everything she has to Him versus a "follower" of Jesus who was with Him only for personal gain. Mary had been through quit an ordeal with her brother's sickness then death, a period of confusion over why Jesus had let her brother die, and then she witnessed Lazarus being raised from the dead to sit and eat with them. The test of her faith and the display of God's power had given her devotion to Jesus that was unmatched by anyone else in that room at that time.

On the other end of the spectrum was Judas, who was indeed a follower of Jesus, but his following was only a physical following. Judas was always with Jesus but he had never really given himself sacrificially in his entirety to Jesus a true follower. Instead, Judas was with Jesus only for selfish reasons. He was only with Jesus because of what he thought he could get from Him. He was not a man of God, he was a man of the world. To prove it, look at how he responded to Mary's act of devotion. Mary seen the perfume as a way to please Christ, Judas seen the perfume as way to please himself.

Reading for Sept 28: John 11:37-44

37 And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"
38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and

My Comments:

Verse 37 ask a question that I bet that you all have asked at some point, I know I have: If God is so great why does He allow bad things to happen? "God can create the universe by speaking a word but yet He can't prevent children from disease and suffering." That question can be answered in lots of different ways but Jesus chooses here one specific way. In verse 40 Jesus is answering Martha's concern; He tells her that the entire episode that they had just gone through was all done to glorify God.

Reading for Sept 27

28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?"
They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"

Reading for Sept 26: John 11:17-27

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[a] away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

Reading for Sept 25: John 11:7-16

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
8 The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." 11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."
12 Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him."
16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

Reading for Sept 24: John 11:1-6

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

My Comments:

I'll comment on this great passage tomorrow. Until then, fill free to do your own commenting.

Reading for Sept 19: John 10:11-21

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"
21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

Comments:

Jesus, continuing with the Shepherd/sheep analogy, is now in this passage identifying himself as the "Good Shepherd". He then explains why He is good. First He is good because He is willing to die for His sheep. This is different than the hired hands (hirelings) or false shepherds; they are only involved with the sheep for selfish reasons and "does not care about the sheep." The hirelings represent the Jewish leaders then and false teachers today.

Next, He is good because He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him (v14). This is more than just an intellectual knowledge. Most commentators describe this term know as describing the intimate love relationship, as between husband and wife. This loving relationship between shepherd and sheep is a reflection of the loving relationship between the Father and Jesus.

Another reason He is good is because He unites all of His chosen sheep into one flock. In verse 16 He refers to "other sheep"; these are the gentiles. So He is taking these other sheep and joining them with the sheep He has called out of the fold previously mentioned to make one flock, that The Church. Notice, just like when He was calling out the chosen from the fold, He is doing the action. He says "He must bring them", they cannot come on their own.

Lastly, He implies that He is good because He is obedient to His Father. Verses 17 and 18 say that the Father commanded Jesus lay down His life and so He did on His own initiated. He voluntarily laid down His life to be obedient; His life was not taken by someone else's power. The phrase, "take it again" does not mean He will die again; it is referring to His resurrection. As when He lays down His life He is giving His life, when He is resurrected He takes it again.

The passage ends describing a division among the Jews, with some saying Jesus must be demon possessed or insane and others were disagreeing. They were starting to realize that there was something special about this man. It seems that the chosen among the fold were starting to hear their shepherd's voice, as promised. The others did not recognize His voice because they were not His sheep.

Reading for Sept 18: John 10:7-10

7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

My comments:

In this passage Jesus changes the metaphor somewhat, now He is saying that not only is He the shepherd that is calling out the sheep that belongs to Him, but He is also the door. A door is the thing that allows you to go from one place to another. In this passage Jesus is saying that He is the way to get from one place, the fold (representing Israel as a whole) to another place, the pasture (representing the presence of God). Verse 9 in a very important verse and deserves more than just a glance. I recommend that you spend some extra time today meditating and praying over this verse. Here are some things that jump out at me:

• "the door" – the fact that there is a door suggest that there is something separating, or keeping apart the inner part where the larger group resides from the pasture, that is the presence of God. What is it that separates the world form God? Our sin is the only answer. This fact must be realized by the lost before they can become saved. One must understand that there is a separation before a passage through that separation is ever sought. If you do not know that there is a separation then you do not know about, or need, a door.
  
• "If anyone enters" – the invitation through the door is made to everyone, but the invitation isn't enough, the action of going through the door must take place before "he will be saved".
  
• "by Me" – the way that a sinner who is completely spiritually dead can even think about entering the door is "by Me". The "Me", of course (since this is Jesus talking), is Jesus. Man cannot under their own initiative search out God, for that to happen a Divine act must take place. It takes supernatural power to raise someone from the dead, that includes spiritual death. Take a look at the well known Psalm 23, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters…" and you can continue in that Psalm looking at who is doing the action. Salvation is not a human act but a Divine accomplishment.
  
• "he will be saved" – not he might be, or could be, will be if he does "XYZ"; he will be. God's sovereign will is accomplished no matter what. To say any other thing is to say that God is unable to bring His desires to completion and we all know that that is not true.
  
• "will go in and out" – the phrase "go in and out" suggest freedom. A freedom to "access God's blessings and protection, and never fearing harm or danger" (MacArthur). See Psalm 23 again!
  

So these past two days have shown Jesus as the one who calls out His sheep from the group and as the way those called out access the Father. This is good stuff, isn't it?!?!?

Reading for Sept 17: John 10:1-6

1 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

My comments:

To completely understand this passage, we need to know a little bit about sheep herding in the near East during that time period. Particularly what is meant by a "fold". The "fold" was a common place for the different shepherds in a village to keep their flocks overnight. In the fold the sheep were protected by a doorkeeper who was hired by the shepherds. This doorkeeper would only allow the shepherds to enter into the protected fold; therefore anyone who could not enter by the door, but climbed up some other way, was a thief and a robber. The shepherds, on the other hand, could enter by the door and call out their particular sheep out of the whole bunch. Apparently, the sheep knew the shepherds voice and would follow him without provoking. The sheep that did not belong to that shepherd would stay behind. Jesus uses these common things (common for the Jews during that time) as an illustration. In the metaphor the sheepfold has been said to represent a few different things: the church, heaven, or Israel (Jews in general). However, I think most agree that it likely represents Israel because it is unlikely that thieves could climb into heaven or the church to steal anything, nor would there be anyone but Christ's "sheep" in heaven and the true church. The fold being Israel makes much more sense. Within Israel there is a group of God's chosen that will be called out, and using Israel allows for a nice contrast between the true and the false shepherds being Jesus and the Pharisees. (Remember at the end of chapter 9 Jesus was talking with the Pharisees about the right path to salvation.)

So, what we have here is Jesus saying that He is the true shepherd and He will call out His sheep from the whole group, which is all of Israel (we will see later the inclusion of the Gentiles). This group of His sheep, after He calls them out, will follow Him. Get that, they will follow Him, not that they can follow Him if they want to, they will follow Him. They will not follow strangers, that is they, the chosen, called out group, would not follow false teachers such as the Pharisees, in fact they will "flee from [them]". So what does that mean for us? It gives us a test for our own salvation. If we are true Christians, if we have been called out of the group, then we will follow Him and we will flee false teachers. We will be attracted to the light and repulsed by the darkness. If this does not describe you then begin tonight working it out with God.

Reading for Sept 8: John 8:28-30

28 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

Reading for September 7: John 8:22-27

22 So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"
23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"
And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

Readings for September 4-6

Tuesday - John 8:7-11

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, Lord."
And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

Wednesday – John 8:12-16

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."
14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.

Thursday – John 8:17-21

17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."
19 Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"
Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."
20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
21 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."

Reading for Sept 3: John 8:1-6

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

My Comments:

If you have a study bible or some other commentary that you use when you study, you might notice that part of this week's chapter is separated out with notations stating that this story was not in the earliest copies of the scriptures that we have. I'm not going to comment on this unless the question is asked directly; otherwise, I'll let you research that issue yourself. However, if you have specific questions go to the comment section and ask; I'll do my best to answer you.

That's that, let's move on to today's reading. For the next couple of days we are going to be looking at a very familiar story, the description of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. Today in the first half of the story, Jesus is brought an adulterous woman by the scribes and Pharisees. Just that should make us stop and ponder. (You know me I like to ask "why") So, why do you think they took the women to Jesus? In their minds they had it all figured out, they were the so called experts of the Law. Why would they need Jesus' input? To me this shows a premeditated attempt to set Jesus up, to trap Him in His word. This brings another question to mind, a question that John (the Hess, not the apostle or the Baptist) brought up in class yesterday: what were the Jewish leaders worried about? Why were they so concerned with Jesus? He (Jesus) must have been a real threat to them. If He would have been simply a nuisances they would have simply blown Him off as some crazy man and maybe just quietly put Him away; instead they were afraid of Him. They had to use deceit and trickery to try and make Him look bad in the people's eyes. I think this provides even more evidence that Jesus was who He said He was and He did all the things we read about. The miracles must have been real and He must be more than just a good story teller. The Jewish leaders would not have been so afraid of just "a good man," but they had every reason to be afraid of the Son of God.

OK, sorry for the digression, let's get back to the story, So Jesus is confronted with this woman who is caught in adultery and asked what should be done with her. They didn't ask because they were interested in Jesus' opinion they asked because, as it says in verse 6, they were testing Him. If He said not to stone her then He would be breaking the Law of Moses (Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22); if He said go ahead and stone her then His teachings on compassion and forgiveness would seem hypocritical. They thought they had Him.

This situation does bring up a very good question. If God is holy and God's law is holy, righteous, and good and if the Law knows nothing of forgiveness (Rom 3:20) then how does God forgive sinners (breakers of the Law) without violating His holy law? How do we put together justice and mercy? So that is the question for today, somebody answer it. Hint: if you was at church last night, you've got the verses to back up your answer and there was even a song sang about it.

Reading for Sept 1: John 7:50-53

50 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night,^[a] being one of them) said to them, 51 "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"
52 They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen^[b] out of Galilee."

 
53 And everyone went to his own house.