Word in Five

Jesus gives his church the Holy Spirit to empower his people to obey his commands and show to a watching world the love of God. He always equips us to do everything he asks us to do.

When we look at Jesus, we don't see 'God-lite'. There isn't a better version of God than the One we see in Jesus. He perfectly shows us the Father. So we can't say, "I like the God of the New Testament, but not the God of the Old". That is to completely misunderstand the Old and therefore the New Testament. Jesus has shown us all the way through the Bible that we have a Father who gives and gives to sinners who don't deserve his kindness. Jesus has prepared a place in the new creation for his people and he will make sure we get there and enjoy it!

When you look at the cross of Jesus, is it just gory or do you see glory? This is where we see the heart of our God - who he is. And Jesus is a wonderful friend who knows what it is to be lonely. He urges us to love one another - that's how we show Jesus off! And he challenges us about self-confidence - but even his words to Peter are words of care. Peter, I know you and I love you.

Jesus was willing to be betrayed for us. When he said "here am I send me" he did do knowing the cost. What love he has for us! How certain we can be that we will finish his work in us. And what a Good Shepherd - he wants to be know surprises. He lovingly prepares us for all that lies ahead. Jesus was willing to enter right into the darkest place to bring us into his kingdom of light. Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

This is a 'wow' event! John will not let us get away from the Passover. Jesus is the One Moses wrote about and the life of the Old Testament church was to be centred around. And now we get to Jesus being aware of his greatness - he is above every authority and he knows it. So what do we expect the next line to be? So he showed off his authority? He sat there and let everyone serve him? No! He dressed as a servant and washed his disciples' feet. The Bible turns our society's view of greatness on its head. Greatness is using your power and authority to serve others. Jesus took the lowest place on the cross to wash us clean and he says to us, use your gifts, power, authority to be a foot washer for my kingdom!

Who is Jesus? He is the LORD - Jehovah - the One Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6. When we hear about Jesus we are never unchanged - we are either drawn to him or we become harder. Isaiah warned what would happen if people hardened their hearts. That's why we need to not harden our hearts when we hear his voice. Let's not be so bothered about what other people think that it stops us following Jesus. To follow Jesus is to know God as our Father.

We would like to see Jesus! That should be our desire every time we open the Bible or sing in church or listen to a Bible message. Jesus is at the centre. May people see him in us. May we lift up his name - the name of the one who was willing to die for us. He brings us to know the Father - our loving heavenly Father!

Jesus rides in to Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. He is riding into die. The crowd celebrate this king, but have they really understood what kind of king he is? They sing from Psalm 118, but they don't get the fact that the Cornerstone is going to be rejected. That he is riding to the altar of sacrifice. How willing Jesus is to die for us. What love! Let's not doubt it. And let's be part of bringing the whole world to 'go after him'!

Mary does a beautiful things. Costly, lavish, love filled worship of Jesus because she grasps who he is and what he has come to do. Jesus is going to die as the Passover Lamb. He speaks up for his people. Judas however is very angry. He hates what Mary has done. No one suspects Judas - he's still in charge of the money. May we guard our hearts and spot the warning signs of keeping up appearances and a critical spirit. May we delight in what Jesus delights in.

Unbelief is so ugly. The people didn't deny Lazarus had been raised. They only cared about their own interests. Beware of being so self-focused that you do anything to protect your own reputation. We need to walk with integrity. Jesus raised Lazarus with a loud voice. One day he will return and raise all the dead with a loud voice. Jesus didn't need his grave clothes because he was raised to die no more. As Jesus says, things will not end in death. Do you believe this?

"If you had been here..." the grieving sisters both say to Jesus. He can handle our grief and whatever we pour out on him from our hearts. Jesus patiently and kindly meets with Martha. He shows just how compassionate our God is. He is moved by the effects of sin and how it brings grief and hopelessness. Jesus wants us to see that the resurrection is linked with him. He is the resurrection and the life. In him we will not die. Yes, we will pass through death, but never be dead. And he is going to back up what he says in the next section!

Jesus had friends - he needed them because he recognised that we were made to live in community. He chose not to be there when Lazarus will ill - it might seem strange - but he did it for a reason. So that he would be glorified and the disciples would grow in faith. Death is temporary to Jesus. He delivers his people from it. He gets us and sympathises with us in all our weakness.

Unbelief in Jesus is so ugly. In contrast, Jesus is so beautiful. He tries to appeal to these people who should know better and are so unkind to him. May we be like Jesus in patience and kindness. And what life he gives us - total security in the double-lock grip of Jesus and the Father!

Jesus brings us into such a close relationship with him that he compares it to his own relationship with the Father! How secure is that! How well he knows us and how he is committed to growing our confidence in him. No wonder he talked about giving us life to the full! The end makes us think about how we will respond to Jesus - may it be thanks, trust, worship, following, telling others.

Jesus is so focused on his sheep. He knows us intimately. And the focus of the sheep? Listening to his voice! He gives us discernment to hear his voice. Let's pray that we will listen and follow after him. How he cares for us!

What we see when we look at Jesus is the ultimate eye test. The religious leaders with all their knowledge and education failed the eye test. They knew nothing of who God is. The blind man made them look foolish - he urged them to see, but they wouldn't. Jesus came looking for this blind man who had been thrown up and brought him right in.

We need to be given new eyes to see Jesus. It's another way of showing that we need to be born again. We should pray for eyes to see Jesus every time we open his word and when we come to worship. And we should use our testimonies - I was blind, but thanks to Jesus, I now see!

We need to be careful not to have a world view of suffering like the disciples. Our God is kind - all suffering is an opportunity for God's kind works to be displayed. Once again, John takes us back to Genesis to show us who Jesus is. As he created Adam from the dust he creates this man new eyes from the dust. May we have eyes to see Jesus and trust him more and more.

Jesus is the I AM who delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. Jesus walked with Abraham. Abraham knew him and looked forward to Jesus' coming. Jesus has been, is being and will be glorified by the Father in all the world. The I AM died to give us life forever.

Jesus sets us free. The devil makes out that following Jesus is slavery, but that is a lie from the father of lies. Sadly the religious leaders had totally misunderstood the Law of Moses and had failed to know God as Father. The Son came to brings us into God's family as children. Abraham knew this and welcomed Jesus (the Angel of the LORD) when I met him. These descendants of Abraham were so unlike him!

What a statement - Jesus is the light of the world. There is so much in these words. Sadly the religious leaders completely misunderstood the Bible, didn't understand the Trinity and therefore ran away from the Light. May we see that at the darkest hour of the cross, the Light shines the brightest because we see the heart of our Heavenly Father.

This account is a beautiful part of the Bible that shows the kindness of our God - come as you are to him. May we not fall into the trap of teaching that people need to clean themselves up before following Jesus. Come as you are - but none of us get to stay as we are.

Jesus is the great Healer of the nations. Come to him and be refreshed and be a refresher of others.

Jesus challenged the people and they responded with hostility. How we respond to Jesus' word reveals our hearts. May he be at the centre of church life in a way that honours God and is real and relevant.

What a big thing it was for Jesus to go to that festival. How it would have brought home to him the hugeness of what he was going to do!

Where else can we go Lord? You have the words of eternal life. O may we believe and tell others!

Jesus is going to raise his people up at the last day, when he returns. We must depend upon him for everything. There is no life without believing in Jesus. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Jesus is the Bread of life. He is the Passover Lamb who was lifted up on the cross for us. He saves his people securely. May we ask our heavenly Father to give us this day our daily bread. He will!

Jesus walks on the water. It's another link to Moses. Jesus is the One who brought order in Genesis 1 through his Word. He has come to defeat Satan, destroy his works and bring about the great end that God had planned all along. A perfect creation with no chaos or darkness.

Jesus cares for the whole person. Our bodies matter. Jesus fulfils the Passover. Listen to him as the Prophet - the Living Word himself.

The religious leaders didn't recognise Jesus because they failed to see that Moses knew him and trusted him. They failed to see that Moses wrote about the Jesus he knew. If we fail to see Jesus, we can't possibly know God as our Father. This is so serious!

Jesus makes it clear that he is equal with the Father. Jesus shows us that our God is a loving union of three. The Father works through the Son by the Holy Spirit. This has  a lot to teach us about what it means to be made in the image of God. Let’s hear Jesus’ voicenow and live. Everyone will hear his voice when he returns and be raised,either to life or condemnation – it all depends what we do with his voice now!

Jesus doesn't need the pool to heal the man. He restores give life as the Living Word. He always equips us to do what he calls us to do. Like Jesus we shouldn't assume we know what help someone is looking for. Jesus shows the man an even deeper need - that of his sins being forgiven.

We are called to faith by Jesus - to take him at his word and rest in him answering our prayers. Jesus wants the world to see the real heart of the problem and how big his healing work is. It will be the healing of the entire universe. Through his life, death and resurrection he deals with the sin problem and will bring an end to death, disease and decay. He is the heavenly doctor!

"Come see a man" says the woman. When had she last said that! Yet hear she is 'boasting' about Jesus! What a husband he is! We can be vulnerable with him. He knows us and loves us. He offers us life and he has secured it by finishing the work of dying for us!

Jesus crosses all barriers to rescue and save as the heavenly bridegroom. He talks with this Samaritan woman - the just didn't do that - but he does! He knows her and yet isn't moving away from her. Because he has come to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus is the heavenly bridegroom. Do we want his name to become greater and ours less? Or are we wanting to make a name for ourselves? May we have the attitude of the John. Jesus gives life and he brings unity as a Spirit-drenched high priest.

Jesus gives new life - we need new hearts. We need more than a makeover! It has never been any different and Nicodemus should have understood that from the Bible. When God gives new life, it always shows. We look to Jesus who was lifted up to die for us and become more like him.

Jesus cares so much about his Father's name being dishonoured. May we make sure that whatever we do in the name of Jesus always shows off our Father in the right way. Jesus gives the ultimate sign of his resurrection, but sadly when he does rise most of the Jews don't believe. In fact, the leaders try to cover it up!

Jesus turns the water into wine at the wedding because he doesn't want the host to be embarrassed. He cares. Jesus turns the water into wine to teach us it is his world - he created it. Jesus turns the water into wine to show us that he is the Bridegroom who will shed his blood to wash clean his bride, his church.

Philip follows Jesus and then invites Nathanael to come and see. May we be able to invite people to come and see Jesus. Nathanael understands who Jesus is as he hears words from Moses. Jesus is the LORD who goes up the hill of the LORD to bring back together heaven and earth. He will live with his people forever.

John the Baptist learns from Moses too in understanding what Jesus has come to do. He is the Lamb that the LORD has provided as a sacrifice for our sin. He urges us to get hold of who Jesus is and believe. As soon as Andrew hears, he tells his brother Peter. May we have the same enthusiasm to tell people about Jesus!

The Word became flesh - the 'in-meating' of God! The life to come is physical. The physical world is good. Being spiritual means doing physical things. We don't see God through anyone else other than Jesus who is the Word made flesh.

John wants us to know and believe who Jesus is. He is the Word - the One through whom God speaks and acts. The only way we can know God is through the Word. He is the Word who Moses wrote about in the beginning. He is the Word who said "let there be light". He speaks light and life now and we see it most clearly when we gaze upon Jesus crucified and risen.

Keep away from people who are looking to cause divisions and teach things that are wrong. That means we need to know the truth and stand firm on it. What we believe matters. We can look forward to the final defeat of Satan which God will bring about through his church living out the good news, making him known to the nations. And when we are raised, the last enemy, death, will be defeated! No wonder Paul was eager to preach the good news about Jesus.

What is it to be a Christian? It is to be 'in Christ'. May we get hold of that every day - that is who we are! And may we have a warmth and love to others. May we both those who work hard, risking even our lives, being mothers and brothers to others in church life.

May God excite us to see what a wonderful thing is to be part of his worldwide church building project! Jesus showed how the whole Bible taught he would be spoken to all the nations - having died and been raised from the dead. Let's join the struggle in prayer and be excited about mission. And remember, God answers prayer - but not always how we might think!

Paul shows us his heart for people. His big view of what God does as people hear the good news and are completely transformed. It's amazing that Paul who was a Pharisee has been changed to see his work with the non-Jewss (Gentiles) as a priestly duty! How Paul encourages us to have a vision for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

We are to bear with one another. We are to build one another up. That is how Jesus lived. He has accepted us - what a huge thing! How can we not accept someone that Jesus has accepted? We can't! Jesus unites us, so let us show it - and in doing so, we will show the hope that we have.

A key thing in deciding how to use our 'freedom' is how will me doing this impact other people? Will it be something that could cause younger Christians to sin? We are called to love one another. Remember Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing for us!