What do you do on a restless night?

It seemed like a group of people had turned against King David and God. In this prayer of David’s we find a path that we can follow … when we put our trust in his King … Jesus.

There are 2 key words to remember here. The first one is ‘know’. If we know God, and this comes through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be confident that he will hear us when we cry out to him. Much like how we respond to our own children.

The second key word to remember is ‘trust’. We can entrust the situation or circumstances that are causing us restlessness to God. This is done in the knowledge that he is the one who is in control … even when from our perspective things aren’t working out.  It is God’s work to enact justice because he is perfectly righteous and always in total control, including at the cross.

 

 

 

 

Jesus wins the ultimate victory and calls people to come to him.

There have been many responses to the recent ball tampering scandal in cricket. These range from saying ‘they should be ashamed’ to calling for bans for the leaders. It’s interesting that this has all happened around Easter time. Some may ask the question, however … ‘What has this got to do with Easter?’

The disciples in Jesus’ time may have been questioning why they were following Jesus at this same time. In this passage we find that he will turn their disbelief into belief. Easter also has the answers for the disgraced cricketers.

All heroes are flawed and so are we but Jesus is not flawed. He doesn’t hold our failings against us but, as those who trust in him, takes our punishment instead. In him we celebrate a win that has rocked the world for over 2000 years. This is a victory over what seemed unbeatable … death. Jesus’ triumph is more than a victory. Thomas called him Lord and God. Through Jesus forgiveness is offered. It is received by faith alone. The cross and resurrection call people to come to him. Receiving his forgiveness enables us to forgive.

 

 

Jesus is a very different kind of king

We can all think of political leaders who have promised a lot but failed to deliver. We see in this passage, however, that Jesus never compromised or turned to expediency. Mary saw the outcome of Jesus’ ministry as the true king and savior who would bring forgiveness of sins to his people. She saw, from Lazarus, Jesus’ death as a substitute and rising again. She worshiped him.

The crowd who came out to celebrate his arrival in Jerusalem, as their king, mostly misunderstood what this would mean. Jesus did not come as the messianic liberator they were expecting. He came in lowliness fulfilling the word of God given to the prophet Zechariah. The victory was the purchase of forgiveness for sin. The price was his death on the cross.

 

 

 

 

 Jesus is the answer to death.

Death is a well-known fact but is it a solution to suffering and pain? The death of those close to us does bring suffering and pain to the living and this can last for decades. The more important question is one that is sometimes asked at funerals … do you have hope for the future?

In this passage we find that Jesus’ friends, Martha and Mary, looked to him to save their sick brother from death but out of love he took a different course. He allowed Lazarus to die. Martha and Mary were confused. There was however a deeper meaning which would benefit them … death would not be the end. Jesus told them that their brother, Lazarus, had ‘fallen asleep’. This was another way of saying that Lazarus had died.

He told the sisters ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies’. Jesus waited 4 days after Lazarus had died and been placed in the tomb. Lazarus came out of the tomb at Jesus command to show that he brings life to both the physically and spiritually dead. We can trust Jesus and his stupendous words because he proved it by his own death on the cross and glorious resurrection.

 

We are safe and secure in the hands of Jesus.

In this passage we find people being referred to as sheep. Jesus sheep are the ones who ‘hear his voice’. He gives them eternal life, perseverance and security. Like a child holding onto a parent, so are all those who trust in Jesus … ’no one will snatch them out of his hand’.

Those of the Jews who rejected him in unbelief were not his sheep. They took offense at Jesus describing himself as ‘the son of God’ and called it blasphemy. Jesus response to them was to point to the works which he had done … miracles of healing which were the result of his oneness with the Father. They wanted to kill him but we are told that Jesus ‘escaped their grasp’.

 

 

 Something which happened a long time ago is still highly relevant today.

In ancient times, God had warned his people about the consequences of turning to idols. This passage mentions something called ‘the idol that provokes to jealousy’. The reference is to God’s reaction to a false god being placed in the temple where his people were to worship him alone. The ‘jealousy’ means that it grieves God … it is a bit like adultery in marriage. He will not tolerate anything entering into the sacred relationship he has with his people.

The outcome of all this was that God’s glory left the temple, a foreign nation overcame Israel, destroyed the temple and carried away many into exile. It was a very hard lesson for them to learn that God will not give his glory to another. In time to come, however, God was to show them something wonderful about his forgiveness and love. He sent his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross as a substitute for their sin. The altar and sacrifice of the temple worship pointed to this.

Jesus said to the people who had been desecrating the temple in his day the following words which are full of meaning …’destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it’. He was speaking of his death and resurrection. Everyone who comes to him in repentance and faith will be delivered from their sins.

 

 

 

The ‘what’ of the Christian message is familiar to most people. The ‘why’ and the ‘how’ however are much less well known.

 

In writing to the church in Rome, the apostle Paul begins by putting his name to the letter and then briefly telling about  the ‘what’ of the gospel before he goes on to the ‘why’ and the ‘how’. We find that the gospel (good news) was promised in the Old Testament Scriptures, it is about God’s Son, descended from David (in one sense) and resurrected from the dead.

We also catch a glimpse of Paul’s heart, addressing the believers in Rome as ‘beloved’ …… showing his care and concern for them and hope to visit them.

This first part of Chapter 1 finishes with Paul giving a glimpse of the ‘why’. He says he is not ashamed of the gospel, the momentous truths about Jesus dying on the cross and rising again from death, because it is God’s way of saving people and we now get a glimpse of the ‘how’ …..  it is by faith. Faith is simply ‘confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see’.

Verse 17 is the key …….. it contains a quote from the Old Testament “the righteous man shall live by faith”. Another way of saying this is ‘the one who through faith is righteous shall live’. Its not about what we have accomplished but our participation, by faith, in what has been accomplished for us by Jesus Christ on the cross.

 

 

Jesus is the good shepherd who has come to give us life by laying down his own.

The words ‘the good shepherd’ are very well known because schools and churches often use these words as part of their name. This passage, however, tells us clearly, from Jesus himself, the wonderful meaning of these words. Jesus sheep follow him because they ‘hear’ his voice. They know who he is and what he has done for them.

Jesus is also the ‘door’ or ‘gate’. It is in and through him that we enter into the new life as his disciples. Entering through him means that we are saved from the just eternal punishment which our sins deserve. We find ‘pasture’ for our souls in the constant reminder that we have been forgiven. This leads to a newness of life in continual enjoyment of what he has done for us.

We are further told that ‘the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’. There is a wealth of meaning in these words for believers. These words are a reminder that the ransom price for sin has been paid for us, once for all time, by a substitute who was innocent. How do we become part of his flock? … simply by trusting in what he has accomplished for us, as a completely free gift, on the cross.

 

 

 

Jesus opens our eyes to see and know who he is.

Blindness is a serious disability. Some people are born blind and others are blinded through injuries or disease. In the time of Jesus, when this passage was written, blindness had very serious implications for a person’s life, including social exclusion.

The blind man here, whom Jesus healed, had his life changed dramatically in two ways. Firstly was the physical healing which enabled him to see again. Secondly, and most importantly, his encounter with Jesus led to him being ‘healed’ from his sins. He found forgiveness through trusting in Jesus Christ and worshiped him.

The implications for our day, in many ways, parallel what happened to this blind man. We need to ask ourselves whether we are blind or whether we see our true condition and need. The Pharisees who rejected the blind man as a sinner were not aware of their own blindness. The blind man came to Jesus and regained his sight in the fullest sense of the word.

 

 

 

Jesus is the one who offers life.

There is a TV show which has the name ‘Who do you think you are?’ It is concerned with genealogy … searching for those of previous generations in our family line. This passage, however, is about a different version of the same question which occurred in response to Jesus’ activities.

Jesus upset the Jewish people, and especially the leaders, with what he said about his identity … that he has come to offer eternal life. How will this be done? In a totally unexpected way, through the cross. Our response to Jesus, the son, shows our attitude to God.

Jesus shocks the people again at the end of the passage. He tells them clearly of his equality with God. They responded to this claim by picking up rocks to stone him to death. The bigger question for us is ‘who do we think Jesus is?’ The answer either puts us with Jesus or against him.