Be Still And Know

John 11:25-26 Jesus told [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.” Jesus had known for some days that Martha’s brother Lazarus was seriously ill, but he had not gone to them straight away. When he finally arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha clearly regretted Jesus had taken so long. She immediately blurted out: “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). Nevertheless, Martha was confident of Jesus, and shortly afterwards, this was fully justified – Jesus raised Lazarus from death. We can’t be sure why Jesus decided to delay his visit to see his friends in Bethany but, arriving four days after his death, no one could possibly question whether he was indeed dead. So, when he was resurrected, there was no doubt that it was completely miraculous. Jesus had already spoken of the way in which his ministry brought life to pe

John 10:19-21 The people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said: “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” I am so grateful for the complete honesty of the Gospel writers. They were clearly deeply committed followers of Jesus, and it must have been tempting to have chosen to ignore the opposition that he faced, but they didn’t! They were astonishingly honest about how Jesus brought division between people throughout his ministry, and it wasn’t simply a case of people liking or not liking his teaching – some people believed that he was mad and demon possessed. Jesus has always divided opinion and still does. Richard Dawkins, the well-known atheist, has recently conceded that Jesus did exist, although he once said: “Somebody as intelligent as Jesus would have been an atheist.” John Lennon stated: “I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an ol

John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” Years ago, I read a book about Eleanor Philby, who was married to the spy Kim Philby. I was stunned to discover that Eleanor never had any idea her husband was a spy. That seemed incredible to me at the time, but the truth is that our knowledge of even our nearest and dearest is always very limited. We know much about them, but there are always aspects of their lives of which we know nothing. That is not the case when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. He knows us completely. There are no dark corners of our lives that he does not know. This could sound thoroughly intimidating were it not for his love for us. His willingness to die for us shows the full extent of his love, so we can feel not only safe but affirmed and encouraged by his knowledge of us. In the Old Testament, God is often compared to a shepherd, most famously in Psalm 23. “Th

John 9:24-25 For the second time [the Pharisees] called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” The Pharisees were fuming. Jesus had just healed a blind man, and they were determined to prove that he hadn’t. First of all, they interviewed the man, and he confirmed that Jesus had given him back his sight. They were still unconvinced, so they interviewed the man’s parents. They duly confirmed that he had been born blind, but had no idea how he had received his sight. John adds that the parents were fearful of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. The parents tried to brush off the Pharisees by encouraging them to have a word with their son. “He is old enough. Ask him,” they said (John 9:23). The Pharisees were clearly starting to realise

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Jesus spoke these words during the Festival of Tabernacles, which was a seven-day holiday at the end of the harvest. It was one of three pilgrimage festivals, so Jerusalem would have been heaving with people. On the first evening, there was a ceremony called The Illumination of the Temple. Four great candelabra were placed in the centre of the Court of the Women and, when darkness came, they were lit. It is said that the light from them was so great that every courtyard in the city was illuminated by their brilliance! This was a powerful backdrop to Jesus’ claim that he himself was the light of the world. In the Old Testament, God is repeatedly identified as light, so there is no doubt that in this bold statement, Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God. The great candelabra were impressive, but however amazing a

John 8:7 [Jesus said:] “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” By this time, Jesus had become a deeply controversial person in Jerusalem. The teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees were always looking for ways to trip him up. On this particular day, they brought a woman to him who had been caught in the act of adultery. They reminded Jesus that, according to the Law of Moses, anyone who committed adultery should be stoned to death. This was a clever trap – if Jesus suggested he disagreed with the Mosaic Law, they would have all the proof they needed that he was a heretic, and if he took a hard line and encouraged the stoning of this woman, his reputation for kindness and compassion would be shattered. He would also have run into difficulties with the Romans who were proud of their exclusive right to execute people. Jesus’ response was incredibly wise. He said nothing at first but stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. We have no idea what he wrote, but his respons

John 6:66-69 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied: “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” Until now, Jesus seemed to have been attracting more and more followers. In chapter four, we hear that he was attracting more disciples than John the Baptist and people were believing in him even in the hostile territory of Samaria. In the Galilean region in the north, he had miraculously fed thousands of people, but the next day, the mood was very different. He spoke seriously to his followers about the nature of the bread that he was offering them, calling it his flesh. They concluded: “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” (John 6:60). As a result, many of his followers turned away and deserted him. Jesus’ question to his remaining disciples is heart-rending. “Are you also going to leav

John 6:33-35 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said: “give us that bread every day.” Jesus replied: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” When I was a boy, bread was only offered to us in two forms. It was either brown or white! These days, it is offered in a huge variety of ways – brioche, ciabatta, focaccia, multigrain, naan, pitta, rye, sourdough and wholewheat to name but a few – but however interesting it may be, it never ultimately satisfies us. We will always need more! When Jesus identified himself as the bread of life, he was claiming that we would never need to look for anyone else to satisfy us. He could meet all our needs. This is the first time in John’s Gospel that we hear Jesus using the expression “I am”. These words are a clear echo of how God spoke of himself in Exodus 3:14: “I am who I am.” Jesus was acknowledging who he was as the So

John 6:8-9 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up: “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” I’m sure we’re all familiar with Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000. It must have had a profound effect on everyone who witnessed it, but I’m particularly interested in what happened before the miracle took place. Jesus asked Philip where it would be possible to buy food for the people, and then John added that Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do and was merely testing Philip. Philip gave the not unreasonable answer that even if they worked for months, they wouldn’t have sufficient money to pay for enough food. Andrew then emphasised the hopelessness of the situation by pointing out the young boy with his packed lunch. With despair he observed: “what good is that with this huge crowd?” This all feels very familiar. When we look at the problems of our world, or even our local community, it is very easy to get depressed. There is s

John 5:2-6 Inside [Jerusalem], near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him: “Would you like to get well?” I loved spending time in Jerusalem, but it is often impossible to know exactly where the events we read about in the Gospels took place. However, we know where the pool of Bethesda is, and you can still see a part of it adjacent to St Anne’s Church near St Stephen’s Gate. The pool had a long reputation for being a place of healing, but Jesus met a man who had been ill for an extremely long time. Jesus asked the man if he would like to get well. On first hearing, this might sound a rather callous question. Surely the answer was obvious. Who wouldn’t want to be healed if they had been sick for 38 years? It is, however, a profoundly caring and important question. No d

John 4:13-14 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” Here, Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman. Everything about their meeting was surprising. First of all, it would have astonished everyone that he had travelled through Samaria. The rivalry between the Samaritans and the Jews was intense for deep historical reasons. After the breakup of the kingdom, following the death of Solomon, the northern territory was annexed by the Assyrians, who resettled the area with foreigners. As far as the Judaeans in the south were concerned, Samaria had lost its racial and religious purity. The divide was made even deeper when the Samaritans built their own temple at Mount Gerizim around 400 BC. Samaritans and Jews hated one another, so Jews would almost always have made a careful detour around Samaria, but not Jesus. The other astonishing f

John 3:29-30 [John the Baptist said:] “It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at [Jesus’] success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John the Baptist knew his place. He knew that he was simply the one who was preparing the way, and that all the attention should be on Jesus. He was like a best man whose task is to do everything possible to make the wedding go smoothly, but who should never draw attention to himself. John knew what his God-given role was, and he was clearly happy with it. His goal was to become less and less so that Jesus could become greater and greater. It is never appropriate for Christian leaders to become stars and draw attention to themselves. I thank God for men like Billy Graham who gained considerable fame but who consistently pointed people to Jesus, and did so with amazing effectiveness. It is believed that more than three mill

John 3:16-17 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. I remember well the first time somebody, other than my parents, told me they loved me. I can recall everything about that moment, and it was simply amazing. In these verses, which are probably the most famous in the entire Bible, we hear the wonderful news that God loves us, and that his love is so total that he gladly sent his own Son into the world so that we could have eternal life. There is great emphasis upon God’s love for the people of Israel in the Old Testament, but now we see that the doors are flung open to the whole world. Everyone is welcome. The last thing God wants is for anyone to perish, so he invites everyone to believe in him and find eternal life. In the Old Testament, we meet Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his precious son, Isaac,

John 3:3 Jesus replied [to Nicodemus], “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus was an unlikely visitor to Jesus. He was a Pharisee, and Jesus was locked in a constant struggle with this group of Jewish leaders throughout his ministry. Perhaps that’s why he came to Jesus at night. He wanted to ask his questions without being spotted by his fellow Pharisees. Jesus had no formal accreditation as a Jewish teacher, so it was generous of Nicodemus to address him as “Rabbi”. Clearly, he was impressed by Jesus’ teaching and miraculous signs and acknowledged that there was clear evidence that he had been sent by God. Jesus didn’t engage with this but responded to Nicodemus with words which would have rocked his world. He needed to be born again. Nicodemus seemed confused by Jesus’ words. He was baffled by the thought of entering his mother’s womb a second time, so Jesus spelt out exactly what he meant: just as human life starts with a birth, so too does spirit

John 2:23-25 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. Whether we like it or not, the world knows a great deal about us. Organisations go to extraordinary lengths to store information about every aspect of our lives so they can lure us into buying their products and using their services. However, although it might not feel like it at times, there are limits to what they know. They can’t see into the deeper recesses of our minds, but there is one who can. In these verses, John reveals that Jesus knew all about the people of his time. Some were responding to his message because of the miraculous things he was doing, but Jesus knew that for many of them, this was a superficial response which would soon evaporate. He understood human nature completely and knew every person’s heart. When we

John 2:15-16 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” The Gospels generally present Jesus as a calm, compassionate and peaceful person. This account of him clearing the temple forecourts of traders seems to stand in marked contrast. Jesus was clearly angered by what he saw and determined that it should stop. He longed for his Father’s house to be a focus of prayer and worship, yet all he could hear was the noise of sheep, cattle, money and shouting traders. It could be argued that the money changers and the sellers of sacrificial animals were all making a contribution to the people’s worship, but the way they were doing it totally obscured the purpose of the temple. Jesus may not have actually used the whip he made, b

John 1:45-46 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Wherever you live, there is probably a town not far away with a dodgy reputation. For whatever reason, the place is held in suspicion, and you can’t imagine that anything good would ever come out of it! Nathanael came from Cana, which is not far away from Nazareth, and it appears that a typical town rivalry made Nathanael respond in that way. Philip wasn’t put off by Nathanael’s dismissive response to Jesus. He invited Nathanael to see Jesus for himself. That changed everything. Jesus saw Nathanael and made the amazing statement: “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity” (John 1:47). Within moments, Nathanael had declared that Jesus was the Son of God, the King of Israel. None of that would have happened unless Philip had persist

John 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” I love the simplicity of this verse. Jesus called Philip to follow him, and he did! From this moment onwards, Philip’s life was defined by following Jesus, right up until he was crucified upside down in Hierapolis about 50 years later. Throughout those years, he must have looked back to that initial moment when he responded to the call of Jesus. John’s Gospel is all about following Jesus, so it is no surprise that in the final chapter we hear Jesus inviting Peter to do so. Jesus had just heard Peter telling him how much he loved him, but still Jesus came back to him with the words: “Follow me.” Whoever you are, whether you have followed Jesus for years or haven’t yet made up your mind about it, Jesus says to you: “Follow me.” Christianity is all about a personal relationship with Jesus. Sadly, churches often get in the way, and we make it look as if our commitment is to a particular church. Jesus al

John 1:40-41 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). There used to be a lot of talk about friendship evangelism – bringing people to hear the good news of Jesus through friendship. I never liked the sound of it. It seemed scheming and awkward to me. I would much rather talk simply about friendship, and that’s exactly what we see in this passage. Friendship is the most natural thing in the world. Andrew met Jesus and then he immediately wanted to share the experience with his family and friends, so he went to find his brother Simon to introduce him to Jesus. I remember speaking to a minister who said that his church had recently distributed thousands of leaflets to local homes inviting people to their services. It was a huge effort, and no one came. That doesn’t mean it was wrong to do, but the minister reflected that it would have been so

John 1:26-27 John [the Baptist] told them, “I baptise with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognise. Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.” We are familiar with the stories of Jesus and have probably all seen film portrayals of him. It’s hard for us to imagine that there was a time when people didn’t know who he was. He didn’t stand out in a crowd. It seems that only John the Baptist could spot him; he recognised exactly who Jesus was and why he had come to the world. He knew he had a vital ministry of preparing the way for Jesus but that he himself was not worthy of even being his slave. The New Testament clearly proclaims that Jesus is alive today. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he continues to be present in our world, but most people don’t recognise him. Many people see Church as an irrelevance and, according to some surveys, weekly church attendance has now declined to about 5 per cent of the population.