I think it’s about time I changed my focus when reading. Allow me to explain:
I generally read to absorb facts, to insert myself into the story and make note of things often missed. Along the way I occasionally come up with a thought to help guide me through everyday life. However, in light of what I am studying on discipleship, I think I am going to read with a focus on the mission of Jesus. I want to ask myself “How does this help Christ fulfill his mission?” I think that will help me train my thoughts on discipleship, and will reorient my heart to the same. Of course, what I am after is an increased number of disciples, and the head (my thoughts) and the heart (my desires) must come before the hands. (actual production).
1. Nicodemus comes at night, unobserved by the other religious leaders. He believes that Jesus is a great teacher sent by God, but stops short of acknowledging Jesus as God. Jesus doesn’t correct the error, He simply begins to teach. Perhaps Nicodemus wasn’t ready to absorb everything that Jesus could tell him; that’s probably true for all of us.
2. In verse 11 Jesus speaks in plural. The disciples can’t be included here, because they have not yet “known and seen” so who is Jesus referring to by “we”? It must be a reference to the trinity. Jesus is aware of and operating in His eternal identity, the identity He had before the world was created. Therefore, it isn’t just Jesus who is teaching us, but all three. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all present in the same form. It’s always been easy to accept that the Son and the Spirit are one, yet separate. It’s a little harder to get my mind around the Father in the same way. But Jesus himself says in another place “if you’ve seen the Son you’ve seen the Father”.
3. 3:16 is a popular verse, often memorized as follows “for God so loved the world”. And from that we infer that God loved us so much He sent His Son to die for our sins. While that’s true, it isn’t the best interpretation of the text. What this verse is actually saying is “Here is the way God demonstrates His great love for us, by sending His Son to die for us”. The difference is slight, but emphasis is placed on sacrifice as a means of expressing love, the sending of the Son defines love.
4. I hadn’t noticed Jesus baptizing people before, but verse 26 says that he did. I wonder if people later bragged that they were “baptized by Jesus”…which would be missing the point entirely. John the Baptist’s humility is refreshing and inspiring. John knows his place in the story, and is content…even delighted to minister within his boundaries. We would all do well to follow his example.
5. Those who would be disciples:
a. must be willing to give all the glory and honor to God, reserving nothing for themselves.
b. must be willing to “come into the light” and have their sin exposed. This can be both scary and cathartic, as we know more of Christ it becomes a joy to confess sin and have it erased from our lives. Now, if we keep on sinning and confessing it’s not as pleasant, but that was never the plan in the first place.
c. The disciple will not learn all truth at one time. God dispenses knowledge in increments so we won’t be overwhelmed. Therefore, we should remain humble and teachable because we may not be as far along as we suspected, and there is always more to learn.
Have a wonderful day,
PR
More later…