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But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
[John 4:23 NKJV]
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
[John 5:25 NKJV]
Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
[John 16:32 NKJV]
[John 4:23 NKJV]
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
[John 5:25 NKJV]
Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
[John 16:32 NKJV]
This is an aside to our study of John’s Gospel, but I feel is very relevant to what He is saying ‘in this hour’. John uses the phrase ‘the hour is coming’ five times, and in the form we see here ‘... and now is’ or ‘... has now come’, three times.
The import of the phrase is clearly ‘now is the hour’, with the emphasis on ‘now’.; this moment; immediately. And what happens now?
“Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.
Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
[John 17:7-14 NKJV]
What becomes clear after reading John 17, is that when Jesus talks of being alone, He is meaning His disciples then and now. There will be times when we leave Him alone, but He will not be downcast because He has kept us in Your name. We will want to leave Him alone, but He knows who will repent and return and none of them is lost except the son of perdition.
We are to Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. [Galatians 5:1 NKJV]
We can be eternally free now, when we choose Him.
The import of the phrase is clearly ‘now is the hour’, with the emphasis on ‘now’.; this moment; immediately. And what happens now?
- true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth
- the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God;,and those who hear will live.
- that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave me alone.
“Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.
Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
[John 17:7-14 NKJV]
What becomes clear after reading John 17, is that when Jesus talks of being alone, He is meaning His disciples then and now. There will be times when we leave Him alone, but He will not be downcast because He has kept us in Your name. We will want to leave Him alone, but He knows who will repent and return and none of them is lost except the son of perdition.
We are to Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. [Galatians 5:1 NKJV]
We can be eternally free now, when we choose Him.
See also “The Hour Is Now Come”
Written by Dan Ricciardelli
The great characteristic of the supernatural grace of God in a life is put by Jesus on the line of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the supernatural manifestation of a miracle in you and me.
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A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
[John 4:7-14 NKJV]
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
[John 4:7-14 NKJV]
This passage from John chapter 4 is a wonderful evocation of the Holy Spirit — indeed the fountain is a powerful Holy Spirit symbol — and we feel refreshed just reading these words.
Again and again, allusions are made to the Holy Spirit — indeed, “in spirit and truth” is mentioned twice here;
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
[John 4:24-26 NKJV]
Water is essential for life. Our bodies are some 70% water and we can survive much longer without food than without water; but no mention is made in this physiological information of the spiritual dimension. How long can we live without spiritual nourishment?
Jesus, as always, provides an answer which transcends the question — not ‘how long can we live without?’, but ‘you will have life everlasting’ — turning a question into a statement. Is it a statement of fact? For the answer to that question, we must travel with Him from Samaria to Galilee.
Again and again, allusions are made to the Holy Spirit — indeed, “in spirit and truth” is mentioned twice here;
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
[John 4:24-26 NKJV]
Water is essential for life. Our bodies are some 70% water and we can survive much longer without food than without water; but no mention is made in this physiological information of the spiritual dimension. How long can we live without spiritual nourishment?
Jesus, as always, provides an answer which transcends the question — not ‘how long can we live without?’, but ‘you will have life everlasting’ — turning a question into a statement. Is it a statement of fact? For the answer to that question, we must travel with Him from Samaria to Galilee.
It takes a long time to realise that God has no respect for anything I bring Him; all He wants from me is unconditional surrender.
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Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.
But He needed to go through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
[John 4:1-6 NKJV]
But He needed to go through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
[John 4:1-6 NKJV]
When we lived in Ireland, Milady and I were trying to get from Dublin to Powerscourt House to set up for a wedding. We wanted to find the southbound carriageway of the M50 – the Dublin city bypass – which would take us there. Coming out of the city we were diligently following the roadsigns for the M50 south, until they suddenly stopped at a crucial point and we found ourselves heading away from the motorway onto a small back road to a place called Lost.
Lost is very like Amach — directions to which can be found on every motorway in Ireland, until I realised that Amach was the Irish for 'exit'.
Gill suggested that we ask for directions and stopped to ask a local pedestrian the way to the southbound carriageway of the M50. “I'm going there meself,” says he. Plainly a lie as he was walking and appeared to be ‘a little the worse for drink’; but letting that pass, we asked how he would get there as we'd had considerable difficulty. “You're right there,” was the reply. “It's a problem, but if it were me, I'd go north and turn round.” You cannot fault logic like that.
In a sense this is what Jesus did here. He set out for Galilee, but later on in the chapter He appears in Jerusalem, which seems to have been his destination after all. He went north to Galilee before going south to Jerusalem. However, Jesus needed to go through Samaria — the most direct route from Judea to Galilee, but every step that Jesus took was purposed to teach us something about Kingdom life.
Jesus wanted to avoid the Pharisees, and representing as they do, an adherance to religious form — which seeks to stop Jesus’ work in us before it properly begins — they are the very antithesis of walking in the Spirit; thus He leads us away, leaving all form and religiousness behind us to find Samaria (from a root meaning to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect).
In Samaria we go through the keeping and guarding by the Holy Spirit, because we can have spiritual eyes to see Jesus clearly, discerning the way ahead.
But as we shall see, Jesus also had an appointment to keep.
Lost is very like Amach — directions to which can be found on every motorway in Ireland, until I realised that Amach was the Irish for 'exit'.
Gill suggested that we ask for directions and stopped to ask a local pedestrian the way to the southbound carriageway of the M50. “I'm going there meself,” says he. Plainly a lie as he was walking and appeared to be ‘a little the worse for drink’; but letting that pass, we asked how he would get there as we'd had considerable difficulty. “You're right there,” was the reply. “It's a problem, but if it were me, I'd go north and turn round.” You cannot fault logic like that.
In a sense this is what Jesus did here. He set out for Galilee, but later on in the chapter He appears in Jerusalem, which seems to have been his destination after all. He went north to Galilee before going south to Jerusalem. However, Jesus needed to go through Samaria — the most direct route from Judea to Galilee, but every step that Jesus took was purposed to teach us something about Kingdom life.
Jesus wanted to avoid the Pharisees, and representing as they do, an adherance to religious form — which seeks to stop Jesus’ work in us before it properly begins — they are the very antithesis of walking in the Spirit; thus He leads us away, leaving all form and religiousness behind us to find Samaria (from a root meaning to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect).
In Samaria we go through the keeping and guarding by the Holy Spirit, because we can have spiritual eyes to see Jesus clearly, discerning the way ahead.
But as we shall see, Jesus also had an appointment to keep.
To be continually worrying—“Does God want me to say this or do that?” is to be in an infirm condition. There is no light of the knowledge of the glory of God in that, it means I am a self-conscious spiritual prig.
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John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.
You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
[John 3:27-36 NKJV]
You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.
He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.
For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
[John 3:27-36 NKJV]
John The Baptist is the one who heralded Jesus’ appearing to the world, and the apostle John now switches his account from what Jesus said about Himself to what The Baptist concluded, which was that Jesus was ‘The Bridegroom’, that is, ‘He who comes from heaven’.
John is presenting us here with the growing body of testimony that Jesus is ‘The Anointed One’; ‘The Christ’, and that he, Nicodemus and John the Baptist all hold it that Jesus was and is The Messiah, the gateway to everlasting life. His citing of two independent witnesses who state the truth of this assertion, could have been seen as sufficient in law to prove the case for Jesus.
However, this passage is most significant in the life of a believer for the statement — attributed to John the Baptist — that “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This very effectively sums up in few words what happens in every one who truly follows Jesus.
And we can see that in verse 36, we are being offered the promise of everlasting life, and that without Jesus Christ, we shall not see that life. He is the only life that will carry us through, and that life must abide in us.
John is presenting us here with the growing body of testimony that Jesus is ‘The Anointed One’; ‘The Christ’, and that he, Nicodemus and John the Baptist all hold it that Jesus was and is The Messiah, the gateway to everlasting life. His citing of two independent witnesses who state the truth of this assertion, could have been seen as sufficient in law to prove the case for Jesus.
However, this passage is most significant in the life of a believer for the statement — attributed to John the Baptist — that “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This very effectively sums up in few words what happens in every one who truly follows Jesus.
- It declares the process — we are not immediately perfected in Him, but ‘going on to perfection’
- It is a statement that Jesus is the focus of our spiritual life and that our own motivations and desires are, at best, secondary and also of diminishing importance.
- It clearly establishes the attitude of heart that marks out the true believer in Jesus as the Son of God.
And we can see that in verse 36, we are being offered the promise of everlasting life, and that without Jesus Christ, we shall not see that life. He is the only life that will carry us through, and that life must abide in us.
God’s providences come to you unawares and they produce flurry or faith. If they produce flurry there is no nourishment in God’s Word. The tiniest touch of the wing of God’s providential angel is enough to keep you from concentration on God, and the Bible is of no practical use.
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For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
[John 3:17-21 NKJV]
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
[John 3:17-21 NKJV]
He who believes in Him is not condemned. This one sentence sums up the case. It stresses that we are not condemned, provided always that we believe in Jesus.
It goes on to say that if I don’t believe — well, I am already condemned ... not by Jesus, but by my unbelief. By refusing Jesus Christ, I am refusing His salvation.
This word is amplifying and delving deeper into the ‘born again’ statements immediately before. We are getting now to the ‘terms and conditions’, the truth of life in the Lord’s presence.
Condemnation is judgement*; so, if I am not condemned, can I say that I am not judged by God? No, I cannot, because I know that God is a God of judgement. What I must see is that judgement is inescapable ...
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? [1 Peter 4:17 NKJV]
Is this then the contradiction it appears to be? What seems to be happening here is that a differentiation is made depending on whether we are exposed to the light or choose to remain in darkness. Judgement happens either way; but if I am judged in the light (by abiding in Jesus Christ) then I am shown mercy in the court of heaven — not because of who I am, but because of who Christ is. This is God’s truth.
Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. [Psalm 85:10-11 NKJV]
Now it seems that Jesus meeting with Nicodemus was Him pointing The Way, which we now see is walking in The Truth. If this analogy holds true, then what follows will reveal that Jesus is indeed who He says He is, and will show us The Life.
It goes on to say that if I don’t believe — well, I am already condemned ... not by Jesus, but by my unbelief. By refusing Jesus Christ, I am refusing His salvation.
This word is amplifying and delving deeper into the ‘born again’ statements immediately before. We are getting now to the ‘terms and conditions’, the truth of life in the Lord’s presence.
Condemnation is judgement*; so, if I am not condemned, can I say that I am not judged by God? No, I cannot, because I know that God is a God of judgement. What I must see is that judgement is inescapable ...
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? [1 Peter 4:17 NKJV]
Is this then the contradiction it appears to be? What seems to be happening here is that a differentiation is made depending on whether we are exposed to the light or choose to remain in darkness. Judgement happens either way; but if I am judged in the light (by abiding in Jesus Christ) then I am shown mercy in the court of heaven — not because of who I am, but because of who Christ is. This is God’s truth.
Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. [Psalm 85:10-11 NKJV]
Now it seems that Jesus meeting with Nicodemus was Him pointing The Way, which we now see is walking in The Truth. If this analogy holds true, then what follows will reveal that Jesus is indeed who He says He is, and will show us The Life.
* condemnation: κρίσις krisis; decision (subjectively or objectively, for or against); by extension, a tribunal; by implication, justice (especially, divine law): — accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment.
Never let common sense obtrude and push the Son of God on one side. Common sense is a gift which God gave to human nature; but it is not the gift of His Son; never enthrone common sense.
The Son detects the Father; common sense never yet detected the Father and never will.
The Son detects the Father; common sense never yet detected the Father and never will.
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Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
[John 3:11-17 NKJV]
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
[John 3:11-17 NKJV]
Verse 11 is the third time in John chapter 3, that Jesus uses the expression “most assuredly”*. He speaks to Nicodemus (conqueror; victorious among his people), a member of the Sanhedrin and thus a man of learning and Jesus is ‘assuring’ and reassuring him of the Truth.
The passage quoted above is the more complex exposition resulting from Jesus’ talk of being born again, and contains what is possibly the most quoted verse in the Bible — John 3:16 — For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus is impressing on Nicodemus the incontrovertible veracity of every word He says — and using the expression three times in quick succession— as Jesus does here — is our guarantee that Jesus speaks from the throne of God.
Nicodemus is convinced — and we know this because He appears later in John’s Gospel (7:50, 19:39) as loyal to Jesus. John is building his case to show clearly to all that Jesus is who He says He is, and this piece is clearly aimed at the Jews; showing that a member of the Sanhedrin — the legal hierarchy; a high-ranking judge — finds the evidence for Jesus compelling, and most assuredly the truth. Jesus is new life.
The passage quoted above is the more complex exposition resulting from Jesus’ talk of being born again, and contains what is possibly the most quoted verse in the Bible — John 3:16 — For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus is impressing on Nicodemus the incontrovertible veracity of every word He says — and using the expression three times in quick succession— as Jesus does here — is our guarantee that Jesus speaks from the throne of God.
Nicodemus is convinced — and we know this because He appears later in John’s Gospel (7:50, 19:39) as loyal to Jesus. John is building his case to show clearly to all that Jesus is who He says He is, and this piece is clearly aimed at the Jews; showing that a member of the Sanhedrin — the legal hierarchy; a high-ranking judge — finds the evidence for Jesus compelling, and most assuredly the truth. Jesus is new life.
* Most assuredly: translated in the King James Version as “Verily, verily” is an expression used 25 times in the Bible, but only in the book of John. It is from the word Amen, and the Hebrew אָמַן ’âman; a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (Isa. 30:21; interchangeable with 541) to go to the right hand: — hence, assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right.
Watch spiritual hardness, if ever you have the tiniest trace of it, haul up everything else till you get back your softness to the Spirit of God.
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But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
[2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NASB]
[2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NASB]
These words in 2 Corinthians have spoken to us powerfully since we fully came to faith. We are the earthen vessels, each one of us who know Him, and there is such treasure within; the life in the spirit; the life of our Lord, a tiny seed planted and ready to grow to be a mighty oak ...
WHEN LIFE’S WAVES CRASH OVER US
I once heard the testimony of a Christian pastor who almost died in an accident while surfing. He was standing near the shore when he was struck from behind by a powerful wave. He was then struck by another wave, with such force that his neck was broken. As he lay injured in the water, it was only the quick action of others on the shore that saved his life. Many months followed of having his neck supported within a metal frame before he recovered from his nearly fatal experience.
I’ve remembered the above, as I’ve thought about the way that life’s events can come upon us just like those waves, with such force that we too can feel that we are struggling to hold on. At the end of last year, Gemma and I experienced the painful loss of our little dog Sid who had been such a precious part of our lives for eleven of his fifteen years. That loss came upon us without warning one day, and, like a wave crashing upon us, left us both breathless with its suddenness.
Then, at the beginning of this year, like the second wave which struck that Christian leader, I experienced a far more profound loss, the death of my Dad after a long-drawn-out illness. Coming so close together, both those losses left my heart broken and torn. I still experience times when waves of grief and sorrow come washing over me. Yet, like that Christian leader lifted from the shallows by his rescuers, I too have felt the loving hands of Jesus holding and carrying me through the tears and pain of those times.
Our verses for today’s Seed remind us that we are not exempt from the crushing power of life’s waves and storms, but they also remind us that we are not at their mercy. We have a rescuer who is there to save us from death. We are reminded by the Apostle Paul that the presence of Jesus Himself, living in us by His Holy Spirit, is the treasure in our fragile lives that is often revealed most powerfully in our times of suffering.
Someone reading this Seed today may feel that they have been struck down and knocked off their feet too many times by life’s waves of pain or difficulty. If that’s you, I pray that you will know the arms of Jesus lifting you up and placing your feet afresh on the solid ground of His love and faithfulness. His promise is true for you. Even though you may have been struck down, you will not be destroyed.
Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, thank You that, when days seem dark and sorrow’s paths I tread, You, my Saviour, still are with me, and by Your hand I’m safely led. Amen.
Today's Writer : Dean Gardner
Dean Gardner worked part time in the Ellel Grange Ministry Office for four and a half years until October 2018 and is now part of the Associate teaching and ministry team. He now lives in Norfolk with his wife Gemma. In 1988 he experienced God’s amazing grace at a carol service and began a journey of restoration and healing with Jesus. He longs to continue that journey allowing God’s truth to change his own life but also to share that truth with others that they too might know Jesus for themselves.
Dean Gardner worked part time in the Ellel Grange Ministry Office for four and a half years until October 2018 and is now part of the Associate teaching and ministry team. He now lives in Norfolk with his wife Gemma. In 1988 he experienced God’s amazing grace at a carol service and began a journey of restoration and healing with Jesus. He longs to continue that journey allowing God’s truth to change his own life but also to share that truth with others that they too might know Jesus for themselves.
You will always know whether you believe in God personally by your impertinent insistence on being an amateur providence for someone else.
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Q. Do all mosaics, paintings, icons, etc. depict Jesus with a sad and miserable face? Because in my book He is always smiling. Happiness is The Lord.
In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; he will not respect what his fingers have made, nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel; and there will be desolation.
[Isaiah 17:7-9 NKJV]
He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; he will not respect what his fingers have made, nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel; and there will be desolation.
[Isaiah 17:7-9 NKJV]
There are two aspects to the question. Firstly, do any man-made images of Jesus portray Him smiling, and secondly, does The Lord embody happiness?
Images of Jesus — particularly ‘old masters’, icons and mosaics — are highly unlikely to show Jesus smiling; it would have been considered disrespectful, even blasphemous to do so. Icons were intended as objects of devotion in churches and come into a specific category of their own.
It was the sculpted or ‘graven’ images which caused a problem — usually because they would be promoting false gods; the works themselves become the object of faith and substitutes for faith in God.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Here any likeness of any thing is mentioned, which pretty much seems to ban image-making altogether. However, I would suggest that this prohibition was related to ‘religious’ works, although there is a case to be made that anything which distracts attention from the relationship with God — any object which invites contemplation — should be put aside. This appears to be what Isaiah is saying in our lead verses. A man ... will not look to the work of his hands.
There are paintings of Jesus smiling, but they seem to be exclusively of recent origin. I found an image online described as “Laughing Wine Jesus”, showing a man clutching a beaker, his head back as if he has just heard a hugely funny remark — more of a ‘my mate Jesus, down the pub’ than anything else.
Ultimately, most of these representations are only Jesus because the artist says so. They add nothing to faith, or to spiritual belief; these pictures are of man and man’s ideas about Jesus, not about who He is — the Son of Almighty God. Even Rembrandt — undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of all time — painted portraits of a man. They are not Jesus.
And this is the point. Jesus Christ appears to each of us individually in a uniquely personal way. Any image of Him at all is bound to fail.
The icons and paintings in churches were designed largely for an illiterate people who would hear the priest and be able to look at the paintings around them and have reminders of their Jesus, and be impressed by the splendour and magnificence of His house and the glory of God.
As for happiness? Jesus is happiness, but more than that; He is joy and peace (both inextricably linked in my view). The New King James Version (NKJV) uses the word ‘happiness’ only once — in Deuteronomy 24:5 — which in the King James Version (KJV) is translated as ‘cheer up’.*
We should distinguish between ‘happiness’ and ‘joy’. Jesus Christ brings joy in the knowing of Him, which will survive and thrive whether we are suffering or filled with happiness. Happiness is emotional and can come and go. Joy — as The Bible has it — is eternal.
Images of Jesus — particularly ‘old masters’, icons and mosaics — are highly unlikely to show Jesus smiling; it would have been considered disrespectful, even blasphemous to do so. Icons were intended as objects of devotion in churches and come into a specific category of their own.
It was the sculpted or ‘graven’ images which caused a problem — usually because they would be promoting false gods; the works themselves become the object of faith and substitutes for faith in God.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Here any likeness of any thing is mentioned, which pretty much seems to ban image-making altogether. However, I would suggest that this prohibition was related to ‘religious’ works, although there is a case to be made that anything which distracts attention from the relationship with God — any object which invites contemplation — should be put aside. This appears to be what Isaiah is saying in our lead verses. A man ... will not look to the work of his hands.
There are paintings of Jesus smiling, but they seem to be exclusively of recent origin. I found an image online described as “Laughing Wine Jesus”, showing a man clutching a beaker, his head back as if he has just heard a hugely funny remark — more of a ‘my mate Jesus, down the pub’ than anything else.
Ultimately, most of these representations are only Jesus because the artist says so. They add nothing to faith, or to spiritual belief; these pictures are of man and man’s ideas about Jesus, not about who He is — the Son of Almighty God. Even Rembrandt — undoubtedly one of the greatest artists of all time — painted portraits of a man. They are not Jesus.
And this is the point. Jesus Christ appears to each of us individually in a uniquely personal way. Any image of Him at all is bound to fail.
The icons and paintings in churches were designed largely for an illiterate people who would hear the priest and be able to look at the paintings around them and have reminders of their Jesus, and be impressed by the splendour and magnificence of His house and the glory of God.
As for happiness? Jesus is happiness, but more than that; He is joy and peace (both inextricably linked in my view). The New King James Version (NKJV) uses the word ‘happiness’ only once — in Deuteronomy 24:5 — which in the King James Version (KJV) is translated as ‘cheer up’.*
We should distinguish between ‘happiness’ and ‘joy’. Jesus Christ brings joy in the knowing of Him, which will survive and thrive whether we are suffering or filled with happiness. Happiness is emotional and can come and go. Joy — as The Bible has it — is eternal.
* According to Strong’s, the word is śâmaḥ; a primitive root; probably to brighten up, i.e. (figuratively) be (causatively, make) blithe or gleesome: — cheer up, be (make) glad, (have, make) joy(-ful), be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart.” It is this state of mind and heart which is absolutely free to do the duty that lies nearest without any flutter.
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Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"
So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD.
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.
Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."
[1 Samuel 1:8-11 NKJV]
So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD.
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.
Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."
[1 Samuel 1:8-11 NKJV]
Hannah (grace) wept because she greatly desired to have a male child. She prayed fervently in her distress, vowing that I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
Her husband Elkanah (God has possessed or God has created) is concerned for Hannah, but seems not to understand the measure of her grieving. Eli (ascension) the priest even assumes that Hannah has been drinking, but she is determined. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. [1 Samuel 1:15 NKJV]
As we read on, the result of Hannah’s prayer is the prophet Samuel (heard of God, his name is ‘El’). Part of Hannah’s prayer was that no razor shall come upon his head. A strange thing to our ears, but a symbolic statement that would be well understood in those far off days. Hannah was saying that her son Samuel’s mind would always have The Lord’s covering; that The Lord would forever guide Samuel’s life, and that nothing would come between her son and the guiding life of the Father in him.
Oh, that it would be so for us all in these days — that there be nothing that severs the connection with the divine life in us, and that what happened to Samson (Judges 16:19-20), when his strength was lost when his hair was shaved from his head, be not a part of our experience.
What we see in the razor (shaving off the hair on the head) is the loss of The Lord’s covering — a simple turning or drawing away from God, and easily done in a moment of weakness, when we are distracted from our purpose.
One more thing. In this brief story we see that Samuel was born to Hannah, that he whose name or nature is of God is born from grace. The life of God in us is not something we can work at , it is the gift of God, His unmerited favour to us. God is good.
PRAYER: Lord help me to be resolute and steadfast in looking to you for all that I need. Help me also, that I be not drawn away by the pleasures and temptations of this earthly life and that my focus be first and foremost on You, the author and finisher of my faith, whose grace to me is undeserved, but gratefully received.
Her husband Elkanah (God has possessed or God has created) is concerned for Hannah, but seems not to understand the measure of her grieving. Eli (ascension) the priest even assumes that Hannah has been drinking, but she is determined. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. [1 Samuel 1:15 NKJV]
As we read on, the result of Hannah’s prayer is the prophet Samuel (heard of God, his name is ‘El’). Part of Hannah’s prayer was that no razor shall come upon his head. A strange thing to our ears, but a symbolic statement that would be well understood in those far off days. Hannah was saying that her son Samuel’s mind would always have The Lord’s covering; that The Lord would forever guide Samuel’s life, and that nothing would come between her son and the guiding life of the Father in him.
Oh, that it would be so for us all in these days — that there be nothing that severs the connection with the divine life in us, and that what happened to Samson (Judges 16:19-20), when his strength was lost when his hair was shaved from his head, be not a part of our experience.
What we see in the razor (shaving off the hair on the head) is the loss of The Lord’s covering — a simple turning or drawing away from God, and easily done in a moment of weakness, when we are distracted from our purpose.
One more thing. In this brief story we see that Samuel was born to Hannah, that he whose name or nature is of God is born from grace. The life of God in us is not something we can work at , it is the gift of God, His unmerited favour to us. God is good.
PRAYER: Lord help me to be resolute and steadfast in looking to you for all that I need. Help me also, that I be not drawn away by the pleasures and temptations of this earthly life and that my focus be first and foremost on You, the author and finisher of my faith, whose grace to me is undeserved, but gratefully received.
The cross of discipleship is that I daily and hourly delight to tell my human nature that I am not my own, I no longer claim my right to myself.
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God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
[Hebrews 1:1-4 NKJV]
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
[Hebrews 1:1-4 NKJV]
As the song says there is no other name but the name of Jesus. These first few verses in the Epistle to the Hebrews do not mention Jesus by that name. In fact, the name ‘Jesus’ does not appear in the book until Chapter 2, verse 9, which begins “But we see Jesus...” He is given several other names in the preceding verses, but when we see Him, we see Jesus, because it was Jesus, who became The Christ, who is the conduit — the intercessor — between man and God.
In the verses from 1:1 to 2:9 we see seven (the number representing completeness, wholeness or perfection) names --
In the verses from 1:1 to 2:9 we see seven (the number representing completeness, wholeness or perfection) names --
- His Son
- Heir of all things
- The brightness of His Glory
- The express image of His person
- The firstborn
- The son of man
- Jesus
The reason there is so much going off on side issues is because of spiritual insubordination that refuses to wed itself to Jesus Christ and His Word.