Hope Alliance Bethlehem

Thomas is famously and wrongly demeaned for doubt.  In fact, what Jesus warns Thomas about is how to process doubt. We are all constantly moving either toward belief or unbelief. So it matters profoundly where we intentionally place ourselves to engage our questions. The church is meant to be a place where we can ask honest questions and pursue the resurrected Jesus together.

As Mary stands outside the tomb, twice she is asked, "Why are you crying?" Of course she is upset about Jesus, but also about what she has lost - a new life and a new identity. But with the sound of her name from the lips of Jesus, everything changes. Mary's identity is settled, her eyes are opened to see a bigger pictures and she is given a renewed vocation as a witness to the resurrection and victory of Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus is not just a Christian doctrine or even simply a fact. It is the central truth to a whole new reality of life. The resurrection of Jesus means new creation. Ever the master storyteller, John makes poignant connections between the original creation and the implications of Jesus resurrection. Sin and death are defeated. Shame is gone and God is near again. 

As Jesus welcomed the disciples to the table, he also bowed low to humbly wash their feet. But it wasn't feet he was actually offering to wash. It was hearts. Jesus has invited everyone to his table, but in order to be with him we have to be washed clean. This would ultimately happen on the cross for anyone who would confess him as Savior. Do you understand what he was done for you?

Upon his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus embraces the hoped fo- posture of an incoming Messianic king of Israel. However, as John has reminded us form the beginning, Jesus follows God's plans not those of men. And so, Jesus comes on a donkey announcing peace not judgment and spreads his arms open wide to the whole world, not just the Jewish nation. He accomplishes this mission of peace for the whole world by laying his life down as a sacrifice to overthrow the great oppressor of sin and defeat the great power of death.  Have you ever seen a king like this before?

As much as Jesus loved Lazarus, he also hates death and all the chaos it brings to our lives and world. Yet, he cares for Martha and Mary in very specific ways to meet their personal needs. In raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus is engaging a direct battle with death (and sin) which will cost him his very life. Ultimately, Jesus raises Lazarus so he can take his place in the tomb and conquer death once and for all. 

Jesus is moved by his love for Lazarus and his sisters to help him. However, if that is true, then why did he make the strange choice to wait a few days before going to them? He wants people  to believe. Not just in the future or the abstract, but believe in him. When Jesus says that he is the resurrection, he is boldly declaring that he is God and he is pulling the future final kingdom right into the present. 

Sheep are at their core incredible helpless and incredibly valuable. That's why they need a shepherd. As humans, we inherently know that we are sheep in need of a sheered. The question is which shepherd will we give ourselves to? As the Good Shepherd, Jesus reminds us that we already belong to him. He has named us and leads us because he loves us, even to the point of laying down his life for us. 

John sets Jesus' miraculous healing of a blind man right in the midst of the continuing unbelief of the religious leaders.  Their pride left them unable to see the scope of the human problem and unable to see Jesus for who he is. This is  spiritual blindness, a far more crippling disability than that of the man. Jesus was offering healing to both, but it is only experienced through genuine faith.

When Jesus tells his Jewish audience that they can experience freedom, they are quick to dismiss him. As children of Abraham, they are already free. However, Jesus tells that that they are enslaved to sin. This is the human condition. But true freedom can be found when we remain in Jesus' teaching. He shows us who we are and how we are meant to live. 

Jesus' brother encourage him to go to Jerusalem during the feast and gather a crowd and further his ministry. John tells us they say this because they don't believe in him. They want Jesus to prove himself.  On the other hand, Jesus is seeking the glory of the Father, not his own. He speaks the words and follows the timing of the Father. For this reason, he is eminently trustworthy. As sent disciples, we are sent by Jesus just like he was sent by the Father. So we seek only his glory, not our own.

Though the miracle of feeding 5,000 is a blessing to the crowds, its intent is largely for Jesus' disciples. It is an invitation to join him in the new and ultimate  exodus he is launching. In the past people ate miraculous bread in the wilderness, but now the bread maker is with the people. And he offers bread that will satisfy our true hunger and bring the full life.

Jesus intentionally crosses paths with a Samaritan woman at a well and offers her living water that would quench her thirst. Is he really capable of digging a better well than Jacob? Jesus offers full access to God who no longer is restricted to a holy mountain. Jesus is the better well that meets the deeper thirsts of our soul. His offer of living water is available to all who would believe. 

John lets us eavesdrop on a private conversation between Jesus and a religious leader named Nicodemus who wants to know if Jesus is the promised Messiah. Jesus confounds him by saying he cannot know unless he is born again. While Nicodemus, like many religious people, spent his time building a resume fr morality and external performance, his true problem was internal. Jesus shows us all that our only hope for new and full life is a  rebirth from above that brings a new heart. 

Jesus' miraculous turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana serves as the perfect opening to the ministry of Jesus in the gospel of John. Far more than simply meeting a temporary need for wine, this story sets forth all that Jesus intends to do. Namely, he is here to launch a new covenant that will enable new creation allowing broken, unclean people like us to be in relationship with God.

The incarnation is a grand invitation to come and see Jesus for who he really is and what he intends to do. He does not fore himself on us, instead he asks us what it is that we want and invites us to come and be with him. This invitation is for those who believe and those who are skeptical. And it comes with a promise to enlighten and transform us.

The whole ministry of John the Baptist was about pointing people to Jesus. He was a voice, but Jesus was the Word. In the same way, the church functions today as a forerunner of the second advent of Jesus.

The incarnation is the stunning truth that God himself came to the mess of this earth in order to set it to rights. The Word became flesh and moved into our neighborhood. Inherent in this truth is the offer of forgiveness from God to humanity. Moreover, it announces his intent to dwell with his people forever. The questions John asks us are do we recognize him and will we receive him?

John identities Jesus as the Word. In the Old Testament, the word of God  was the active power of God in revelation, creation and salvation. This is exactly who Jesus is - the embodiment of the revelation, creation, and salvation of God. And it is exactly who Jesus needs to be if he is going to be able to bring restoration to the problem of our world.

Among the last things Jesus called his followers to do was to make disciples. A disciple is someone who is following Jesus with all of their life. Making disciples means being intentional about seeing our lives multiplied in others. This should inform everything we do in life.