A few weeks ago, my good friend George Ortiz spoke for the first time at our church…George is an up and coming student pastor at Lakeside.  He called me the night before and we talked about this very passage from which he did a great job speaking the next day.

From that message and our conversation, this is what I have learned…remember, this is the story where Jesus feeds 5000 people with 5 loves of barley and 2 fish…

“⁵When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?’ ⁶He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷Philip answered him, ‘Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!’

⁸Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9′Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’“

-John 6:5-8

Can you imagine?  These were people who walked with Jesus everyday.  They heard his teaching.  They saw his miracles.  Assuming these events are somewhat chronological (most chapters start out with “some time later…” or something like that), we know that he changed water into wine in chapter 2…healed the official’s son in chapter 4…healed the man by the pool in chapter 5.  They’ve seen him do things that challenge everything they’ve come to know and yet, in this moment, they can’t seem to figure out how in the world they’re going to get enough food for everyone.  Remarkable.

See any parallels?  Has God ever done anything miraculous in your life?  Have you seen Him do the impossible?  Have you then been amazed at your lack of faith the next time hardship comes?  Why is it that some people seem to be so full of faith and others have such a lack of it?  Is it simply because the “faithful” people have seen God do more?  I don’t think so.  I still think that in some respects, faith (as in, faith that God will bring you through a struggle) is a gift that some Christians have yet to receive.

Fortunately, as the passage suggests in the rest of the story, God still works in spite of my unbelief and allows me to praise him for it in the aftermath.  His disciples didn’t have faith that day, but you know what?  No one went home hungry.

My prayer is this…”God, help me to have faith in your power at times when there seems to be no way and thank you for your faithfulness in times that my faith is weak.”

As a Christian who grew up in the church, I find that sometimes the most encouraging passages to read are those that deal with salvation.  In the midst of a world full of Christians who constantly tell you how to live, how to serve, how to work, it’s nice to hear Jesus set the record straight again – just believe.

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

-John 5:24

But hold on a minute, because it’s important to understand that what we believe in really matters.  Jesus is not talking about believing in God.  Jesus is talking about believing in the salvation message that he is bringing from God.

I recently noticed something about Ansley.  She believes in God.  There is no doubt in her mind.  During the past few months as we have prayed together at night, we’ve seen some of our prayer requests answered and she thanks God every night for making so-and-so better, etc.  She has no doubt that God made the animals and the leaves and gives the birds their song.  She believes there is a creator at the center of this universe and we worship Him as God.

However, I know this too about Ansley…she is stubborn.  She can be selfish.  Many times she is not at all interested in listening to mom and dad.  I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.  She has no problem in believing in God…a kind creator who gives us everything good in life and wants us to simply be nice to each other…but she’s a far cry away from getting to a point of realizing how utterly sinful she is and being moved by the message of salvation to the point of accepting God’s free gift as her only hope.

It will be difficult for her, because to believe such a thing requires at least a moment of clarity…of understanding that no matter how hard you try, you’ll never make it on your own.  You’ll never be good on your own.  Only through Christ can you be made whole.

You see the Pharisees had the same problem…they believed, though not in the right thing, as Jesus finally points out to them…

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

-John 5:39

It’s not enough to believe in the God who created, who sustains, who sent his Son.  We must believe in the message.  We must come to him in submission and accept His salvation through Christ.

See if you recognize any of your favorite Christian artists in this song…it’s pretty crazy creative yo!

Since I dove into writing about this chapter from verse one last time, I thought I would read it again to see how the rest of the chapter spoke to me.  I came across a portion of it that I thought was interesting…at least the way I was reading it…

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” ³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

³¹Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³³Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

³⁴“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.

-John 4:27-38 (NIV)

Let me go back just for a moment and paraphrase how I read this…The disciples return to find Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman.  Verse 6 of this chapter tells us that Jesus was apparently tired from his journey.  Since the disciples are returning, one can assume they were there with him at one point and left him, perhaps on Jesus instruction, to possibly go get some food and provisions.  Reading into their response a bit (“Why are you talking with her?”), I wonder if they were really thinking, “Man, this guy is more tired than we thought…we leave him for an hour and he’s already talking to Samaritans!”

So, maybe they question him, “When was the last time you ate?!!”  They offer him some food and perhaps it’s then that Jesus decides to use the event as a teaching moment… “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

When I read that line, I couldn’t help but remember something he said to his mother, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? (Luke 2:49)” or maybe the rebuke that he gave to Satan when offered bread after 40 days of fasting, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)”

You see, nothing distracts Jesus.  He remains incredibly focused in every moment, no matter the circumstance.  Neither hunger, thirst….or indeed, social etiquette and cultural norms would deter Jesus’ focus on his Fathers’ work – to spread the good news of salvation to all who will hear.

God, help me remember these things with my neighbors in the community where I live, so that I might share your message of Jesus without fear.

I saw him do this one live a couple of years ago before he had stuff on the radio…great looping!

I grew up on this guy!  He’s the greatest Christian hip-hop artist in my opinion and this is my favorite song of his…gets to some of his signature riffing and he’s not a bad singer either!

I just love finger-style guitar!  This guys is one of Andy McKee’s biggest influences.

Hey I have a quick question for you bible junkies…did Jesus ever baptize anyone?  I know in chapter 3 of John it says…

They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

-John 3:26

However, this chapter starts out with…

The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, ²although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

-John 4:1-2

I wonder if the people in John 3 were simply saying that Jesus posse was baptizing people and perhaps not Jesus himself.  Is there any significance to this?  Does verse 2 have any meaning here?  Did Jesus purposefully not do the baptizing for some reason?  Was he  simply trying to show that we need to pass on responsibilities to the next generation?  ”It was not Jesus who baptized.”  When you read that statement alone…you realize there could be some finality to it….that perhaps Jesus never baptized anyone himself.

I’ve been thinking about it, and if I had to guess, I would speculate that the writer (John) had a purpose here.  I would guess that in his day, there may have been some preachers going around the different towns and claiming a certain authority based on the fact that they, or their relatives or mentor, were baptized by Jesus himself.  Perhaps people would believe this and follow their message more willingly based on this, thinking they were more blessed having be touched by the Master.  If this were the case, perhaps John wanted to point out that Jesus never baptized anyone so these claims were bogus.  Anyway, it makes for interesting discussion doesn’t it?

There’s another interesting passage here…

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

-John 4:19 – 24

This stuck out to me today…people used to have to go to the temple to worship, but now they don’t.  However, I always thought that was because the veil had been torn and we had direct access now to the Father.  Perhaps it does mean that, but Jesus said the time had come in this passage and at that time the veil hadn’t been torn.  I wonder if he simply meant “the time is very near” or if the purpose of the temple had been truly done away with by then.  If anyone else has any thoughts on this, please let me know in the comments below!

We don’t really have any recent pictures of Ansley to share (Wanna hear a secret?  We’re horrible parents!  Just kidding…)…good thing Megan does!  Anyway, these are moments from a day in the park with Grandma.  The park next to the church property.

First, let me write down some questions I have as I read this chapter…

1) Jesus says to Nicodemus “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v.3).  For the Jew, what did the phrase “kingdom of God” mean?

2) Jesus starts relating being born again to the wind in verse 8, saying “The wind blows wherever it pleases”.  Is this statement referring to the doctrine of election, or is it simply saying that spiritual birth is an unseen thing…not something that exists in the physical sense, only the spiritual?

3) In v.11 Jesus says “We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen.”  Who is the we?  Is is Jesus and another person or other people?  Or is it Jesus and the Spirit?

4) What exactly does Jesus mean when he says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (v.14)?

5) When Jesus says “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit”, does baptism symbolize at least the water part?

Christ talking with Nicodemus at night (Christus onderwijst Nicodemus) by Crijn Hendricksz. Volmarijn (1616 - 1645)

Some Thoughts

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

-John 3:18

It struck me as I was reading today, that this passage is inclusive and not exclusive.  At first glance, it may read something like “you can’t go to heaven unless you believe in Jesus” (which is true, by the way .  However, I think the important word here is the word, “already”.  You see, we are all condemned to die…not because of a lack of belief in Jesus, but because of our sin.  Our sin condemns us.  Not our lack of belief.  Rather, belief in Christ is what saves us.

In a postmodern world that may charge Christianity with the crime of exclusivity, this passage says, “No, no!  We’re not different!  We’re all the same and we’re all going to the same place! (hell).  All we’re saying is, that there is hope!  His name is Jesus, and you don’t have to be condemned anymore!”