New Year 2026 – The Gospel of John
Note: all Inspirations are now uploaded for the week – scroll down for Friday’s, and earlier posts…
Saturday 7th February – Psalm 41 ‘The Betrayal’
Following yesterday’s reflection on Judas, we end this week going back to the Psalm which Jesus quotes:
When I was a teenager my uncle taught me how to shake hands. He’s a businessman and he said to me: ‘You’ve got to grip tight, Matt, so that people know you’re strong.’ His handshake used to stop the blood flow to my hand, so this is what I learned to do; as I’ve got older, I’ve eased the grip somewhat, as handshaking is meant to be a pleasant and sociable experience!
As I look back, what interests me is this idea of the importance of the projection of strength. Anything less is a sign of weakness, the suggestion that you’re the sort of person that could be taken advantage of – so you offer a vice-like grip as both a greeting and, dare I say it, a warning?
The same could be said of many people’s attitudes towards those who are less fortunate in life. Much as we like to espouse care for the weak in principle, in practice many fear that showing care will lead them to be taken advantage of, that they’ll get a reputation for being a ‘soft touch’. King David is having none of it, as he says right at the beginning of today’s psalm: (vv1-3) ‘Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in time of trouble. The Lord protects them and preserves them… and restores them from their bed of illness.’
The latter line suggests we may still be addressing the consequences of David’s affliction in psalms 38-40 – but either way, David’s trust in the Lord follows this line of reasoning: if we care for the weak, then, when we’re weak ourselves, the Lord will care for us. Perhaps others will care, too – but even if there are those who wish to see us come to harm, we can rely on God to do for us as we have done for others.
In the psalm, David testifies at the end that this has, indeed, been the case: (vv11-12) ‘My enemy does not triumph over me. Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence for ever.’ But David’s trust has certainly been tested. He has one particular person in mind, whom he considers has betrayed him: (v9) ‘Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.’
This is another psalm which is known for one verse – this last one, in fact, as it echoes Jesus’ experience with Judas – the one who shares his bread with Jesus (Mark 14:20) is the one who betrays him (Mark 14:10). But its deeper context is an encouragement for all of us to keep showing the care and compassion of Christ to those who need it – because when we need it, the Lord will give the same to us. Perhaps that is a word for some of you today, or for someone you know. Claim its truth, and may that cause you to lift your spirit in prayer (v10), and your heart in praise (v13).
Friday 6th February – John 13:18-30 ‘And it was night’
Today we come to one of the most sobering stories in scripture – Jesus’ betrayal by Judas Iscariot. The story is so famous it has entered our culture: we still use the name ‘Judas’ as a generic term for betrayal. Indeed, the identification of Judas with betrayal is so strong that the two other ‘good’ Judases in the New Testament are given different names to differentiate them: so, the second disciple called Judas is usually called ‘Thaddeus’, and Jesus’ half-brother Judas who wrote the last New Testament letter (just before Revelation) is called ‘Jude’. They can’t be called their actual name, in case we associate them with the Judas of this story!
John’s account of Judas’ betrayal largely accords with the other gospel writers, although he does add the unique detail that Judas’ disillusionment with Jesus had a partly personal motive (see John 12:6). It wasn’t just that Jesus proved not to be the kind of Messiah Judas wanted or expected; he was also stealing money and (presumably) Jesus knew of his deceit.
But in other respects, we see the same main elements: Judas had already decided to betray Jesus before the Last Supper (v2), and Jesus knew he had done so (v11). Judas’ betrayal is also a fulfilment of prophecy: (v18, quoting Psalm 41:9) ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
It begs the question: did Judas have a choice? Was he just the unlucky one pre-determined to do this? I think we have to say that people always have a choice. It is true that the scriptural prophecy that someone would betray the Son of Man did have to come true – but Judas did not have to be that person. He chose to steal. He chose to take money for information. Even at the table, he chose to do ‘what you are about to do’ (v27). He was not a robot or a stooge – he made his own choices.
John’s last words in today’s text are poetic and chilling: (v30) ‘And it was night.’ Night in the physical sense; but also night in the spiritual sense. Darkness had overtaken Judas, and was shortly to do the same to Jesus, albeit only with his full acceptance.
The story of Judas is a sobering but healthy reminder of all our little betrayals. All the more important, then, to cast ourselves on the boundless grace of our Saviour. To remind ourselves that he came to save people just like us. His healing makes all things new. ‘Whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.’ Whoever. No-one is beyond his love. Thanks be to God!
Thursday 5th February – John 13:12-17 ‘Wash one another’s feet’
Over the years, I have taken part in a few foot-washing ceremonies – both as the washer and the one being washed. Without doubt, they are some of the most powerful and moving spiritual experiences I’ve had. I still remember my first such experience, many years ago. The pastors at our church were offering it to anyone who wished to participate. I went to the front with no great expectations – but found myself fighting back tears throughout the process.
It’s interesting to reflect that of the many commands of Jesus which we interpret literally, foot-washing isn’t one of them. Nearly every church baptises new believers, as Jesus commanded. Nearly every church shares bread and wine (or equivalent), as Jesus commanded. Only some churches practise foot-washing, and even those that do only practise it once a year – on Maundy Thursday, with only the priest or pastor washing feet.
No church that I am aware of gets everyone washing each other’s feet – just as Jesus directly commands in this passage, twice: (vv14-15) ‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’
Why is that? Why do we treat this as a metaphor, rather than an actual practice? Is it just too humbling, too extreme? Or just too culturally specific? Answers on a postcard, please!
That said, we must acknowledge that, even if the literal practice is rare, the idea isn’t. The global church does agree that humble service is the way of Jesus. As he has given to us, so we then pass on to others. We may do any number of simple tasks to bless people – quiet, unglamorous, unheralded, but all true reflections of our foot-washing Saviour. As the saying goes: don’t pay it back, pay it forward.
And as we do them, Jesus makes us a promise: (v17) ‘You will be blessed if you do them.’ God always repays. God blesses those who bless others – not always in the way we expect, but somehow.
Today, let’s give thanks for those whose humble service has blessed us. And let’s pray for grace to be ‘foot-washers’ for others – whatever that may look like today, or this week.
Wednesday 4th February – John 13:6-11 ‘Unless I wash you…’
Many religions have washing rituals. We need water to make us physically clean – but water has often come to symbolise something deeper. Think of the millions who gather by the shore of the River Ganges each year for the famous Kumbh Mela ritual. Or the Mikveh bathing rituals which are an important part of the Jewish faith, and which Jesus’ mother Mary, for example, would have had to undergo in the synagogue in Nazareth after each menstrual cycle.
In the Christian faith, of course, we have baptism as the supreme symbol of coming to faith in Jesus Christ, a way of declaring that we are now joined with him in his death and resurrection to new life. This practice dates back to Pentecost, the birth of the church, and even before that to the baptism (literally ‘dipping’) for repentance initiated by John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin. In all of these practices, physical ‘washing’ denotes a deeper reality.
The same is true, but for different reasons, in Jesus’ practice of foot-washing with the disciples. As we observed yesterday, the washing of feet was something usually only undertaken by a household servant, so perhaps it is not surprising the Peter objects to Jesus’ kneeling before them. Jesus, however, is unusually blunt: (v9) ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
What Jesus means is really three-fold: first, we need washing for salvation. ‘Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,’ David cries out to God in Psalm 51. We all need to be washed i.e. cleansed of all that defiles us before God. This is supremely and wonderfully achieved through Jesus’ death on our behalf: in a striking image in Revelation, the angel tells John that the great multitude he sees ‘have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ (Rev 7:14)
Jesus is keen to stress, however, that foot-washing is not, in itself, a salvation ritual. ‘You are clean,’ he tells his bemused disciples: (v10) ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet.’ Which brings us to the primary reason for this particular act of Jesus: we also need washing for surrender. To have your feet washed is a powerfully humbling act, and in receiving it, we choose to receive all that Jesus has for us. We accept that we cannot make ourselves right before God, we need Jesus to ‘serve’ us and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Peter wanted to do so much for God; but first, he needed to surrender. To allow Jesus to do for him, what he could not achieve purely through his enthusiasm or his activism.
Finally, we need washing for service. We’ll look at this tomorrow, so hold that thought!
But today, as we reflect on Jesus’ call for Peter to surrender his pride, we can see the same sort of stubborn resistance in ourselves. This is why Jesus is so insistent that Peter must agree to having his feet washed; in the same way, surrender to Jesus is a daily choice for us, too. May the Lord grant us all grace to make that choice, today and every day. Jesus, in loving response, will make all grace available to us, to live out that choice. It is the path to life.
Tuesday 3rd February – John 13:1-5 ‘Succession planning, kingdom-style’
If you’ve ever worked in the corporate world or in business, you’ll hear about succession planning: the way that leaders prepare to hand over power and responsibility after they’ve left, in particular by nurturing leaders to succeed them. It’s not a new idea – apparently Genghis Khan did something similar 800 years ago, involving his sons in leadership from a young age, and appointing a primary successor before his death. (I draw no direct comparison here with modern business!)
Today we begin what you might call the final stage of Jesus’ own ‘succession planning’. He has lived and trained a group of close friends over the last three years, but now he is approaching the climax of his ministry – something of which he is well aware: (v1) ‘Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.’ He has one more evening and night, before he leaves them. How would any of us use that time?
All the gospel writers place a strong emphasis on these last 24 hours of Jesus’ life. The events are recorded in detail, and many of us know them off by heart: the Last Supper, Gethsemane, betrayal, arrest, trial, Pilate, Simon carrying the cross, crucifixion. However, only John focuses primarily on Jesus’ teaching, on the way Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come. Chapters 13-17 are some of the greatest and most profound in all of scripture, and one gets this strong sense of walking on holy ground whenever we open these texts, so I must confess to some trepidation as we approach these next few weeks. Thankfully it’s God who speaks, and not me! The text will do its own work in all of us.
But what strikes me at the start is how extraordinary Jesus’ interpretation of succession planning really is. In the world, it’s about the transfer of power. Here, Jesus’ form of succession planning is all about self-giving service. His primary act is to wash his disciples’ feet – the task of a servant.
It tells us everything we need to know about how to lead, Jesus-style. This is not some sort of pre-death self-loathing, or tokenistic ritual: (v3) ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.’ Jesus exercises his ‘power’ precisely through humble service. Or, as he says elsewhere: ‘Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.’ (Mark 10:43)
It is nothing less than a revolution in our understanding of how things really work. It also makes no sense to those who see life through the lens of worldly power. And yet, less than 70 years after Genghis Khan’s death, his great empire split into four; ten years after that, three of those four territories submitted to the rule of a different emperor. But the Kingdom of Jesus continues to grow: 2,000 years and counting. The humble servant triumphs – with a towel around their waist.
Today, let’s give thanks for Jesus’ example. And let’s pray for all Christian leaders, that they might continue to live out the way of Christ – the Christ who loves us all ‘to the end’.
Monday 2nd February – Luke 2:25-32 ‘Moved by the Spirit’
A brief break from John, to commemorate Candlemas – ‘the presentation of Christ in the temple’ – which is today:
I love this story. I make no apologies for taking a brief pause to include it in this week’s Inspirations. Simeon has got to be one of my favourite characters in the Bible. He only appears in this one episode, but what a cameo! A lifetime of faithfully walking in God’s ways crystallised in this one moment.
I don’t know if you’ve ever got up one morning with an idea that there was something you absolutely had to do. Or perhaps you pass someone in the street and know you need to talk to them. Or maybe it’s a phone call you’ve got to make. And you discover to your surprise and delight that you called at just the right time, or the person you approached needed help, or that thing you ‘had’ to do was something you would have missed if you’d left it till tomorrow.
If you’ve had that experience, you may well have been ‘moved’ by the Spirit. Our God is a God who speaks. And still speaks today. So we shouldn’t be too surprised to get these ‘urges’ every so often.
But let’s notice that Simeon’s crowning moment is not the first mention of the Spirit in this passage. Simeon’s whole life was infused by the Spirit – the text says simply that the Spirit was ‘on him’ (v25). God can speak to anyone: but it happens a lot more often to those with whom He dwells all the time. The more we allow God to soak our lives, the more these ‘divine promptings’ are likely to happen. Like picking out your family in a crowd, it’s much easier to spot things you’re totally familiar with.
Simeon’s moment was also preceded by a prior revelation. He already knew that he would see the Messiah one day. One of the gifts of the Spirit is the gift of prophecy – the capacity to see what God is up to. And Simeon clearly had this gift: and he believed what God had told him.
So, when he got the ‘nudge’ one day that he had to go to the temple, his lifetime of spiritual soaking and seeing led him to one simple act of obedience which changed the world. And Simeon also reminds us that this kind of moment can happen to anyone, at any time – no-one is too old, or too young for that matter, to be used by God.
God still has work for us to do – why not invite the Spirit, like Simeon, and see where it leads?
Loving Lord, you alone are my hope. Lift my heart, I pray, and speak your word to me. Thank you that your Spirit still moves today. Thank you that we all have a special part to play. Amen.
Saturday 31st January – John 12:45-50 ‘All I have spoken’
The Trinity is an eternal mystery – God who is three-in-one and one-in-three, perfect unity and also perfect community: Father, Son and Spirit. They are all equally God, but they also have different roles or functions as part of the Godhead.
Today’s passage is a case in point. Jesus is the complete and representation of the Father – Yahweh – on earth: (v45) ‘The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.’ But that does not mean he is the Father himself – he remains the Son, which means he has a different role: (vv47-48a) ‘I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words.’ The Son saves, the Father in heaven ultimately judges.
But, lest we split them too far apart, the Father’s judgement rests on people’s response to the Son’s message: (vv48b-49) ‘the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.’
So Jesus is not outsourcing judgment to the Father, and the Father is not outsourcing the gospel message to the Son – they are both fully God, indivisible and fully united on everything.
It’s pretty hard to get your head around, isn’t it? And at one level, that’s the point – we are not God – we are simply invited to trust in this great God and, wonderfully, experience the amazing, eternal, abundant life he offers. This is a hard passage, and it’s not easy to talk about judgment. But, as we close our week, let’s land here, in this last verse. God’s heart is ultimately that we should be saved, that mercy would triumph over judgment (James 2:13). Jesus’ message is ultimately a reflection of the Father’s heart: (v50) ‘I know that his command leads to eternal life.’
God longs that we would know life. He sent Jesus to save us, that we might experience that life. The last few days has been a challenging read, but what a great way to end it! Jesus both brings and is the good news of the Father. May that good news bubble up in our hearts, minds and spirits today – hallelujah!
Friday 30th January – John 12:42-47 ‘The One who sent me’
If you want to know exactly what God is like, look at Jesus.
Such has been the conclusion of church leaders and scholars down the centuries. For example, Archbishop Michael Ramsey famously declared: ‘God is Christlike, and in him is no un-Christlikeness at all.’
But this is not one of those statements that has been fathomed out by clever reasoning, or mature reflection on the text of scripture, important though those are. No, this central tenet of the faith comes directly from Jesus himself, most clearly in today’s passage: (v45) ‘The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.’ In other words: If you want to know exactly what God is like, look at Jesus.
This profound revelation unfolds in two directions in our text for today. The first is a challenge; after the persistent unbelief of one group of people that we looked at yesterday, today we meet a different group: those who do believe in Jesus, but are afraid to acknowledge their faith openly (v42). John ascribes this reticence to fear of stigma and consequent loss of status: ‘fear they would be put out of the synagogue.’ He concludes: ‘they loved human praise more than praise from God.’ (v43)
If this sounds harsh, then what Jesus says makes it clear that such fear is missing the point. In seeing Jesus they are seeing Yahweh, their Lord, the very One they profess to worship and follow. How could they keep quiet about that?
Although it is easy to judge such attitudes, Jesus refuses to (v47). Candidly, frail as we are, it remains a temptation for any of us, too. If this is something we struggle with, or someone we know, let’s take heart from the other dimension to Jesus’ statement – a great encouragement: (v46) ‘I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.’ God is light, and Jesus – the true and exact revelation of God – is the light that illumines all our paths. If we honour him in all circumstances, if we resist the temptation to hide our faith, Jesus’ light will shine brightly, showing us the way.
May the Lord grant us all grace to see Jesus as he really is, and may his light give us courage and direction, today and every day. Amen.
Thursday 29th January – John 12:37-41 ‘They still would not believe’
‘In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.’ So begins the sixth chapter of the great prophet Isaiah, someone who was privileged to witness what few people ever get the chance to see in this life: heaven itself. However, it did not initially seem to be a privilege, as Isaiah recounts: (v5) ‘”Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”’
Thankfully, Isaiah’s fears proved unfounded – he was cleansed and spoke directly with the Lord himself, who commissioned him to take God’s message to the people. And it is in this commissioning that we have the background to today’s passage. We cannot fully grasp what Jesus is sharing here unless we go back to Isaiah 6, because Jesus’ second quotation from Isaiah comes directly from Isaiah’s vision of God in that very prophecy. And it begs the awkward question: does God stop people believing? That appears to be the surface meaning of what God says to Isaiah, and at the very least gives us pause for thought.
However, it’s not the whole meaning. The context of most of the book of Isaiah – including ch6 – is the persistent, stubborn unbelief of his people. God reveals himself again and again; yet people refuse to repent or trust. So, eventually, God lets them have their wishes.
This is very much Jesus’ experience, too; today’s passage begins: (v37) ‘Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.’ It’s hard to credit, isn’t it? So many signs, and yet some people simply refuse to come to Jesus. This is why John goes back to Isaiah, partly to demonstrate that, sadly, ‘twas ever thus. There is nothing new under the sun.
But there’s also a golden thread of hope – because Isaiah’s conversation with the Lord in the throne room concludes with God saying that judgement would follow, but ‘the holy seed will be the stump in the land’ (Isaiah 6:13). The stump is, of course, Jesus – the ‘shoot of Jesse’ (Is 11:1) which will bear fruit and bring salvation – the Messiah who is here, right now, before the crowds. John makes the link clear by declaring that ‘Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.’ (v41) What an amazing thought – that Jesus was there, in that heavenly conversation, knowing that he would fulfil the Father’s word to Isaiah seven or more centuries later!
Today’s passage is both a challenge and an inspiration: a reminder that some people will remain stubborn in their unbelief, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. On the other hand, Jesus comes anyway to just such stubborn people, people like us, with the deep longing of the Father’s heart to heal them (v40). No-one is beyond the love of God; no-one is beyond rescue this side of the grave. Let’s keep praying for those we love, and let’s give thanks that God keeps overcoming our own stubbornness. His arm (v38) is always stretched out to save.
Wednesday 28th January – John 12:34-36 ‘Becoming children of light’
At this time of year, we are familiar with the idea of light not lasting very long! In fact, as I write this reflection mid-afternoon, Jesus’ words ‘you are going to have the light just a little while longer’ rings true in a very literal sense. At this time of year, any tasks which require daylight also require us to keep an eye on the time, in case darkness overtakes us.
Jesus reminds his hearers that light being overtaken by darkness is also about to happen in the spiritual realms. Even if it is correct for his questioners to say that the Messiah carries eternal authority and therefore will indeed remain forever (v34), he wants them to know that the human life of the Messiah will be short, and about to cease (v35). The two are not mutually exclusive: as we saw yesterday, the Son of Man will reign forever precisely through his sacrificial death.
His advice is simple: believe in the light (v36), and walk in the light (v35). As he is the Light of the World, Jesus is inviting them (and all people) to believe in him. But it’s about more than just believing: since the Light (ch8) is also the Way (ch14), then we are to follow this Way – which is another way of saying, as Jesus puts it in this passage, that we are to walk in the light.
It’s a lovely image, and a very practical one: it’s much easier to navigate by light rather than darkness. If you try and do it in the dark, you won’t know where you are going (v35). Jesus’ light leads us in the way which leads to abundant, eternal life.
And as we walk in the light, something else happens: we become what we behold, we ‘become children of light.’ (v36) It’s an image St Paul picks up in his letter to the Ephesians – and here we can see how so much of what Jesus teaches has been passed down to the early Christian leaders: ‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth).’ (Ephesians 5:8-9)
If the fruit of the light sounds like something of a mixed metaphor, let’s not forget that most plants need light to grow – and in this case, as we walk in the light and become children of light, the ‘fruit’ that grows in us is goodness, righteousness and truth. It’s a pretty fair summary of the sort of life Jesus had in mind when he addressed the crowd in today’s passage.
So, today, may the Lord grant us all grace to walk in the light of the Lord – and let’s pray that this light may shine forth in goodness, righteousness and truth. Amen.
Tuesday 27th January – John 12:27-33 ‘I will draw all people’
Human beings have long associated glory with elevation. The winner of a gold medal stands on the top step, higher than those who come second or third (or lower). A monarch usually sits on a seat which is raised off the ground. Even in old churches, it is traditional to have at least one step from the main seating area into the area where the bread and wine is blessed. It’s a physical expression of the ‘lifting up’ which accompanies glory.
As we observed a couple of reflections ago, Jesus uses this particular phrase ‘lifted up’ to describe what is about to happen to him. It is both a literal description of his crucifixion, but also a spiritual description of what he will achieve through it. The word can also mean exaltation, which is a extraordinary description of (what was seen as) a criminals’ death, and marvellously illustrates how our amazing Lord turns everything upside-down and makes all things new.
In today’s passage Jesus himself describes this lifting up as representing three things. First, it is his destiny: (v27) ‘for this very reason I came to this hour.’ Every gospel makes it very clear that what happens to Jesus is no accident, and Jesus is supremely aware of this, including the terrible cost: (v27) ‘my soul is troubled’.
Second, it is a judgement on this world – the moment at which the forces of evil are defeated (v31). And yet, at the same time it is also, thirdly, the moment when Jesus ‘will draw all people to myself’ (v32). How can it be a moment of both judgment and invitation? Because Jesus takes the punishment which the judgement of this world decrees upon himself. The judgement is enacted upon him, so that all of us can be beckoned into the new life of God. Jesus has paid the price of judgement on our behalf.
No wonder he calls out: (v28) ‘Father glorify your name!’ To which his heavenly Father replies: ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ To those watching Jesus being executed at Mount Moriah (the place of the skull, or Calvary), it can hardly have seemed like his moment of glory, his moment of ‘lifting up’/exaltation. And yet, this is what enables to great prophesy of Isaiah to be enacted: ‘The mountain of the Lord’s temple… will be exalted (lifted up) above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.’ (Isaiah 2:5)
Praise God that he has drawn us to himself! Jesus’ lifting up has won our salvation, and his name is forever glorified. Today, let’s pray for Jesus to draw others, too – people we know and love, our community, any we are led to remember before the Lord. May the Father continue to glorify Jesus’ name again, and again. Amen.
Monday 26th January – John 12:20-27 ‘Whoever serves must follow’
If you watch a programme nowadays you may hear this message before it begins, or written near the top of the opening scene: ‘Warning: may contain content unsuitable for some viewers.’
A similar ‘warning’ could well be applied to our passage for today. It begins with some unexpected visitors – and here we can see a lovely parallel with Philip’s own encounter with Jesus in the first chapter of John (1:43-51), only this time he brings some Greek visitors to Jesus, rather than Nathanael. However, unlike the first encounter, Jesus takes the conversation in a very different direction, reflecting the different moment in which he finds himself.
‘We would like to see Jesus.’ It’s a wonderful opening request – but the rest of the passage could effectively be subtitled: ‘What would you really like to see?’ Or perhaps: ‘When you really see Jesus, and what’s about to happen, you may not like what you’re about to see as much as you think.’ Be careful what you wish for.
Let’s be clear that Jesus is not pushing these visitors away; but he does use the opportunity to be candid with those who are flocking to him, to make them aware of where this is all heading. Jesus knows he is heading towards his sacrificial death – but he makes the broader point that ‘losing one’s life’ is intrinsic to the way of Jesus (v25). For many of us that may not be literal martyrdom, but for all of us it means a fundamental change of focus: we orientate ourselves away from the seductions of this world towards another kind of life entirely, the abundant, eternal ‘zoe’ life of Jesus.
‘Whoever serves me must follow me.’ (v26) You can imagine the potential shock for Jesus’ visitors to hear these words. What, really, Jesus? Follow you like this? He does, however, add a great promise: ‘My Father will honour the one who serves me.’ We honour (serve) Jesus by actually following him – thinking like he thinks, living like he lives, loving like he loves – and receive honour from our heavenly Father in return.
This is the Way which our Lord call us to follow. As we begin this week, may the Lord grant us all grace to follow in the dust of our heavenly Rabbi, trusting that he will honour all who serve him. There, indeed, we will see Jesus.
Saturday 24th January: John 17:15-23 ‘That they may be one’
This week is the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Today, we skip forward a few chapters in John to honour the importance of this week, and what it means for us.
This is a subject dear to our hearts, since our team of churches in Walton is an ecumenical one: that is, we are a united community representing several Christian traditions, all committed to each other, for the glory of God. It is not an easy path: for churches like ours to function well requires a lot of grace and understanding. But the price is worth it, as I believe – and still believe! – that churches like ours are a true reflection of God’s heart, of his longing for a renewed people who truly live as one global family. This is, after all, what Jesus prays for us in today’s iconic passage.
It is tempting to join a church where people are ‘all like us’: but true discipleship calls us to go beyond our naturally limited ambitions. Christ came for all of us, and all of our sisters and brothers are precious. To be one is not to be the same, but rather to celebrate our uniqueness and diversity within a common vision that what unites us is always more than what divides us.
This is the path we have chosen. It probably won’t ever look ‘successful’, but it is precious and beautiful, and we pray that God will be merciful to us and continue to bless us.
So, let’s pray today for our church, that we might continue to celebrate our oneness, for the glory of God. But let’s also pray for our team, for churches across Milton Keynes and ultimately for churches across the world, that unity would grow. As our world seems to be ever more divided, it has never been more important for the church to be a prophetic sign of loving unity, of seeing human barriers broken down and covered over by the grace of God.
And may God grant us grace to be one, that ‘the world might know that you sent me, and have loved them, even as you have loved me’ (v23). Amen.
Friday 23rd January – John 12:19-24 ‘The hour has come’
If you like watching thrillers, you’ll know the moment in the story when the tables turn. The heroes have their backs against the wall – but suddenly the very thing that their captors or enemies thought they had under their control is turned against them, and the heroes prevail. The idea repeats itself so often that we more or less take it for granted. We rarely stop to think where it comes from, why humanity so often needs to tell such stories – or indeed to trace it back to the greatest ‘table-turn’ of them all.
As we reflected yesterday, Jesus sees the bigger picture well before anybody else does – he knows where this is leading, and, amazingly, he goes there anyway. And what we see in today’s passage is Jesus ‘turning the tables’ on the very idea the Sanhedrin were discussing after the raising of Lazarus – let’s head back briefly to Caiaphas’ words in 11:50: ‘It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’ One person for all people…
…exactly what Jesus has in mind – but here’s how he describes it in today’s passage: (v24) ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.’ It’s the same ‘one on behalf of all’ image – but notice the crucial difference. Jesus is not just saving others from death (which he is), he is also bringing life to many. The very thing Caiaphas describes brings so much more than Caiaphas can imagine: it brings life, it reproduces itself multiple times over.
Jesus calls this his moment of glory – and let’s not miss how radical this description is. How is the ‘the Son of Man… glorified’? (v23) By his sacrificial death. What a world-changing definition of glory! Who else before Jesus could possibly have thought of glory like this? And in the 2,000 years since, the vast majority of the extraordinary human beings who have also lived like this have been inspired by the original blueprint of Jesus’ own life and death.
Near the start of the gospel (ch3), Jesus foretold this moment when talking with Nicodemus: he calls it his ‘lifting up’ (3:14). But it doesn’t refer to his resurrection, what you might call his subsequent and ultimate ‘lifting up’, or even his ascension into heaven. It refers to his death – his lifting up on the wooden cross. This, for Jesus, is the ‘hour’ when he is glorified, and draws people to himself.
What a wonderful Saviour we have! Today, let’s give thanks for Jesus’ courage, his obedience, and way his abundant life has marvellously reproduced in us. We are his ‘seeds’ – may we too keep growing in this abundant life and hope which our glorified Lord won for us. Amen.
Thursday 22nd January – John 12:1-19 (reprise) ‘Collateral damage’
Some years ago I watched a fascinating programme about child behaviour. Ten boys and ten girls (none of whom knew each other) were each invited to a location to live under the same roof for a limited time. Their behaviour was observed by psychologists, and the aim of the programme was to show how they formed relationships and interacted.
There were lots of striking things about the programme – but one thing that stuck with me was that in each group there was one troubled child, who found it hard not to get their own way, to observe guidelines or behavioural norms, or to form healthy relationships. And this one child made the life of the rest of the group very difficult indeed. No matter that 9 were broadly well-adjusted – it just took 1 to ‘spoil’ the group.
It’s just one example, but so often we see something similar in society. It only takes a small number of troubled people to cause a lot of damage for everybody else. Underneath the dramatic narrative of the Anointing at Bethany and the Triumphal Entry we see a similar pattern at work: among the disciples there is Judas (vv4-6); among the vast crowds there are the Pharisees (vv10-11,19).
For all the disciples’ journey with Jesus over three years, it just took one disillusioned soul to betray him. For all the enthusiasm and worship of the crowds, it just took a small number of determined opponents to get Jesus arrested, and then sway the crowds to turn against him.
Even Lazarus risked becoming collateral damage in this powerplay: it is a bitter irony indeed that the man who had just been resurrected now fears for his life simply for the impertinence of being very much alive (v10)!
Jesus, of course, knew all this. Although anybody else might also be seen as collateral damage in the face of frustrated ambition and corrupt power, he retains this extraordinary sense of being in control of a narrative which appears to be happening around him. Jesus’ divine identity is so great that he can even redeem the very things that are against him, the very people who want to destroy him. Indeed their plotting ultimately only served to achieve his purposes, and – in another moment of great irony – make the Pharisees’ greatest fear become very much a reality: (v19) ‘Look how the whole world has gone after him!’
Look indeed. And we still do – 2,000 years later, the world is still going after Jesus: some, sadly, to persecute, many more to follow. We too, are invited to go after Jesus: to meet him, to marvel at him, to worship him. And may the Lord stir our hearts today, as it did those crowds, to declare with our lips and our lives: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Amen.
Wednesday 21st January – John 12:12-19 ‘Blessed is the King!’
Palm Sunday is such a familiar story to many of us; we celebrate it every year, on the Sunday before Easter Day. The image of Jesus riding on a donkey into Jerusalem is one etched into our minds, and we usually approach the day with a mixture of excitement and awe. Excitement that privations of Lent are nearly over, that the biggest week of our year is upon us, that the crowds are cheering Jesus on. And awe, perhaps, too, because we know what comes next, and how quickly the crowd turns. How quickly perhaps we turn, too.
On Palm Sunday Jesus reveals himself as both the Jewish Messiah and the King for the whole world. The donkey is significant, as John’s quotation of Zechariah makes clear: Jesus was proclaiming his humility, but also fulfilling a great prophecy which related to God’s anointed rescuer. That’s why the crowds were excited. The Rescuer was arriving in Jerusalem, just as Zechariah had predicted 500 years ago.
But even as Jesus raises their hopes, he confounds them too. Not just the donkey – prophecy or no prophecy, what sort of king arrives on a donkey? – his first act (not recorded by John, but recorded in the other gospels) is to go into the temple and challenge the materialism and corruption of the biggest festival in the Jewish year.
Jesus came, but not as they expected him to.
And that theme is one which runs through the whole of the gospels. Jesus constantly surprises us. He comes, but not as we expect. Born a King, but not in a palace, rather an animals’ feeding trough. He prefers the company of the disreputable to the respectable. He is rejected by his home town. He challenges the prevailing interpretation of the Sabbath laws. He withdraws whenever popular excitement gets too much. He demonstrates his authority ,but tells people to keep quiet about it.
And then… he arrives in Jerusalem as King, but on a donkey not a stallion. He receives the embrace of the crowd but then challenges their religious practice. He doesn’t even stay in the city, but as Mark records, leaves and spends the nights in Bethany. In our days of PR gurus and image management, no self-respecting adviser would recommend any of these things. What sort of a king is he?
He comes, but not as we expect.
And the good news of this passage is that this is exactly what Jesus does, and still does. He is not an upholder of the religious establishment or the old ways. Jesus is not limited to our buildings or our books. He is always making everything new. His Spirit, like the wind, is wild and free. He is perfectly able to meet with us where we are, to bring us joy in unexpected places, and the peace that transcends understanding. He is with us right now….
Today, let’s approach this extraordinary Saviour with that same mixture of excitement and awe. And may the Lord still come to us in unexpected ways today.
Tuesday 20th January – John 12:1-11 ‘A preparation for burial’
The beautiful story of the anointing at Bethany is also one of the most debated – at least, John’s version is. Why does he change the details? And does this cast doubt on the reliability of the bible?
Let’s tackle this head-on today. And we have to start by acknowledging that this account does appear to be a splicing together of the other two ‘anointings’ in the other gospels: the early episode where a ‘sinful woman’ pours perfume over Jesus’ feet at the house of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50) and the other Bethany anointing accounts in Matthew and Mark where an unnamed woman pours expensive perfume over Jesus’ head (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:1-11). So, here in John’s account, in a house in Bethany near to the time of Jesus’ death (like Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts), Mary pours perfume over Jesus’s feet (like Luke, albeit a different location at a different time).
It is possible to harmonise most of the discrepancies: Simon the Leper – the owner of the house in Bethany according to Matthew and Mark – could be another brother to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, or indeed the first name of Lazarus himself. In that case, Mary could then be the unnamed woman in the account of Matthew and Mark. In similar vein, Mary could have anointed both Jesus’ head and Jesus’ feet, so both accounts are true. In this line of thinking, the gospels give us two anointings of Jesus: by an unnamed woman early in his ministry (recorded by Luke) and by Mary at Bethany recorded by Matthew, Mark and John, albeit with different details included.
This is possible – what isn’t possible is that John records a different time of this encounter. In Matthew and Mark, the anointing happens in what we now call Holy Week i.e. after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Here in John, it happens before – the triumphal entry comes next.
What are we to do with all this?
The first thing to say is that genuine eyewitness accounts differ – and their authenticity in fact relies on small differences between the accounts. That’s what makes them human, and credible.
The second thing to say is that we can still be sure that Jesus was anointed at Bethany – it’s recorded by three different writers – and that this anointing meant something important.
…which leads us onto the vital question of meaning and interpretation. John is very different to the other gospel writers. If the other writers are photographs, John is a portrait. For him, the meaning of the encounter is all-important. If that means a little latitude on the precise details, then this is justified if it illuminates who Jesus was and why he came more clearly. John wants us to truly believe that Jesus is the Servant King of all humanity. Therefore, he is anointed before he enters Jerusalem, since anointing was the act of declaring a king. But it was his feet, not his head, as a reminder of his humility – hence John also has the unique foot-washing episode at the Last Supper in a chapter’s time.
This may offend our scientific sensibilities; but truth goes deeper than simple precision. As a historian myself, I do struggle with John’s more cavalier attitude; but we need John in the canon of the bible – think what we would lose without him!
Ultimately, what is incontestable is that Jesus himself knew the significance of this encounter – and as our narrative moves into the decisive final week of Jesus’ life, may our hearts continue to anoint Jesus as our true King. And may that overflow in extravagant worship, as it did for Mary. Amen.
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