John 14:7-10 - The Father Revealed in the Son

John 14:7-10

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

Message: The Father Revealed in the Son

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."  

What the Lord is Saying: Jesus continues to answer the questions posed by the disciples, namely Peter at the end of chapter 13 and Thomas at the beginning of Chapter 14. Jesus has mentioned that He is going away - going to prepare a place for His disciples - for us - and He will come again and they will be received. But for now, He is leaving. He confirms in the last passage that He is the way, the truth, and the life. 

And now in verse 7 He remarks that knowing Him (Jesus) is knowing the Father. We know Him because we have seen Jesus. The next disciple, Philip, responds and says to Jesus - "Show Me." Jesus is speaking but the words are not being understood by the disciples. We can read the words today and based upon all that we know, we can understand, but to those disciples at the time they were confused. 

Jesus speaks and provides clarity and confirmation of who He is: (1) that His words are the words of the Father, (2) seeing Jesus is seeing the Father, and (3) the Father is in Jesus. Jesus is not speaking on His Own. He is not independent. He is of the Father and the Father is speaking through Him. The Father and Son are of the same essence while different in their persons. 

Therefore this passage seems to be focused on those words from verse 7, "If you had known Me." The disciples did know Jesus. They knew him as Savior of the World. They knew Him as Messiah. They knew Him, but they did not know Him fully. This is what Jesus is relaying to them and trying to help them understand - a full understanding of who He is and why He came. Though He has been repeating it, they still don't completely understand His power and His office. The equality with God and being sent by God and all that this means is still something they are learning. That God has sent Him and that He must return to the Father and then come back again. He will speak later of leaving and them receiving the power and work of the Holy Spirit (15:26-27). Jesus has been showing them. Even in verse 9 Jesus speaks with a mild rebuke, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip." Peter, Thomas, Philip - there is a growing interest by more disciples - more involved in knowing Jesus. 

Summary: Jesus continues to try to help his disciples understand completely Himself, namely that seeing Jesus is seeing Father and that the Father is in Him. 

Promise: The Father and the Son share the same divine essence; thus, They are identical in Their attributes. If we want to see the goodness, wisdom, power, or any other attribute of God most clearly manifested, we must look to how they are manifested in the life of Jesus. Only by knowing Jesus can we know God.

Prayer: O God, you are rich in mercy and Your ways are complete. I thank You for the understanding You have given me of all You are and yet I know, even now I am learning about You and learning to describe You more fully, even after 40 years of walking with You and calling You my Lord. It remains a process in my life. Give me patience and compassion to others that are still learning this and learning these truths. Help me to be sensitive to where they are at in their lives. Help it not to be an argument or conflict in trying to understand but rather a process of education and learning. We too quickly opt for division and argument in our world. Return us to understanding. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's. 

My Utmost for His Highest - April 5th - His Agony and Our Fellowship

Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 

Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

Matthew 26:36,38

     We can never fathom the agony in Gethesemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face with sin. We know nothing about Gethsemane in personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary stand for something unique; they are the gateway into Life for us.

 
     It was not the death on the cross that Jesus feared in Gethsemane; He stated most emphatically that He came on purpose to die. In Gethsemane He feared lest He might not get through as Son of Man. He would get through as Son of God--Satan could not touch Him there; but Satan's onslaught was that He would get through as an isolated Figure only; and that would mean that He could be no Saviour. Read the record of the agony in the light of the temptation: "Then the devil leaveth Him for a season. (Matthew 4:11)" In Gethsemane Satan came back and was again overthrown. Satan's final onslaught against our Lord as Son of Man is in Gethsemane.

   
     The agony in Gethsemane is the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Saviour of the world. The veil is drawn aside to reveal all it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ is a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that Our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Every human being can get through into the presence of God now because of what the Son of Man went through.

Oswald Chambers - From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition

- Underlines and highlights are courtesy of Mom from her Print Edition

John 18:28-19:16a - Jesus Stands Before Pontius Pilate

John 18:28 - 19:16a

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.

Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”

Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”

Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

Message: Jesus Stands Before Pontius Pilate

Time: John is not recorded as the author, but unanimous testimony of early Christians, like Iraneus in the 2nd century declare him the author. Plus, the eyewitness account give rise that he was one of the close knit disciples and Peter already penned through Mark (the Gospel of Mark), and James died soon after the resurrection, which leaves John. It is thought this book was written between 85 and 95 AD. The Deity of Christ is a striking quality of John's gospel.

What the Lord is Saying:

Once again, I felt like I should reference the entire text in the Post. Sometimes I just do excerpts from the text. This is a familiar story, whereby Jesus is delivered over to Pontius Pilate. Pilate is only going to sentence Jesus because the Jews want this to happen. When given the option of releasing a man, the Jews choose another man, a robber. What they have against Jesus is he proclaims himself as a king and as one with authority. Jesus has always made it clear that he has authority and this has always bothered the Pharisees and Jews. Pilate did not care about Jesus. Even though he had no reason to believe he was guilty, he also had no reason to let him go and to that end, he feared his own safety and his own name if he would have gone that route in letting him go. 

One of the words that Pilate spoke of Jesus was "Behold, the Man!" When speaking of the man, Pilate is referring to Jesus as a man. Sin entered the world through a man, Adam, and now Jesus as our Savior, and as a man will atone for the sins of other human beings. It is an important distinction as it took a second Adam to reconcile us to God. Romans 5:19 declares, For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Jesus does remark that He is King. “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” He is truth. And so he submitted to the authorities in order to stand in Truth. Jesus knew this time was coming. He knew His message was one of controversy. Many times it is recorded in the Gospel of how he would tell people that he has healed or encountered to not make a commotion about Him because He wanted to get the message of His gospel out to many and He knew that what He was putting forth would be received by some but for others they would feel threatened. Jesus is still this way. Mentioning God is fine, but once we start mentioning that Jesus is more than a man, more than a prophet, people are taken aback. But this is who Jesus is and this is who I need to proclaim Him to be, beyond what is heard on sunday morning at church. Jesus is God incarnate and He is Savior and King and Lord. 

Promise: Let us always love the truth and proclaim it even when it is not convenient for us. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for Jesus and for Him being fully man and fully God and dying on the cross for my sins and then rising again, conquering death and taking me now with Him to eternal life with Him. I will conquer death in the same way. You God are Lord and King. Lord, you remind me though Lord of how I need to continue to proclaim you in the streets, in the office, throughout my life that You are Lord of my life. I admit too often my words of you are safe and I mention God but not sure amongst unsaved that I mention Jesus, you having changed my life. Lord, I want to be an ambassador for You and be a witness and proclaim You as You proclaimed me and chose me. I want to stand up for Jesus no matter what crowd or people group I am in. Show me now how to have the strength of sharing you Jesus with others. 

Matthew 21:18 - The Human Nature of Christ

Matthew 21:18 - Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.

Message: The Human Nature of Christ

Time: The date of Matthew's composition is anywhere from 55-60 AD probably in Antioch of Syria, written by Matthew, the former tax collector, and one of the 12 disciples or apostles. The writing is most likely to the Jews. His purpose was to show them that Jesus of Nazareth was the expected messiah and both his genealogy and his resurrection were legitimate proofs of this. 

What the Lord is Saying:

Overview

I am currently studying Jesus, Christ alone. Jesus, the human, is the anointed one, the Christ or the Messiah, predicted in the Old Testament as the one who would come and save the world from sin. Jesus is one person who possesses two natures, a divine nature and a human nature, as truly God and truly man. Jesus did not become divine nor did God become a man, Christ was instead the God man. 

Today's Lesson

Many passages teach the humanity of Jesus:

• Jesus is hungry - Matthew 21:18 - Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.
• Jesus slept - Mark 4:38 - Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
• Psalm 121:4 - Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
• Jesus is ignorant or lacks knowledge of an event - Matthew 24:36 - But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
• God is all-knowing or omniscient - Psalm 139:4 - Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all.
• Jesus is tempted - Matthew 4:1 - Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 
• James 1:13 - Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 

Thus, in this lesson today are examples of Jesus' humanity in light of the fact that God not having need of anything or being all-knowing. 

Promise: Hebrews 2:17-18 - For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for showing me clearly that Jesus is human and he can come alongside me, for he has experienced what I have experienced. Help me to remember this Spirit. Keep reminding me as you do. I feel so alone at times, but help me to be reminded of how you are like me in this way. I am not alone. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of April is about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April was about salvation by grace alone; March about the sovereign providence of God; February was about the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January was about the doctrine of God.

Jesus Calling: December 25

As you wait attentively in My Presence, the Light of the knowledge of My Glory shines upon you. This radiant knowledge transcends all understanding. It transforms every fiber of your being: renewing your mind, cleansing your heart, invigorating your body. Open yourself fully to My Presence, be awed by My glorious Being.
     Try to imagine what I gave up when I came into your world as a baby, I set aside My Glory, so that I could identify with mankind. I accepted the limitations of infancy under the most appalling conditions--a filthy stable.That was a dark night for Me, even though angels lit up the sky proclaiming "Glory!" to awe-struck shepherds.
     When you sit quietly with Me, the process I went through is reversed in your experience. As you identify with Me, heaven's vistas open up before you--granting you glimpses of My Glory. I became poor so that you might become rich. Sing hallelujahs to My Holy Name!

2 Corinthians 4:6
English Standard Version
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
 
Philippians 2:6-7
English Standard Version
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
 
Luke 2:13-14
English Standard Version
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

2 Corinthians 8:9
English Standard Version
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

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Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.

Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Jesus Calling: December 23

I am King of Kings and Lord of lords, dwelling in dazzlingly bright Light! I am also your Shepherd, Companion, and Friend--the One who never lets go of your hand. Worship Me in My Holy Majesty; come close to Me and rest in My Presence. You need Me both as God and as Man. Only My Incarnation on that first, long-ago Christmas could fulfill your neediness. Since I went to such extreme measures to save you from your sins, you can be assured that I will graciously give you all you need. 
     Nurture well your trust in Me as Savior, Lord, and Friend. I have held back nothing in My provision for you. I have even deigned to live within you! Rejoice in all that I have done for you, and My Light will shine through you into the world. 

I Timothy 6:15-16 
English Standard Version 
¹⁵ which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Psalm 95:6-7
English Standard Version

⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
⁷ For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,

Romans 8:32
English Standard Version
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
 
2 Peter 1:19
English Standard Version
And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

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Note: The devotion and scriptures are from author Sarah Young. If you haven't already, please purchase the book and support the author.


Also, bookmark https://bibletags.blogspot.com/2019/06/jesus-calling-366-days.html to have an easy link to the entire year of these entries.

Hebrews 2:18

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
(Hebrews 2:18 ESV)

The word tempted takes on more of the meaning as put to the proof to see whether a person has sincere piety and love to God. We also see that Jesus showed he had a strength of virtue where no matter what came his way he could bear it. Jesus is qualified to sympathize with us because he has endured like trials. But, he suffered more than we could ever suffer. For that he is our brother and is never ashamed to call us brethren, we can rest our burdens on him.

Hebrews 2:17

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
(Hebrews 2:17 ESV)

Jesus became like man in every respect. This was essential. Nothing was to be left out. As such, the descendants of Abraham are his brothers. Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve. With a nature like ours, his compassion extends to us all the more because he knows and understands the trials we experience. Yet, his service (unlike ours) was always marked by faithfulness and this means we are safe. He surpasses the Jewish High Priest. "The Son of God became a man, that he might so fully enter into the feelings of the people as to be faithful, and that he might be qualified, as a high priest, to perform the great work of rendering God propitious in regard to sins." Before God, we now have favor and success.

Hebrews 2:16

For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
(Hebrews 2:16 ESV)

To help means to take hold of one as by the hand. Mr 8:23 ("he took the blind man by the hand"), Ac 23:19 ("the tribune took him by the hand"), Lu 9:47 ("Jesus took a child and put him by his side") all give the picture of the actual person taking someone by the hand, to aid them, to come alongside. Jesus comes to our aid, not to the aid of angels. To redeem man, it was necessary for him to be a man. Yes, he is speaking to descendants of Abraham, but he is not excluding the entire human race; he is at this moment speaking to one of his children, but that doesn't mean he excludes the others.

Hebrews 2:14

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
(Hebrews 2:14 ESV)

Just as those who are to become the adopted children of God have the nature of man, Jesus took on the same nature as them, that by dying he might bring into subjection the devil, who has dominion over death. Death marks an end, but Jesus changed that by rising from the dead to rescue man; to restore him to life; death is now unknown to man; his redemption introduces a state in which not another one would ever die.

Hebrews 2:13; (Isaiah 8:17-18)

And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
(Hebrews 2:13 ESV)

This is a reference to the Messiah speaking, as a man, placing his hope, his only hope in God. Jesus identifies himself with the people--fully man. "I will look to him; I will put my confidence in him." And this relationship Jesus has with His people is the same closeness a father has with his children. They were of one family; one nature. He identifies with man.