Apicontent

“Jesus replied, ‘The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life.’” —John 12:23–25

Jesus presents to us a precious truth: In the spiritual realm, glorification follows death; the crown follows the cross. In Christ, death is the means of entry into glory. Jesus fleshed this truth out and as His followers, we are directed to do the same.

What is actually meant by these confusing statements? Seriously, are we to die to be glorified? Are we to be looking for a tree for our crucifixion? Figuratively, the answer is yes. Remember, Christ went to the cross before going to the throne.

Paul clearly spells out the order and humility of Christ’s life and beckons us to the same high calling:

“You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” —Philippians 2:5–11

In the incarnation, Christ willingly surrendered His right to manifest himself visibly as the God of all splendor and glory. This set an example of humility before honor. However, we tend to fight humility with everything that we have! There is something about humility and meekness that we perceive as weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Christ-like humility and meekness exemplify great strength and power under control—a willing relinquishing of rights for a higher purpose.

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples:

“If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?” —Luke 9:23–25

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and because of the gospel will save it.” —Mark 8:35

When we selflessly and lovingly obey our Lord Jesus, the overflow of the Holy Spirit will flow through our lives into the lives of others around us—oftentimes without our awareness—because behind our obedience is the reality of Almighty God. This is the whole point in denying self—our actions point to the power of Jesus. The daily crosses we are called to bear should be considered for the harvest they will bring. Our Lord considered the joy His actions would produce—bringing many to glory:

“But we see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God’s grace he would experience death on behalf of everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” —Hebrews 2:9–11

This whole order of things was just as shocking to His disciples as it is to His followers today. They were expecting an earthly kingdom established and governed by Jesus. Excited by His triumphal entry into Jerusalem their desire for an earthly kingdom was fanned into a full blaze. Jesus was well aware that they were expecting a glorious kingdom to be immediately established where they would have high places of authority and power.

Become More

We often have trouble realizing that it is not all about us—our ease, our comfort, our wants, our pleasures. The focus of the believer in Jesus Christ is to be on Him—willingly emptying ourselves of selfish ambitions and empty conceits, crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires—in order that the fullness of the Holy Spirit may be made manifest in us.

“Before we can pray ‘Thy kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go.’” —Alan Redpath

Further Reflections

“Remember whose you are and Whom you serve.” —Oswald Chambers

“Calvary is God’s great proof that suffering in the will of God always leads to glory.” —Warren Wiersbe

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” —John 11:25–26

God has firmly established a plan of salvation for all mankind which both begins and ends with Jesus. Jesus’ first two words in our verses for today—“I am”—are indicative of his deity, meaning: “I myself am He who is.” Our all-powerful Savior is mighty to save. Here He lovingly corrects Martha’s weak faith by setting before her this high and exalted description of himself.

He needs no help. He possesses all capabilities. He is the all-sufficient One. He was and is not merely a human teacher, He was and is the divine author and perfecter of our faith. He was and is is the answer to man’s terrible dilemma of sin and death.

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” —1 Corinthians 15:20–22

I wonder, like Martha, do we place Jesus just a little above our own levels? Do we think of Him as merely a man without the all-achieving power to aid and comfort and encourage and heal and save us?

For believers in Jesus, the Lord has broken the bondage of sin, enabling us to no longer be held captive to its control! He lovingly cares for us, satisfying us in a sun-drenched land. Yet, like the Israelites, when we become satisfied, we often become proud, forgetting the one who delivered us. We fall into the pattern of seeking to be our own savior—taking things in our own hands—living life apart from His power when it is so readily ours for the asking.

Hosea put it this way:

“But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior. I cared for you in the wilderness, in the dry desert where no water was. When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me!” —Hosea 13:4–6

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’”

No prophet or apostle spoke such as this. Only the One who knew He was God could proclaim these words and subsequently provide proof for His claim. In a wondrous, loving act of God toward all humankind—when humankind had a right to expect nothing but was given everything—Jesus bled and died for our sins and was raised again.

Become More

“On Calvary, the One from whom you and I have a right to expect nothing because of our disobedience and sin, nevertheless, has given us everything! This is the deep, indefinable grace of the God who loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us, so that if we confess our sins, turn from them and put our faith in Christ we can live with Him forever. This is the mystery of a love that cannot be contained, that we cannot even hope to speak. We are to love our enemies because God loved His enemies—us.” —Michael Card

Further Reflections

“’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God— the one who is, and who was, and who is still to come—the All-Powerful!” —Revelation 1:8

“When I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, and the one who lives! I was dead, but look, now I am alive—forever and ever!’” —Revelation 1:17–18

“The Jewish leaders replied, “We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God.” —John 10:33

In our verse for today, we see Jesus’ enemies attempting to justify their actions because of their zeal for the law. In an effort to gloss over their murderous ways, they set forth a false claim of blasphemy.

Their allegation was that Jesus claimed to be God. The problem was that what Christ had stated of Himself was true! He had said He was One with the Father. He had said He would give eternal life. We find Jesus giving a clear statement of His deity in Matthew:

“But Jesus was silent. The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, ‘He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now you have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?’ They answered, ‘He is guilty and deserves death.’ —Matthew 26:63–66

The fact that eluded these Jews was that Jesus was no ordinary man. While He was fully man, He was also fully God. Paul gives us an unrivaled description of our Messiah in Colossians:

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” —Colossians 1:15–20

“For in him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form.” —Colossians 2:9

Paul also writes in Philippians:

“You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross! As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” —Philippians 2:5–11

The writer of Hebrews says:

“The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” —Hebrews 1:3

The Jewish leaders could not prove any evil against Jesus’ miraculous works and therefore clung to the shreds of the pretense of honoring the law. They did themselves great harm.

Become More

The Jewish leaders did not want to believe because they did not want to change. When confronted with the truth we must always do something with it—embrace and apply it or refute and deny it. What are you doing with the knowledge you have of the truth of who Jesus is?

Further Reflections

“As nothing is more courageous than a well-informed conscience, so nothing is more outrageous than a mistaken one.” —Matthew Henry

“The only Christ for whom there is a shred of evidence is a miraculous figure making stupendous claims.” —C. S. Lewis

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” —John 10:11

Jesus is the good Shepherd—the chief of all shepherds. None so faithful, so gentle, so loving, so skillful, so tender, so kind as He. I am reminded of the words in Isaiah picturing God as the compassionate shepherd gently caring for His flock:

“Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along.” —Isaiah 40:11

Certainly, King David’s twenty-third Psalm comes to mind as he writes of the abundant provisions of the Lord—his great shepherd:

“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” —Psalm 23:1

“You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.” —Psalm 23:5

Jesus, our good Shepherd, is both our sufficiency and our strength—withholding no good thing from His sheep. The psalmist proclaims:

“For the LORD God is our sovereign protector. The LORD bestows favor and honor; he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, how blessed are those who trust in you!” —Psalm 84:11–12

Jesus is the good Shepherd for all believers. He leads and guides and comforts and protects all the sheep of His pasture. This title would have been particularly rich in meaning to those following our Lord in His day. His hearers would have understood completely both the comfort and instruction the term carried. Just like a good shepherd, Jesus knows all of His sheep—each one of us. He is intimately familiar with the details of each one of our lives—knowing our names, families, circumstances, and trials. He is acquainted with our history, where we live, our experiences. Nothing is a surprise—or a secret—to Him. We are ever before Him as He tenderly watches over and guides us.

A few verses later in John 10, Jesus tells us that no one can snatch us out of His hand:

“My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand.” —John 10:27–28

Jesus willingly laid down His life for His sheep. Aware that nothing but His blood could save us, He offered His body on the cross for our sins. He offers all for all. We are saved forevermore because the good shepherd died for us.

Become More

May Jesus’ death for us not be in vain. It will not profit us anything on the last day if we never heard His voice during our lifetime or followed Him. Paul tells us:

“Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God!’ God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” —2 Corinthians 5:20–21

“Now because we are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation!” —2 Corinthians 6:1–2

Further Reflections

“Like a good shepherd, Christ cares tenderly for all His believing people. He provides for all their wants in the wilderness of this world, and leads them by the right way to a city of habitation. He bears patiently with their many weaknesses and infirmities, and does not cast them off because they are wayward, erring, sick, footsore, or lame. He guards and protects them against all their enemies, as Jacob did the flock of Laban; and of those that the father has given Him He will be found at last to have lost none.” —J.C. Ryle

“He who counts the stars and calls them by their names is in no danger of forgetting His own children.” —Charles H. Spurgeon

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” —John 10:10

One thing we can be sure of … Satan is our vicious adversary whose goal is to seek and to destroy. If he cannot keep us from being saved, he will strive to keep us from being used. He is ever seeking opportunities for his attacks. However, we are not to fear, but rather be on our guard! Satan desires to destroy us … but Jesus desires to give each one of us life! Peter tells us quite plainly:

“Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.” —1 Peter 5:8–9

Just as God has a wonderful plan for our lives, the Bible tells us Satan also has a plan for us, although his plan is for our destruction and death. We can be sure that whatever God does for our good, Satan tries to counter for our harm. God comes to bless and give life to the full while Satan comes to ravage and steal.

Peter tells us to “resist” Satan which is a term of defense rather than attack. Christians are able to stand firm against Satan when they depend totally upon the power of the Holy Spirit. We are even told to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against Satan’s assaults. Paul writes in Ephesians:

“Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.” —Ephesians 6:10–13

The word translated “scheme” in verse ten is from the Greek word methodeia meaning “method, the following or pursuing of an orderly and technical procedure in the handling of a subject” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids).

In other words, Satan is not random in his attempts to deceive man, he has a plan. And while he certainly is not omniscient, he does have the ability to do a careful study of our weaknesses. He seems to target his arrows at our most vulnerable areas or tries to breach our walls of self-defense.

Thankfully, we are sealed with the precious power of the Holy Spirit. It is important for us to strengthen our weakest areas. And there are times we must run away rather than remain lingering with our temptations. We are foolish indeed to give Satan any kind of foothold.

Proverbs 25:28 tells us: “Like a city that is broken down and without a wall, so is a person who cannot control his temper.”

In ancient times the power of the city rested in the strength of its walls. In like manner, the wall surrounding us is our self-control, and when it is breached, we will collapse. We are to be on our constant guard against our weaknesses and avoid putting ourselves in tempting situations.

Become More

Jesus tells us that He has not only come in order for us to have life but that we might have it abundantly. No half measures will do—He has come to overflow our lives!

“Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” —Ephesians 3:20–21

Further Reflections

“Christ came to give life and something more, something better, life with advantage. Life in abundance is eternal life, life and much more.” —Matthew Henry

“You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full. Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.”—Psalm 23:5–6

“Be thoroughly acquainted with your temptations and the things that may corrupt you.” —Richard Baxter

“Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, ‘If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” —John 8:31–32

Jesus, the one who frees the captive. Jesus, the great liberator, sets us free from bondage—bondage to sin, bondage to self, bondage to death and destruction. Jesus breaks the strong chains of sin that blind and bind us. When we are not yoked to Jesus, we will find ourselves yoked to the things of this world. We are either bound to Him or we are bound to sin. That is why Jesus issues the following call to all to “come” and “learn.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.” —Matthew 11:28–30

Isaiah had prophesied regarding this particular aspect of our Savior’s job description. Indeed, Jesus himself read from Isaiah’s scroll at the advent of His ministry (Matthew 5:11) claiming to be the freer of the prisoner and the preacher of the very good news:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners, to announce the year when the LORD will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, to console all who mourn.” —Isaiah 61:1–2

Jesus’ half-brother James gives us an even broader dimension to our verses for today. He echoes and emphasizes Jesus’ words regarding our knowing and demonstrating and continuing on in the truth.

“But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty—and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out he will be blessed in what he does.” —James 1:22–25

It is one thing to begin to follow our Savior and quite another to persevere—holding firmly to the end. Not considering the cost beforehand, sadly, many of Jesus’ disciples fell away when His teaching got tough … and still do today. We must remember heaven is our home, not earth, and our path to heaven is not always easy.

Become More

Christ came to give us freedom, liberty, privilege—the state in which one can act and move without restriction or hindrance. Believers in Christ are free when we hold to and follow His leading and teaching.

We are foolish indeed if we seek to divide Jesus from the word of truth, the Bible, God’s revealed will. We cannot compartmentalize Jesus from the Bible—seeking to elevate either one or the other. Jesus is the Word in the flesh. He came demonstrating to us the glorious revelation of God–full of grace and truth. He held God’s Word, the Law, in highest esteem. Jesus was the incarnation of God and His Word. He is the eternal expression of the divine intelligence and the disclosure of the divine essence.

Further Reflections

“Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.” —John 1:14

“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.” —Galatians 5:1

“We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” —John 9:4–5

In these verses, our Lord Jesus is teaching us a valuable lesson on the importance and urgency of redeeming the time—for our own soul’s sake, for the souls of men, and for the glory of God. Our fleeting “day” is merely the dash placed between the year we were born and the year we shall die. Jesus tells us that our time on earth is fleeting. Each one of us is to be about the Father’s business; investing our time in His priorities.

We would do well to remember that all opportunities God allows are both golden and unrepeatable. He may give us additional chances, but once an occasion is lost, it is lost. We cannot go back in time; we do not have the luxury of a do-over.

It is not God’s intent for His disciples to remain idle. Like Jesus, we are to be about our Father’s business, approaching it with both vigor and industry. Paul gives us the following commands, emphasizing the importance of the most of each and every opportunity:

“Therefore consider carefully how you live—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is.” —Ephesians 5:15–17

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.” —Colossians 4:5–6

Jesus was always about His Father’s business—and we, His followers are to be likewise.

Jesus’ ministry would last only three short years, during which our Lord worked with diligence, a firm resolve, and a fixed purpose. With Him, there was no dilly-dallying around. He was on a mission and everything He did was motivated by his desire to accomplish God’s will. His goal was simply to please His Father. He therefore never allowed opportunities for the demonstration of mercy to pass Him by. Jesus told His disciples:

“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work. Don’t you say, ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest!” —John 4:34–35

Jesus demonstrated His deep compassion and sympathy for all people, spurring and urging His disciples—both then and now—into action:

“Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest-ready fields.’” —Matthew 9:35–38

Become More

Paul reminds us who it is we are actually serving when we set out to help others: “Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people, because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24).

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, in all the places you can, as long as you can.” —John Wesley

Further Reflections

“Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the full in every situation that you believe to be the will of God.” —Jim Elliot

“To love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is … our highest happiness … Love makes all labor light. We serve with enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.” —Hannah More

“Then Jesus spoke out again, ‘I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” —John 8:12

For the moral and spiritual darkness which covers the earth, for the darkness plaguing humankind, Jesus declares He is the only remedy—He is the true Light that breaks the darkest and strongest chains of sin and depravity. Just as one sun is the sufficient visible light for the whole world, so too there is one Savior—and there need be no more. Isaiah prophesizes regarding our Messiah:

“The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.” —Isaiah 9:2

In our verse for today, Jesus says that He came not only for a few but for the benefit of all. And yet sadly, some choose not to use or value His light, preferring to wallow in the darkness. Jesus had made this same point earlier in the book of John:

“Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.”—John 3:19–21

Our love of darkness stems from an innate love of what is all around us over a love for God. We worship and serve created things rather than the Creator. The darkness disguises our misplaced love, but nothing is hidden from God’s sight. We read in God’s Word:

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” —Romans 1:25

“And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” —Hebrews 4:13

It is not enough to simply marvel at the light of Jesus from a distance—the promise is for those who are willing to follow. Just as we are not swimming when we simply gaze at a pool, nor are not actually eating chocolate when we simply look at it, we are not experiencing God’s light when we are looking at Jesus. We are swimming when we jump in, the wonderful taste of chocolate comes to us when we place it in our mouths. Jesus requires of us our commitment and submission to His leading; following is the act of believing. As we follow Christ, His promise is that we will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. We will neither be left in ignorance nor grope around in uncertainty—our conscience and our understanding will be flooded with light that can never be totally quenched.

David proclaims his confidence in the Lord as being his light—and it is this confidence that takes away his fear:

“The LORD delivers and vindicates me! I fear no one! The LORD protects my life! I am afraid of no one!” —Psalm 27:1

Jesus’ provisions for His followers are salvation and strength, joy and understanding, life, and strength.

Become More

“With every revelation there is obligation. With every blessing there is responsibility. It is not enough for us to receive the gift of salvation or to be blessed of God. We must commit our way to the Lord and heed His Word.” —Dr. Michael Youssef

Further Reflections

“Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation; where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation. After conversion our God is our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our light: He is our light within, light around, light reflected from us, and light to be revealed to us … He, then, who by faith has laid hold upon God, has all covenant blessings in his possession.” —C.H. Spurgeon

“The word translated ‘follow’ is from the Greek word akoloutheo meaning: “attendant on a way, road, path. The individual calling to follow Jesus involved abiding fellowship … cleaving to Him in believing trust and obedience …. following His leading and acting according to His example … hence the constant stress of the Lord Jesus on self-denial and fellowship with Himself in the cross … following Jesus therefore denotes a fellowship of faith as well as a fellowship of life, sharing in His sufferings not only inwardly, but outwardly if necessary.” —Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids

“On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, “From within him will flow rivers of living water.’” (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.)” —John 7:37–39

Grabbing the attention of His hearers on the most important day of the Feast, Jesus loudly proclaims a wide and full and free invitation to all humankind—establishing with certainty the gospel as being eminently wonderful news. I am reminded of the prophet Isaiah’s words:

“Hey, all who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come! Buy and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? Why spend your hard-earned money on something that will not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is nourishing! Enjoy fine food!” —Isaiah 55:1–2

Apart from Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, each one of us remains spiritually thirsty, anxious of soul, in need of pardon before a Holy God, and longing for a lasting peace. God’s perfect law convicts us of our sin. We are in a hopeless state. No one possesses the ability to be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law, for apart from Jesus, we all remain helpless. We will always be found wanting. Paul tells us:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” —Romans 3:23

The Jews were all too familiar with their lack of ability. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament served as a constant reminder. God had warned His people through the prophet Jeremiah that they had forsaken Him, the Spring of Living Water and had dug their own pathetic broken cisterns. They had replaced the one true God with false idols which could never satisfy nor meet their needs:

“Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cistern for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.” —Jeremiah 2:13

When we come to the realization of our sinful state, it is then that we desire the help and relief that comes through forgiveness. This is the idea behind Jesus’ choice of the word “thirsty.” Who has not been thirsty? Who has not been parched and desirous of having their thirst quenched? What we perhaps know all too well in the physical realm, Jesus is communicating a spiritual truth. Unfortunately, we often seek to quench our spiritual thirst with almost everything but the Living Water! From money to pleasure to honor to prestige to self-indulgence—there is no limit to our chase for satisfaction or the careless handling of our own souls. We seem to go to great lengths not to pursue what ultimately satisfies. Jesus tells us:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” —Matthew 5:6

Become More

Isaiah prophesized:

“The Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.” —Isaiah 58:11

Peace is only to be truly experienced in Christ Jesus who serves as our mediator and substitute. To come to Christ is to believe in Him and to be filled with Him.

Further Reflections

“Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; call to him while he is nearby! The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans. They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.” —Isaiah 55:6–7

“To feel the sinfulness of sin and to thirst, and really to come to Christ and believe, are the two steps which lead to heaven. But they are mighty steps. Thousands are too proud and careless to take them. Few, alas, think; and still fewer believe!” —J. C. Ryle

“My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me. If anyone wants to do God’s will, he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. The person who speaks on his own authority desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” —John 7:16–18

Jesus divulges the mystery of His knowledge to His audience—His teaching is not His own, but rather divine. He had no need to be taught by anyone—His teaching was not learned; it was by divine revelation. Jesus was commanded by the Father what to say and how to say it. We find these words of our Lord later in John echoing the same sentiment:

“If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.” —John 12:47–50

Many people complain regarding their ability to discover truth. In our verses for today, Jesus tells us one secret key to knowledge—obedience. And as we are obedient in the simple things, we will be taught the deeper truths. Jesus is telling us that anyone who chooses to do God’s will—responding to the Word and the Spirit—will succeed in their search for the truth. In other words, those who progressively submit to divine guidelines will progressively be given divine light. As the Spirit leads us through conviction and we are obedient to change, we grow in Christlikeness–conforming to His image. This process is called sanctification. Paul tells us:

“For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” —1 Thessalonians 4:7–8

Jesus lived a perfect life; He lived the life God calls each one of us to. We are simply incapable of following His steps apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus came to portray God to all of humanity. Those who follow our Lord, through the Holy Spirit’s leading and power, are to portray God to all of humanity as well. Jesus brought God honor through His willing obedience. Likewise, we are to bring God honor through our willing obedience. 

In Malachi we are told that God rebuked the Levite priests for their failure to listen to His Word and for their failure to honor His great Name:

“Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. If you do not listen and take seriously the need to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will send judgment on you and turn your blessings into curses—indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.” —Malachi 2:1–2

The priests knew they were to honor God by the reverence of their words and their actions. Their teaching and instruction were to be true, nothing false found on their lips. By walking in peace and uprightness, they would turn many from sin.

Become More

Believers in Jesus are a royal priesthood, so termed by Peter, and called to declare His praises. Not stumbling through disobedience to the message but rather living in such a way that our lives demonstrate the peace and wisdom found in God:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” —1 Peter 2:9

Further Reflections

“My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me. He taught what was true; sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin.” —Malachi 2:5–6

“The plain things in religion are undeniably very many. Let a man honestly attend to them, and he shall be taught the deep things of God. Whatever some may say about their inability to find out truth, you will rarely find one of them who does not know better than he practices.” —J. C. Ryle