Bring Glory to God

 Dr. Glen A. Thorp                                                    March 3, 2013
 (All Rights Reserved)                                              John 11:1-17, Psalm 116:1-9
 
                                "BRINGING GLORY to GOD"
                             (Seventh in a series: "Seven Signs in John")

If you received notice that a close friend or loved one was dying,
what would you do? John gives us another insight into Jesus’ life and
ministry as he retells what Jesus did when he received such a notice.

As we have been looking at the "signs," miracles Jesus performed,
we have seen how Jesus’ conversations are used to teach theological principles.
This story is no exception. Jesus statement: This sickness will not end in death.
is misunderstood. Jesus clarifies what he meant. We read how Jesus related
to his disciples, to his friends and what he did.
More importantly, we learn why he did what he did.

From the first miracle Jesus performed in the small village of Cana in
Galilee, where he turned water into wine, to this last sign Jesus did, it was
to bring glory to God and bring people to God that they would believe.

In studying the Signs Jesus did, we have seen that he acted with compassion,
whether through his healings or feeding 5,000, in order that people be drawn
closer to God. We are invited to respond even as those who witnessed or
heard of the signs and wonders Jesus executed.

One of John’s thesis is that Jesus, the Light of the World, came that people
need not live in darkness. He came that we might have life in fulness.
Those themes appear again in this passage.

It is my hope and prayer that we will respond as Jesus did
by living to bring glory to God.

Three statements from Jesus will give us a clearer insight into Jesus.

The sickness will not end in death.  (John 11:4)

This happened in order to bring glory to God, and it
will be a means of by which the Son of God will receive glory.
The story is very human. A close friend of Jesus, Lazarus was critical.
His sisters, Mary and Martha send urgent word to Jesus:
Lord, the one you love is sick ... They did not say: "Come!"

They knew he would come. The relationship between Lazarus and Jesus
was special.  They knew of the Government Official in Galilee who went
to Jesus asking Jesus to come:  My son is dying. 
Jesus told the father:  Go your son will live.

"If he did that for someone he didn’t know, surely he will come
because our home has been a place of refuge for Jesus."

Their home. in Bethany, was two miles east of Jerusalem and a perfect
place to get away from the crowds. Jesus did not have a permanent place
to live so he was reliant on the hospitality of others.

When the sisters said: The one whom you love:
The Greek word used was phileo - brotherly (Philadelphia) Love:
one for another.  John uses: agape-God’s love for us:
Jesus loved Martha, Mary, Lazarus.

Yet when he received the message, instead of immediately dropping
everything and returning to Bethany, Jesus said: 
This sickness will not end in death.
We may ask: "why didn’t Jesus immediately respond?"

Beginning with verse 18 we see two sisters grieving because Lazarus
did die. Martha, the first to greet Jesus, says: 
If you had been here, my brother would not have died. 
I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. (John 11:21)
Later Mary says: Lord, if you had been here my bother would not have died.
(John 11:32)

The next two verses are some of the most precious in the New Testament: 
When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who had come with her,
also weeping, Jesus was deeply moved and troubled.

The Greek word: embrimasthai = deepest emotions, anger, indignation
at the disease (Brokeness). Tarrassein= reflexive verb-"troubled himself"
In verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept.

The Jews said: See how much he loved him! Could not he who opened
the eyes of a blind man have kept this man from dying?

Why didn’t Jesus respond when told of Lazarus’ illness?

Jesus said: The sickness will not end in death.
We just read that Lazarus died.
Did Jesus not know what was going to happen?
Did Jesus choose not to act?

Those are questions we may ask ourselves when we believe
God does not respond to our prayers as quickly as we wished.

Jesus said: This sickness will not end in death. It is for God’s glory and
so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.
The implication is: because Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary
so much that he chose not to heal Lazarus.
That is difficult to comprehend. It was even more difficult for the sisters.
Jesus KNEW what he was doing!

Jesus acted solely on his own initiative rather than because he was
persuaded or compelled by others.

The First Statement was: The sickness will not lead to death.

The Second Statement found in John 11:9 is:

Lazarus has fallen asleep;

I Am going to there to wake him up.
It had been two days since he received the news of Lazarus’ illness.
The disciples were startled and responded:
Lord, if he sleeps he will get better.
John points out that the disciples misunderstood what Jesus said.
Jesus clarifies the statement and teaches a lesson.

The disciples thought: "If Lazarus is sleeping that means he is getting better."
There is no mention as what the illness was. If it resulted in a high fever,
restlessness of the body would deny sleep. Thus when sleep came,
it was a good sign.The disciples took Jesus at his word, Lazarus is asleep.
"Why wake him?" They also knew Jesus was a wanted man. 
But Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you and
you are going back there?

Jesus left Jerusalem after healing the blind man. (Last Week’s Blog)
His authority for healing the man had been challenged.
Jesus responded: My authority comes from God my Father.
Jesus was charged with demon possession. Jesus answered:
Before Abraham was I Am!
I Am is what God called Himself and the Jews never say out loud.
Jesus was accused of blasphemy and they tried stoning him,
but he disappeared. He went to East side of the Jordan River.

The disciples were afraid and didn’t want to return to the region
that might result in the arrest and death of their leader.
Jesus responded to their concern: 
Are there not twelve hours in daylight?
A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. 
It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light. (vs. 10) 
What did Jesus mean?

Jesus was teaching: a.) A day cannot finish until the 12 hours are up.
                                b.) There is enough time to accomplish the task.
                                c.) There are only 12 hours & cannot be extended.
Main lesson: While walking in the light there is no fear stumbling.

Jesus uses the analogy of the sun. John transfers the analogy to Jesus and
one of the themes running through his Gospel. 
Jesus is the light that came into the darkness and
the darkness could not overcome it.

The man blind from birth, when healed, saw the very source of light,
Jesus Himself. Essentially Jesus was telling the disciples
"We need not be afraid for my hour has not come.
When my task on earth is accomplished, then my life will end.
It will not end before I have finished all the work the
Father has given me to do."

Secondly: "Those who have the light of life, Jesus,
there is no need of being afraid of stumbling in the dark."

We have God’s very source of light available to us, through Jesus.
There is noone who can remove the light of guidance from us if
we are in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The First Statement: The illness will not lead to death.

The Second Statement: Lazarus has fallen asleep ...

The Third Statement:  That you may believe.

Jesus clarified that Lazarus was not just asleep but had died.
Then he startles his disciples saying: 
Yet for your sake, so that you may believe,
I am glad I was not there. But let us go to him.

What did Jesus mean by this statement? It is at the very heart
of the Gospel and is the main theme of this story.

We may cry out: "God why didn’t you act quickly enough to prevent
Lazarus from dying?" Jesus’ response: "Because I loved you,
I chose not to act.  What you are about to experience will be far
greater than anything I might have done in healing Lazarus."
The disciples and we have seen Jesus perform many
miracles (signs) and healing people of illness and disabilities.
Jesus deliberately waited until after Lazarus died to go to him,
in order to strengthen the disciples’ faith and prepare them for the
fact that Jesus would die but that he would be raised again.

As a writer, John tells the story. The evidence is presented.
It is up to you to decide whether you believe it is true or just fiction.
If you do not believe that Jesus had the power and authority to raise
Lazarus from the dead, it unlikely you will believe Jesus was raised
from the dead.

If you believe Jesus was raised from the dead, it is likely you believe
Lazarus was raised from the dead. If Lazarus was raised from death
you can be assured you too will be raised from death. The difference is
that Lazarus returned to this earthly existence. Whereas you will receive
your permanent reward in your heavenly existence.

One of themes of this story is two sisters who deeply loved their
brother, acted in faith that Jesus could heal their brother, but saw their
brother die.  When Jesus arrived four days later, the sisters were angry
that Jesus had not come when asked: may have thought, "why come now,
you are four days too late."  They knew that Jesus loved Lazarus and
must have an reason for not coming. Never in their wildest hope
did they think they would see their brother alive again.

John carefully points out that Lazarus had been in the grave four days.
The religious leaders taught that the first three days after death were critical.
It was during those days that soul left the body and went to God.
Once the soul left it could not return to the body. We read:
"Jesus waited four days" and yet raised Lazarus from death.
              
In hindsight we are able to understand what Jesus meant:
This ailment is not to death but for the Glory of God.

God had a deeper purpose than just healing a person.
God, the Father wanted to demonstrate to His Son’s disciples,
to those who heard of Jesus’ power, and to assure Jesus that he
would be raised from the dead. The reason Jesus waited was so that
his disciples would believe in him as the Resurrection and Life. (vs. 25).

I AM the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, e
ven tho she or he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
This is affirmed on Easter, commemorating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
It is used at most funerals and memorial services offering hope that our
existence does not end at death.

Another theme is that Jesus’ life could not be taken from him before
God’s time. Jesus encouraged his disciples to not be afraid and realize
there was only a limited time in which the work given to him could be
accomplished.  The implication for us is that we too have been given
a task with a limited amount of time to accomplish it.
We may not know the length of our life, as Jesus did, but we can be
assured that the task given to us will be completed.
We need not fear for we have the light of life in our bodies.
That light will guide us as we follow where God leads us.
In contrast, the religious leaders were in darkness.
They did not believe Jesus and tried stopping him from teaching and
performing miraculous signs demonstrating God’s power.

Jesus’ victory over death forms the supreme crisis in Jesus’ life.
It resulted in the Jewish leaders intensifying their attempts to take Jesus’ life.
Unbelievers tried, in every possible, to put Jesus to death.
While believers found that Jesus is the ultimate triumph over death.

As we go through these "Happy/Sad" days of Lent with Jesus the Master,
I encourage you to read the remainder of John 11 and see Jesus’ human side.
He must have struggled as hard and you or would if we knew a close friend
was dying.  We would want to be present with Lazarus as he went through
his last moments on earth.  Jesus must have been tempted to use his
supernatural power to heal Lazarus. Even as he did not, in his temptation,
chose not to heal Lazarus...Better way!

Jesus’ obedience to God the Father ultimately lead him to the cross.
There on the cross Jesus was glorified, because he took upon himself
all of the world’s sin.  On the cross Jesus gave his life,
that we might have life eternal.

At the end of Lent we will celebrate the day Jesus triumphantly
entered Jerusalem.  It is likely, many of those praising Jesus were present
when Jesus raised Lazarus.  They quickly spread the good news and that
drew the crowd. During Holy Week, we will read how one by one those
same people deserted Jesus and ultimately,
He faced the cross alone.

John’s theme throughout this series is that what leads us to believe in Jesus is
not just the miraculous signs he performed. rather faith that what we read is true.
Do you believe Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? If so by what power
did he do it?  The religious leaders said it was satanic.
Jesus’ followers believed it was God’s Power!

Throughout this series, you have read about who Jesus is based on the
"signs/miracles" he did. Has it given you a clearer picture of who Jesus is?
Has your insight lead you to, by faith, following Jesus?

John ends his book:  Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the
presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 
                                                                                          (John 20:21)
 This is what the seventh, yes all the signs in John illustrate.
Next week I will begin a series of Devotionals about what Jesus
told and illustrated to his disciples and us about why he was going
to Jerusalem even knowing it would lead to his death.
Lazarus’ death and being raised to life was a "foretaste" of what
Jesus would experience for us, ultimately destroying the power
of physical death and promise of life eternal:
 for those who believe and are called by his name.

Do you have that assurance? It not, I encourage you to ask Jesus to
come into and take control of your life. If you do this or want to learn
more about what to do, leave a note on "comments" and I will write you.

("The Bible," a new television series starting on the History Channel,
this Sunday, 3.1.13. Produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Voice)
and his wife Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel) the ten-hour
presentation is a dramatic and ambitious project. It’s also a labor of love
for the Burnetts, who began this endeavor with a noble and classical goal:
to encourage people to read the Bible.)

It will also give a visual presentation to some of the stories covered in
this series. There are five segments from the Old Testament and five
from the New Testament.  The "signs/miracles" will be in second part.     

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

BRINGING GLORY TO GOD!

　

　

　

　





　

　

　

A Miracle Happened

Dr. Glen A. Thorp                                                 February 24, 2013
(All Rights Reserved)                                            John 9, Exodus 34:29-34
    
                               "MIRACLE HAPPENED HERE"
                             (Sixth in a series: "Seven Signs in John")

How long must you keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah so plainly. (John10:24-25)
How would you respond to such a question?
What makes Jesus absolutely unique?

John seeks to give us the answer in his Gospel and especially in signs/miracles
that Jesus did.  Jesus responds to the question:
     I have told you, but you do not believe.
     My deeds done in my Father’s name are my credentials. 
                                                                             (John9:26)                               

  The Context is the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles Chanukah. The "Dedication"
of the Temple after it was desegrated by a Syrian General and Commemorates
God’s Faithfulness and assurance that no darkness can quench the True Light."
A Menorah was lit. First day two, then one each day, recalling the "miracle that
there was only enough oil for one day, but it lasted eight days. Later Menorahs
were used in homes. Words associated with Chanukah are:
Latkes,(special pancake) Gelt, (Gold Coins) and Driedel-four sided top.
On each side a Hebrew word meaning a:
"Great Miracle Happened Here"

Each time the driede was spun it remindedthe players of God’s power
and faithfulness.

Miracles still Happen Here.

John briefly narrates the story of the Miraculous Healing.
　
　
　
　

He is more interested in the interaction between the Pharisees and the
Blind man.  Through a series of interrogations John shows that as the
blind man increases in knowledge of Jesus while the Religious Leaders
blinded themselves to the Light, plunging into darkness.

In one way, the story is allegory of us all.

We All were born Spiritually Blind. Some of us were fortunate to meet
Jesus early in life, especially if we were raised in a home where Jesus’s
love was demonstrated and taught. Others of us remained
Spiritually Blind because no one ever told us about Jesus or if someone
did, we were not ready to listen let alone ask for spiritual healing.

This story is about one who sat in darkness and was brought to see
the Light, not only physically but spiritually.  It is also about those
who could see, the Religious Leaders, becoming spiritually blind.
John begins the story with a blind man receiving sight and ends
with the Pharisees becoming spiritually blind.(John 10:41)

The care with which the evangelist has drawn his portraits of increasing
insight and hardening blindness is masterful. Three Times the former
blind man who is truly gaining knowledge, humbly confesses
his ignorance (10:12, 25, 36).  Three Times the Pharisees,
who are really plunging deeper into abysmal ignorance of Jesus,
make confident statements about what they know about him.
                                                                          (10:16, 24, 29)

The blind man’s confrontation with the Pharisees in 24-34
is one of the most clearly written dialogues in the New Testament.         

Before Jesus acts, he explains the purpose and meaning of the healing.
He says that "Light was coming into darkness, that God’s
power might be displayed."
　

　
　
The Festival of Dedication was a time of reflecting on the past,
what Israel and Judah had done that led to seeing their
Temple desegrated. The Disciples asked:
"Who sinned, this man or his parents." (2)

Jesus does not address the issue of suffering.
He shows what God can do in any person.
        He was born blind that the power
        of God could be seen in him.  (9:3)

As the people were lighting candles in commemoration of the
miracle that occurred in 164 B.C., Jesus performed another
miracle and says:  I Am The Light of the World.(5)
As a sign of that Light, Jesus gives sight to one born blind.

Everyone knew God was the source of Power that allowed
Jews to be victorious over the Syrians. Jesus intentionally uses:
Ani hu. Used only of God.
As we saw last week, Jesus said:
Be not afraid, I Am here. (Ego Emi-Yahweh)
Ani hu - I Am the source of the Light.
That is why the Jews split over Jesus’ source of power
in healing a blind man. Some said: "It is Demonic,"
while others: "Healing the blind is one of the
signs of the Messiah." (Isaiah 29:18, 35:5, 42:7).

"The Source must come from God."
Notice the Progression of Understanding which the
blind man goes through. When questioned: how he
received his sight the man said:
The man called Jesus made paste and smeared it on my eyes.
 
The man’s knowledge of Jesus was what others said
and Jesus’ touch. He had not yet seen Jesus.

The Religious Leaders called the man to give account as to
how he had gained sight.  The former blind man retold the story.
Since Jesus had made clay, and it was forbidden to work on the
Sabbath, they Leaders said:
This fellow is no man of God, he does not keep the Sabbath.
Others said: 
How could such signs come from a sinful man?
Finally, the man answers: He is a Prophet. (9:16-17)
The Miracle could not be denied.

So the Parents we summoned and asked:
Is this your son, whom you say was born blind?
How then does he now see? (9:19) 

The parents fearful of being bared from the Temple said: 
We know this is our son and that he was born blind,
but how he sees we do not know,
nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him yourselves. 
He is of age. He will speak for himself. ( 9:20-23)

So for a second time the Pharisees call in the formerly
blind man and said:
Give God the praise.  We know that this man is a sinner.
The man responded: (9:24-25)
Whether the man is a sinner I do no know.
One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.
The Religious Leaders were asking for a confession of guilt.
                                                                       (Joshua 7:19)
At the very least if a miracle occurred, that it was
God's power not Jesus’ Authority.

The former blind man responds: 
Never since the world began has it been heard
that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 
If this man where not of God he could do nothing.

The man boldly acknowledges that
Jesus comes from and with God’s authority.  (9:32-33)

The Pharisees said: You were born in utter sin
this was their explanation why he was born blind)
and would teach us? They cast him out.
The formerly blind man was beginning to see the truth of
　
who Jesus was, while the Pharisees were becoming totally
blind to God’s miraculous action. (9:34)

In contrast to the action of the religious leaders,
Jesus looks for the man who had been healed and asks:
Do you believe in the Son of Man?
  
The formerly blind man answered:
Who is he sir, that I might believe in him?

Then comes the most precious words:
You have seen him, and he is the one who speaks to you.

He said: Lord. I believe. and he worshiped him.
The man who had been physically and spiritually blind now,
literally, saw the one who had healed him.

More than that he gained complete insight into the
fact that Jesus was not only a Prophet and Man of God,
but the Promised Messiah, God Himself.

Jesus concludes the episode saying:
39 For judgment I have come into this world, so that the
blind will see and those who see will become blind.

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this
and asked,  "What? Are we blind too?"

41 Jesus said, If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin;
but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
This is the heart of the story. As people received information
about Jesus, they became more and more liable to respond
to that information.  While they are spiritually blind,
they have an excuse for not responding to Jesus.
Once their eyes are opened, if they close them to truth,
they are guilty of rejecting God’s miraculous transforming love.

A Great Miracle happened on that Chanukah.
An even greater miracle occurs each time one of us responds
to the light of the Good News that Jesus is God incarnate
(human form). We are assured of God’s Faithfulness
and that there is no darkness that can extinguish the light of God’s truth.

As you have been reading about who Jesus is based on the
"signs/miracles" he did, has your insight become brighter or darker?
Is your spiritual blindness turning into spiritual sight? John ends his book:
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

This is what the sixth sign in John illustrates.

Next week we will look a seventh sign:
"BRINGING GLORY to GOD" based on John 11:1-17.

Triumph Over Adversity

 
Dr. Glen A. Thorp                 February 17, 2013
(All Rights Reserved)           John 6:16-24, Exodus 14:10-22

            "TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY"
           (Fifth is a series: "Seven Signs in John")

If you have ever awaken at 3:00 A.M. finding it difficult to go
back to sleep, this passage is for you. There are several causes
for waking in the middle of night. One of them is Anxiety over
events that seem to be overtaking us: Unpaid bills with no
money in sight to pay them; Illness in our or loved one’s life that
has not yet been determined; Tension at work; Friction in our
marriage or an Exciting celebration we are planning.

The BACKGROUND for the John passage is the Feeding of
5,000 people and those people wanting to forcibly make
Jesus king. (See last week’s blog)
Jesus knowing they intended to come to make him king by force,
withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:15)

The Disciples got into a boat, when it started getting dark and
Jesus hadn’t appeared. In the Gospel of Mark we read that Jesus
told his disciples to get into a boat and head for Bethesda. (Mk 6:45)
They began rowing across the north side of the Lake to Capernaum.

Last week we learned that it was near the time of Passover.
Thus there was a Focus on the Exodus (when the Isralites
were freed from slavery in Egypt and the time in they spent in
the wilderness. Thus there was connection between Jesus’
multiplication of the loaves and fish and God’s provision of Manna*
and Water while wandering in the wilderness..

This was the reason the people wanted to compel Jesus to declare
himself King. "He is THE PROPHET Moses said would come."
(Exodus 14:10-22) Soon after the Pharaoh gave permission for the
Israelites to leave Egypt. He reversed his decision and sent his army
in 600 chariots to stop them from leaving Egypt.
The people camped on the shore of the Red Sea saw the
Egyptian Army approaching. Trapped between the Sea and the
Egyptians, they grumbled and complained to Moses ...
Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us
to the desert to die? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt,
"Leave us alone to serve the Egyptians? It would have been better
for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex. 14: 11-12)  
Triumph Over Adversity is the message of Exodus, of John and is the Promise for us. There are several Critical Lessons for us.

We are most vulnerable to adversity right after a victory
a. The Miracle of feeding 5,000 - Jesus knew the pressure of popularity,
power and provision. He had spent 40 days alone experiencing hunger,
thirst and exhaustion. This occurred right after he was baptized
and John the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God, everyone heard
a voice from above: You are my Son, whom I love: I AM well pleased.
                                                                                          (Mark 1:13)

Christians began a period of reflection, repentance and sacrifice called
Lent, this past Wednesday called Ash Wednesday.
This Sunday is the 1^st Sunday of Lent.
Lent is 40 days, not counting Sundays, prior to Holy Week the week
Jesus was betrayed by a disciple, arrested, tired and crucified
on cross as a common criminal. Those 40 days of Lent are based on
the 40 days spent alone in the wilderness preparing for his ministry.
During that time, with no food and little water, he was Tested
by Satan to "Turn rocks into bread, to Do something spectacular
to attract people." (Matt. 4:1-11)

Jesus had done both in multiplying the five loves and two fish
and feeding 5,000 people with twelve baskets of food left over.
He knew he needed time, alone, with God the Father.

b. The Disciples were alone in a boat and no doubt discussing
what they had just witnessed when a sudden strong wind
(Similar to a Santa Ana winds in California or Chinooks in
Washington) stopped them and pushed them away from the shore.
Straining at the oars against the adverse wind. (Mark 6:2)
They forgot the miracle they just experienced:

c. The people of Israel focused the adversity rather than God’s
intervention and their release from slavery.
The Prophet Elijah experienced God’s Power and Provision
on Mt. Carmel when he challenged the priests of Baal to see
which God would send fire from heaven.(I Kings 18:16-40)
Elijah won and the people said: The LORD – He is God!
The LORD is God! (I Kings 18:39)

The next day Elijah fled for his life when Queen Jezebel sent
her guards to kill him. He felt all alone!
Have you ever felt alone and vulnerable, possible after
a victory? If so, you know what Elijah and the disciples felt.

We are not alone. God sees our struggle with adversity.

a. Jesus saw the disciples staining against the oars.
Passover is always on a day the moon is full. A TV program
showed how far one can see across the Sea of Galilee with a
full moon in April. Jesus could see the boat. It was 3:00am.

b. Jesus interrupted his prayer and took action.
He saw that disciples were stopped by the Wind and the Sea.

c. Jesus approached the disciples. They were terrified. 
They Thought were seeing a ghost on the water. (Mark 6:3)
God saw and heard the terrified Israelites and took action.
Speaking to Moses: "Why are you crying out me?
Tell the Israelites to move on." Prayer is vital. So is action.
(When we know what to do we need to act.)

e. God lead the people through the Sea.
There seemed no way of escape. God opened the way.

 f. When feel trapped, don’t panic.
God sees and can open a way out.

g. Elijah felt alone. He just wanted to end his life. (I Ki. 19:3-8)
God saw him, ministered to him, showing he was not alone.

Jesus’ presence triumphs over adversity
a. "It is I, don’t be afraid!" (Ego Emei) I AM:
said Jesus (Jn. 6:20) Jesus’ presence brought calmness
and they reached the destination.

b. "I Am Who I Am" (YaHWeH) is what God said when
Moses asked whom shall I say sent me? (Exodus 3:14)

c. The Egyptians will know that I Am the Lord when. (Ex. 14:18)

d. Elijah learned that Yahweh (I AM) was with him

e. The Adversity of the water, waves or wind did not stop Jesus.
He walked on water to reach his disciples saying:
(Ego Emei - It I) I AM with you.

John tells the story of this "Fifth Sign of Jesus’ Glory"
to teach that Jesus was Lord of the Universe.
Even as God made a way through the sea for the Israelites,
Jesus made a way for the disciples to cross the sea.

f. Paul Minear in his commentary on Saint Mark writes:
"The encountering of storms by the Apostles (and later by
the Church) is seen as part of God’s plan when he commands
the Church to take to the boats in order to prove his presence
to them in the crisis of their journey. The ‘lesson,’ then,
is the same as that taught by story of the wilderness supper. 
The loaves prove the power of the Lord (Ps. 23) to sustain
and nourish his people in all situations. But the disciples
did not understand this, nor did they understand that the
Messiah was seeking to use the wilderness and the
tempest to teach them how to feed his sheep and to
triumph over adversities.  ‘It is I, have no fear."
(Paul Minear, Saint Mark, SCM, London, p. 84)

As God had power over the waters of the Red Sea,
so God’s Son had power over the waters of the Sea of Galilee
and has power over any adversities we may face.
Faith is the mind set that expects God to act.
When we act on this expectation we may
overcome our fears and triumph over our adversities

A Church Father, Augustine writing about this incident said:
"He came treading the waves; and so He puts all the
swelling tumults of life under His feet. Christians–why afraid?"

When Christ is present the storm becomes calm,
the tumult becomes peace, the undoable becomes doable,
the unbearable becomes bearable, and people pass the
breaking point and do not break.

To walk with Christ is for us also the conquest of the storm.

The president of the Seminary from which I graduated
challenged us to "Walk on Water."
Focus on Jesus not the tempest. He then said:
"To walk on water you must get out of the boat."

That is what Jesus did on behalf of the disciples and did
for us on by dying on the cross and rising from the grave 
triumphed over the Father of Lies (Satan) who says:
God doesn’t care about you. You are all alone.
You have to use your resources to survive.

Jesus told his disciples just before he went to the
Garden of Gethsemane to pray, knowing he would be
arrested and taken to the High Priest and eventually
convicted to death: The time is coming, and has come,
when you will be scattered ... You will leave me all alone.
Yet I AM not alone, for my Father is with me.
I have told these things, so that you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world.  (John 16:32-33). 

There is a Christian Hymn: "Jesus Calls Us" that says:

"Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
Of our life’s wild restless sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, "Christian follow me."

Because Jesus has Triumphed over Adversity ,
and promises not to leave us alone,
We can boldly take on any adversity.
Jesus didn’t row the boat. His presence
gave the disciples extra strength to continue
the journey on which Jesus had sent them.
So it is with us. We may need "get out of the
(our comfort zone) boat with our eyes focused
on Jesus rather than the adversity.

We can live with confidence in the promise:
The One who is in you is greater that the one
who is in the world. (I John 4:4)

Take heart I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

This is what the fifth sign in John illustrates.
Next week we will look a sixth sign:
"Miracle Happened Here" based on John 9.

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* Manna: was a miraculous food supply given to
Israel in the wilderness by God. It lasted only one
day so it could not be hoarded. Read Exodus 16:31
For a great understanding read Exodus 16:14-36.

Multiplying the Loaves

Dr.  Glen A. Thorp                  February 10, 2013

(All Rights Reserved)             John 6:1-5, Nehemiah 9:13-28
                                                                                            
                “MULTIPLYING THE LOAVES”
            (Fourth in a series: “Seven Signs in John”)

Did you read the above scriptures from a physical Bible, ie. book, on a Cell Phone, Tablet or Computer?  Some say it is a “miracle” being able to read, 66 books (the number included in most Holy Bibles) depending on  the size of the physical Bible may be around 1,000 pages, on a Cell Phone.

We have been looking at a series of  “Signs” (Miracles) in the Gospel of John.  This week’s based on John 6:1-5 is the only one narrated in all Four Gospels.  The accounts are remarkably alike, yet each has its special focus.  John uses the account as one of the Seven Signs in his Gospel,  drawing attention to Passover (one of the three major Jewish feast celebration.  See footnotes from last week’s blog, 2-3-13) being near (Spring).  There brings a direct connection between what Jesus does and the Jews recalling the Exodus from Egypt and their time in transit to the “Promised Land.”  There is a connection with vs. 22-58, of this chapter, which we will look at on February 24 blog.  Later, Jesus applied the Passover meal to himself:  The Lord’s Supper, Communion, Eucharist. 

Studying this story, we may also apply it to our lives.

          The Multiplication of the Loaves demonstrates that although human need always outstrips human resources God will multiply our meager resources and abundantly meet the real need.  

Five Observations:

The Crowd hungers for More.

Great Crowd followed Jesus because they had seen miraculous signs. 

(So far three: “Turning Water into Wine.”, “Healing of Official’s son,” “Healing of an Invalid in Jerusalem.” Only one healing in Galilee region.  Other Gospels tell of other healings.)  As we have seen John is selective because he is presenting an overall theme:  “Jesus did many other miraculous signs, ... which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20:30-31)           

Jesus takes the initiative in meeting the crowd’s hunger.

 

a.   Jesus asks one his disciples, Philip from Bethsaida, nine miles away.

      If anyone knew a human solution, where to buy food, it was Philip,
      (Jesus knew there was none). (Possibly turning Water into Wine?)

         b.   Jesus highlights what he is about to do.

         c.   Jesus wanted to teach that financial resources are not the most

      important ones.  (“Eight months wages not enough to feed everyone.”)

         One boy gives the little he has, five barely loaves of bread and two dried  fish.

          a.  Jesus gives thanks: eucharistein: (Grace) (Note above:  Eucharist)

      “Blessed are you O Lord, King of the universe,
        who brings forth bread from the earth.”

          b.  Jesus gives the bread to the disciples who distributes it through and to the people.

          c.  Jesus worked through people.  He took what the young child offered,

      multiplied it to accomplish one of the most spectacular miracles
      recorded in the Gospels.  Age was no barrier to Christ. 

     You are never too young or too old to be of service to Christ. 

     Jesus said: “When you do it unto the least of these my breathern,
                          you’ve done it unto me.”  (Matthew 25:40)

The leftovers, 12 baskets full, demonstrate God’s superabundance.

God takes whatever we offer:  time, ability, or resources and multiplies

its effectiveness beyond our wildest expectations.

a.  “Souper Bowl” started by an Associate Presbyterian Pastor, Brad Smith of Columbia, S.C. in 1990.  Simple thought: “while I gauche myself with food and beverage during the Super Bowl Football Game, there are people who have nothing to eat.  If I can encourage my youth group to    receive one dollar from people as they leave church, we give the money to help feed the hungry and we will enjoy the game more, knowing we have taken our little amount of time and money collected and given it to God for feeding the hungry.” So far this year $5,064,139 in cash and food has been collected. A Total of:  $ 95+ million, since it started.)

b.  “One Great Hour of Sharing” is an offering taken by many of major protestant congregations to help people who experience nature or human disasters and helping people learn skills that will help them fight hunger.

“Give a person a fish and they will be hungry again, teach them to fish and they will have a way of feeding their families.”  This program started in 1949 to assist churches rebuild after World War II.  It was then expanded to the categories listed above.  Joining offerings from members in several denominations are “multiplied” and offer assistance to people in need.

          c. A member of my previous church, joined a team of volunteers who under the Presbyterian (USA) Disaster Division of “One Great Hour of Sharing” spent a week in New Orleans, Louisiana, cleaning and starting to rebuild house damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  She used her own money, energy and time along with others like her that lead to the “miracle” of encouraging those who lost “all” eventually bring life back to the city that suffered so much.  I is my PERSONAL opinion that if it were not for “Christian Volunteers and Generous Givers” New Orleans would still be in ruins.  Government assistance never could have accomplished the “miracle” that came from loving and generous Christians.  

          d.  If you take the first step in making yourself available to God,

      God will show you how greatly you may be used in advancing the Work of God’s Kingdom.

People seeing the miraculous sign said:

Surely this is the Prophet who has come into the world.

Who provided Manna given by Moses (Exodus 16:1-5)  

Thinking of what Moses said: Deuteronomy 18:15

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.  You must listen to him.

It was taught that the Prophets Elijah, Elisha etc. and the Messiah would come at Passover:

Jesus, knowing that they (The Crowd) intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew to a mountain by himself.  (Jn. 6:15)

The next day Jesus spoke to the crowd.  I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. Jn 6:26-27

Have you believed that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and have life in his name?

What do you have that God may use in meeting the needs of God’s people? 
Are you willing to offer God those talents, time or resources?

This was the fourth miraculous sign that Jesus performed.

Demonstrating Jesus’ Multiplying the Loaves.

In preparation for next weeks blog:  fifth miraculous sign

Demonstrating Jesus’ power over nature, Read 6:16-2.