Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Jesus is back in His dispute with the Pharisees.  They are superficially wrestling with what makes a testimony true.  It is a continuation of an argument they started in John 5.  Jesus more than holds his own.

In this passage Jesus says something a little strange.  "I judge no one."  Whew!  What a relief.  But wait, I am PREVIOUSLY judged?  But wait, I will be judged in the FUTURE?  Wait, we all stand in judgment already.  We stand condemned.  We are already perishing?  

We find here that Jesus is on the planet at this time ON A RESCUE MISSION.  The "need" for rescue has already been established.  Jesus told this to Nicodemus in Episode #211.  You stand condemned already.  You are already in big trouble.  You need me now as a SAVIOR.  

Finally, there is a great intimacy described in today's passage between Jesus and the Father.  "There is no daylight between them."  Know one, know the other.  Reject one, reject the other.  Listen and find out why Jesus does not need to judge anyone at this moment in history.

Once again we circle back to the TITLE of this podcast.  Be With Me.  

Whoever follows me
Will not Walk in darkness 
But will have 
THE LIGHT OF LIFE.

Jesus just got done saying that HE was and is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.  Therefore, I think He is saying, "you (can) get ME".  Yes I am the inventor, and maker and producer of light.  I am the guy that can give you and does give you the STUFF of light.  But more so, you get the PERSON OF LIGHT.  You get ME.  You have access to a RELATIONSHIP with me.

The whole Bible speaks of the Lord offering Himself in provision and pursuit of you and me .  Like the old Uncle Sam poster, the Bible calls out over and over again, "I want you."  Today, listen and answer back to God, as He offers Himself, the Light of the World and reply: "I want you too."

Jesus says I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.  Join me in considering that today.

First, we have got to just stand in awe that He invented it.  The third verse in the whole Bible says so.  We'll skip some of the science, but what a feat to design it, to implement it, and then to sustain it for all these years.  I am amazed at the thought of it.

Then Light separates days and seasons and years.  (Gen 1:14-18) Essentially, it gives us our way to understand TIME.

Then it provides.  Every thing we put in our mouths to eat first came from LIGHT. Light powers photosynthesis which harvests light to make sugars.  That is stored and passed from plants to animals.  We are eating light, whether it is a piece of lettuce, a nice steak, or a milk dud.  We are literally EATING LIGHT. 

Then it gives beauty.  Think of sunrises and fall trees, and watercolor paintings and the patterns on a White Tiger's face.  Light gives us all these wonderful things.

Then there is energy and current light and heat.  Oil, Gas and all the fossil fuels are from light.  So is wind and solar for that matter.

Then there is information and especially protection.  He will use this as He explains Himself using this creation and this metaphor.  We will get to that tomorrow.  But for today, just enjoy and appreciate as you EAT LIGHT.  

God has designed all of us with sexual engines.  Fortunately, God has also a fantastic provision for the care, feeding, and enjoyment of that sexual engine.  It is called marriage.  

In that design we first stand under He who designed it as Author.  We are not our own.
Then, we freely give the authority we did have to the other citizen in our kingdom of marriage.  There is some very heavy duty rights transfer upon marriage.  

Yup.  Big problem here.  The two citizens within the little kingdom of marriage are colored with sin.  We live in a fallen world.  We have fallen bodies.  There is a lot that can go wrong.

So, none can stand too proudly here.  We'll ask today about the care and upkeep of your garden if you are married.  We will ask today about the duties and delights owed to our spouse or even to our future spouse.  Listen as we glorify God today by staring a bit at our zippers.

Who exactly is the Boss of SEX?  Who invented it?  Who designed it?  Who is the AUTHOR of it?  Who holds the authority? What duties do I owe and to whom? Who is the boss of my ZIPPER?  Today we will consider the sovereignty of sexuality.

The Woman caught in adultery will focus our attention on this topic, whether or not these 11 verses are authoritative scripture.  

Adultery is giving the benefits INSIDE the marriage to one OUTSIDE the marriage.  Adultery is failing in the RESPONSIBILITIES due to the other INSIDE the marriage.

So what is the big deal? Adultery is a big deal because MARRIAGE is a big deal.  God designed this WALLED GARDEN of delights for its citizens of a husband and wife.  Within this little kingdom are provision, rights, delights and love.  There is also service, giving of one's authority to another, and the giving of agency. Adultery is when one "jumps over the wall" of protection/delights.

This is a universal issue.  Listen as we take a peek into your heart and your pants.

Nicodemus gets the best Gospel Good News/Bad News presentation of all time in John 3.  Just like reality, we don't really find out if he BELIEVES until later.  We get our first hint in John 7 when Nicodemus DEFENDS Jesus at some peril to himself.  But the real evidence is in John 19: 39.

Quick quiz:  Who buried Jesus?  Joseph of Arimethea.  Right?  Jesus was buried in his tomb.

Essential Oil of Myrrh.  75 pounds of it, if you buy it today at Walmart, you'd pay $139,000.  Nicodemus brings 75 pounds of Myrrh and Aloe and apparently meets Joseph and buries Jesus.  The critical word:  THEY.  They laid Jesus there!  Who?  Joseph and NICODEMUS.  They risk it all.  They give everything.

So we get the ARC of Nicodemus' spiritual life.  He gets an audience with Jesus alone.  He gets the best Gospel presentation of all time.  He gets lots of time to consider it fully.  He gets a chance to DEFEND Jesus.  Then we get to see if Nicodemus will act truly heroically on Jesus' behalf.  You almost cannot believe this ending.  Or the Beginning and the middle, for that matter.  

Does he believe?  How do we know? Listen and find out.

The Best "Gospel presentation" of all time is in today's podcast.  But before we get there just a word about the only guy in the audience, Nicodemus.

You can't BELIEVE what Jesus SAYS to Nicodemus (John 3:16)
You can't BELIEVE what Nicodemus SAYS for Jesus (John 7:50 )
You can't BELIEVE what Nicodemus DOES for Jesus (John 19:39)

Good News:  For God so loved.  God gave. Believe Mr. Nicodemus.  Don't Perish.  
Bad News:  You are condemned already.  Already on a highway to hell.  You are heading for peril.  You are not "fine".  You are NOT OK.  You LOVE the darkness. You are condemned already.  Yes, God is just.  That is your big problem.  Without belief, you will get exactly what you deserve from a God who is 833,000 times holier than you think He is. (Episodes #192, #193 )

Only with this bad news is the good news so very good.  We are in a mess and only God can get us out of it.  How? How can God righteously get us out of this condemnation? What do I have to do? Whoever BELIEVES in Him is not condemned.

Listen and believe.  

Just when you thought this couldn't get any better...  No, not the podcast, but what Jesus says to our real friend, Nicodemus. 

Yesterday we got the first half of Jesus undoing Nicodemus to his very core.  "You must be born again".  Nicodemus is confused but curious.  We start with Nicodemus very early in the ministry of Jesus.  Only the calling of the disciples and the wedding at Cana are earlier.

What Jesus tells this ONE MAN, changes the WHOLE WORLD, One man at at time. One woman at a time.  John 3, because it is so real, doesn't tell us how the story for Nicodemus ends.  Maybe he, like so many others of the Sanhedrin, hardened his heart.  Maybe not.  Don't read ahead yet.  All we know is that he DEFENDS Jesus in John 7:50  The Bible wants us to know what happens, but not YET.  Wait for it.  Revel in this moment.

"For God So loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." For now, this was not yet "for the world", it was just for him.  For Nicodemus.  For scared cautious curious Nicodemus.  Most blessed man in the history of Mankind.  Receiver of the best, most complete, most needed revelation of God Himself BY God Himself.  Let's just sit with that for today.  That's enough.

Nicodemus DEFENDS Jesus at great peril in John 7:51.  But the story doesn't START there.

Nicodemus has met Jesus before, probably years before.  Jesus did not live in Jerusalem, but went there multiple times to go to the feasts.  During one of the Passovers that Jesus  attended in Jerusalem Nicodemus comes to Jesus at NIGHT.  He comes with some observations, (which are wrong, listen to podcast episode #196)), and something even more important:  WONDERING. (see subtitle of Podcast)

The spiritual winds started to blow in Nicodemus' life and he was as confused as anybody.  
What happens next is so very very very precious.  He gives this man, this curious man, THE GOSPEL.  Just him.  Not a crowd.  not a hillside teaching.  The Scripture is even silent as to whether the disciples are there.  This one man GETS THE FIRST GOSPEL.  It rocks him, of course, as it does all of us. 

This "presentation of the Gospel" is of course FIRST RATE, as it is given right from the mouth of Jesus.  You have perhaps heard it before.  Listen to this foundational, epic, timeless truth be given.  Given, not quite yet to the whole world.  First, it was given to a sincere, questioning, scared Sanhedrin leader in a real place at night.  For that moment, the Gospel was JUST FOR HIM.  In the next moment, it was for the world.  But let's listen and savor the moment when the FIRST GOSPEL was given JUST FOR NICODEMUS.  Listen with Nicodemus-ears, as if no one had EVER heard it, in this way, before.

The hilarious part of today's passage is that those who were tasked with arresting Jesus failed miserably.  They get gobsmacked spiritually by Jesus teaching.  "No-one ever spoke like this man".  No kidding.  Jesus is the Christ and Messiah and Prophet.  Or He isn't.  That is what people are trying to figure out in the passage. 

Some are really trying:  Considering.  Asking questions and going to the good source of the Scriptures to answer their wonders.

Some aren't really trying:  cherry picking the scripture that makes their point.  Using bad examples as good examples. 

Today's lesson is full of GOOD examples.  Good examples of being GOOD examples.  And Good examples of being BAD examples.  Listen and wonder what you might be.