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Week 2 : 16 August 2009As we look at our key chapters for this series Mark 2 and John 4, we are standing in awe as the Gift, the Son of God is unwrapped before our very eyes Today we see through John’s eyes as he recalls these events that he was privileged to witness. “And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite life of God himself took shape before us.” 1 John 1:1-2 (Msg) A little about John as there is a message in the author lives. Beth Moore writes, “as James and John were casting their nets on the sun- kissed waters of Galilee, they had no idea that the Son of God was casting his net for them. Soon they would find themselves caught by His call and compelled by His love. He anonymously penned the Gospel that most consider their favourite. He identified himself on as the ‘disciple Jesus loved’. The apostle John’s life includes unbelievable moments of courage and greatness. Of the twelve only John stayed near for t he crucifixion, and he became the recipient of the capstone of scripture: the Revelation. John walked in the inner circle with Jesus to places like the Mount of Transfiguration and the resurrection chamber of Jairus’ daughter.” John 2 - Jesus attends a party, a wedding. John 3 – Jesus and Nicodemus Bruce Milne “We find Jesus once again in conversation. The contrast between his partner in chapter 3 could hardly be greater. Nicodemus was a Jewish male, a highly learned teacher, A Pharisee scrupulous in his adherence to all the tenets of the law, and as a member of the Sanhedrin person of considerable public repute and authority. His new conversation partner by contrast is a Samaritan woman, illiterate, with a lifestyle in flagrant contradiction to the law, and therefore publicly despised and ostracized. Yet, ‘both needed Jesus.” What is also striking about the two dialogues is Jesus’ remarkable ability to be ‘at home’ with each and to present the good news of salvation meaningfully and attractively to them. John 4 - Jesus and the Samaritan Woman Some context to help appreciate the story: Samaria – Typically Jews did not associate with Samaritans. The reasons were historical; Israel divided after Solomon’s death (Israel and Judah) then the Assyrians as an act of God’s judgement, plundered the northern territory. The Assyrians resettled the Northern Area with foreigners, which meant a loss of both racial and religious purity from the standpoint of the Judeans in the south. The divide deepened when the Samaritans built their own temple in 400 BC. GET RELIGION AND PREJUDICE OUT OF THE WAY Jesus sends his disciples to go get food (v8) – He gets them out of the way. This is confirmed when the disciples are described in (v27) as shocked and surprised to find Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman at the well. Religion – Iain in youth ministry, telling people to stop listening to Radio 5. Prejudice – I used to be very judgemental of Afrikaans people, now spending time with Afrikaans men is a favourite expression of mine. GO TO THE WELL – ESTABLISH COMMON GROUND WITH PEOPLE ‘Jesus, tired as he was from his journey, sat down at the well’ (v6) ‘worn out by his trip’ (Message) You need to meditate on the name Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth – speaks of his natural home, the place he grew up, learned his trade. It speaks about his identification with us. Not a particularly religious place.
OPEN UP SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS (v10 – 14) You need to turn everyday conversation into a spiritual conversation. Jesus transitioned the conversation, from talking about everyday things water, to living water. OPEN UP YOUR CONTACTS “Do you not say, ‘Four months then the harvest’? I tell you open your eyes at look at the harvest fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (34) Jesus was talking about the Samaritan harvest field, the unlikely field. We need to see the people around us in a whole new way. When you are looking for something you see it every where i.e. a new cell phone, a car, a flat to rent, a job, a wife. Let’s have open eyes to see the harvest. Application:
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Week 1 : 2 August 2009"So once again Jesus went out beside the lake" (Mark 2:13) There is something very deliberate about this verse. In his steps I sense a determination to go and reach, to touch, to influence some body, a community. There is the sense that he is going from something he did previously and he is embarking on something new. William Barclay, a good Scot, one of my favourite bible commentators writes this in his devotional commentary. “Steadily and inexorably the Synagogue door was shutting on Jesus. (Incidentally Jesus always starts with the people of faith, Israel so that they might have the joy of being in on what he is doing and initiating) Between Him and the guardians of Jewish orthodoxy war had been declared. Now he is teaching, not in the Synagogue, but by the lakeside. The open air is to be His Church, the blue skies His canopy, and hillside or fishing boats His pulpit. Here is the beginning of that dreadful situation when the Son of God was banned from the place which was regarded as the House of God.” |
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| There must have an incredible mixture of sadness and relief in his
soul. Sad, oh how sad, that religious Israel did not recognise him. He
would later weep over Jerusalem. Yet relief as I am sure He looked
upward and said, “Father, I have given it my best shot. Do you mind
if I lose the tie and the microphone and use fishing boats as my
pulpit? Dad, I am heading for those who know that they are sick, those
who know that there is sin, or put differently stuff in their lives
that separates them from us. But I am going to make it known that the
stuff in their lives can be washed away in the rivers of your love and
acceptance.” HE SAW (Mark 2:14) – He OPENED His eyes He went out with this determination, “Father I have got 3 years to leave a mark for eternity. Give me a spearhead into a community, where are the ringleaders. Where are the desperate, the marginalised? Where are those with gaping holes in their lives that we can fill?" He didn’t look with a natural eye, he peered deeply, as they say, and “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This was very true in Matthew’s case. He was a tax collector, a representative of Rome, the pagan occupants of the Holy Land. The Romans carved Palestine into different quarters and had a tax – collectors do their dirty work and collect their taxes. They required a certain amount for the area – so whatever extra they could extract from the people lined their own pockets. So the Father whispers in Jesus’ ear, “That’s Matthew, currently a tax collector but by the end of the day and apostle in training. Love him, he hates himself for who he is and what he’s done. He will invite you into his home and invite a whole lot of his friends around, people with whom Israel isn’t supposed to associate. Show them who we really are, they can’t relate to the religious leaders of the day, but they have an appetite for grace, mercy, love and forgiveness." Jesus wanted the man no one else wanted. He offered His friendship to the man whom all others would have scorned to call friend. WE NEED TO OPEN OUR EYES (see John 4) You will find something if you are looking for it. We need to concern ourselves with those who deem themselves beyond the grasp of God. D.H. Lawrence, “ Never have ideas about children – and never have ideas for them” – Fantasia of the Unconscience. I sometimes get the sense that Christ is being suffocated in my life. My diary, my misplaced priorities. Lisa and I have endeavoured that we are going to befriend and love and cherish those who deem themselves to be beyond God. Give them our time, which is just a smidgen compared to how much time God has for them. He attended a party at Matthew’s house (Mark 2:15 – 17) Jesus intentionally accepted this invitation to stamp the image of God on a community. He suffered the scorn of religious community HOWEVER he pioneered a highway deep into the heart of the unchurched community. Application
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