Hope Alliance Bethlehem

Jesus is moved by his love for Lazarus and his sisters to help him. However, if that is true, then why did he make the strange choice to wait a few days before going to them? He wants people  to believe. Not just in the future or the abstract, but believe in him. When Jesus says that he is the resurrection, he is boldly declaring that he is God and he is pulling the future final kingdom right into the present. 

Sheep are at their core incredible helpless and incredibly valuable. That's why they need a shepherd. As humans, we inherently know that we are sheep in need of a sheered. The question is which shepherd will we give ourselves to? As the Good Shepherd, Jesus reminds us that we already belong to him. He has named us and leads us because he loves us, even to the point of laying down his life for us. 

John sets Jesus' miraculous healing of a blind man right in the midst of the continuing unbelief of the religious leaders.  Their pride left them unable to see the scope of the human problem and unable to see Jesus for who he is. This is  spiritual blindness, a far more crippling disability than that of the man. Jesus was offering healing to both, but it is only experienced through genuine faith.

When Jesus tells his Jewish audience that they can experience freedom, they are quick to dismiss him. As children of Abraham, they are already free. However, Jesus tells that that they are enslaved to sin. This is the human condition. But true freedom can be found when we remain in Jesus' teaching. He shows us who we are and how we are meant to live. 

Jesus' brother encourage him to go to Jerusalem during the feast and gather a crowd and further his ministry. John tells us they say this because they don't believe in him. They want Jesus to prove himself.  On the other hand, Jesus is seeking the glory of the Father, not his own. He speaks the words and follows the timing of the Father. For this reason, he is eminently trustworthy. As sent disciples, we are sent by Jesus just like he was sent by the Father. So we seek only his glory, not our own.

Though the miracle of feeding 5,000 is a blessing to the crowds, its intent is largely for Jesus' disciples. It is an invitation to join him in the new and ultimate  exodus he is launching. In the past people ate miraculous bread in the wilderness, but now the bread maker is with the people. And he offers bread that will satisfy our true hunger and bring the full life.

Jesus intentionally crosses paths with a Samaritan woman at a well and offers her living water that would quench her thirst. Is he really capable of digging a better well than Jacob? Jesus offers full access to God who no longer is restricted to a holy mountain. Jesus is the better well that meets the deeper thirsts of our soul. His offer of living water is available to all who would believe. 

John lets us eavesdrop on a private conversation between Jesus and a religious leader named Nicodemus who wants to know if Jesus is the promised Messiah. Jesus confounds him by saying he cannot know unless he is born again. While Nicodemus, like many religious people, spent his time building a resume fr morality and external performance, his true problem was internal. Jesus shows us all that our only hope for new and full life is a  rebirth from above that brings a new heart. 

Jesus' miraculous turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana serves as the perfect opening to the ministry of Jesus in the gospel of John. Far more than simply meeting a temporary need for wine, this story sets forth all that Jesus intends to do. Namely, he is here to launch a new covenant that will enable new creation allowing broken, unclean people like us to be in relationship with God.

The incarnation is a grand invitation to come and see Jesus for who he really is and what he intends to do. He does not fore himself on us, instead he asks us what it is that we want and invites us to come and be with him. This invitation is for those who believe and those who are skeptical. And it comes with a promise to enlighten and transform us.