Devotions from the Book of John

Most Christians long for that day when we shall make our dwelling permanently in heaven, when we shall see Him as He sees us, when we shall behold the glory of God and savour His beauty with joy unspeakable. This is seen in many of the hymns we sing, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout in victory!”

In Jesus’ time, the Jews reminisced about the glory of God during Moses, Elijah and David’s time. They longed for such days.  This is seen in the questions they had for John the Baptist in wanting to know if he was the Messiah (John 1:19-26).

But when God came to that which was His own, His own did not receive Him!

Were they really waiting for the manifestation of God? I bet no.

On the other hand, John says that they had seen the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father. They basked under the divine glory, beheld it and enjoyed its splendid light. Those who saw it called others, “come and see” (1:46), others proclaimed, “You are the son of God, King of Israel!”

Do you know that God is still dwelling with us? (We have His Spirit and His Word). Do you know that the greatest joy is in that experience continuous fellowship with Him? And this is what Jesus meant about Life, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God,and Jesus Christ who you have sent” (John 17:3). Christianity is not primarily about living moral lives and serving Him but knowing God. Endeavor to fellowship with Him daily through Word and prayer.

“No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” 3:3.

This was a profound statement from Jesus to a religious leader. Nicodemus was understandably taken by surprise by this new teaching. He had forgotten the redemption story behind the sacrifices; salvation from sin and Satan to a new creation. We are dead in sin until Christ gives us life. He was preaching and living a different gospel.

We are slowly drifting back to the Pharisaic sin of subtly forgetting the gist of the redemption story; salvation from sin. It is in this chapter that we meet the famous John 3:16, but we must remember the context, and I will use the Swahili version which renders it well “Na kama vile Musa alivyomwinua yule nyoka jangwani, vivyo hivyo Mwana wa Adamu hana budi kuinuliwa; ili kila mtu aaminiye awe na uzima wa milele katika yeye. Kwa maana jinsi hii Mungu aliupenda ulimwengu…” Interestingly, I believe Nicodemus understood what Jesus meant.

Jesus uses Moses’ context in the desert to explain His purpose as a Redeemer. After the Israelites sinning, Moses made a brazen snake as a salvation plan for the rebellious people. In the same way (kwa maana jinsi hii), Jesus is the Saviour of the sinful man. Whoever looks at Him will be saved. His love seen in His mercy to us is revealed. We were supposed to die because of sin but He saved us!

Sin is abhorrent to God. Are you preaching a Jesus who saves man from sin? What kind of Jesus are you preaching? Are you still reveling in sin that caused Jesus to die for you? The Bible says that if we intentionally continue to sin, no more sacrifice is left!

Though close relatives, Jews hated the Samaritans as they considered them unclean. Jews believed that salvation was theirs alone. Furthermore, male Jews would not interact publicly with women Jews. Jesus broke several cultural inclinations, intentionally; He interacts publicly with a woman, and of all the people, one who happens to be a Samaritan, and adding salt to the injury, an immoral one!

The woman was also astonished with Jesus’ proposition against the known cultural tide. When the disciples arrived, they were also surprised that Jesus was talking to a woman. But Jesus being God, knew that everyone was deemed worthy before God and in need of salvation. It is interesting that the Samaritans salvation came through this outcast vile woman!

Jesus is the saviour of all mankind; men, women, politicians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, blacks, whites, homosexuals, heterosexuals etc. Different of us have different prejudices against different groups of people that implicitly affect our evangelism and discipleship.

Yes, the harvest is ripe for harvest! What is holding you back from sharing Christ to your neighbor?

John powerfully displays the deity of Christ by telling us that He is the I AM! He explains this through Jesus’ miracles and in His conversations with the Religious leaders.

Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, the healer, the Bread of life, the Good Shepherd, the Door, the Resurrection, the Messiah, the Living Water, the Son of Man, the Son of God and the Lord. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all  creation…by Him all things were created…He is before all things and in Him all things hold together…He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy!”

If there was any truth that infuriated the Pharisees was Jesus claim that he is the I AM, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am” (8:58). Immediately, they picked up stones to stone Him. Their reaction was apt; the Law demanded anyone claiming that to be stoned. The difference with this scenario is, Jesus had laid all the proofs as also demanded by the same Law but they had refused to listen! They asked the right question, “Who are you?” (8:25) but rejected the answer to their own detriment.

I am means, the Absolute, the Unchanging, the Eternal, the All  Sufficient or simply, the all in all! I can do nothing apart from Him.

Christ is all I desire, all I want, all I esteem, my joy, my righteousness, my wisdom. What we need primarily is Christ. The god of our age; materialism has blurred this truth. Even in this pandemic, all I need is Christ. The heavens and the earth will pass away, but the Word is eternal.  “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!’’

When Jesus was about to go back to the Father, He gathered the disciples and gave His last instruction. It is said that the last words of a dying man are important. And this is the gist of all He said to them, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me…love each other as I have loved you” (15:4, 12)

By the power of the Holy Spirit whom He was to send, they were to remain in God’s love, love one another after Christ’s example and bear fruit that last.

This is what I would refer to as the fundamentals of Christianity. One author defined revival as the return to the basics; I couldn’t agree more.

If this is lacking in you as a person, you will be an infective christian.

Christianity is different from other religions because we have been called to conquer the world through love. We are a very different lot; we even have the power to love our enemies! But remember, this can only come through by remaining in God’ love. This vital ingredient is greatly missing in Christendom.

The disciples were obedient to Christ’s commands and turned the known world then upside down. They produced fruit, and fruit that last.

Are you still abiding in Christ? Are you loving your neighbor or your enemy? What practical steps are you taking? Are you producing fruit that last in the field God has called you?  And this the admonition if we don’t bear fruit,

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (15:2)

Jesus’ first words to Peter was, “Follow me” and as He was about to depart, He still told him, “You must follow me” (21:22b)

YOU MUST FOLLOW CHRIST!