Today's scripture: John 10:22-30
I've written in previous devotionals that many people say that Jesus never
claimed to be God, to be divine. Today's verses belie that statement.
Jesus said, very clearly, that He was the giver of eternal life. Only God can
give eternal life. Only He is omnipresent and outside of time.
And if that's not enough, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." It's
a simple mathematical hypothesis: If A equals B, then B equals C. (Or something
like this ... It's been a very long time since I've taken any math class.) The
Father is God. Jesus is one with the Father. Therefore, Jesus is God.
No reasonable person can say, after reading God's word, that Jesus never
claimed divinity. He absolutely did, and when He rose from the dead, He proved
His claim to be true. And because Jesus did indeed claim to be God, we all need
to make a decision about Him. As C.S. Lewis so eloquently wrote:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the
really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus
as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the
one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of
things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a
lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he
would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and
is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up
for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his
feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing
nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to
us. He did not intend to.
Jesus claimed to be God. He proved that claim. Therefore, He is God.
Today's scripture: John 10:19-21
Two days ago, we looked at John 9 and the healing of the blind man. After a
brief detour, we return to this story.
As verse 19 of chapter 10 states, "A division occurred again among the
Jews because of these words." To what "words" is John referring?
Jesus said quite a bit in chapter 9, but I think John is referring especially
to Jesus' words in verses 39-41. As a reminder, Jesus said, "For
judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that
those who see may become blind” (v. 39), followed by, “If you were blind, you
would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains" (v. 41).
Because they didn't like what Jesus was saying ("your sin remains"),
many said Jesus was demon-possessed and insane. They "saw" the law
and followed it, point-by-point. In doing so, they considered themselves free
from sin. This upstart from Nazareth wasn't going to tell them what to do or
how to do it. And instead of listening to Him and believing His words, they
called Him—and therefore His words—crazy.
On the other hand, some began to truly see—for the first time in their lives.
They recognized that the miracles Jesus performed were unlike anything they'd
seen before. Jesus' miracles were good and compassionate. He made life better
for those He healed. And, in fact, He even cast out those demons that He
Himself was accused of possessing.
So, they asked a very logical question, "A demon cannot open the eyes of
the blind, can he?"
Satan and his minions are not all-powerful. They do not have the ability to
perform miracles like Jesus did—and does. They might be able to do
"magic" here and there, but they certainly don't do anything for
anyone's good.
Only Jesus—who loves us more than we can understand—can and will care for us,
provide for us, heal us, and protect us. Only He is worthy of our worship,
honor, and praise.
Our response to Him can either be to label Him as insane or accept Him as
Savior. And after weighing the evidence of His character and deeds, only one
logical response remains.
Today's scripture: John 10:1-18
I love, love, love verses about how much Jesus cares for us. I especially love
when He's described as our Shepherd.
You've probably heard about how sheep aren't the brightest of creatures. They
need a lot of care. They'll get caught in thorny bushes and need help getting
out. They'll fall and not be able to get up. They'll blindly follow even to the
point of going over a crevasse. They need a shepherd.
Well, I hate to say it, but we're not the brightest of creatures either. We get
caught in sin and desperately need help. We fall into temptation and can't
overcome. We blindly follow the world and its lies. We need a Shepherd.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He knows each of His sheep by name. He protects and
guides us. He is even willing to lay down His life for us—in fact, that's
exactly what He did.
With Jesus, we can avoid the thorns of sin. When we fall, we can reach for
Jesus, and He'll lift us. Following Him, we won't follow the patterns of the
world.
Our Good Shepherd knows us, cares for us, and loves us more than we could ever
deserve. We can trust Him with everything.
Today's scripture: John 9
Jesus performed miracle after miracle. We read of His healing—blindness,
deafness, lameness. He raised people from the dead. He fed thousands with a
handful of fish and some small loaves of bread. Sometimes a miracle happened in
a single verse; sometimes it took several.
The miracle in today's verses ... It took an entire chapter to describe one
healing. A man, blind from birth, was healed. Another miracle. Yet this chapter
is so much more than a miracle of healing.
It's a lesson of faith. Many thought—and some still think today—that illness
was a result of sin. Sin of the sick person. Sin of his parents. So, a logical
question of Jesus' disciples was, "By whose sin is this man blind?"
Jesus used this particular healing to prove a couple of points.
First, He wanted them to know that illness or infirmity isn't necessarily a
result of sin. Now certainly, a person could suffer because of something he
did. Perhaps excessive drinking caused liver damage or a criminal was injured
in the pursuit of a crime.
However, most of the time, people experience health issues because ... well,
because we live in a sinful world, and part of that world includes sickness. I
deal with chronic health issues, and I believe it's just the way it is. I also
believe, though, that sometimes people experience health issues so that God can
work miracles, just as He did in this chapter.
So many times, people who have been suffering with cancer or other chronic
issues are miraculously healed so that God can be glorified. That's exactly
what happened with the blind man.
The second point Jesus wanted to make was this: Some people are physically able
to see, but are spiritually blind. Proof of Jesus through miracles and changed
lives abounds, but like the Pharisees, they refuse to see. They're so focused
on the letter of the law, they're blind to faith and truth.
I find great encouragement in John 9. I believe that my chronic health issues
are mine just because of this fallen world. It's not lack of faith, nor a past
sin (mine or others). And if God chooses to heal me to demonstrate His glory, I
wouldn't argue, but if I experience healing only in eternity, that's okay.
But I also find it sad that, especially today, people remain so very blind to
truth. The only thing we can do is do our best to help them with their
spiritual blindness by sharing Jesus with them.
