OVER MY DEAD BODY

The coals of the campfire barely glow in the early morning chill…the stars begin to fade...                            

Inside the fold, the sheep stir as they detect those familiar footsteps of their shepherd picking his way carefully thru the darkness towards them. After faithfully watching over the flock, the night watchman yawns and rouses from lying across the entrance. Those sheep are now ready to follow their master to a new day’s fresh pasture …                   

Is it him?  Baa!... yes, that’s his voice alright… let’s go!....

What has John told us so far?                                          

The Messiah has finally come to his own people - right on time - to find some godly Jews ready, thanks to John the Baptist’s faithful service. It might be time to light all those lamps to celebrate the re-dedication of the temple but evil darkness is palpable, the general reception cold and the dangers constant. Some Jews have even tried to stone the Son of God and are about to try again!  

The ‘flock’ hearken to the familiar voice of the Good Shepherd and keenly follow Him thru the Door to enjoy endless life in a new day.             

Yes, He’s on the move, but…                                      

“I lay down My life for the sheep” (mentioned 5 times!) There are other sheep too! “…they shall hear My voice…there shall be one fold”.  Jew and Gentile together??

Surely Jesus is speaking to His disciples in John 10?    

No, with amazing grace, Jesus is still appealing to those Pharisees… 

Twice He tells them:  

• “I AM the Door”
• “I AM the Good Shepherd”…(the 3^rd & 4^th ‘I AM the’)                                                                                           Remember the 8 souls saved by Noah’s Ark?      They entered thru that one door.

                                        

Notice the Ark Encounter replica in Kentucky USA has only 1 door!

NEXT: But has Jesus got power over death?

http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/too-latehes-dead.html

MUD IN THE EYE

They have rejected the words of Jesus, even trying to stone Him for claiming to be the ‘I AM’… so let’s see what they think of what He can do…
How about a hands-on public miracle?…on the Sabbath!...as He passes by….(John 9)

(Remember that ‘the Lord God formed Man of the dust of the ground’ but then Adam and Eve were deceived by: “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods…”  Haven’t we all been blinded by sin since Adam’s disobedience?)

Watch what happens…                                                  

While the disciples worry about sin and penalty, the ‘Light of the world’ spits on the ground He as Creator once made, makes mud, then this man born blind cops mud in the eye.
He obeys immediately by washing in the pool of Siloam outside the city and returns seeing: the 6^th miracle!...very public and hands-on this time.

What has he got to say?                                                  
“I was blind – now I see!...here is a marvellous thing”. 
(He probably doesn’t know that thaumastos – ‘Wonderful’ – is another name for the Son of God.)

The reward was eye-sight, only to be thrown out of the synagogue??   No, better than that… Jesus searches for him!... then openly identifies Himself:                        

”Dost thou believe on the Son of God?”

He couldn’t see Jesus’ miracles happen… but now he sure can see ‘the Light of the world’…and worship the Son of God.  All he had to do??….obey the Lord!

“…was blind but now I see…”         

Yup, it sure is AMAZING GRACE!

NEXT: http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/over-my-dead-body.html

So who ARE you?

Notice all those contrasts in John ch8!...

• Last night… everybody home  / Jesus alone on the Mount of Olives
• Today… sinners accuse a woman / the sinless One shows grace

• Ye judge after the flesh… I judge no man

Now things ramp up as Jesus spells it out… (v21)

• Ye shall die in your sins… I always please the Father

• Ye are from beneath… I am from above

• Ye are of this world… I am not of this world

• the servant of sin / the Son shall make you free

• I came from God… your father is the devil…

• …he is a liar… I say the truth

• I honour my Father… you dishonour Me

They challenge Him with: “Who are you?”…                           
…but He has already told them!... “I AM [he]”                                
(The translators have added ‘he’- not in the original Greek. How many of these ‘I AMs’ are there in John’s gospel?...7 of course!)

They just don’t get it or don’t want to, so here goes…                                       

“Before Abraham was, I AM”    

Wow!!  This is just too much…                                   

These Jews have gone from ‘believing’ on Him, to insinuating He was born of fornication, to labelling Him a despised Samaritan, to having a devil, now to finally trying to stone the great I AM who appeared to Moses in the burning bush!

NEXT:

http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/mud-in-eye.html

OKAY, HE THAT IS WITHOUT SIN....

Where did Jesus just spend last night alone?   Where He will one day stand in judgment - on the Mount of Olives!                                                                           
So will He head off home to Galilee in disgust and save His skin? (Jn ch8)
No, He goes back into the city to try again…to the temple…as a sitting target for those out to kill Him.  Where He is hated and persecuted, He teaches the people!

A’hah! Here’s a challenge - a woman caught red-handed in adultery....                   

Oooo…this is going to be interesting!... but where’s the man?...who are the witnesses?  Stone her and you break Roman Law… but don’t stone her and you break Jewish Law.

“We’ve got Him now! Hey Jesus are you deaf or what? Why are you writing on the ground and not paying attention? Stuck for an answer, huh?  This is serious you know!”

“He that is without sin…let him first cast a stone at her”

O’oh…we’ve all broken God’s rules – except for this Man.

“Go and sin no more”  (Maybe she represents unfaithful Israel?)

Now they accuse the only sinless Man of dishonesty!...after He has produced double witness to His authority.

John has told us that Jesus was full of grace and truth…in fact, overwhelming grace...like now.
What about that True Light? (In this feast, large lamps were lit for all night dancing and praising)....
“I AM the Light of the world…the light of life”                                   
(The 2nd ‘I AM the…’ in John’s gospel)
Who can stand this Light?

Did you notice how Jesus keeps saying “ego eimi” or “I am…“?                                        

Perhaps Jesus is the great ‘I AM’....NEXT 


  http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/so-who-are-you.html                                                                            

HOME ALONE?

So what’s the quickest way to lose your megachurch? 
Just tell them what they need to hear – not what they want to hear…. “Oh that’s just way over the top!...this ‘eat My flesh and drink My blood’” (Jn ch6)                 

The ranks thin even more after hearing: “What if you saw the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?”          

At least Jesus’ disciples are now sure He is that Christ, the Son of the living God… with words of eternal life… but even one of them is a devil!

Surely His brothers will believe??                                                          
They just taunt Him: “Show yourself to the world” (Jn ch7)

So here we go…yet another ‘feast of the Jews’: meant to be a solemn assembly with offerings by fire, ‘a feast of the Lord’.  Well again the Lord turns up, IN PERSON!...to find everyone has an opinion… ‘He’s a good Man’ ‘He deceives’ ‘He’s never studied’ ‘He has a demon’ ‘This is The Prophet’…’This is the Christ’…                               

What does He do??   Graciously appeals to anyone!...to believe in Him, offering ‘living water’  (on the 8^th day when healing water from Siloam is not offered at the temple).



 "No Man ever spoke like this Man!”

The Pharisees are just as ignorant as the people and scorn Nicodemus’ appeal to fairness.

(Jesus was born in Bethlehem as prophesied and prophets did come from Galilee: Elijah, Jonah, Nahum… )

What’s the big problem??     Jesus’ authority.
“I AM from Him and He has sent Me”…   Could God manifested Himself in flesh?   

Finally, everyone  goes off home…leaving Jesus to go home alone?                      
No, Jesus leaves the city... to spend the night HATED and ALONE.

WHAT'S YOUR NEXT STUNT?

After a free feed of fishburgers, the crowd in John 6 wander off to their camp sites.  

Next morning… “Hey, Jesus has gone!... Let’s catch a ride with these latecomers over to Capernaum.  Mustn’t miss the next free feed!”

 At Capernaum…“Rabbi, when did you get here?”      
Too late!...you missed it.

Missed what??                                                                                         

The fastest boat sprint ever, at night, with a Skipper who can not only walk on water but calm the weather too!                                                                            

Nice try... but not even close

Yup, the staggering 5^th miracle – a 3 in 1
How fast was the trip??... “IMMEDIATE”!!

“What’s your next sign so we can see and believe on you?... [Moses] gave them bread from heaven.”

Check out the situation here…                                        
This might still be Israel’s Promised Land but the Gentiles are in control. (Today, Jordon controls the Temple Mount) No matter how strong the evidence the Jews refuse to believe in Jesus Christ while the few that do are guided thru any storm by the Messiah - just like it is today!    

This is how He patiently answered them:

• “I AM the Bread of Life (3 times and the 1^st of 7 ‘I AM’s in John’s Gospel)… come to Me and you will never hunger or thirst… you shall live forever”  

• “everyone that believeth on the Son may have everlasting life…whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood… and so we don’t miss it, 4 times he says: I will raise him up at the last day”.

Just believe! Their muttered response??...                                                    

“Isn’t this Jesus son of Joseph?... How can he say He came down from heaven?”

If they only realized - this is the Son of Man offering eternal life…. but who must face death.


NEXT: http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/home-alone.html

NOT JUST ANOTHER KING

Another ‘feast of the Jews’ ahead – another Passover bringing thousands of pilgrims to Jerusalem – but can Jesus cope with big crowds?                     
Rejected and now persecuted, He moves on…but where to?                    

Remember He has just offered DOUBLE WITNESS to God being His Father…   
…John, the Father, the miracles and even the Scriptures from Moses.                     

Well, John has been taken off the scene (and beheaded!) so what now?           
Let’s watch another miracle (in Jn 6) in front of a huge crowd, that even reminds them of Moses!

Tiberias - still there today!

First, Jesus has to cross the Sea of Galilee (‘circle of nations’), which Moses called Sea of Chinnerith (‘harp shape’). The Greeks called it Lake of Gennesaret but don’t forget who’s the boss king around here now - in honour of the Roman Emperor, it’s the Sea of Tiberias - yes, in the 'Promised Land'.

What happens?...  On a mountain, Jesus feeds 5000 men, PLUS women and children, using only poor folks’ food – just 5 fishburgers – in a very public miracle like manna from heaven… with everybody who has come to watch the show enjoying a little bit??   NO!...’as much as they would’.                                                                            

Even 12 handbaskets are FILLED with leftovers - 12 being Israel’s number.



"What are they among so many?"

Wow! What a staggering display of God’s grace towards Israel in this 4^th miracle, the only one related by all 4 gospel accounts.             
You want witness??..you got it! 

They think to make Jesus their king but hang on…that would be high treason against Emperor Tiberius!       
Anyway, is Jesus just another king? What about a burger king?                           
No, it’s time for the Son of God to move off - alone.


"What's your next stunt?"
http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/whats-your-next-stunt.html