Posts that reference the Gospel of John

Intercession: For Each Other

Intercession is going to God on someone’s behalf. It a holy privilege and duty, not to be taken lightly. It is strenuous and it can be messy. But it is one of the greatest ways we can minister and show love to others. We’ve learned we need a BURDEN for others, and we need to identify with the those for whom we are praying. We’ve looked at how to pray for those who are sick, how to pray when trouble comes, and how to pray about our sins and the sins of others. We’ll finish up learning from Jesus how we can pray for each other.

In John 17, we have the longest recorded prayer from Jesus. It is rich in theology and worthy of much study and meditation. We will barely scratch the surface. However, it is significant to consider what Jesus prayed for when He prayed for His disciples and for us. These were the things in the forefront of His mind in these last moments before His suffering.

Jesus first prayed for Himself.

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed (John 17:5). We shouldn’t hesitate to pray about our legitimate needs. Jesus’s prayer for the glory and presence of God is a longing for the plan to be completed. I hear echoes of “your kingdom come, Your will be done,” in it.

We certainly need to pray for God’s will to be done in our lives and that we would work to accomplish it–and not interfere with it.

Jesus prayed for His followers.

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours (John 17:9). There is no question that Jesus loved and prayed for unbelievers, but on this night, knowing what lay ahead, He prayed for His disciples.

We need to be faithful to pray for each other when facing challenges. To be honest, who among us isn’t facing challenges?

Jesus prayed for our protection.

Holy Father, keep (protect) them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one (John 17:11) and keep them from the evil one. (John 17:15). This is not only physical protection, but more urgently, spiritual protection. The attacks from Satan would only intensify for Jesus’s followers after His arrest.

We and our brothers and sisters are under relentless attack. You see evidence in things like discouragement, conflict, anger, doubt, apathy and even apostasy experienced by believers and the body of Christ. We need to hold each other up and pray protection for us.

Jesus prayed for our joy.

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves (John 17:13). Jesus knew how much we needed His joy, and He specifically prayed for it.

Pray that we all recover and grasp the joy we have in Christ, in our salvation, in all its fullness. How different things would be if we just realized this.

Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified, set apart, in the truth of His word.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17). The living Word transforms us, making us more Christlike day in and day out. This is the goal for our life here.

We can pray that we are getting good teaching, that we are spending time in the Word, that we are applying it, that we are meditating on it, that we are bringing our lives in line with it.

Jesus prayed for our witness.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (John 17:20).

The gospel wasn’t going to end with Jesus’s return to heaven. Here He prays that God would already be at work in the hearts of those who would hear and believe in the coming days, including us.

We must be vigilant about praying for each other’s witness and testimony. Pray that those around them have soft hearts. Pray for boldness and for opportunities.

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory (John 17:24). Let that sink in. Peter, James and John saw His glory on the mountain. Paul saw it. John saw it again in the Revelation. They were overcome by it. However Jesus prays not just that we see it, but we share it. That is the end of our salvation. Amen!

We can pray that all of keep eternity in focus and that we long for that day when our faith ends in sight.

Over the last several weeks it has become clear that there is no shortage of things to pray for, of ways to pray for each other. May we be faithful to do it.

Is Anyone Left Out?

By Paula

Jesus said to love God.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37.

He said we should love fellow believers.

“[L]ove one another; as I have loved you.” John 13:34

Jesus said to love our neighbors.

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39

In Luke in the story of the good Samaritan, He explained our neighbors included anybody we came in contact with.

He also said to love our enemies.

“[L]ove your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

See who Jesus mentioned? Is anyone left out?
Do we leave anyone out?

Into the Wilderness: Communion

By Paula

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. Luke 5:16 (NASB)

We’re winding down our study of the wilderness in Scripture with this next-to-last post. We’ve seen a lot happens in the wilderness. Wandering. It is also a place of transition. The restoration of relationships can happen in the wilderness. Sometimes it is an opportunity for instruction. Last week it was a place of temptation. But if we look closely at the gospels, we’ll see that Jesus regularly spent time in the wilderness. Why? Communion. Not the bread and wine kind, but the sharing intimate fellowship kind.

Jesus is God, and He enjoyed a unity with the Father beyond our comprehension. To redeem us, Christ had to set aside His glory and take on humanity. It is no wonder that He needed, longed for, enjoyed His times of prayer and communion with the Father. Those times left Him focused and energized for the work before Him. Throughout the gospel of John especially, Jesus attests that He is on assignment from the Father and He only does as instructed. (See John 5:36 for example.)

Do we, like Jesus, need and long for those times of intimate fellowship with the Father? We certainly need them. God help us long for them. No doubt, those times would help us regain perspective that God is sovereign and His kingdom work is our highest priority and privilege.

Communing with the Father wasn’t the only reason Jesus headed for the desolate, wilderness places. Look at these verses from Mark.

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, Mark 6:30-32

Jesus was watching out for His guys. He knew they had just finished an emotionally and spiritually draining mission. Even though they had great results to report and were excited and energized, He knew they needed to decompress and recharge.

We would be wise to see the wisdom in Christ’s actions. He wanted them to take some time away with Him after the great success. Why is this wise? We would keep going as long as things are going well, wouldn’t we? Build on the momentum. Seize the opportunity. Jesus has a bigger picture in mind. He knows He is preparing them to be servant leaders after He returns to the Father. His disciples cannot shepherd His church without close

The other consideration is that this break helps inoculate the disciples against the idea that the success is all their doing. He reminds them in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.”

Pride is sneaky and regular communion with Jesus, after success as well as failure, can help keep it in check.

One more quick point– the crowds weren’t far behind the disciples during this break. They trekked around the Sea of Galilee, and once they caught up with Jesus and the disciples, it was back to work. Don’t put off those opportunities to get away with Jesus and tell Him everything.

(After teaching the crowds and it got toward dinnertime, the disciples suggested Jesus send them home. Jesus instead challenged the disciples to feed them. You can read more about the feeding of the 5,000 in each of the gospels.)

Next week, we’ll finish our time in the wilderness.

Key Ingredients for Growth: Water

By Paula

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

We’re looking at the things a plant must have in order to grow — like good dirt, water, light and protection — and think about how that applies to us. Last week we thought about the good, rich dirt and how our church can be that nurturing environment. But that dirt can only get you so far. If it dries out, the plant is not going to last long. Oh, it will fold in on itself for a little while and try to survive, but it can’t. We need water to grow.

The New Testament mentions water a few times so we’ll lean on those verses as we think about what is critically important to our growth. The first one comes as Jesus sits on the side a well in the Samaritan city of Sychar, talking to a woman who has come to draw her day’s supply of water.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Then a little later, on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths), Jesus announces:

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:38-39

So what does that tell us. First we can’t expect to grow as believers if we are not genuinely saved. If we have simply embarked on a Christian-ish program of self-improvement, we won’t see any more more transformation than I would see if I swore off M&Ms.

Birth must precede growth.

We have to come face to face with the reality that our sin offends a holy God and we are hopeless to ever make amends. However, perfect, sinless Jesus Christ has been judged for our sins, in our place, and God will accept that judgment and the death sentence that was carried out. Jesus’s resurrection is proof that God approved of Christ’s death on our behalf. Of course, this is not a global, general thing. It has to be an individual transaction. That’s why we use the term “personal” savior.

The Holy Spirit helps us grow.

How do we know that we are really born anew and not just messing around? If we understand how offensive our sin is to God and that horrible price it demanded for redress … we commit our lives to living in a way that pleases that holy God, even if we fail sometimes, the trajectory of our lives is clearly aimed at being like Jesus. That is accomplished not by us promising to do better but by the Holy Spirit living in us. The Holy Spirit Jesus was talking about in John 7:38-39.

The Word helps us grow.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. Ephesians 5:24-25

Paul adds another dimension to that water that we need to grow. He uses a theological word – sanctify. Sanctification is the process we go through that takes us from newborn babies who just believed in Jesus to fully mature saints in the very presence of God. (Hint: We won’t finish the process in this life.)

He says Christ cleanses us with the word. What “word” does Paul mean? Jesus is called the Word at the beginning of John’s gospel. The gospel is called the word (as in, preach the word). The Bible is called the word. You could make a case for all three. Jesus does the cleansing by His death on the cross. The gospel lets us know that we can’t do anything on our own, but we need Jesus for everything. (John 15:5) And as we learn about Christ and His ways through scripture we conform to it.

Immerse yourself in the Word. Soak in it. Read. Think about. Memorize. Study. Hear it taught and preached. Discuss it.

That’s how you grow.

Next week: Light.

Jesus and Women: Mary Magdalene

By Paula

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). John 20:16

One of the things that set Jesus’s ministry apart was the way He interacted with women. Each encounter teaches us something about Jesus and our relationship to Him. It is important to notice in each case, Jesus treated these women with dignity and respect that was unheard at that time and in that culture. That in itself is instructive as we interact with people now.

This week we’ll finish up with Mary Magdalene.

Mary is the subject of a lot of legend, a lot of speculation and conjecture, and a lot misinformation. The truth is, the Bible says very little about her. Luke introduces her in 8:2, simply saying she was from a Galilean town, Magdala, and that Jesus had driven seven demons from her. We know she was devoted to Christ and was present at His crucifixion. At daybreak on Resurrection morning, she came with the other women to properly anoint the body of Jesus.

However, they found the tomb empty, and the angelic messengers explained that Jesus had raised from the dead. Peter and John confirmed that the tomb was empty and everybody went back into town. Everyone except Mary Magdalene.

She hung around the tomb alone, privately grieving. In spite of the fact that the angels had explained Jesus was risen, it was too much to believe. We live on the other side of the resurrection. It is a familiar reality. However, Jews in Mary’s day had only a vague understanding of a general resurrection. We see that in Martha’s conversation with Jesus after Lazarus’s death. Mary mourned not only Jesus’s death, but now there was nothing left of Him. No place. No marker. No memorial.

I can identify with Mary. I have followed Jesus for a long time. But I admit, sometimes His words are difficult to grasp, even with the evidence right in front of me.

But for Mary, it was more than evidence in front of her. It was Christ himself! He asks her two questions to help her understand what was happening. Why are you weeping? Jesus, whom she loved, was gone. She could not perform the act of devotion, caring for His body, for Him. She had been robbed of that opportunity and she was utterly devastated. Jesus was gently prodding to think about her situation. Why was the body gone?

Then He asked, Whom are you seeking? Jesus was not like anyone else she had ever known. She had heard His words. She had experienced His liberating power in her own life. Essentially He wanted her to consider who Jesus is. Ordinary men are buried in tombs, Mary, Jesus is no ordinary man.

Do we weep and mourn when our plans, even our ministry plans, are disrupted? Do we cling to our loss rather than considering who it is that we worship and serve? I know I have.

Jesus doesn’t belabor the lessons, though. He speaks Mary’s name. (This moment chokes me up every time I read it.) That’s when she recognizes Him. After all, Jesus said His sheep would hear His voice. He IS alive! Her natural reaction is to embrace Him, but Jesus holds her off. Instead He entrusts her with an amazing mission. You see, Mary Magdalene is the first person to see the risen Christ. Not Peter. Not John. Not even Jesus’s mother. Mary of Magdala. What an honor! What a privilege!

Mary vindicated Jesus’s trust in her by immediately carrying the news to the other disciples.

Jesus has called us by name and honored us by commissioning us to carry this amazing transforming message to others. Because He lives, we will live also (John 14:19) Let us, like Mary, be faithful to carry that message!

Read more from the Jesus and Women Series

Jesus and Women: Mary, Again

By Paula

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” John 19:26

In the very first post in this series, we looked at a conversation between Jesus and His mother at a wedding in Cana. That exchange signalled a change in their relationship as Jesus began His public ministry. This exchange marks Jesus’s last words to His mother. It is just two short sentences, but we can still learn some key lessons from it.

Mary displays courage and devotion to her son, her savior in not abandoning Him in this terrible moment. No matter how awful, no matter how painful, she cannot, she will not leave Him. Once again, Mary sets an example for us.

It is remarkable that in the midst of enduring the outpouring of God’s wrath, an agony we cannot imagine, that Jesus is moved to act with compassion toward His mother. He sees her and He realizes His obligation to her as the oldest son. No doubt she is widowed at this point and by every societal custom, and tradition, He was responsible for her.

Announcing this to her from the cross is an amazing affirmation that He sees her, that He has not forgotten her, even now. That is incredible encouragement, that we are seen, that our needs are known and that Jesus in compassion, acts to meet those needs.

Then Jesus speaks to John, entrusting Mary to his care, not to Jesus’s brother James, the next oldest son or even to John’s older brother, James. Perhaps it was because John would not have responsibility for his own mother, being the younger son. Perhaps Jesus trusted John because John’s faith and devotion most closely matched Mary’s. James and the rest of Jesus’s brothers were not yet believers. The bond of love through Christ was even more significant than blood relationships. John immediately shouldered that responsibility.

As members of the body of Christ, let’s make sure we selflessly love and care for each other, and that we readily accept that holy responsibility.

Even in such a short encounter, we are amazed at the care and compassion Jesus shows and how His followers, including His mother show their commitment and obedience to Him. May we be encouraged to follow those examples.

Intercession: For Each Other

Jesus first prayed for Himself.

Jesus prayed for His followers.

Jesus prayed for our protection.

Jesus prayed for our joy.

Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified, set apart, in the truth of His word.

Jesus prayed for our witness.

Is Anyone Left Out?

Into the Wilderness: Communion

Key Ingredients for Growth: Water

Jesus and Women: Mary Magdalene

Jesus and Women: Mary, Again

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series

Posts that reference the Gospel of John

Jesus first prayed for Himself.

Jesus prayed for His followers.

Jesus prayed for our protection.

Jesus prayed for our joy.

Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified, set apart, in the truth of His word.

Jesus prayed for our witness.

Jesus prayed that we would be with Him to share His glory.