John 4:28-42

When the disciples were concerned about the meal that Jesus might have skipped, Jesus said he had another kind of food which would strengthen his mind and body. This secret food Jesus mentioned was to do the will of Father who sent him and to finish his work. As our body craves for food when we need energy, Jesus showed his hunger for doing God’s will. As our body receives strength from eating food, Jesus was strengthened and satisfied when he did God’s work. Thinking of my own life, this is indeed true to the reality of life. When I recognized the need of doing God’s work and responded to that by using my body and mind, it brought me joy of serving God. Even when I see my effort of doing God’s work not going as well as I had expected, I find myself experiencing deeper fellowship with Christ through participating in his suffering. Yet, it was not easy for me to do the work of God in a timely manner because of my selfish desires for comfort and laziness. When Jesus was engaged in the conversation with this Samaritan woman, he was very tired and wanted to take rest beside the well. That was not the best time for anyone to be motivated to talk to a stranger about serious topics. But Jesus overcame his bodily desires to carry out God’s work. How did Jesus become so interested in the life of this Samaritan Woman in spite of his utter physical tiredness? From the text, I can see how Jesus was keen on the significance of seizing the window of time given to him during his stay on the earth. While most people are just keen on meeting their bodily needs and finishing their own work, Jesus was keen on the advancement of God’s kingdom work. He was aware of how God’s salvation work had to begin before the creation of the world (sowing) and how it progressed through the Old Testament days and how it came to the time of harvest. When he talked about “harvest time”, he probably meant what he was going to accomplish on the cross. With the coming of Jesus and his redemptive work on the Cross, indeed, God’s salvation plan was fully revealed and amazing number of people began to be saved. Jesus compared God’s salvation work to farming. Farming is a time-sensitive business. We have to sow at the right time and reap at the right time. We must pay close attention to how the crops grow each week. When Jesus said that his food is to do the will of God and to finish God’s work, the word “finish” stood out for me. “Finishing God’s work” requires faithful and timely work. “Finishing work” presupposes existence of the deadline for the work and the finiteness of its content. For Jesus, it was his death and resurrection. For me, it is the work that God has entrusted to every Christian. I realize I did not think of God-given work in my life as something that needs to be “finished” within a certain window of time. I often do God’s work as if it has no deadline or due date. That is why I did not have the same kind of urgency, sensitivity, readiness to respond people’s need in my ministry as Jesus did. When I think about students whom I minister to, indeed, there is only a certain window of time during which they might be interested in the gospel. I must constantly think about what this window of opportunity is for each student and respond to it in a timely manner. I have work to “finish” for each person God has placed in my care. I must finish it. When I see the urgency of doing this, I would be more willing to endure self-denial and sacrifice that are required. The encouraging news is that I have food that people in the world know nothing about–the joy of serving God and fellowship with Christ through participating in his suffering.

John 9:1-15

While Jesus’ disciples tried to “interpret” what happened to this man blind from birth, Jesus was interested in bringing “change” to this man’s life by carrying out the work of God in the life of this man. This story gives tremendous encouragement and hope for me. It shows how there is always hope and always the work of God that can happen in the life of any person no matter how much his/her life seems to be messed up and seems to be hopeless. I should never put myself in the position of “explaining away” in any hopeless or painful situation. As long as the gospel is available, as long as it is day, I must do the work of God for people whom God entrusted to me. Because of who Jesus is and what he had accomplished on the cross, everyone has hope and no one’s life is hopeless. Again, I have to “finish” the work assigned to me before night comes. I have only limited amount of time and opportunities with the precious souls whom God had entrusted in my care. I must be faithful in doing “timely” work for each person that I know of. What does this mean in a concrete way? It means sending new year’s greeting to students I have not seen for a while to praying with intensity and faithfulness for people who are losing spiritual interest. As the winter retreat is coming up, I need to be alert and sensitive to the window of time.

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Submitted by Sharon K. from Gracepoint Berkeley Church

John 4:34-36

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do 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. 36 Even 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.

After having a conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

I was blessed reflecting about how Jesus said this right after having a conversation with the Samaritan woman. GOD’S WILL sounds really grand and FINISH(ing) HIS WORK sounds quite high, lofty and ambitious as something that I cannot attempt. And yet we can sense Jesus’ excitement as he said this. What he said made me rethink about how Jesus saw the Samaritan woman. To Jesus, she was not just a woman who has had many husbands, not just someone who came out to the well in the heat of the day. She was someone who has been observed, loved, and cared for by God for a very long time. God’s work had already begun in her life and when Jesus saw her, Jesus saw the work that had begun by God that needed to be finished and brought into fruition by him. And I’m so blessed thinking about the fact that Jesus’ sentiment of excitement of doing God’s work, His joy of co-laboring with God as sower and reaper was over one nameless woman who has been disregarded and looked down upon by others in the society.

What does this mean for me when I am trying to love one person? This means that I am also joining God’s work that He has begun and this means that I am also co-laboring with God as the sower and reaper co-labor and are together glad as they experience the harvest. I realize that I am only a step away from experiencing the kind of excitement and fullness that filled Jesus as He ministered to the Samaritan woman. This sense of joining God’s work was what filled his soul, what kept him going, hence “his food.”

I pray that I will also be able to say, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” And one important way that I will be able to experience Jesus’ sense of excitement and passion is that I need to be disciplined seeing the work that God has begun in each person as I try to love someone. I need to keep in mind that God has been watching, loving and caring for this person already and God’s work has already begun in his/her life. I need to see that I have a role in joining God’s work and doing His will. It might be sowing the seed of the gospel; it might be showing hospitality and opening hearts; or, it might be serving in the background and not having direct contact with that person. The truth that I am joining God’s will and his work and I get to be God’s co-laborer who can be there together when the harvest is gathered is an amazing privilege and honor.

John 9:1–5

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus tells us that this man born blind from birth was not someone who was unfortunate, someone who was forgotten, dismissed or unfavored by God. But in reality, this man was also someone who has been dearly loved and cared for by God. He was someone whom God focused His attention on and poured in His work of care. His work had always been in his life, but Jesus came into contact with him so that His work can be displayed for everyone to see.

One lesson for me is that I need to approach each person with the attitude of “I want God’s work in his/her life to be displayed” with the faith that His work has already begun in this person’s life.

From these two encounters, one thing I can see clearly is that Jesus looked at each person in terms of God’s work that had already began in their lives. And Jesus knew his role as someone who would display His work, someone who would complete and finish His work, knew that he is joining God’s work as a co-laborer. And Jesus looked forward to the day where the sower and the reaper will be glad together.

I pray that I will also have the same perspective more clearly and regularly in the coming year. Knowing that his own time is limited on this earth, Jesus regarded each encounter as something very precious, where he had only this chance that he had right at that time to really love and minister to that person. As 2011 is coming to a close and I am getting ready to embrace another year, it is more clear that my time to join God’s work is also limited as well. For only a certain number of years, I was serving God as a single person. For only a certain number of years I was serving God as a mom of infants, toddlers, etc. With this perspective in mind, I commit to join God’s work that had already begun in people’s lives with sharper intentionality and focus in the coming year.

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Submitted by Shufei L. from Gracepoint Berkeley Church

Jesus’ view of time was very different from his disciples’ view of time because he judged the time according to God’s spiritual activities on earth. The disciples did not have this view because they were spiritually blind to what God was doing around them. That’s why in John 4:35 Jesus exhorted his disciples, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest,” after his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus saw that God had prepared the heart of this woman and subsequently the hearts of people in her town to come to believe in Jesus. Jesus was excited about the “ripe”/ready hearts of these people responding to him. Yet, his disciples did not see this at all as they were simply too concerned about the daily needs, such as making sure that they had physical food to eat.

Jesus’ exhortation to his disciples to open up their spiritual eyes applies to me very aptly and personally. Like the disciples, my heart and mind are often filled with concerns for the daily, physical needs. As a father of two little kids, I am worried about how my kids are doing. My older son doesn’t like to eat, so how much he’s eating everyday is a concern for me. I also need to worry about the finance of the family as my wife and I are supporting our two little ones as well as my parents. These concerns sometimes cloud my eyes toward God’s spiritual activity around me, which is indeed ripe for harvest. God has been working mightily in our church, bringing many people to salvation this past year and opening the hearts of many seekers. He has also been training us up and enlarging our capacity in preparation for greater kingdom work, such as church planting in 2013.

In John 9, Jesus and his disciples ran into this man who was blind born and his parents. The disciples were trying to explain the cause of this man’s tragic condition while Jesus saw the spiritual significance behind the event, which was that “the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Confronted by this inexplicable tragedy, Jesus viewed that it was a special time (kairos) or opportunity for God to display His power and grace instead of looking for explanations for it. Jesus pointed out to his disciples that “as long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me” (John 9:4). Jesus called his disciples to actions in the face of human tragedies because this was the time for God to manifest his goodness and compassion through His people.

Like the disciples, when I am confronted with difficulties, challenges and tragedies that are beyond my control, I want to spend more time looking for explanations of these situations than seeing how God’s glory may be displayed. However, when I do this, I would end up losing out in experiencing God’s calling to send me out as His hands and feet and to do God’s work.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your reminder that my spiritual eyes are blind due to my sins, my earthly concerns, and my worldly fears. You show me your view of the world through your word. This world is ripe for harvest because there are so many people who are lost in their sins. And you want to use me to participate in your salvation work by working through some of the inexplicable tragedies and difficulties in my life and in other people’s lives. Lord, I want to commit once again to see this world the way you see it and approach this world the way you want me to approach it, so that your glory may be displayed. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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1 John 1:1-2
Meditate on the fact that with the person of Jesus “life appeared.”
Christianity is different than other religions in that at the core, it’s not about mainly about living a moral life or even a pious life. From the very beginning, Christians have always affirmed that Christian life and eternal life is defined by a person, Jesus Christ. Through the miracle of the Incarnation, we find the eternal God in the person of Jesus. Through witnessing his life, his interactions with the people around him, and his death and resurrection, we get that texture and feel for what God’s character is like. As we come to know Jesus’ character, we come to understand who God is, who we are, who other people are, and how our lives fit together in this universe.

It is amazing that the appearance of God should come in such a historic fact and that for people of all generations, we are called to look back on that historic event of the Incarnation and that historic person to see who God is and learn what life is about. For me, I thought that I would come to discover life is through what I do and the meaning of life that I find. It never occurred to me to look backwards into the past. I want to be able to define truth and life based on my own life and my own experiences. And yet, because the fullness of God is in Jesus, it’s his life of coming from heaven, his life of suffering and love, and eventually his descent all the way to the cross and his unjust and criminal death that I need to look to for the meaning of life. In the end, the meaning of my life doesn’t come from what I can make of my life, or even what we do as a church, but it’ll be about what that life from two thousand years ago and how I am connecting everything back to him. I can never feel like I’ve learned enough about him and “graduate” from having to continually looking back to the life he led.

In what ways have I experienced life after encountering Jesus?
The very depth and breadth of life expanded so much after I met Jesus in ways that I never expected. As I learned about God through his word, I came to recognize the depth of my own yearning for something more that I could not articulate before, as well as the depth of my persistent sinfulness and wretchedness. At the same time, I have come to grasp the height of God’s love that he would embody the utmost grace and forgiveness toward his enemies. I never knew that there could be such a person who would love and die for undeserved people as Jesus did on the cross, how love and sorrow could mingle in this way as the Best died for the Worst. Before meeting Jesus, I never knew that it would be possible to live beyond the reality of this life here, that it can be so meaningful and joyful to live beyond the four corners of my earthly life. Before meeting Jesus, I never knew that there could be joy in giving myself to something greater or to meet the needs of another person, as the only thing I had known was to please myself and gratify my desires. I never knew that there could be freedom is letting go of maximizing things for myself, as I thought that would just be sheer torture, and yet I experienced letting go of lesser things for greater things, such as in giving up independence for the sake of fellowshipping with others. In so many ways, my very understanding and expecting of life was so narrow and didn’t even seek after true life because I didn’t know it existed. but through Jesus, I’ve come to discover such an expansiveness and richness in life.

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Submitted by James Kim, Gracepoint Berkeley

Reflection questions
John 1:1-5, 14
“The term “the Word” (Gk. Logos) conveys the notion of divine self-expression or speech and has a rich OT background. God’s Word is effective: God speaks, and things come into being (Gen. 1:3, 9; Ps. 33:6; 107:20; Isa. 55:10–11), and by speech he relates personally to his people (e.g., Gen. 15:1).”[1]
Reflect on the words describing the true nature of Jesus (“the Word”) in this passage in light of the cross and resurrection. Jesus is described in this passage as “the Word”, being with God and “was fully God” (from the NET).   God commands things into being through his word, and he relates to man through his word.  It’s appropriate that Jesus is described as “the Word” from God, because Jesus is embodiment of God’s message to the world, communicating who God is, his message of love, his message of what it means to be a follower of God, and what it doesn’t mean.  And Jesus is God’s message to the world of forgiveness and eternal life available to anyone who would believe in Jesus, anyone who would believe what God’s Word says.  Jesus is God’s word in flesh and made his dwelling among us, to be with us (Emmanuel).
Jesus is the message from God the Father, full of grace and truth.  The cross is God’s word (message) of truth that I am a sinner, and the truth of what punishment my sins deserve.  The cross is God’s word of grace that the punishment my sins deserve were suffered for me by Jesus who died there on my behalf, so that I would not have to.  And the resurrection of Jesus is God’s word of life, hope and victory that I am forgiven of my sins, that I will rise again as Jesus did, and that sin and death do not have any more final say to me as it did on Jesus.

John 1:12
What “right” do I have through Jesus?
I have the right to become a child of God through Jesus.

What are the implications that flow from this right in my life?
The implications of being a child of God through Jesus is that I am a co-heir with him.  God raised Jesus from the dead, and so I too will rise again at the end of this life.  Being a child of God means that what God said of Jesus applies to me as well, that I am God’s son, beloved of God.  It means that I inherit the same work that God had Jesus do, the work of taking up my cross for the sake of saving souls.

It also means that I have “dying” to do, in living a cross-bearing life.  It means that I should expect the world to treat me as the world treats Jesus.  If God gives me the same work that he gave Jesus, then that means I also inherit the suffering that is involved in carrying out my duties as a Christ-follower.  As I hold onto truth that I am a sinner in need of forgiveness, and that every person is a sinner in need of forgiveness, the world isn’t going to like or welcome that news.  It means that I’ll have to engage in some down-right uncomfortable things: conversations that I’d rather not have; hard work that will make me tired and might not yield results that I expect or want to see; holding on to standards that are going to make me and my beliefs and this church potentially very unpopular; denying myself of physical, emotional and relational luxuries that those who do not follow Christ in a similar socio-economic status indulge themselves in regularly.

But all of that flows from the “rights” of acceptance by God and to eternal relationship with him in the next life, while enjoying freedom from the weight and penalty of my sins in this one.  Nothing in this world that I forfeit can compare to that.

John 1:16-18
How have I “received one blessing after another” from the “fullness of his grace?”
I’ve received salvation from death.  I’ve received restoration and healing from my sins.  I’ve received reconnection with other people, a restored relationship with my family, my dad in particular, with friends and other people who I was pushing away because of my pride and my refusal to accept my part in the relational issues that I was having.

I’ve received good work and depth of relationships with others who engage in God’s work.  I’ve received relationships with others who look to me to lead them and guide them in the ways of discipleship.

When I think about the blessings from the life that I’ve been given and the duties that God has charged me with, I think about the people that I’ve had the privilege to minister to over the years.  Many of them are ministering to others, who are co-laborers in ministry.  I have relationships with junior high school students (that blows my mind), that I care about and who take their own faith seriously.

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Submitted by Sara Hong, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 1:1-5, 14
Reflect on the words describing the true nature of Jesus (“the Word”) in this passage in light of the cross and resurrection. The fact that Jesus, the Word, was with God in the beginning makes the fact that he came to this earth in the flesh all the more amazing.  Jesus chose to leave the eternal fellowship he shared with the Father; what is more, he suffered complete separation and sundering from the Father on the cross as he bore my sins there.  Through his sacrifice, I am able to experience the truth of the statement, “In his was life,” since Jesus’ death and resurrection has given me life—new life, eternal life.  “The Word” of God as manifested in Jesus is the letter that God provides to me, expressing his love.  As “the Word” hung upon the cross 2,000 years ago, Jesus shows me that he is the final word on God’s desire to be reconciled to His creation.

John 1:12
What “right” do I have through Jesus?
I have the “right” to become a child of God.

What are the implications that flow from this right in my life?
I have the “right” to be a child of God purely because of all that God has done for me; I am not a child due to anything that involves me—“born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God.”  The implications of this amazing adoption I have into God’s family are many: because I have freely received this identity from God, I don’t have to be in doubt about whether I truly belong to Him or not; I don’t have to worry about meriting my place or working in order to keep my place in my Father’s household.  What is more, the fact that I have this “right” compels me to gladly lay down any other “right” that I have: I can lay down my sense of self-sufficiency, self-centeredness, independence because I have been given the most amazing “right” of all—to be called a child of God.

John 21:1-3
“‘Afterward’ implies an indefinite lapse of time (cf. 2:12; 3:22; 5:1, 14; 6:1; 7:1; 11:7, 11; 13:7; 19:28, 38), but not always a long time. Since this event is categorized as Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples after the Resurrection (21:14), it must have taken place between the beginning of the second week and the Ascension.”[1]

Why might have Peter gone back to fishing even after witnessing the resurrection? Peter might have gone back to fishing because he wasn’t sure what to do with himself.  He had just witnessed some remarkable events, and he may have done this because he was confused and perplexed about how he was to respond.  The easy thing to do was to go back to what he was used to, something that he knows how to do.  The comforting thing about this was predictability and comfort.  He knew how to catch fish, and knew that it did not take the toll on him that following Jesus did.

What is the significance of the disciples going back to fishing and catching nothing (cf. Mark 1:16-17, Luke 5:4-11 )? The significance of this is the encounter that the disciples had when they first met Jesus.  At that time, Peter made his first act of small obedience by casting his net on the other side after a long night of fishing and catching nothing.  Through this, Peter made his confession that Jesus was his Lord.  Going fishing now and catching nothing again may have reminded Peter of the state he was in before he met Jesus, and probably reminded him of how much his life changed after having met Jesus.  Through this small act of obedience, Peter had the opportunity to throw his lot in with Jesus.  Jesus had given Peter a new name, a new identity and a grand vision for his life.  As Peter returns to his old life, the empty nets may have reminded him of the new identity Jesus had given him three years prior.

John 21:15-17
What can I learn about God’s perspective on my failures through Jesus’ interaction with Peter? I can learn that God is most interested in my relationship with him first and foremost.  He asks Peter if he loves him, as if to establish a foundation, a premise, on which to proceed.  It’s as if Jesus wants to first make sure that the most important condition is in place before proceeding to the next step.  This shows me that God views my relationship with him as the most important thing.  My value in God’s eyes is not tied directly to the things I do, or in other words, the ways I fail.  Instead, God is interested in whether or not I want to love and honor the God who has created me and wants a relationship with me.

How do I usually react to my failures, and in what ways do I need to change this? I usually react to my failures with disappointment and resolve to do better, or defensiveness and rationalization.  These are outlets of concern for the effect of my actions and/or pride.  I still place significance in doing things well and meeting expectations.  I need to change this to recognize that God is most interested in my relationship with him.  From God’s perspective, I am valuable regardless of what I can do or what I accomplish.  Instead of responding to failure with pride or defensiveness, which are made out of insecurity and pride, I should go to God with the situation surrounding my failure, and trust in God’s love for me and for his goodness for the situation I find myself in.

What can I learn about God’s calling to “take care of my sheep” from the fact that Jesus asks this of Peter, who had denied and failed him? The call of God to take care of his sheep is rooted in my relationship with God.  Once this is reconciled, God’s call to take care of his sheep is made without regard to past failures and mistakes.  As a defective minister, I’m amazed at the privilege of doing ministry, which is essentially loving other people.  I am especially amazed at the 55 recent decisions and the way in which our ministry can have a positive effect on others.  God takes broken sinners like me and has good work for us to do.  This ennobling of my life is unparalleled and certainly unmerited.

[1] Frank E. Gaebelein, Gen. Ed. Expositor’s Bible Commentary CD, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992) notes for chapter 21.

John 20:30-31

“To believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and the Son of God involves the total acceptance of the revelation of God that he offers, the acknowledgment of his divine authority, and the fulfillment of the commission he entrusted to his disciples. The total scope of this belief is illustrated in the narrative of this Gospel. Its result is eternal life, a new and enduring experience of God by the believer.”[1]

What was John’s purpose in writing the Gospel of John?

John’s purpose in writing the Gospel of John is clearly stated in today’s text, that we, those who come after him and read his gospel, may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.

Am I experiencing that life?

I am definitely experiencing this kind of life as I think about my own salvation and the death and hopelessness and shame that Jesus rescued me from, as I had a chance to reflect on this personally and as a church this whole week with the Passion Experience, watching the Passion of the Christ move, Good Friday service and yesterday’s Easter service.  Even though Christian life is not always easy, I look at the full life that I live and I can affirm again and again that really this is the best life out there.  It’s simply amazing as I think about where Jesus saved me from.  Not only that, I’m amazed to be part of this community where life is overflowing, where over the course of the past couple weeks we’ve been able to experience more than 60 salvation decisions corporately as a church.  It’s so true that as a church it’s like we’ve been standing on holy ground, hearing about person after person who crossed the line of faith this week, every person going from death to life, all centered on Jesus’ name and what Jesus did on the cross for us 2000 years ago.  If this isn’t “life in his name”, I don’t know what is!

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Submitted by Timothy Rhee, Gracepoint Minneapolis

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

John 18-19

In Mark 14:30, Jesus says to Peter, “I tell you the truth, today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times. In response Peter emphatically insisted, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”

It was just earlier that same evening that Peter so confidently said that he would never disown Jesus, even if he had to die with Jesus.  I think Peter was very sincere about the words he uttered so passionately, but he underestimated how much his courage and confidence was dependent on certain assumptions and expectations.  Peter never seriously considered that their band of brothers would ever scatter, and he certainly didn’t prepare for His Master, who walked on water, rebuked the storms, casted out demons and healed the sick, would ever be reduced to a helpless prisoner.

But as soon as his closest companions fled and he saw his hero and master so helplessly subdued and beaten, he shriveled up inside and became less assertive.  He tried to muster up all the courage he had left to follow Jesus into his trial before the High priest, but he could only manage to follow at a distance.

Once his identity as a follower of Christ became fuzzy due to his fears and desire to save himself, he finds himself seeking personal comfort by warming himself near the fire at a time when Jesus was being intensely persecuted.  And finally what Jesus predicted came true.  He ended up cowardly denying Jesus 3 times before the rooster crowed.  He couldn’t even muster up the courage to identify himself with Jesus before a servant girl.

As I reflect on Peter’s journey from that moment of great boast and self-confidence to denying Jesus 3 times, I see a window into my own heart.  I see how like Peter I too overestimate what I think I’m capable of.  I’d like to think I’m a sacrificial, loving person with a  generous heart, but I see that so much of my self-confidence comes from ‘favorable conditions’.  It’s not so hard to be godly and passionately devoted to God when things go well.  When there’s steady income, good health all around and a fruitful ministry, being zealous and radical for Jesus won’t seem so hard.  Even when there are times of intensity in doing God’s work like participating in mission trips, GLIVE, or starting a new church, I can be excited by the collective excitement and zeal of doing things together with others in the church.  And there’s also the reward of seeing the fruit of our labor as people come out to our events and develop spiritual hunger to seek God more.

But what will happen when 6 months of unemployment hit?  What will become of my zeal and passion when I experience setbacks in ministry?  What will happen to my enthusiasm and generous heart when my wife and kids are hit with prolonged illnesses?

Such times of discouragement and trials have hit me in the past, and I know my response to such times was far from a saintly, Christ-like response.  I’ve complained, fell into self-pity and wanted to just seek out fleshly comforts like Peter warming himself around a fire.  Those were times when my sense of identity as a follower of Christ became fuzzy and dull as I became so self-focused and deflated by the challenges and trials that were before me.

So should I wish such times would never come, because the real me…the best of me comes out in more favorable circumstances? NO, because the real me…the truth about who I really am get exposed the most during those “garden of gethsemane” moments in my life when I’m stripped of all the external  conditions that prop up my frail ego and pride.  It’s when I am faced with the truth about myself that I’m given the opportunity to look upon the face of Christ as did Peter when he denied Jesus 3 times.  I can then see His face and recognize that I’ve been loved unconditionally all along.  It’s only then can I experience His grace being greater than all my sins.

I pray that I would never think of myself more highly than I ought, but rather with sober judgment.  I pray that God will keep me as low as my ‘character’, so  that I may always say, “I am what I am by the grace of God!”

John 19:17, 28
What does Jesus’ statement “I am thirsty” show about what he endured on the cross?
Jesus was thirsty because his body was suffering from significant fluid loss – given the scourging inflicted upon him (John 19:1) and the strenuous trek from Pilate’s palace to Golgotha, “carrying his own cross” (John 19:17).  His statement, “I am thirsty,” shows that there, nailed to a cross and fighting for his last few breaths, Jesus experienced the full extent of human weakness and embraced the fullness of human suffering.  The Son of God, the Ancient of Days, the One who holds eternity in his hands and through whom creation came to be, became nothing, reduced to a dying man with dry lips and parched throat, desperately longing for a drink.  On the cross, Jesus emptied himself of everything – his power, his glory, his life – in order to become sin for us, so that we would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

John 19:25-27
What picture of Christian relationships and family ties are depicted through what Jesus tells Mary and John about their relationship?
Jesus instituted a picture of Christian relationships that is fuller, richer and broader than traditional family ties.  In Matthew 12:50, Jesus taught, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”  The word “whoever” is very broad and very inclusive, referring to all those who follow Christ and do the will of God.  At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusted his own mother into the care of John, his beloved disciple – not to be simply a caregiver, but to be her own son as she would be his own mother.  In doing so, Jesus elevated the definition of family beyond the customary view of family as nuclear family and blood relatives exclusively.  This act became the precedent for the early church members to call each other “brother” and “sister.”  Because of the common Fatherhood of God, there is the brotherhood and sisterhood of all believers.

To what extent have I experienced the church in this manner?
I have experienced the church as the family of Christ just recently, as I had been distancing myself from a brother and sister because of a wrong I had committed.  I felt terrible, but I was too proud to apologize.  I know that if such a thing happened in my own family, there would be an all-out cold war, where peace comes in the form of relational distance.  However, the couple would not allow a wedge to form in our relationship and actually called me over to their place to talk and share how they were feeling, giving me a chance to confess and apologize.  I still felt terrible, but so relieved that I could tell them how sorry I was and that I could hear how they had forgiven me.  Even though I have been at our church for over twelve years now, this incident showed me how much I took these relationships for granted, and I was challenged and rebuked by how much my brother and sister in Christ valued our relationship to confront me.

John 19:28-30
“The use of the perfect tense in ‘It is finished’ (tetelestai) signifies full completion of Jesus’ work and the establishment of a basis for faith. Nothing further needed to be done. Jesus’ act was voluntary and confident, for he had discharged perfectly the Father’s purpose and was leaving the scene of his human struggle. […] Jesus retained consciousness and command of himself till the very end.”[1]
Reflect on Jesus’ final words, “It is finished.” What implication do these words have on my life, and my struggle against sin?
“It is finished.”  Mission accomplished.  Jesus came into our world with a job to do, with a task to fulfill, with a specific purpose – to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).  “It is finished” is a bold proclamation, ringing of triumphant finality.  On the cross, Jesus did what he came to do: taking our sins upon himself, dying the death we deserve, and paying the debt we owe to God with his precious blood.  In Jesus’ day, the word tetelestai was also written on business documents and receipts to indicate that a certain bill was paid in full.

Jesus purchased my pardon and cleared my debt, so now I stand forgiven and free before God.  Because of Christ’s completed work on the cross, I can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  The implication for my life is that I do not have to drum up spiritual merit of my own to earn my place before God.  Instead, simply acknowledging my utter poverty and simply claiming Jesus’ accomplishment on the cross, I can humbly come before God and relate with him.  In my struggle against my sins, it means I can freely confess them, knowing that Jesus has secured victory over every one of them.  The power of my sins to drag me down and keep me low comes from the thinking that I need to beat them and overcome them in order to be presentable before God, but the cross of Jesus and the declaration “It is finished” remind me that it was because of my sins that Jesus came and died, and that it was because of his death that all my sins in the past, the present and the future are forgiven forever.

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Submitted by Ray Choi, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 19:16-42
Reflection questions
John 19:17, 28
What does Jesus’ statement “I am thirsty” show about what he endured on the cross?
It shows his human frailty and weakness.  It shows that when he was flogged, spat upon, beaten, pressed down with a crown of thorns, pierced and raised up on the cross, it hurt as much as it would hurt any human being.  Jesus was not immune to the pain because he was God.  He suffered and endured the full pain and agony of the infliction he went through.  It’s a small but powerful reminder that God made himself vulnerable to suffer, that his suffering on the cross for my sins is not just a nice cliché or theological proposition, but a historical reality.  Jesus suffered to the full the punishment for my sin, indeed he died the death I was supposed to die, so that I would not be eternally cut off from God.

John 19:25-27
What picture of Christian relationships and family ties are depicted through what Jesus tells Mary and John about their relationship?
It’s a picture of family ties that transcends blood.  Jesus was not disintegrating or doing away with traditional family ties, but rather expanding them.  For John, if his own mother was still alive, he now had two mothers to care for and look after.  The Christian understanding of relationships obligates us to embrace more and more people as brother, sister, mother, father, people to care for and claim.  This picture of Christian relationships is the fullest and brightest (or at least ought to be) in the church, the new community, the people of God, God’s family.  It means that my brother’s financial difficulty is my difficulty, a need that I can meet if I have the means.  It means that what that sister is going through is my prayer concern (e.g. Joohye’s health prayer requests).  It means that the older ones I ought to regard as mothers and fathers whom I should be respecting, caring for and praying for.

To what extent have I experienced the church in this manner?
I have experienced the church in this way, as the family of God, ever since I entered this community as a freshman, and in fact, it was the family-like dynamic and ownership people had over one another that was a huge drawing point for me to church and the Gospel.  My peers and I learned to claim each other as brothers, and more and more, I grew to claim and be claimed by the older and younger brothers.  The web of relationships that I have developed, that I have been given, truly has been nothing other than a radical expansion of “family,” something which is as radical as when Jesus said to John, “Here is your mother,” and when he said “who are my mother and my brothers? Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:33, 35).

John 19:28-30
“The use of the perfect tense in ‘It is finished’ (tetelestai) signifies full completion of Jesus’ work and the establishment of a basis for faith. Nothing further needed to be done. Jesus’ act was voluntary and confident, for he had discharged perfectly the Father’s purpose and was leaving the scene of his human struggle. […] Jesus retained consciousness and command of himself till the very end.”[1]
Reflect on Jesus’ final words, “It is finished.”
What is finished?  Jesus’ work of coming to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), the work of saving people from their sins (Matt 1:21).  That is the mission that Jesus was born into our world for, as a tiny, vulnerable baby.  He was born to die for the sins of mankind, for my sins, and at that moment on the cross, the mission was accomplished, the work of redeeming and reconciling mankind to God was done.  Jesus was the cosmic battle against sin and death and made a way for anyone to come to God, free of charge.  Jesus did the work, and he finished it, perfectly, once and for all.

What implication do these words have on my life, and my struggle against sin?
These words mean that the biggest fear that I could ever have – i.e. the punishment that I deserve according to the demands of justice and the moral law, eternal separation from God – has been diverted and intercepted by Jesus, the Son of God.  All of my deepest longings, desires, and needs for love, significance, security, purposeful work and identity, which could never have been met by this world but only God, had been ripped away from me by my own sin.  My sinfulness and the punishment of death robbed my life of all these things and set me on a course toward unending isolation and wretchedness, and my very best efforts and best days of being a “good person” are but filthy rags, desperately inadequate attempts to pay for my sinful debt.  But Jesus died on the cross for my sins and said “It is finished,” doing what was impossible for me and yet was my greatest need, greatest desire and longing – to be reconciled to my heavenly Father. “It is finished,” once and for all, done with perfect finality.  Nothing else to do.  It has been done for me, a free gift.  Therefore my life is a smashing success, all I could have ever wanted has been done for me by Jesus on the cross.

Therefore, my struggle against sin is claiming the victory that Jesus has already won.  There is always that triumphant note of hope and promise that in the end, my sin will be no more.  I don’t ever have to, and should never, give into defeatism or fatalism.  Sin is a dying breed.  It has been cut off from its grounding.  The struggle is still fierce and sometimes feels like I am not changing, like I am getting worse as I see more of my sinfulness and how deep it goes, but there is always hope and this confidence that Jesus has finished the work, and so I can pick up again and again in the battle against my sin and evil in this world.

John 19:38-40
“Joseph’s action was courageous, for his petition was a tacit admission that he was a friend of Jesus and consequently an associate in whatever supposed subversion Jesus might have advocated. Joseph took the initiative and petitioned Pilate for permission to remove the body. His request was an open confession of his faith, for up to this time he had been a secret believer[…] Like Joseph, Nicodemus was a secret disciple whose faith grew slowly…his cooperation with Joseph in the burial shows that his faith had finally matured.” [2]
What would have motivated Joseph of Arimathea to ask Pilate for Jesus’ body and Nicodemus to bring “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds?”
Although mostly likely bewildered and devastated by the sudden turn of events leading up to Jesus’ death, Joseph and Nicodemus both must have believed that Jesus was who he claimed to be, that he was the Messiah.  Although they were secretive about their faith and fearful of what others in the Council and community would think, by this time they overcame their concern for their image and position – they believed Jesus was the Messiah, and preparing and burying his body was something they both stepped up to do.

What caused them to finally cross that line of faith and enabled them to have the courage to cut ties with all that they built up their lives for? It must have been seeing Jesus suffer and die on the cross so silent like a lamb being led to the slaughter, seeing him intercede for the forgiveness of his persecutors, seeing him meek and strong as he made his good confession that he is the Son of God.

What was the significance of their actions?
The significance of their actions was that it revealed that these two men, members of the Sanhedrin, prominent teachers and Jewish leaders, had put their faith and allegiance with this rebel Rabbi who had been condemned, tortured and shamefully killed as a criminal.  They were tossing their careers and positions aside by stepping forth to take custody of Jesus’ body and give him a proper burial.

How do their actions show what my response to the cross should be?
My response to the cross should be like Joseph and Nicodemus’ – a stepping out, a clear break willingness to break from what the world considers high and valuable: position, success, approval of people.  My response should be to make my allegiance with Jesus, to be known as a radical “little-Christ,” regardless of the consequences.  The world may shun and persecute me as well, as they did Jesus – in fact that was what Jesus promised (John 15:20).

Is my life that kind of clear standing on the side of Jesus, or can I blend in with the crowd? Even though I am involved with ministry as a staff of our church, more and more I need to become a person of love, in my character and decisions, in the depth and breadth of my ownership and claim over our ministry and over people (my co-workers, neighbors,  my extended family and relatives, everyone I would come in contact with).

John 18:33-19:1

What can I learn about Jesus’ heart through his interaction with Pilate? I can learn about how much Jesus seemed to have wanted Pilate to focus on the truth of who He was, rather than what others said. Jesus could have ignored Pilate altogether, but, in His time of suffering, He still engaged with Pilate, to help him to come to terms with what he himself really thought of Jesus. It was obvious that Pilate was not used to considering the truth, and Jesus clearly wanted him to consider it and address it.  In the midst of unfathomable suffering, Jesus took time to engage the very man who was going to sentence Him to death, not in an attempt to free Himself but for Pilate to know the truth and be freed. It was ironic for a person who was governing and judging to be so unconcerned about truth.

What can I learn from this? That truth must be confronted. We can push it off for a while and we can even get pretty good at it, learning to dance around it, ignore it, and live with the immediate reality of what will happen to me to drive me to the next point. However, sooner or later, we need to confront Jesus, and the truth of who He is, because our outcome depends on whether we accept Him or deny Him.

We just finished GLive, and as we were all helping out in one form or another to make it happen for the college students, I marveled again, (in addition to how GLive comes together as amazing as that may be) at how God’s story keeps getting passed through college students on campuses. I know that I certainly could not care less about the truth when I was in college. I just wanted to relax and be happy, and determined to not be affected by anything that would disturb my well being. My truth was that parents did not stay together, that stepparents were harsh and discriminatory toward their stepchildren, that I was not free to contact my father or his family, that our lives were bent around how to pacify my stepfather. Then, Jesus confronted me with His truth claims through His church, which I had to eventually live out – to live for Christ, to submit to Him and no longer live to protect myself. So, it is a wonder to me how it came to be that I can be here today, concerned wholeheartedly about whether the truth is proclaimed or not, about how we can help one another live it out.

In the GLive Senior Skit, one of the main characters was based on Pilate and how truth was a dispensable element that cost him integrity, friends and faith. In this world of many truth claims, I was struck again of how important it is to cling onto the truth Himself, Jesus Christ, who ultimately remains when all others die. It was this truth that changed my life, and has turned me around to this path, of no longer trying to preserve my well being in loneliness. I saw myself in the final character in the Junior Skit, who finally realized that he was empty and alone, and what he needed was what he had rejected – the church. And, just as the final scene showed, I was welcomed back with open arms, waiting and praying friends. Such a church cannot stand united unless each member agrees upon who Jesus is and lives it out. This is why I do what I do today – to become such a church for others like me.

In addition to GLive, I had the privilege of helping out the last phase of the passion experience project at North Loop on Sunday. As I’ve been reading through the Passion Week Reader, and meditating on the cross of Jesus, I am so overwhelmed that He would have such a heart for each of us, to steer me out of my self-centered view again and again, to recognize, know, and live out the truth that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

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Submitted by Jon Chou, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 18:33-19:1

Contrast Jesus’ view of truth and Pilate’s view of truth as revealed by his action (19:1). Jesus welcomed the truth, and even in this case, where the truth was going to lead him to his death on the cross. Pilate’s view of truth was that it was secondary in his life. What was primary was surviving, pleasing the crowds, maintaining his position, juggling the outside demands on his life, maintaining the status quo, continuing to move up in the Roman world. For Pilate, if that meant having an innocent man, Jesus, who claimed to possess the truth,  beaten and flogged, and ultimately crucified, then so be it. The truth was that he has the Son of God before him, inviting him to hear the truth about knowing God, but Pilate had no room for the truth in his life because there were too many other priorities.

What evidence is there in my life that shows that I am on the side of truth? The truth that God is my creator and my lord means that my life is about him, that my choices, big and small, have to do with God’s will in my life and in this world. My life needs to adjust to fit into God’s plan of salvation for people. My schedule should be dictated by the demands of other people that God has called me to love. My time and energy are to be devoted to God’s work and God’s people.

The truth that I am a sinner, prone to temptation, means that my life needs to be built around community and accountability. I am not okay on my own. I cannot have a cavalier attitude about sin. I need to build boundaries in my life, even if they make life slightly more inconvenient, because sin is this scary thing inside of my heart that will devour me and others if I am not dealing with it. My sinfulness should continue to humble me and cause me to turn to God for forgiveness again and again, and to other brothers and leaders for accountability and correction. The truth of my sinfulness means that I will have to be corrected again and again about my sins and my character, and that is something I need to welcome. Sure, it’s unpleasant, and it tramples on my pride and ego, but the truth about myself is something I need to hear and confront regularly so that I can deal with it.

What is the process by which Pilate comes to the point of handing Jesus over to be crucified even though he declared him innocent three times? Pilate comes to the point of handing Jesus over to be crucified even though he declared him innocent three times by first trying to reason with the crowd that it would be better to have Jesus set free than a rebellious murderer like Barabbas. But when the crowd shouts for Barabbas to be released, Pilate realizes that the Jews are not being rational and are out for Jesus’ blood. He does not want to get in trouble with Caesar so to try to appease the crowd, Pilate has Jesus flogged. When that does not satisfy the crowd, he tries to shift the blame and responsibility for giving into the crowd’s demands. Pilate’s fears of immediate consequences and self-preserving nature overwhelm the truth that Jesus is innocent and caves in.

What does Pilate forfeit and what does he preserve through his final decision? Through his final decision to crucify Jesus, Pilate forfeits the truth that Jesus is innocent and undeserving of any punishment or death. He forfeits his integrity and any conviction he had that Jesus could be the Messiah and the truth. He forfeited courage to act upon truth in the face of opposition. Pilate preserved temporary relief from the Jews’ threat to rebel and report him to Caesar  He preserved his comfort and the need to put down a rebellion.

What have I forfeited to preserve myself in the past? In high school, I forfeited integrity, friendship, truth, and the ability to think for myself when some of the girls in the crowd I usually hung out with started asking me why I hung out with a particular girl. She was someone I had classes with and would work on projects with. We had fun together and ended up spending a lot of time together because of school. Suddenly, my friends thought she was weird. Like Pilate, I started feeling apprehensive about my friends’ approval of me and without even questioning why they thought she was weird or if I had any reason to think she was weird, I found myself distancing myself from her and she became alienated from everyone. I was self-preserving and selfish, only caring about myself, not the misery and loneliness that it caused her to the point that she ended up leaving our school. What a horrible thing to happen to anyone during a time when we are painfully insecure about what others think of us. At the time, I didn’t think much of it and it reveals how I forfeited compassion and was desensitized to others’ needs. My silence was wicked and I did nothing to defend her. Only after I became a Christian in college did I remember what happened with the truth of the horror of my sin, regret, and repentance before God whom I ultimately hurt with my cowardice.

Romans 7:²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

What is the irony of Pilate saying “Don’t you realize I have the power to free you or to crucify you?” The irony of Pilate saying, “Don’t you realize I have the power to free you or to crucify you?” was that Pilate had no power. Even though he knew Jesus was innocent, he was at the mercy of the crowd and the fear of Caesar. He was powerless and it was actually Jesus who had true power.

What can I learn about true power from Jesus’ response to Pilate? Jesus voluntarily submitted himself to the suffering of bearing man’s sin and the cross. He could have stopped the suffering at any moment, but he resolved to accomplish the Father’s will of reconciliation with man.

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Submitted by Andrew Iskandar, Gracepoint Minneapolis

What is the process by which Pilate comes to the point of handing Jesus over to be crucified even though he declared him innocent three times? The first time he pronounces Jesus’ innocence, he tries to get them to choose him as the prisoner to be released for the Passover. When that doesn’t work, Pilate has Jesus flogged instead of just releasing him in order to satiate the crowd’s desire for blood. He hopes that they’ll be satisfied upon seeing his blood being shed and his body broken. But they are not. And then the third time, he tells the chief priests and officials to crucify Jesus themselves because he cannot for he found Jesus innocent. But they say that they cannot because they aren’t legally allowed to do so. And seeing that there is no other option. Pilate tries to pronounce Jesus’ innocence and to satisfy the crowds’ bloodlust, but he cannot. And so Pilate gives in to their demands and gives Jesus up to be crucified. It’s tragic to see Pilate, a man of supposed power and authority, have to do something he doesn’t want to do and in fact what he shouldn’t do. He knows that Jesus is innocent and instead of confronting the crowd and making that statement and decision to release Jesus, he tries “roundabout” ways. All this does is make him more susceptible to the shouts and demands of the chief priests, temple authorities, and crowds. And so in the end, he sends an innocent man to his death.

What does Pilate forfeit and what does he preserve through his final decision? In making this final decision, Pilate preserves his position as governor and the state of relative peace among his people. He achieves the security and comfort that he wants as he doesn’t have to make a “controversial” decision that could lead to riots and the lose of his governorship. Ultimately, he preserves his comfort, position and status. But in doing so, he loses his integrity and moral compass. He no longer does what he knows to be right, but rather what is more comfortable and easier.  In the end, he is responsible for letting an innocent man be killed. He knew that Jesus was innocent, yet he forfeits that conviction in order to achieve, what he believes, is the “greater good.” He is no longer a man of truth but a man of convenience. He will do whatever he feels to be “right” in the situation instead of doing what he knows is right.

What have I forfeited to preserve myself in the past? In the past, when I have chosen to lie instead of telling the truth, I preserve my image and reputation, but I lose my sense of integrity. By covering up the wrongs that I’ve done and attempt to make myself better then I really am, I end up damaging my conscience and ability to do what is right. I am no longer a consistent person and I become just like Pontius Pilate. And it’s not just “big” lies that this happens, it also happens when I try and color things to make the consequences or results of my actions better than they really are, when I try to embellish my efforts or diminish the negative impacts of my sin, or even in “white” lies. I lose a sense of “right” and instead become a person of “convenience.” And in doing this, I am no longer a person of integrity.

When I refuse to confess and admit my wrong, I preserve my pride but I end up losing out on the restoration of a relationship. When I get into a fight with someone or do something wrong that hurts them, I don’t want to confess the wrong that I did because it hurts my pride. I’d rather just let time pass and assume that “time heals all wounds.” But in doing so, the relationship that I have with that person becomes less. It’s less trusting, less open, less honest, less meaningful because I’ve chosen to do what is convenient for me rather then what is honest and truthful. And this is the same with God. When I sin and refuse to confess, sure I maintain my pride, but I end up losing out on having my relationship with Him restored and experiencing His grace and mercy in my life.

What is the irony of Pilate saying “Don’t you realize I have the power to free you or to crucify you?” The irony of Pilate saying “Don’t you realize that I have the power to free you or to crucify you…” is that he doesn’t have this power. He says he does, but he ends up doing what the crowd wants him to do, even through he wants to do the opposite. He know that Jesus is innocent and that the right thing to do is to release him, but he doesn’t. He cannot release Jesus because he feels the pressure of the demands of the Jewish rulers and the crowds. He ends up giving in to their demands and lets Jesus get crucified.

What can I learn about true power from Jesus’ response to Pilate?
“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” True power is only in God’s hands. No one else has power in this world. Jesus had the power the save himself from the cross, but he lets it go in order to let Easter happen. God let’s himself be crucified upon the cross, letting go of His power, in order to enact His salvation. And so it only seems like the Pilate, Judas, the Jewish authorities, etc. have “power.” And so this just reminds me of God’s sovereignty over all things. God is the one who is in ultimate control. He is the only one with true power. Sometimes there will be situations in this world where it doesn’t seem like God is in control, but all I need to do is remember Jesus’ journey to the cross and be reminded that God has a reason and purpose for letting things happen. He is the one who is ultimately sovereign over all things and I can trust Him to redeem all things, just as he redeemed the cross and made it the Gospel and salvation for all mankind.

John 18:15-18, 25-27
Reflect on the picture of Peter warming himself by a fire while Jesus was being interrogated and beaten inside.  What does this reveal about human nature, and how does this apply to me? This reveals that human nature is fleshly, living for comfort over what one knows to be true, what one knows he ought to do. Peter’s beloved Master was being interrogated and beaten inside, yet he warmed himself by the fire, trying to be comfortable, rather than anguishing about what was happening to Jesus. Desire for comfort overrides higher things, even loyalty to one’s friend.

My desire for comfort determines a lot of the way I live and what I choose to do. There are always issues I need to think about, sins I need to confront and confess, but I avoid thinking about it because I don’t want to experience emotional discomfort and pain. Last week, I had opportunities to read and reflect, but I put it off, thinking I’ll just start when Passion Week starts. I didn’t want to think about the pain of the cross, what I had done to necessitate such agony on Jesus’ part. It shouldn’t be limited to just Passion Week, but every week, always, I should think about what Jesus went through for me, and be quick to confess and repent. I shouldn’t have such a big boot-up time to reflect and anguish and repent over my sins. Seeing this picture of human nature, I see that my tendencies are natural, but all the more I need to fight it, because it’s not right. It is a picture of me snoozing and making myself comfortable while my Master undergoes his suffering. It is a betrayal of the One who loves me and died for me.

John 18:19-24
What can I learn from what Jesus says in v. 23 about how to respond to words spoken to me? Jesus addresses objective truth and fact. He could have responded with indignation and righteous anger toward the official, but brings the focus of the discussion to truth. Of course he, the Son of God, is right, yet he even says, if I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong. I shouldn’t respond with offense to how I’m treated, but respond with truth and with interest in getting to the truth. I am quick to take offense, to feel wronged by someone’s tone or the accusatory nature of their words, but rather than defending myself or pointing out the other person’s unreasonableness, I should respond with directing the conversation to what is the truth of the matter. I should focus my own thoughts onto what is the issue, instead of immediately thinking the other is wrong and I’m right. I should be open and interested in hearing that I’m wrong if I am wrong. When I get in conflict with others, this is often the case. I focus on their tone rather than acknowledging the content of what they said and discussing it so as to get to the truth. I’m not interested in the truth, in finding out what they’re saying exactly, but just assuming that they’re being unreasonable and getting worked up about that. With my husband, I focus on how I think he mistreated me with his tone or words or attitude, rather than being content when we’ve talked things through and come to a conclusion. I have this need to show him that he was unreasonable and mean. But Jesus shows me that my focus and interest ought to be, not on my dignity and whether it was trampled on, but what is the truth.

Jesus tells those who are interrogating him that he spoke “openly to the world,” and that he “spoke the truth.”  Reflect on the fact that the authorities eventually end up resorting to brute power to suppress Jesus, rather than “testify[ing] as to what is wrong.”  What lessons can I learn from this about the truth, the place of truth in our society, and the function of power to suppress the truth to which Jesus came to testify? The authorities had their own agenda. Their power, influence over the people, religious status were threatened by Jesus, so they arrested him unjustly, beat him every time he said something they didn’t like, and finally killed him to get rid of the threat he presented.

What I learn from this is that the truth is not evident to those who don’t want to hear it. Although Jesus spoke the truth openly, the religious authorities just didn’t get it. They were so intent on holding onto their position of power and status that they just could not hear the truth message. Truth is not welcomed in our society; it doesn’t hold a valuable place. It has a backseat to what I feel is right, what is best for me. Because truth threatens our sense of well-being, our feeling that all is OK, we are naturally compelled to do whatever we can to suppress it. And so, power is used in this way –to silence the unpleasant voices of truth and to enforce status and respect from others that we don’t deserve. Seeing the marginal place that truth holds in our society, and the worldly use of power to suppress truth rather than to do what is right, I need to be vigilant about keeping truth as the foundation of my life. In order to keep being able to even hear the truth, I need to make sure to not compromise in the little ways of trying to preserve my pride at the cost of truth.

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Submitted by Jammy Yang, Gracepoint Riverside

John 18:15-18, 25-27
Reflect on the picture of Peter warming himself by a fire while Jesus was being interrogated and beaten inside.  What does this reveal about human nature, and how does this apply to me? The picture of Peter warming himself by the fire while Jesus was being interrogated and beaten inside reveals that our human nature is ultimately selfish.  We can say all we want and we can promise all we want, as in the case of Peter, but ultimately when push comes to shove our human nature looks out for ourselves.  Peter who was so close to Jesus, who vowed to be with Jesus to the end, ultimately finds himself not following through with his promise, and standing outside warming himself by the fire while his master is getting beaten.

This applies to me in that it awakens me to the reality of my selfishness and my sins.  It awakens me to note that my words go only so far and that my actions will speak louder than words.   It reveals that with all the promises I make there is this selfishness in me that I need to constantly battle.

Are there some parallels between Peter’s denial of being associated with Jesus and the way I live? The one parallel between Peter’s denial of being associated with Jesus and the way I live is when I’m trying to love someone or marriage.  Loving people is always hard because true love demands sacrifice of your time, your energy, and often your pride and ego.  When it comes to relating to my wife if there’s a disagreement or she points out some character flaw about me right there is an opportunity for me to either deny I know Jesus and be selfish and proud about or confess I know Jesus and attempt to deny and humble myself.  In ministry when you’re ministering to people what they say might totally bring inconvenience into your life and there you’re presented a situation where you’re either going to hear and help this person our or hear him and say I hope everything goes well for you.  This past week a student I know hurt himself playing sports with some other friends.  He asked for prayers and so we got to praying for him.  When we found out the extent of his injury, I was thankful nothing worse happened because it easily could’ve been a lot worse.  So last night my wife, daughter and I paid a visit to him  at the dorms and brought fruit to him because he loves fruit.  I think we could’ve easily just texted back and forth and say nice words to him, but I wanted to show him that we genuinely cared for him.  This is a small way that I can sacrifice and associate myself with Jesus.  I think everyday presents opportunities and there must be so many time times where I took the route of warming myself by the fire.  This is something I need to look out for and something that every day I need to pray about and ask God for his mercy and grace so that I can love other people the way Jesus loved me.

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Submitted by William Sam, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 18:15-18, 25-27
Reflect on the picture of Peter warming himself by a fire while Jesus was being interrogated and beaten inside.  What does this reveal about human nature, and how does this apply to me? The picture of Peter warming himself by the fire is a very interesting look into human nature.  Peter is the bold, outspoken disciple.  Peter claimed that he would surely follow Jesus wherever life would take him.  Peter even declared that he would go with Jesus to imprisonment, yes, even death.  And we notice here that Peter does go with Jesus to the Temple area where Jesus is being led.

We see here that Peter does follow, but he follows at an awkward distance.  Jesus is inside, he’s bound, by now, the reign of blows has already started to fall down on Jesus, it’s clear that the crowd and the Sanhedrin is looking for a way to bring Jesus down, permanently, so now would have been the time for Simon Peter to step up and make true of his earlier-made promise.  In the cold bitterness of the night, Jesus is being interrogated and struck, again and again.  This picture is contrasted against Peter, who is inside the complex, warming himself by the fire.

We see here that human nature is heavily based on self-preservation.  Peter did want to follow Jesus, he even went into an area where he knew it’d be dangerous.  But though he had come thus far, he could not get himself to go further in.  Peter must have known the obvious danger he was in, and because of that, he hesitated and he did not move any closer.  Peter decided that it’d be better to save himself.

I think one way that this applies to me is when I refuse to really give it my all to serve God and His people.  I know, more than anyone, what my body can and cannot handle.  I also see, however, that I am chiefly the person who tries to make sure that my life is as comfortable as possible.  So when times come and hard work is required, I’ll be sure to help out, but I’ll also be finely attuned to my body when it even begins to speak of feeling hungry or tired.  I think in this way, I don’t lose myself in the desire to serve others, I simply reinforce this mantra to myself – you’ve helped out long enough, you’ve done your fair share, I’m sure someone else can pick up your slack, you, you deserve a good night’s rest; you need a certain amount of sleep every night to function well.  And while I am not saying that we should consistently push ourselves to the point of exhaustion, I am saying that I do notice how easily I give into my own feelings – of emotional or physical tiredness – and how much the desire to carve out a comfortable day, week, even life, really is.  I want to serve, but counter to that, is that equally powerful feeling of wanting to ensure that I’m going to be OK in the long run.

Are there some parallels between Peter’s denial of being associated with Jesus and the way I live? I think that there are some parallels between Peter’s denial of being associated with Jesus and the way that I live.  As a college staff member, I often think that as soon as I hit that college campus, it’s clear to me that I am a Christian mentor, older brother, and someone who has that clarity of the Gospel at my disposal and there are plenty of people who need to hear about and fall in love with Jesus.  When I’m at church, or with other church people, I think that this identity is also clear and I am not afraid of being associated with Jesus.
What I find revealing, however, is when I am with my co-workers.  Now of course it’s not like I should simply take my Bible and go to my coworkers in the break room, or go into their cubicles and ask them – can I talk to you about the Lord?  But at the same time, am I also bold enough to stand firm in my faith when religion comes up as a topic?  Because ultimately, to the world, the life that I live, with the kind of time and energy that I spend at church; it’s going to be obvious to many people that I am a pretty committed Christian.  So then the label comes – some people are foodies, some are into shopping, some really enjoy the outdoors, and me, I’m the Jesus freak.
Of course, this is actually the truth, I really do spend a lot of time with the church and I really do love those times and know that I’m living as the Bible is calling me to live.  But before the eyes of those that I’m “peers” with in the world, is it OK for me to say – no, I’ve never been to that new, hip restaurant in the Mission district, in fact, I’m not planning on it; nope, I’ve never watched that episode, actually, I’ve never watched that show; actually, I don’t even have a TV!  This is where being associated with Jesus begins to become something more real and this is where I find that though I am bold enough to say –yup, those things are true; I have yet to find that comfortable.  Why?  Well, to put it squarely, it’s because you want your co-workers to like you, which is strange, because in the end, I should be less concerned about their “acceptance” of me and more about whether I can live a kind of life, and build relational bridges so that I can share with them the true saving knowledge of the Gospel.

John 18:19-24
In what ways are people like “one of the officials” who struck Jesus? I think that people are like “one of the officials” who struck Jesus when they don’t question the veracity of what Jesus is saying, and they merely focus in on other, more tangential things.  The official who struck Jesus never stopped to think – did what you just say actually make sense, is it the truth?  Instead, he simply thought to himself – that’s no way to speak to the high priest, how dare he!?  This is strange – it’s not focused on the truth claim that Jesus is saying; it’s focusing on the attitude of the voice, or the perceived slight that the high priest was just given.

I think there are people today who don’t ever even get to that question of whether Jesus’ truth claims are valid or not.  Some people never even get to ask themselves – are Jesus’ words true and accurate?  Instead, they get caught up in the particulars – church is so boring, church people are squares, those religious right are so condemning, those religious left are so jargon, and they never bother to ask the actual question that matters – what do I think about the claims of Jesus.

What can I learn from what Jesus says in v. 23 about how to respond to words spoken to me?
Jesus response is simple – focus on the truth of what is spoken.  If someone speaks a word to me that is not true, then testify against that claim.  If someone speaks a word that is true, then let it impact you.

Jesus tells those who are interrogating him that he spoke “openly to the world,” and that he “spoke the truth.”  Reflect on the fact that the authorities eventually end up resorting to brute power to suppress Jesus, rather than “testify[ing] as to what is wrong.”  What lessons can I learn from this about the truth, the place of truth in our society, and the function of power to suppress the truth to which Jesus came to testify? Jesus came to speak the truth.  He came to tell the world about who God really is, God’s desire to reconcile, and God’s desire for all sinners to come clean before Him to receive grace and forgiveness.  The world did not want to hear Jesus’ words because they objected to it.  They thought it too different from what they knew.  They couldn’t accept the fact that we were all sinners; the world continues to deny this reality.

One would perhaps naively think that we are all lovers of truth; people who don’t care about the implications of truth, but that we’d rather have truth confront us and change us.  But this is obviously true.  Instead, the more Jesus spoke about truth, the more He testified plainly about God and God’s vision and plan; the more they resorted to suppressing Jesus, to put the ultimate mute on him – through death.

This entire episode reveals once again that truth does not hold an esteemed place in society.  Comfort, the status quo – as in, the way things have always gone, and the desire for autonomy – this is my life and I’ll do with my life as I see fit à these are the values that are so strongly held onto and these are the things that we deem worthy of keeping.  And anything that tries to butt up against that – we can ignore at first, but once it gets too close, we can also simply suppress that thought or idea.  This is the human nature that we find back then, this is the very same human nature that we find today.

John 18:1-5

• What does the fact that Judas “knew the place” where Jesus was praying reveal about his experiences and relationship with Jesus? To know one’s favorite place of prayer is to know a person fairly intimately.  Judas knew where Jesus would be.   This suggests that Judas was close to Jesus.  It’s not surprising, after all, since Judas followed Jesus everywhere He went for three years. 
• In light of this, what can we say regarding his betrayal? Judas’s betrayal must have been very personal and deeply painful for Jesus. Judas wasn’t some real estate agent that betrayed Jesus but a close, personal friend and student.

John 18:1-8

• Reflect on the fact that Jesus went out to meet the approaching soldiers “knowing all that was going to happen to him.”  What is my reaction when I need to move toward danger, discomfort or pain in the process of obeying God’s will? Unlike Jesus I shy away from discomfort or pain.  Whenever I am confronted with discomfort or pain, my natural, and often initial, tendency is to wait so that the discomfort or pain will go away on its own because I don’t want to act.  Sometimes I am so sinister as to allow others do the dirty work instead of me.  And when I do this, to myself, I need to give myself a good reason or an excuse.  Yesterday, I loaded  a large table into a van to transport it from North Loop to BT.  It was not that challenging to do, but it required some labor and some creativity in putting a large table into a mini-van.  Perhaps because we’ve all had several long days (GLIVE and construction of the passion experience) that accentuated my recollection of how “difficult” loading the table was that caused me to tell my wife that we should just leave it in the van instead of moving it to another one (logistically it was better to transport the table in another van).  At that moment,  I didn’t want to re-do what was already done.  My initial response was, “the table was hard to load so let’s just leave it in the van.”  But the truth was I just wanted to obey the messages being sent from my fatigued body.  Acknowledging the truth, I decided to unload the table and re-load it to a different van.  I have a long resume of moments when I gave into danger, discomfort or pain.  As a follower of Jesus I must say no to these voices and say yes to Jesus.
• What must Jesus have been like given the fact that those who came to arrest him “drew back and fell to the ground” when he announced who he was? Jesus must have been a man of authority.  Jesus was the most attractive person on the planet.  At the same time, when he revealed himself, his presence was authoritative and holy.  At that moment it was not possible for sinful man to draw near the Son of God.  Jesus said, “I am he.”  Though it is just words in a sentence it is the person who says it that makes all the difference.  When sinful man utters these words they have no weight.  But when the Son of God says them the only responses are reverence and worship, or reverence and fear.

John 18:11

• What “sword” do I wield to avoid the way of the cross, and what would it mean for me to put it away? The sword I wield is, “I’m feel so busy.”  By feeling busy I feel that there is no margin in my time for people and for unplanned requests for my time and attention.  In my heart I say, “don’t you know that I have a lot on my plate.”  I don’t say that out loud, or course, because I know that most of the time it’s a wimpy excuse.  So I say it through body language or hint at it through the tone of my voice.  Or I try to find some other excuse that is more noble to get me out of what is requested of me.

In what ways do Christians today “weep and mourn” “while the world rejoices?” In many ways, Christians today “weep and mourn” while the world “rejoices.” On one hand, the world rejoicing includes more extreme ways in which people revel in sin or flaunt their sins, thinking that what they’re doing is okay and has no consequences. They don’t have God in their lives and they think they are living free, care-free lives, with no restraints. People take delight in things of this world or quick pleasures or materialistic things. People also take pride in worldly successes and accomplishments. However, these things don’t last and take people farther away from God. As Christians, we are called to see the reality of life, that sin is real, that life is short, and mourn for the state of the world and have a burden for people. Many times, I don’t like to see the negative side of things, but when I look at my own life, I see how the quick thrills of life and how my sins have damaged me and my relationship with God and others. Many times, I don’t want to deal with my sins, or relational conflicts, and just want to move on and not think about it. However, as a Christian, I am called to deal with my sins and sins of others and not gloss over them. Seeing my sins should give me a sense of urgency and desperateness to turn to God. Having a burden for others should cause me to weep and grieve for the world, and really desire for people to be reconciled to God.

How will our grief “turn to joy?”  How is this joy unlike the world’s joy? Our grief will turn to joy when we fix our eyes on the cross of Christ, on which He died for and forgave us of our sins. This joy is
unlike the world’s joy because it is eternal, not based on circumstances, emotions, but based on Truth and who God is. This joy is not based on ourselves, which we are so fickle, but is based on God’s unconditional love and unchanging character. As I prepare myself for Passion Week, I am called to confront my sins and reflect over who I am. Especially on Good Friday, as I remember the death of Christ, I need to internalize this and let the impact of my sin sink in. Unless I mourn over my sins, I can not be fully reconciled to God nor fully appreciate the meaning of the cross. Although seeing my sin can be painful, on the flipside, there is this Easter day, on which Christ resurrected and conquered sin and death. That is the greatest day in
history, the most joyful day in history. Then my grief will turn into joy, a joy that I want to share with others in the world.

John 16:5-7

The disciples were “filled with grief” because Jesus was going away, but Jesus tells them that the coming of the Counselor (i.e. the Holy Spirit) would be better.  Why does Jesus say this? Jesus says this because since He is with them physically, He is only able to be at one place at once.  He is physically limited in terms of people that He can minister to.  But when the Holy Spirit comes, He is able to be at all times and in all places.  It says in the commentary that the Holy Spirit would “equip them for a wider and more potent ministry.”

What are some things I need to let go of even while grieving its loss because I need to move onto the greater good that God intends? One thing that I need to let go of is my immature way of view of myself. The way that I view myself as not being able to offer or contribute much, not having necessary talents or skills, which really sabotages me from experiencing the greater good of being able to be a source of blessing for others.   It’s an attitude that I need to keep laying down before God, as I’ve been seeing more and more that it hinders me from growing as a spiritual mother for the people under me, and also from taking more ownership over our church.  In light of reading book regarding the reality of spiritual warfare, I recognize that I really need to fully play my part and role that God has given me in this battle to build up the church, to battle spiritual battle for myself, and for others.  And that means I need to let go of my notion that I can’t contribute much, and not allow that to be a convenient excuse for not taking more ownership over the ministry and our church.  This is not even something that I would grieve its loss about because I know that it’s something that I should and want to let go from my life.  I see how God really desires to shape and mature me into a person who can be a spiritual mother for others, and a person who can be a strength and encouragement, and so I want to commit to just have an attitude of willingness to take on whatever I need to, to just be faithful with what God asks of me, and experience God’s work in and through my life.

John 16:8-15

What will the work of the Holy Spirit be, and how have I experienced these things? The work of the Holy Spirit will be to convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.  He also will guide people into all truth.  He will tell what is yet to come, and make known what Jesus knew.  I have been experiencing this work of the Holy Spirit working powerfully in our midst our here in Austin, as in this past week, we had 10 people make salvation/lordship decisions!  I know that it has been the work of the Holy Spirit because with each person, there was so much struggle.  I saw how some of them were just filled with fear regarding “giving up” their lives for Christ.  Others of them had doubts and questions regarding whether they can fully trust Jesus.  Another student had doubts regarding Jesus’ identity. In addition, there were students that just didn’t seem very interested last semester, but somehow through taking Course 101, they were so convicted by each of the sessions, and experienced being convicted by their own sinfulness, and need for God.   I realize that no matter how much I try to get someone to understand their sins, their need for God, I really am powerless to actually change their hearts.  It is only the work of the Holy Spirit, convicting them, guiding people into truth.

This teaches me to never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit, and what He can do in a person’s heart and life.  That means that I need to not approach people cynically, having my own judgments regarding them, their spiritual interest, hunger, or even just trying with my own strength and wisdom to reason with them, but really do the work of praying for them.  In light of the spiritual battle, I see that this isn’t something that I can battle on my own, running around, and trying to talk and meet up with students by my own strength, but I need to engage in prayer for others – praying that the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts, that He would convict them of their sins, convict them regarding areas in their lives they need to bring before God, that the Holy Spirit would guide them into truth so that they are not living in delusion regarding themselves.

John 15:1-8
“Pruning is necessary for any vine. Dead wood is worse than fruitlessness, for dead wood can harbor disease and decay. An untrimmed vine will develop long rambling branches that produce little fruit because most of the strength of the vine is given to growing wood.  The vine-grower is concerned that the vine be healthy and productive. The caring process is a picture of the divine dealing with human life. God removes the dead wood from his church and disciplines the life of the believer so that it is directed into fruitful activity.”

Why is the relationship between the vine and the branch a particularly apt description of my relationship with God? The picture of a vine and branch is an apt picture of my relationship with God because the branch is utterly dependent on the vine for life, and that is indeed the case when I come to think of myself and God.  The branch, were it to be cut off from the vine, would be severed from all the nutrients it needs to live.  It would die.  Similarly, it is imperative that I stay connected to the vine, God, who is the source of all that I need for life.

What is surprising about the fact that the gardener prunes the “branch that does bear fruit?” It is surprising that the gardener would prune or do anything at all to the branch bearing fruit.  One would think that he would leave it alone because it’s doing fine.  After all, it’s already doing what it is suppose to be doing, producing fruit.  But the gardener provides further attention to such branches, so that they would in fact bear more fruit.   He wants for the branches to maximize their potency in what they were designed to do.  Perhaps it’s not just that he wants the branches to maximize their potency, but also that he recognizes that if he doesn’t prune away at the harmful areas, these parts will eventually grow and overtake the fruit producing ability of the branch as a whole.  He is not naïve to think that things are okay simply because the branch is bearing fruit.  He is aware that with a lapse in attention and care, this branch could easily get neglected and overrun with decay.

How does the word of God “prune” or “clean” a person? The word of God prunes  a person by cutting away the unfit parts of ones character, thoughts, and heart.  As it says in Hebrews 12, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.  Like a sword, it is designed to cut away at the harmful areas, as it convicts a person’s heart of the concrete choices and ways of thinking that need to change.  This happens through the discipline of daily devotions and bible reading.  As one comes before God’s word, he is not merely reading to know about God more.  He is also receiving instruction and discipline from God’s living word, instructions for how he needs to change his life to be in line with Gods’ word.   Personally, I’ve been experiencing this time and again.  One of the things that God has been challenging me about recently has been the way in which I depend on my own wisdom and strength to push through situations.  As I was reading through Gods’ word last week, one of the verses that really spoke to me was from Proverbs 26:12 which says “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?  There is more hope for a fool than for him.”  This was humbling and sobering to read.  God’s word came alive to me as I recognized that I am like this, wise in my own eyes.  It shows just by the way in which I naturally come to depend on my own wisdom many times.  And this realization led me to pray a prayer of repentance, and a commitment to change this kind of maddening wisdom in the self.  I know it’s not a one and done process, but a constant pruning that I will have to undergo when it comes to this tendency to be wise in my own eyes.

Notice that there is no command to bear fruit, but only the command to “remain in me.”  What is the significance of this, and how does this apply to me? The fact that the command is to remain in God and not to bear fruit is significant because it shows what is truly important when it comes to my walk with God.  It’s about remaining in God, not bearing fruit..  Another way to think of it is that it shows that God is concerned about the relationship I have with him rather than the results of my own efforts.  Sometimes I get these two very distinct things blurred as I think about how I’m doing before God.  Just because I’m doing a lot of things for God, doing things here in the Austin ministry to help this church grow, doesn’t necessarily mean I’m in the Father.  I think this is such an important point for me to really understand at this juncture in my life, because objectively my life is only getting busier. My job demands are growing, I have two young kids to raise, and with the growth of the Austin church so are the demands upon me as a minister on this campus.   There will probably never be a time when I’m not busy doing something for God, but I need to heed this important point which is that I need to be sure I’m tending to my relationship with God, staying connected with him.  And I need to be doing this through the unwavering priority of being connected with God through his word and prayer.

Another way this applies to me is that it helps me see yet again the power of prayer.  I think back on this past week here in Austin and the incredible harvest of souls we experienced.  10 salvation/lordship decisions.  It’s truly amazing. Through this experience,  God showed his zeal for the lost, as well as His desire to answer the prayers of those who are connected with him.  So many brothers and sisters across all the churches engaged in fervent prayers for each of the students in course 101.  Though it is God’s prerogative to bring about fruit as he so desires,  how much more God would’ve been inclined to answer the earnest prayers of all those who prayed to Him for the salvation of these precious souls here on this UT campus.  This encourages me to really remain in God through prayer as I grow older, especially as I feel more pressed for time.

John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

How does this passage answer, for believers, the problem of pain and troubles? This passage answers for believers the problem of pain and troubles because these difficulties we experience in this world are only momentary in comparison to eternal joy that we will be experiencing in heaven where there will be no more pain and every tear will be wiped away by our Heavenly Father as this is promised in Revelation 7:17   17 “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.“   We as believers are sojourners, passing through this earthly  temporal life, as we prepare our lives for eternal dwelling in heaven.  Thus pain and troubles that we face on this earth can be seen through proper perspective which will keep us from allowing our hearts to be troubled.  In this broken, sin-ravaged world, we will experience heartaches and hardships.  However, by trusting in God’s promises of eternal life with Him, we can persevere with faith and confidence in God.

To what extent do I experience these promises impacting how I live, process pain or respond to setbacks? I experience these promises impacting my life  to the extent on how I CHOOSE to process pains or respond to specific setbacks.  I daily face the CHOICE of responding in faith or not by claiming God’s promises to be mine or not.  The natural default of my heart is to give in to my feelings or the situation.  But the times when I fought against this by proclaiming God’s Word to myself, I have experienced peace in my heart and God’s strength to persevere.  One of my favorite heaven songs that help me through pain and setbacks is a song titled “Praise God on High.”  The lyrics give me hope and faith in God’s promises as I it protects me from succumbing to my feelings of despair regarding my own sins, sins of others, or a fearful situation that is beyond my control.  The words to this song, as it is grounded on God’s promises, especially ministered to me when I was in a lot of emotional pain due to a relational loss that hurt me deeply for a long time.  This gave me proper perspective on how to process my deep pain as I received God’s comfort and peace to my broken heart:

Someday our pain will be no more
Someday our tears will fade away
Someday we’ll see our Lord and Savior face to face
Someday we’ll rest from all our burdens
Someday we’ll see His smile
Someday He’ll look us in the eyes
And say welcome home My child

Chorus:
Praise God on high
All that’s wrong will be made right
How we long for the day
Every wounded soul will be made whole
So let’s worship Him with a mighty voice
Like we’re already with Him in Paradise
Praise God on high
Praise God

Someday we’ll walk beside the Father
Someday we’ll rest at His feet
Someday our trials will all be over
We’ll be completely free

Praise God on high
Praise God

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Submitted by Jenny Ho, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 14:1-3
How does this passage answer, for believers, the problem of pain and troubles? First of all it doesn’t dismiss troubles or difficulty. He recognizes there is much for our hearts to be troubled by—there is sickness, there is death, the problem of pain bleeds into all relationships, family sometimes the deepest, into friendship, into the past, there are difficulties and scars so deep that there are no answers for them. Jesus doesn’t wave them away and say there aren’t real. Instead, Jesus points us to an additional reality—there is the Father above. And this father has a house, and he is not a stingy father—there are many rooms, there is abundance, there is a place for you and me after this world. There is love afterall. And it is not just a vaccum of no pain, it’s a place of relationship, of trust and safety, where Jesus says I’m going to be with you and you can trust me. If it weren’t so, I wouldn’t have told you. Jesus didn’t have to say this, but I think because we’re so used to hearing things that are so and have been disappointed. He says this for all those who’ve been duped, disappointed by life, let down by those who were supposed to keep you safe, let down by your own resolve, will, character and sinful heart. If it were not so I would have told you. It’s not just wishful thinking, not just pie in the sky. I think about people around me, there is no shortage of problems or pain, people experiencing death of loved ones, even in one day like the 10,000 who died in japan, thinking about all the paraplegics in the world,  people suffering with debilitating sickness of a child like joohye’s parents, people carrying baggage from past hurts… to all those people, Jesus lovingly says, “I’m going to prepare a place for you..and I’m going to be with you.” It answers the deepest longing to be loved and loved by someone who will not change, disappoint or ever leave.

Jesus is saying that in regards to our troubles, we can put our hope in heaven, that no matter how dark or difficult or impossible the current situation is, there is a hopeful, even joyful, unimaginably joyful future ahead. And that future can steady our hearts. Who can say “do not let your hearts be troubled”? That song “don’t worry, be happy” is just obnoxious to people who are suffering through real pain. But Jesus’ words are trustworthy because they are based solidly on reality of heaven, reality of Father above.

Additionally, this passage gives me hope about who God is…it’s course 101, trilemma, that Jesus really is Lord and not lunatic or liar, that when he says “anyone who has seen me has seen the father”—that this is truth. There are many voices that tell us that God is this or that, and Satan is always trying to distort the truth of what God is like. This passage tells me that we don’t have to wonder what God is like, whether He is good or not, whether He is faithful or not, loving or not, we don’t have to wonder because we have the life of Jesus to look at—that God is the same God who healed and loved and fed and went to the cross to die a humiliating, lonely, excruciating death for us. God is a god who is good, but also, he is a God familiar w/ suffering and pain so I don’t go through it alone.

John 13:18-30
In verse 13:2 we read that the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot and here at v.27 we read that as soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.  The lesson here is that you give sin or the devil an inch, he will take a yard.  In verse 2 when the devil was prompting Judas, he must have given in to the prompting and did not bring it into light through confession or silencing such sinful thoughts by nipping it at the bud.  As the result the sinful voice within Judas just grew louder and became more seductive, until at some point during this dinner Judas finally decided to give in to the temptation and decided in his heart to betray Jesus.  The process of getting there must have been a lot of deception fed to Judas.  Probably he was fed revisionist memories and his thoughts about Jesus became twisted and skewed in order that the devil can make the temptation to betray Jesus and the associated lies more palpable for Judas to accept.  This is the modus operandi of the devil in each person’s heart, that when we are tempted by sin, if we choose to tolerate such desires or thoughts for an inch, the sin will take a yard in through deceit, twisted thoughts and revisionist memories to lodge itself more firmly in my heart.  The final outcome of this pattern is that sin will cause me to choose to sin and give in, in which case Satan will have “entered into me.”  Though this is again and again Satan’s way of ensnaring us, it is powerfully effective.  And to counter it I need to be very vigilant in discerning sinful thoughts and desires and learn to just nip it at the bud through repentance, confession and/or refusal to go down that trail of thinking.  Judas did not start out wanting to betray Jesus, but it is the tragic outcome after he had tolerated and toyed with Satan’s temptations. John 13:31-32
In verses 31-32, Jesus repeats the word “glorify” five times regarding the cross.  What it reveals about his perspective and attitude is that the cross is not the emblem of shame, but the means through which God will be glorified.  Jesus’ focus is not on how horrible or painful the cross will be, or how shameful it would be to be stripped naked and have to endure it.  He did not focus on the fear and the intimidation of it all like we would.  Rather he focused on outside of himself: He focused on God and how through the cross death will be defeated, sin will be atoned for and God will be glorified and victorious.  In contrast, so often people focus more on the self as the reference point.  And had Jesus done so in this instance he would not have associated the cross with glory, but with fear and doom and suffering.  As a Christian, I am reminded from this once again the importance of being an other-centered instead of a self-centered individual in approaching the things in my life that may be like cross-bearing: to embrace physical suffering with the perspective not on how tiring or difficult it is, but on this can really honor God or be a blessing to the recipient; to embrace generosity with the perspective not on how I will have little left but on how others will be enriched; to face persecution from parents with the perspective not on feeling discouraged or down, but on how God’s name is honored through my choosing to stand firm and on how I am foiling Satan’s attacks by refusing to give in to self pity.

How did the cross of Jesus become “glory” for me? Basically, the cross of Jesus became “glory” for me when I realized that there is no glory in me.  I used to think that glory is all about myself being in the spotlight and exulted.  But when I am convicted by my sins and when I became a Christian, I come to know more and more of the glory of God’s love for man that conquers death and triumphs over sin.  And this glory that has saved the world and placed Jesus at the right hand of God is the “glory” of the cross.  When I realized that the cross of Jesus absolves my sins and washes me clean before God and has the power to transform even the most incorrigible of sinners, I realized that the cross is what is glorious and not me.  Because the more I know myself, the more I see how my heart is full of sin and my motivations full of self-centeredness.  So as I know more of myself and appreciate the cross more in my life, the cross becomes my glory more and more, while the self less and less.

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Submitted by Gina Han, Gracepoint Davis

John 13:18-30
“‘Troubled’ [vs.21] is the same verb used of Jesus’ agitation at the grave of Lazarus (11:33) and at the request of the Greeks to see him (12:27).  As ‘the hour’ approached, the bitterness of the betrayal Jesus anticipated became known. […] The quotation in 13:18, which the author cites as prophetic of Jesus’ feeling, contains in its context an allusion to ‘my close friend, whom I trusted’ (Ps 41:9). Among the sorrows contributing to the agony of the Cross was the voluntary and selfish defection of Judas.”[1]

Note the progression from Satan simply prompting Judas in 13:2 to Satan entering into Judas in vs. 27. What lesson is there for me? Satan never just stops at the little bit that I give into, when I am tempted. There is the saying, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” It’s a slippery slope when I give in even a little to the promptings of Satan to sin. This is so tragic, what happened to Judas. He was part of Jesus’ own inner circle of trusted disciples, and ended up going down in history as the one who betrayed Jesus Christ. He didn’t want that, that’s not what he was envisioning for himself, but it all started at that one point of giving into that small prompting, that probably felt so harmless. But it’s foolish to do head-on battle with sin like this. I need to have a clear true picture of the power of sin, and the power of Satan, who is able to take one small inch I give into, and use that as a foothold to bring utter destruction and tragic consequences of sin into my life.

John 13:31-32
Jesus repeats the word “glorify” five times in these two verses regarding the impending cross.  What does this reveal about his perspective and attitude towards the cross? To Jesus, taking up his cross and dying to save lost sinners like me was the picture of glory. That was the picture of God the Father being glorified in Him. The cross – suffering, pain, humiliation, mockery, betrayal – if that’s what it took to save man from death and hell, and reconcile him back to God – then that was glorious!

How did the cross of Jesus become “glory” for me? That Jesus would go through all that for me, be the one to take my place on the cross, and suffer the punishment and consequences of my sin that I deserved, willingly, joyfully – looking ahead to how I could be reconciled back to God – what else is there more glorious, than that someone could love me like this? Knowing me like He does, with all my inner sins, thoughts, struggles, and yet loving me like this – this is not only glorious, it’s quite unfathomable, outrageous, scandalous – but because it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever heard, it’s also what I’m going to put my trust in each and every day, and though I don’t think I can ever fully understand it this side of heaven, I’m going to trust and believe it, and throw myself into the life that I could have as I live it in trust and obedience to Him.

In my daily life and dealings with people, when I give into the world’s idea of glory, which is exerting my own pride and self-centered perspectives, then I experience very less than glorious relationships, where there is no love, no mercy toward others, no joy and peace flowing from that relationship. But when I actively choose to die to my own pride, my own demands and selfishness, then I experience a peaceful, harmonious, life and joy-giving relationship with the people around me. God made us, He really does know how we tick, and what is the best way to live a flourishing abundant life of love. God is love. He is the author of love. And He showed what the greatest love looks like – it looks like dying. It sure often feels like dying. But that is the road to true life and love, true glory.

John 13:36-38
How did Jesus pave the road for me (and Peter who would deny him) to follow him to glory? Peter wanted to follow Jesus at that point, saying that he would lay down his life for him. To which Jesus predicted Peter’s denial of him. He did not understand then what it took to follow Jesus to glory – but Jesus knew that he would understand, after He first showed him through His own journey to the cross. That path to following Jesus is the path to the cross. The cross was about selfless, sacrificial love, which Jesus, who considered the needs of others above his own, demonstrated. In verses 34-35, he tells his disciples: 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jesus is all about love. And as his disciple, the way to follow him to glory is through the daily dying to my own needs and pride, out of love for the other. For a task-oriented control freak like me, it’s much easier to deal with my “to do” list, than to deal with people. To drop something I need to take care of, in order to show care and love for a person in need right in front of me is sometimes so hard to do. To hold my tongue in a situation to exercise my own control and preference, to defend and protect my pride, often feels like death. But I am still so worldly at these times, wanting to exercise my own “power” so to speak, to do what I want to do, to go with how I feel, than to pause, let go of my own pride, and think of how I can show care and love to the precious person right in front of me. But as I think of Jesus, who is leading me on to true glory, it’s something I want to daily commit to and strive towards, knowing it’s the only way to truly live.
[1] Frank E. Gaebelein, Gen. Ed. Expositor’s Bible Commentary CD, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992) notes for John chapter 13.

John 13:1-17
What did Jesus do with the knowledge that “the time had come for him to leave this world?”  Why did Jesus choose this as his final lesson for his disciples?

Reflect on the words: “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done… you will be blessed if you do them.”  With this, and his many other words on being a servant, Jesus elevates to the highest place the value of servanthood and sacrificial love.  To what extent have I internalized these values, and in what ways have I become  a servant to others in my life?

In what ways has following the example of Jesus become a blessing in my life?

When Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave the world, he chose to wash his disciples’ feet. It’s too far-fetched to think that the only reason Jesus did this was for effect, although it would have been a very powerful illustration. No – it was also an expression of, as it says in v.1, “the full extent of his love”. So in the humiliating act of washing the dirty feet of his disciples, Jesus taught them what it means to love. Simply, to love means doing the thing that I would not do otherwise, doing the unimaginable, doing the unglamorous, doing what seems like a chore, doing what doesn’t garner the applause and praise of anyone watching, doing the necessary thing even at the protest of the beloved. It’s amazing to read in v.3 that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power” – yet Jesus chose the towel and the basin. That is also love – the self-limiting of myself, even if it constitutes a “waste” of my powers and abilities. A “full extent” expression of love means all of these things, and they are all rolled into one. It’s a scandalous thing to consider during a time in which gods were thought to be above getting involved in the affairs of men, their lives too lofty to be affected by the ins and outs of mundane life. Not only did Jesus get involved, he lowered himself to serve men, and to express the full extent of his love for his disciples in this lowly way.

It’s not a “pebble-snatching” moment by any means, but the way that the narrative reads, it seems that this was something that Jesus was looking forward to – something that he was eager to do. And that is perhaps the most profound thing about love that Jesus wanted to teach his disciples – that love often transforms the thing that I am least willing to do into the thing that am I most willing to do. It may not be as dramatic as a war-time captive being able to forgive and even minister to his former captor, but there are many times when I know it is not what I would do if it were not for Jesus’ example and the many other examples I have seen at our church. And my life has taken on a totally different flavor. As we gear up for the new quarter at CSUEB, with Spring Kickoff just tomorrow, I realize that my life has come to involve many things that I had been least willing to do. They have become the things that I am most willing to do because I want to follow Jesus’ example, and the example of my own leaders. What is more, I find that as I serve others, my love for them actually grows, my sphere of concern for them increases, and I am enriched. I am blessed far more than I could have imagined because I chose to do as it has been done for me, rather than just sit back and relax.

John 13:6-9
“This was a world where roads were dusty and sandals were worn daily[…] The task of foot-washing was so menial that according to some Jewish sources, Jewish slaves were exempt and the job kept for Gentiles[…]  At the very least, all our ancient sources show that foot-washing was a degrading and lowly task.”[1]
What may have been going on in Peter’s mind as he refused Jesus’ offer to wash his feet?
What are some ways in which people respond to Jesus like Peter did?
What can I learn from the words “unless I wash you, you have no part with me,” about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus?

For Peter, he may have been all too aware of the positional implications of Jesus washing his feet. He did what was right based on those implications by refusing Jesus’ offer. Often I find myself similarly importing worldly/human values when I am confronted by the truth of the Gospel. But what I see very clearly from Jesus’ response is that what relates me to him is the full expression of his love, which is true when I think about the cross itself. I am closest when I am able to set aside my human notions and simply accept the gift of grace that he has given me. Many times this is hard to do, because in accepting grace I have to admit that I am a sinner who cannot do anything to merit what Christ has done for me. And that can be very painful and embarrassing.

[1] Gary M. Burge, The NIV Application Commentary: John, (Grand Rapids, MI:Zondervan, 2000) 368-369.

John 12:20-28

Reflect on the link between glory and becoming “a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies” as it applies to Jesus’ life.  How does the Christian understanding of glory differ from the world’s definition? The Christian understanding of glory differs drastically from the world’s definition of glory. According to the world, a person’s glory is usually his own personal accomplishment. For example, an Olympian might achieve glory by winning a gold medal. On the other hand, Jesus’ understanding of glory involves his personal sacrifice. He became a kernel of wheat that dies so that it might produce many seeds. Jesus was glorified because he gave up himself out of love for other people.

What are some ways I have embraced the life of becoming a seed that falls and dies? One way was leaving our family, friends, and jobs to come to serve in Taiwan long-term. From a worldly point of view, it makes no sense for people our age to pick up and go when you could stay and build your career or settle down and start a family. But the call of the Gospel was too great, and so we left to share the Gospel here. Also, I think doing college ministry involves “becoming a seed” every day. I mean, why would anyone want to eat at cafeterias, play board games, or meet young people who sometimes don’t even want to hang out with you? And yet we embrace this kind of life because it’s one way we lay down our personal rights out of love for others. It’s how people loved me when I was a college student, and it’s how I want to love in return.

What are the ways in which people “lose” their life because they “love” it too much? I think one way is when people focus so much on getting things or accomplishing things that they miss out on relationships. For example, they love their own lives so much that they chase after a high paying job. Maybe that was their dream ever since coming into college. They always wanted to be ______ [fill in the blank]. And if that opportunity comes up, they wouldn’t blink an eye to accept that chance, even if it means moving away from friends and family, or even the church. And yet it’s not hard to imagine such a person becoming a slave of that dream. They constantly live on the move, company trips, working 50-80 hour weeks, and while they may be achieving their “dream,” they miss out on experiencing genuine, trust relationships that can only be developed when you stay put and spend time with people. And at the end of their lives, what do they have to show for it? A million dollar retirement fund? A manager title? But I believe such a person would regret not spending more time with people, or not loving people as well as he knew he should have. At the end, it’s all about people. And if that’s the case, then the person above loses a lot in life because he loved his life too much that he gained something temporary but missed out on something more important.

What does it mean to “hate” my life “in this world” to “keep it for eternal life?” Ultimately, it means that we should live for heaven, and not earth. Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Likewise, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” To hate this world does not mean detaching ourselves from things here. But we should be clear what is temporary and what is eternal, and not waste our lives chasing after things that we can’t take with us. The only thing that we can take with us to heaven are people we love, who love us, brothers and sisters in Christ, etc. It’s people that matter most. So whether I hate my life in this world or not is really a perspective on life: what am I going to do with this one life that I have? Either I’m going to cling onto it because it’s my only chance to make something out of myself, even though it’s all going to fall apart when I die, or I’m going to see this one life that I have as the one chance I have to make a difference, to love people, to win souls for Christ. Can’t have it both ways.

John 12:42-43

What was the problem of these leaders “who would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue?” Their problem was that they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

What fears prevent me from making my faith public? I think this is an apt description of why we are afraid to make our faith public: we care more about what people think about us than what God thinks about us. When I try to share my faith, there is that fear, “What is this person going to think about me? Will he think I’m weird? Is he still going to want to be my friend after he finds out I’m Christian?” But I’ve learned that these fears are usually greater in my mind than in reality. And now after reading Satan and His Kingdom, I’ve learned that these are lies that Satan tells me to prevent me from sharing my faith with people. What does that mean? That means to Satan, it’s dangerous that I share my faith. Romans 10 – “How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” I often think of this verse because it reminds me that this friend in front of me can’t know Jesus unless I open my mouth and share the Gospel with him. Can someone else do it? Can’t God use someone else? Of course. But why not me? And if I give into my fear such that I’m not making my faith public, then it’s only going to be harder the next time to overcome my fear. I have so many justifications and excuses to fall back on. So all the more it’s important to fight against my fears with God’s Word and push through them. And I’ve found that each time I push through my fears, then the next time it gets easier.

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Submitted by Chris Lee, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 12:20-28
Reflect on the link between glory and becoming “a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground and dies” as it applies to Jesus’ life.  How does the Christian understanding of glory differ from the world’s definition?  In what ways have I embraced the life of becoming a seed that falls and dies? – Jesus’ glory was in suffering and dying on the cross to bring salvation to man.  He performed powerful miracles, amazed people with his teachings, but His glory was in dying a senseless death that would result in salvation for man.  Few even understood the significance of his death at the time.  It was seemingly a waste in every way.  But his death resulted in eternal life for many, just as a kernel of wheat that falls and dies, and produces many seeds.  The world’s definition of glory is to distinguish yourself from everyone else, to rise above them, to be the envy of everyone by maximizing your potential and resources.  This world’s understating of glory is not something that is realistically sustainable in light of truth about my sinfulness.  I would have to intentionally overlook many dark truths about myself to seek this kind of glory.  Yet, the deceitfulness of sin sometimes causes me to desire it.  However, if and when I do receive any kind of recognition or praise, I quickly realize how undeserved it is.  Occasionally, I might do something good that deserves recognition, but that represents only a small slice of my life.  For the most part, my life is marred by sin and struggle.  …  The Christian understanding of glory is to die to myself through full surrender to God so that others can experience life and blessing through me.  One way in which I have embraced the life of becoming a seed that falls and dies is by committing to put away reluctance when I have an opportunity to do something that can be a blessing to others.  Such opportunities usually come suddenly or on short notice.  My immediate tendency is to get irritated or grumble about having to do something unexpected.  But more and more, I am able to pause, set aside my bad attitude as I remind myself that I can bless someone through what I am doing, and eventually turn my heart around to want to give my best as I respond in obedience.

What are the ways in which people “lose” their life because they “love” it too much? People strive with all their strength to attain a secure, happy life.  Many invest all their resources to achieve financial security, a tight and harmonious family, and luxury to be able to enjoy a leisurely and comfortable life.  This is the life which they work hard to attain and hold on to.  They “love” it too much in the sense that they are determined to not allow anything that could disrupt or destroy this style of life, including God’s invitation to follow and serve Him.  Unfortunately, even if all things go according to plan – which usually isn’t the case – at best such life will be like a kernel of wheat that remains a single seed, holding on to what little they have.  In trying to guard this life, people end up “losing” life because their lives get filled with anxiety and fear as so many things become threatening, including God’s claim upon their lives.  And, in the end, they can’t hold on to anything anyway.  As we get older, we are stripped of everything, one by one.  Our health deteriorates, our children grow up and leave home, we are not able to do the things we used to do.  As I get older, as I see the lives of people around me, I am more convicted that God really knows how life ought to be lived.

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Submitted by Michelle Sun, Gracepoint Berkeley

32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Jesus became the one who was lifted up for everyone to see so that through his death, many will come to life.  He was not only humiliated and treated with contempt, he was put to death in a painful way.  His death was displayed for everyone to see and is talked about again and again by people throughout the ages.  He was literally lifted up for everyone to see.  The kind of death he was going to die was no ordinary death, but one through whom others will come to know life.  And the previous verse says, “25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”  Jesus died this gruesome death, and then he says we have to follow him if we want to serve him.  I think about the fact that I wanted to lifted up in my own way, want to make an impact in this world through Christianity.  I believe with all my passion that this is the only way and that it deserves all of my energy.  However, do I really want to follow in his footsteps and actually be lifted up to become the source of salvation for many? I want to be lifted up through success and through approval.  I wanted to be lifted up through competence and through victories.  I wanted to lifted up through achievements and through personal and corporate triumphs.  However, Jesus was lifted up on the cross, in a shameful way, through his complete surrender to God.  He asks me to do the same.  God plans to use my death, rather than my life.   I want to be lifted up in my own way, through what I can do, but God has a different idea for me.  The way that he wants to lift me up is through my death, death of ego, death of self..  Living out my Christian life will mean many deaths for me.  I will have to continue to die to my ego, my own preference, my inertia to be comfortable and lethargic, my own ideas of what is good for me.  God wants me to be lifted up.. Lord please use my life, so that I can follow the footsteps of Jesus.

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Submitted by Jeannie Lee, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 12:1-8
“Spices and ointments were quite costly because they had to be imported. Frequently they were used as an investment because they occupied a small space, were portable, and were easily negotiable in the open market. Mary’s offering was valued at three hundred denarii (v. 5) approximately a year’s wages for an ordinary workingman. Perhaps it represented her life savings. […] Wiping his feet with her hair was a gesture of utmost devotion and reverence. The penetrative fragrance of the ointment that filled the house told all present of her sacrificial gift.”[1]

What is the fundamental difference between Mary and Judas as revealed by his objection to what she did?
Fundamental difference is one driven by love, the other driven by practicality, functionality, selfishness, greed.

Love trumps over all those.

With whom can I identify more?
I think I’m somewhere in between.  Mary seems like she’d drop everything to be with Jesus, she is concerned with Him, doesn’t think about the impracticality of pouring her life saving’s onto his feet, that it would be considered a “waste” of resources.

I’m not like Judas either, I don’t think.  But I know I’ve got a long way to go in order to be a loving person.
Just when people are sick, or when practically there needs to be something done, I don’t think of those things automatically. I think what might be appropriate.  Love seems to know what’s appropriate…to think beyond what’s practical, love isn’t defeated by things like, “not enough money” or “not enough time” or “how are we gonna accomplish that.”

I think about this past GP Monthly, and the prep that went into it. It’s not practical, certainly. We had how many meetings about just the food, and what we’d eat, and how we’d cook it, and how we’d set up the tables, or if we were going to set up the tables for the service or just for the dinner and we went through how to cook the meat, when to put it out to thaw. It would have been easier to cater, but more expensive maybe. We wanted nice celebratory food.  That’s just the food.

With the videos, the church plants had to get the video together in a few days, and even for the ending of each video, to gather all their team to film it b/c we thought about how the congregation would want to see the team and the kids the most, and wanted that personal touch.

And I had to stay up a couple nights with Kelly waiting for the videos, putting together the slides with pictures, she had to edit some of the testimonies, review the videos. All of that, if viewed through the lens of Judas would have been seen as impractical, too much work, and a waste of time for too many people.

It’s the same for G-Live – why are we pouring in so much time, energy, money, resources, man-hours, meeting times, planning, food logistics to feed 400 hungry mouths each time there is practice.  All this to show off to the world who our God is, how magnificent He is, that we would pour this kind of energy into a one-day 2-hour production.  It’s b/c of love. Not just for God, but for those involved, for the students who can have this experience of being part of something far greater than themselves, for our church to rally around and support our college department, for us to be able to have something we are proud to invite our friends, family and coworkers to.  again, viewed through the lens of Judas, it’s “why this waste,” this money this time could have been used for something else.  Through Mary’s eye’s it’s worth our all.
I pray that I can move towards becoming more like Mary, unhindered by practicality and driven by love and a desire to honor Jesus no matter the cost.

[1] Frank E. Gaebelein, Gen. Ed. Expositer’s Bible Commentary CD, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992) notes for chapter 12.

John 10:11-18

“‘Authority’ means that he was not the helpless victim of his enemies’ violence but that he had both the right and the power to become the instrument of reconciliation between man and God and between Jew and Gentile.”

What are the characteristics of a good shepherd?  Reflect on the fact that Jesus, as my good shepherd, laid down his life for me. The characteristics of a good shepherd is one who is faithful to his duty, who is always on the lookout and aware of his flock. The good shepherd is prepared to handle whatever challenge or obstacle may come his way. The good shepherd is prepared and ready to defend if necessary. He is on the job 24/7 without rest and even when all the sheep are back in the pen, he cannot rest because he has to continually be on the look out.

Jesus is this good shepherd and as I reflect over how he chose to lay down his life for me, I’m reminded of how much he loves me. I’m amazed once again at how God still loves me despite the many time I’ve rejected him and proclaimed my own will over my life. I’m thankful that through his sacrifice for me, that the chasm created by my sin and God was bridged through his death and resurrection. Jesus is truly the only hope that I have in this world and the only sure thing that I have in this world. I am challenged by this picture of Christ’s love once again, and as I think about how I’ve been called to love and shepherd others, I pray that I can be a good shepherd over their lives. I pray that I can be stretched and that I would be able to give my life, not just a slice but its entirety over to God, and serve and love them as Christ has done for me.

John 3:1-14

How must Nicodemus have felt upon hearing that he must put aside all his past religious accomplishments and start over (be “born again”)?  What might be some things I want to hold on to, even while seeking to draw near to God?

Given that Nicodemus was such an accomplished man and a recognized religious teacher of his time, he must’ve felt astonished and bewildered that Jesus would make such a direct challenge to start over. Perhaps there was a part of him that had already recognized that he would have set these aside all of his religious accomplishments to truly get closer to God. And yet, it still must’ve been difficult to hear it coming from Jesus so clearly, and he struggled to embrace or even to fully understand this. This shows how much we want to hold onto our accomplishments even in the midst of serving God, and how powerful a grip these things can have on our hearts.

For myself, even though I know that I can only come to God by his grace, there is still the tendency and desire to point to things that I’ve done as a way to prove my own worth in God’s eyes. There’s a part of me that compares with other people like others who are more “sinful” than me, so that I can feel good about self in comparison. There’s the desire to hold on to the fact that I’ve been a Christian and served in ministry for so many years, or holding on to the fact that I’m older than many of the younger people and wanting respect purely because of that. There is even the tendency also to compare myself with how I was before and say how much I’ve grown, to feel good about myself as though I was one who made that happen, rather than being filled with gratitude towards God for saving me and transforming me. There is also that innate desire to hold onto some sense of my usefulness based on my talents or abilities, and implicitly feeling like God should be glad to have me on his side. Even though I claim that I want to know God, in so many ways, there is that desire to grab onto things in a way as to boost my ego and make myself feel better. All of these are ways in which I resist fully embracing the idea that I am a sinner who has nothing to offer but a sinful, broken self, that I can come to God only by his grace and that it’s me who desperately need him rather than the other way around.

Why is being “born again” an apt metaphor for becoming a Christian?  How have I experienced this to be true in my life?

Being “born again” is an apt metaphor for becoming a Christian, because being a Christian means that you died to the old way of living and thinking and to completely adopt a new life trajectory in which you take on God’s values and purpose in life. It’s like making a U-turn in your life, no longer heading down the same path you were on, but ultimately moving towards God and aligning yourself with where he is going. This is the reason that you cannot take your old religious accomplishments with you, because you are now living a new life. It requires a dying to your old life so that you can adopt the new life Jesus offers.

I have experienced this in my life in that my life trajectory completely changed as a result of becoming Christian. Before, the highest vision of life I had for myself was a comfortable and content life surrounded by family. There was no consideration for other people or for the brokenness in the world. My life purpose was just to seek happiness for myself. Yet at the same time, there was that deep sense of loneliness and the series of broken relationships in my life. Sometimes that weight of disappointment and restlessness was so great that I would seek out entertainment to distract and anesthetize me.

Yet, after becoming a Christian, my outlook on life gradually changed so much. First of all, there was a deep sense of peace about myself in spite of all of my brokenness and sinfulness because of God’s unconditional love. Against the regrets of the past, there is hope for God to redeem the situations in my life and that in the end, he’ll bring me to the best place. Rather than experiencing the consequences of the trail of victims and broken relationships in my life, I’m surrounded by meaningful relationships in which I’ve been loved and I’m called to love. My life vision grew from just seeking personal happiness and comfort, to seeking to adjust myself in alignment to God’s plan. Although some of these changes took a long time to really become visible, yet they all started when my life trajectory changed as God came into my life and I became a Christian. That was the point of rebirth. Like a child whose growth and development takes time, so many of these spiritual growth and development in me only gradually became more visible. And yet, there is no denying that something drastic happened and there is new life, and I’m thankful to God that I could experience this new life.

John 2:13-17
Think about the values represented by a market.  Why was it so offensive to Jesus that they had turned the “Father’s house” into a market?  What kind of marketplace values threaten to influence the church today?
Values represented by a market:
Bottom-line – Cold à it’s about money.  How much can I get at the end.
efficient – most productive wins out.  who is the best and offers me the most for my money, time, etc… is this worth my time.  I can’t waste time on cheap things or things that won’t give me a return
cost-effective – is it worth my time, money and energy to get this or put forth my resources here.
supply-demand – if someone has a need I can benefit off of it and make a profit or get something good in return.
Quid pro quo – scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

It was so offensive to Jesus that they had turned the “father’s house” into a market b/c the temple had become something that the God the Father had never intended.  It wasn’t supposed to be a marketplace where you exchange money and goods and to find a convenient way to get your business done.  The primary purpose of the temple was to worship God.  It was about going to be atoned for sins and restoring their rel with God.  The temple was the one place Jews could go to “meet” with God and connect wit him and now it was simply a place to exchange money for goods in a convenient way so that you could get your sacrifice business done. It took the spl and relational nature out of worship.
The kind of marketplace values that threaten to influence the church today are the values of efficiency and bottom-line mentality and what can I get out of this for me.  Esp in our modern era and times I know I’m faced with the pressures and thoughts of how I can maximize my time or efforts.  And in the process of this I can be missing out on God and others.  In terms of worship we can become like consumers and just see what does this church have to offer me.  what can I get out of it.  and I’ve seen in our day people choosing this and that church because here I get good praise here and good teaching there and my small group of friends are at this other one.  We pick and choose that which we think will satisfy us.  so at a church level I see people looking at the church as a smorgasbord or an a la carte line to pick and choose what I want. I think this can be esp true in terms of how people see their rels and how they connect with others. they can see the church just as a transaction center and turn rels into people I can get something out of.  Maybe I can network or maybe my kids will meet good friends and learn good morals.  I’m not interested in God or these people but just want I can get out of this place.
And in addition to this I see how people can turn church into simply something I must get out of the way.  going to church and church activities are just things I must get done and check off.  Let me say that I’ve done my part.  It may be something we think God will give us in return if we perform the “sacrifice” or do the work of coming and serving and in the end I will get something in return. It’s this quid pro quo mentality.  God I’ve come to what you’ve asked of me and now give me what I want.

John 2:18-22
“On a historical level, Jesus is confronting the chief religious institution of his day. Implicit in his ironic closing statement is that something will be destroyed (the temple? his body?) and something again will be raised in three days. Jesus is pointing out the deficits of the institution of the temple; he is confronting its misdirection and its brokenness, and in the process (as happens throughout the Gospel) he indicates that the real activity of God, the real temple, is Jesus Christ himself. In other words, the focal point of Jewish religious affections must be replaced by someone new. And that replacement will undergo a violent and miraculous death and rebirth.”[1]
In what way is Jesus’ response to the temple paradoxical, and how is this tension resolved?
Jesus’ response to the temple is paradoxical in that he was saying he was going to destroy this temple and he was referring to both himself and actually the dead religion that was happening.  To some when he was speaking of the temple they thought this was impossible b/c it took forty years to build.  But he was speaking of more than just the temple but his own body and the dead stale religion that they had been partaking in. he was going to sacrifice himself and die on the cross and was going to be raised from the dead ultimately bringing a new world order through his death/resurrection.  He was going to reconnect man to God. He was saying that the church is broken and he himself will fix it.

In the face of dead and twisted temple religion, Jesus says: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” What message does Jesus convey here regarding the existing temple religion, about himself as the true temple, his death, and the church he will launch with his resurrection?
The message that Jesus conveys here regarding the existing temple religion about himself as the true temple, his death and the church he will launch with his resurrection is that he was going to revamp the church, destroy it and re-build it from the ground up.  he was going to start afresh.  He was not going to let stale religion exist any longer.  He was going to breathe true life into their religion through a relationship with the living God.

I think implicit is that sometimes certain things must die in order to have new life again.  He was trying to resurrect what it meant to genuinely worship God.  and he was going to do this through his own death and sacrifice and through spreading his message through his disciples and the new church that would change the world.
Jesus was going to flip the world upside down with his life – through his death and resurrection on the cross.   The cross and taking man’s sins, which they might not have understood at this point would become the crucial turning point for all of mankind and history.

Reflect on Ephesians 2:12-22 in light of this passage.  What does this passage tell us about the true temple today, and my personal role and responsibility in it? What this passage tells me about the true temple today and my personal role and responsibility in it is that the true temple is the true temple today is in the body of Christ – the church.  the true temple is not a building but it’s the people, the relationships that make up the church.  with fellow citizens of this new world – those who were brought from far away and brought near – we are building up the new temple.

My personal role and responsilbity in all of this is that each one of us is called to build up the body of Christ.  Each of us including me has been brought near to God.  he has made me a citizen and through the blood of Jesus on the cross I am now reconciled to others and to God.  and together with fellow believers I’m building up the church.  what is my role?  It’s two fold: for one as a forgiven child of God I should not have any dividing walls of hostility between me and others in the body of Christ.  We are all sinners who have been redeemed and saved.  So I should be doing my part to not allow any walls to build up.  esp as I think about our church and the many walls we have naturally because of ministry divisions or even age groups I must do my active part in building up the church.  recently I have been challenged to see how I can do more of my part to build up the church through my presence and taking in all people from every group at our church – not just those who are directly in my ministry.  it’s about loving every person that I see at our church and taking an interest in knowing them and building bridges to them.  there ought not to be any hostility as we are redeemed people. and what does it mean to build each other up in the body of Christ?  This means that we are rubbing lives together.  As I think bout what this means in the real context of living life it means we’re close in proximity and close in rels and we’re getting into each other’s lives. I need to know facts about the people around me, how they’re doing, if they’re sick, if they’re struggling, to pray with them, to help them struggle, to laugh together to cry together, to go through tough and good times together.  That is only happening as much as I’m engaging them and getting into their lives.  I think about my staff, my interns and how I need to get deeper into their lives.

And I think it’s also my role to share this message with the lost around me.  through a coworker’s passing at my work I was reminded again how the most important thing is eternal life and ensuring that I make the use of every opportunity to share the gospel with people.  in the end, it’s really about whether this person knew God and had that personal relationship with him.

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Submitted by James Kim, Gracepoint Berkeley

John 2:13-17

Think about the values represented by a market.  Why was it so offensive to Jesus that they had turned the “Father’s house” into a market?  What kind of marketplace values threaten to influence the church today?

The values represented by a market is that there is a tension between those who are selling and those who are buying.  The sellers want to get the most money for what they are selling, and those who are buying want the best price.  To compete in the market, people will flaunt their merchandise, parade it around, try to get the best reputation for the best goods or the best price.  People will shop around, looking to see how they can get the most for themselves, getting the most out of giving the least.  And if they can do that, then they “did well”.

It was offensive to Jesus that they had turned the Father’s house into a market because it was supposed to be a place where people would deal with God, communicate with God, repent over their sins, to understand their true state of spiritual poverty and humbly come before God.  It was offensive because God wanted to deal with people here, and wanted people to deal with him, but the people turned that place into a marketplace, where people are trying to get the most for themselves.  It got in the way of the relationship with God, which is the most basic definition of sin.

John 2:18-22

“On a historical level, Jesus is confronting the chief religious institution of his day. Implicit in his ironic closing statement is that something will be destroyed (the temple? his body?) and something again will be raised in three days. Jesus is pointing out the deficits of the institution of the temple; he is confronting its misdirection and its brokenness, and in the process (as happens throughout the Gospel) he indicates that the real activity of God, the real temple, is Jesus Christ himself. In other words, the focal point of Jewish religious affections must be replaced by someone new. And that replacement will undergo a violent and miraculous death and rebirth.”[1]

In what way is Jesus’ response to the temple paradoxical, and how is this tension resolved?

Jesus says that he can break down and raise up the temple in three days, and that is the miraculous sign that shows he has the authority to do what he did.  It’s paradoxical because it says that there needs to be renewal in what they believe in, and that the temple isn’t just some religious ritual thing that it has become.  The tension is resolved in his body, that as it is broken down and raised again in three days, there will need to be a renewed belief, not in something ritualistic, but in something relational… with his very self.

In the face of dead and twisted temple religion, Jesus says: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” What message does Jesus convey here regarding the existing temple religion, about himself as the true temple, his death, and the church he will launch with his resurrection?

Jesus conveys the message that the temple religion as it stood had turned relationship with God into something of a ritual, something that was just going through the motions, and the heart didn’t really matter. He said that in himself as the true temple, relationship with God could be restored as it was supposed to be, dealing with God in truth and repentance, rather than in form and in sacrifice.  His death would be the breaking down of the old and his resurrection and the church that would emerge from the freedom his resurrection would be the hope for all people.

When relationship with God is turned into ritual, then it has the potential of becoming a marketplace, where people are trying to maximize selling and buying whatever commodity is being traded.  Going through the motions and doing the things that are supposed to be for one’s own relationship with God would be traded and sold for commodities of respect, perceived opportunity, pecking order, the favor of man, marriage prospects, responsibility/position and status.  And that turns the church, the very place where people are supposed to encounter God into a marketplace just like any other the rest of the world is all too familiar with.  The church is supposed to be that sanctuary where people can put all of that down and experience Christ-followers who  love each other in a qualitatively different way than the “social marketplaces” of society.  When the church is what she is supposed to be, then people have the opportunity to encounter God.

Reflect on Ephesians 2:12-22 in light of this passage.  What does this passage tell us about the true temple today, and my personal role and responsibility in it?

Ephesians 2:12–22

The true temple today is the church, the people who have crossed the line of faith, those people who have surrendered their lives to God and have accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins.  We who are the body are the representation of Jesus on earth. My role is to be part of that church, part of that body, that temple so that people will see Jesus in the relationships that I have with the rest of the body.  I need to embody the values and views and mission of Jesus himself as that is the role that the church needs to play today, and so gives me direction and responsibility as an individual within the body.  I need to have the kind of close relationships with people so that the body of Christ can be built up to continue on in and fulfill that mission.

Father, I know that I need to be a part of this body and to be a part of the new hope for the world, your church.  The world is full of people spinning their wheels to find meaning and purpose and mission.  And many are looking for hope, looking for answers in this existence.  The “religious side” of so many people feel like they need or can do things to earn their way to a favorable afterlife.  But your gospel is the hope for all people who can put their market-like ways behind them and to come receive the freedom only you can provide. That is what I claim for myself, and commit to carry out in this world as part of your church. God, may I not treat the church as a marketplace, but rather be the temple where people can come experience you, encounter you, and surrender their lives over to you, and so become one with the temple to do the same for others.

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Submitted by Timothy Rhee, Gracepoint Minneapolis

Consider the irony of wine running out on the wedding day—the most well-prepared and supposedly happiest day of one’s life.  What truth about life and about the limits of human abilities does this scene depict?

It is indeed so telling that on this most well-prepared and happiest day of one’s life, that they ran out of wine. If there is one day in life, that people try to get “just right”, it’s their wedding day. John doesn’t tell us the details of what happened here. Maybe more guests showed up than expected, maybe the bride and groom were from two poor families and so they were trying to get by with just enough wine and wrongly estimated how much wine they would need. Regardless of the reasons, it demonstrates how we little we control of life. Even our best laid plans go awry. People can get laid off from work. One visit to the doctor’s office can completely change the future. Accidents happen. In the end, we have so little actual control over our lives despite often feeling like we do.

In my future plans, do I over-rely on my own abilities to plan a perfect life for myself?

When things fall apart and get degraded—relationships, churches, families—why does it happen?  What does the process entail?

Application:  How does today’s text apply to you?

One can imagine that it started with the thinking that we have eternity to take care of the eternal matters, and therefore, the immediate concerns seem more important and urgent than they really are.  With that in the backdrop, we slowly reduce relationship with God to mere rituals, the minimal requirements necessary to appease God.  As far as the merchants are concerned, they are simply making it easier for people to come to “worship” God.  Besides, the merchants needed to make a living.  Because all these mundane activities happen around the temple, these mundane activities can almost appear spiritual and right.  These concerns are all too understandable and I can sympathize with them.

While we no longer have a temple in our midst, I see the same tendency in my own heart.  A few weeks ago, Pastor Ed challenged us about how we approach the Word of God in his first retreat message, and personally I made the commitment to really set aside time for God’s Word and come to Him with the expectation to actually hear Him speaking to me.  Since then, there have been too many other things to think about, tasks to take care of and ministry to do, and slowly they began to encroach on my time with God.  I want to spend time with God but I also feel pressured by the immediacy of these concerns, and at times I know I am simply trying to get this out of the way so I can move onto other things.  When my heart is not there, it becomes a hollow religious ritual that I perform on daily basis.   Even as I do my devotion today, I sense the pressure and my worries are things that I need to surrender to God.  Devotional time is only a part of my daily schedule.  Where is my heart when I pray to Him?  Where is my heart when I meet people and talk to them?  Where is my heart when I come to prayer meeting or Sunday Worship Service?  Unless my heart is there to worship Him, experience Him and glorify Him, anything that I do in His name is a meaningless religious ritual.  I need to repent of my heart condition so that when I say I am doing something onto God, I am actually doing something onto God.

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Submitted by Sue Yi, Gracepoint Berkeley

Think about the values represented by a marketplace.  Why was this so offensive to Jesus?

The values represented in the marketplace is of greed for money,  cheating people to benefit themselves and a mentality that they need to look out for themselves in order to gain. It is a place where people profit at the others expense, exploiting the poor and advancing the ones with power.  It is full of competition, greed and deceit. People use others in order to gain something for themselves.

This is offensive to Jesus because there is no regard for God or for people.  The temple was to be a place of worship of God, a place where people could go to pray to God to worship him, but instead it had become a place where people went in order to gain something for themselves. Money caused people to devalue other people and instead of love and compassion, there was competition and greed. There was only self advancement. Seeing this picture, Jesus was so enraged that the place where people were to come to for prayer, for worship, to experience love, hope and forgiveness was replaced with greed, self advancement, competition, materialism. Jesus cannot take lightly want he sees because God’s holiness is being trampled upon, compromised and degraded. He is enraged at what the place of worship has become and he expresses it through overturning of tables.

What are some ways in which such marketplace values can be present in today’s Christian gatherings?

The marketplace values of the world can be present in today’s gatherings when people come to church to find friends, they come to church to network, to advance their business, they come because of good children’s program, they come to consume and to be satisfied for whatever needs that they have but not necessary to find God.  They don’t want to seek God.  Their gathering is more about what they can get out of it and what is in it for them verses worshipping God on a personal level.  There is no growing knowledge of who they are, of who God is.. it becomes a familiar routine where they come to church to keep up an image rather than breaking down barriers and being honest before God.

As God’s holiness cannot be compromised,  I need to first and foremost make sure that my worship of God is not something that is routine, but that my heart seeks to hear from God and to honor God. I need to be one whose personal worship is growing with heart and zeal. And as a leader i need to make sure that our gatherings and that our church is a place where people can come to seek God. I need to be vigilant from market-like atmosphere that can so easily encroach. As our church grows, I need to protect the honor of God and be concerned that our church is not a place full of discrepancy between people’s profession and actual life. It needs to be a place where each person is honest in life and speech, where there is genuine presence of God that can be felt by all who come.

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Submitted by James Chao, Gracepoint San Diego

Think about the values represented by a marketplace.  Why was this so offensive to Jesus?

The marketplace is characterized by everyone acting purely out of self-interest to get as much as they want and that is the main principle at work. In everything that happens, people are motivated to benefit themselves and other people are merely vehicles in them getting what they want. Beyond that, there are always those who are trying to take advantage of you, and you’d always need to be on guard and not be so naive as to take things at face value because things are not always what they seem. Even the “good” relationships that form here are just ones of mutual benefit, and the value of the relationship lasts only as long is that relationship can benefit the parties involved. This is so different than God’s values and what he wants to see in the temple. Rather than being the place where sinners can come to find cleansing for sins or where people can put aside world things to focus on and worship God, there was all this commercial activities where people are calculating with selfish motives and taking advantage of one another for selfish gain. And perhaps among those who really came with an earnest desire to seek God, some were getting distracted and their worldly desires were stirred up through these things. There were all of these things right there in that people had to put up with in order to find God. Most importantly of all, God’s own name and character was damaged by this, as people gained a twisted understanding of religious and spiritual life entails and maybe even got jaded toward worship and toward God. No wonder Jesus was so offended by what was happening there, as his very temple no longer drew people to God but put up more barriers to keep people from God. This is a reminder of how important it is for me to keep in mind the mission of the church to be that place where people can meet God, and to guard against worldly values from creeping in and corrupting the body of Christ. This starts with me guarding myself and being vigilant against my own worldly desires for comfort, for significance through what I can do or achieve, for respect from others. In order for the church to stay clear about its mission, I need to stay clear about my mission as a Christian who has been called by God to bring the Gospel to this dark world.

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Submitted by Becky Fong, Gracepoint Berkeley

Think about the people listed in vs. 14.  What were they doing and why?

The people were selling cattle, sheep, and doves, as well as exchanging money, in the temple courts.  They were doing this for business, to make a profit, because people who journeyed to the temple from far off would need to purchase animals for offerings and exchange their local currency to pay Temple taxes.  But these sellers brought their business for profit into the actual temple courts, which was supposed to be the area where Gentiles could come and worship and pray to God.  This reveals their disregard for actual worship of God and of the marginalized people, the Gentiles, who could not enter closer into the temple to worship and pray to God.

Think about the values represented by a marketplace.  Why was this so offensive to Jesus?

A marketplace represents values of superficial qualities and attributes, of worth based upon appearance or competence, performance.  This is so offensive to Jesus, because the temple was to be His Father’s house, a place of worship where the weak, broken, disregarded by the world, could come to Him, but they degraded it into a place of personal profit with much noise and distraction, treating the holy business of relating with Him into a literal business.  It is also offensive because this is completely contrary to God’s view and treatment of us, which confers value and love to us simply because He claims us as His precious children and not for any merit of our own.

What are some ways in which such marketplace values can be present in today’s Christian gatherings?

Such marketplace values can be present in today’s Christian gatherings in very obvious superficial ways such as favoring/treating people based upon physical appearance, possessions, degrees, etc., being impressed by them, as well as subtler ways such as competence, intellect, personality, or usefulness.  These marketplace values can become such a distraction, both in evaluating others based upon these criteria as well as seeking to gain something through these superficial criteria, from people really seeking and relating with God, in just occupying our minds and hearts, making it harder to be genuine and raw and honest, and causing us to strive and be insecure and envious and miss out on the grace of God and close genuine relationships in the spiritual community He designed for us.

In the face of dead and twisted temple religion, Jesus says: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” What message does Jesus convey here about the true temple, i.e., the Church he will establish with his resurrection?

Jesus conveys the message that the true temple, how people can come to God, is not based upon man’s offerings or a place.  It is through His own death for our sins, and the Church He will establish with His resurrection, His own initiative, and His grace, not merited at all by our tired and hopeless efforts such as their dead and twisted temple religion.  His message must have been scandalous to those who actually understood it, that their previous system of trying to earn their way to being right with God through their rituals and offerings was not the way to God in fact, and that He would provide the way to be reconciled to God out of complete grace.

Picture the scene Jesus witnessed as he entered the Temple courts, and the picture Jesus might have expected.  When things fall apart and get degraded—relationships, churches, families—why does it happen?  What does the process entail?

Jesus might have expected the Temple courts to have been working as they were designed, with people coming to worship and connect with God from afar, including the Gentiles.  His expectation was probably in line with God’s design for the Temple, to be a place where people could come closer to God.  Thus this scene of buying and selling, exchanging money, in the midst of a place that was meant to be a place of prayer and connection with God for all, including the lowly and broken and disregarded, would have been so offensive and upsetting to Jesus.

Things begin to fall apart and degrade when people start to focus on their own individual interests.  I think most of the time it starts with reacting to fears, by withdrawing or focusing on the self to the neglect of or in conflict with others or even things we have become convicted of, thus breaking down relationships, churches, families.  Here, disregarding the holiness and proper awe and worship of God, as well as their relationship to the Gentiles as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ or at least fellow sinners in need of connection with God, the sellers and money changers moved into the only area the Gentiles could come connect with God.  It probably started out just as they needed to make a living, others were profiting more and growing and perhaps they would lose even the little business they had, they had families to feed and care for, etc., and they allowed their fears to drive them to ambition and breaking down/minimizing/ignoring/denying their relationship with others and even proper relating with God as Sovereign Lord and also as trustworthy and faithful.  This happens in relationships too as fears set in and we feel like we need to invest our time, energy, heart, money, more into other things like studies, clubs, our resumes, jobs, families, etc., causing our hearts and relationships to cool and degrade subtly, little by little.  This can happen even in families too, in different ways, but one way is as we respond to fears and ambitions, not only directly it can affect the actual time and energy we spend investing in our familial relationships, it can affect our families in the values and way we relate to each other.  For example, I have seen how a father’s genuine desire to protect and provide for his family has grown to great ambition and value so much of money and status and title that it has degraded and broken his relationships with his children as he evaluates them based upon these external criteria.  For a believer, the process of breakdown entails responding to fear by focusing on yourself and forgetting/disregarding truths you have known, such as God’s faithfulness and the reality of our lack of control in our lives and how God has saved us into a community of faith and commands us to show the dying world what He is like through our love for one another, which is not usually a big dramatic conscious decision, but happens in little steps here and there, to prioritize ourselves over others, to not make the effort to build up our brothers and sisters intentionally in little ways, etc.

Application:  How does today’s text apply to you?

It is scary and such a warning how this process of things falling apart and get degraded is so subtle, and begins with actually just fear and what might sound really reasonable, what we hear often in the world and have quietly internalized without knowing it, that you have to look out for yourself, etc.  I have received so much from God in being saved into this body of Christ with a rich history and culture and strength of leaders and brothers and sisters in a web of relationships, examples of sacrifice and what it means to concretely obey God’s calling and live out the gospel, and it is such a precious entrustment that can be so easily and subtly degraded and broken down by me, that I need to be wary, alert to how responding to my own fears can begin this decaying process.  Fears can seem so innocent, and I can think I am somewhat helpless to them or at least that I have less control over them, but they are this destructive when I respond to them, maybe not in a big sweeping things but in the subtler little decisions I make here and there, to take for granted the relationships and community I have received.  I need to be clear-minded about fears, that I need to face them, pray about them, respond to them by recalling and seeking out God’s Word in application, instead of just responding to them by letting them guide my thoughts, perceptions, and decisions.

“For the Jews in the time of Jesus, the Sabbath was more than just a matter of obedience to rules.  Sabbath observance was regarded as a way to honor the holiness of Yahweh (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15).  It also marked the joyful entry into sacred time, the time of the beginning before human work.  The Sabbath ‘was a sanctuary in time.’   It was also regarded as a sign of Israel’s sanctification among all the nations.  Its observance made Israel distinct as a nation, bolstered Jewish identity over against others, and served as a bulwark against assimilation to pagan culture.  For Jews in the Diaspora, keeping the Sabbath was a profession of faith, a national identity marker.”[1]

“The real danger of rigid legalism is that it can delude one into thinking that God is satisfied when one is a stickler for religious details, even if one is merciless to others…Devotion to principle can outweigh concern for individuals and can become deadly in more ways than one, as the ensuing plot against Jesus reveals.  Pascal said, ‘Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.’”[2]

Mark 3:11-12

“We must ask, ‘Why did Jesus so sternly bid them to remain silent?’ The reason was very simple and very compelling. Jesus was the Messiah, God’s anointed king; but his idea of Messiahship was quite different from the popular idea. He saw in Messiahship a way of service, of sacrifice and of love with a cross at the end of it. The popular idea of the Messiah was of a conquering king who, with his mighty armies, would blast the Romans and lead the Jews to world power. Therefore, if a rumour were to go out that the Messiah had arrived, the inevitable consequence would be rebellions and uprisings, especially in Galilee where the people were ever ready to follow a nationalist leader.  Jesus thought of Messiahship in terms of love; the people thought of Messiahship in terms of Jewish nationalism. Therefore, before there could be any proclamation of his Messiahship, Jesus had to educate the people into the true idea of what it meant. At this stage nothing but harm and trouble and disaster could come from the proclamation that the Messiah had arrived. It would have issued in nothing but useless war and bloodshed. First of all men had to learn the true conception of what the Messiah was; a premature announcement such as this could have wrecked Jesus’ whole mission.”^[3]

Mark 3:13-15

“The huge multitude is thinned as Jesus invites “those he wanted” to come with him.  This call creates a distinction between those who follow after him desperately seeking healing, those who are only caught up in the spectacle of these strange events, and those who are summoned to follow after him as disciples with a particular task.  Jesus “appointed twelve” out of this group who came to him.”[4]

Mark 3:14

“Mark stresses the disciples’ task of being “with [Jesus]”.  What does ‘being with’ Jesus entail? “Most important, it denotes the Twelve as the witnesses to his ministry, who have learned from him and are, qualified to pass on and authenticate the traditions about him…The task of being with Jesus is one that is harder than it might first appear.  The Twelve will have to learn that there is a difference between hanging around with Jesus and truly being with him.  The latter means that they must follow wherever he leads and share the toil of the ministry, the harassment of the crowds, and the same bitter draught of suffering.”[5]

Mark 3:14-15

“The list of the Twelve does not include “Levi, the son of Alphaeus” but does identify a second James as “son of Alphaeus”.  The epithet may have moved from one individual to the other.  A simpler explanation for the divergence in the two names would be to assume that both variants had become attached to traditional accounts of the calling of disciples prior to Mark’s use of these stories.”[6]

“Their companionship with him is to lead to service that benefits others.  They are not merely on the receiving end of this outbreak of power but are to become channels by which it touches others.”[7]

Mark 3:16-19

“The list of the names of the Twelve gives us scant clues as to their status, background, or religious training, but Jesus gives the first three striking nicknames.  Simon is given the name Peter (petros, meaning ‘rock’), and James and John, formerly introduced as the sons of Zebedee, are called the ‘Sons of Thunder.’  One can only speculate what occasioned these names or what they reveal about these men – their character, their faith, or their future roles? Judas comes last in the list and is identified as the betrayer, a name that the church, not Jesus bestowed on him.

“The Twelve are not called to sainthood or to sit on thrones, nor are they presented as ideal disciples, who serve as models for the readers.  The performance of these twelve men in Mark makes it clear that humans, being what they are, are free to make their own choices and frequently fail in their partnership with God.”[8]

Mark 3:21

“Jesus’ family intrudes to round him up, not to rally around him.  They are intent on silencing him, presumably to squelch any further unwanted attention from the populace or the authorities.  They may be spurred by the noble but misguided desire to protect him from danger or, less nobly, to salvage the family reputation.”[9]

Mark 3:22

BEELZEBUL* Epithet meaning “lord of the flies” or “lord of the manure pile,” referring to Satan. It was used against Jesus by his enemies (Mt 10:25, kjv “Beelzebub”; 12:24; Lk 11:15). See Baal-zebub.  Tyndale Bible Dictionary

Mark 3:22-27

“The parable is an allegory.  The strong one is Satan.  His house is his domain, the present world, which he seeks to hold secure.  His vessels are those hapless victims whom he has taken captive.  The stronger one is Jesus, who has come from God, invaded Satan’s stronghold, and bound him.”[10]

Mark 3:28-30

“This passage of the ‘unpardonable’ sin has caused much talk in the church and many to be paralyzed with fear that he might have committed it.  However, the problem is that Christians frequently seize on the negative aspect of this saying – one is ‘guilty of an eternal sin’ – and neglect the positive statement – ‘all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.’  The KJV translation, ‘is in danger of eternal damnation’ (3:29), certainly grabs one’s attention.  Since this passage has caused so many such unnecessary anguish, one wisely stresses that the love, grace, and patience of God are never exhausted by our abundant sinfulness.  “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).  The gospel proclaims that God forgives what may seem to us to be unforgivable.”[11]

“We must begin by remembering that Jesus could not have used the phrase the Holy Spirit in the full Christian sense of the term.  The Spirit in all his fullness did not come to men until Jesus had returned to his glory.  Jesus must have used the term in the Jewish sense of the term.  Now in Jewish thought the Holy Spirit had two great functions.  First he revealed God’s truth to men; second, he enabled men to recognize that truth when they saw it.  If he lives in the dark long enough he will lose the ability to see.  If he stays in bed long enough he will lose the power to walk.  If he refuses to do any serious study he will lose the power to study.  And if a man refuses the guidance of God’s Spirit often enough he will become in the end incapable of recognizing that truth when he sees it.  Consider the effect of Jesus on a man.  The very first effect is to make him see his own utter unworthiness in comparison with the beauty and the loveliness of the life of Jesus.  The result of that sense of unworthiness and the result of that stabbed heart is a heartfelt penitence, and penitence is the only condition of forgiveness.  But, if a man has got himself into such a state, by repeated refusals to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, that he cannot see anything lovely in Jesus at all, then the sight of Jesus will not give him any sense of sin; because he has no sense of sin he cannot be penitent, and because he is not penitent he cannot be forgiven.”[12]

“Their sin is that, in the presence of God’s grace in action, they have not only rejected it but ascribed it to the devil.  They are set on calling the Spirit’s work the activity of Satan.  It may be that Jesus means that they have not yet reached this point of no return, and that he is warning them against hardening their current attitude into a permanent stance.  There is no forgiveness here because such an attitude is incapable of seeking it.”[13]

“If one understands the so-called unforgivable sin as deliberately scorning the power and forgiveness of God, one can perhaps help those in the church who become worried, or even terror-stricken, that they have committed some sin that is unpardonable.  That they even worry about it provides proof that they have not committed such a sin.”[14]

“[O]ne can perhaps suggest a simpler solution to this problematic text.  In reading the passage literally, we fail to understand Jesus’ use of hyperbole to underscore that rejecting or obstructing the work of the Holy Spirit is a terrible sin.  McNeile explains that serious (or defiant) sin was often spoken of as ‘unpardonable’ in the Old Testament (Num. 15:30-31, 1 Sam. 3:14, Isa. 22:14) and comments, ‘If the Lord spoke as a Jew to Jews and used the type of expression current in His day, and derived from the Old Testament, He meant, and would be understood to mean, no more than that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, by whose power He worked, was a terrible sin, – more terrible than blasphemy against man.”[15]

Mark 3:31-32

“Reference to Jesus’ brothers has caused embarrassment to those in the church who feel it inappropriate for the virgin Mother of the Savior.  ‘Cousins’ or ‘children of Joseph by another marriage’ have been suggested, but this is a most unnatural way of reading the text.  Mark means natural brother to Jesus, born by Mary.  The general absence of reference to Joseph suggests that he was by now dead.

“A more difficult problem is how Mary who, according to the stories in early chapters of Luke and Matthew, had gone through such unforgettable experiences, should now be with those trying to take him home.  Such difficulties, however, arise only if one is determined not to let her be what she probably was, a simple Hebrew maid ‘engraced’ by God.  How could she understand all that was involved?  Why should she not have shared the view of those around her about who Jesus was, and be equally upset at the unexpected turn of events, with such crowds and teaching and healing and exorcisms, and the pretentious claims implied – and occasionally blurted out at the height of excitement or controversy – about who he was?  How could she have known that he would be in opposition, as it seemed clear he now was, to the religious leaders of the day whom she regarded with deep respect and awe?  This attitude, of itself, neither detracts from the authenticity of belief in a virgin birth, nor shows Mary as in any sense unworthy or out of character in her behavior.  Many mothers can no doubt identify with her, if at a lesser level, in the anxiety and disappointment when a son’s life does not go as expected.”[16]

“Just as the teachers of the law were blatantly hindering the work of God, the blood family of Jesus, though with best of intentions, came to him and tried to hinder him from doing the work of God.  Blasphemy against the Spirit is not just slandering the Spirit of God, which is easy to recognize; it also includes attempts to subvert the work of the Spirit of God, which is not so easy to recognize.  The reason it is harder to detect is because those who may be guilty of it are those closest to Jesus and those who have convinced themselves that they are acting with the best of intentions.”[17]

Mark 3:33-35

“What follows must have been almost crushing for her [Mary].  The crowd seems to take the side of Jesus’ family, and the implication is that Jesus will either go out to them or make room for them to come in (v.32).  In effect Jesus, as so often, in the words of T.W. Manson, stood normal human values on their heads.  A new situation has developed.  Stronger ties even than blood are now being forged.  In the perspective of the kingdom ‘the family’ consists of whoever does God’s will.  This is not a teaching to be cold to parents. But it is a warning that even so deep, precious, and basic a relationship as that of human family is superseded by the fellowship of the new family of God, which will continue into eternity.”[18]

“Jesus’ re-definition of the family may create problems for many individuals instead of providing answers.  The commitment to do the will of God may force some to make a wrenching choice between their biological family and God.”[19]

[2] Garland, David E., The NIV Application Commentary: Mark, p. 116

^[3] The Gospel of Mark. 2000 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.

[4] David E. Garland, Mark (NIVAC; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1996), p.128.

[5] D. Garland, p.129.

[6] Pheme Perkins, The Gospel of Mark (NIBC: Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), p.562.

[7] D. Garland, p.129.

[8] D. Garland, p.137-38.

[9] D. Garland, p.130.

[10] D. Garland, p.135.

[11] NIV Application Commentary, p.136

[12] Barclay, William.  The Gospel of Mark, p.79-80

[13] English, Donald.  Bible Speaks Today: Mark, p.89

[14] NIV Application Commentary, p.136

[15] McNeile, Alan Hugh.  The Gospel According to St. Matthew, p.179

[16] English, Donald.  Bible Speaks Today: Mark, p.90

[17] NIV Application Commentary, p.137

[18] English, Donald.  Bible Speaks Today: Mark, p.90

[19] NIV Application Commentary, p.146