Author: Wendy

After the wedding at Cana, Jesus and his family, and his disciples, spent a few days in Capernaum. When it was almost time for the Passover Feast, which all Jews were required to celebrate, Jesus went to the temple and was angered by what he saw.

There were money changers and merchants selling cattle, sheep and doves in the outer court of the temple. The Jews were required to offer a sacrifice and those traveling from far away, often needed to purchase one. That in itself, was not the problem. These people were offering a needed service. There was also only certain currency that was allowed to be used in the temple. The money changers were providing a service. This was not the problem either.

The problem was, that in jockeying for the “best position,” these folks had decided not to just provide these services when the traveling pilgrims got close to the temple; they decided to go onto the temple property itself. This outer court, was the only place that the Gentiles, the non-Jews who may be seeking God, were allowed to pray. The Gentiles were not allowed inside the temple.

So, if a Gentile were to come to pray during Passover, they were greeted with a marketplace and since they weren’t allowed to go inside, this would be all they would get to witness of the Jews worshiping God. This made Jesus very angry.

We rarely think of Jesus as being angry. This is the man who willingly gave his life for all of mankind. This is the man who asked God to forgive those who taunted him as he was dying on the cross. But, defiling God’s house made him angry. Not only did it make him angry, he fashioned a whip out of cords and drove them out.

What does this display tell us? Well, it’s kind of comforting to me to know that it is okay to get angry about something we are passionate about. The Bible has many places where God gets angry. Anger is a natural emotion for us and is sometimes justified.

But, I think the bigger story here may be that the greed of these merchants may have been a stumbling block for those who were seeking God. I don’t think he had a problem with them providing a service or even making a reasonable amount of money. I think his issue was they had taken their greed and moved it into the temple, into God’s house. That made him furious.

I think it’s also important to note that Jesus wasn’t just some passive person. He was the Son of God. He was strong and he was passionate. I think we would like to put him in a neat little box where he was never angry and always had a smile on his face. The scripture paints a different story.

The chapter ends with him telling the religious leaders who were angry at his display that they could destroy the temple and he would rebuild it in three days. They thought he was crazy, but he was already referring to his death and resurrection. Jesus knew exactly what was coming.

What do you think about Jesus clearing the temple? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

In yesterday’s reading, John the Baptist proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah. Immediately, five of the future twelve disciples, follow him. Within the next day or so, (depending on the translation in your Bible), the group is invited to a wedding.

Little is known exactly what a wedding would have looked like in those days, but it would definitely have been a big celebration feast. The Jews of the day had very little to celebrate and so something like a wedding was a really big deal. The celebration would probably have lasted for a week.

So, they find themselves at a wedding and the host has run out of wine. This would have been a huge embarrassment for this family. Jesus’ mother, Mary gets wind of the predicament and approaches her son. She is obviously well aware of his capabilities. Why else would she have told him?

I love what happens next. Jesus tells his mother, “My time has not yet come.” We get the feeling they may have discussed this previously. But, Mary seems to know that her son won’t refuse her, because she doesn’t argue with him or reason with him. She simply goes to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.”

There’s so much going on here. There’s the human side of Jesus and his love for his mother. There’s a mother who believes a hundred percent in her son. Aren’t most mothers like that? We believe in our hearts that our children can do anything they set their minds to. Mary is no different.

Then there’s the famous words, “Do whatever he tells you.” How often do we do whatever Jesus tells us to do? When we do, aren’t we often in awe, like these servants were when they obeyed? How many more miracles might we see in our own lives if we “do whatever he tells” us to do?

Jesus wasn’t ready yet to begin his ministry, but the opportunity presented itself, and he complied. Perhaps he had hoped to assemble the entire twelve first. Perhaps he knew that once he performed that first miracle, his life on earth would never be the same. Word would surely get out and people would demand more. The scripture doesn’t tell us why he wasn’t ready, so we can only speculate.

I do know that there have been times in my own life when I didn’t feel like I was “ready” to do some type of ministry. I didn’t know enough about the Bible or didn’t have the time at the moment. Maybe, this is an illustration, that when we are called to do something for God, we are ready enough, whether we feel like we are or not.

What we do know, is that Jesus had five disciples and he hit he ground running with the miraculous. The scripture says, “his disciples put their faith in him.”

We are only in the first part of chapter two and Jesus has been baptized and been proclaimed to be the Lamb of God, by John the Baptist. He has called five disciples and performed his first miracle. Things are getting interesting fast!

What do you think about the Wedding at Cana? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Today’s reading picks up on the following day. Yesterday, John the Baptist told all of the Jewish religious leaders that he was not the Messiah, but the Messiah was coming. Today, John sees Jesus and says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He goes onto say, this is the man he was talking about earlier, and that he did not know who he was until now. He says that he saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove and rest on him and that’s how John knows that Jesus is the Messiah.

He goes onto to say that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark record the actual baptism of Jesus, where God’s words are spoken, “This is my son who I love, with him I am well pleased.” John’s gospel just gives a re-cap.

As soon as Jesus’ identity is revealed to John the Baptist, he wastes no time in telling others. The next day, Jesus walks by and John the B tells his two disciples, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.” John’s disciples immediately leave John and follow Jesus.

This is a fabulous picture of John’s character. He’s been living in the wilderness and baptizing people and Jesus strolls in. The minute John realizes who Jesus is, he starts telling people that this is who they should be following. He puts his own feelings and pride aside. With complete humility, he honors God by pointing to Jesus, someone other than himself.

I wonder if this was at all difficult for John to just move over. He had his own following, many disciples of his own, but he doesn’t appear to pause even for a moment when Jesus enters the picture. This is an act we can all learn from, pointing the spotlight on Jesus and away from ourselves.

So, two of John the B’s disciples follow Jesus. One is named as Andrew and the other is generally accepted to be the Apostle John, the author of this gospel. They spend the day with him and then Andrew goes and gets his brother Simon. The NIV says,the first thing Andrew did was go and tell his brother they had found the Messiah. Isn’t that always what happens when we first meet Jesus? We are so excited that we have to tell someone about him.

Simon meets Jesus and I love what happens next. Jesus looks at him and says, “You will be called Peter.” This translates to “The Rock,” which as we read on, we will find that Peter is anything, but a rock. He’s impulsive and mouthy, but Jesus knows there’s deep potential in Peter, just as he knows that about us. Peter will become worthy of the title Jesus gives him.

Next, Jesus calls Philip and Philip tells Nathanael. They can’t seem to help themselves about sharing the exciting news. Nathanael has doubts because of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. How could the Messiah, the one to save us all, come from here? But, then Jesus personally calls him and Nathanael is onboard.

Like, Nathanael, some people need more nudging than others. But, when Nathanael joins him, Jesus basically tells him, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Jesus will be the one to bridge the gap between heaven and earth. And here we end for today.

What do you think about today’s passage? Do you feel a kinship with John the Baptist or Peter or perhaps Andrew, Philip or Nathanael? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

John begins his gospel by stating that Jesus was God, not from God, but God, himself. This is two of the parts of the trinity. In verse 4, he says that, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” He goes on to say that through Jesus, we are given the right to become children of God.

John uses the term life, 36 times. It’s an important concept in this gospel. No other New Testament book uses it more than 17 times and the most it is used in the other Gospels is three. He also uses the term testify, 33 times, also more than any other New Testament book. The term believe, is used 98 times.

While Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus and Luke begins with the birth of John the Baptist being foretold, Mark and John go right to the teaching of John the Baptist.

He tells us from the start, that John the Baptist was not the Messiah the Jews were looking for. Let’s get a little background here. John the Baptist, was different. His birth was touched by the Divine. His parents were well beyond child-bearing years, when his father Zechariah, who was working in the temple at the time, was visited by the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel  told him his wife, Elizabeth would become pregnant. He didn’t believe the angel and apparently angered him, so he was not allowed to speak until he child was born. (Don’t mess with Gabriel!)

Gabriel also told him the child was never to touch wine or alcohol and would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the day he was born. We also know that when Mary visited Elizabeth while pregnant with Jesus, John “leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” This is all pretty miraculous, supernatural stuff.

Gabriel told Zechariah that John would prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. Let’s keep in mind the small towns and villages these people lived in. Everyone had to have known about the miraculous birth of John. The Jews desperately wanted a Messiah to come and rescue them from the horrors of being Roman subjects. They knew of all of the prophets of the past like Elijah who never died, but was “taken up to heaven.” They were hoping John might be their guy.

But, in verse 19, John is very clear on his answer. He’s an unauthorized preacher out in the wilderness who doesn’t cut his hair and eats honey and locusts. He’s baptizing people in the river who repent. The Jewish leaders, you know our friends the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, have sent a delegation to investigate. They can’t have folks just baptizing people because they are “led by the Holy Spirit.” Religious leaders required proper training and a stamp of approval by those in charge.

They ask him if he’s the Messiah, if he’s Elijah, if he’s the Prophet. No, to all three counts. Now they are annoyed as he quotes from the Prophet Isaiah, ” I am the voice shouting in the wilderness, clear the way for he Lord is coming!” This does not satisfy them. They ask him, if he is none of those people, then what gives him the right to baptize? He replies that he baptizes with water, but there is one coming who is way greater than himself.

I love the way John the B is always so straight to the point. He never plays games with the people in charge. They have only law to rely on, but John already has the understanding of grace through the Holy Spirit. He readily states that he is working for someone much greater than himself, a message we can all learn from.

What do you think about John the Baptist and the first 28 chapters of John? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

March 5th- John 1:1-1:28                                                                    April 1st 11:45-57

6th 1:29-51                                                                                                               2nd 12:1-19

7th 2:1-11                                                                                                                   3rd 12:20-50

10th 2:12-25                                                                                                             4th 13:1-17

11th 3:1-21                                                                                                                  7th 13:18-38

12th 3:22-36                                                                                                              8th 14:1-31

13th 4:1-42                                                                                                                 9th 15:1-26

14th 4:43-54                                                                                                            10th 16:1-33

17th 5:1-15                                                                                                                 11th 17:1-26

18th 5:16-30                                                                                                              14th  18:1-40

19th 5:31-47                                                                                                               15th 19:1-42

20th 6:1-24                                                                                                                  16th 20:1-18

21st 6:25-70                                                                                                                 17th 20:19-31

24th 7:1-53                                                                                                                   18th 21:1-25

25th 8:1-30

26th 8:31-59

27th 9:1-41

28th 10:1-42

31st 11:1-44