Jn 12:12-15  The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem . They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."

We said yesterday that theory and reality often clash. Yesterday we saw how, for Martha, theory only went so far, but reality went much further. When it came to Jesus people had ideas, but those ideas either fell short or were completely misguided. No more was that true than with the idea of Jesus being their king. In Meditation 16 we considered Jesus as The King of Israel and again now, we find the same thing pushing through into the minds of the people. Then we looked at Jn 1:49: Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” We also noted after the feeding of the five thousand, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” (Jn 6:15).

To catch the sense of what is happening in today's verses we have to remember what had recently being going on. Jesus had made his way south for the Passover and near the end of that journey had ended up raising Lazarus from the dead. The crowds had seen and heard of this and realized that here there was One who was carrying power and authority beyond anything seen in Israel for many centuries. One who could clearly raise the dead had to be the expected Messiah, the coming deliverer. But deliverer from what? The people, as now, were very material-focused and so they missed spiritual realities. When they thought of a deliverer, they looked at their present situation under the occupation of the Roman overlords and their hearts leapt with anticipation that here was One from God with all power and authority who could deliver them from this oppression.

What sort of person did that? A king! He is surely to be their king. In their history the glories of King David were remembered, and this is a Son of David. David was known above all else for forming the nation into an army that shrugged off the oppression of their many invaders so they could become a mighty nation that was secure. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, the word has gone around the crowd and so they are ready for his little cavalcade. Jesus himself has made it worse (purposely) by riding in on a donkey to fulfil the prophecy of Zech 9:9. This is surely their king, but the only problem is that he is not king of a kingdom in this world. Later he stood before Pilate and said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (Jn 18:36). This prompted Pilate to ask, “You are a king, then!” (v.37). Oh yes, says Jesus quite openly, but it wasn't that simple: “Jesus answered, ‘You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.'” (v.37). Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth of who he was, but was he merely a king over a human kingdom? Oh no, he was temporary ruler over God's kingdom: “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” (1 Cor 15;24,25) Jesus IS reigning today, in the midst of his enemies (Psa 110:2), over his Father's kingdom, until the end when he hands it all back to the Father. Hallelujah!

Jn 12:47,48 As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

There is a tendency in people, probably because of the nature of sin in us, to look on the negative side of things, to see things pessimistically. Thus sometimes people focus on the reality of hell rather than on the wonder of heaven. Similarly they look on all the “you shall not” commands rather than all the positive “you shall” instructions. Christians are as good at doing this as non-Christians, thus when it comes to Jesus' words in our passage today, they come as rather a surprise.

We would expect that a person who heard Jesus but doesn't keep to what he says would be judged by God, but Jesus says he doesn't judge him. Why? Because he hasn't come to judge the world but to save it. He's more concerned with saving people than judging them. Now there may be more of a long term issue here. If Jesus judged this person today who doesn't seem to respond to him, it may be that Jesus' judgement would lock him into that position and so he would never be saved. However we know from Peter that, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). This person who is slow to respond today, may well respond tomorrow. Rather than focus on the awfulness of judgement for this person, Jesus wants this person to come to salvation so while this person is on this earth, there is hope.

Now this should be noted carefully, that merely because Jesus doesn't want to judge this person and condemn them today, doesn't mean that that won't be the end result of this person. They have this life in which to make a positive response to Jesus but if they don't there is coming a time – the last day it is called – when they will be answerable for their actions or lack of them. The reality is that we will all have to stand before God one day and answer for our lives. At that point, the words of salvation that Jesus spoke will be quoted and that person will be asked, “So why wasn't that clear enough for you?” and they will know that it was the stubbornness of their heart that refused those words which now seem so obvious. The truth is that for those of us who have come to Jesus his words seem so clear and obvious; there is no doubt about them and about what they mean, so there really is no excuse for anyone. The only reason that people refuse these words of Jesus, is because of the sinfulness of their hearts and on that last day that will become so very obvious.

As you read through the Gospels, this is a general principle for you to think about. Looking at Jesus' words, why sometimes do they not seem clear to you? This is not about eternal judgement; it is just about simply understanding what he is saying. Why do we sometimes stumble over these words of Jesus that are meant to lead us to blessing (salvation)? The answer has got to be because of our wilful refusal to accept what we read at its face value. We some times call it doubt or unbelief. It comes because we question God and doubt that He constantly wants to bring us good. We actually question Him or His word, and the fact is that our inability to accept His word reveals us as we really are. It is that old sinful nature still there, that we've been told to consider is dead. Jesus comes to bring salvation. Do we see him bringing judgement?

Jn 13:4,5    so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

We have just seen the people's expectations of Jesus being their conquering king, their mighty deliverer. When he entered Jerusalem amidst their praises instead of turning up towards the fortress to deal with the Romans, he turned the other way and went and cleansed the temple. He was a king of truth, a king of righteousness, and had come to make a way for access to an even greater King, his Father in heaven. The mother of James and John once came to Jesus, clearly with this same idea of the kingdom, and asked, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” (Mt 20:21). When discussion opened up on this, Jesus said to the disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Mt 20:25,26). No, says Jesus, my kingdom is not about leaders being highly esteemed, it's about something quite different.

So, in his closing hours with them before his death, Jesus starts the evening off with a graphic parable. He takes off his clothes, puts a towel round him and takes the form of the most lowly servant, for in a household this was the job of the lowest servant in the house, to wash the feet of guests who came in from the dusty roads in their sandals. You could not do anything more lowly than this. It is a very graphic picture. In fact it is so graphic that Peter gets quite upset by it: “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet.” (v.6-8). Peter highly esteemed Jesus and the thought of Jesus becoming Peter's servant completely threw him. That's how radical this teaching of Jesus is.

We have ideas of leadership that are quite alien to Jesus' ideas. One has only got to look at the clothes and the ceremonies that involve leaders from the main churches today. Catholics and Anglicans have their leaders in staggeringly ornate fine clothing and set them up on pedestals high above everyone else. Their leaders are like chief executives of major corporations in the way they are promoted. Other denominations do similar things, although their leaders are mostly only men in suits. It seems a very far cry from the picture that Jesus portrays here in today's verses. In case we might not have got the picture Jesus explains: “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them ‘ You call me `Teacher' and `Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.'” (v.12-17)

That is our calling! Do you have the heart of a servant, for that is what you have been called to? It doesn't matter if you are a leader, you are a servant. It doesn't matter how high up the management tree you are – you are a servant if you are a Christian. There is no room for compromise here. This is the nature of the kingdom you're in!

Jn 13:21     After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."

I'm sure some of us think it would be wonderful to know what is going on around us – really going on! You know, what is going on in people's minds, what they are planning, what they are scheming, what they are feeling. I suppose if you were an unscrupulous business man you could use such knowledge to further your financial ambitions, but actually, when you think about it, knowing what everyone else is thinking would be a real bane – unless you were God! First of all there are the thoughts and feelings. Not all of them would be nice about you! How would you cope with that? But then you might be misguided enough to think that once you knew what people were thinking you could do something to change them. No way! You need to be a pastor of a church who faithfully teaches people the truth and still you see your flock struggling with wrong ideas, wrong attitudes and wrong behaviour. If Jesus couldn't get the disciples to be totally faithful to him during the time of his trial and crucifixion, how do you think you'll change people? No, knowledge isn't always a blessing.

That comes over clearly in our verse today. Jesus is with his disciples at the Last Supper. It is obvious that he is quite clear in his understanding of what is about to happen. One of his closest followers was about to betray him and reveal him to the arresting guard. Jesus knows what is going on in Judas, for in what follows, he makes it quite clear that he is the one he is referring to. But do you see what Jesus feels about this knowledge? He was troubled in spirit , he was deeply disturbed. Now we aren't told exactly why he was disturbed, although you may think it was obvious. Was he upset at the thought of Judas, a close follower betraying him, or was he disturbed at the sequence of events that that would release? Whichever it is, knowledge was not a blessing!

In previous meditations we have seen Jesus who sees all (no.14) and Jesus who works to a schedule (no.18) and Jesus on a short-term contract (no.40). In those we have seen different aspects of Jesus' awareness, his knowledge of people, his knowledge of timing and his knowledge of the purpose for which he has come. Yes in every way, Jesus was completely aware – but then he is god's Son and God sees all things and shares them with His Son. How does God cope with all the knowledge He has? How does He cope with the indifference He sees in so many, the hostility and rejection He finds in so many? The answer is He just does, but perhaps He feels deeply sad or even angry. You see, even as our verse shows us today, knowledge stirs emotions. Jesus was not so separate from his disciples or from the earth as to be unmoved. We find there were times when he looked at the crowds and knowing their plight was moved by compassion. The amazing truth is that sometimes God and His Son are moved by emotions stirred by us, stirred into action. Do you remember the first time of that, with Moses, “The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them.” God saw, God heard, God felt, and God was moved to action. That is incredible isn't it! But in our verse today, we find exactly the opposite: Jesus saw, Jesus was moved emotionally, but Jesus made no move to try to stop Judas. He knew that he had to let Jesus act out his will and bring about the awful consequences. What will our will produce?

Jn 14:6   Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We should always seek the meaning of a verse within the context, because verses never stand on their own. We are at the Last Supper and Jesus has been saying some things that concerned the disciples. Which is why, at the beginning of this chapter, we find Jesus saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.” (v.1) It's all right, he is saying, just trust God through it all. But then he adds a further approach to not worrying by talking about the place in heaven that is prepared for them. Sometimes the way through a difficult time is to look beyond it to see what is coming on the other side. In the course of this Jesus says, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” (v.4) which provokes Thomas to say, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (v.5)

Logically that is fairly straight forward. If you know where you are going, you can work out how to get there, but if you don't know your destination, how can you plan to get there? It's at this point that Jesus states, “I am the way.” It's another of these “I Am” saying that link him with the Eternal Father. The best illustration I've heard of this, was about a man trying to find his way to a destination and various people gave directions using different landmarks, but every time the man became confused and had to ask directions yet again. Eventually he asks a man sitting in a car at traffic lights, and the man says, “Get in and I'll take you there.” That's how it is with Jesus. Other religions have lots of rules about reaching the unknown destination, but with Christianity, Jesus says, become one with me, let me into you, and I'll take you there.

When people try following the rules or the rites, all the while they are wondering deep down, how can I be sure that these will work? Is this the truth, is this really how it works, is this really the way life works so that it will get me to the right destination. And then we meet Jesus who was “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14 ). Everything about him is utterly real, everything he says and does corresponds perfectly to God's will. Everything about him is truth, thus he can say, “ I am the truth.” What is at the heart of life? What is at the core of existence? What is ‘the truth' behind everything else? It is God; it is His Son.

What sort of life should I lead that will please God? What sort of rules should I follow to tell me where to go and what to do at any moment? There aren't any. God knows the truth, God knows what is right, God's life is at the heart of all living things. Jesus is God incarnate and in him is another form of life, the original form, the basic form the only real life that sustains everything else what we call life. Thus Jesus can say, “ I am the life.”

You want to know the way? Live in Jesus and you'll find he takes you there. You want to know what is the truth? Live in Jesus and you'll find you are living in it and know it, utter reality. You want to know how to lead a life pleasing to God? Live in Jesus and that life will be pleasing to God and blessed by God. That's why so often in the New Testament, we find references to us being, “In him” or “In Christ”, or as Paul said, “we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.” (1 Cor 12:13 ). Living in this body, one with Christ, we find the way, we know the truth and we live the life! He'll get us there!

Jn 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Sometimes people feel Christianity is all about, “What can I get out of it?” Others think it is a very wooly, unspecific faith, but these words in today's verse challenge both of those wrong ideas. Again let's observe the context first. Jesus, at the Last Supper has been speaking about his activities as a basis for the disciples' belief (v.11) but then he says, “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing,” (v.12) turning his talk from himself to his followers. To reinforce it he adds, “I will do whatever you ask in my name…… You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (v.13,14), the implication being that if you go to serve the Lord, whatever you ask Jesus to help you to do, as the Father prompts (for that has always been a criteria for Jesus' activity), then he will do it for you. Pressing this even further he adds, “ If you love me, you will obey what I command .” (v.15), the first hint that obedience is a sign of love. ‘Doing' is to come as an expression of what we feel for God, but if we don't ‘feel' we should ‘do' anyway, because love isn't just about feelings; New Testament love is all about commitment. Jesus then explains that he will send them his Holy Spirit to be the enabler they need. It is then that we come to our verse today.

What we've said already is sufficient to upset that person who thinks, “What can I get out of Christianity?” all this talk about obedience! However, Jesus indicated again and again that hearing his words was not sufficient, it was doing them that counted. Matthew had included, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the two house builders (Mt 7:24-) which was all about DOING what Jesus taught. At the end of his Gospel, Matthew had recorded Jesus final instructions, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19,20). John pursued this idea in his first letter: “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness we lie and do not live by the truth.” (1 Jn 1:6) and, “The man who says, ‘I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 Jn 2:4) and, “Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” (1 Jn 3:10), and “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 Jn 4:8) and finally, “This is love for God: to obey his commands” (1 Jn 5:3). Do you see that, in every chapter in his first letter, John pushes home this point because it is so important.

So let's look at our verse again: Whoever has my commands and obeys them he is the one who loves me. We can say we love God but because Jesus is at the heart of our salvation, our response to him is the measure of our love for God. What were Jesus' commands? To follow him, to do as he has done, to love God and others whole heartedly, and lots more that we find in the Gospels. Christianity has a very clear content. Yes, it is all boiled down to “follow Jesus” but how do we do that? We do the things we find he said in the Gospels; there's plenty enough to be going on with! But this isn't to be a cold orthodoxy of rule following; this is to be a response of love, our love rising and responding to the wonder of his love for us that laid down his life so that we might live. When we are moved by this love we will flow in his works and God is glorified.

Jn 15:1       I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

The wine-making industry is now all over the world. Once France used to be almost the most reputable wine making country, but now good wines come from Germany , California , Australia and even England. Vines are now quite common. In Jesus' time, and indeed throughout Israel 's history, vines were common and people knew all about vines. In the Old Testament, Israel were referred to as a vine: “You brought a vine out of Egypt ; you drove out the nations and planted it.” (Psa 80:8). “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.” (Isa 5:1). Yet this vine turned from the Lord and became wild, “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?” (Jer 2:21).

Consider a vine: it grows. Israel were to grow and develop. A vine produces grapes and grapes make wine and wine produces well-being (Psa 104:15). A vine is supposed to be fruitful and bring blessing. A vine was the picture of the people of God who were supposed to bless the world, yet, as we've just noted, they failed. If the vine was a picture of a people relating to God , Israel were a picture of a people who failed in that relationship – but Jesus comes as the TRUE vine, the only true, sure and guaranteed one who has a perfect relationship with the Father. Why? The clue is in the first two words: “I am”. There it is again, that same wording that Jesus used again and again, that John had picked up where the other Gospel writers had missed it, the wording that associated Jesus as closely as possible to the Eternal One. As we've seen many times before Jesus is The Son; that is the measure of his relationship with the Father.

Now we've also seen references to being “in Christ”. That is what we are when we become Christians. We become one with Christ. It's like we live in him and he lives in us, by his Spirit. Now with the picture of the vine we see something else. A little later on Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” (v.5) and branches grow out of the vine, out of the main stem. Slightly changing the analogy to an olive plant, the apostle Paul, speaks of us Gentiles being “grafted in” (Rom 11:17). The true vine is Jesus and his first branches (others coming into this perfect relationship with the Father) were Jews. Humanly speaking it was a Jewish tree but Gentiles have been grafted on.

However we see the picture, there is now a further great truth that comes out of this picture: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (v.4). The branch gets its food, its very life, from the main stem. Unless it does it dies and is completely unfruitful. How does this work in practice? Remain in me, says Jesus. Older versions used to say, ‘Abide in me'. There is the sense of resting in, remaining close to, being one with, Jesus. All of these things say the same thing: to have God's life flowing in us we must live in close contact with Jesus. Now in one sense that is guaranteed, because his Holy Spirit lives in us, but Jesus wouldn't be giving this as an instruction if that is all it meant. When Jesus gives an instruction it means that we have to exercise our will to do something. The ‘something' here is to live Jesus-focused, seeking to commune with him (that's what we do when we pray, worship, read his word), seeking to be open to him and led by him. As we do this the life of the vine flows in us and we are fruitful.

Jn 15:14,15 You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Many years ago, we had within our family a film strip for children called The Green Bear, and the thing the Green Bear wanted more than anything else was a friend. Some animals couldn't be bothered with him and others would be friends with him on a ‘professional basis' (that's what church leaders so often do!). The reality is that we all want friendship. For some of us love seems illusive and friendship is the next best thing. However it is not a second rate thing; it is something that human beings value immensely. In Biblical history the story of David and Jonathan stands out. In secular history there are other similar stories. Friendship is something we value.

Then we come to God who is awesome, someone ‘Other', great and mysterious, who is represented in other religions even more fearfully than the God of the Old Testament. At His encounter with Israel at Mount Sinai after the Exodus He instructs Moses to tell the people, “Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.” (Ex 19:12). There is a sense of awe and even fear when it comes to God, it seems, but that was an early-days encounter when Israel had to learn some basics about God. Then the Son of God comes and brings a greater revelation of the godhead. He reveals the staggering love of the Father for His world and he says to those who have come to him, “You are my friends.”

What is a friend? A dictionary definition is, ‘a person with whom one enjoys mutual affection and regard and desire for well-being'. Newspapers tell us that modern people have fewer close friends than people used to have. We're often too busy to have real friends, because friendship comes about through the building of a relationship by spending time together, talking together, doing things together and enjoying one another.

In our verses today Jesus shows the two sides that make up friendship. Without doubt (absolutely no question!) Jesus is the superior in any friendship we might consider and so he says if we want to show this mutual affection towards him, we'll do it by doing what he says. Friends don't normally demand that of one another, but Jesus can because he is so much superior in wisdom to us, as the Son of God. A true sign of friendship, on our part, is to recognize that superiority and respond well to him. Friends esteem one another and so if we really do esteem Jesus, we will do what he says.

But then there is the other side, which is him esteeming us. Now that is amazing isn't it! Friends share with each other and Jesus said to the disciples, I have called you friends because I've shared what I know with you. He had told them about his Father, where he came from and what was going to happen to him. He had completely drawn them into his plans. Friends do that.

How about today if Jesus is my friend? Yes, from my side, just like the disciples, I too must esteem Jesus for who he is and do what he says, if I am to call myself his friend. And as I do that he shares with me via his Holy Spirit. He communicates and shares his heart and some of his plans as they affect me or those around me. We have often said, God is a God of communication, and no more so is this seen than in this idea of friendship. My friend shares things with me and that is wonderful!

Jn 16:28     I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father

In Meditation 24 we considered Jesus, Revealer of Heavenly Truths and noted that he was this because he came from heaven. Now the other Gospel writers earlier hadn't picked up on this truth and it is largely lacking from their Gospels, and it was only as John pondered these things over the years that he came to realize the significance of some of the things he had heard Jesus say but which the others hadn't picked up. This matter of Jesus coming from heaven and returning to heaven is one of those key issues that John presents to us in his Gospel.

There are people who say that Jesus is ‘just a good man', and others say he's ‘just a miracle worker' and others will say he's ‘just a prophet' but all of those incomplete opinions have to deny the text of John's Gospel. They all have to say either that John made it up or that Jesus was deluded. To remain an unbeliever you have to either be in ignorance of what is in the Gospels or you have to deny what you find there. Unbelief is either ignorance or a positive act of will NOT to believe. There is nothing neutral about unbelief. We need to see it as a positive act of sin.

There are many things in the Gospels that show what we've just said, but perhaps no more so than this claim of Jesus which cannot be more clear. First, I came from the Father. He's not saying, I was made by the Father (God) but I came from Him, or I came from His presence. I had been with Him before I came here. And there's the second thing: and entered the world . Again note that Jesus didn't say, the Father made me, but he uses the language of movement or of transfer, of coming from one place and entering another place. The other place was here, the earth. He entered it as the Son of God already. He didn't grow from a seed to become the Son of God. He already was. When Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit, Jesus wasn't being made in the womb. What was being made was the body that Jesus inhabited. Imagine the little baby being formed in the womb as a tiny TV screen. As it grows bigger and bigger we can eventually see a picture revealing the signal that was there all the time. The ‘signal' was Jesus, the Son of God who had existed from before the foundation of the world. When the baby grew into a young man, the picture was sufficiently large that, for those who were there, they started to see the signal (see Lk 2:41 -52 Jesus, the boy at the temple). By the time he was thirty and came out into public ministry, the picture was large and clear for those who had eyes to see. This is God's Son, here on earth.

But there is more: now I am leaving the world. This is specific awareness on Jesus' part. He knows exactly what is about to happen. He's been in this world for thirty three years and now it is time to leave. The manner of leaving is going to be the all-important reason for his actual coming. Leaving the world could be simply a reference to dying, but Jesus doesn't leave it there: and going back to the Father. When I die, he is saying, I am going back to where I came from, the specific place in existence, where the Father is. There is no room for misunderstanding here. You either accept what you read and believe it, or you make an act of will to reject it. But even if you reject it, the truth remains the same, as you will find in eternity – Jesus is there in heaven today with Father.

Jn 16:33    I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world

Possibly one of the best known modern stories of overcoming is that of Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic resulting from a diving accident in 1967. Instead of giving in to paralysis Joni overcame and is now part of a major world-wide ministry. We speak about overcoming when we think about obstacles before us or enemies seeking to oppose us. Instead of giving in to the opposition we fight to overcome.

In our verse above, Jesus has been seeking to reassure his followers. He knows that he has to leave them soon and he knows that in the days ahead there will be trouble for them. When we read through the Acts of the Apostles, we see again and again the opposition the early disciples received. The apostle Paul, speaking about the difficulties of his ministry, recorded, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” (2 Cor 11:24 -27)

If that wasn't enough to make him want to give up, what was? Did he have a negative attitude towards all of those things? No! “That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10) Paul overcame the temptation to give up, in the face of all those hardships, for the sake of Christ and because he knew that when he felt weak, God could be strong through him!

Likewise in his three years of ministry, Jesus found opposition again and again. More than that, he found an inability in his followers to understand so much of what he was telling them. I suspect at the Last Supper he could have been thinking to himself, “Whatever have I done this for? My leading disciple is about to deny me three times, one of the others will betray me, and the rest will flee, and all the people I have been teaching and healing will turn their back on me!” Those would have been natural thoughts, but all we know is that whatever went through his mind (and at one point in the garden of Gethsemane he asked his Father to take away what was coming) he determined to push through and triumph over all of the things the enemy would throw at him.

He had done that so far and could say thus far, I have overcome, but more than that he knew that he was committed to his Father's will and so it was as good as done. “I have overcome the world” was also a statement of faith, based on his total commitment to see through the awful hours ahead. The plan had been formulated in heaven before the foundation of the world and Jesus had come and lived out the thirty three years on earth without sin: “ we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin .” (Heb 4:15). It's all right, he was saying to his disciples, you don't need to worry, I've told you all this so you realize that I'm in control and although troubles will come, I have walked the sinless path before you and have triumphed. What I have done, you can do as well, by the enabling of my Holy Spirit. Welcome to the company of the Overcomers!

Jn 17:1,2   "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.

When someone prays from their heart, their very innermost yearnings are revealed and, even more, sometimes great revelation comes. With Jesus that is doubly so. He start his prayer with an acknowledgement of timing, that the time has come to start the final sequence of events which will change the world forever. When he asks the Father, “Glorify your Son,” he is saying, bring me through these coming hours to a place of glory where I will be revealed for who I truly am. Why? “ That your Son may glorify you .” He knows that the end product of these things is that God is to be glorified for the wonderful all-loving, full-of-grace Being that He is. When we see the wonder of the work of Christ on the Cross, his resurrection and ascension, we can only marvel at the wonder of God's goodness to us. He is glorified.

But then Jesus makes an amazing statement which, if you'd missed all the other things we've noted exalting Jesus as God's supreme Son, must put him clearly above any and every other person who has ever walked this planet: “ For you granted him authority over all people”. Not only over believers, but over ALL people! Whatever else this might mean, it means that each and every person comes under Jesus' power, for that is what authority means. Jesus has been given the power to exercise his will over every single person who has ever existed, does exist and will exist. If you have authority you have the right to demand people conform to your wishes. In government this authority is only to act as far as the Law permits. Indeed, in any human institution whatever authority an individual has, is always subject to the law of the land. In other words they may be able to demand anything they like, but if it is contrary to the law of the land, it cannot be upheld.

Now the ‘law' that Jesus is subject to is simply his Father's will. Again, we've seen that a number of times. That will is expressed in a number of forms. In tomorrow's verses God's will for Jesus means forming a people who respond to God and then keeping them. In our verses today it means assessing people and, on given criteria, granting them eternal life. Now do you see how this applies to ALL people? Jesus assesses everyone on behalf of his Father and some people he grants eternal life to, and to other he doesn't! That is the measure of Jesus' authority. That is the staggering claim of the New Testament, that Jesus (and no one else!) is the arbiter of who receives eternal life.

To be quite clear, what is the requirement to receive that eternal life? The requirement to receive eternal life from Jesus is that you believe him to be who the New Testament records him to be – the Saviour of the world, who died in your place to take your sin and bring you into a new loving relationship with his Father in heaven. More than that, that belief is turned into action as you ask for his forgiveness for having rejected him thus far in your life, and you ask him to come and take over and direct your life from now on. Thus, as well as being your Saviour, he also becomes your Lord. I know we've said this before in these meditations, but we do need to be quite clear. The Son of God has been given the authority by his Father in heaven, to decree who is saved and who is not, and he, Jesus, is the criteria that measures acceptance. Ensure you have accepted him.

Jn 18:7-9    Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth ." "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."

Do we feel safe with Jesus? Do we feel he is there for us, is looking after us and will stand against the enemy for us? If the answer is yes, then we feel secure. When Jesus was speaking about the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11 ) he also spoke about the ‘hired hand', the casual labourer, taken on as a helper: “The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (Jn 10:12,13) He used this contrast to emphasise that he was the shepherd who owned the sheep and would therefore give his life for them.

Earlier when he had been teaching he had said, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” (Jn 6:38,39). Do you see what he said here? First it was a declaration of awareness of purpose. We've considered this before. Jesus was very aware that he had come to do his Father's will. And what was that will? Well, as it is declared here, it is to bring into being a people who are those responding to the Father, and then to look after them and keep them.

Again, when he was using the analogy of shepherd and sheep, he said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish ; no one can snatch them out of my hand . My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” (Jn 10:27-29). There is an amazing statement. Once you are in Jesus' hand the enemy cannot take you away. Sometimes people say, only you can jump out of God's hand, no one can take you from Him. That is the truth. You still have free will and so you can choose to walk away from God. That seems clear from Scripture (e.g. Heb 6:4-6), but if your desire is to remain in relationship with God, no one can make you give that up and no one can take you away from Him. That is why the apostle Paul wrote that amazing declaration, starting, “Who shall separate from the love of Christ?” (Rom 8:35 ). Then he continued, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38 ,39). That is the truth – declare it!

So here in our verses today we see Jesus working that out in a very practical way as he is about to be arrested. The arresting guards are unsure of themselves. When he has first declared himself to them, “they drew back and fell to the ground.” (Jn 18:6). The power of the Son of God was evidently there. So again he asks them what they want. It is as if he is having to push them on into arresting him – but it is him and only him. It is as if he stands between the arresting guards and his disciples and says, “Not them!” It was rather like God with Satan before Job (Job 1 & 2), who essentially said, “Thus far and no further. Jesus gave his live and saved his disciples. That is the sort of leader he is.

Jn 18:20   I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.

Today we have an aspect of Jesus' life and teaching that is rarely commented upon – but it is here clearly mentioned in John's Gospel – the openness of Jesus' ministry. Perhaps there is nothing particularly remarkable about this until we start thinking about others who followed Jesus later in history. Jesus stands out in stark contrast to the cult of mystery. A simple reference to the Gnostics will suffice to show what we mean. Gnostics (based on the Greek word gnosis – knowledge) existed before and after Christ and maintained that salvation came through knowledge which came through intuition and religious experiences. Thus they were, in fact, a secret society based on special knowledge. The whole of the novel The Da Vinci Code is based on the story of secret knowledge that has been brought down through the centuries, yet another form of Gnosticism which has appeared at many times through history. People like secrets!

However, when we come to Christianity it is quite the opposite. The writings we call the Gospels and the letters of the New Testament, are all remarkably open and available for scrutiny. Without doubt, as we have observed previously, Jesus taught in such a way that those who were only casual observers would not have understand what he was getting at, but for anyone with even a simple desire to know and think about what he was saying could see the points he made in his teaching. Even his parables, which some say are difficult to understand, were based on simply everyday events and practices that the ordinary people would understand if they thought about them. Always distinguish between having to think about something and having to have a special mystical experience to create special knowledge.

In our verse Jesus challenged his accusers and was basically saying, I have taught openly for three years. It is not possible to accuse me of mystical or even revolutionary sayings for everything I have said, I have said openly in the public. There was no hiding away in secret with Jesus' ministry. That is why it was so easy for the Gospel writers to record so much, because it had all been available to whoever came and listened to him. As John said at the end of his Gospel, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (Jn 21:25).

Jesus life and ministry was not based on mysticism but on open historical events. When John was writing his first letter, he was very much aware of the Gnostic influence, and the desire for people to make Christ a mystical figure. This he refused to let happen as he recorded, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched --this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.” (1 Jn 1:1-3). This is what rips away the excuse that some people make: “Oh it is so difficult to understand.” No, it isn't; it is very obvious. The records are open and easy to read. Jesus made sure it was so. There is no excuse. Read and believe! It's easy!

Jn 18:37 Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Truth is something we say we want, but when it comes to us, we're not quite so sure. Truth is what is real about a person or situation. Someone says something harshly and petulantly. What is the truth about that? You might just say that they are just harsh and petulant but what is this really all about? If we were Jesus, as we've seen before, we would be able to see into their minds and feel their emotions and know what it is that is stirring them on. The reality may be that they have been deeply hurt when they were a child, or something has been disturbed them and created fear in them. These are just some of the sorts of things that make people react like that. Not good, but that explains it.

Pontius Pilate found himself in a situation not of his own making. Here he was, governor appointed by the might of Rome and so, when there is a dispute that warrants the death penalty, the case is brought to him. He hears it but can't see any reason for the death penalty. He asks Jesus if he is the king of the Jews (v.33). Well the truth is yes, but not as you think about kings. Yes, that IS the truth and that's why I came into this world to declare the truth. Then comes Pilate's famous question, “What is truth?” (v.38). The fact that Pilate then went outside to consult the authorities again, suggests that this was not a serious question, but a throw away cynical retort, as if to say, “Don't be silly, there's no such thing as truth!” and in that he aligns himself exactly with our modern pluralistic society that has rejected God and is therefore left declaring that anything goes because, after all, what is truth?

The truth about existence is a description of what God has designed, how He has designed everything, i.e. what science tries to do – catalogue everything and describe how it works. That is one level of truth, but even as we think about that we realize that science falls short, for the testimony of the world is that there is a spiritual dimension to the world that science seems unable to measure. So the truth is that existence is far more than just material having chemical reactions, energy randomly loose. Thus we need revelation from outside of science to understand the fuller picture of what existence comprises. The evidence of ‘another world' is there; it's just that it cannot be quantified, which makes scientists upset, until they look into their own souls.

Part of the truth of existence is that there is God and heaven, angels and demons. There is the Son of God who has been given all authority and who now reigns in heaven in the midst of his enemies (Psa 110:2). That is the truth. When the Son of God confronts us with our actions and our circumstances, he makes us face the truth. Yes, I wasn't as gracious as I could have been; yes, I did let that person get under my skin! In those sorts of ways the Son of God insists we face the truth. He himself is exactly what you see. In him there is no guile. He does not put on airs and graces, he is exactly himself, and he demands we be the same. In fact, until we face the truth about our need we cannot come to God to receive His salvation through Jesus.

In every way you can think of, Jesus is truth, lives as truth, and requires truth. He is utterly real, he lives being completely real and he requires us to be completely real – but that is real that conforms to his real, the way he has designed us to be. Be it!

Jn 19:8,9 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.

There are times in Scripture when everything goes quiet: “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev 8:1) Whether that was because of a sense of awe of what, we are not told. In the prophetic scriptures about the Messiah, there was one particularly poignant verse: “ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isa 73:7) There again was a mystery. Why should the Messiah be like a sheep for the slaughter, why should he remain silent? The teachers had looked at this and wondered.

Then came Jesus, and for the first three years of his ministry he is far from silent. He is out and about preaching and teaching and healing thousands and thousands of people. There is much noise. As we observed recently he did everything quite openly and above board. Anyone who wants to can come and ask questions (see Nicodemus – Jn 3). It was a time of openness, but then came the trial and things changed. First of all Jesus appears before the high priest and when he is questioned we find Matthew recording this: “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" But Jesus remained silent.” (Mt 26:62,63). Mark also records this in his Gospel. Then he gets taken to Pilate who passes him on to Herod and Luke records for us, “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.” (Lk 23:8,9). Finally Jesus is returned to Pilate and John records our verse today when Jesus gave him no answer. To each of these leaders – the religious leader, the local leader, and the Roman leader – at this point in the story, Jesus went quiet. Why?

The simple answer is to fulfil the prophetic Scripture. John the Baptist had identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29) and later in John's Revelation he would see one in heaven before the throne, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne” (Rev 5:6) who is obviously the ascended Jesus. As the Lamb Jesus was fulfilling Isaiah's amazing prophecy and in meekness was just going to the slaughter to be the sacrifice for the world's sins, just like the Passover Lamb (Ex 12:3-).

But there was more to his silence. This was something decided in heaven before the creation of the world (1 Pet 1:20, Rev 13:8). This was God's plan and Jesus was supposed to die on the Cross to take our sins, so as much as he humanly hated the thought of this (Lk 22:4) he was committed to it. This was no time, therefore, to speak defensively and to try and put off what had to happen. If each of these leaders had integrity they would know the truth and it would have been easy for Jesus to convince them of it, but they didn't and he had to be quiet. That is the awfulness of our verse and the verses recorded in each of the other Gospels; Jesus could easily have spoken out and avoided death, but because he loved us so much and because he was committed to his Father's will, he stayed silent. Are there times when we too need to remain silent?

Jn 20:18   Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!"

There is a tendency in high places, and in the media, to place Christianity alongside all other faiths. If you have no faith, of course, you will do this. If you don't bother to research all faiths, you will do this. If you are ignorant, you will do this. In a day when some ‘faiths' are militant it is perhaps understandable that people in high places don't want to upset them, especially if those faith followers are excitable and prone to demonstrate loudly or violently. Yet the truth is that all faiths are not the same. Indeed the God of different faiths is even different. Judaism, based on the Old Testament is founded on the sure belief that throughout their history, God has interacted with Israel and revealed Himself quite remarkably through the many times He interacted with them.

But then comes, for some, the uncomfortable existence of the amazing part of the Bible we call the New Testament. For those of us who are Christians already, we perhaps take it for granted, yet it makes the most staggering claims and no more so than in this Gospel of John. Perhaps in the light of all these meditations in John so far, you might have taken for granted John's claims about Jesus, because they are stronger and more clear than anywhere else in the New Testament. The basic claim is that God has come to earth in the form of His Son – and the evidence is overwhelming if you have eyes to see it. That claim is not made by ANY other faith. Nowhere else in the spiritual world do we find this claim. It is unique to Christianity.

But then we come to our verse today, just one among many that bring us face to face with the even further staggering claim: that this Jesus Christ who had been put to death by the Roman soldiers by execution on a cross, this Jesus Christ who had been buried in a tomb for three days, is now alive and well, walking and talking with his followers. Nowhere else in all the writings of the world religions, is there anything to compare with this. You may not agree with it or believe it, but accept this fact: this is a unique claim. The evidence for it is staggeringly strong. Elsewhere on this site we explain this in great detail but for the sake of this meditation, let's reiterate some of the basic things about this.

Was Jesus actually dead? Without doubt! He had been executed by Roman soldiers who were executioners, who did this on a daily basis, and whose lives would have been forfeited if they bungled it – especially with the political ramifications behind the trial and life of Jesus. These men knew death when they saw it, and Jesus was dead.

Was it a fraud, a put up job by Jesus' followers, this claim to his resurrection? Definitely not! He was seen by too many people, too many times, in too many places, for there to have been a look-alike substitute, because that was what it would have had to have been! More than that Jesus' disciples were clearly in a state of shock and had not realized what was going on until it was too late. No, there was nothing planned about this from their side. Even more, the records clearly show they were in total fear of their lives and so they wouldn't have suddenly come out into the open to execute the greatest fraud of history. No, something turned these men from abject fear into fearless bravery, so much so that they risked their lives and, of the remaining eleven disciples closest to Jesus, ten of them actually died as martyrs for their belief. They were totally and utterly convinced that Jesus was alive. That is the truth. He is God's Son, risen! Worship him!

Jn 21:15    Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs.”

To conclude this set of meditations we come to one of the most poignant encounters with Jesus recorded in the Gospels. Jesus is risen, has gone to Galilee and has met the eleven disciples and found Peter and some of the others fishing. After providing a miraculous catch for them he now questions Peter. Remember, the last time he had a long conversation with Peter had been at the Last Supper where Peter had professed that he would rather die than deny Jesus – but had then, within hours, denied him three times.

Note first how Jesus addressed Peter: “Simon son of John” NOT as Peter the rock. He takes him right back to how he had found him, Simon the fishermen, only known by his father. It is as if Jesus says, “Right, let's start from scratch again, shall we?” There is no acknowledging the great things Simon, as Peter, had been involved in over the last three years. No, all of that has been swept away on that fateful night.

Jesus looks around at the other disciples as asks, “So, Simon, you who thought you were so strong and were a leader, is your love greater than all these others?” After all that he had been through, it would have been a foolish man who would answer yes. The best that Peter, in the humility that comes with failure, can answer, is “you know that I love you”. That's like him saying, “I don't know anything else now, Lord, but I do know I love you.” That's a good starting place. “Good,” is implied by Jesus, “Feed my little ones.” That's almost like saying, “OK, that qualifies you to work in the Sunday School.”

But is doesn't end there. Jesus continues, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” (v.16). It's like Jesus was saying, “Good, you won't make exaggerated claims about your love for me now Peter, but do you actually love me? Can you really say in your heart there is real and genuine love for me?” This is really pressing Peter back against the wall of honesty. Peter unflinchingly replies, “ Yes, Lord, you know that I love you .” That's like him saying, “Yes, as I look deep in myself, I believe that is what is there, Lord.” Jesus reply is, “Take care of my sheep.” which is like him saying, “OK not just the Sunday School; you can work in the pastoral team and look after my adult followers.”

Then comes the final question: “ The third time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me? '” (v.17) Despite what has gone before, it's like Jesus is probing deeper. Same question but it seems to go deeper and out of the depths Peter bursts out, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Now here is an interesting declaration: You know all things! You are God, I know that! Nothing is hidden from you. You know exactly what I'm like. Yes, you know I'm prone to letting you down, but you also know that deep in here I DO love you!” It's a bit like squeezing an orange harder and harder to get the juice out. This is the truth and what is now most important, Peter knows it! When all else is stripped away, his role of leading apostle, his memories of walking on water and being involved in other miracles, when all this is gone, what is he left with? I love you, and that is what Jesus wants him to come to, to know that he is what he is because of the love that has developed, weak and fragile as it may be.

What has the great interrogator been doing? Opening Peter up to the truth about himself! Yes, he has failed and he has denied Jesus and he has lost all self-worth as a result of it, so he feels all he's worthy of doing is going back to being a fishermen, but even there, he still loves Jesus. That was enough for Jesus: “Feed my sheep.” i.e. don't just care for them, be a spiritual provider for them. I can trust you with this because in your heart you do love me, and that's the only real condition for any of my followers to serve me.