Spiritual Disciplines

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

I will never forget one of the strangest conversations of my entire ministry career. Many years ago, a group of young pastors was invited to spend an hour with one of the leading Christian theologians of his generation.

Most of us young pastors did not know each other and met for the first time as we grabbed lunch and took a seat around a large conference table. The elderly theologian was a giant in the faith to each of us, and as he prayed over our meal the room suddenly felt like sacred ground.

The theologian welcomed us, said a few encouraging things, and was promptly interrupted by one of the young guys who hijacked the conversation. He was determined to air his opinions about a wide assortment of secondary issues and impress us with his insights. This went on for what felt like an eternity when another one of the young pastors tried to redirect the conversation so that we could learn from the theologian. Sadly, his effort was in vain. This foolish young man wasted the entire hour, wasting our time together and opportunity to learn.

This same sort of thing happened when religious leaders kept showing up to argue with Jesus rather than learn from Jesus. Jesus clearly and kindly tried to teach them that the Bible cannot be properly understood unless He is viewed as its center.

In fact, Jesus simply came down from heaven and showed up numerous times in the Old Testament in what are called “Christophanies”. Here are some examples:

Jesus walked with Abraham (Genesis 18)
Jesus wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32:30)
Jesus appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:2-6, John 8:58)
Jesus joined Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:24-25)
Jesus called Isaiah into ministry (Isaiah 6:1-5, John 12:41)
It is commonly believed that Jesus never appeared on the earth until He was born of the virgin Mary, but that is not the case. The Old Testament is just as much about Jesus as the New Testament.

How is your Bible reading going? How can it be improved?

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (John 5:39-40)

Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. You would think that everyone who saw him walking around carrying his mat would be happy, but that was not the case. Jesus did not break any of the commands of Scripture, but He did break the rules of religious leaders by healing on the Sabbath and having the man carry his mat.

Upset with Jesus, a debate breaks out among the religious leaders. In their exchange, we learn five things about the Bible.

One, if you know the Scriptures but don’t have the Spirit, you can end up like Satan. Satan knows the Bible, but he does not have the Holy Spirit or love the Lord. So, he twists the Scriptures to harm rather than help people. The religious leaders fighting with Jesus are a lot like him.

Two, the Bible is for you, not about you. The Bible is for you and about Jesus. The religious leaders did not accept these truths, and when Jesus showed up they argued with Him about the Bible rather than learn from Him. Why? Because they thought the Bible was about them, not Jesus.

Three, knowledge puffs you up while loves builds others up. The religious leaders had Bible knowledge, but they were arrogant enough to try and correct Jesus as if He were wrong and they were right. As Jesus was building others up, the religious leaders were beating Jesus up. This is what happens when someone wrongly uses the Bible to enhance their pride rather than expand God’s purposes.

Four, Scripture not a window to look at. Scripture is a window to look through in order to see Jesus. These religious leaders failed to look through the Scriptures and see Jesus, so they tragically missed the entire point of the Bible.

Five, Jesus is not a spoke in the Bible. Jesus is the hub for all the spokes in the Bible. Jesus is not one of many subjects, but rather the place that all subjects connect and are held together.

How about you, do any of these explain your current use or abuse of the Bible?
What is the most amazing feat you have ever witnessed? Was it an athlete in a sporting event? Was it a first responder saving a life?

When Jesus walked the earth, people were constantly amazed by his deeds. In John 5, for example, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

As the buzz grew about this feat, Jesus informed the crowds that something even more amazing was coming. Better than healing one person for a lifetime, Jesus would raise all people for all time. In this way, the miracles or signs that Jesus did were like road signs along the highway in our day pointing to a final destination called the Kingdom of God.

Well-meaning people often say that the deceased, “went to a better place”. The sentiment is often well intended, but ill constructed. Jesus speaks of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. And, in the text above, he speaks of heaven as the “resurrection of life”, and hell as the “resurrection of judgment”.

Furthermore, in the eternal state there will be varying degrees of blessing in heaven and varying degrees of punishment in hell. Why? Because God is fully just. Jesus’ explains it this way in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

If you are a believer, this should be a great encouragement. When life is hard and you continue in fidelity to the Lord, you are storing up your treasures in heaven as Jesus promised. In this way, faithfulness in this life is like making deposits in an account that will not bear dividends until eternity but also pay dividends for eternity

What is the most difficult season you have endured? How might God use that for your eternal rewards?

“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. (John 4:50)

Perhaps the saddest place to visit is a children’s hospital. The sight of adorable little faces fighting to live is overwhelming. Their devoted parents sleep at the hospital, shedding their tears, saying their prayers, and seeking to do anything they can to have their child healed.

In Jesus’ first miracle in John’s Gospel, a scared father begs Jesus to heal his dying child. Without making the 18-mile journey to the child, Jesus instead chooses to heal from a distance by the sheer power of His Word.

Unable to see or know that his child was well, the father simply trusted the words of Jesus. This is faith: trusting in the Word of God until it becomes a reality that we see. Romans 10:17 (NKJV) says it this way, “Faith comes by hearing… the word of God.”

Faith is an internal conviction that leads to external action. This father demonstrates his internal faith by walking away from Jesus and heading home fully believing that Jesus had healed his sick child. We learn from his example that faith is not just what you know, but acting on what you know and trusting it to be true.

In many ways, we are in the same position as this father. The Bible promises that there is a future coming when all sickness and death are banished forever. But, we are not yet to our Home. Instead, like the father, we are away from Home, trusting in the Word of God, and journeying ahead until our faith becomes sight.

How is your time in God’s Word going? What things has God already told you that you need to act upon?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus] was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:1–3
If you were to sit down and write a book, how would you begin? Would you start by introducing yourself, letting the reader get to know a bit about you and what you hope to accomplish for them? That is precisely how many books of the Bible begin. But, the Gospel of John is not like many other books of the Bible.
The opening of John’s Gospel reminds me of a drag race. I grew up in a family of motor heads firmly committed to classic American muscle cars. My pops is currently restoring a classic Chevy. One uncle was a stock car driver, and I spent nights growing up hearing the engines roar from the pits. My brother is a stock car driver as well.
There is very little that matches the thrill of being behind the wheel when a race starts and the force of gravity throws you back into the seat as the car lunges forward from a standstill. John’s letter starts like that.
John opens by echoing Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning…” The point is that the same God who made the world has entered the world and brings with Him new beginnings. Everything and everyone, including your life and family, can get a fresh start and new beginning with Jesus Christ.
Jesus is our eternal God. That is the basic point of the opening lines of John. Before anything was created, Jesus existed. Jesus is not a created being, but rather our Creator God. He was with God the Father in eternity past and “was God.” That last line is as clear as the Bible could possibly be about the deity of Jesus Christ as God. If Jesus were at your company holiday party, He would have written “God” on His nametag. It’s that clear.
By referring to Jesus as the eternal Word of God, the Bible is here showing that Jesus is the hope and longing of both Hebrew and Greek cultures, which dominated that day. For the Hebrew, God’s speech and action were one and the same. If you know the biblical account of creation, it says over and over that God spoke creation into existence by the sheer power of His Word (Genesis 1:3, 6, 11). This is because God’s Word is all-powerful and nothing can thwart or stop it from accomplishing its goal (Isaiah 55:11).
The Greeks living at the end of the first century also clung tightly to their proud heritage, a philosophical one extending from Heraclitus (540–480 BC), to Socrates (470–399 BC), Plato (428–348 BC), Aristotle (384–327), Cicero (106–43 BC), and a host of philosophers, poets, and playwrights. At the fountainhead of Greek philosophy was Heraclitus whose image could be found on the coins in Ephesus for several centuries following his death. In his three-volume work, On Nature, Heraclitus taught that the world was created by fire and maintains an intricate balance between constant flux and overriding stability. He illustrated this point by penning the now-famous claim that a person never steps into the same river twice because of its constant change. For Heraclitus, the creation of the world, the ordering of all of life, and the immortality of the human soul were all made possible solely by the word (or logos) that was the invisible and intelligent force behind this world. Also, it was the word through which all things were interrelated and brought into harmony, such as life and death, good and evil, darkness and light, and the gods and people. For Greek philosophy, the key to all understanding began with understanding the Logos. John’s point is simple, no matter what you want to understand it’s always good to start with Jesus!
John begins his book with Jesus Christ. How can you begin your day with Jesus Christ this year in such things as Bible reading and prayer? How can you start your week with Jesus Christ this year by being involved in a Christian church? How can you start your finances with Jesus Christ this year by giving generously? How can you start your relationships with Jesus Christ this year by praying with and for others?
I will spend roughly an entire year preaching verse-by-verse through the entire Gospel of John and those sermons can be found for free each week after they are preached at MarkDriscoll.org.