Be Still And Know

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 that her husband was a secret agent. That seemed incredible to me at the time, but the truth is that our knowledge of even our nearest and dearest is always limited. We know much about them but there will always be aspects of their lives which we do not know. But 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 all sound thoroughly intimidating were it not for the fact of his complete love for us. His willingness to die for us shows the full extent of his love, and so we can feel not only safe but affirmed and encouraged by his knowledge of us. In the Old Testament God is often compared with a

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 do anything possible to prove that Jesus hadn’t really healed the man. He confirmed that Jesus had given him back his sight, but they were still unconvinced and so they interviewed the man’s parents. They confirmed that he had been born blind, but had no idea how he had received his sight or who had performed the miracle. John adds that the parents were fearful of the Jewish leaders who had announced that anyone who said that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. So 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. The Pharisees we

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 of the festival there was a ceremony called ‘the illumination of the temple’ which took place in the court of the women. Four great candelabra were placed in the centre of the court 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. It must have been quite a sight! This was a powerful backdrop to Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world. In the Old Testament, time and again God is identified as being light; there is no doubt that in this bold statement Jesus was claiming to be the Son

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, and the Pharisees and teachers of the religious law were looking for a way to trap him. They brought to him a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. Presumably they also caught a man at the same time but, interestingly, we hear nothing of him. The religious leaders reminded Jesus that according to the law of Moses, anyone who committed adultery should be stoned to death. They wanted to know Jesus’ response. It was a clever trap because if Jesus suggested that he disagreed with the Mosaic law, they would have had all the proof they needed that he was a heretic. But if he took a hard line and encouraged the stoning of this woman, his reputation for kindness and compassion would be shattered, and 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. S

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.” Up until now Jesus seemed to have been attracting more and more followers. In John 4 we hear that he was attracting more disciples than John the Baptist and, even in the hostile territory of Samaria, people were believing in him. In the Galilean region of northern Israel, 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, and that this was, in fact, his flesh. They concluded: “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” (John 6:60). As a result, many turned away and deserted him. Jesus’ question to his remaining disciples is heart-rending: “Are you also going to leave?

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, so far as I can recall, was only offered to us in two forms, either brown or white. These days, there is brioche, ciabatta, focaccia, multigrain, naan, pitta, rye, sourdough, whole wheat…to name but a few! I never imagined that bread could be so interesting. But the fact is, however interesting it may be, it can never ultimately satisfy 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 elsewhere for satisfaction. He would 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 the way in which God spoke of himself in Exodus 3:14: “I am

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 are all very familiar with Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000. It’s an amazing miracle and must have had a profound effect on everyone who witnessed it. But I’m particularly interested in what happened before the miracle took place. John records that Jesus asked Philip where they could buy food for the people. Then John added that Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do, but 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 for the crowds. And then Andrew pointed out the hopelessness of the situation by highlighting a young boy in the crowd with his packed lunch. But 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

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 38 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 love spending time in Jerusalem but it is often impossible to know exactly where the events that we read about in the Gospels took place. But not so with the pool of Bethesda. We know exactly where it 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 reputation for being a place of healing, but Jesus met a man who had been ill for an extremely long time. Curiously, he 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? But it is actually a profoundly caring and important

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.” Jesus was in conversation with a Samaritan woman when he spoke these words. Everything about their meeting is surprising. First of all, it would have astonished everyone that he had travelled through Samaria. For deep, historical reasons, the rivalry between the Samaritans and the Jews was intense. After the breakup of the kingdom of Israel 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 in around 400 BC. To put it mildly, Samaritans and Jews hated one another. Jews would almost always have made a careful detour

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 was to do everything possible to make the wedding go smoothly, but without drawing attention to himself. The focus should be entirely upon the bridegroom and the bride. John knew what his God-given role was and he was clearly happy with it. Indeed, 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 try to draw attention to themselves. I thank God for men like Billy Graham, who gained considerable fame but consistently pointed people to Jesus with amazing ef

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 recall the first time somebody, other than my parents, told me that they loved me. I can remember everything about that moment. It was simply amazing – and I am sure that those of you who know me will think it was also completely astonishing! However, it happened, and it was absolutely wonderful. In these verses, which are probably the most famous in the entire Bible, we hear the amazing 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. In the Old Testament, there is great emphasis upon God’s love for the people of Israel, 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 and so he invites e

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 we all know that Jesus was locked in a constant struggle with this group of Jewish leaders throughout his ministry. Perhaps that’s the reason he visited Jesus secretly, at night. He wanted to ask his questions of Jesus without being spotted by his fellow Pharisees. Jesus had no formal accreditation as a Jewish teacher and so it was generous of Nicodemus to address him as “Rabbi”. Clearly, he was impressed by Jesus’ teaching and miraculous signs and acknowledged that they were 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 to be confused by Jesus’ words. He was baffled by the thought of entering into his mother’s womb a second time, and so Jesus spelt out exactly what he meant. He ma

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 up information on every aspect of our lives so that 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 remarkable verses, John reveals that Jesus knew all about the people of his time. Some were responding to his message because of the miraculous things that 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

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 give us a picture of Jesus as being 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, and 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 they were doing it in such a way as to totally obscure the purpose of the Temple. There’s no doubt t

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, I suspect that there is a town not far away that has 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. It is said that Nathanael came from Cana, which is not very far away from Nazareth, and it would appear that it was typical town rivalry which made Nathanael respond in the way that he did. Happily, Philip wasn’t put off by Nathanael’s dismissive response to Jesus. He invited Nathanael to come and see the Messiah for himself – and that changed everything. Jesus saw Nathanael and made the amazing statement: “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” Within moments, Nathanael declared that Jesus was the Son of God, the king of

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 sheer simplicity of this verse. Jesus called Philip to follow him and he did! From this moment on, Philip’s life was defined by following Jesus, right up to the moment when he was crucified upside down in Hierapolis about 50 years later. I am sure that, throughout those years, he 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 follow him. Peter had just told Jesus how much he loved him, but still he said: “Follow me.” Whoever you are, whether you have followed Jesus for years or haven’t yet made up your mind, Jesus says to you: “Follow me.” Christianity is all about a personal relationship with Jesus. Sadly, churches often get in the way. We make it look as if our commitment is to a particular church, but Jesus always needs to be the focus

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. This was seen as a way of bringing people to hear the good news of Jesus through using friendship. I never liked the sound of it. It sounded 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 this with his family and friends, so he went to find his brother Simon to introduce him. I was talking to a minister who told me 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 that it was a wrong thing to do, but the minister reflected that

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 a number of 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, and he recognised exactly who Jesus was and the reason that he had come to the world. He knew that he had a vital ministry of preparing the way for Jesus but that he himself was not worthy of being so much as his slave. The New Testament clearly proclaims that Jesus is alive today. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he continues to be present in our world, but the fact is that the majority of people don’t recognise him. The Church is seen by many people as an irrelevance and, according to some surveys, weekly

John 1:16-17 'From God’s abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.' People have very different understandings of God. Some see him as being a strict disciplinarian, like a divine policeman. They picture him wielding a truncheon and looking for an opportunity to use it. Others see him as a nice old man on a cloud with a flowing beard. He’s basically very kind but completely cut off from normal life. And then there is the picture of God that we find in John’s Gospel, in which we meet someone who is unfailingly generous and involved in every part of our daily life. His principal desire is that we should thrive, and he is looking for every possible way of blessing us. That’s what he did long ago when he gave the law to Moses, then later when he sent Jesus into the world. And that’s still his agenda today in the 21st Century. If you head into today with a conviction that God is gen

John 1:10-12 'Jesus came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognise him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.' Rejection is always painful. If you meet a new group of people and feel unwelcome, it is an uncomfortable experience. But if you are rejected by those who are close to you it is particularly agonising. Many people have had the experience of being rejected by their parents, children or spouse. There is no way of simply brushing off such an experience; it hurts deeply and is likely to continue to have an impact on life for years to come. Our verses today speak of the pain that Jesus experienced in coming to the world that he had created with his Father and being rejected. Even though he came to the Jews, his own much-loved people, many had no time for him. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Although many rejected him, some people believed in him. In the Gospels, we see