On Line Bible Study - For the week July 16-22, 2012

Lesson 545

John 11:1-44

The story we are considering today is the raising of Lazarus.  To recap - Lazarus, one who 'Jesus loved', became ill.  His sisters, Mary and Martha (who Jesus also loved), sent word to Jesus.  Jesus remained where he was for two more days, then declared that Lazarus had 'fallen asleep'.  This led the disciples to believe Lazarus would get better; Jesus then told them explicitly: Lazarus is dead.  By the time Jesus gets to the family, Lazarus had been dead for four days.  Jesus encounters the sisters on the road - first Martha, then Mary.  They chastise Jesus for not having come sooner, assuming that he could have healed their brother.  Jesus, claiming to be "the resurrection and the life', goes to the tomb and calls Lazarus forth.

This is the last of Jesus' 'signs'.  Recalling his 'first sign' (John 2:1-11), Jesus' mother imposed upon him to do something when the wine ran out at a wedding.  Jesus resisted, saying: My hour has not yet come.  In like manner, Jesus did not jump up and go when first invited.  Jesus doesn't jump at our beck and call.  He responds to the will of his father.

The sixth of Jesus' signs is in John 9 - the healing of the blind man.  Jesus' disciples wonder how it was that this man had been born blind - had he sinned, or his parents?  Jesus explained to them that the man's condition was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (Verse 3.)  In like manner in the situation with Lazarus, Christ explains: This sickness ... is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified.  (John 11:4.)  Jesus' time frame for ministry is not concerned with doing what seems to be expedient, but on revealing the glory of God.

This is the most dramatic of the signs Jesus performs in John's Gospel.  He does physically for Lazarus what he does spiritually for us all - he gives life.  John uses this story - and it is found only in John - such that it generates two extreme reactions - profound faith, or deep fear.  We will explore these in the next study.  For now, we see how the evangelist tells us a series of stories with each one becoming more intense, more spectacular.

If you read the story of the raising of Lazarus in its entirety, you will see that "glory" is at the beginning and the end; it is both the motivation for and the culmination of Jesus' ministry.

In John 11:39, Jesus commands the people: Take away the stone.  In so doing they lay bare the grave.  Several verses later, with Lazarus having been called forth, Jesus commands: Take off the grave clothes and let him go.  It is almost as if we have to step out of our doubt and step into faith - we do this first, and then we find we are truly set free.  It is difficult to see the light if one insists on staying in the tomb.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week July 9-15, 2012

Lesson 544

John 10:22-39

It's the classic stand-off between Jesus and religious leaders over the question: Who are you?  Are you God?  Are you the Messiah?

One post on Twitter describes Jesus this way: "a long-haired socialist hippie who condemned the rich and told people to pay taxes."  While that might suit some folk's political sensibilities, it's probably no more "right on" than any other characterization of Christ.  Jesus tells those who are ready to stone him:  ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.  ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.

"In the Father ... "  What does that mean?  What did it mean, and what does it mean now - for us?  It means a unity that is of "power and operation" (Raymond Brown).

I have had experiences in life which have inspired me to proclaim: I can't believe it!  That doesn't mean it didn't happen; it means that what happened is so contrary to anything I expected, planned for or imagined that one part of my brain rejected what another part of my brain knew to be true.

One of the compelling arguments for Jesus being 'in the Father' is the fact that Jesus isn't "for" anybody.  He doesn't let poor people off the hook any more than he does rich people - they, too, are told to 'go and sin no more'.  He dines with sinners and with the self-righteous.

Jesus is "for" everybody, but in a way that doesn't patronize us.  He is "for" us in ways that hold us accountable while assuring us we are loved.  In a sense we can believe in him or not; the key point is more in our assessment of what he did.  The Biblical witness to the works of Jesus of Nazareth present us with a person so completely unselfish as to inspire astonishment.

The fact that those with stones in hand pause long enough to ponder: Who is this man ... suggests both a loathing and a reverence in conflict with one another.  It is disbelief tethered to hope.  What Jesus had done could not be denied.

The text ends by saying they wanted to arrest him - what happened to the desire to stone him? - but he 'slipped out of their hands" - or escaped their grasp.  He got away.

This 'giver of sight to the blind' - can you see him now?  Can you believe what he's doing? 

On Line Bible Study - For the Week July 2-8, 2012

Lesson 543

John 10:1-21

From "Light" to "Good Shepherd" - the gospel takes us a bit abruptly from one to the other, though you will notice a reference to Jesus healing the blind man if your read the text through to John 10:21.

We are going to focus on two texts - one that suggests the sheep need to be pushed at times.  The other has to do with what may seem like some confusion - is Jesus the "Shepherd" or the "Gate" to the sheep pen?

John 10: ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

The word of interest is "brought" - a word that can also imply being "cast out".  There is a sense of gentleness when we think about shepherds; but sometimes the sheep don't go where they need to go.  They need to be pushed a bit.  We find ourselves exposed to many voices and numerous calls for our attention.  How do we discern the call that is truest, redemptive, completely relevant for us?  

The Greek text has the hint of helpless sheep needing to be pushed in the right direction.  Once we are "brought out", separated from all the competing voices in our lives, then Jesus can go ahead of us and we follow.

The other text we will consider is John 10: ⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

Is Jesus both the "Good Shepherd" (see John 10:14) and the "Gate" to the sheep pen?

Some scholars point to modern examples of shepherds laying across the entrance to the sheep pen.  They become both shepherd and gate for their flock.  In verse 15 Jesus says I lay down my life for the sheep.  While this is a reference to his giving his life for us, it also has this other, less dramatic implication.  A "once for all" deed is different from something that has to be done every day.  Becoming the 'gate' for the sheep pen suggests that Jesus is doing something on a daily basis - saving us, protecting us over and over again.

Perhaps you have had the experience of the Holy Spirit "pushing" you in a direction you might not be inclined to go.  Maybe you are in such a time right now.  Are we aware of all the ways in which salvation comes to us day by day ... moment by moment?

On Line Bible Study - For the Week June 25 - July 1, 2012

Lesson 542

John 9

This is the story of the man who was born blind.  He is healed by Jesus - Jesus spat on the ground, made some mud, anointed the man's eyes, and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam.  All this happened on ...... you guessed it: The Sabbath.

The disciples wonder who had sinned to cause him to be born with this impairment.  Jesus denies any sin and focuses instead  on purpose - his impairment is so that God's work [can] be revealed in him.  The entire story is available to you by clicking on the link above.

In verse 5 Jesus says: I am the light of the world.  Jesus is going to give this claim new meaning in Chapter Nine.  In John 8:12 Jesus had told the people: I am the light of the world.  In Chapter Nine he brings light - both physically and spiritually - to an individual.

Raymond Brown reminds us that doing mighty things was not the exclusive property of 'good people'.  Pharaoh's magicians were able to copy almost everything Moses did.  If you read the entire passage you will encounter the lengthy discussion with regard to whether Jesus was a "sinner".

The man who had been blind was certain that If this man were not from God, he could have done nothing.  For the one on the receiving end of Jesus healing power, there was no question that he was also the "light of the world".  It becomes rather inconceivable to him that anyone would question this.  But if we have not experienced in some personal and real way, why would anyone expect us to believe?

One of the things the Evangelist is doing is using this story to shine the light of Christ on us.  Do we recognize any vulnerability in our life?  Are we aware of qualities that seem to have been with us from the moment of conception - things that we wish we could move beyond, be 'healed' of?  Put another way - do we recognize within our own lives anything that suggests we need what Jesus has to offer?

The Pharisees saw no need for Jesus - and that was their 'blind spot'.  That can be our blind spot as well.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week June 18-24, 2012

Lesson 541

John 8:31-59

The key verse we are looking this week is John 8:39   "Our father is Abraham," they answered Jesus.  Jesus replied, "If you are really Abraham's children, you would be doing works worthy of Abraham."

This section takes us deeper into the controversy that existed between Jesus and "the Jews".  This section begins by telling us that Jesus was speaking to those Jews who had believed him.  Did they "believe" him, or "believe in him"?  There is a difference.

The unifying factor in this section is "Abraham".  Father Raymond Brown points out in his commentary that it is easy to assume the privilege of being "chosen" and forget the responsibilities that go along with it.  At the risk of sounding cliche, isn't one of religion's selling points that it helps us take stock of our responsibilities toward God and toward each other?

Jesus is calling them out for making a claim on one hand, but behaving in ways that invalidate the claim they make for themselves!  The conversation will get sticky as accusations are exchanged between Jesus and the people regarding their real father - is it God, Abraham, or the Devil?  The accusations are only thinly veiled!

Our "father" - that is, the genetic seeds within us that determine our actions - has to be faced.  Does our religion offer us more a sense of comfort than a call to action?  Does our "faith" in Jesus look more like a security blanket than a willingness to risk it all for Jesus' vision of the kingdom of God?  Abraham didn't try to kill the messengers that were sent to him.  Abraham stepped out again and again with faith in God - a faith that was stronger than his ties to family or home, and yet a faith that enabled him to love family and home in ways he might never have imagined.

As Jesus engages these Jews who "believed him", I can see Christ engaging Christians who claim that he is our "lord".  Who - or what - is our "lord" - really?  Look at your life, ask yourself the question, and proceed accordingly!