John Archives - Paula Wiseman

Journey to Easter: The Judgment Hall

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 Leave a Comment

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 Leave a Comment

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?

The Seven I AM Statements: The Resurrection and the Life

By Paula

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” John 11:25

The last three of the seven emphatic I AM statements Jesus makes in the Gospel of John are made in private. The declarations that He is Good Shepherd, the Door of the Sheep, the Light of the World and the Bread of Life were all made in front of the crowds. It should not be a surprise that these fuller, deeper revelations come to those closest to Him. Even so, each statement employs a metaphor to describe His salvation work. But in each of the conversations or discourses, He also exposes us.

You know the story.
Lazarus is dead. Jesus bluntly tells His disciples as much before they even get to Bethany. After a pointed delay, Jesus responds to the message from Mary and Martha to come. Martha meets Him and affirms (accuses) that if Jesus had come when they first sent for Him, Lazarus would have been healed. She is not wrong. Jesus certainly has power over diseases. He had proved it many times.

When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4

See that’s the key. This sickness is for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Martha and Mary saw the sickness from their perspective and with their priorities. Their brother, whom they loved dearly was hopelessly ill. So, of course, they turned to the One they know has both the power and the will to intervene.

Jesus, however, is just weeks away from the cross. His priorities, the Father’s priorities are different. This is not to say He didn’t love Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, because He clearly did. But His overarching purpose was to glorify the Father who in turn would glorify the Son. The greatest glory would come from the redemption of sinners.

Jesus expands on that a few verses later.

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.” John 11:9

There is an appointed time. And His references to the light of this world and those stumbling in darkness echo His mission–to seek and to save those who are lost.

But then Jesus is met by Martha. He declares to her I AM the Resurrection and the Life.

Resurrection comes from a Greek word that means standing again. That’s pretty straightforward. Miraculous, amazing, wondrous, yes. But it doesn’t need a lot of explanation. Every kind of death is reversed in Christ. Every kind. And forever.

But life … this is where things get interesting. This is not the natural life. Greek uses the word bios for that. Think biology. This is something different.

J. H. Thayer in his Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament says “zoe is life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever (the writers of the O.T. have anticipated the conception, in their way, by employing ‏chaim to denote a happy life and every kind of blessing.”

Martha was asking Jesus to restore Lazarus’s bios. Jesus was offering zoe.
Martha was fixed on the present. Jesus wanted her to fix her eyes on eternity.
Martha was seeking consolation. Jesus was seeking the Father’s glory.

Time was short and those closest to Jesus didn’t understand what His ultimate purpose was. We read the account and shake our heads at their spiritual blindness. But hold on.

Do we cry out seeking consolation from Christ rather than His glory?
Are we focused on the present when Jesus wants us to realize there is so much more beyond this life?
Are we building a bios when Christ wants to draw us to zoe, life real and genuine, active and vigorous, devoted to God, enjoying every spiritual blessing?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Jesus said to Martha, Jesus says to us, “I am the resurrection and the life … Do you believe this?”

Do you?

The Seven I AM Statements: The Good Shepherd

By Paula

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

We are halfway through our look at the seven emphatic I AM statements Jesus makes in the Gospel of John. Last week Jesus said He was the Door of the Sheep. This week in that same conversation, virtually in the next breath, He proclaims He is the Good Shepherd. Each statement employs a metaphor to describe His salvation work. But in each of the conversations or discourses, He also exposes us.

As we said last week, Chapter 10 of John is actually a continuation of a long back-and-forth with the Pharisees that began in chapter 9 with the healing of the man born blind. This is late in Jesus’s ministry. His confrontations with the entrenched religious leaders are more intense. He has endured more at least one attempt on His life.

The Good Shepherd stands in contrast to the hired hand. The hired hand doesn’t know the sheep and doesn’t seem to have an interest in knowing them. He bails when danger approaches. He’s only doing his job because of the money. Bottom line, they aren’t his sheep so his interest and investment are limited at best.

The Good Shepherd, however, sacrifices his life for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, John 10:14

The Good Shepherd doesn’t just sacrifice his life for the sheep. He pours time and energy into knowing his sheep. He can identify them. He understands their makeup, and he has forged a close bond with them.

Here’s where the challenge comes in. My own know me. We love the imagery of being the sheep of his pasture, under his protective, providing hand. But with Jesus’s statement that his own KNOW him, he lays down a challenge for us. Verse 14 is half a sentence. The rest is “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:15

Let that sink in. Jesus has the goal that we enjoy the same intimacy with him that he enjoys with the Father. “My own know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

Think about those you are closest to. How did those relationships develop? Now consider, have we taken the time, expended the energy to know Jesus?

Time – If we are relying on a weekly thirty-minute sermon– and nothing else– to build our relationship with Christ. Those you know best are those you interact with regularly. You talk to them. You spend time together and long for those moments. For your relationship with Christ that means prayer (you talking), reading your Bible (Jesus talking) and being still in His presence (more listening). This takes time. If our response is, “I don’t have time,” then our priorities are perilously out of balance.

Energy – We must be active in pursuing a deep relationship with Christ. We include him in our decision-making. We lean on him in the difficult seasons. We exult over his blessings in the good times. We cultivate a deep awareness of his presence. We learn the things that are important to him, what breaks his heart, what brings him joy. We join him in his mission. This takes effort. If our response is, “That’s too much work,” then we need to evaluate what we are working for.

He is the Good Shepherd. Do we know him?

Journey to Easter: The Judgment Hall

It Is Finished

Journey to Easter: The Upper Room

The Seven I AM Statements: The True Vine

The Seven I AM Statements: The Resurrection and the Life

The Seven I AM Statements: The Good Shepherd

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series