Our LORD’s Prayer

Posted on April 22, 2023 by PastorDave

JOHN | Lesson 16 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read John 17.1-26

I / INTRODUCTION: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

1 / There is perhaps no deeper, richer, and more awe-inspiring chapter in all of Scripture than John 17. We can but fall on our faces ourselves as we approach it and ask the Lord Jesus Christ who prayed it to please send the power of the Holy Spirit to us as He promised [chs 14.25-26; 15.26; 16.12-15] to help us receive it and understand it as best as He is pleased to reveal it to us.

2 / We are calling this prayer ‘Our LORD’s Prayer’ because this is the longest recorded prayer that Our LORD prayed that is written in the New Testament. Other shorter and briefer and more pointed prayers are recorded, but none as long as this one. We have many lengthy sermons, parables, and conversations – but only this one lengthy prayer.

3 / So what I want to do here in this introduction is lay out some of the general subjects and movements of the prayer, and highlight some of the major requests Jesus makes of His Father on His and our behalf.

4 / OCCASION: This prayer follows immediately after the lengthy Farewell Discourse Jesus has been delivering to His disciples that began in ch 13.

  • Ch 14.31 sees Him lead them from the upper room where they had observed the Last Passover and First Lord’s Supper and out into the streets as they make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane.
  • Chs 15-16 are the continuation of the Farewell Discourse after they left the upper room.
  • Ch 17, this prayer, will be His Farewell Prayer which He prays to the Father in their hearing.

5 / PLACE: If you fast forward to ch 18.1, you will read ‘When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered.’ So this prayer is prayed somewhere outside the Jerusalem city walls before they entered Gethsemane.

6 / SCOPE: This prayer is eternity to eternity in its scope.

  • In v 5, Jesus speaks to the Father about the Glory they shared with one another even before the world was created.
  • In v 18, He speaks of the Father sending Him into the world and His mission and ministry here among us.
  • In v 24, He speaks prospectively about the eternity to come when we will be with Him and the Father in their Glory.

Of course, with God there is no ‘eternity past’ or ‘eternity future.’ That is just the only way we can begin to grasp, comprehend, and speak of it. God has and knows no ‘time.’ All eternity is to God ‘the eternal NOW.’ But this prayer spans it all.

7 / GENERAL DIVISIONS: This is overly-simplistic, but there are some distinct shifts in subject matter in Jesus’ words:

  • vv 1-8: Jesus prays about Himself, His mission, and the successful accomplishment of what the Father had sent Him to do;
  • vv 9-19: Jesus prays for His disciples, who are in His immediate Presence and hearing Him as He prays;
  • vv 20-26: Jesus prays for all those who will believe on Him in the ages to come through the witness of all those who will continue to bear witness to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of the Gospel.

8 / WHAT WE SHOULD LOOK FOR AND LEARN FROM OUR LORD’S PRAYER:

  • This is, first of all, a specimen and clear expression of the intimate communion, unity, and oneness that Jesus maintained with His Father during all His earthly sojourn and ministry here among us during the days of His flesh;
  • This is also an illustrious and encouraging testimony and pattern to show us the kind of personal and effectual intercession Jesus continues to bear before the Father on our behalf. Hebrews 7.25: Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
  • Not least, this prayer is also a wonderful example of what we, as believers, should pray for if we should pray ‘in Jesus’ Name.’ If this is what He prayed for, then we should pray for the same things. If this is what He prays for us, then we should make it our life’s purpose, passion, aim, and goal to strive for and live out these desires of Jesus daily.  

9 / You understand all I can do in these notes is give you some broad and brief ‘talking points’ as I always do … we will add more connections and comments during our class time and lesson. Even then, at the best, all we will be able to do is give you some summary doctrinal and practical points which I pray will pique your interest and ignite your passion to delve deeper into the heart and words of Our LORD’s Prayer for yourself…

II / vv 1-8 / “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do.”

1 / When Jesus had spoken these words… refers to the previous words of the Farewell Discourse which He began in ch 13. Now, He wants to seal what they have heard to their hearts and lives. …He lifted up His eyes to Heaven and prays to His Father to receive His life’s ministry as an offering of obedience and service to Him … to do His will.

2 / Father, the hour has come… This ‘hour’ was the final and complete accomplishment of our eternal redemption by the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Remember how Jesus had reminded His mother, Mary, in ch 2.4, ‘My hour has not yet come.’ You can continue to ‘count down’ Jesus’ journey to this ‘hour’ and climaxing moment and final fulfillment of His mission in chs 7.30; 8.20; 12.23, 27; 13.1; 16.32.

3 / THE STORY OF GLORY. ‘Glory’ and ‘glorify’ is one of the main theme-threads that tie and hold this prayer together. It is also one of the primary and most prominent theme-threads of the whole Gospel of John. It goes all the way back to ch 1.14. We have spoken of Glory often as we have made our way through this Gospel. Just remember that Glory is God Himself. God Himself is the GLORY. And when Jesus reveals Himself as God, He is revealing the Glory He is, and the Glory He shared with the Father, and the Glory from whence He came, and the Glory the Father is. Jesus came to reveal the Father, and He did that. That’s how He glorified the Father. He also glorified the Father by obeying Him and fulfilling the mission the Father had sent Him to accomplish. He is committing Himself to finish the work in this prayer. Jesus also prays that the Father will glorify Your Son which the Father will do by receiving His sacrificial death for our redemption, raising Him again from death, and bringing Him back to Glory in His ascension. See Philippians 2.5-11; 1 Peter 1.20-21; et. al.  

4 / God the Father had entrusted to Jesus, God the Son, all authority and dominion over all humanity. See, for example, ch 5.19-29.

5 / And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. What is this ‘eternal life’ but the Father new-birthing in us the Glory of Himself and Jesus Christ? Our new birth and eternal life is the very light of the Glory of Christ, who is the image of God / 2 Corinthians 4.4.

6 / …to all whom You have given Him. This phrase is repeated no fewer than seven times. Jesus also made this same expression in ch 6.37. The Father chooses whom He will save through the substitutionary offering of Jesus Christ, and then gives them [us] to the Son to redeem [see also ch 15.16]. You will also find God’s choosing us in Christ for salvation in Ephesians 1.3-6; 1 Peter 1.1-2.

7 / For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. Jesus came to earth with one primary aim: to reveal the Father / see ch 1.18. That’s what He means when He says in v 6, ‘I have manifested Your Name to the people whom You gave me out of the world… God’s Name is Himself: who He is, His heart, His desires, His character, His attributes, His love, His redemptive purposes for His people. Jesus revealed the Father’s Name by giving to us the Father’s words which the Father had given Him to give to us. These words are the words which Jesus spoke, and which are recorded in the Holy Scriptures, and which reveal to us the very mind of God.

III / vv 9-19 / “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.”

1 / There is a sense in which God loves the whole world which He has created. See ch 3.16. But there is also a more personal, distinctive, redemptive, and exclusive sense in which His salvation love is given to His people whom He chose and gave to Jesus Christ to save. This is what Jesus means by this opening statement in this second movement of this prayer. He came to save His people from their sins … those whom the Father had given to Him to save. Again, Ephesians 1.4-6 will bring this into focus: …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. This is the purpose for which Christ came and the mission He accomplished.

2 / Now, as Jesus directs His prayer toward us and as He begins asking the Father on our behalf, we want to begin highlighting at least four specific requests Jesus prays the Father will give us: [1] keep us; [2] sanctify us; [3] unify us; [4] bring us to be with Him and the Father forever.

3 / Holy Father, keep them in Your Name, which You have given Me… This request to ‘keep’ us will come up repeatedly as we continue in His prayer / vv 11, 12,15. To ‘keep’ means ‘to secure, preserve, protect, guard.’ This alone is the grounds of the security of our salvation. We do not keep ourselves saved … God keeps us saved. See ch 10.27-30; 1 Peter 1.3-5; et. al.

4 / v 12 / When Judas Iscariot is named here as the only one who was not ‘kept,’ it doesn’t mean that Jesus ‘lost’ him or couldn’t ‘keep’ him – it means only that Judas was an unbeliever, an imposter, a hypocrite, even ‘a devil’ from the beginning / see ch 6.70-71. Jesus knew that when He chose Judas as one of the Twelve. But the Scriptures had prophesied that a wicked ‘friend’ would betray the Messiah / Pss 41.9; 109.8; also Jn 13.18.

5 / Jesus Christ gives us His words so we may His joy in ourselves! The only way we will ever have joy in our lives, in this world, is by believing, receiving, keeping, and living by His words! We must be in His Word every day! We must learn to think by His words, speak by His words, study His words, hear and learn from His words, and depend upon and trust His words to be true – regardless of the circumstances and experiences we will encounter in our daily lives!

6 / I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. The world will hate us. We must anticipate that hatred, opposition, and antagonism. The reason the world system / society / culture will hate us is because we are different and distinct from them. We are ‘in the world’ as where we must live and bear witness to Jesus Christ. But, we have been born again. We are children of God. We belong to a different family, a different culture. We have different values. We define right and wrong the ways God does. We define sin and righteousness by Christ’s standards, and not by the shifting trends by which the world in which we live defines them. But regardless of the world’s hating us, canceling us, shunning us, rejecting us, persecuting us, and maybe even killing us, Jesus prays to the Father that He will keep us in His love and care. And He will!

7 / Jesus does not pray that the Father will take us out of the world, but that He will keep us from the evil that is in the world around us…in which we must live. It would be much easier for us just to be immediately snatched and transported to Heaven out of the world the moment we are saved. But we would miss two graces and privileges: [1] We are left here in the world to bear witness to the transforming power of the Gospel and to the Grace of God in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ; and [2] We are left here in the world so the Grace of God and the transforming power of the Gospel can continue to work in our lives through sanctification…

8 / And that brings us to the second prominent request Jesus asks the Father to give us and do in us. ‘Sanctify them in the Truth; Your Word is Truth.’ Here again, Jesus brings us back to The Word, the words, the Father had given Him to speak and give to us. We have this Word in the Gospel and in the entirety of the Holy Scriptures – The Bible.

9 / To sanctify means: ‘to set apart from the other things around them for a Godly purpose and use.’ We are sanctified, or set apart to be God’s and to belong to Him when we are saved [1 Corinthians 6.11]. But also, that sanctification begins to work in us, step by step, work by work, being carried on by the Holy Spirit, to conform us more and more into the very image and likeness of Jesus Christ. We are not justified [made right with God through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ] to be ‘put on hold’ or ‘put on ice,’ as it were, until we die and go to be with Christ. We are saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – to become more and more like Him in every grace. This, too, is part of our witness to His transforming Gospel. Sanctification glorifies Christ!

IV / vv 20-26 / “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word…”

1 / We now come to the third general division and movement of Our LORD’s Prayer. He has prayed about Himself and the successful accomplishment of the mission the Father had given Him; He has prayed for the Twelve who were there with Him and hearing Him pray; and now He prays for US! I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word…

2 / The Eleven [excluding Judas Iscariot] would continue to bear witness to Christ and proclaim His Gospel. Many others whom the Father had given to the Son would believe – and they, in turn, will continue to bear witness to Christ and many others would believe … and on and on until Jesus returns.

3 / Now, here is the third specific request Jesus prays the Father will give us: ‘that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.’ All believers in Jesus Christ are bound together in the unity of the Holy Spirit, the new birth, and faith in Christ. We must seek in every way to preserve that unity. But that unity of Christ can be maintained only by our mutual conformity to the Word He has given us. See Ephesians 4.1-16. Light cannot be in unity with darkness. Good cannot be in unity with evil. Truth cannot be in unity with lies, falsehoods, errors, and heresies. Holiness cannot be in unity with sin.

4 / And now, Jesus concludes His prayer to His Father with this fourth specific request: that we may be with Him where He and the Father are – in their GLORY – forever! Verse 24: Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. We just have to say: “And can it be that I should gain an interest in my Savior’s blood? Died He for me who caused His pain? For me who Him to death pursued? Amazing love, how can it be – that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” [Charles Wesley].

5 / But this is the Glory that God, the Father, has chosen us for! This is the Glory that Jesus Christ has died to redeem us to! And this is the Glory that He will come again to receive us into!

DO YOU BELIEVE?

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The Farewell Discourse, continued…

Posted on April 15, 2023 by PastorDave

JOHN | Lesson 15 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read John, chapters 15-16

I / INTRODUCTION: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

1 / I am calling this lesson ‘The Farewell Discourse, continued’ because chapters 15-16 are a continuation of Jesus’ final, parting encouragements to His disciples which He began in the upper room.

2 / The Farewell Discourse actually began in chapter 13 as they were eating the Last Passover together, and when He rose from supper to wash their feet … and then commanded them to love one another.

3 / It was at that time that Jesus began preparing them for His crucifixion and death the next day, and then for His eventual ascension and going back to the Father who had sent Him / ch 13.33. It was when He said, “Where I am going you cannot come” that the disciples began to panic and melt down with fear and anxiety / ch 13.36; ch 14.1-5; 14.27-28; et al.

4 / We began in Lesson 14 [on chapter 14] to show how Jesus tamps down their anxiety, assuages their fears, and reassures their faith with numerous promises He gives them. Yes, He is going away back to the Father, but He also promises them that their lives and ministries will continue to go on until He comes back. And, His going away will not leave them as orphans – He will send the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit who will take His place in them and with them. The Holy Spirit will continue to minister to them in all the ways Jesus had ministered to them – and even more so / see ch 16.7.

5 / So that brings us to chapters 15-16. There is a lot to cover here, but I don’t want to leave any of it out without at least connecting these instructions and promises with each other.

6/ PLEASE NOTE: what Jesus will relate to His disciples on their way to Gethsemane is not just random musings. Every part of this Farewell Discourse flows from what He had said before and is all connected.

7 / So what I hope to do here is just outline these various pericopes in Jesus’ Farewell Discourse, summarize the main promise and encouragement He wants to give His disciples [and us], and add perhaps some explanatory notes with each section to help us make the connections with comes before and after it … hopefully, to tie the whole Farewell Discourse together into a cohesive message.

8 / And, as always, we’ll fill in some of the gaps and give more details than I’ve included here when we’re together in our class time…

II / ch 15.1-17 / You will continue to bear fruit in character, service, and witness … as you abide in Me, the True Vine – the Source and Giver of your life.

1 / ‘Bearing fruit’ continues through this section through verse 16…

2 / The ‘fruit’ we will bear is not just one thing: we will bear the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in our character; the ‘fruit of our labors’ in our service; and the ‘fruit of believers’ through our witness.

3 / “I AM the True Vine and My Father is the Vinedresser. You will continue to bear fruit as you fulfill the Great Commission and Mission Mandate I will give you before I go back to the Father.”

4 / “You must abide/remain in Me as the Source of your life – everyone who does not abide in Me only evidences they are not connected to Me as the Source of their life. They are imposters, pretenders, hypocrites. They will be destroyed.”

5 / “You must also abide in all the words I have given you from My Father. The Word will be the channel through which My life will flow through you and work in you.”

6 / “You must also do everything you by asking the Father in My Name in prayer” / see ch 14.12-14.

7 / “You must also abide in My love – loving Me and loving one another with My love through you. There is no greater love than the love I am demonstrating to you by dying and laying down My life for you. You all keep on loving one another as I am loving you.”

8 / NOTE all the truths we must ‘abide’ in to bear fruit to Christ: [1] in Him, [2] in His words, [3] in His love

III / ch 15.18 – 16.4 / The world of unbelievers will hate you, persecute, and even kill some of you. They will hate you because they hate Me. But I am telling you ahead of time so you will know to expect it. And the Holy Spirit – the Helper, Advocate – will be bearing your witness through you.

1 / “Don’t expect the unbelieving world to love, accept, or receive you and your witness to Me. People love ‘their own kind.’ But, they hated both Me and My Father … and will continue to hate you because you are Mine.”

2 / “The primary reason they will hate you is because you will expose their sin and unbelief … that’s why they hated Me.”

3 / “But the Scripture was fulfilled in their hating Me ‘without cause’ [see Pss 35.19 & 69.4]. The same will be true when they hate you.”

4 / “BUT, you will continue to bear witness of Me through the power of the Holy Spirit. He will be the One who witnesses to Me through you” / see Acts 1.8.

5 / v 26 / NOTE: it was the witness to Jesus, and especially His resurrection, that the enemies of Christ will seek to kill and destroy. This persecution – and even martyrdom – began in earnest shortly after Jesus’ own resurrection as the apostles boldly bore witness to Him. Jesus’ promise here is adamant and fail-proof: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” The witness of the apostles and the churches to the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is invincible! The power of the Holy Spirit speaking and working through the faithful witness of the churches will not fail!  

6 / “So don’t allow their opposition to throw you off of your mission – don’t think their persecution of you, or even killing you, means that My plan is not working out or that they are thwarting your mission. I am telling you all this so you will not be surprised when it happens to you.”

IV / ch 16.5-15 / Your witness will not be at all deterred or defeated by the opposition of the unbelieving world. The Holy Spirit will bear witness to Me through you. Be encouraged and emboldened!

1 / “I know that because I have said, ‘I am going away,’ sorrow is filling your heart. That is all you have heard. You should be asking Me, ‘Lord, what are You going to be doing when You go away to Your Father?’”

2 / “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Actually, you are going to be more fully empowered and equipped to be My witnesses through the Presence and power of the Holy Spirit. He will be your Helper and My Advocate with you and in you.”

3 /  v 7 / “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” When Jesus was with His disciples in physical, human body, His Presence was localized where He was. But now that He has gone back to the Father, and by sending the power of the Holy Spirit upon us, the message of the Gospel of Christ has gone out into the whole world!

4 / vv 8-9 / “And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

  • concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me / The Holy Spirit will prove to be wrong the immediate enemies of Christ when their unbelief is refuted by His resurrection – everything He said about Himself will come to pass. They will stand condemned before God when they stand before Him in the judgment and also by the historical record of the Gospel Scriptures; the Holy Spirit will also do the work of convicting all who will eventually believe in Christ concerning their sin of unbelief. He will bring them to faith to believe in Christ.
  • concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no longer  / The Holy Spirit will bear witness to the righteousness of Jesus Christ by raising Him from the dead, and then later to ascend to the right hand of the Majesty on High. Only a righteous Savior could demonstrate His own righteousness by such a Divine act.
  • concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged / The Holy Spirit will bear witness to the defeat of Satan by raising Christ again from the dead. Jesus pronounced judgment on Satan in chapter 12.31. The head of the serpent was crushed. When Christ was raised from the dead, He triumphed over Satan and all the powers of darkness / Colossians 2.13-15; Hebrews 2.14-15; Revelation 12.7-11. The Holy Spirit continues to pass judgment and condemnation against the ruler of this present darkness every time a new believer is brought to faith in Christ / 2 Corinthians 4.1-6.

5 / “As you bear witness to Me in the power of the Holy Spirit, He will do all the work of convicting the world of the truth of your witness. He will convict some of the truth of what you witness, and they will believe and be saved. As for the others who do not believe, the Holy Spirit will ‘prove them to be wrong’ by verifying and demonstrating the truth of everything you witness.”

6 / “I can’t tell you everything you need to know right now. There is too much … and you can’t even understand and comprehend it all in your present state of mind and experience. But the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire you to understand My Gospel … and He will also be inspiring you to write more words to explain and instruct you in the fuller understanding and proclamation of My Gospel.”

V / ch 16.16-24 / I know all of this sudden realization that I am going away back to My Father is traumatizing you – you are going to be saddened and traumatized more here shortly. But, trust Me, your momentary sorrow will be turned into ever-lasting joy when you see Me again.

1 / “When I have been crucified and buried, you will not be seeing Me. But then, after three days, I will rise again, and you will see Me again! And after forty days with you, I will be going to My Father. Ten days after that, I will send the Holy Spirit upon you to empower you to continue My mission!”

2 / “During that short period of time when I am in My grave, our enemies will rejoice and celebrate what they think is their victory over Me. You will be filled with sorrow … you will weep and lament – wondering if it’s all over for Me and for you.”

3 / “Like when a mother is in labor pains and suffering from the painful contractions, you, too, will suffer the pain of my momentary absence. But the pains of travail are giving birth to a new life! So it will be with Me. Then there is celebratory JOY in the birth of a new life. The pain of the travail is over and forgotten! I know you can’t see and feel that now … but you will!”

VI / ch 16.25-33 / I have been using short and startling statements to prepare you for the events that are coming – after a few days when the upcoming events have transpired, I will explain them to you more fully and clearly. You will be more able to understand then. Just know this: you will have troubles without end in the world … but I have conquered, overcome, and defeated all your enemies and opposition. I will give you My peace. Be encouraged and emboldened to believe and trust Me!

1 / “When I have been saying things like: “I am going away…,” “I am going to the Father…,” “Yet a little while and you will not see Me; and then a little while and you will see Me again…” – I know these words have been like riddles and parables and cryptic messages to you. That’s because the events I’ve been telling you about haven’t happened yet. But after a few days, when it has all transpired, I’ll have more opportunity to explain it all to you so you can better understand.”

2 / “In that day – after I have gone back to My Father – you will pray to the Father in My Name and by My authority. I will not need to persuade the Father to receive your requests or show favor to you. Because the Father loves you already. The Father loves you because you have received Me when I came from Him.”

3 / [NOTE: when Jesus says in verse 28, “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father,” He is summing up and reiterating the entire theme and message of the Gospel of John. See how this one statement reiterates what John writes in chapter 1.9-18.]

4 / v 29: “His disciples said, ‘Ah, now You are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came from God.’” The disciples meant well. They thought they were beginning to put it all together and see the big picture. But they really had no idea how incompletely they understood the implications of what Jesus was telling them.

5 / BUT, Jesus knew they didn’t understand … nor were they prepared for the tests of their faith that were coming upon them, even in the very next few minutes and hours. He would go to the Garden of Gethsemane. He would be accosted by the Roman soldiers being led by the Jewish religious leaders [chief priests and elders]; Judas would be at the head of the party to point out Jesus and identify Him; they would arrest Him and take Him into custody; He would be taken to Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod for mock hearings and trials; He would be condemned to die by crucifixion; and by the next morning, He would be hanging on His Cross to die.

6 / vv 31-32: “Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me.’” Jesus had already warned Simon Peter that he would deny that he even knew Him / ch 13.36-38. The other disciples would turn tail and run to protect themselves from being arrested with Jesus.

7 / This, too, was in fulfillment of Scripture prophesied in Zechariah 13.7: “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who stands next to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered…”

8 / You, too, must believe this promise Christ Himself trusted in: when all other earthly friends, support systems, and resources turn against you, forsake you, and fail you … God will never leave you nor forsake you. And Jesus Himself will promise later in the Great Commission, “And, behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We must know that, believe that, trust that!

9 / v 33 / And then … this concluding reassuring promise to calm their troubled hearts – not only in advance of what was impending upon Him and them, but also for all the ages to come…until He comes again: “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

DO YOU BELIEVE?

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Our Mom’s obituary

Posted on April 8, 2023 by PastorDave

Here is the obituary and service arrangements for our beloved Mom.

Here also is the full picture that was cropped for the obituary. This is our Mom in the element, environment, and context of her life’s calling [while also being our Mom]

Louise Hemric Parks

Louise Hemric Parks, widow of Ernest W. Parks, departed this life and entered into the Presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Wednesday evening,  April 5, 2023, at the age of 93 years. She passed from here to Glory at peace with God through her faith in Jesus Christ. And she was at peace in herself through her confidence in His promises.

She was born on June 26, 1929 to Glenn William Hemric and Clyde Victoria Hayes Hemric as the first of four children and the only daughter. She was raised in Jonesville/Yadkin County, NC before coming to Winston-Salem to work at the age of 17. She was married to Ernest W. Parks in 1947, and they were married for 65 years.

She attended school in Yadkin County through the 11th grade, and then later, as an adult, she earned her GED from Forsyth Technical Institute in Winston Salem at the age of 50. During this same time, her children taught her to drive, and she got her driver’s license.  She continued her education at Forsyth Tech to acquire her LPN degree, graduating with honors. She worked for 18 years in the nursing field.

She devoted her life to being a homemaker until their six children were out of school. She nurtured and cultivated character and faith in Christ in their lives. “Her children rise and call her ‘Blessed’” (Proverbs 31.28).

She also served the Lord in the role of a pastor’s wife as a charter member of Goldfloss Baptist Chapel where her husband, Ernest, was the founding pastor in 1954. When he accepted the pastorate of Little Sewell Baptist Church, Crag WV, she served with him there from 1957-66. She then returned to Winston Salem with him and has been a member of Hillcrest Baptist church since 1966.

She was predeceased by her husband, Ernest (2013); her parents; her son-in-law, John Fleshman; two grandsons, Will Gough and Jacob Russell; her brothers, Fred, RJ, and Alan Hemric and Alan’s wife, Betty.

Surviving to continue her legacy of love, faith, and service are her six children: Daniel Parks (Sandy), David Parks (Debbie), Philip Parks (Randy), Sharon Russell (Calvin), Joy Fleshman-Smith (Bobby) and Paula Antonelli (Ralph); 12 grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and more friends and those who have been influenced by her life than we know.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 from 6-8 pm at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel. Her Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 12 noon at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel.  A burial service will follow at Parklawn Memorial Park.

Her service will be led by her three sons, Daniel, David, and Philip, and her Pastor, Bobby Smith.

For those who wish to make memorial contributions, donations may be made in her memory to her beloved Hillcrest Baptist Church, 4580 S Main St, Winston Salem NC 27127.        

https://www.hayworth-miller.com/obituaries/louise-parks

  

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“…and show her honor…” ~1 Peter 3.7

Posted on March 27, 2023 by PastorDave

“…and show her honor…” / 1 Peter 3.7

We love, appreciate, and honor all our pastors’ wives for the contributions each one makes to the ministry of our church. But you will understand if I give this distinct and personal expression of honor to my wife.

For 47 years now, she has served as this pastor’s wife. I was a pastor when she married me, and she is the daughter of a pastor…so she knew what she was signing up for.

She has joined and given her life to me. She has loved me, supported me, encouraged me, and honored me. She has rejoiced with me and wept with me. She has often suffered and endured with me. She has felt everything I have felt, and most of the time, more deeply and personally than I have. She has shared, sacrificed, and supplemented me as my honorable complement in every activity of our ministry together. She has followed me, served alongside me, and contributed her own spheres of ministry in ways I could not have fulfilled. I know that I could not have done whatever I have without her companionship and partnership in it all. She is not only the ‘apple of my eye’ of love, but I have also often called her – and publicly so – ‘the wind beneath my wings.’

And when I asked her to marry me … and she consented to honor me by allowing me the privilege and pleasure to honor her … I promised her that I would always live with her in obedience to 1 Peter 3.7 LSB:

“You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

I knew enough about the root of that word ‘honor’ to know that it means ‘a valuing by which the price is fixed; to estimate the worth, to fix the value.’ It is, at its root, a ‘paygrade’ word and scale, if you please [as in 1 Timothy 5.17].

So, when I honor her, I only treat her according to her worth – both in herself and to me. Truly, ‘An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above pearls [or any and all jewels]’ / Proverbs 31.10 LSB.

More than that, I understood that I must value her [and live with her accordingly] as God values her, for she is ‘a fellow heir of the grace of life’ … and that value is set on her by God Himself. She is God’s beloved daughter before she is my wife. And I sure don’t want to get crossways with God’s own jealousy for her or treat her with any less value than God has set on her.

So, Debbie, here’s a small coin of my inestimable honor I owe you. I sure do love you!

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Let not your hearts be troubled | Jesus’ Panacea Promises for Troubled Hearts

Posted on March 25, 2023 by PastorDave

JOHN | Lesson 14 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read John 14.1-31

I / INTRODUCTION: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

1 / Upper Room Discourse. We usually call chapters 14-16 ‘The Upper Room Discourse’ because Jesus is the One speaking, and these words were spoken by Him as they were in an upper room in Jerusalem celebrating the Last Passover meal together / see Mark 14.12-16.

2 / But chapter 14 is the only part of the discourse that was spoken in the upper room [along with the events of chapter 13]. In ch 14.31, Jesus announces to the disciples ‘Rise, let us go from here’ and they leave the upper room.

3 / The discourses of chapters 15-16 are spoken by Jesus probably on the streets of Jerusalem as they make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane.

4 / And maybe even the intercessory prayer in ch 17 was prayed by Jesus in the presence and hearing of His disciples before He entered Gethsemane where He agonized longer in prayer…and where He was arrested by the Romans and the Jewish religious leaders under Judas Iscariot’s direction.

5 / So chapter 14 is the truest Upper Room Discourse. However, the other succeeding chapters will be the continuation of what He delivered in the upper room.

6 / ‘Let not your hearts be troubled.’ Jesus themes everything He will say here in chapter 14 around His primary admonition of comfort and reassurance. Their hearts were indeed troubled. Jesus had repeated in ch 13.33 what He had often said before: Where I am going you cannot come…now. [See also the follow up with Simon Peter in v 36.]

7 / Except that, they are just now ‘getting it.’ When it finally registered in their hearing that Jesus was going away, it rocked their world. This was not just a ripple of restlessness or agitation. It was not just a scratching-the-head moment of confusion. Not just “Hmmm…wonder what He means by that?” It was a full-blown panic attack…a meltdown with anxiety. The upper room became panic city.

  • ‘What? You are leaving us?
  • You are going away?
  • Where are you going…and why?
  • What will become of us?
  • What will we do without You?
  • What are we supposed to do now? …and how will we know how to do it?
  • Who will lead us?
  • Who will take care of us?
  • Who will lead, teach, and instruct us how to conduct our lives as Your followers?
  • Etc…’

8 / We know that Jesus is targeting all these words to reassure their troubled hearts because He will ‘circle back’ to this same issue and repeat it again in v 27: ‘Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid!’

9 / Key theme words to follow and highlight:

  • Go…going: Jesus repeatedly relates everything He says here to His disciples’ primary troubling concern – that He is going away from them.
  • Believe: “Believe in God; believe also in Me.” Then He proceeds to tell them what they must believe to both cure their presently-troubled hearts [‘Stop allowing your hearts to be troubled’] and prevent the troubling of their hearts going forward [Don’t ever let your hearts be troubled.’] To believe is to receive and accept as the truth; trust, rely, depend upon; have confidence in.
  • Words…works: Jesus teaches His disciples [and us] to believe the words He has spoken and the works He has done. Both His words and works are given to demonstrate and evidence His union and unity with the Father – to whom He is now going. Jesus has often repeated these same claims all throughout His ministry – both to His disciples and also to His enemies / for example, ch 5.17-18.
  • See…sees…seen: The visible Glory of God that they had physically seen in Jesus [see ch 1.14 & 1 John 1.1-4] was the same as the invisible Glory of the Father to Whom He was going. When they had seen Him…they had seen the Father.
  • Know…known: They did, in fact, already know the same truths they were afraid they didn’t know. They knew because they knew Jesus…and Jesus and the Father are One in nature, essence, character, purpose, and works.  

10 / And so, what follows in ch 14 is a series of promises Jesus makes to them and to us, to give them assurances and comfort for their lives and ministries in the days ahead.

11 / AND these promises were not only for them, but also for us. So, think right now about what is troubling your heart…what issues, events, fears, anxieties are troubling you most. We, too, must do what Jesus teaches here: Believe in God, believe also in Me!

12 / We will divide up Jesus’ reassuring promises into two stanzas:

  • vv 2-14 / Yes, I am going away…but let not your hearts be troubled…because I am going to the Father, from whom I came, who sent me, and whom you know by knowing Me!
  • vv 15-31 / Yes, I am going away…but let not your hearts be troubled…because I will give you the Holy Spirit, who will be another Helper just like me, and He will be with you and in you forever. I, myself, will continue to be with you and in you in the Person, Presence, and power of the Holy Spirit!

13 / All I will do here is read through these two stanzas of ‘Panacea Promises For Troubled Hearts’ together. We will reiterate and paraphrase Jesus’ words … attempting to add some fuller thoughts to His words while maintaining His connecting trains of thought. We will seek to hear and learn the lessons Jesus teaches us and apply His precious promises here to our own hearts, lives, and experiences.

Prepare to believe!

II / vv 2-14 / Yes, I am going away…but let not your hearts be troubled…because I am going to the Father, from whom I came, who sent me, and whom you know by knowing Me!

1 / v 2 / Believe that I am going to my Father’s House – where He is. And in my Father’s House are many rooms [monai] for all of you who believe in Me. I am going there to prepare a ‘place’ for you to be there together with us…a place to live, remain, abide, belong / see Hebrews 9.24

2 / v3 / Believe that if I go away to my Father’s House, and if I prepare a place for you also, I will come again for you – to receive you to myself…so we can be there together forever.

3 / vv 4-6 / And, yes! you DO know the way to where I am going…because I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE! And I am the only Way, because no one is coming to the Father – where He is – except through Me!

4 / vv 7-9 / You DO know who the Father is…because you know Me…and you have seen Me.

5 / vv 10-11 / Believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. You must believe that the Father has given me all the words that I have spoken to you. And the Father has done through Me all the works that I have done. That is why I have done the works I have done – to show you the Father’s love and power. I have spoken words to you to explain the works and how they reveal the Father. So believe my words and believe the works. They all show the Father.

6 / vv 12-14 / When you believe Me, you will continue doing the works of witness to the life and power of the Gospel. You will continue to bear evidence to the Father and to Me. BECAUSE, in fact, it will be ME who is doing the works through you! I will be doing them from Heaven. AND you will do those works by asking Me in prayer to do them! Remember: Ask Me, and ‘this I will do’…’I will do it’!  

  • We must note here that our praying itself is as much of the ‘greater works than these he will do’ as are the works Christ Himself will work through us as we pray to Him, asking Him to do what needs to be done. It also is evident that nothing we even attempt to do in our strength, energy, and ability will be accomplished … only what we ask Him to do through us. Nothing is accomplished apart from our asking Jesus to do it…and His doing it! Jesus repeats the promise two times to be sure we understand and get it: “Whatever you ask in my Name, this I will do…If you ask Me anything in my Name, I will do it.” He will reiterate and reinforce our absolute dependence upon Him and impotence apart from Him in ch 15.4-5: “…for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

III / vv 15-31 / Yes, I am going away…but let not your hearts be troubled…because I will give you the Holy Spirit, who will be another Helper just like me, and He will be with you and in you forever. I, myself, will continue to be with you and in you in the Person, Presence, and power of the Holy Spirit!

1 / v 15 / In the days and ages ahead – until I come again – you must live your lives and conduct all your ministry by loving Me and keeping my commandments…especially the primary commandment to ‘love one another just as I have loved you’ / see ch 13.34-35.

2 / vv 16-17 / Yes, I am going away to the Father, but I will ask Him to give you another Helper [parcletos / one who is called to come along beside you]. He is the Holy Spirit. He will be ‘another’ of the same kind as I have been to you. He will serve you as your Helper, Companion, Counselor, Comforter for your troubled hearts…even as a kind of ‘proxy’ in my place. The world – unbelievers – have no association with Him. AND, He will be with you forever [since I am physically going away for now…] He will dwell – continue to live – both with you and in you … forever!

3 / vv 18-20 / Yes, I am going away in my physical body…but I am not abandoning you as orphans – without a Christ-Presence. I will even come back to you for a few days after my resurrection and you will see that I am alive! And I will share with you that same resurrection life! When you see me again – resurrected and alive – you will see proof for your faith that everything I am telling you and promising you is the Truth! You will see the Presence and Life of the Father living in Me, and my Presence and Life living in you, and you living in Me by the Eternal Life of my resurrection in the Person and Presence of the Holy Spirit!

4 / vv 21-23 / You will continue to express and evidence your love for Me by believing and obeying my commandments. And when you do that, My Father and I will give you undeniable expressions of our love for you – I will continue to manifest [reveal, appear, make visible to your experience] my love for you. How will I do that? When you love the Father and Me, we will come to you in the Presence and Person of the Holy Spirit and ‘make our home’ with you!

  • NOTE: this is the second of the only two times this word is found in the New Testament – the same word Jesus uses for ‘rooms’ in v 2.

5 / v 24 / Those who do not love Me will not believe, keep, obey my words. They will have no part in all these promises I am giving you. But all of the words I have given you are my Father’s words that He gave Me to give you. He sent Me to you to give you these words…so you may believe them and be saved – and be one with us!

6 / v 25 / I have spoken all these words from the Father to you…while I have been with you in my physical Person and Presence. ‘But,’ you ask, ‘are these same words and promises going away with you when you to the Father?’

7 / vv 26 / NO! All of these words I have spoken to you will remain with you through the continuing ministry and Presence of the Holy Spirit! He will continue to teach you all the words I have verbally spoken to you. He will keep on reminding you of everything I have said. And He will also give you a much fuller and more complete understanding of so many things you can’t fully comprehend now! [see ch 15.26 & 16.12-15].

8 / v 27 / Yes, I know your hearts are very troubled. But you need not be! Give me your troubled hearts by believing in Me, trusting Me, having confidence in the Truth and faithfulness of everything I’m telling you. Yes, I am going away in my physical Person – but I am leaving my peace with you! This is the very same peace that I have in myself! It is the peace of being One with the Father. It is not a peace that depends on the comfort, convenience, and preferences of passing circumstances – that is the kind of human, earthly, worldly peace that comes and goes in the course of natural, human life. My peace that I am giving you that comes from being saved, right with God, reconciled to the Father through your faith in Me. So, STOP LETTING YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET THEM BE AFRAID!

9 / v 28 / Your hearts are being troubled because you heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ Instead of being troubled, you should rejoice! Because when I go away, I am going to the Father. And He is ‘greater than I’ … not in the sense of ‘being more God’ than I am … but rather in the sense that I have come to you at His command, serving His pleasure on your behalf, and fulfilling all His purposes of love for your salvation. And now, I am going back to Him to bring all those redemptive purposes to pass – to fulfill all His loving, saving will for you! He sent Me to you to save you and bring you all Home with us to be with us forever! This is how it will happen!

10 / v 29 / I am telling you all this in advance – before it happens – so you will know I am telling you the Truth when it all comes to pass as I have said. I know I’m asking you to believe many things by faith in Me and my words. But, you can trust me! I will show you!

11 / v 30 / Our time for conversation tonight is very short and rapidly drawing to a close. This very night, I am going to be arrested, turned over to my enemies, and be condemned to die. All of this is under the direction and influence of ‘the ruler of this world’ – Satan, the Devil. He has already taken over Judas Iscariot’s heart. He is the one who has been working in the hearts of the Jewish religious rulers over these last many months when they have been making their plans to kill Me. They are about to fulfill all their murderous plots here within the next few hours.

12 / v 31a / But everything that is transpiring now has been prophesied by the Scriptures. And it has been the Father’s covenant plan for Me from eternity. I love the Father and always obey and please Him. My Father’s commandment is for Me to come here to earth and die for you all – the people whom He has given Me to save by my sacrificial death as your Passover Lamb. And as I fulfill my love for Him by obeying Him even to the point of death – even death on the Cross – I will be giving public testimony to my love for Him.

13 / v 31b / It’s time to go. Everybody get up. We’re leaving this upper room. I’ll have more to say as we make our way to where we’re going next…    

HOW IS YOUR HEART TROUBLED?

DO YOU BELIEVE?

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Love one another…as I have loved you

Posted on March 18, 2023 by PastorDave

JOHN | Lesson 13 | Lesson Notes / Talking points

Read John 13.1 – 14.7

I / INTRODUCTION: MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

1 / Yes, I know, there’s a lot of ground to cover here. But since it’s all connected and flows from one scene and conversation to the next, I want to try to at least try to show here in this lesson how it all fits together. We will have to add more details, remarks, and explanatory commentary as we work our way through the lesson…

2 / Just let me lay out here a summary of the lesson Jesus wants His disciples to learn…and DO! And that will include all of us, too! see ch 13.12-17 & 34-35.

3 / The encompassing focus and theme of all these transactions is: Jesus prepares His disciples for His going away back to the Father … by teaching and commanding them to love and serve one another … and showing them how to do it.

II / ch 13.1-17 / ‘JESUS…BEGAN TO WASH THE DISCIPLES’ FEET…’

1 / Jesus teaches them to love and serve one another by washing their feet Himself … and then commands them [and us] to continue to follow His example and model toward each other.

2 / Jesus knows He is going back to the Father [death, resurrection, ascension], but His disciples need to know how to conduct their relationships with one another during the interim between when He goes away and comes back again to receive us to Himself. This theme ties together chs 13 & 14.

3 / Here are just some of the prominent graces and characteristics of disciples that Jesus demonstrates and exemplifies when He washed their feet:

  • [1] His love for them / v 1. One of John’s most prominent theme-threads and focuses of His Gospel is Jesus’ love for us. ‘…when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father…’ just reminds us again why the Father had sent Him into the world to begin with…and why Jesus had come = LOVE.  God has sent His Son into the world because He so loved the world. ‘…having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.’ Meaning: He loved them [and us] to the completion and the fulfillment of expressing and demonstrating that love. He had come to save us from our sins by dying on His Cross, resurrecting, and ascending back to the Glory He shared with the Father in the beginning. He will show us that love again by washing His disciples’ feet.   
  • [2] His humility among them / vv 2-11. When Jesus washes His disciples’ feet, He is expressing His extreme humility [see also vv 12-16]. And He will command us to follow His example as we continue to relate to one another [more on that in vv 31-35]. When we read about [He] rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist…, it reminds us of Philippians 2.1-11, how He laid aside the Glory He shared with His Father in the beginning, ‘but emptied Himself, by taking for the form of a servant…He humbled Himself,’ etc. Washing the feet of another was the humble work of a servant. If a householder/host had a servant, the servant performed this menial service. If there was no servant in the household, the householder/host performed it. It was unthinkable in their culture and customs that you would have a friend or guest in your home without serving them this way /  see Jesus’ rebuke of the proud Pharisee, Simon, for refusing and neglecting to even offer Him water to wash His own feet, Luke 7.44.
  • [3] His obedience to the Father [and our obedience to Him] / vv 3-5. Jesus’ obedience to the Father is seen by His humbling and giving Himself to this sacrificial service of saving us from our sins. This washing of their feet was a symbol and emblem of His dying for us to cleanse us from our sins / see v 10. See also Philippians 2.8 again: ‘…He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…’ Our obedience to Christ will be shown as we follow His example toward one another: If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just I have done to you … If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them … [see also vv 34-35].  We will love and serve one another in this same way … if and when we obey Christ.
  • [4] His service for them / vv 12-17. I know we have mentioned ‘service’ already numerous times in the previous comments, but here are just some of the services Christ provided for His disciples by washing their feet … and we will provide for one another when we obey Him and follow His example:
  1. Refreshment. Washing the feet of others was refreshing…in the sense that it washed off the dust and dirt they had gathered on their feet by walking in sandals or open shoes. And, it just felt good.
  2. Encouragement. We show the worth of another to us when we are willing to serve them. And it shows our mutual love, friendship, and relationship with one another.
  3. Correction. Jesus will compare washing His disciples’ feet to the daily forgiveness and cleansing of our sins in v 10. In fact, Jesus uses two words in that verse: The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you [all] are clean [excepting Judas]. The first word refers to our justification, or being completely ‘washed’ and forgiven of all our sins / see 1 Corinthians 6.11 & Titus 3.5. The second word means to [what we call] ‘wash up,’ like your hands, face, feet, or other parts of the body that just need to be washed separately – apart from a bathing of the whole body. We need this when we have committed specific, daily sins that need to be confessed and resolved. We should perform this ‘washing’ ourselves by confessing our sins, praying for forgiveness and cleansing, and forsaking them. AND we should help to correct one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and as His disciples.
  4. Edifying, building up. We ‘wash one another’s feet’ when we fellowship and serve one another and together – as we help one another grow in grace and in obedience to Christ.
  5. Meeting one another’s needs. In short, and to sum it all up, we ‘wash one another’s feet’ when we do and give what we can to meet one another’s needs. When any one of us lacks or needs anything, we need to be there to give and do whatever is needed to meet those needs and make each other ‘whole.’  

III / ch 13.18-30 / ‘…ONE OF YOU WILL BETRAY ME…’

1 / Enter…and exit…Judas Iscariot.

2 / Jesus had chosen Judas to be one His disciples knowing full well that Judas was an unbeliever and a traitor – even that he was a devil / see ch 6.70-71. Judas was always, from the beginning, an unbeliever and under the control, dominion, and direction of the Evil One. But this, too, had been prophesied in Psalm 41.9, and must be fulfilled. There is another commentary on Judas’s spiritual lostness and evil in Acts 1.15-25.

3 / Judas had already conspired with the Jewish religious leaders to betray Jesus to them: Matthew 26.14-16; Mark 14.10-11; Luke 22.3-6.

4 / After Jesus exposed and identified Judas as the traitor, Satan entered into him / v 27. We have to note here that even though Jesus knew Judas’s deceitful treachery all along, none of the disciples entertained any suspicion toward him. Judas had participated in all their ministry activities along with them. He had put up such a good front that from all appearances, he was no different than the others.

5 / Just one more reminder here how John has been weaving his numerous theme-threads all throughout this Gospel. When John writes ‘And it was night,’ he isn’t just giving us a time stamp. He is following up on the contrasting themes of light/darkness that he began in ch 1.4-9; 3.19-21; 8.12; 9.5; 11.9-10; 12.35-36. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. As such, He is our eternal Life, bringing us the knowledge of God, who is Light, and into a spiritual relationship with Him. Judas had no part in Jesus. Judas was of the night and darkness / see Luke 22.47-53.

IV / ch 13.31-35 / ‘LOVE ONE ANOTHER…JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU…’

1 / Here now is the explanation and interpretation Jesus gives His disciples [and us] to teach us how we must follow the example He set for us by washing His disciples’ feet. Remember His application of what He had done to them and for them in vv 12-17: “Do you understand what I have done to you? … For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you … If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

2 / When he [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him at once.” So what does this mean? Jesus is again feeling the impending dread of being made sin for us when He is charged with our sins on the Cross / see where He said these same words back in ch 12.27-28. God the Father will ‘glorify’ Jesus through His death, resurrection, ascension, and being restored to the Glory He had with the Father in the beginning. Jesus reiterates this theme over and over. God is glorified by Jesus’ obedience to Him, and Jesus is glorified by being received back to the Father and their shared Glory / see Acts 2.36; Philippians 2.9-11; 1 Peter 1.11, 21; and many others.

3 / Now that Judas has exited, Jesus returns His discourse to His disciples, as if to say, ‘Now, then, let us proceed with my hour and with what I have come to do. And let me teach you the meaning and significance of the lesson I have shown you when I washed your feet.’

4 / Jesus reminds them again He is going away…back to the Father: “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews [see ch 7.32-34], so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’” When Jesus says, ‘Yet a little while I am with you…,’ He means just a few more hours. Keep in mind, this is the night of His betrayal and arrest that will result in His crucifixion the very next day. The disciples still are ‘not getting it.’ They are not comprehending and processing the meaning, weight, and impact of Jesus’s words. They are not realizing the impending death He will die…tomorrow! BUT they are beginning to sense the seriousness of His words and the troubling of His own soul / see v 21. Looking ahead, this is why their own hearts are beginning to be ‘troubled’ with fear, anxiety, and uncertainty / see ch 14.1 & 27.

5 / Jesus repeats and reinforces His commandment to ‘love one another … just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.’ Jesus calls this a new commandment … not because they have not been commanded before to love one another. Loving one another has been God’s law and commandment from the beginning. Loving one another has always been the ‘second greatest commandment’ / see Matthew 22.39. But it is ‘new’ in that Jesus has just given them a Divine model and example to show them how to fulfill the commandment to love one another. He did that when He Himself washed their feet. As if to say, Do you understand what I have done to you? [v 12] … I have shown you how I love you and what I’m willing to do to show you my love. So study and remember what I have done to you, and keep on loving and serving one another after I have physically and bodily departed from you to go back to the Father. This is my supreme commandment to govern your relationships with one another: LOVE ONE ANOTHER IN THE SAME WAYS I HAVE LOVED YOU!

6 / Jesus sets the standard and rule for evidencing and demonstrating that we are truly His disciples. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” What is a ‘disciple’ anyway? A disciple is not just someone who learns information from the teacher, but someone who lives his own life the same ways the teacher lives his life. How will others know that we are true believers and followers of Jesus? By living our lives by the same model and example that Jesus lived His life! Jesus Christ is known for His LOVE. And if we want to bear witness to a watching world that we are true believers and followers of Christ, it will be by our LOVING ONE ANOTHER!

7 / Why is it so difficult for us to personally, sincerely, and truthfully say the simple words to one another: “I love you!” I know we must use discernment and discretion – and we must not say it in inappropriate circumstances or ways – but this one thing that Jesus commands us to do, and the one rule that Jesus has given us by which we can evidence and demonstrate that we are His disciples, that we belong to Him, and that we identify with Him and one another … is by loving one another. John learned it well: Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth / 1 John 3.18.   

V / ch 13.36 – 14.7 / ‘I AM GOING AWAY…BUT I WILL COME AGAIN…’

1 / Now we come to the transition and crux of the preceding events that will lead us into Jesus’ private discourses recorded in chs 14-16. The one sentence and realization that begins to ‘trouble’ the disciples is when Jesus drops like a bombshell [to them] the announcement: “…so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come…’” [ch 13.33]. This announcement not only prompts Peter to begin asking Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?” [ch 13.36-38], but it also begins to stir up the deepest anxiety and agitation in their spirits.

2 / “Stop letting your hearts be troubled!” / ch 14.1. This is, by the way, the same word that describes the deep, inner turmoil that tore at Jesus’ own soul in ch 11.33; 12.27; 13.21.

3 / Jesus calms their troubled souls with these promises and assurances:

  • [1] Believe [trust, have confidence] in God; believe also in me.
  • [2] In my Father’s house [place to live, dwell, abide, remain] are many rooms [shared living places]. This word we are used to hearing and quoting as ‘mansions’ simply means ‘a place to belong.’ It is used only twice in the New Testament, both in this chapter: vv 2 & 23. It means ‘a place to remain at home.’
  • [3] I am going [there…He says it again, as He will many other times during this discourse] to prepare a place for you. He will prepare this ‘place’ for us by redeeming us to God…so we can be with Him forever. He prepares this ‘place’ by His blood that saves and justifies us from our sins so we can be saved and reconciled to God.
  • [4] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. He is promising His second coming to gather us all Home with Him forever.
  • [5] And you know the way to where I am going. This prompted Thomas to question Him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Thomas was just voicing the question and confusion in all their minds. They still were not grasping how Jesus was going away and where exactly He was going. They were thinking more in terms of a geographical location – or if it was Heavenly, then where was it exactly and how were they going to know how to get there?
  • [6] I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This has to be one of the deepest and most profound and all-encompassing truths to quiet our troubled souls in all the times of our confusion, anxiety, uncertainty, perplexity, and even panic here amid all our troubles. We have so many unanswered questions – but if we know Jesus Christ, believe in Him, trust Him, and have confidence in Him, then we know all we will ever need to know.

4 / Jesus Christ is ALL the Way, Truth, and Life we will ever need – both to navigate all the ‘troubles’ of this life … and He will accompany us every step of our ways here and finally come to receive us to Himself where we will be ‘at Home’ with Him forever!

DO YOU BELIEVE?

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An update re: my Mom…

Posted on March 14, 2023 by PastorDave

Tuesday, 14 March 2023

Dear Friends,

I’m writing this primarily for the sake of the many of you with whom I correspond, live in community, and fellowship on a daily and weekly basis … and who know about and pray for my Mom.

Many of you also know about my trip to Lexington NC last week to visit with Mom and my family there, but you haven’t had opportunity for me to tell you about it. You are asking and wanting to know, and I thank you for that.

So let me give you a recap here of the events of the past 7-8 weeks and how she is doing now … even as of today, this morning.

Mom was taken to the hospital this last time on 22 January with shortness of breath and other related disorders. She has a history of all these issues. She was admitted and treated for several days for cardiac irregularities, and also diagnosed with acute UTI. The UTI has been a regular recurrence over the past several months since she had become more immobile and sedentary. After eight days of hospitalization, she was transferred to a nursing home/rehab facility where we hoped and prayed she could recoup enough strength to return home and be cared for there as before. Then she was taken back to the hospital after suffering a relapse in the rehab facility, treated for three days, and returned to the rehab facility. After only a few days back at the rehab facility, it became clear that Mom had no more reserves of strength with which to rehab, so we brought her back to her home to care for her there. She has now lost all of her strength to stand upright or on her own. We moved her out of her bedroom, acquired a hospital bed, and set her up in the large, open, ‘great’ room in her home so she could be out in the traffic area of the home as everybody comes and goes. We had arranged weeks ago for Mom to have round-the-clock, 24/7, companions and caregivers. My sisters, our niece, and other caregivers are providing her with personal, professional, and loving constant care.

About my trip last week: last Monday, 3/6, I drove down there to visit with Mom and the family for a few days. Came back home Thursday morning, 3/9. While I was there, my sisters and I consulted with other care resources that are available there locally to assist them in administering Mom’s care. Also, my older brother, Daniel, was there during those days. He had stopped in while returning from a preaching engagement.

Last Wednesday night, Mom’s church family and friends came into the home for what we older folks used to call a ‘cottage prayer meeting.’ This was their midweek service night, so they all gathered at Mom’s to meet and worship. Pastor Bobby Smith led us as we sang and prayed, and then he had asked me to deliver a message from the Word of God. I chose to do a brief exposition of Psalm 92, especially focusing on the concluding blessing in verses 12-15:

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
15 To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.  

Without giving more details of my remarks, I told those in attendance that I wanted to direct these Scriptures and my words of encouragement to Mom, but that they were welcome to eavesdrop and overhear ;). What I wanted Mom to know is that even now – even in her extreme weakness and affliction – she is still flourishing and bearing fruit in her old age. All the years of her life [she is now 93 years old] – faithful service to Christ, pastor’s wife and mother, witness and testimony to the Gospel both in word and deed – all of that lifetime of service has not been ‘spent,’ as in ‘gone’ … rather, all the years of her life have been ’planted’ in the house of the LORD and is still bearing fruit, even here and now in her old age.

I further reminded her that we six kids of hers are ‘the fruit of your womb,’ and we are still bearing fruit in our own lives and service to Christ. All of us, Mom’s ‘kids,’ are now old ourselves, and so I had counted up all our ages together: 417 collective years. We, too, are the fruit of her life. And that is besides all the hundreds of others in whose lives Mom has ‘planted’ hers. I just wanted her to know that even now in her present physical weakness, she is still strong and flourishing, still bearing fruit in her old age.

Which brings us to today … even while I was there last week, my sisters and Mom’s caregivers were noticing some discoloration and tinging of blood in her urine. That’s never a good sign. They have begun a course of antibiotics, and a nurse is with her just this morning trying to assess and evaluate what may be going on with her kidneys/bladder. I’m still waiting to hear from that assessment. They will be consulting also with Hospice tomorrow to see what further resources may be available from them. But, Mom knows, and we know, the days of her pilgrimage here are numbered and decreasing.

So, I am in continuous daily correspondence with them, and there will be other trips and visits that I’ll be making there in the soon days to come. But I do want all you dear friends to at least be aware of where things stand today.

We ask that you continue to pray that God will give Mom a strong sense of His Presence with her and His pleasure in her [Psalm 23]. That He will embrace her in His love, envelop her in His peace, and rejoice over her with singing [Zephaniah 3.17].

For years now, every time Mom corresponded with me, she would always sign her name with the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6.23-26. We’re all praying the LORD will return that same blessing to her in full measure, shaken down, and running over.

Thank you for all the love you have shown me and our Mom and for joining your prayers with ours for her.  

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When I Am Lifted Up From the Earth

Posted on March 11, 2023 by PastorDave

JOHN | Lesson 12 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read John 12.12-33

I / INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT & MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

  1. As John explains in ch 12.1, these events transpired during the last week of our Lord’s life and ministry.
  2. Lazarus had been raised from the dead just a few weeks before [ch 11], and since then, the reports and stories of that great sign-miracle had spread far and abroad [ch 12.9]. Many were believing in Jesus [ch 12.11]. The Jewish leaders were becoming more and more infuriated and frantic – and frustrated – in their attempts to arrest Jesus, bring Him by force, and eliminate Him and terminate His ever-growing popularity and influence among the people [ch 11.53, 57; 12.10]. They were losing their control over the population.
  3. Dinners were being held in Jesus’ honor since His arrival here in Jerusalem for this Passover feast [ch 12.1-8; Mark 14.1-9]. Mary has anointed His feet, and Jesus has expressed the significance of that service of love by pointing to His impending death and burial [ch 12.7].
  4. And now, the next very few days will be filled with the accounts of His final appearances … accompanied by His own Divine commentaries on what they all mean … countless Scriptures and prophecies will come to pass and be fulfilled.

II / vv 12-19 / ‘BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING!’

  1. The next day… may mean the very next day after the events described in vv 1-9.
  2. We know this as ‘The Triumphal Entry’ of Jesus into Jerusalem. He Himself planned and orchestrated this celebration to announce that He, Himself, is God’s appointed and anointed King. This was to fulfill all the prophecies and fore-shadowings of the Old Testament. All of the prophecies of the ‘scepter’ and the ‘rule’ of God over His people pointed to Christ. David and Solomon and all the ‘sons of David’ who had ruled over Israel and Judah were the predecessors of Christ who would come to reign over the house of Jacob…and indeed over all the earth and the world.
  3. Whereas, in the months preceding this week, Christ had ‘hidden’ Himself from public view and from the hostile intentions of the Jewish leaders [see chs 10.40 & 11.54], now He must come and show Himself as the King of the Kingdom of God/Heaven He had come to establish and inaugurate.
  4. Remember also from ch 11.55-56, that thousands of pilgrims and worshipers were arriving daily in Jerusalem for this Passover feast. As they arrived, they, too, were hearing the reports of Jesus and especially the raising of Lazarus. They all were wondering and asking, “Do you think He will come to this Feast?” Jesus’ arrival and appearance there answers their question.
  5. “Hosanna!” is a recitation from Psalm 118.25: “Save us, we pray, O LORD!” ‘Hosanna’ is the Hebrew word used there. “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD, even the King of Israel!” / again from Psalm 118.26. However, we must not assume they are seeing Jesus from the same perspective as He is presenting Himself. They are still looking for an earthly king, a temporal king, even a political king who would save them from the Romans and restore Israel to their former glory as a sovereign nation and world power / see ch 6.15.
  6. Zechariah 9.9 had prophesied this arrival 500 years before. John quotes this prophecy as a fulfillment.
  7. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written… We will remember, though, that Jesus, Himself, also had arranged for His own donkey to ride on, and had sent His disciples to fetch it for Him / Matthew 21.1-7; Luke 19.28-36.
  8. But Jesus was not making an ostentatious show of celebrity or power here. Yes, He is the King, but it is His kind of King and Kingdom…and not the kingdom they were expecting or wanting. His Kingdom is one of salvation from sins, deliverance from the power of Satan and darkness, and redemption. It would require His death on the Cross, and His resurrection from death, and ascension into the Glory from whence He had come. Even His own disciples didn’t understand the spiritual significance of this presentation … and may have even been caught up in the fervor of the political aspects of the occasion.
  9. John keeps with the theme of how Jesus’ ‘signs’ [miracles] manifested His Glory – and especially with the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead. The sign showed and spoke for itself. The Jewish leadership are growing increasingly frantic with Jesus’ acclaim.

III / vv 20-26 / ‘…BUT IF IT DIES, IT BEARS MUCH FRUIT…’

  1. “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.” Remember that these mandated Jewish feasts drew attendees and worshipers from all over the world – not just from the local environs / see Acts 2.5-11 re: Pentecost & Acts 17.4.
  2. These ‘Greeks’ were most likely Gentile proselytes who had come to see that the God of Israel was the true God, and had believed in Him, confessed Him, and trusted Him for their salvation. We do know that they were worshipers, and not just tourists or curiosity seekers. They didn’t live from around those parts. But they had heard about Jesus. See also ch 7.35.
  3. So when they arrived in Jerusalem, they wanted to see Him. As they began to ask around, they heard about Philip. The name ‘Philip’ is not a Hebrew or Jewish name – it is a Greek name. Or Philip himself may have had Greek family members and acquaintances due to his background. We don’t know…just speculation. But for whatever reason, so these came to Philip … and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ After consulting with Andrew, they both went to Jesus to tell Him these Greeks wanted to meet Him.
  4. And Jesus answered them… Did He answer just Philip and Andrew? Or maybe the disciples as a group? Or were the Greeks who wanted to meet Him present also? We don’t know. What we do know is that Jesus tells them and us who we must see if we truly want to ‘see’ Him!
  5. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified! This is the ‘hour’ or ‘time’ for which He had come into our world. His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as King was to announce and bring in His sovereign Kingdom of salvation and redemption … but it would come only through His sacrificial death on the Cross. He had come into the world to reign in Life, but it would be from His death and resurrection from that death He would die.
  6. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of what falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He, Himself, is that ‘grain of wheat’ who would die … by so dying and resurrecting, He would bring and give eternal life to all who believe in Him! His death is the way to spiritual life and glory!
  7. I can do no better than to quote from Pastor J. C. Ryle here: “Our Lord here illustrates a great Scriptural truth by a very familiar fact in nature. That fact is, that in plants and seeds life comes by death. The seed must be put into the ground, must rot, decay, and die, if we want it to bear fruit and produce a crop. If we refuse to bury the seed, and will keep it without sowing it, we shall never reap any harvest. We must be content to let it die if we want [wheat] … But this sentence was also meant to teach a wider and broader lesson still. It revealed, under a striking figure, the mighty foundation truth, that Christ’s death was to be the source of spiritual life to the world. From His cross and passions was to spring up a mighty harvest of benefit to all mankind. His death, like a grain of seed-[wheat], was to be the root of blessings and mercies to countless millions of immortal souls. In short, the great principle of the Gospel was once more exhibited – that Christ’s vicarious death (not His life, or miracles, or teaching, but His death) was to bring forth fruit to the praise of God, and to provide redemption for a lost world.”
  8. And likewise, what was true of Jesus’ life is also true of our own. The only way we can live spiritually in His eternal life is to die to our own lives through repentance from our sin and faith in Christ! If you love your own life – seek to keep it to yourself and for yourself – you will lose it, both here and now and forever. But if you die to your own self-seeking and self-serving will and surrender yourself to the Gospel of Christ’s death, resurrection, and eternal life, you will both save your life here and now while you are living it, and you will enjoy eternal life forever with Him!
  9. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. Jesus Christ uses these two verbs to describe our repentance from sin and faith in Him: ‘serves’ and ‘follow.’ This is what a ‘believer’ is: one who ‘serves’ and ‘follows’ Christ.
  10. I have sought to make this the rule of my life, and I commend it to you also. This is Jesus’ command, call, and commission on each of our lives. To serve Christ means that you will follow Him. Wherever He leads you [and He will], and whatever He gives you to do … do that. It’s not our prerogative to choose where we go or what we do. But when Jesus reveals it to us and leads us into it, we gladly follow. We serve Him by following Him. And, what Jesus promises us is that, when we do, He Himself will be there with us, working His sovereign purposes and will. But it goes much farther than just this life here and now – Jesus points also the forever to come. He promises us His Presence here and now, wherever we are and whatever we are doing … but He also promises that if we follow Him here and now, we will also be with Him forever. See also ch 14.1-4
  11. We are told in Revelation 14.4: It is these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. And again in Revelation 7.15-17: Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His Presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
  12. And forever, If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

IV / vv 27-33 / ‘AND I, WHEN I AM LIFTED UP FROM THE EARTH’

  1. What Jesus reveals and expresses here is way too deep for us to adequately comprehend or explain. They express the infinite and perfect union of both Deity and humanity in one glorious Person, the God-Man. But we’ll take His words and worship Him:
  2. His agonizing cry: Now is my soul troubled. This is the same word He used in ch 11.33 & 38. It is the most violent internal agitations and turmoil we can suffer. And Jesus suffered it. But it was so much more than mere unrest or agitation of soul like we all suffer. For Jesus, it had to be the impending prospect that He was facing of taking our sin upon Himself and dying under the Holy curse and wrath of God as our Substitute. Pastor J. C. Ryle again: “This sentence implies a sudden, strong mental agony, which came over our Lord, troubling, distressing, and harassing Him. What was it from? Not from the mere foresight of a painful death the cross, and the bodily suffering attending it. No doubt human nature, even when sinless, naturally revolts from pain and suffering. Yet mere bodily pain has been endured for weeks by many a martyr…without a groan or a murmur. No! It was the weight of the world’s imputed sin laid upon our Lord’s head, which pressed Him downward, and made Him cry, ‘Now is my soul troubled.’ It was the sense of the whole burden of man’s transgression imputed to Him, which, as He drew near the cross, weighed Him down so tremendously. It was not His bodily sufferings, either anticipated or felt, but our sins, which here, at Gethsemane, and at Calvary, agonized and racked His soul.”
  3. His solemn question: What shall I say? How is He going to respond to this internal trouble? I don’t know how to interpret or explain Jesus’ question to Himself. What He is expressing here is that He has two paths He can pursue: He can either choose the path of His own comfort and convenience, or He can obediently surrender to His Father’s desire and pleasure to save His people from our sins by the death He must die – and which He is anticipating with this inward pain of His soul… He will explain…  
  4. His prayer of suffering flesh and blood: Father, save Me from this hour[?] Is this the prayer I shall pray? Is this what I shall say out of this extreme anguish of my soul? But if I am ‘saved’ from this awful hour and experience of suffering my Father’s Holy wrath against the sins of those for whom I am dying … then I can’t do what He has sent me to do…
  5. His meek confession: But for this purpose I have come to this hour… NO! I can’t be saved from this awful hour! This is the very express, specific, and gracious purpose for which the Father has sent me and for which I have come into the world…
  6. His petition of a perfectly submissive and obedient will: Father, glorify Your Name! “Father, I have come to do your will. I have come to please you. I have come to glorify your Name and your grace by dying for the people you have given me to save – even if it means being made a curse for them, taking their imputed guilt of their sins upon myself, and being punished for their sins in their place.”
  7. It was at that time that the Father audibly spoke from Heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” This has to be the Father’s public, audible testimony to the Scripture’s all-encompassing testimony to the Son, Jesus Christ. Everything that is recorded in Scripture, everything that’s been done in the history of the world has all been focused on the Father’s purpose, plan, and pleasure to point to the Son, to focus all attention on Him, and glorify Him for His love and obedience to the Father’s will.
  8. Jesus then makes this bold pronouncement about what He would accomplish when He was ‘lifted up’ on the Cross: ‘Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death He was going to die. This pronouncement passes the verdict of condemnation on Satan and his usurped power, dominion, and authority that he has held over the world’s systems and people – all with God’s permission, of course. Satan has usurped this dominion ever since his own rebellion and fall into sin from his originally-created angelic state. Then he corrupted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and cast the whole human race and the world into the curses of sin, destruction, and death. BUT now Jesus has come, and by His death on the cross and His resurrection and ascension into Glory, God ‘disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ]’ / Colossians 2.15. Satan, indeed, bruised Christ’s heel – but Christ has crushed his head in fulfillment of the First Gospel Promise given to us in Genesis 3.15. [This victory story is celebrated also in Revelation 12.1-12]
  9. Jesus Christ exercises His Gospel victory by promising, “I…will draw all people to myself.” Everyone who has ever been saved, is being saved, or will be saved until all for whom Christ died are saved … ALL are saved by the efficacious, all-sufficient, all-victorious Cross of Christ! And that includes ‘to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ [Romans 1.16].
  10. And in the end, we all will sing the new song, everyone of us with palm branches in our hands [Revelation 5.9-10 & 7.9-10]:

‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth!’

DO YOU BELIEVE?

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Mary’s Service of Love

Posted on March 4, 2023 by PastorDave

JOHN | Lesson 11 | Lesson Notes / Talking Points

Read John 12.1-8

I / INTRODUCTION: SOME SIGNIFICANCES OF THIS CHAPTER

1 / Chapter 12 brings us to a significant point in our survey/study of this Gospel. Some Bible teachers divide John into three distinct sections:

  1. ch 1.1-18 / PROLOGUE
  2. chs 1.19-11.57 / WITNESS [wherein John chronicles numerous eye-witnesses to Jesus’ Deity and God-ness]
  3. chs 12.1-21.25 / PASSION

2 / So this chapter will not only begin the final section of John’s Gospel, but it also contains some of the most personal details of our Lord’s private and personal interactions with His disciples during that last week of His life and ministry here among us. NOTE: John records no more public addresses by Jesus, though He did deliver some. See especially Matthew 21-25. There are no more public miracles or works of ministry that John records here, though there were some.

3 / John devotes these six chapters [chapters 12-17] to Jesus’ personal encounters and conversations with those who were closest to Him. Chapters 18-20 are John’s eye-witness accounts [see chs 19.35 & 21.24] of Jesus’ arrests, mock hearings, sentencing, crucifixion, and resurrection. chapter 21 is an especially tender account of Jesus’ meeting some of His disciples at the Sea of Galilee where He recalls Peter back into service after Peter had denied three times he even knew Him. “Simon, son of John, do you love Me…?”  

4 / LOVE. Before we go any farther, and before we get into our specific text for this lesson, I just want to key you into one of John’s most-often used theme-threads he has woven into this narrative from the very beginning: LOVE. Just in this summary of the last chapters of John, we have seen how the theme of LOVE keeps entering into John’s accounts. Keep that in mind because when we get to our text for this lesson, we will be emphasizing LOVE as Mary’s primary motivation for this gift and act of LOVE she will bestow on her Lord – who, of course, loved her first.

II / JESUS’ TIMELINE & ITINERARY

1 / So, as we have said, this chapter 12 will chronicle the last week of Jesus’ life and ministry. Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. This was the last Passover, the one when He Himself would become the sacrificial Lamb of God [ch 1.29 & 36; 1 Corinthians 5.7].

2 / And since Lazarus is prominently mentioned, and that Jesus had raised him from the dead, this miracle also enters into the theme of the narrative. So, the question is: how long had it been between the events of chapters 11 & 12?

3 / So let’s do a brief itinerary connecting these two events:

  1. ch 10.22: At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter. This Feast is what is now called Hanukkah. It was a celebration of when the Jews had reclaimed and re-dedicated their Temple after it had been overtaken and desecrated by the Syrians. This Dedication took place in 164 BC on the 25th of Chislev, which is our December. That’s why the Jews’ Hanukkah celebration overlaps with our Christmas holiday.
  2. ch 10.40: Jesus retreated from Jerusalem to a more secluded rural place across the Jordan called Bethabara [or Bethany] see ch 1.28.
  3. ch 11.1-3: Jesus was notified of Lazarus’ sickness while He was still there in that place of retreat. And it was probably shortly after the winter Feast of Dedication.
  4. ch 11.54: Since Bethany was only two miles from Jerusalem, and there was so much animosity and hostility against Him in Jerusalem, He retreated again after raising Lazarus from the dead. We know that this was another location either across the Jordan or very near Jordan, because when He returns to Jerusalem here in chapter 12, He comes through Jericho [see Matthew 20.29-34; Mark 14.46-52; Luke 18.31-19.10]. All of these events occurred on His way to Jerusalem for this last Passover week.

The point of all these timelines and itineraries is simply to say: there were =/- three months between the raising of Lazarus from the dead and Jesus’ return to Jerusalem for this last Passover during which He will be crucified. During much of this time, Lazarus has been a living, breathing, and speaking testimony to the Deity of Christ. Many others are believing in Jesus. This poses a serious threat to the religious, cultural, and social control and influence over the people; and it only intensifies their determination to kill Him and rid Him from their ‘turf.’ We’ll see that here in just a few minutes…

III / HOW MANY ‘ANOINTINGS’ OF JESUS WERE THERE?

1 / This is another subject that will help you to at least understand the significance of Mary’s anointing of Jesus that we will consider in this lesson. We know that there are at least two anointings that are recorded in the Gospels – and maybe three. So let’s distinguish them:

  1. Luke 7.36-50: This was an entirely separate event from the Mary’s anointing in our lesson text. This one probably occurred in Jerusalem, or at least close by Jerusalem. The host’s name was Simon, but Simon was one of the most common names in Israel. There are several Simons who are named in the New Testament. This Simon was a Pharisee. The woman is unnamed, but she was also well-known among the community as a sinner, that is, a woman of ill-repute. She anointed Jesus’ feet as an act of repentance over her sins … and as an act of faith that Jesus is the Savior from her sins and would forgive her. He did / see 37, 39, 47-50.
  2. John 12.1-8: I’m placing this one second in sequence because the textual words do. This occasion is very similar to the next one I’ll relate, but I do believe they are separate because of other differences in the descriptions of the events. We’ll say more about this anointing by Mary here shortly, but just note for now this one occurred Six days before the Passover…
  3. Matthew 26.6-13 & Mark 14.3-9: These two accounts are parallel tellings of the same occasion. This anointing took place when It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread / Matt 26.2 & Mk 14.1. This anointing was also in Bethany, but while He was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper… Another Simon, but a different one than in Luke 7. Since Simon was hosting a supper for Jesus in his home, and lepers were not allowed to have any social interaction in their society, it stands to reason that he had been healed by Jesus and was a follower. The woman is unnamed, but it is not beyond belief that the same Mary performed both anointings. They were, in all likelihood, close friends and neighbors with Simon in the same village, and were invited as guests and fellow lovers of Jesus to come and participate.

2 / But the significant time-stamp that both Matthew and Mark record is that ‘it was now two days before the Passover,’ and John specifically records that the one that was hosted in the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus was ‘six days before the Passover…’ That’s why I believe they are two separate suppers and anointings.

3 / Although I do also realize that it is entirely possible that John records only that Jesus came into Bethany six days before the Passover, and that the supper could have been hosted for Him four days later in the home of Simon the leper – but Simon could also have asked Martha and Mary to come to his home and serve the supper for him since he may have lived alone. So I’m just offering my best understanding of the events.

4 / Able scholars, historians, and commentators believe that these two events here are the same.

5 / Now, let’s learn some lessons from our lesson text: John 12.1-11…    

IV / vv 1-2 / ‘SO THEY GAVE A DINNER FOR HIM THERE’

Jesus’ great love for us – and His many mercies toward us – call for us to love Him and serve Him in return.

1 / One of the most-often repeated testimonies in ch 11 is Jesus’ great love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.

  • v 3 – He whom you love is ill
  • v 5 – Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus
  • v 36 – “See how He loved him”

2 / Giving hospitality to friends was one of the common customs of that day, especially to those who were visiting in your village from other places. REMEMBER: Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the Passover. He did not live in Jerusalem and had no home there. So when He [and all the other pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the feast days] arrived, they were hosted in the homes of others. During the three years of His public ministry, Jesus often stayed with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus and had developed this close friendship and relationship with them.

3 / BUT this was not just providing lodging for Jesus. So they gave a dinner for Him there. They hosted a large, formal dinner in His honor and invited other guests to come and join them. They wanted to do this to express their love and appreciation to Jesus for all the grace, mercies, and kindnesses He had given to them!

4 / So step back and look at that scene!

  1. Jesus therefore came to Bethany… Jesus had made a return visit, and they were welcoming Him!
  2. where Lazarus was… This is saying so much more than just “Lazarus lived in Bethany” or “Bethany was Lazarus’s hometown.” It is saying, “Lazarus was there! You know, the one who just a few weeks ago had been dead for four days! When Jesus makes this one last return visit, ‘Lazarus was there!’ Lazarus’s ‘being there’ was a living, breathing, speaking, visible, vocal testimony to the love of Christ for him and Jesus’ ministry of grace to him and his sisters. ‘There he was!’”
  3. whom Jesus had raised from the dead… Lazarus’s ‘being there’ was because this Jesus who had come to be their guest is the One who had made it so!
  4. So they gave a dinner for Him there. This was their heartfelt expression of love and gift of gratitude to Jesus for every blessing they were enjoying.
  5. Martha served… Every time we see Martha she is serving. This was her gift, personality, and temperament.
  6. and Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him at the table… There he was, not only enjoying this occasion with them, but being himself an object of great joy as they enjoyed having him back with them – alive and in their company!

5 / Now, I have highlighted every one of these details that John writes into this narrative to give you some feel or sense of what Mary was seeing. How her heart must have been just bursting with joy and happiness … and gratitude to Jesus for making this scene possible!

6 / And I want each one of us to do the same thing. Look at your life, at your circumstances, at the abundant blessings God has showered on each of us. Yes, I know – each of our lives is burdened with our respective sorrows, afflictions, sadnesses, adversities. But, in spite of all that, and in all that, we are still blessed abundantly and beyond measure and certainly more than we deserve with ‘every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!’ So take stock and inventory right now of how good God has been to you and how much He has loved you … and still does!

7 / Like Martha [and Mary], every service we give to Jesus is our expression of love and gratitude for the love with which He first loved us! / see 1 John 4.9-10.

V / v 3 / ‘THE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH THE FRAGRANCE OF THE PERFUME’

No extravagance is too expensive – no sacrifice is too great – no service is too much – when Jesus has done so much for us!

1 / Mary’s gift and act was personally costly. It was costly in terms of what she had paid for it. [Judas Iscariot, the ‘thief’ who betrayed Jesus made the statement that it could have been ‘sold for three hundred denarii’ which would have been equivalent to the annual wage of the average hired hand.] And it was costly in terms of personal sacrifice because in all likelihood, she had bought this burial ointment ahead as ‘pre-arrangements’ for her own burial. But she wants to pour it out on Jesus instead!

2 / Mary’s gift was generously given. She didn’t just measure it out or dribble it out to be sure she didn’t give too much. NO! She poured it out on Jesus’ feet in such quantity that it dripped to the floor. It was in such quantity that she used her own hair to wipe away the excess. And if you compare this act with the Mark 14 anointing, she very well may have anointed Jesus’ head also.

3 / The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. This burial lotion/ointment Mary poured on Jesus was what we would call ‘essential oils.’ It was not just cologne, or perfume, or scented water. It was the purest distillation of the fragrance of the plants. And you know how strong, potent, and even overpowering those fragrances can be. The effect of this anointing was that, not only the apartment or upper room they were in, but even the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4 / You need to know that whatever service you are giving to Christ with your life, however insignificant it may seem sometimes, however hidden or obscure it may appear to you – you are filling that part of your world and other people’s lives with the fragrance of your service. No one person can do everything that needs to be done in the service of Christ, but when you do whatever you do, you will fill that person’s life or those people’s lives with the fragrance of the love of Christ.    

VI / vv 4-6 / ‘WHY WAS THE OINTMENT WASTED LIKE THAT?’

Those who do not love Christ and live to keep everything they have for themselves won’t understand and will criticize you … anything you do that is more than what they want to give or do will be too much.

1 / The statement quoted above in the heading isn’t in this narrative. But it is in the similar Mark 14.4 story. That is the gist of the complaint, though. “Jesus is not worth or worthy of this generosity. You’re going overboard. This is too much. It could have been given for more useful purposes.”  

2 / The chief complainer is Judas Iscariot, the one who will betray Jesus over to His enemies in just a few days. And what he is really complaining about is that, if it had been sold and the proceeds given to Jesus and His disciples to distribute to the poor, he could have embezzled it – which is what he was doing already.

VII / vv 7-8 / ‘LEAVE HER ALONE!’

You can be sure that Jesus receives and commends every gift of love and service you give Him. And if He is pleased with you, no one else’s objections will stand. Jesus will overrule them all!

1 / Jesus lights into Judas here [and also some other of His disciples in the Matthew 26.8 & Mark 14.5 narratives, where it says, “And they scolded her.”]

2 / Here are Jesus’ rebuking responses to them [combining both here and in the similar narratives…]

  • “Leave her alone!” Jesus sees and knows your heart and your motives. He will receive your love and loving service … of whatever kind you give.
  • “So that she may keep it for the day of my burial…” or “…she has anointed my body beforehand for burial [Mark 14.8]. It remains unknown to us whether Mary was more sensitive to Jesus’ impending death and burial than the disciples. But whether she did or didn’t, Jesus knew, and He accepted her gift and service as such. And WE, too, can know that whenever and however we minister to those who are His ‘body,’ we are ministering that same service to HIM! / see Matthew 25.31-40.
  • “She has done a beautiful thing to me… [Mark 14.6]. Jesus can transform even the lowliest, most humble, most menial, or even the ‘messiest’ service we give Him into a ‘beautiful’ thing to Him!
  • “She has done what she could…” [Mark 14.8]. Do what you can do. Do what Jesus gives you opportunity and ability to do. And do it with love – and because of His love for you!

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE? WHAT ARE YOU GIVING?

DO WHAT YOU CAN DO!

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“SUCCESS” vs. “EFFECTIVENESS”

Posted on March 3, 2023 by PastorDave

The older I get, the more I think about where all I’ve been over the course of my life and ministry and what all I’ve done – or not done – and if I’ve done it well. I always seriously think about it, often wonder, sometimes agonize over it.

I guess everyone does that at some time to some degree.

I keep telling everyone “I know I’m at least well into in the second half of my life, maybe the fourth quarter, maybe the ninth inning, maybe the bottom of the ninth, maybe even the final ‘two-minute drill.’” We never know.

What I do know is that I don’t want to end up ‘being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ’ [2 Peter 1.8]. I so want to finish well like Peter encourages: “For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” [2 Peter 1.11].

So whether I think about my service for Christ in terms of:

  • “…he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the Master of the house, ready for every good work” [2 Timothy 2.20-21
  • “…So whether we are at home [in the body] or away [with Christ], we make it our aim to please Him” [2 Corinthians 5.6-10]
  • “…bear fruit…more fruit…much fruit…” [John 15.1-8]

it all comes down to this measurement:

“SUCCESS” vs. “EFFECTIVENESS”

1 Corinthians 4.1-5 HCSB: A person should consider us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of God’s mysteries. 2 In this regard, it is expected of managers that each one of them be found faithful. 3 It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself. 4 For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. 5 Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.

I learned decades ago that I couldn’t and shouldn’t measure my life and ministry by the commonly accepted or trending metrics of ‘success,’ mainly because:

[1] That responsibility is not within my aegis: “The One who evaluates me is the Lord…therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each from God.”

[2] I’m not a worthy judge or evaluator of my own ministry: “I don’t even evaluate myself.” 

[3] I’ll have to know what measurement to use to evaluate by: “It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court.”  It is fruitless, futile, and frustrating to either search for or submit to anyone else’s metrics of ‘success.’ The best we can do is waste our time and seasons of our lives and ministries trying to attain and measure up by series of trial and error.

[4] I couldn’t find much of what is usually called ‘success’ anyway to even measure.

Who determines what ‘success’ is, anyway? Who has the authority and right to tell me what measure to use and when I have attained it? ‘Success’ always ends up being a comparison with someone else or the ministry of another. And God Himself is the only One who is deservedly credited with any ‘success’ that comes from any of our ministries.

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” [1 Corinthians 3.5-9].

And, in the end:

  • “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” [Romans 14.10-12].
  • And “…each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done…” [1 Corinthians 3.13].
  • And “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” [2 Corinthians 5.10].

Anyone who’s been in the ministry, and especially pastoral ministry, has had plenty of ‘evaluations’ from others. I’ve been in pastoral ministry for fifty years, so I’ve had my fair share. Some have been sincere and well-intentioned, and I received and learned from them. Others, not so much. Several years back, I experienced one of my most memorable ‘evaluations.’ During one such episode, I was essentially put on trial to examine and evaluate my pastoral ‘success’ in one of the churches I have pastored. In response, I had delivered a message in which I referenced Paul’s 1 Corinthians 4.1-5 testimony quoted above. It was not a ‘defense’ per se, just an explanation, a testimony. At the end of the message, after everyone else had left to go home, I was accosted by a much younger ministry partner – and a novice at that – who screamed at me for half an hour, reminding me of all ways I had failed in that church. Toward the end of his diatribe, he summed up my ministry by saying: “You can’t preach, you can’t lead, and you can’t relate to people.” Then, as he turned to walk back up the aisle to leave, he turned and jabbed his finger to point at me, and delivered his final volley by saying, “I have come to the conclusion you are unfit for the ministry.” Well, for one who had given my entire life to ministry to Christ and to others, and all in the ways in which he had just told me I had failed, I did at least take note of that evaluation. I really don’t want that to be the case. But, the only answer I gave him was to calmly reply: “Well, I know that’s your evaluation of me. You’ve told me that before. But, as I said in my message this morning, your evaluation doesn’t count. Christ Himself will determine that, both now and at the Last Day.”  

So, rather than constantly evaluate my ministry by the commonly accepted and ever-changing metrics of ‘success,’ I learned to evaluate my service to Christ in terms of ‘effectiveness.’ ‘Effective’ simply means that I accomplished what I have been given to do. And the bottom line of an ‘effective’ ministry is: “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” [1 Corinthians 4.2]. “Do whatever He tells you” [John 2.5]. If I faithfully obey and fulfill the assignment my Lord and Master gives me to do and tells me to do in that time and place, then I have been ‘effective’ … regardless of the visible results of my labors, the evaluations of anyone else, or how it may compare with someone else’s service.

My call, assignment, responsibility is to serve and please Jesus Christ [2 Corinthians 5.9] by proclaiming the Word of God into all the ministry opportunities God is pleased to lead me into. That includes, first of all, my own example of character and conduct, all those that are public and in the church body, as well as in my personal relationships and one-on-one encounters. If I do that, the ‘effectiveness’ is not from me…it is from God. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” [John 6.63]. Jesus Christ Himself – through the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit – is the Great Effector through us as we speak the words God has ordained to be effective.

If I faithfully live by, speak, and proclaim the words that God gives me in His Word, then I cannot fail. I must succeed.

If I faithfully live by, speak, and proclaim the words that God gives me in His Word, then I cannot fail. I must succeed. Because God always succeeds through His Word. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” [Isaiah 55.10-11].

So, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life” [Acts 5.20]. Jesus Christ Himself will be speaking through you.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” [Joshua 1.8].

God will make His Word…and you…effective.

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