John Archives - Paula Wiseman

Precious Son

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 1 Peter 2:4 ESV

Peter was the most outspoken of Jesus’s followers. He was a blue-collar guy. Hard working, but rough-hewn. So when a guy like that tells you something is precious, it’s worth stopping and considering his words. In his first letter, Peter quickly mentions several things that precious. (Or of great value or great worth, depending on your translation.)

We have looked at the genuineness of your faith which is even more precious than gold. Last week, we considered the precious blood of Christ.

This week we find what is precious to God Himself – Jesus Christ, the living stone.

In this context, the Greek word for precious means highly valued or esteemed. Why?

First is because of His relationship. The is the beloved Son. God affirms this at Jesus’s baptism. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

Second is because of His position. Christ is the head of all things, and especially the Church.
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, Ephesians 1:22

The third is because of His function. He is our great high priest and intercessor.
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, Hebrews 3:1

Most importantly, it is because of His work. Christ left glory. Lived as a man. Took our sins upon Him and died a horrible death on the cross. Because He loved US too much to abandon us to the consequences of our sin.

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:8-11

Because He accomplished the work the Father gave Him to do, He is the living stone, elect and precious.

But it is even more amazing. In the next verse, Peter says, “You also as living stones.” He made us able to be like Him.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: John 1:12

That makes Him precious to the Father. And because of Jesus Christ, so are we.

Journey to Easter: The Locked Room

By Paula

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” John 20:26

For the last several weeks, we have stopped at significant places with Jesus as He moved ever closer to fulfilling His mission. The Upper Room. The Garden. The Chamber. The Judgment Hall. The Empty Tomb. We’ve seen that each stop was purposeful and planned. And if we took the time, we learned something at each location.

Pessimistic. Loyal. Fatalistic. Devoted. Thomas is an interesting character. When Jesus receives word of Lazarus’s death and heads toward Jerusalem, knowing the imminent danger He faced there, Thomas is ready to go die with Jesus. (John 11:16) He wasn’t afraid. He didn’t hesitate. In the Upper Room, he wasn’t much for abstract ideas about going and preparing places, and said as much. Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5)

Like the other disciples, he fled when Jesus was arrested. Like the other disciples, he really didn’t expect Jesus to raise from the dead. In his defense, the other guys were trying to persuade him AFTER they had the evidence. A few hours before, they didn’t believe the women’s reports any more than Thomas believed theirs.

On the eighth day after the resurrection, the disciples were gathered in a locked room. This time Thomas was there. We have all been where Thomas was that day. We have heard the promises Jesus made, but reality and the pain we’ve experienced made those words seem distant at best. We have heard the joyous testimonies of people around us, but struggled to respond with the same faith. Maybe we have wondered what was fundamentally wrong with us. Why don’t we get it? The faith thing seems so easy for everyone else. Maybe the heartache and struggles make the risk of faith too great.

But he was in the room. Notice how Jesus interacts with Thomas. Jesus doesn’t upbraid him for his lack of faith. It’s important to remember that Jesus didn’t shy away from doing exactly that when the situation warranted, like when He calmed the storm, or at Lazarus’s tomb. However, there is a difference between faith in Jesus and faith in our EXPECTATIONS about Jesus. Thomas misinterpreted that faith in his expectations for faith in Jesus Himself. When the expectations weren’t met, a faith crisis resulted.

Maybe you can identify. I know I can.

Thomas teaches us something else. His response wasn’t one of wonder or confusion like Peter and John at the tomb. It wasn’t even joy like Mary after seeing Christ in the garden. Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God!” Complete surrender. Genuine faith in Christ brings that. It throws out our agenda and our posturing.

The locked room is where things get real. Pretenses are stripped away and humility is refined. But the authenticity that results opens us up to the kingdom assignment Jesus has for us.

Thomas was in the boat when the tremendous haul of fish was taken a few days later. He was on the mountain when Jesus ascended. He was in the room when the Holy Spirit came. He preached the gospel in a language he had never studied enabling foreigners to hear the gospel clearly. There is strong evidence that he carried the gospel all the way to India where he almost certainly was martyred for his faith.

As you spend some time here with Thomas, consider your own faith. Is it in Christ or your expectations of Him? Are you genuinely surrendered? Are you ready to take on the task He has for you?

When you leave the locked room, your journey beyond Easter awaits!

Journey to Easter: The Judgment Hall

By Paula

Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.” John 18:38

Jesus was not a victim of circumstance. He was not swept up by the events around Him. Every moment of His entire life was part of a divine plan laid down before time began. Each stop on the journey to Easter was purposeful and planned. Today’s stop is the judgment hall of Pilate, the Roman governor.

Pilate had been appointed governor or prefect around 26 AD, and like the rest of the Romans thought he was superior culturally, intellectually and morally to the Jews he ruled over. His appointment to this dead-end position was a signal that his career was over as far as advancement or promotion were concerned. So the Jewish people became the targets upon whom he vented his bitterness. He was harsh and provoked the Jews at every opportunity. At one point, he seized the Temple treasury to build an aqueduct. He brought imperial images into the holy city which was considered a blasphemous insult. To say he held the Jews in contempt was an understatement. Luke 13:1 makes reference to him murdering a group of Galileans in Jerusalem. Remember Galilee was outside his jurisdiction but was Herod’s domain. Galilee was also a known hotbed for anti-Roman sentiment and haven for insurrectionists. (Think the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916 for a more modern type.) As soon as the band arrived in Jerusalem, Pilate made his move and had them slaughtered.

It is against this backdrop that Jesus, the king of the Jews, is delivered to his doorstep early Friday morning. The charges were vague at best. “Doing evil.” (John 18:30) Pilate’s initial response was “I don’t have time for this.” But the charge that Jesus is an insurrectionist required further investigation. Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37)

Yes, but my mission is to bear witness to the truth. The truth is people are hopelessly separated from God because of their sins. I have come to reconcile and redeem them. (That’s reading between the lines a little.)

Pilate speaks for the skeptics across countless ages when he responds, “What is truth?”

It’s a fair question. In our culture, we’ve seen the rise of “personal truth”. Is that the answer? To the post-moderns, truth is something that everyone possesses and it is unique, but also malleable. However, if there is truth, doesn’t that also imply there is a lie? I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone claim, “What’s a lie for you, may not be a lie for me.”

The attraction of the “personal truth” is that it makes us, as individuals, the arbiters of truth, which in turn gives us complete moral authority, which means we never do anything wrong. Small wonder it’s appealing.

But if truth is an absolute, immutable reality, then it was established beyond me by someone greater than I am. And His pronouncements are that I have transgressed His character revealed in His law. He has the moral authority, then, levy punishment for those transgressions.

Rooted in Pilate’s response is the undertone that truth confers authority. He was used to wielding authority so he didn’t want to follow the truth business to its logical outworking.

At this stop on our journey, we are confronted with the same question. What is truth? Is it what Christ testified to, that we need a Savior? Or is it what we decide? And we continue to face this question every single day. Will we hold fast to what Christ says about us, about the Father’s love, about our security, about our empowerment and commission or will we define all those things in terms of culture, achievement, or identity?

What is truth? And more importantly, what will you do with the truth when you discover it? Pilate dismissed TRUTH and walked away. History says little about him after this moment. He faded into obscurity and then into eternity. Are our present-day struggles a direct result of dismissing, ignoring, or rationalizing truth?

Don’t move on from this stop until you’ve considered what is truth?

Next stop: the Empty Tomb

It Is Finished

By Paula

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Tetelestai means it is finished, accomplished, fulfilled, paid in full.
So what is “it”?

Our salvation.
Our redemption.
Our ransom is paid.

Our atonement.
Our reconciliation.
Our sins are erased.

The law was fulfilled.
Death was defeated.
Prophecies were validated.

The wrath of God was turned away.
Justice was done.
Righteousness was imputed.

Peace with God was accomplished.
Our adoption finalized.
Satan was rendered powerless.

Our eternity was secured.
Our hope manifested.
Our glorification assured.

It is accomplished.
All of it.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Journey to Easter: The Upper Room

By Paula

He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there. Luke 22:12 NIV

I live in a small town where the major industry is an oil refinery. Periodically, the company does major maintenance projects, bringing in scores of outside labor to help. One is going on right now, and an estimated 1700 workers are in town, a town of under 7000. Because this happens regularly, plenty of people have small homes, garage apartments, or even extra rooms to rent out to accommodate the short-term workforce.

This is not unlike Jerusalem at Passover.

Every year, Jews made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. The population of the city swelled to a million or more. All of these pilgrims needed places to share the meal and remember their deliverance. Jesus and His followers were from Galilee so they needed a place to celebrate the Passover.

But this Passover was like no other. In fact, Jesus said, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” Luke 22:15. These would be the last quiet moments Jesus had with those closest to Him. He had to prepare them, to comfort and to encourage them. He also had cautions and instructions. All of it needed to be delivered away from the crowds and without the religious authorities bursting in to arrest Him.

Jesus made sure they had that opportunity. This stop in the Upper Room afforded them the necessary seclusion and security. Only Peter, John and the owner of the house knew where He would eat the Passover, so Judas couldn’t tip off the high priest. In fact, Judas couldn’t even leave until Jesus dismissed him.

As we journey to Easter, do we need moments of seclusion, away from the press of the crowd and the hassles that we face? Do we need to hear the cautions and instructions? Do we need the encouragement and the comfort? Do we need to prepare ourselves for what comes next? Do we need to remember and celebrate the deliverance we’ve experienced?

Yes? Then we need to stop in the Upper Room.

Next stop, the Garden

The Seven I AM Statements: The True Vine

By Paula

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1

This is the final of seven I AM statements Jesus made that are recorded in John’s gospel. Each declaration employs a vivid metaphor that encapsulates Christ’s salvation work. But with each statement, Jesus exposes our hearts as well.

Jesus continues His Upper Room discourse to His disciples on His last night with them. In this statement, I AM the true vine, He further tells us His Father is the vinedresser. And in verse 5 we, His followers, are the branches.

But consider the situation for a moment. Jesus is preparing His closest followers for His death, but also to take up His work and carry it on. This is a serious responsibility, one that has the Father’s attention.

Every branch that does not produce fruit, He cuts off.

Every branch that does produce fruit, He prunes to stimulate more production.

So that brings up a simple question. Are we producing or not? And if we’re not producing, what do we need to change. The Greek word for prunes is kathairo, and it means to purge. Think of it like using Marie Kondo’s methods on your life. Does this bring the Father joy and glory? Is it useful for His kingdom? Is it pure and beautiful? If the answers are no, it’s got to go … IF we want to continue to be fruitful.

Theologically, this process is called sanctification, an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to make us more like Christ.

If that were the only outworking of Jesus’s statement, that would be more than enough to keep us busy, but He goes on.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Jerry Bridges, in his challenging book, Respectable Sins, defines ungodliness as “living one’s everyday life with little or no thought of God, or of God’s will, or of God’s glory, or of one’s dependence on God.”

In other words, ungodliness is the opposite of abiding in Him and producing fruit. And ungodliness gets you cut off.

I am the true vine. My Father is the vinedresser. You are the branches. Will you bear fruit?

Or will you resist making the necessary changes? Will you persist in self-sufficiency?

The guys in that room that night got off to a bumpy start after Jesus died, but then they turned the world upside down.

What about us?

Fruit or no fruit?
Pruned or cut off?
Abiding or ungodly?

Precious Son

Journey to Easter: The Locked Room

Journey to Easter: The Judgment Hall

It Is Finished

Journey to Easter: The Upper Room

The Seven I AM Statements: The True Vine

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series