OnWhat Do You Base Your Faith?

 Daily Lectionary Reading

Psalm 69

Jeremiah 5:1-9

Romans 2:25-3:18

John 5:30-47

 

John 5:30-47 New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

 

 

30By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

 

Testimonies About Jesus

 

 31″If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. 32There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.

 33″You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

 36″I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39You diligently study[a] the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

 41″I do not accept praise from men, 42but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God[b]?

 45″But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

 

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    The discourse continues as Jesus talks about those things that testify about him. He begins with John the Baptist and the witness he made about the one that was coming. He then points out the very work that he is doing as a form of testimony. In other words, this is not the path I would have chosen on my own. I know where it leads and it is of God’s doing–not my own. He then testifies about the Scriptures. He asserts that even though God’s word is in them, that in itself cannot give them eternal life. After all, the Scripture attest to Jesus’ role in God’s plan. Thus, followers of the Scripture need to turn toward the one that the Scriptures talk about! Finally, he asserts the witness of Moses. Moses was the giver of the law and the people had their hearts set on following the law. Yet, if they truly understood Moses then they would understand that Moses was writing about Jesus.

 

    I think that there are a lot of people in our day and time that just don’t see the testimony that exists surrounding Jesus. We turn our back on the plain words of the Scripture. We ignore the rich tradition of the faith. We ignore the reasonableness of the Christian faith and we say that what we experience is more important that Scripture, tradition or reason. Ours is a me first generation that seeks ultimate fulfillment in so many different ways. Some are hedonists. Some are capitalists. Some are socialists. Some are secularists. Some are humanists. What we need more of are believers that have put their trust and faith not in themselves or some system–but in Jesus Christ the one that died on the cross for their sins.

 

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PRAYER — Lord, whatever testimony I have heard about Jesus, let it resonate with my soul so that I can come to believe.

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A Graceful Exit

Daily Lectionary Reading
Psalm 40
Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Hebrews 4:11-16
John 3:22-36

John 3:22-36 New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

John the Baptist’s Testimony About Jesus
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew[a] over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

27To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ[b] 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.

31″The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[c] gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”[d]

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John the Baptist comes back into the picture long enough to be pushed out of the picture. Jesus and his followers are now baptising and some folks come to John basically saying, “It look’s like that guy you baptized. The special one. Is stealing some of your thunder.”

John responds in a Godly manner. He does not become indignant. He does not put down Jesus’ ministry. Rather he reflects on how God’s plan is unveiling itself. He sees himself as a helper in God’s plan and not as the central figure. He refers to the joy he had in helping get things ready for Jesus’ coming and now he states, “He must become greater; I must become less.”

I wish that some of us could have that same humble attitude toward serving God. We’ve all know of persons that have for years served in a particular role in the church. Everyone around can see that the time has come for the person to step down. Yet he or she doesn’t. They want to remain in center stage rather than let the person with the true gifts and graces take over. Perhaps, we can all learn from John the Baptist.

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Prayer: Lord, help me to understand my role in your plan and help me to step aside and let others lead when my role is completed.

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The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!

Daily Lectionary:
Psalm 37:1-18
Deuteronomy 7:6-11
Titus 1:1-16
John 1:29-34

John 1:29-34 New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Jesus the Lamb of God
29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 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.”

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It is fitting, that the Gospel reading for the first day following Ash Wednesday would go back to the river Jordan and Jesus’ baptism. John the Baptizer knew the reason that Jesus had come to earth. He boldly proclaimed:

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Lent can be thought of as an unveiling of God’s ultimate plan for the world. God did not just take on human flesh when Jesus was born to see what it felt like to be human. God took on human flesh because he had a plan for Jesus. As we journey through Lent together, that plan will hopefully become more and more clear to us.

For John, though, the plan was already evident. Jesus came to take away our sins!

Prayer: Lord, unveil your plan to us as we journey towards the cross this season of Lent.

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