“He who speaks on his own….” Obviously here this is said to show that Jesus is true because He speaks not to honor Himself but to honor God. This verse also, however, speaks to me in several other ways. It helps me to evaluate the “trueness” of other people (especially those in ministry)– I think it is a good measuring stick to look and see what motive someone has – is their motive to honor themselves or to bring honor to God. If someone has proven to me that their goal is to honor God then I am likely to trust their advice, I am likely to join their team etc. It also challenges me to take a hard look at my own motives. A good thing isn’t really good if the motive is selfish.
There are possible consequences for following Jesus. I agree with Allyson that these consequences are much less severe in the US and this should cause us to be grateful and to pray for Christians in other countries. However, I still think there are costs to us when we take a stand for Christ – this is evident in the news, in our schools, in our personal lives. The question is what we do with that threat. Do we deny Jesus? Do we compromise? I know personally there have been many times when I have made a decision based on fear of what others might think or do. The temple guards give a great example of what should happen. We should be so in awe of Jesus – so amazed at who He is that we have no choice but to acknowledge Him and stand for Him regardless of what might happen. We should be more worried about what God thinks than what man thinks. This can be harder that it seems. For me, the more I know of Jesus the easier it becomes. The more I learn and the more I experience, the bolder I become. That doesn’t mean that the response from the world will be any different but I guess it doesn’t seem to matter as much.
This week we will do John chapter 8. First we see a beautiful story of the woman caught in adultery. Basically the Pharisees have set Jesus up – they know that the law of Rome says that a person can’t be put to death without their permission but the Old Testament law says that adultery is punishable by death. They think they have found a situation where either way Jesus will be in trouble – either by the government leaders or by the religious leaders. The problem is that the Pharisees don’t realize that Jesus knows all – that he knows their sin in this situation too. Try to think about the real purpose of the law – the real purpose of Jesus as demonstrated by this event. Think about justice versus mercy. Think about sin and forgiveness. Think of the Pharisees and the woman and Jesus’ attitude / treatment of both. Just let God teach you through this story as there is so much to learn from it.
In the rest of chapter 8 focus on the 2 following statements. 12- “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 31 – “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
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