John 1:19-23 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
 
ONCE I read a magazine article regarding five men living now who have declared themselves “Messiah”. Two things disturbed me. First, the author seemed to give credit to their claims. After all, if they said God made them his Messiah, it must be true! Second, the writer said he had read the New Testament in search of truth and found it contradicts itself.
   I don’t think he read the Bible very well, did he? Yes, there are some statements in the Bible that look contradictory at first reading or from our cultural perspective. But if we study and learn the Bible, we will see God is very clear about himself and his orderly process of salvation through his Messiah. Apparently, the article’s writer did not read such definite Scripture as Matthew 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. My sense is that the magazine’s editors wanted to minimize Christ and mock Christianity.
   This is one reason the gospels record John the Baptist’s testimony. John is very particular to say John the Baptist is not the Prophet (Messiah) as Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15. Nor is he the physical prophesied return of Elijah, as the Jews interpreted in Malachi 4. Unlike the false Messiahs now and the many even in Jesus’ time, Jesus did not start his ministry one day simply by saying, “I am the Messiah.” Instead, God declared his plan to send a messenger ahead of the Christ through the words of Isaiah the prophet, “Make straight the way for the Lord.” John the Baptist knew his role. He was the messenger spoken in Isaiah, anointed with Elijah’s power spoken in Micah to point to the Messiah: Luke 1:17 “And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
   John the Baptist had identified himself as the fulfillment of prophecy that pointed to the Messiah. The Jews would have wondered, “Is God’s Messiah about to come?” God’s messenger had done his work. The Jews were sensing God was about to move.
   How do you know the true Messiah? What do you say to people who seek to minimize Jesus? Can you see where God is about to move? Listen to his Word. You will know what to say. You will recognize him when he comes.  
 
Prayer: Lord God, I pray I am a voice speaking to tell who you are into today’s great wilderness. Amen.
 

John 1:15-18 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
 
SOME 60 years after the event, John wrote, “John testifies.” This is as if John, the apostle, were writing of current events about John the Baptist’s preaching. John is reporting on the preacher’s preaching as current. True preaching is relevant to those who hear. (Luke 8:8b “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”)
    He goes on to report John defines Jesus as eternal: “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” John is flesh. Jesus is God in the flesh. The eternal God is before and after mortal flesh. Jesus was in the beginning with God. He came in the flesh. He is now alive with God.        The apostle affirms a lasting argument for Jesus as the divine Son of God.
   John then beautifully summarizes the Bible: From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Yes, we can praise God from whom all blessings richly flow into our lives. Jesus has fulfilled the Father’s plan to bring one blessing after another upon the earth. What are those blessings?
   In Jesus, we have the blessing of the Law perfectly fulfilled for our salvation. We are then blessed to be God’s children. God blesses us with our daily bread, the forgiveness of our sins and protection from temptation. He blesses us further with peace, joy, faith, hope and love. We love God,  and we love one another because the Lord has so richly blessed us to bring his salvation to mankind.
   Then John affirms Jesus’ relationship with the Father. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. God became flesh. The Son has come and preached God’s truth. He has shown to us the works of God in the flesh. We know the Father because the Son has come. He has completed his work. The Son of God made flesh is risen. He is now with God the Father.
   Boldly and brilliantly John writes the gospel’s sure foundation. Now it is time to testify to the reasons John has written, “the Word was God and the Word was with God.”
 
Prayer: Help me see, Holy Spirit, one blessing after another through my divine Savior. Amen.    

John 1:6-9 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
 
WE have seen how John has defined Jesus as the living Word. Then John tells us the Word is the creative power of light that forms life into the unknowing darkness – God’s life into sin’s death. God began to do so through a man named John, who was a witness to the light. John, the apostle, refers here to the prophet John the Baptist.
   This seems an abrupt break from defining Jesus. But in truth, John is contrasting the witness to the light, to the true light. Most of John’s Jewish readers 60 years after Jesus’ resurrection (as many Jews still today), rejected Jesus as God in the flesh. This was blasphemy to the Jews, punishable by death. Acts describes Stephen’s stoning, and we see riots, accusations, persecutions and debates the Jews forced on the early church. Still, the apostle John preached, evangelized and wrote to affirm Jesus’ identity. He persevered through great opposition, even when Herod killed John’s brother James to please the Jews. (Acts 12:2) John stayed in faith, too, as his friend Peter and the other disciples were martyred.  
    Yes, John is a faithful disciple. He knew the truth. He was intent to continue to give the evidence of Jesus as Savior. Many were wondering who John the Baptist had been. What was his role in Jewish history? John’s opening words in John 1:1-21 aare to draw a distinct line between the divine God-man Jesus and the man sent from God.
   From the day Jesus began his church until now, many false teachers have attempted to “adjust” Jesus to fit into their own limited, unholy views. Sadly, far too many doctrines of God have come from man’s words, not the Word made flesh.
   The apostle wrote from his knowledge and personal experiences. He has lived a Spirit-anointed life, ministering the gospel of God to thousands of people throughout the ancient world. He knew how arguments separated and even killed frail, young churches. In contrast, he knew how Jesus’ truth built the church on the firm foundation of the apostles’ teaching. His heart’s desire was for Jesus’ light to shine into the dark arguments and give life.
   John is a passionate man, bold to light the path to heaven. I pray we all are, too.
 
Prayer: I pray, Holy Spirit, for Jesus’ light to remove any darkness in my mind. I pray I am a true witness to the Light. Amen
 

John 1:4-5 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
 
JOHN continues his divine introduction of Jesus with a second reference to the Lord’s creative power. As mentioned in our last lesson, “Word” referred to the wisdom that created the world and established the Law. John now says that life was in the Word. And that life was the light of men. Summarizing the first 5 verses of John: The Word is God. God is life. God is the light of men. The darkness doesn’t know God.
   John knew what he was saying. He was a good disciple. He was teaching what Jesus taught about himself in John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
   John is bold for Christ to speak into the darkness of unbelief. And why not? He had witnessed Jesus’ light to proclaim the good news. He saw the Lord Transfigured into heaven’s glory light on the mount. He spoke with the risen Lord come up from the tomb’s gloomy darkness. He watched Jesus ascend into heaven.  
   The world needs Jesus’ light. Sin seeks to make our world a dark, formless void. God’s light must bring order to the world today just as it did on the first day of Creation. Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. The first order came into the void. Day and night were set. Time began. From light’s foundation God brought life into the world over the next five days. Light was first. Life followed. The physical form was perfect. It was “good” at the end of six days.
   It is the same for our souls. Jesus’ light has brought order into our lives. As the Spirit sets his light of salvation into our souls, a new time begins in our lives. From that day on we become in Christ a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) The old, formless void is gone! Life is in us. The Lord is in us.
   Jesus’ life on earth was the Father’s revealing light to mankind. John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Son lights the path to the Father. Jesus is God’s truth to offer eternal life to the world. He is God’s nature to love and forgive. He is God’s way to raise the dead from darkness into the light of salvation.
   All heaven and earth come together through the Light of Life to all people who call on the name of Jesus.  
 
Prayer: Open my eyes to enjoy your Light, Jesus. Amen.

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
 
AS we begin to study John, one thing to keep in mind throughout the gospel is John’s education and personality. We have a tendency, I think, to believe that John was a somewhat immature, mild-mannered young man. Jesus tells us otherwise as he labeled John and his brother James “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). The Bible also records a close relationship between John and his passionate cousin Peter. John may have been the only disciple who would allow Peter to be in his company after Jesus’ death. Together, they were the first disciples to see the empty tomb. Acts records their powerful ministry together as the church began. The Bible and other historical writings tell us he was well educated. He also lived in God’s grace into his 90’s.
   The apostle was equipped to be an intelligent, staunch advocate for Jesus Christ of Nazareth to the Jews. From his hand the Holy Spirit has given us John, 1, 2 & 3 John and Revelation. Writing his gospel toward the end of his life, John’s purpose is to prove to the Jews – and to the world – that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah; he is the divine Son of God.
   Thus, John begins with what to us seems to be an imprecise definition of Jesus. Who is” the Word (who) was with God in the beginning” and  “the Word was God”? Why does John make Word a person?
   The Jews and Greeks reading this understood John perfectly. “Word” to those cultures meant “logic” or “wisdom”. This wisdom was an absolute force that brought order and harmony to the universe. We see the divine wisdom in Proverbs 8:22 “The Lord brought me (wisdom) forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23 I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began…26 before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep.
   To the Jews and Greeks, then, John is claiming the Word is an eternal, living and divine force that fulfilled God’s spoken word in Genesis, “And God said” as he created the world. The Word is also God’s Law, spoken to form his people into a nation. The Word is God. John hasn’t written the name “Jesus”, yet. But he’s moving his readers minds in a logical order to point to Jesús’ divine nature.
   Is Jesus the source of your wisdom? Does he form your mind to the things of God?  May God’s wisdom be a divine, living force to draw you more closely to Jesus.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending Jesus to speak into our lives. I pray for his wisdom to form my mind, heart and soul to you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
 
 
 

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
 
For some 400 lessons over the past 16 months, we have examined Luke’s effort to his friend Theophilus “to write an orderly account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.” (Luke 1:1-2) Has this study of God’s Word given you a more orderly account of Jesus’ gospel? Has Luke stirred you, perhaps, to be a more urgent disciple to witness the good news?
    One passage I’ve raised up periodically is Luke 4:18-19. This is a key statement from Jesus to define God’s will for the gospel. Also, these words are Jesus’ proclamation he has come to fulfill the prophetic Word from Isaiah 61:1-3. God had promised the Jews that one anointed in the Spirit’s power would come to free them from sin’s imprisoning darkness. Jesus declared he fulfilled that prophecy.
    I believe this passage can be a purpose statement for all of you, Jesus’ disciples. The Great Commander has given us the Great Commission to make disciples. How can this happen unless we are determined to speak the gospel into people’s lives?
    I pray the Spirit has anointed you to love, to live and to proclaim Jesus’ gospel. I hope you will help those who are blind to the Lord see him one day. How joyful you would be to know that your voice speaking God’s love, grace and truth into someone’s heart has become God’s means to save that person.
    Discipleship is a great and high calling to be used for God’s eternal purpose. Are you Jesus’ disciple? Then you are privileged to receive it. Be eager to share it.
    Remember Jesus’ words of freedom and favor. Worship him. Praise him. Live in joy that he has chosen to remove sin’s imprisoning darkness from your heart, so you see him as your Lord and Savior.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, that you came to preach the good news. I pray for the Spirit’s anointing to tell this good news. Amen.  

Luke 24:52-53 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
 
Great Joy – Part 5
 
WE have seen in these past few lessons on joy how Jesus’ suffering on the cross overflows into a Spirit-given joy to our lives now and forever. It is only through our faith in the cross of suffering and death that Jesus’ joy becomes real for us. Imagine! He has died, risen and ascended to reign at the Father’s right hand. Jesus now bids his own to be with him. And our Lord Jesus will come again to draw all of his church together into a New Heaven and earth. This gospel message should overflow awe, wonder and joy into our minds.  We are, indeed, eternally well with our Lord.
    Yes, we can be assured that joy is this: A deep emotional sense of well-being in Jesus’ gospel. This is what the disciples experienced the day Jesus ascended to heaven. As they returned to Jerusalem with great joy they fully understood the full gospel. The Redeemer’s promise of eternal life is true! No longer would they in fear and amazement ask one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” (Luke 8:25) Each word of his teachings has become alive and real in his disciples’ hearts. They know death is overcome as their Savior welcomes them into a life with him. Because Jesus lives, they knew Jesus’ joy for the rest of their lives. All was well for them even as they faced great persecution because Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:21b)   
    Is Jesus with you? Do you say he is? Do you believe it? Then live with great joy. Each day as you arise, first consider and confess, “Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” How thrilling for you to know you can live a faithful life of discipleship, linked with Jesus’ joy.
    It’s true. When you in faith encounter the risen Lord, you are his forever: John 10:28-29 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. 29 my Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.”
    Want joy? Get Jesus. Joy is the Spirit’s gift to awaken you to the overwhelming grace the Lord has bestowed upon you. Call on the name of Jesus and know that you are forever alive in Christ.
    Overflow with Jesus’ joy.
 
Prayer: Psalms 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Amen.
 

 

Luke 24:52-53 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
 
With Great Joy – Part 4
 
WE have seen Jesus joyfully praise the Father for the salvation of 72 disciples. Let’s look at two other texts to see how Jesus relates his joy to his disciples’ salvation. First, he prays for his disciples’ joy in John 17: 13-16 “But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.”
    Do you see it? Jesus said, “My joy fulfilled in themselves…They are not of the world.” He is praying his joy will fill his disciples’ hearts and minds because they are no longer linked to the world but connected forever with Jesus. Then he continued: John 17:15 “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” Jesus prayed they would live joyful lives the remainder of their days on earth. He didn’t pray, “Take them out of the world, so they will find joy.” No, he knew they needed to stay in the world to display the Lord’s love and joy. But as they would be in the world, they would not be “of the world”. He prayed they would know God’s protection and experience his joy – that deep sense of well-being in the Lord – even as they faced severe trials and would die for their faith in him. His prayer was to link them into his joy amid a troubled world, not into a life of ease.
    Can you have joy amid trouble, sorrow and dark days? You will if you are linked with Jesus.
    Joy, too, comes in obeying Jesus’ commands: John 15:10-11 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (New Living Translation)
    Gloriously, in the midst of the dark night in Gethsemane, Jesus shines joy’s light right into his disciples’ fearful hearts. How? “Obey my commands.” Have you thought about that? Obeying Jesus’ commands is not drudgery, but delight. Jesus’ commands are to form us to be more as he is. Drawing closer to Jesus, our joy will be complete.  
    Yes, our joy can be complete in Jesus because of the awful cross. Is joy linked to the cross? Yes, it is! To receive Jesus’ joy in your salvation is not possible without Jesus’ death. The cross has made joy real for all Jesus’ disciples through time unending. The cross has unlinked us from the world and intimately linked us to the risen Lord’s overflowing joy. Think about that. (Go ahead. Think about it.) Without the cross, you would have no reason for joy. Do you know your reason now? You will if you mind your mind to God’s great sacrifice for your eternal soul.
    Who do you know who needs joy? Be a joyful disciple. Lift up troubled souls to know eternal love from the God who doesn’t change.  
 
Prayer: From Psalms 5:11-12 Let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. 12 For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. Amen.

Luke 24:52-53 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
 
With Great Joy – Part 3
 
YOU may be wondering, “Jesus had joy?” After all, he struggled for 40 days in a desert then faced the devil’s temptations. Each day of his ministry seemed to contain conflict and rejection even as he healed and resurrected. Several times the Jews tried to kill him. Worst of all, our Lord fulfilled the awful suffering the prophets proclaimed he would endure as from Isaiah 53:2-5 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see him, There is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we did not esteem him. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.”
     Yes, there seems to be little room for joy in Jesus’ ministry and his church. We seldom preach, teach and discuss Jesus’ joy. After all, we must focus on “suffering”, “sacrifice”, “serving” and “dying to self”, right? Jesus even said that true discipleship means that, “Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) Being Jesus’ disciple is a suffering, sacrificing, llife-and-death commitment! Living for Jesus requires grit, determination and perseverance. Oh, yes. And it requires joy. Really?
     Let’s see how this is true by going first to Luke 10:19-22 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 But do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” 21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight.”
     Do you see Jesus’ response to the work of the 72 disciples’ healing and deliverance? He “rejoiced in the Spirit.” Why was Jesus so filled with the Spirit’s joy? The answer to this question helps us link the cross with Jesus’ joy that transcends to his disciples.
     Yes, Jesus was joyous that the disciples had done a great work. Then even more, he rejoiced that the disciples’ victory over disease and demons was evidence that they would forever remain with Jesus. Jesus then is filled with joy! His joy even overflows into their lives. He rejoices in their salvation! Jesus loved these “babes” (Have you considered yourself a babe in Chirst? It means “as a child”.) As a loving parent who wants only the best for a child, Jesus is thanking and praising the Father that these men have received the Father’s best – eternal life! Think about it. As you confess Jesus, “My Lord and Savior.” Jesus rejoices! From there, the “joy door” swings wide open. His loving joy flows over into you. With Jesus’ joy pouring into you, you have the Spirit’s gift to empower you increasingly experience a sure faithful life.
     Rejoice! Your well-being is rooted into the God who doesn’t change.
 
Prayer: From Psalms 35:27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” Amen.

Luke 24:52-53 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
 
With Great Joy – Part 2
 
BUT am I mistaken to assume you want a life of joy, of delighting in God? Perhaps you don’t. Maybe you’re just getting along, and your life is generally okay. Certainly, you have your ups and downs, and you feel there’s little you can do about life’s roller coaster days. Anyway, joy is so elusive! Life is what it is. Life is the “new normal”.
     Yes, “It is what it is.” And “the new normal” seem to have become popular slogans in our culture. Perhaps these words help us submit to things we can’t control. Or more likely, these slogans are a salve to ease the painful circumstances that hurt our lives. Is it possible these resigned slogans cause us to avoid the ache of facing very disappointing, even mournful events in our lives? Maybe they’re good.
     But likely they are not good. Do you really want to submit to a slogan, especially one that robs you of joy? Even more, Jesus certainly didn’t suffer the cross for you if he wanted you to define your life with, “It is what it is.”
     Instead, let’s consider the evidence of God’s promise to bless you with his version of “the new normal”: Deuteronomy 7:13 “And he will love you and bless you and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which he swore to your fathers to give you.” God promises he will bless your faithfulness to him by being with you. Knowing you are in God’s care, you will know the deep sense of well-being in our Lord that is joy’s foundation.
     Further, Jesus succinctly summarized this full-life blessing as he points to God’s eternal care: John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  The “Is what it is.” attitude is a thief. It steals away life. It hides hope and puts away faith. Worse, such slogans dismiss God’s Word in favor of a joyless world. Such thieves will cause you to live in a funk everyday, robbing you of the opportunity to live in faith everyday. Why is it we are too willing to easily settle for less when God promises to bless?
     If, however, you have decided you do want a life filled with, even overflowing with joy, you now may wonder, “Is joy possible to get? Is the effort worthwhile? Can I even recognize it if I get there?” In faith, we can answer these three questions with a confident and sure, “Yes.” as we further define joy through our Lord Jesus.
 
Prayer: From Psalms 42:4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. 5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon – from Mount Mizar.