CwC: The Blog

“We live by faith, not by sight.”  2 Corinthians 5:7

Read John 12:20-50

Let’s continue in the footsteps of Jesus along the path that leads to the cross.  The gospels are full of the teachings of Jesus in the temple, and those He taught privately to His disciples in the days following His entry into Jerusalem.  It’s hard to tell the exact timeline of events leading to the crucifixion after He entered the city.  Matthew’s account is by far the most detailed, taking 228 verses to document Christ’s movements.  Luke is second with 120 verses, followed by Mark’s 113 verses.  I was particularly intrigued by John’s account of the days leading up to the Last Supper.  He sprinted through the triumphant entry to the Last Supper in only 38 verses!  John takes us through a couple of unique interactions Jesus had first with the Gentiles, and then with the Jews. 

The Gentiles (John 12:20-36)

Some Greeks who were in town for the festivities came to Philip asking for some face-to-face time with Christ.  They wanted not only to get a glimpse of Him but they wanted to experience Him.  They wanted to have a conversation and get to know Him.  So, they network a bit.  They approach Philip, and knowing they can catch more flies with honey, they call him “Sir” to show Him respect, and then they get right to the point.  “We would like to see Jesus” (v. 21).  I love Matthew Henry’s observation on this event: “…the great desire of our souls should be to see Jesus; to have our acquaintance with Him increased, our dependence on Him encouraged, our conformity to Him carried on; to see Him as ours, to keep up communion with Him, and derive communications of grace from him: we miss of our end in coming if we do not see Jesus.”[i]  Oh, precious Savior, I pray that we would continually have this attitude when we approach you.  May all of our energies be focused, not on this world because it is not our home, but on knowing and experiencing You.  I pray that we have a special encounter with You during this Holy Week. 

Philip listens to the request and discusses it with Andrew.  They both agree to approach Jesus.  Jesus doesn’t really answer them, but it’s evident that He begins to have a conversation with the Gentiles.  Jesus is clearly addressing a crowd in verse 30.  Maybe he just couldn’t resist two or more of His children coming to Him with a request (see Matthew 18:19).  Jesus reveals His death to the crowd beginning with, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  That is certainly an interesting way to look at being beaten, spit on, stripped naked and nailed to a cross.  But “what we see as disgraceful humiliation, Jesus saw as being glorified.”[ii]

What would our world be like if we looked at humiliating or frustrating circumstances and considered it as glorifying to God?  That’s a pretty radical concept, but isn’t that what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 4:17 when he wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”?  Ponder Matthew Henry’s comments for a moment:  “Christ was now troubled; now in sorrow, now in fear, now for a season; but it would not be so always, it would not be so long. The same is the comfort of Christians in their troubles; they are but for a moment, and will be turned into joy.”[iii]

Jesus then begins relating His death to that of a wheat seed.  I did some reading on the lifecycle of a seed.  You would think that I would remember this from my “Organic Gardening” class at Auburn (yes, it’s a real class and yes, I took it).  Despite my higher education in gardening, my thumb is so black that I could kill a fake plant.  I discovered in my exhaustive research on the internet that only when a plant dies can it release a seed to the ground to produce offspring.  In addition, a seed’s outer shell has to be buried in the ground, softened by water, and eventually peeled away before the life inside can begin to grow and blossom.  So, when Jesus’ body died and was buried, it enabled Him to produce spiritual seed.  There are so many spiritual correlations that I can get from this one analogy, but I’ll move on.  I do encourage you to meditate on this passage and ask God to reveal something new to you. 

The discussion of Jesus’ death opens up a door for Christ to talk about those who focus on things that are worldly and those that focus on eternity (vs. 25-26).  To paraphrase, if you love your life on Earth what you get is separation from God.  If you hate your earthly life and focus on spiritual things, you will have community with God.  For Jesus says, “…where I am, my servant also will be.  My Father will honor the one who serves me” (v. 26).  Your seat as a child of God is waiting right next to Jesus at the right hand of God.  I don’t know about you, but that is certainly something to get excited about!  We get to rub elbows with the Almighty and sit on thrones in God’s presence! 

We transition from Jesus talking about His death to realizing the time was at hand.  “Now my heart is troubled…” (v. 27) Jesus begins.  How sad those words are to me.  Jesus knew the torture and agony he was going to have to endure, but He rejoiced in the fact that “for this very reason” he came to us.  Jesus was reaching the culmination of His purpose on Earth:  to save us from our sins so that God could live within us. 

I can see Jesus looking toward heaven, arms raised and saying, “Father, glorify Your name!”  I love God’s response in this scene.   He says, “I have glorified [My Name] and will glorify [My Name] again.”(v. 28) [emphasis mine].  He doesn’t whisper it to Jesus, he shouts it out loud.  The voice was so loud that it was described as thunder.  In fact, God’s voice is described as thunder multiple times in the book of Revelation.  Jesus makes sure that the crowd understands why God spoke aloud — for our benefit.  While some described it as thunder, others described it as a voice, but not the voice of God, but of an angel.  Seeing that the angels are God’s messengers, perhaps they understood that it was from God, or perhaps not.  Note that God’s voice is only recognizable to His true followers (see John 10:14).  Do you hear God’s voice?  Sometimes it’s a whisper and sometimes it’s a shout, but make no mistake, he does speak, we just have to stop and listen. 

The Jews (John 12:37-50)

After Jesus addressed the Gentiles, He left them and hid.  John then begins to talk about the Jews.  He begins, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe Him.” (v 37)  Seeing isn’t believing.  Sometimes we think it would be easier to believe if we could see it and touch it; however, the Jews had the knowledge and all the evidence they needed, but they refused to see.  He had just healed some beggars in the temple right before their eyes, but they were so stubborn in their unbelief that it blinded them to the Truth.  Matthew Henry writes, “…every new miracle confirmed the reality of what went before” but they were so stubborn that they “would not” believe.[iv]  They were in denial.  Can you relate?  Is there a time in your life where you clung stubbornly to something that it blinded you to the reality of the situation?   May we be careful not to get so set in our ways that we miss God revealing His Truth to us! 

The next few verses are so exciting to me.  John quotes Isaiah’s prophecy in verse 40 that “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn…”  This sounds oddly similar to the experience that Moses had with Pharaoh when he was assisting God in rescuing Israel from the slavery of the Egyptians.  If you aren’t familiar with the story, you might want to take a look at Exodus 5-13.  There were times when Pharaoh hardened his own heart (stubbornness) and there were times when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  Now, I don’t understand all of it, but I do know that God can do whatever he chooses.  Isaiah 46:10 says, “My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”  Matthew Henry’s commentary gives a good argument for why men harden their own hearts, “The reason why men believe not the report of the gospel is because the arm of the Lord is not revealed to them, that is, because they do not acquaint themselves with, and submit themselves to, the grace of God; they do not experimentally know the virtue and fellowship of Christ’s death and resurrection, in which the arm of the Lord is revealed. They saw Christ’s miracles, but did not see the arm of the Lord revealed in them.” [v]

You are probably wondering why these verses excited me.  I’m excited because this means that God has chosen us as His children!  He chose to reveal Himself to us.  He opened our hearts so we would see Him as He really is.  We believe in Him only because He called us.  It’s true.  He picked us out before the creation of the world.  Read Psalm 139.  There is no one like you.  Never has been and never will be.  Jesus picked you!  Not everyone makes the cut.  I can’t think of one good reason why he would pick me.  But I do know that He picked me so that I could glorify His kingdom and His name.  What an honor we have and what a responsibility!

John then marks the last public appearance of Jesus (other than His trial and crucifixion).  What were the last words Jesus speaks to the public?  They were pleading words!  “Then Jesus cried out…” (v 44) Doesn’t your heart break to hear this?  He gives them every opportunity, every evidence of who He is, and then, the Son of God, pleads with them.  But He also levels with them.  He comes right out and says, “When he [a believer] looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.”  It’s like He’s saying everything but, “Hey.  Heads up, I’m God in case you haven’t figured it out.  I’m the King you’ve been waiting for.  When you look at me, you are looking at God.”   Then, he tells them what happens to those that don’t believe.  They will be judged on the last day by the very words they have chosen not to hear. 

So, what was Jesus’ last sentence in public before His “trial?”  Of course, they were words pointing to the Father, “I know His commands lead to eternal life.  So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” 

May our actions and words always point to the Father so that we cry out, “Father, glorify Your name!”

So, imagine you are Jesus.  It’s the morning.  You’re headed to Jerusalem with your friends for another day of teaching.  (Maybe you are hoping those pesky merchants are smart enough to stay away from the temple that day.)  You’ve got another busy day ahead of you.   You decide to eat while you travel.  In this day and age, I’m sure we can relate.  There isn’t a McDonald’s® on this exit, so you grab something convenient on the road.  As you are walking you see a fig tree with leaves (sort of like a modern day billboard for Burger King®).  You head toward it because where there are leaves, there should be fruit, right?  You get to the tree and notice there is no fruit!  “Then He said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’” (v. 19).  In Mark 11:21, Peter refers to what Jesus said as a “curse.”  The origin of the word used here is kataraomai which means, “curse, doom, imprecate evil upon” (Strong’s G26720). So, Jesus doomed the tree to be fruitless and die!  Wow.  That’s strong. 

To the amazment of the disciples, the tree whithered and died.  So, they asked what Jesus already knew they would ask, “How did the fig tree whither so quickly?”(Matthew 21:20)  Bless their hearts, they just didn’t get it!  They had seen Him feed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish.  They had witnessed Him walking on water.  They had seen Him calm the storms.  They had witnessed time and time again God’s mighty hand, but they hadn’t fully grasped that Jesus was not just a man, but God; the King of Kings. 

While this story only lasts for a few verses there is a wealth of knowledge that we can gain from it.  The commentary in my Bible brings weaves together this story with the overturned tables in the temple(Life Application Study Bible).  “Just as the fig tree looked good from a distance but was fruitless on close examination, so the temple looked impressive at first glance, but its sacrifices and other activities were hollow because they were not done to worship God sincerely.  If you only have faith without putting it to work in your life, you are like the fig tree that withered and died because it bore no fruit.  Genuine faith means bearing fruit for God’s kingdom. “

Don’t you love how God uses the ordinary everyday things to teach us?  This time is no exception.  The disciples asked how the tree withered so quickly.  Jesus could have responded with, “Because I’m God and I said so.” Or, “Are you kidding?  Have you not learned anything from the time I’ve spent with you?  Really?”  Praise the Lord that he doesn’t respond that way!  I love that Jesus doesn’t really tell them why it withered but He empowers them by explaining that they have the power to do it too!  And He doesn’t stop there!  Not only does He tell them they share the same power, but He equips them, “…if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea’, and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”   I feel like screaming a big “Amen!” 

Now, before we get all crazy and start praying for all kinds of things, let’s remember from this example the power of our prayers.  We have the power to curse and the power to build up.  We have the power to uplift or the power to destroy.  May we never be flippant about the prayers we pray, but may we never doubt that if we are praying for God’s glory, know that He will not disappoint.  In fact, it will likely be more glorious than we could’ve ever imagined.   Please don’t misunderstand me.  I don’t subscribe to prosperity gospel.  It’s not all name and claim it.  There are seasons for everything.  There are seasons of pruning; seasons of growth; seasons of happiness; seasons of sadness; seasons for planting; seasons for harvesting; and seasons of abundance.  They all serve one purpose and that is to glorify God.  We may not see it now, but we will. 

God recently revealed to me that this is a year of abundance for me, and what a journey it’s been and it’s only March!  I’ve struggled for many years, due mostly out of my inability to get out of my own head and get into God’s Word.  What changed?  I started making it my top priority to spend time in God’s presence.  I sit and pray, or read scripture.  Sometimes I even sing.  It is the sweetest part of my day and has transformed my life.  I begin my day focused on Jesus.  We sit and chat.  I tell Him, “Good morning, Lord” each day.  For those of you that know me, that may not surprise you.  For those of you that don’t, let’s just say that I’m a goofy girl.  But I’m a goofy girl that loves the Lord.  I live each day in the hopes that God will throw me a “bread crumb” because those bread crumbs are more precious to me than gold!  It’s humbling and exciting and is absolutely the greatest joy that I’ve experienced. 

While I have been blessed with so much this year and know that more is yet to come, my greatest blessing is hearing God speak to me.  My favorite thing that He whispered to me is, “Do you see why I couldn’t give you what you wanted?  Do you see?  You asked for so little and I wanted to give you so much!”  How often do we pray for God to fulfill a desire for something that we want and when He doesn’t provide what we think the answer should be, we jump to the conclusion that our prayers have gone unanswered?  Child, don’t you see?  You ask for so little and He wants to give you so much!  God wants to bless us.  He wants us to bear fruit because it glorifies Him (John 15:8)! Most of the time, we simply get in the way of the blessings that He wants so much to give us.

While God wants to bless us, it does require some effort on our part.  First, we have to be Christians.  Second, we have to submit our request to God.  Third, we have to check our motives, and fourth, we have to step out in bold faith.  It takes bold faith to tell a mountain to go throw itself into the sea.  Notice that Jesus says, “IF you have faith and do not doubt…IF you believe” [emphasis mine].  Basically, if we ask for little and expect little that might be exactly what we end up with because “according to your faith it will be done to you” (Matthew 9:29).  May we always expect God’s glory to be more than we ever imagined!

As I was reading over the scriptures that follow the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, I became focused on what Jesus did immediately after His entry. 

Read Luke 19:45-48.     

Jesus gets down to business! The first thing He does when He reaches Jerusalem is go directly to the temple and cleanse it.  He not only removes the merchants, as Luke notes, but He overturns the tables and the benches where the merchants are doing business (Matthew 21:12).  He is upset that the temple, HIS temple; is being defiled in such a way.  After all, this is the place where people commune with God.  It is where His Father dwells.  It is His home away from Home.  It is the place where he will spend His last week on Earth teaching those who come to hear Him.

Jerusalem was a hot spot of activity around the time of the Passover.  I’ve read commentaries that estimate the number of Jews who would travel to Jerusalem for the Passover was in the millions.  David Guzik reports that the priests and merchants conspired together to ensure sacrifices were “approved” sacrifices.  In addition, there was a temple tax that all the young men were required to pay.  The payment had to be in the form of “temple currency,” and the exchange rates were outrageous.  Did I mention that the high priests took a portion of the exchange rate and the sales?  So, when Jesus drove the merchants out, I’m sure neither they nor the high priests were pleased with His actions, but the temple had to be cleansed of all that was not holy so that Jesus could teach there.[i]

I was reminded of a previous study of the temple and the Passover.  God gave specific instruction to Moses that for seven days prior to Passover, the Israelites were not to eat anything containing yeast.  In fact, God forbade them to even be around yeast at all, and commanded them to remove all yeast from their homes.  Modern day Jews still practice this tradition.  They give their house a good cleansing before Passover and remove all the yeast.  So, what’s the big deal with yeast?  In Matthew 16:6, Jesus likens the false teachings and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees to that of yeast.  It only takes a little yeast to spread throughout bread.  This is why the Jews remove all the yeast in their houses.  They believe the yeast represents sin.

So, what does all this mean?  Just as the temple had to be cleansed of all its unholiness so that people could hear from the Lord, sometimes we need a good cleansing before we can hear from God.  Just as Jesus removed the evil from the temple, so also, because we are temples where the Holy Spirit dwells, we must cleanse ourselves by confessing and repenting of our sins.  Think about your life and what distracts you from God.  What keeps you from spending time in His presence?  Is there anything in your life that creates so much noise that you cannot hear God’s voice?  If so, maybe it’s time to do a little cleansing. 

I recently had my house cleaned.  It had accumulated years of dog hair and dust.  No matter how often I tried, I was never able to thoroughly clean it.  I became overwhelmed with all the dirt and dust.  I was disgusted with it and with myself for not maintaining it better.  The day I got my house cleaned I felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders.  I breathed easier.  I enjoyed my house again.

Maybe it’s time to let the Holy Spirit do a little house cleaning.  We can’t do it ourselves because we get so overwhelmed with our own dirtiness.  We might try to tidy up every now and then, but it’s never enough because we cannot do it ourselves.  But when we ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse our lives, it makes us breathe easier and enjoy our life as His children.  David Guzik writes, “We do love Jesus; and we want to praise Him; yet we must also allow His cleansing presence in our lives.  If He wants to turn over some tables in our hearts, so be it.” [ii]

“…what I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned that I will do.”  Isaiah 46:11

 Today is the beginning of Holy Week.  This is my favorite time of the year.  What’s not to love?  It’s the beginning of beautiful spring weather, new dresses, and the best part:  it marks the beginning of the celebration of Christ’s fulfillment of prophecy; His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. 

Oh, my precious Jesus.  I am so thankful that you died on the cross for my sins so that You could not only dwell with me, but You could dwell within me.  While I don’t understand the intricacies of how this is possible, I stand amazed that You would even want to be in my presence. 

Last year Maundy Thursday was new to me.  This year, I’ve felt compelled to dig into the days that led up to it.  So, I started studying the significance of Palm Sunday. 

Our focus as a church is usually Easter Sunday, Good Friday and, for some, Maundy Thursday.  I’m curious as to what led up to those days.   What did Christ experience when he began to journey toward Jerusalem?  Being fully God, He was very much aware of the agonizing death that lay before Him, but because He was fully man, He would experience stress, fear, anxiety, and pain.  How did He reconciled the conflicting emotions?

I wonder if, in His humanness, He thought, “How did I get here? What am I doing?”  I’ve had those very feelings when going into a dangerous or perceivedly dreadful situation.  I have looked up to the Heavens and said, “LORD, how in the world did I get here?”  But nothing that I have experienced could help me imagine what those last five days of Jesus’ human life were like. 

Imagine yourself as Christ on that journey to Jerusalem.  Imagine knowing your whole life that you would have to sacrifice yourself.  Imagine, as the years go by, knowing that you were getting closer and closer to that end (or beginning).  Maybe, because He knew what lay ahead, He looked forward to being home again and spending time with His Dad. Reunited at last!  Maybe, because He was fully man, He dreaded the pain, the suffering, the mocking, the humiliation, the loneliness, and the guilt of having all the weight of the sins of the world on His shoulders.  He knew exactly what lay before Him but yet, he loved me (and you) so much that to spend eternity with us, He would choose to endure it.  He thought I was worth it.  He thinks you are worth it. 

Can you see it?  Can you picture it in your mind’s eye?

Read Mark 11:1-11 

Why did Jesus instruct the two disciples to go into the town and get the donkey?  Jesus could’ve done it Himself, right?  When you look at the passage, as usual, God is the God of details and tells them specifically what is going to happen.  He told them to go into the town and predicted 1)  they would find a colt tied just inside the city gate (v.2) and 2) the townspeople would question what they were doing (v.3).  He even told them exactly what to say when they were questioned.

We find out a few verses later that it happened exactly the way Jesus said it would.  I have to wonder if perhaps that is why it’s included.  I’m sure there are other reasons that I haven’t discovered yet, but maybe Jesus told them to do this in order to, once again, provide the disciples with evidence that what He says about the future is going to happen.  Nothing can thwart it.   Nothing!  He knew that a few hours later he would tell them about what was going to happen to Him on the cross and the days that followed.  He knew they would need this experience as reassurance when he was gone that He really did know what He was talking about.  They could believe His words to be true because He had proved it in the past.

How patient God is with us when we don’t understand the first, second or third time He tells us something, and how slow we are to believe when He does reveal something.  Believe Him and trust Him when He says, “…what I have said that I will bring about; what I have planned that I will do.” Isaiah 46:11.

OK.  Y’all are gonna think I’m nuts, but let’s be honest, that wouldn’t be anything new.  Please don’t think that I am weird-er than you already think I am, but I just got the best e-mail.  This e-mail made my soul rejoice!  Seriously.   An I-want-to-do-a-happy-dance rejoicing. 

What was this mysterious e-mail and who sent it?  This is the part where y’all will think that I am weird.  It was from Robyn and it was about Holy Week 2011. 

Yes, Peeps, that is right, an email about Holy Week made me want to do a happy dance.  You see, I get excited about Holy Week the way children get excited about Christmas.  And I am not exaggerating. 

Over the last few years, I have been enormously blessed beyond words that my dear, sweet friend, Robyn loves the Easter season as much as I do, and it’s become quite a tradition for us to plan out our Holy Week by service hopping.  We go all out.  I’m talking Maundy Thursday service, Good Friday services (plural – meaning more than one), and a Saturday viewing of the Passion of the Christ (Robyn sits this one out, but it is a tradition for me to weep uncontrollably as the cruxifiction unfolds).  All these services culminate in an Easter blow-out celebration at church where my heart is full and my soul is glad. 

Last year, our bible study girls came along with us as we service hopped the week away.   As we were planning the activities last year, Robyn threw out, unbeknownst to her, a challenge when she said that the most wonderful Easter she could remember was a time when her pastor wrote a day-by-day devotion for Holy Week.  Now, I’m no pastor, but I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than writing down my reflections as the week progressed.  Over the course of holy week, I sent out an e-mail devotion.  This year, I’ll share those same reflections on the blog starting on Palm Sunday. 

My prayer is that God will use these reflections to show you His unimaginable love for you and that you might catch a glimpse of His Glory!

“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  – Isaiah 61:10