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Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/6/2007 12:41:06 PM
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selahgirl
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Aware of Him
Book of John (1:1-2)
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
So many people want to go back to the beginning of all things and theorize about how it all started. But here is the answer, almost too simply put to comprehend. The Word was the beginning. It was just… there… like it always had been, and suddenly we were aware of it. Perhaps, that is the heart of the matter, the key to understanding the origin of all things. Perhaps, it's not a matter of where or when things began; but rather, the Beginning is merely when God thought us into existence and made us aware.
Here was the Word:
1) It was with God
2) It was God
3) The Word is a He (a specific person... I'll get to verse 17).
4) God consists of more than one person
(or else how could the Word be Him and be with Him?)
5) God existed before the beginning of anything finite as we know it.
6) Therefore God is infinite.
7) Therefore the Beginning is, "when God thought of us and made himself known to us."
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/6/2007 12:48:33 PM
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selahgirl
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Spoken Light
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The Word, whoever this person is (... I'll get to verse 17) -- this person that is God and that is with God… made all things as we know it. He was involved in the Creation of the World and Mankind. Not just part of it -- but all of it. He was key, one of the masterminds of the plan, his fingerprints were all over it and us. It was from his thoughts and voice that all things appeared from nothing. He was part of the Creator God.
In him was Life. He spoke creation into existence and that Life was imparted to dead matter. Living creatures took on his Life and it was a beautiful thing. The Word lit up all creation with his presence and with the knowledge that He loves us. We were born… suddenly we were in the world and aware of our God who loves us.
In verse 5, we see that in the beginning that Light shined into the darkness and Life appeared from nothing. Once again, as John records, the Light shines in the darkness. But the darkness of this world had fallen so deeply into sin, had moved so far from relationship with it's Creator (the Word), that it had no clue of who he was anymore. The world was so unlike him that it had no clue or understanding of this God that left them awestruck and dazzled by the brilliance of his person.
So here we are, each of us, trying to understand this God that we have moved so far away from. Trying to understand how we could possibly take on such beauty to resemble him at all, trying to understand why in his brilliance he would come to us and embrace us in a loving relationship. Why would he call us his family, his children, his bride, his beloved?
Here in the darkness we stand, full of wonder and amazement at the Word who has approached us once again simply to remind us that, "God loves you." That the Word has pursued us as we wandered off into the darkness. He brought the Light once again to point us toward Hope, toward Home, toward that place where we understood and embraced the one who gave us Life.
In the death and decay of sin, the Word speaks just as he did in the beginning. And our eyes are opened, all things are illuminated in the Light, and we are born again.
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/6/2007 6:45:02 PM
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FurGodWurLivin
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Dude....... I love this. Althought it sounds like the illuminati, I will give your thinking its due. This is something of a philosophical matter, but I think it is a very valid point. We can argue about the actual timeline of human history (which secular science says is about 10,000 years, interestingly enough) but the fact being pointed to is that God already was and will always be. When was "the beginning" spoken of by John? The same beginning Moses referred to... in the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth... however, John is more specifically referrencing the beginning of "the beginning". How do we know? Because the word must already exist before everything can be made through it. So Moses talks about the beginning as the creation of the world, and John talks about the beginning as eternity past before God created the earth... "In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God." So what you have is this somewhat spacey period known as "the beginning" where the Word was with God and being God, and that spacey period culminates with the definite creation of the world in Genesis 1:1. Much like the OT idea of the Day of the Lord, there is a larger period of time, that culminates in a single event (in the case of the Day of the Lord, the return of Christ to the planet). Thoughts?
Adam
PS, dang I love God.....
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I am hyena, Jesus is my Mufasa...
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/10/2007 2:24:21 AM
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Theo-Minor
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I've been thinking on this stuff myself most recently. It's nothing I could put into words, to be honest. Probably the same problem writers have had for centuries. How do you describe the indescribable?
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Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/11/2007 1:27:48 AM
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selahgirl
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What a Shocker
(John 1:6-9)
"6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world."
Here is a man that was sent by God. Why? perhaps we will be told in the verses that follow. Either way, we know that he was a man, and that God chose him and sent him somewhere to accomplish something. And we know that if the Almighty God took the time to ask such a thing of someone, it must be important, and the heart and mind of God will go with the person sent -- and God will ensure his success, the message sent with this person would reach it's destination, and the purpose of it would be accomplished.
We are told that the name of the man that was sent was John. There are lots of men named John in the world. Which John? the disciple, the cousin of Jesus, former President Kennedy, John Reuben...
Verse 7 clues us in on what the message was that John was sent to deliver. He was supposed to testify, make a public statement, as to the nature and person of the Light. We are also told why it was so important that such a message be delivered, the purpose, the reason, what was to be accomplished... so that people would believe in the Light.
Verse 8 makes it clear, to avoid any confusion or false teaching or wild tangents of theology... John was NOT the Light. He was merely sent with a message, information about how to recognize the nature and person of the Light. What He would be like, how perfectly He would reflect the face and will of God... because He was and is God.
Verse 9 gives more specifics about the Light and about the message that John was to deliver about Him. John was sent to make a public statement of what the Light was like, what He would do, what the people needed to do to prepare themselves... the message was clearly an announcement that the Light was about to arrive. He was coming to the physical world as we know it, and would soon emerge on the scene and flood all things with a penetrating Truth that would illuminate the hearts of all men. So that they could see clearly how far they had wandered from the heart of God, and so they could know how much God was willing to do to make a way for them to return to the heart of God and to relationship with Him.
What a message...
It just kind of leaves you in shock. To grasp the extensive and all-encompassing plan and effort put into play by the Creator of all things, just so He could personally put a bus ticket in our hand so we could finally go back home. No more wandering, no more loneliness, no more hungering for family and thirsting for something real. No more searching, no more settling for things that have rotted, no more carrying that pack on our back crammed full of guilt and shame.
Finally...
a place to unshoulder the pack, to leave off ever having to carry it again. To be free, to be unshamed, to be held accountable, kept from wandering off and becoming lost again, to be protected and nurtured, to be accepted, to be loved.
yeah, that's pretty shocking.
that sounds like something that would require a divine plan to accomplish.
that sounds like something our Dad would do,
our friend,
our God
<3
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/11/2007 11:30:42 AM
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selahgirl
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Glued Back Together
(John 1:10-13)
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
Abraham, Kunta Kinte, George Washington... founding fathers, men deserving of great respect that founded movements and peoples because of their heart for family and a better future.
Here was the Creator of all, Father God, the Word, the Light, the One who accosted the darkness to free those that he loved who were locked inside of it. His motivation... Love, Family, the well-being and peace-of-mind of every ONE and everyone.
and yet...
No one recognized him, no one noticed him, no one cared, no one valued him, no one respected him or desired to know him. He was forgotten by those that he refused to forget, those that he refused to give up on. His love was perfect and passionate and relentless. He willingly (and without hesitation) poured out all of his glory and comfort, all that he is -- simply to ensure the freedom and joy of the ones that ignored and rejected his appearing.
Not everyone rejected him, not everyone ignored his love. Some chose to allow the spoken Word, the spoken Light to speak into their hearts and into their darkness. And to those that heard of his appearing and chose to believe it, who realized that the message was the opening of a door, he called them out of the darkness and into the Light, into his presence, into his nature and being and penetrating love. They were no longer dead, they were made aware again... alive again.
Born again, children of that Spoken Light, of God. Not because some preacher coerced them, not because some man got his wife pregnant, not because some woman seduced a guy with her beauty, not because some man forced himself upon a woman...
suddenly, they were conceived and born and alive because God said, "My child is dead... but I will give all so that they have the chance to live again." It was not the will or decision of a man that you were born, nor of a woman. Your parents, whatever the circumstance of your physical conception, did not decide to create you. They were instruments used to prepare a body for you...
Your conception began long before your parents encountered one another... your beginning was the moment that God first thought of you and said your name in the heavens, and suddenly you were born a spirit, a person, a being made in his image as his child. And he loved you. Then he prepared a body for you on this earth. So that you could have a part in reclaiming the blessings promised and planned for you and the family of God long ago.
He could take all the glory and do all the work, but it needed to be a family thing. It needed to be something that we all participated in for ourselves and for one another. That's the glue that makes real relationship real. That's the glue of family. We work as one, we sacrifice as one, we are victorious as one. That was Christ's prayer to his father (which we'll read later in the book of John) -- that we be one with God and with each other, just as Christ is one with the Father and the Spirit.
Real and Lasting and Fulfilling Life comes only from God.
And he offers it to you and to me at great cost to himself.
His only motivation?...
Love for Family
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/12/2007 12:38:54 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
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Imagine for a Minute
(John 1:14)
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This being, this Living Breathing Word, existed in some spiritual form that our finite minds are unable to wrap around. But suddenly, he focused himself and pin-pointed a body that had been prepared for himself on the earth -- and he somehow contained himself within it. All things infinite took on the earth suit of a man. You try to explain what that could have possibly looked like. It is beyond me.
While discussing the solar system with my children one time, I drew out the nine planets on the chalk board (dots that represented them that is. lol). I then drew several other solar systems in the vastness of space each with it's own sun. We talked of the billions and billions of stars and the solar systems that likely exist with most.
Then I drew spirals to represent galaxies, each containing countless solar systems. This created a great image of the great expanse. Then I commented on the fact that heaven is beyond all of that expanse, yet God exists in it all from there to here to all that is omnipresence. It was a very panoramic moment.
Suddenly, something miraculous occurred to me, and I began to share it with my children. Out here in the universe, standing at the edge of heaven, we suddenly journeyed back across the galaxies, across billions of stars and planets and solar systems. We journeyed back to our own solar system which now seemsed very tiny, back to the earth on which we live. And I talked about the tiniest speck on that dot as though it were a man standing there, so tiny on the face of the earth that it could not be drawn.
And we wondered together how a God that could fill the universe and heavens and the earth all at once could contain himself in that tiny speck of dust...
And we were humbled at the thought that he would go to such great lengths, journey so far, perform such a miraculous thing, just to become one of us. To stand beside us, to talk face to face with us, to explain that he had come so far just to shine Light (the message of his love) into the darkness. He had come to tell us that he loves us, and to show us the way out of the darkness.
He came with Truth, the Spirit of all that he is -- is Truth.
He came with Grace, the God-become-Man revealed himself as loving and merciful Savior. Who had come not to judge, but to free us from all shame and guilt and misery. He did not come to twist the knife of our lowliness and our unworthiness, rather he came to heal us and to restore us and to elevate us back into relationship and family with Him.
He didn't send someone to tell us. He came to tell us himself, right where we are. He didn't hesitate to get his hands dirty, to walk that road of great suffering, to live a lifetime in this rot and decay of a world. He took on all that is felt by a man, he knew loneliness and anger and dread and torture. He was met with injustice and cruelty and rejection.
He did it all just to speak to us. He, the Word, the Light, wanted to be sure that we understood how important it was that we hear what he had to say. He wasn't going to force us to listen or to trust him. He wanted us choose to love him back.
Can you imagine a man like that.
One that would travel the universe, literally...
One that would risk all, endure all, suffer all -- for you...
One that appeared in your life after you were cruel and rejected him
just to tell you one last time, "I love you so much. Let's start this thing over."
Just so he could give you every possible chance to realize what you're throwing away... so he could make one final appeal before giving you all that you said you wanted...
remember? ...how you said you wanted him to leave you alone... how you wanted to be separated from him for eternity, to never hear his voice again, to never see his face, to never be told that you are loved by the only voice that purely loves you, to never hear him speak into your life again... to never have to be annoyed by his presence ever again.
Be careful what you want.
Even if it breaks his heart and scars him on a cross,
He will give all to let you make that choice.
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/13/2007 1:35:37 PM
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selahgirl
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Answer the Question
(John 1:15-18)
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, "This is he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' ") 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only [Son], who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John began to tell people all about this guy -- this God made into a living, breathing man walking around with us on the earth. He starts "crying out" -- that means he started publically declaring and explaining with passion and boldness for people to pay attention to this guy.
John had become a pretty popular teacher according to later writings, and he was letting people know that God had revealed to him that someone incredible was going to appear on the scene. Someone sent directly from God himself -- someone that God said would come.
Crowds of people, mulititudes, came out to hear John explain the things that God had spoken in his word and thru the prophets of old. Here was a nobody teaching about such things, and thousands of people rushed to hear him -- rather than to hear the church leaders of the day who were teaching the very same Scriptures. What was it about this less than average guy that caused people to crave to hear his teaching?
And yet, John delcares in this passage that there is someone who was going to appear on the scene very soon that would far surpass anything that John had spoken or taught them. He told them to get ready for it. To be watching and to prepare themselves to respond, because something amazing was about to happen, something holy, something consecrated and orchestrated by the very hand of God.
John continues by speaking of the grace contained in the giving of the law to Moses as a guide to people. He also speaks of the grace and truth and fullness of it all that was coming to them in person, God made flesh, God become man... and then for the first time, John names him by name... Jesus Christ.
He goes on to make it plain that Jesus Christ is God, so there would be no question about what he was saying. John explains that no one has ever seen God, except the Son who existed in the immediate presence of the Father from before the beginning. He emphasizes the closeness and unity of the relationship between Father and Son, to again make it plain that Jesus is God as is his Father.
Verse 18 closes by hinting at why Christ had journeyed to the earth, this place of darkness and decay and everything cursed.
No one had ever seen him, he was way up there in spiritual places, heavenly places, so far above us and removed from our awareness... and suddenly, here he is standing right in front of us as though he were one of us. Having borrowed a pair of our shoes, he tied the laces tightly, and set about to walk this mile with us. Not just the one, but how ever many it would take.
He wanted us to know him, that's why he came. To understand all that is in his heart. To realize that though he seemed so far away, he was here all along waiting for the moment that he could approach us face to face. Waiting for us to notice him, to hear what he wanted so desperately to say to us. To recieve all that he wanted to give us. To allow him to kill and cut loose that thing that held us in a death-grip and choked our joy.
This was that moment. He had waited a long time for it, he had prepared many things to bring it to pass. He had worked and managed and hovered over every detail to free us from everything so he could talk to us for one brief intimate moment.
There was something he wanted to ask us. There was a question that only we could answer. Something he needed to hear from our lips with his own ears. He wanted to spend forever with us, and he needed to know if we felt the same about him.
He had come to propose.
He had come to invite us into the most intimate and eternal of relationships.
He didn't come all this way just to stomp the devil, to prove a point, to flaunt his power and his kingly self and his kingdom....
He came for us.
He came for His Bride.
He came because he was compelled to not live another day without her.
He came because of his unwaivering love for you.
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/16/2007 7:39:14 PM
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selahgirl
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John who?.....
(John 1:19)
19Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
So here is John. We asked earlier, John who? If we are to consider this testimony, then we need to have some kind of understanding of who is speaking. What is his integrity? What is his story? Why should we consider what he has to say? How did he end up as a key player at this pivotal moment of history?
Obviously, he was someone unique, someone that was able to appear in the rural areas and to cause the hearts of men to examine themselves before God. Not only to examine themselves inwardly but to actually get up and do something outwardly to show that something had seriously changed in them.
He was so charismatic, so convincing and thought-provoking in the things that he said and taught that word of him spread and crowds gathered. Naturally, the church leaders of the day are going to investigate this man, especially when their congregations are buzzing about him and his teachings.
Many in John’s day were curious about him, much like we are today. Who was this man? Some in his day had - no doubt - already heard about him before he was even born. His birth was foretold, and strange and miraculous events happened as his mother carried him during her pregnancy. Many wondered what kind of child this would be. What kind of man -- even tho his mother went into seclusion and the pregnancy was kept as quiet as possible.
And now here he was speaking with such passion, with such conviction, with such an anointing that cut thru the religion of the day straight to the hearts of men and women.
John was the cousin of Jesus.
To fully understand the connection and the miraculous events of his birth, we must divert to Luke, chapter 1. Luke was a physician who lived around or just after the time of Christ. He set about interviewing the people that had witnessed the events, and being the man of science and faith that he was, he wanted to record a factual record of all that happened. God inspired him, and the Holy Spirit led him to pen the most detailed of all the Gospels in Scripture. Here is what he said about the birth of John, cousin of Jesus.
(Luke 1:1-45, 56-66, 80)
1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
(The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold)
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. 16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."
21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her....
(Mary Visits Elizabeth)
56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.....
(Zechariah's Song)
80And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.
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< Message edited by selahgirl -- 9/16/2007 7:53:00 PM >
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/19/2007 2:41:46 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
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the best man
(John 1:20-23)
20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ."
I love that John was quick to point out that he was just as plain and average as any other man. That he was not the Christ, he was not the one who would represent God or the Messiah. Today in the church world, it seems that power and influence and fame have eaten up the integrity of many leaders and prophetic people and ministries. Any credit or glory added to a man's name is quickly grabbed like we were greedy dogs or something. God have mercy on us. May he open our eyes and teach us to discern between false humility for a show -- and true humbleness that zealously seeks the will of God above our own.
21They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
It had been predicted that Elijah and/or Enoch or some other great prophet was to appear on the scene. The reasoning was that Scripture teaches, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Heb 9:27). It was believed that since Elijah and Enoch were taken to heaven in a chariot of fire and a whirlwind (escaping physical death) that they would return at some point. Because of the anointing that John seemed to carry as he taught the Scriptures, and the miraculous events surrounding his birth, some wondered if he was Elijah come back to earth.
Jesus alludes to this later in the Book of John. For now, the point is that John denied being any such great prophet or messiah. He kept himself as simple and as human as possible.
22Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.' "
John knew his destiny and purpose. No doubt he spent much time in prayer and conversing with God as he sought direction for what he was to teach and preach. He didn't just appear in the wilderness and start affecting the hearts of men because he was zealous and simply decided to do it. No. Rather, he was born, and called, and trained, and destined to prepare the hearts of the people to be watching for the coming Messiah promised from the beginning... promised way back in Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."
John was the messenger that God said would be sent (Isaiah 40:2-3)
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.
In the Jewish wedding ceremony, their was a huge celebration announcing the engagement/betrothal. The couple was considered as committed to one another as tho they were already married. The bridegroom would return to his father's house and prepare a home for them (either building a room onto the father's home or adding an apartment).
The bride would remain with her family constantly watching and waiting for the bridegroom to return to whisk her away for the wedding ceremony. She had to keep all her things packed and in a state of readiness, she had to keep herself groomed and in the right frame of mind.
Suddenly without warning, the bridegroom would send his best man and groomsmen ahead of him. They would sound the alarm and yell "the bridegroom is coming! the bridegroom is coming!" The Bride would have to drop everything, grab her things, and her procession would stand ready to meet the bridegroom who arrived just behind the groomsmen.
John the Baptist is like the best man. The guy who shouts the alarm that the BRIDEGROOM COMETH ^_^
He is quick to point out that he is not the bridegroom. He is merely the friend of the bridegroom who has been sent as the messenger. In so many ways, on a personal level we are to be like Christ. But here is a picture of where we should be like John the Baptist, in that we must never lose sight that we are mere messengers and friends. Jesus is the Bridegroom. He is the focus, the one worthy of praise, the one the world and the church waits for to deliver them and to enter into covenant with them for LIFE.
Allow me to get a little ahead of myself, as John himself expounds on this analogy later in the book of John.
28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:28-30)
No wonder Christ states that he loved this John so much <3
If only we could serve and love with such pureness of heart and complete devotion to Christ.
Help us Lord.
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/24/2007 2:01:51 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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Out of the Foxhole
(John 1:24-29)
24Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
The church leaders were concerned about John because the people were moved by his teachings. He was teaching the Scripture, but there was something new in how he presented it. It was real and fresh and alive, no longer laws written in stone merely to impress and oppress. The Holy Spirit was stirring something in the hearts of men, he was drawing them to the heart of the law -- the heart of God -- and preparing them for Christ to set all things in order. The ground was being broken so the seed could take root in their hearts. It was the groundwork for a transformation from a dead faith to a LIVING faith.
John openly told them that there was someone among them, someone now on the earth, that was about to affect the world far more than he had. He was telling them that this person was about to be revealed, and that John's ministry was so much less important than His would be.
John was letting them know that not only was he unable to fill the shoes of the One that was coming, but he wasn't even worthy enough to touch His feet or to untie His shoes. John was trying to help them understand that the One who was coming was Messiah, the holy One, so much greater than himself that to even compare John to Him was crazy.
John understood that he wasn't worthy to bow at the feet of the One who was coming -- or to even serve him. He was humbled at being the one to announce His arrival, and he wanted to be sure that all glory remained His.
28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The next day after declaring that this person was among them, the man is revealed to John. In that moment, he shouts the declaration that defined his calling, the one thing he was sent to teach and preach and announce... the sacrifice had arrived, the time of cleansing and pardon and restoration had come. The fulfillment of the promise made in Gen 3 mentioned earlier had come to restore all. God had sent Him, and He was finally here among us. Immanuel.
It makes you wonder if the people who heard John make this declaration were a little confused by it. What did he mean that this man was the LAMB OF GOD, how could a man 'take away their sin?' The mindset was that a lamb from their herds was to be taken to the priests and offered up on the altar of God. And suddenly, this man walks up, the One that John had raved about for so long, and He is referred to as the Lamb of God. What might have flashed thru their minds in that moment...
It must have felt like quite a time of transition. It must have had an air of shakiness as the focus shifted from John to Jesus. For so long now, the people had flocked to the desert to hear John, to be baptized, to be a part of the movement.... and now suddenly the whole dynamic was changing and shifting. Perhaps that is a word for us today as well. Many of us find ourselves in a place of transition as the Church is entering into a new Phase. I wonder what great thing the Lord will lead us into next. Transition is a scary thing, but a necessary thing. No one can live in a foxhole forever -- who would want to?
Whatever He has planned... I know that it will only bring us one step closer to home <3
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/26/2007 7:39:23 AM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
Joined: 5/20/2005
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The Second Shout
(John 1:30-36)
30This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'
When you think about it, John was born six months before Jesus... and John began to preach and teach before Jesus... yet here he is saying that Jesus was before him. Again, that clues us in on the fact that Jesus was God from BEFORE the beginning, before the creation. Just as we discussed earlier. He always was and will always be. Jesus did not suddenly exist when he was born as a baby in a manger.
31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
I'm not sure if John grew up knowing Jesus. I have many cousins that I have never met. So it could be that they had never actually met, though that is doubtful. I think this is referring more to the fact that John knew he was sent to announce that Messiah had arrived, but he wasn't told who it would be. He was following direction from God with the promise that Messiah would be revealed to all and that John would be the one to announce it -- if only he would speak and do all that God instructed. John's walk was no different than ours, his walk was one of Faith. God speaks to us all, with specific direction, and we each make our own choices as to what we will believe and to what extent we will obey. And God rewards us according to our faithfulness.
32Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
John saw something in the spiritual realm. He saw something that was probably like an airy dove fly down from the heavens and rest upon Jesus. Such visions often occur like a dream, or something you see in your mind's eye (though sometimes they are seen with the physical eye as well). Sounds freaky to those that have never experienced such a thing, but it's really not so strange a thing in Scripture or in current times.
A dove is a gentle creature that lands gently and flutters about softly. It is symbolic of peace and gentleness, much like that nurturing spirit of a mother that warmly guides her children. Or like the gentle leading of a good shepherd. That is one of the personality traits of the Holy Spirit. He comes alongside of us and converses and communes with us like the most intimate friend or companion. Giving us advice and wisdom, reminding us of all that God has spoken, revealing what is true and right because He is the Spirit of Truth.
33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
So here was John obeying and preaching in the desert, seemingly a little out of his mind, a rural country boy claiming that he had a fresh and urgent word from God. He is watching with anticipation waiting to see what God said he would see... the revelation of who Messiah would be.
John knew what it was to be baptized. He was dunking all kinds of people in the river. He knew what it was to encounter the Holy Spirit. He was conversing with Him personally and hearing directly from Him. Now, he is told that there is a baptism into the Holy Spirit.... a dunking, an immersion, a complete saturation of the Spirit of God upon a person. No wonder John was so zealous to obey -- such a baptism would be miraculous thing. John wanted to see such a miracle, so he obeyed all to the letter. He had gotten a taste of interacting with the Spirit of God and he wanted more.
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
John had already declared this to the crowds, and no doubt had been preaching it and declaring it since the day before when it was revealed. Word had spread, people had already heard. As John said it this time, it was for a different purpose. The first time was to reveal Messiah, the second time was to direct the people and his disciples to begin to follow Jesus instead of himself. This becomes more evident in the verses that follow.
Many times I think people hear the first shout that reveals that Jesus is our Savior who has come to earth because of his great love for us. And they stop short. They never take the time to really hear that shout the second time, they never really consider that it's not enough to hear that Jesus came to earth to save us -- but each of us must make a decision to believe it -- to own it as Truth.
We often think that hearing something means we automatically believe it. But they are actually two separate acts. We can hear the Truth all day long, but whether we choose to believe it is another matter. We hear the shout as the Holy Spirit draws us to what is True. Then we must make the decision to follow Him. That is the moment that we truly become his disciple, his student, a follower, a believer, a Christian.
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 9/28/2007 11:53:25 AM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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If Only I Could See Him
(John 1:37-39)
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Which two disciples?... verse 40 tells us that one of them was Andrew (the brother of Simon Peter). I'm not sure that the second disciple is ever identified. Perhaps, he was a follower, but not as committed. Or perhaps, he was just not among the twelve that were to be specifically called and mentioned. Either way, the focus remains upon the calling and listing of the twelve.
The other Gospels refer to John being imprisoned and beheaded before the twelve are actually called to follow Christ. Some people like to call that a contradiction within the Word, but we must remember that not all details are included in Scripture. As with any eyewitness account, only so many details can be given at any one moment by any one person. So John shares only what the Holy Spirit moved his heart to write as necessary parts of his testimony.
Perhaps some time (hours, days) passed from the time John made that second shout. Perhaps the two disciples began at that moment to shift their heart/focus to following Christ and only later made the physical transition after John was imprisoned. We will never know the exact details of how it happened until we are able to ask Christ face to face some day... But the fact of the matter is that it simply doesn't matter right now. All we need to know is that Christ began to gather the twelve men that were called for specific purpose during His ministry on this earth, and they chose to follow Him.
I find it interesting to ponder such gaps, but ridiculous to invest great amounts of time and energy debating theories that move no one closer to the Commission. It's worth a little investigation, but not worth a heated debate, imo.
38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
I love so many things about these verses. I love that these two disciples began following behind Jesus as he walked along. They were drawn to him, but kept a bit of a distance, unsure if he would allow them to approach and follow him as disciples/students. The Holy Spirit had rested on Jesus at his baptism and immediately began it's ministry of drawing all men to the Christ. How cool is that?!
Jesus turns around and asks them what they want. He already knew I'm sure. He knew they were students of John, searching for the will and plan of God. He knew that they were wanting to learn from the one that John referred them to before he was imprisoned.
Every question Jesus asks or comment he makes carries a deeper meaning than just what appears on the surface. His thoughts are not like ours. He remains omniscient at all times, understanding that we are so limited in grasping all that He wants to say to us. So he asks a simple question that fits the moment and waits for us to understand the depth of what He is saying layer by layer.
"What do you want?" he asks the only two people in the crowd that followed Him that day.
"What do you want?" he continues to ask each of us today.
...They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
I don't know what time of day the tenth hour was. I'm sure it holds some significance because God included it in the Scriptures. But at the moment, I find it something to google later. For now, my heart is so fixed and moved by the first part of this passage --
When the disciples asked where Jesus was staying, it was kind of like a child asking someone he admires... "can I go with you?" Jesus didn't answer the question by telling them what town he was from or whose house he was sleeping at. He understood what was in their heart, he took the time to pay attention to them and to discern/realize what they were actually asking. It didn't really matter where he was from or where he was going, they just wanted to know if they could hang out with him.
And so he responds by telling them to come with him and see. Perhaps, he meant so much more than just the fact that they would see where he was staying. Perhaps he meant something that they would only come to realize much later -- that they would see and understand the heart/plan of God. Perhaps it was a promise that the questions they hadn't even spoken yet, would be answered... that they would receive the insight they were craving and seeking of God... Perhaps they themselves didn't even get the depth of his response.
"Come and you will see," may have been all they heard in that moment, because they were clearly excited and relieved at not being rejected and sent away. It must have seemed like the answer they were hoping for, the acceptance they were seeking, the permission to be one of his students/disciples.
I just wonder if Christ saw the child-like innocence in their hearts, the openness and pureness of hungering to know the Truth, to truly search for and encounter God -- and it pleased Him. I wonder if He and the Spirit of God and the Father in heaven smiled to themselves as they thought ahead to the words Christ would speak in Matt 5...
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled...
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
.
< Message edited by selahgirl -- 9/28/2007 11:59:45 AM >
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 10/2/2007 9:30:55 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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Your Weird Little Ways
(John 1: 40-42)
40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).
So here we have two brothers, Andrew and Simon Peter. Later we will learn more about their personalities, and that Peter is the more passionate and expressive of the two. I love the portrayal of him in the movie JESUS OF NAZARETH. It seems to be exactly as I pictured him as I read the Scriptures.
He is a man of extremes: extremely angry or extremely loving or extremely sorry. I know several people that remind me of his personality, even one of my children. I remember seeing the passionate expression emerging when they were only a baby, and asking God then to harness that passion like He did for Peter and to focus it for His Glory.
Christ changed Simon's name to Cephas, meaning Petra, meaning Peter... the Rock. Christ knew the passion of this man, and that even now his character reflected that he would be solid in his faith and a pillar in the church. It would be Peter that would first make the statement of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One of Israel.
I love that Andrew was the go-between. Perhaps, because of his passionate character, Peter was caught up in the discouragement of the time as Israel remained in bondage to Roman occupation. Perhaps, Peter was fed up with religion and the church of the day and had lost his Hope. How many of us can relate to such a sense of depression and discouragement in our own lives -- today -- as things seem to press in from all sides -- even within the framework of the church? As Christ began to call the disciples, they were not so different than you and me.
Andrew seems to have been a man more consistent and not one to waiver between extremes. It would seem apparent that the wisdom of God orchestrated the conversion of Andrew first, because Peter's faith had become one committed to family, friends, and community more than to God. Perhaps, Peter was more open to hearing and responding to his brother Andrew rather than to another holy man teaching the very same things that the Sadducees and Pharisees had burnt him out on hearing.
Perhaps, we would do well to ask ourselves about our own committments. Are we in church because our family expects us to be? Are we dependant solely on a social hour and a network of people to hang out with or to make business connections with? Are we serving and helping and ministering in the name of Christ merely to protect and establish our own reputation within our communities and towns?
I truly believe that the Lord is pulling back the masks that each of us have worn for so long, and asking us to be real with ourselves and with the people in our life. The time has come to stop coasting along and walking the walk on auto-pilot. It is time for Christians to truly examine themselves and the reason they do every little thing they do. The alarm is buzzing and it's time to wake up and clean up. A very important day is dawning in the Church and there is much to do.
It would be Andrew's influence in Peter's life that would be the voice that Peter would be willing to hear. There are people in your life that will only hear the Gospel from you. They like your personality, they like your weird little ways, they can relate to the things you say that seem unacceptable to some but that are part of who you are.
You speak their language.
You may be a Peter. You may be a man of extremes that is needed to be the rock.
Or you may be an Andrew, a man of calm consistency, that is needed to be the go-between, the communicator.
But either way, you are needed. Only YOU can go and compel those certain and specific souls to come to Christ with zeal -- with a willingness to hear Him without hesitation. All things are being made ready and the final days are upon us. Christ is calling. He is sending people into your life and across your path that are waiting for you to speak into their lives.
Everything is pulling you toward what you already know in your heart.
Emmanuel... You hear Him. You feel Him.
You know what He is asking you to do,
and you know that the very lives of people are in the balance.
YOU are important.
You and your weird little ways <3
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 10/10/2007 7:07:40 PM
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HansC
Posts: 421
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Hi, selahgirl... I just thought i would let you know that I have been reading along and your writing, explanations, and style are excellent and a real pleasure to read. Thank you for the wonderful insights on John.
HansC
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 10/11/2007 6:36:55 PM
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selahgirl
Posts: 1232
Joined: 5/20/2005
From: God is with you, never forget that <3
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Thanks Hans. I'm a little behind, but I think about where I'm at in my reading/posting all the time. It seems like the Lord brings it to mind every time I turn around. Even in Sunday School this past week, we watched a video in which the speaker referred to the end of John, chapter one, as Nathanael encounters Christ -- the exact spot where I'm at. How funny ^_^
On top of that, the insight that he shared, echoed some things that the Lord spoke to my heart during my prayer time last week. It involved much about the times when we don't even realize that Christ sees us. Those seemingly unimportant times, those private times, those times when it seems that no one sees or cares or knows us. Private times, personal times, lonely times.
Nathanael knew those times as he sat under the tree as a man.
David knew those times as he sat in the field as a boy.
The Lord put some things in my heart this week to remind me that those times have purpose. Nothing... not a joy and not a hurt... is wasted with God. I'll explain more in my next post.
Blessings to you for an amazing weekend.
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RE: Thinking Out Loud about John - 10/11/2007 7:35:40 PM
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HansC
Posts: 421
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Hi, selahgirl:
quote:
It involved much about the times when we don't even realize that Christ sees us. Those seemingly unimportant times, those private times, those times when it seems that no on | | |
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