Tag: john

“Everyone on the Side of Truth will listen to Me.” Praying to Pick Truth Over Crowd Pleasing. John 18:33-38

John 18:33-38 New American Standard Bible 1995

33 Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this [a]on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom [b]is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not [c]of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and *said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Being On One Side of the Truth or the Other …

John 18:37-38 Amplified Bible

37 So Pilate said to Him, “Then You are a King?” Jesus answered, “You say [correctly] that I am a King. This is why I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth [who is a friend of the truth and belongs to the truth] hears and listens carefully to My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him [scornfully], “What is truth?”

And when he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no guilt in Him [no crime, no cause for an accusation].

Jesus’ statement here about truth is in line with everything he has taught.

Jesus stands before Pilate “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

He is the bread of life; the living water; the Good Shepherd, the way, the truth, and the life; the only way to know God the Father (John 6:35; 7:38; 10:11, 14:6).

As he stands in judgement before this Roman governor, face to face, eye to eye, voice to voice, word to Word, thought to thought, Jesus offers Pilate the chance to experience the truth into a relationship with him—like one of his disciples.

But doing that would be very costly for Pilate. If Pilate were to accept what Jesus has to say, he would have to make the truth more important than Rome. Or political power. Or wealth. If Pilate accepted Jesus’ claims and set Jesus free, he would be throwing away his credibility with the Jews, if not his entire career.

Throughout this Gospel Narrative, John has been helping us to understand that all we possess on this earth—all our power, our influence, and wealth—pales in comparison to the incomparable truth of Jesus.

“… Everyone who is of the truth [who is a friend of the truth and belongs to the truth] hears and listens carefully to My voice.”

The offer Jesus extends goes far beyond Pilate, to our chance to experience life with God the way we are created to live it. Nothing is more important than that.

Sadly, Pilate rejects Jesus’ offer.

What about you and me?

What might we need to let go of in order to embrace the truth of Jesus?

What about the church?

What might the church need to let go of in order to embrace the truth of Jesus?

A Prayer to Pick Truth Over say … Crowd Pleasing

John 18:37-40 The Message

37 Then Pilate said, “So, are you a king or not?”

Jesus answered, “You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.”

38-39 Pilate said, “What is truth?”

Then he went back out to the Jews and told them, “I find nothing wrong in this man. It’s your custom that I pardon one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to pardon the ‘King of the Jews’?”

40 They shouted back, “Not this one, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a Jewish freedom fighter.

Without even waiting for an answer from Jesus, in all likelihood not even really desiring one, nor prepared to hear one or have to listen to one and think twice about the course of his coming actions and have to entertain the possibility he will have to alter it, Pilate leaves the presence of Jesus and returns to the crowd.

It can be hard to change course, from the truth the crowd prefers to side with God’s Truth, especially if you and your choice could be dangerously unpopular.

Perhaps, like me, you have found your faith tested when standing firm to the voice of Jesus against a persuasive crowd. It’s human nature to want to be liked, but sometimes, this pressure leads us to make choices that don’t glorify God.

Pontius Pilate is well remembered for his display of crowd-pleasing weakness.

As a Roman governor as Caesar’s representative, Pilate routinely presided from his Jerusalem headquarters to ensure law, order during Jewish festival times.

During this particular Passover in John’s narrative, he found himself standing before a large crowd growing ever larger and crying out for Jesus’s crucifixion.

Roman law prohibited the Sanhedrin from carrying out capital punishment, so they demanded that Pilate issue the death sentence. 

Luke 23:2 captures the nature of their manipulation:

Luke 23:1-5 The Message

Pilate

23 1-2 Then they all took Jesus to Pilate and began to bring up charges against him. They said, “We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King.”

3 Pilate asked him, “Is this true that you’re ‘King of the Jews’?”

“Those are your words, not mine,” Jesus replied.

4 Pilate told the high priests and the accompanying crowd, “I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless enough to me.”

5 But they were vehement. “He’s stirring up unrest among the people with his teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting in Galilee and now all through Judea. He’s a dangerous man, endangering the peace.”

Read again the protesting crowds interpretation of their “truth” …

“We found this man misleading, undermining the law and order of our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

Does this have a familiar ring of truth for us today?

History repeating itself all over again?

Words, actions, behaviors, deeds all guided by the alleged truth of “the crowd?”

Who ever has the majority, who ever can shout the loudest, exerts the greatest measure and degree of influence, becomes the bigger bully, gets their “truth?”

Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, yet Pontius Pilate refused to listen to the Messiah.  After much questioning, he could find no lies or fault with Him.  

Instead, in a moment of great irony, Pilate responded to Truth Himself with the question, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38).  

Despite Pilate’s investigation, Herod’s findings, and even his wife’s report of a troubling dream warning of Jesus’ innocence, Pilate remained unsettled by the mob (Matthew 27:19).

In hopes of appeasing everyone, Pilate offered to free Jesus under the Passover tradition of a prisoner release.

Sadly, the crowd demanded the release of Barabbas. They traded a murderer whose name in Greek (barr-abbas) means “son of the father” for Jesus, the True Son of the Father–how they all (including us?) missed the message! 

Although Pilate continued to look for ways to release Jesus, a final blow of peer pressure broke him as the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar” (John 19:12).

At this he freed Barabbas, had Jesus beaten beyond recognition, humiliated Him with a purple robe and crown of thorns, and handed Him over for crucifixion.

The trouble with crowd-pleasing is that it often requires us to compromise what we know to be true.

Christians are not immune to this “follow the crowd” temptation, yet God will help us when we seek discernment and strength through scripture and prayer.

Each day is full of opportunities to unhinge ourselves from the “vocal will of the crowds to honor our Lord, Savior and King as we strive to sort through the vast, deceiving amounts of “crowd truths,” glorify God, through our daily decisions.

How are you, me, the church, being challenged to be a witness to God’s truth today rather than give in to the pressure of popularity? Like Pilate, have you found yourself tempted to follow the crowd despite what you know is right?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father God, it is hard to hear your Truth when the voices around me are loud. Whether it’s my kids, friends, or workplace, I confess I want to be liked, and it is often unpopular to go against the group. Even though it’s human nature to want to fit in, remind me daily that you have given me a new and better nature in Christ. Forgive me when I have given into people-pleasing or made choices to gain acceptance or approval of others even when I knew it was wrong. Forgive me for the times I did not stand up for you, Jesus, and the times I complied rather than speaking your truth and light into a situation. Holy Spirit, bring to mind instances that need your forgiveness and wash me with fresh new boldness and strength to reflect your glory in my words and actions. Help me speak your name with love and grace, and give me wisdom and discernment to make Truth-honoring choices today and always. In Jesus’ Name …  

Psalm 118 The Message

118 1-4 Thank God because he’s good,
    because his love never quits.
Tell the world, Israel,
    “His love never quits.”
And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world,
    “His love never quits.”
And you who fear God, join in,
    “His love never quits.”

5-16 Pushed to the wall, I called to God;
    from the wide open spaces, he answered.
God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid;
    who would dare lay a hand on me?
God’s my strong champion;
    I flick off my enemies like flies.
Far better to take refuge in God
    than trust in people;
Far better to take refuge in God
    than trust in celebrities.
Hemmed in by barbarians,
    in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt;
Hemmed in and with no way out,
    in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt;
Like swarming bees, like wild prairie fire, they hemmed me in;
    in God’s name I rubbed their faces in the dirt.
I was right on the cliff-edge, ready to fall,
    when God grabbed and held me.
God’s my strength, he’s also my song,
    and now he’s my salvation.
Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs
    in the camp of the saved?
        “The hand of God has turned the tide!
        The hand of God is raised in victory!
        The hand of God has turned the tide!”

17-20 I didn’t die. I lived!
    And now I’m telling the world what God did.
God tested me, he pushed me hard,
    but he didn’t hand me over to Death.
Swing wide the city gates—the righteous gates!
    I’ll walk right through and thank God!
This Temple Gate belongs to God,
    so the victors can enter and praise.

21-25 Thank you for responding to me;
    you’ve truly become my salvation!
The stone the masons discarded as flawed
    is now the capstone!
This is God’s work.
    We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
This is the very day God acted—
    let’s celebrate and be festive!
Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
    Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

26-29 Blessed are you who enter in God’s name—
    from God’s house we bless you!
God is God,
    he has bathed us in light.
Adorn the shrine with garlands,
    hang colored banners above the altar!
You’re my God, and I thank you.
    O my God, I lift high your praise.
Thank God—he’s so good.
    His love never quits!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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How Do I Trust God When I Do not even Understand What He’s Doing? John 13:5-8

John 13:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

5 Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him,  What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” 8 Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

There have been moments in my life when different trials have blindsided me.

Things like heart disease resulting in urgent triple bypass surgery, unexpected job loss, or a host of other sudden situations where I just felt utterly caught off guard by what I believed and understood to be true about God. Ever been there?

Recently, I was reading the gospel of John, chapter 13.

You know the story. The disciples and Jesus met in the upper room to celebrate the Passover.

We call this the Last Supper.

As the disciples gathered in the room, there was no servant to wash feet.

This would have been absolutely unheard of in Middle East culture where everyone’s feet would get dirty and dusty.

You could feel the tension in the room.

The disciples anxiously looked at each other, wondering who would take the place of a servant and wash feet.

Then Rabbi Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist, got down on His knees, and began washing feet.

Peter was appalled!

Maybe he even felt a bit guilty for not being willing to be the one who would serve others.

In any case, he questioned the Lord with the words, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

We could paraphrase, “Lord are You really going to be the one to wash our feet? 

In Peter’s mind, this didn’t make any sense; how could the Lord of the universe stoop so low?

Then Jesus spoke these profound words, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Those words are so profound! 

Though Peter may have left everything to follow Jesus, watched in amazement as He saw Him transfigured at the top of the holy mount, and unashamedly proclaimed “Thou are the Christ the Son of the living God,” he could not begin to understand the staggering spiritual significance of Christ’s act of humility,

when He laid aside His garments, girded Himself with a towel, and began to wash the disciples’ feet.

Even today, are we no different than Peter in that we too have allegedly left everything behind, allegedly we also have sacrificed much of ourselves and unashamedly proclaimed our deep faith, we are the Body of Christ the church?

How well do we, like Peter, and probably the rest of the assembled disciples, grasp the profound significance of the words Jesus spoke in the Upper Room?

With all the volume of information we have available in the 21st century, that those first disciples did not have, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7), do we still struggle so hard to understand Jesus’ acts?

1 Corinthians 8:1-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

Take Care with Your Liberty

8 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge [a]makes arrogant, but love edifies. 2 If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that [b]there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

Affiliation, disaffiliation, clashes of our wills against God’s will, personalities and ideologies crashing and smashing and grinding together as earthquakes, hurt feelings, who wants to offend our greatest enemy being sin when we are so fearful of offending each other over use of correct pronouns, gender identity.

By the shock-horror of the cruel Cross, the distressing denial of His Lord at the unjust trial, the bewildering amazement at His glorious Resurrection, the really breathtaking baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the astonishing inclusion of the Gentiles into the family of God, and the many hidden mysteries of the Church that were almost entirely revealed to the apostle Paul,

were all enfolded, yet enshrouded in one simple act – when Jesus rose from the Passover supper, poured water into a basin, began to wash the disciples’ feet.

No wonder the Lord answered Peter and answers His church still today: “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterward you will know.”

The manifestation of God’s love towards the fallen race of man at Calvary as the entire floodgates of God’s wrath was poured out on His dearly-beloved and only-begotten Son, was beyond Peter’s comprehension at that time, but by the power of the Holy Spirit he, and in turn us, would later receive illumination.

For a time, in those ancient of days, before the birth of the church at Pentecost neither he nor any of the gathered disciples minimally understood the spiritual significance of what they had witnessed, although afterwards things would be made plain – but with the passage of 2000 + years, is it any more plainer to us?

What appeared as a series of bizarre and unaccountable circumstances that defied reality, reason, was later to be recognized as the necessary prerequisite to the glorious gospel of grace.

And as the unveiling of God’s plans and purposes continued to unfold before their eyes, they gained spiritual understanding and developed a deepening awareness of God perfect plans and purposes for humanity, but have we also?

When, like the apostle Peter, we come face to face with a whole series of bizarre circumstances that seem to shake, shatter our lives, divide and disaffiliate our churches, we may not understand the reason for life’s twists and turns but we can trust Him, knowing that His ways are perfect and His grace is sufficient.

Like the disciples on that night before the Cross, we may not be comfortable with the Words Jesus speaks to us, with the truth he tries to convey, with the shock-horror that we witness or the unjust way that life seems to be unfolding.

We may not understand the spiritual significance of all that is happening in our life and the lives of those we care about, but can we come to our place, our own Upper Rooms together and trust our Heavenly Father for He is still in control?

He knows the end from the beginning and all His ways are perfect, ours are not?

Although we may not know the meaning and mystery of all that we are called upon to bear in this world, let us remember that we may not understand what is happening now, but hereafter, by God’s Gospel, we shall know as we are known.

May we learn, as Peter did, that there is One God, One faith, One Baptism that what may be shadowed to our understanding today is being used by God to work together for good, to His praise and for our eternal benefit. (Romans 8:26-39)

Often in our lives, we believe God is moving in one direction only to discover the plan is completely different, there is no rhyme or reason or rationale to be seen.

Trusting God in Uncertainty

Uncertainty can leave us feeling vulnerable and afraid.

But in the midst of life’s unknowns, we have a trustworthy anchor: God’s unwavering presence and faithfulness. (Hebrews 6:17-20)

17 [a]In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, [b]interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have [c]taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 [d]This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters [e]within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

When we are faced with uncertainty, do we remember that God is in control?

God is faithful, and his plans for us are good?

As the Body of Christ, we can absolutely, implicitly, trust the Lord to strengthen us, and to help us, upholding us all with his righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10)?

In the face of uncertainty and the unknown, we find comfort in the reliability of God’s character and faithfulness.

God is our refuge and strength, always present to help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

With the Lord by our side, we need never fear the future. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [his] throne; love and faithfulness” surround him.

When we face uncertain times, let’s lean on God’s promises? Can we draw near to God in prayer, seeking his guidance and wisdom. In the Lord’s embrace, we can find the assurance that he’s leading us on a path of purpose and fulfillment?

The questions could go on endlessly.

When the persistent reality we face is that things don’t seem to turn out like we anticipate, feeling disappointed with God, asking, “Did I really truly hear those profound words from Him?”  “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7) realizing after 2000 years, we still do not get it?

The bigger question is, “How do I trust a God I don’t understand?” 

In order to trust God when we don’t understand, we have to be brutally honest with our feelings.

We can’t deny or numb feelings of disappointment, hoping they’ll go away.

Instead, we must authentically dump them at the feet of Jesus.

Remember the story of Lazarus dying found in John 11.

Mary and Martha, Lazarus’s sisters, felt devastated and disappointed that Jesus hadn’t shown up in time.

Both of them said to Jesus, “If only you had been here.”

They were honest in their feelings. Jesus felt deep empathy for them and wept with them. No judgment. nor condemnation – just entering into their sorrow even though moments later, He knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. 

When we feel disappointed with God’s response, we must cling not to all our disparities of personalities, ideologies, but what we know about His character. 

Returning to what all ideologies know to be true will help settle our souls.

The Gospel …

John 14:6 New American Standard Bible 1995

6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

If we always understood God, He wouldn’t be God. He would be our equal.

Yet, all we still today, have each again inexplicably fallen into another trap:

Isaiah 53:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Suffering Servant

53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He grew up before Him like a tender [a]shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [b]be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of [c]sorrows and acquainted with [d]grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Isaiah 53:4-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

4 Surely our [a]griefs He Himself bore,
And our [b]sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
[c]Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was [d]pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our [e]well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To [f]fall on Him.

All we still have not struggled enough to understand the message of Calvary as Jesus did throughout his earthly ministry now being summed up by John 13:7.

We just do not “get it!”

Do we even want to “get it?”

One has to wonder how much like Peter in that Upper Room we are right now!

The simple truth is the Gospel is not a Gospel of Peter or about Peter or those in that Upper Room at the moment Jesus got up and divested himself of his cloak.

It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ-ONE GOD ONE GOSPEL ONE TRUTH FOR US ALL!

Instead, He is vastly beyond our imagination. Yet, according to His Word; He is always good and just. He loves us. He is faithful, He will do what’s best for us.  

The truth is that our trust muscles are strengthened ONLY as we go through life’s disappointments – TOGETHER!

We each walk by faith and not excuses, explanations, and irrational rationale.

If we continue to come together, (Philippians 2:1-18) authentically bring our feelings before God and together nonjudgmentally cling to what we know to be true about His character, our One faith will grow stronger even in our suffering.

As we each lean into Jesus, He will whisper reassurance to our broken hearts. 

Intersecting Faith & Life:

As you reflect on your affiliated and or disaffiliated life so far, what have been situations that have arisen that have made it difficult for you to max trust God?

What do you feel God is inviting you to do in this season to bolster your faith?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Matthew 6:6-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day [a]our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [b]evil. [c][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

Heavenly Father, thank You for this precious picture in the upper room, when in humble submission to the Father’s will, the Lord Jesus laid aside His garment and began to wash the feet of His bewildered disciples. Lord, there are many times in my life that I do not understand the reason that You allow certain things to happen, but help me to simply trust You in all things and enable me to pray, “Thy will not mine be done.” Open my understanding to all that You are seeking to teach me, and may I grow in grace as I submit to Your will for my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

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