John 12, Proverbs 20

Just wanted to follow up on yesterday's post with verses 9-10 from John 12:

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

Do these guys seriously not get it, or what?

Proverb that I noticed today was Proverbs 20:14

“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
but when he goes away, then he boasts.

People will go to a lot of effort to save a little bit of money, putting on a big show about something. I don't think God wants us to haggle over ever little thing, but I'm reminded instead of the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16. At the end, in verses 8-9, Jesus concludes

⁸"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Considering how much more eternity is worth compared to saving a few dollars at the store, we should be willing to go to every effort. This also reminds me of the pearl of great price in Matthew 13:45-46:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

⁴⁶Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Let's be clever buyers, but of heavenly things, not earthly ones.

John 11

Reading the story of Lazarus today, I noticed an interesting irony that I had never realized before. After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, notice what happens in verse 45-46

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

I find it surprising that only SOME would believe after Jesus raised someone from the dead. In the next verses, the Pharisees seem to have the same opinion:

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

The Pharisees can see well enough that someone like Jesus will be able to attract many followers. But I think they're still missing the picture. What exactly is it they are worried the Romans will do, kill people? That doesn't seem so threatening when your leader can literally raise the dead. Also, their solution seems a bit questionable:

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

That's right, the correct way to deal with someone who has power over life and death is to kill them. Because that will totally work.

The irony that I noticed, however, is this. As a result of raising Lazarus from the dead, the priests decided to kill Jesus. It's almost as if Jesus has taken Lazarus' place in the grave. Fortunately, this is a burden that Jesus is more than capable of bearing. Not even death can defeat him. That's why we shouldn't hesitate either to cast our burdens on Jesus. He loves us, and he is able.

Psalm 69:1

The first verse of Psalm 69 is:

Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.

Psalms has lots of powerful imagery, but this verse really stuck out to me today. How often do we feel this way. We can still breath, but our problems have all but completely engulfed us. Even then, though, God is able.

Proverbs 11-12

A couple of proverbs that I liked

Proverbs 24-26:

²⁴ One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵ A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

²⁶ People curse the man who hoards grain,
but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.

Generosity is a principle that is advocated throughout scripture. It is just one of the many things about which the Bible's advice goes dead-against our common sense. You would think "If I give everything away, I won't have anything left." It's easy to recognize that I do this with money, but I realize that I am in the habit of being stingy not just with my money, but with my time, my friendship, who I will allow myself to care about. I think the principle of generosity applies just as much in these areas as it does when it comes to finance.

One paradoxical I'm reminded of is when it comes to spiritual hunger. The more God you get in your life, the more you want him. But if you don't feel like you need him at all, chances are its because you've drifted so far away that you've lost the ability to notice how empty you've become. It's almost as if once we get a taste of God, we can't get enough. But if we get used to eating the dry crumbs of this life, we learn to do without.

I'm also reminded of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 16:25

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

When we try so hard to hold onto the things of this life, we completely lose our ability to notice that there's a whole eternity out there waiting for us. It's only when we stop fixating on the things of this world and utterly fixate ourselves on Jesus that we also have our eyes fixed on heaven where he is.

I hope that I can learn to be more generous and stop clinging onto what this life has to offer, but instead fix my eyes on Jesus and eternity.

John 7

When I read John 7, it has a feeling of suspense, almost like a mystery novel. There is so much speculation about who Jesus is and what he has come to do. We see in verse 1-5 that even Jesus' brothers aren't sure what to make of him:

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

It's almost like they're saying to Jesus "Why are you hiding out, shouldn't you be going around acting important or something?" Now, Jesus' brothers weren't wrong to think that one of Jesus' roles was as a public leader. But they were wrong to think that was his ONLY role. They wanted to skip straight to the glorious stage of Jesus ministry without realizing that it wasn't time for that.

I know that I get disappointed too when God's sense of timing doesn't agree with my own. Like Jesus brothers, I start asking God "Shouldn't you be acting this way?". And sometimes, God's answer is "not yet".

I wonder if Jesus' brothers would have been so eager for him to reveal himself publicly if they had realized that Jesus had to go through the crucifixion before he could be glorified. Maybe instead of asking "Why are you hiding?", they would have said "can't you wait just a little while longer before you go out in public? People are trying to kill you after all!"

But that would have been the wrong reaction too. Notice what happens in verse 30:

So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

Just as Jesus had no intention of declaring himself king before the time was right, he had was in no danger of dying early. Sometimes I say to God "why are we waiting" but sometimes I'm thinking "I'm not ready for this yet." But I should trust God, because his timing is always perfect and nothing can interrupt his plan.

John 6

John 6 provides an interesting contrast to the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. When Jesus talks to the woman at the well, he promises her that if she drinks the water he gives, she will never thirst anymore. In John 6, Jesus feeds 5000 people, but the next day they're hungry again. So naturally they come back looking for more. Jesus' response in verses 26-27 struck me:

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

I'll be honest, a large portion of of why I am a Christian is because I "ate my fill of the loaves". What I mean is that I believe because of the different ways I've seen God care for my earthly needs. I don't think Jesus is condemning this, but he does want us to realize that there's more out there. If the Church was just a place for people to get their earthly needs met, it may as well just be a book club. What makes Christianity special is that it offers the only convincing hope in this world of eternal life. We have to work never to lose sight of that goal. As Jesus puts it in verse 28:

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

When we finally realize to stop focusing on the material benefits and focus on what is eternal, this can be hard. One criticism of the Church is that "I like that they help, but I wish they weren't so obsessed with converting people. What makes them think they're so holy when they're just like us?" Even Jesus (who is the SON OF GOD) faced the accusation that he shouldn't claim to be something special. In verse 41-42:

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

I suspect that that people would have been a lot happier with Jesus if he had been content just to do miracles and not go around claiming to be something special. But at the same time, Jesus' mission on this earth wasn't just about feeding people, it was about saving them. And no number of loaves of bread was going to accomplish that.

Notice that even Jesus' disciples are put-off by the content of his message. In verse 60:

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

How often do we complain when something seems "too hard" to understand. I really like Peter's reaction, though, when Jesus asks if Peter wants to quit because of the hardness. In verses 67-69:

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

A saying I've been hearing a lot recently is "I won't let what I don't understand keep me from doing what I do understand". I think this is something Peter really gets. The fact is he doesn't understand everything that Jesus says (remember this is the same Peter who tries to prevent Jesus from going to the cross). Nonetheless, Peter is "stuck" with Jesus, because he's seen enough of Jesus' message to know that he has no other options.

There is no better place to be stuck than to be stuck on God. He won't always make sense, but he will always be there for you. And only he has the ability to grant eternal life.

Psalm 65

The whole of Psalm 65 is pretty awesome, boldly declaring the greatness of God's works. I especially liked verse 5

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,

Sometimes I just need to remember how awesome God is. He made this entire world, so there's nothing in it that's too big for him to handle.