What Jesus Wouldn't Pray

John 17:9 KJV

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

John 17:15 KJV

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

It is intriguing that there were some things he said He would not pray for:

• He would not pray for the world
• He would not pray that we be taken out of the world 

This world's end is already written. The how, the why, the by whom and even the when are all determined by God. Though men place much stock in the world, its very existence rests in the will of its own maker. 

I suppose most Christians have wished to be removed from this world at one time or another. The evil of this world can get to us. We want relief. We desire that day when the will of God is done on earth as it is in heaven. But the will of Christ is not that we be prematurely taken out of the world but that we act as salt and light and that we resist the evil in this world until such a time as He chooses to remove us. 

The wisdom of Christ's prayer is perfect and impeccable. May we trust that what Christ prays for us in heaven (and doesn't) is equally perfect. 

Mistaken Service

John 16:2 KJV

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

History is pocked by the record of those who have thought they were doing God service:

• Saul of Tarsus hunting Christians
• Constantine taking control and beginning the Catholic Church 
• The inquisition hunting down those of different convictions
• Bloody Mary murdering believers 
• Martin Luther and John Calvin persecuting those with whom they disagreed

In America:

• The Salem witch trials
• The punishment of Baptists for preaching their gospel
• The error of modernism
• The abuses of some in Fundamentalism

The zeal to serve God is a strong one and the motivator behind it can often be twisted by Satan into something that the zealot would have hardly wanted. We want to serve God with all of our heart and soul and mind; but how to prevent that service from corruption? 

The answer is in our relationship with the Father. We must not use religion. Rather we must cultivate the relationship. We must keep our hearts and minds on God and away from the desire for success, even in the service of The Lord. It is just too easy to transition from a "Mary spirit", sitting at Jesus feet, to a "Martha spirit", wearing out in service and bitter at those enjoying the Lord. 

The True Vine

John 15:1 KJV

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Jesus began this sermon by announcing that He is "the true vine."

• Not a false vine
• Not a perceived but imaginary vine
• Not just any vine a person might attach himself to

Jesus is the true vine.

• From Him flows truth
• From Him flows the only truth and
• From him flows true eternal life

Some people think they have a vine but it is imaginary

Their hope is not based on any sort of biblical reality. 

Some people are attached to a vine that is maybe a good thing but has no eternal truth in it

Moral causes, caring for needy; these are grand ideas but they are not eternal ideas. 

Others have been deceived by a false vine

They believe they have the truth. They believe that they will gain eternal life through their vine, but it won't happen. 

Only Jesus is the true vine. Every man must find himself in Christ or else perish eternally. 

Believe Also In Jesus

John 14:1 KJV

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

What a statement! This spoken to His disciples who, being Jewish in birth and tradition, believed in God the Father; Jesus urged to go a step further and believe in Him in the same way they believed in God. 

• The Muslims would do well to hear this
• As would the Jehovah's Witnesses

Jesus urges that the same faith a man claims to have toward God be had toward Him. And no wonder:

• He is the same essence
• He is the same Spirit
• He is of the same mind 
• He is the same God

Happy People

Deuteronomy 33:29 KJV

Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

God says that those who are like Israel are a happy and blessed people:

• Who are saved by the Lord
• Who are helped by His shield
• Whose sword is God's excellency

• Their enemies will be found to be liars
• Their honors will be trampled by the believers 

All of this is in due time. God is still the sovereign over time and matter and what He has promised He will perform; only in His good time. 

By happy the passage, I think, means blessed. God's hand is upon them even when they go through troublesome times. But the Bible says happy and it should be that a blessed people would express such blessing in their emotional state. 

The One Judge

John 12:48 KJV

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

In a verse that might easily be overlooked, Jesus gives us a doctrinal truth of huge importance. He tells us who our only judge is. 

The One who judges today:

Is not God the Father

His wrath has been appeased by the blood of Jesus Christ

It's not the Holy Spirit

No Scripture speaks of the Spirit as being a judge. He does reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment but He is not a judge Himself. 

It is not Jesus Christ.

He came to seek and to save the Lost. He did not come to judge, He came to save. 

Our judge is the Word of God.

• It is the standard by which we will be measured
• It is the book that sits next to the book of life

• It is this book that clearly tells us how to be saved from our sin
• It is this book that points to Jesus Christ as our righteousness

This book describes

• The origin of sin
• The need of salvation
• The means of salvation and
• The promise of salvation 

Our only judge is the message of the Bible. Accept its message of redemption and be forever free. Reject it and be condemned eternally. 

Why the Weeping?

John 11:35 KJV

Jesus wept.

I seems to me that the weeping of the Lord here is more important than is generally looked upon. He is certainly not weeping over the death of Lazarus; He knew He would rise again. 

• He wept because of the dullness of faith and understanding in these two, some of His closest companions. 
• He wept over their interest in an immediate temporal answer to their prayer rather than the eternal and permanent one

Jesus wept because the focus of everyone present was on Lazarus' death and looked at the promise of a future resurrection as having little value to them just then. 

Verily, Verily

John 10:1 KJV

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

A fine speech is made not by the eloquence of the words but the character and reputation of the speaker.  The same words, spoken by a man of doubtful character is little heard but spoken by one known to be sound, honorable and of good character becomes powerful and inspiring. 

When Jesus speaks every word has meaning and richness. And no greater words were spoken by the Lord than just those two, "Verily, verily." Breathed by any other man they are just words. But spoken by the King of kings they become a promise, an assurance that everything else we hear from Him is true, doubly so. 

• Verily verily means I can count on eternal salvation
• Verily verily means that I am sure my sins are forgiven
• Verily verily means the things Jesus said are completely true
• Verily verily means the things the Bible says about Jesus are absolutely true

One word spoken by Jesus assures me that everything I find in my Bible is true. 

Normal

John 9:3 KJV

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Here is one of those passages that illustrate the importance of reading the Bible normally as well as literally. The context of the whole Bible adds depth and accuracy to the passage. 

We know that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is as true of this man, and his parents, as it is of every human ever born, excepting, of course, Jesus. This passage should not be read to mean that these three had never sinned. It should be interpreted normally and not too literally, which means we apply the rest of Scripture and know that they have sinned but their sins are not the cause of the son's blindness. 

We also see an illustration in this passage of teaching line upon line and precept upon precept, not trying to teach every truth in one lesson. Jesus dealt with the question at hand. He did not spend inordinate amounts of time laying lots or background and giving disclaimers; he simply answered the question and left it up to His audience to know that there was more truth involved in the passage than He took the time to address. He did not begin by saying something like, "Technically all of them have sinned because all are sinners." He did not get sidetracked with doctrines that were peripheral to the topic. He stayed on task. He did not lie in doing so. He did not teach half-truth in doing so. He taught the truth that was pertinent to the question. 

Disciples Indeed

John 8:31 KJV

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

When these people heard Jesus speak the Bible says many of them believed on Him. But Jesus was not impressed. His interest was not in professions but in continuance. He said if they continued in His Word they were disciples indeed. 

The goal of the witness and soul winner is not a number of professions but to see people continue in the Word of God. It is not to mark in a book how many people we have heard say the sinner's prayer, but to urge those who have believed to continue in God's Word. 

Have you believed? Then continue in God's Word. No one is a disciple of the Lord who has merely believed. Discipleship is a lifetime commitment.  We begin with our profession of faith but we continue in believing and conforming to and obeying the Word of God. 

Then you are a disciple indeed

Lecturing God

John 7:3-5 KJV

His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.

For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.

For neither did his brethren believe in him.

The account speaks of His brethren by birth, his half brothers and perhaps sisters through Mary. Jesus had conveyed Himself away from Jewry, Jerusalem and those immersed in the religion of Jerusalem. His brethren, who had not yet accepted that He was the Messiah, lectured Him

• About the importance of the feast
• About the dishonesty of hiding Himself
• About integrity of working in the open 

Each of their accusations was misguided and rash on their part. Jesus did work openly and He did attend the feast. He just did it in an appropriate time. 

Many people are tempted to give a similar lecture to God about their own situation

• They believe they know what God should do. 
• They believe they know when God should do it
• They believe they know how God should do it and
• They believe God should do it all so that  men may see it

And they lecture God as they do because they really don't believe in Him. They see themselves as gods of their own universe and, if there is a god being, His job is to serve them in accomplishing their ambitions. 

I have often wanted God to do a thing in a way that was obvious to everyone that it was God who had worked. Frequently however His work has been more subtle, usually so that only I could sense He was doing it. That sort of personal work of the Lord sorts out the phonies; those whose only purpose in knowing God is for what they can get from Him. 

There is no need to lecture God. Ours is to ask and then trust. 

Why Here?

John 6:4 KJV

And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

The mention of the Passover seems spurious and out of place to me. There is very little apparent purpose for the mention except as a possible reference to time. Could it be that the Lord leaves us this clue simply to help us keep a more accurate account of the timing of the events of Christ's life?

Robert Hawker adds a second possibility when he connects the nearness of the Passover with the magnanimous blessing of the feeding of the five thousand. He writes in his Poor Man's Commentary, "...observe, that the compassion of Jesus, manifested at those seasons, in working a miracle to supply the pressing wants of the body, and for a multitude, which the Lord then knew, and afterward proved, were none of His, in the covenant of redemption, (see John 6:66.) should be a constant source of comfort, both for the wants of body and soul, to his people, during the whole of their time upon the earth. My brother! I would say to every child of God, let nothing tempt you to cast away your faith or suffer you to be cast down with fear; both your bread that perisheth with using, and that which endureth to everlasting life, shall be given, and your water sure" 

Stand Up Testing

John 5:8-11 KJV

Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

That Christ healed the man on the Sabbath day seems to me to be an obvious thing. When better for God to do for us a wonderful act of grace than on that day He has set aside for Himself?

• That we would meet with Him
• That meeting we would communicate our needs to Him
• That presenting out needs He would grant our request 

All of that seems perfectly obvious to me

But that Christ would then instruct the man to do something that would immediately set him at odds with His world, now there is something striking. 

I find that it is the case more often than not that an early test a new believer will experience is that test that puts him at odds with his immediate surroundings. 

• It might be a friend who wants him to do as he always had done
• It might be a family member who expects a visit on Sunday rather than to understand the desire to worship in church
• It could be a habit that must be changed right away

Whatever it is, it is something that stands out, that is open, that everyone who knows the person will notice. 

God seldom allows His gracious benefits to be received covertly. 

I notice too that the first part of this test the man was forced apparently to face alone. I do not believe He was alone as God never forsakes His own. But there are times of testing when we surely feel alone. Such testing proves our dedication and steadfastness. It is no time to panic or flee from our faith as believers; it is time to stand for Christ knowing that soon enough He will send aide to strengthen and sustain us. 

Shallow, but Getting Deeper

John 4:15 KJV

The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

The woman of Samaria was where most Americans seem to be spiritually. We ask things of God but our requests are shallow and surface things, not meant to matter and if answered are at best temporary solutions to eternal problems. She, like most Americans, could only see the Lord as an answer for something earthly.

Not until we see Christ as an answer for eternal and spiritual things will we truly understand the nature of the Christian faith. 

But Christ did not quit on her. Though she was short-sighted as to what Christ offered and though Christ knew she was filled with sin, He continued to speak with her.

We must never give up on people but seek more and more to try to win and reach them.

• Their responses may seem petty and shallow
• They might frequently sound as if they mock our faith

But one or two more questions on our part; just a little more scripture, may be all it takes to bring them over to see God's truth. 

Carefully Hearken

Deuteronomy 15:5 KJV

Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

The context of this verse has to do with

• Lending money
• Forgiving debts and
• Taking of slaves

But the import of this passage is in that word "carefully". The people of God were to carefully hearken to obey God's law. 

I am relieved to know that my salvation does not depend upon carefully obeying all of the Old Testament law.

Neither does it depend upon my careful obedience to those principles of Christian walk that we derive out of the New Testament. If it were so we would all perish because, as James said, if we keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, we are guilty of it all. My soul's keeping is only in the hands of Jesus Christ. I thank God for that. 

I am also glad that my pleasing God is not bound in my ability to carefully hearken to every point.

I have not attained such am ability and will not, the Bible convinces me, until I get to heaven. 

Still there is in this phrase a missing piece of modern Christianity. We seldom carefully do anything when it comes to our faith. We have taken for granted, for so long, that our relationship with God is bound in the righteousness of Jesus Christ that we have neglected a walk that is worthy of our professed faith. 

• No, the Christian does not earn His salvation or his relationship through careful obedience
• Of course, the Christian ought to carefully hearken to the Word of God that his walk and conversation in this world is worthy of the Christ who saved him

Pray, Obey and Speak to Others

John 2:3-5 KJV

And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

What must it have been like to raise the perfect Son of God! Those thirty-some years as Mary witnessed the maturing of Jesus in the backdrop of the pronouncement of the angels must surely have aroused in her wonder.

Though Jesus had almost certainly done no miracles prior to this one; Mary seemed innately aware that He was capable of meeting this need. She brought the need to His attention and then instructed the servants to obey Him completely. 

There is something within us that knows Christ is capable of blessing, of meeting our needs, of doing what we could never do. Something tells us that if we will follow Him, though we cannot say what He will do, what He will do will meet our needs. 

• And so we pray
• And so we do His will
• And so we speak to others

Only The Word

Deuteronomy 12:32 KJV

What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

And here describes the sinful nature of man when it comes to our religion; our propensity to either add to or diminish from all that God has said

On the one hand there are those who would reject certain of the principles and lessons of God's Word. Whether it has to do with 

• Principles of separation or
• Disciplines of church attendance or
• Instructions in marriage and family life

There are those who call any attempt to observe all things whatsoever the Lord commands legalism. 

But on the other hand, there are those who would always add to God's laws their own ideas for men:

• They turn politics into a spiritual duty
• They make the ordinances into sacraments of grace
• They make a church service into a sacred Mass

We must learn to lean only upon what is written in the Word of God. Our sole rule of faith and practice is the Bible delivered to us from God. What it says must be obeyed. What it leaves silent must not be forced upon another. 

Not For Our Righteousness But For Their Need

Deuteronomy 9:5 KJV

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses urged the Jews to never forget that God did not choose them for their own righteousness but to always remember that they were a stiff-necked people. God used them because there was a need. That is all. 

It is no different today. Those God uses to minister to others are no better than those they minister to. They are simply the ones God has called for that ministry. 

We do wrong to gloat and lift ourselves in self-righteous pride at our accomplishments. Some of them are not accomplishments at all but merely the temporal work of man. We serve God

• Because he has called us to it
• Because there is a need

We have no right to snub our noses at those whose position seems to us as less than our own.  We are what we are because God made what we are. God made us what we are so we might be a help to others in need. 

A Holy and Special People

Deuteronomy 7:5 KJV

But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

There are some things that we, who are the people of God, just cannot compromise. God has called us to be both holy and special. Those things that the people of the world have dreamed up to call upon as their deities, their idols of worship simply must be shunned by the one who would walk with Jesus. 

• We must make no covenant with them
• We must show no mercy to them

This attitude if ours will no doubt elicit a response from the idolaters. They have come to love and depend upon the gods of their own making. Whether they be 

• Political gods
• Financial gods
• Recreational gods
• Moral gods
• Etc

to shun what they love will be a sign of rejection in their eyes. They will call us

• Hateful
• Mean spirited
• Legalistic and
• Outdated

But we must remember our focus; we do not live to please those people (nor to hate them) we are a holy and special people. We live to please God. 

Don't Just Do, Observe To Do

Deuteronomy 6:3 KJV

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

It is as if Moses told the people, "Ok, here you have it. These are God's commandments. Now observe to do it." 

What else is there, when the people have heard but to urge them not only to do what God commanded but to observe to do it? They were to work at doing it. They were to take measures to see that they did it. 

Those measures are laid out for them in the chapter

• Teach them to the children
• Write them in the posts of the house
• Sew them into the borders of their garments

Nothing has changed today. We know the word of God. We have it before us. Ours is now simply to observe to do what it says.