Jump!

A Series on New Testament Stories
Mary anoints Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 12:1-11 

[Much of the Bible is made up of stories. Stories about people’s lives, the struggles they faced and their faith, or lack of it. In this series we will be looking at some of those people in the Gospel of John. We’ll try to learn from their stories about who God is, how he worked in their life and how that applies to us today.]

  

How do you show your love to someone?

 

In 1984, when my daughter Tara was four, the music group Van Halen released a song titled “Jump”. After dinner, sometimes I'd turn the stereo up real loud and play that song while taking Tara’s hands in mine and dancing around the living room. Every time they sang “Jump!” I would lift Tara up in the air. She loved it! I loved it!

 

Today, whenever either of us hears that song on the radio in the car or on the PA in the grocery store or in the office at work, we call the other person, turn up the volume and put our phone next to the speaker. “Jump!”

 

The story today takes place in Bethany just before Passover and shortly after Jesus raised Mary’s brother, Lazarus, from the dead. Jesus’ good friends are at the dinner. Lazarus is reclined at the table, Martha is serving and Mary is about to do something extraordinary.

 

Keep in mind that the Pharisees have put out an “all-points bulletin” for anyone who knows where Jesus is to report him so that he can be arrested. Because of this, Jesus has been laying low out of the public eye. But now he’s at a dinner in his honor, relaxing and enjoying his friends.

 

During the dinner, Mary takes a bottle of very expensive perfume imported from India. We’re told that it’s worth a year’s wages. Unexpectedly, she pours it on Jesus’ feet and wipes his feet with her hair. The house is filled with the fragrance of the perfume, but the act itself is shocking!

 

In that culture, just to let her hair down in public was scandalous. In addition, foot washing of a guest was normal, but for Mary to anoint Jesus’ feet and then wipe them with her hair was unheard of. Finally, to use such expensive perfume for such an ordinary task is not just extravagant, but wasteful.

 

However, Jesus defends her.

 

⁷ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”         NLT

 

Mary didn’t understand how what she did fit into the big picture of what Jesus was doing. She had no idea that in a few days her good friend would be arrested, beaten, tried and crucified.

 

All she wanted to do was to show Jesus how much she appreciated him; how much she loved him. And why shouldn’t she be extravagant when Jesus was about to show his extraordinary love.

 

In 1984, I showed my love to my daughter by spending time with her; by making a special memory that would last a lifetime. How then should I show my love for my Lord and Savior Jesus?

 

Love God and love others... that will please him. That will make memories.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

Josie Time

A Series on New Testament Stories
Lazarus, Mary and Martha
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 11:1-44 

[Much of the Bible is made up of stories. Stories about people’s lives, the struggles they faced and their faith, or lack of it. In this series we will be looking at some of those people in the Gospel of John. We’ll try to learn from their stories about who God is, how he worked in their life and how that applies to us today.]

  

Every Tuesday, I pick up my granddaughter at her preschool, take her home to fix her lunch and then take her to her afternoon school. I call this my “Josie time”.

 

We have certain rituals that we do almost every Tuesday. One of them is when I drop her off at her school, I tell the teachers who greet her at the door, “This is Super Josie”! Josie smiles and goes in without saying anything.

 

Here’s a picture of Josie by the door of her preschool classroom. “We choose love”. It’s a good message for children. It’s a good message for adults too. In fact, it was a message that Jesus not only taught, but lived out in his life.

 

¹ Now a man named Lazarus was sick… ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” ⁴ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.       NIV

 

Despite his strong feelings for his friends, he waited two days before going! By the time he arrived, Lazarus had died and been buried. When the sisters learned that Jesus was there, Martha ran out to greet him, but Mary stayed back. She may have been too distraught and overcome with grief to do anything but cry.

 

During the dialog between Jesus and Martha, he tells her, “I am the resurrection”. In turn, Martha confesses her belief that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus then sends for Mary who is still crying.

 

When Jesus sees her, he is "deeply moved in spirit and troubled”. Overcome with emotion we read the shortest verse in the Bible… “Jesus wept”. Then Jesus follows Mary to the tomb and is again “deeply moved”.

 

It’s in this climactic and highly emotional scene of the story, where Jesus prays to his Father and then calls in a loud voice, “Lazarus come out”! The drama is intense. It’s almost like a Hollywood movie, except its real.

 

⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”            NIV

 

Like my granddaughter’s preschool door, Jesus chose love. He wasn’t a robot without feelings. He loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary and openly showed his feelings for them.

 

What if you or I faced a difficult life situation like the loss of a loved one or a job? Or if we struggled with a mental illness or an addiction? Would Jesus love us? Would he weep for us like he did for Mary and Martha? 

 

Yes. Like Lazarus, who he raised from a physical death, he loves us enough to raise us from our spiritual death of sin. To call us out from our tomb to a resurrection life both here on this earth and later in heaven.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

When a Light Bulb Goes On

A Series on New Testament Stories
A man born blind
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 9:1-12; 35-41 

[The Bible is mostly made up of stories. Stories about people’s lives, the struggles they faced and their faith, or lack of it. In this series we will be looking at some of those people in the Gospel of John. We’ll try to learn from their stories about who God is, how he worked in their life and how that applies to us today.]

  

As a teenager, there were times when I would ask my Dad to help me with my homework. Usually it was some math problem. But he wouldn’t just give me the answer. Instead, he would help me to figure it out for myself.

 

I really don’t know how he did that, but he was very good at it. He probably asked me some leading questions that got me thinking a certain way and then, BAM! A light bulb would go on in my head.

 

The story about the man born blind is preceded by the entirety of chapter eight being focused on an escalating conflict. Jesus is arguing with the spiritually blind Pharisees about who he is, where he comes from and who they are.

 

Jesus is pretty blunt! He calls them liars and accuses them of being children of the devil. The argument reaches a climax when Jesus claims to be God. Yet, no light bulb goes on in their head. In fact, they pick up stones to kill Jesus.

 

When Jesus sees a man born blind, his disciples, who during the whole conflict with the Pharisees were mysteriously quiet, all of a sudden ask him whose sin resulted in this man being blind.

 

³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.              NLT

 

He then proceeded to make mud from spit and clay, put it on the man’s eyes and sent him to the Pool of Siloam. As a result, even though the man had lived in darkness all of his life, he was able to see.

 

But because he was healed on the Sabbath, he got involved in yet another conflict with the Pharisees. This resulted in him being thrown out of the synagogue.

 

Following this, Jesus sought him out and asked if he believed in the Son of Man. When the man realized that this was Jesus, he believed and worshiped him.

 

Have you ever had an epiphany experience where God opened your eyes and the light bulb went on? For the man born blind, it happened both physically and spiritually.

 

However, this story is not only about a blind man seeing, but it’s also about being sent. Jesus said this to his disciples.

 

 ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”                NLT

 

God sent Jesus, the light of the world, to bring sight to the blind man. Jesus sent the blind man to the Pool of Siloam to open his eyes. Siloam is a Hebrew word that means “to be sent”.

 

In the same way, when the light bulb goes on because Jesus has opened our eyes, he sends us to share with others so that they too might see that same light.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

 

Cross My Heart and Hope to Die

A Series on New Testament Stories
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 3:1-21 

[The Bible is mostly made up of stories. Stories about people’s lives, the struggles they faced and their faith, or lack of it. In this series we will be looking at some of those people in the Gospel of John. We’ll try to learn from their stories about who God is, how he worked in their life and how that applies to us today.]

  

When I was a kid growing up, there was a saying that we would use when we really wanted to confirm our credibility. If we really wanted someone to believe what we said, we’d follow it up with, “Cross my heart and hope to die”. 

 

In Jesus’ day there was a similar phrase that was used to announce that an important truth was following, and that the listener should pay close attention. In the King James it is translated, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee”.

 

Today’s story is about a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, who happened to be a Pharisee and a member of the ruling council. Which is to say, that he was a part of the religious establishment who Jesus would often confront.

 

The first thing Nicodemus said was to concede that God was with Jesus. But from then on, Jesus ran with the ball… so to speak.

 

Three times Jesus prefaced what he said to Nicodemus with “Verily, verily”. And all three times Nicodemus didn’t get it. Basically, Jesus was trying to tell him how to find the kingdom of God.

 

On the third try, Jesus made a reference to the Israelites who had wandered in the wilderness following their escape from Egypt. At the time, they bitterly complained to Moses about the conditions of life… mostly the food.

 

Because of their sin, God sent venomous snakes into the camp. When an Israelite was bitten by one, they died. Seeing this, the others repented. So, God had Moses fashion a bronze snake on a pole, and if people looked at the snake, they lived.  

 

From the context of our culture, this is a pretty bizarre story. But, it was one that Nicodemus would have been familiar with and could relate to. Here’s how Jesus made the connection.

 

¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.                        NLT

 

Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man. So, he was telling Nicodemus that in order to enter the kingdom of God, all he had to do was look to Jesus. He then expounded on this truth with his now “football famous” words.

 

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.        NIV

 

Nicodemus’ story is as old as time, but as relevant as today. Who is this man Jesus that identified himself as both the Son of Man and the Son of God? No doubt Nicodemus was looking for the answer to that very question. However, the answer is not just for Nicodemus, but it’s for you and me also.

 

That’s the truth! Cross my heart and hope to die.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams