Christ Is Risen!

David Burns on March 27, 2016

Happy Easter! During this Lenten season, we have been reading through the Gospel of John together. I hope this Challenge has been a blessing to you. Each day this week, I’ve been posting excerpts from my latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.   Different religions and philosophies offer very different answers to the question of death. Christianity’s answer to death is Easter (or perhaps better said, God’s answer to death is Easter). The resurrection of Jesus is God’s emphatic way of saying that death is not the end—that, in the words of Paul, “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54 NRSV). Easter transforms our sorrow into joy and hope, our fear into peace and courage. This is what happened to Mary and the disciples on that first Easter. Jesus had been foreshadowing his resurrection throughout the Gospel of John. In John 5:28-29 he said, “Don’t be surprised by this, because the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. Those who did good things will come out into the resurrection of life, and those who did wicked things into the resurrection of judgment.” In 11:25-26 he promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” In 14:1-3, just before he was arrested, he said to his disciples, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too.” But as moving and hope-filled as Jesus’ earlier statements had been, it was in the Resurrection itself that his words were powerfully demonstrated to be true. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated his power over death. The Impact of Easter In John’s Gospel, Jesus or John mentions life or eternal life forty-seven times. That’s more than Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined. So clearly this is a big idea for John. As I noted earlier, when Jesus spoke about eternal life, he always described it not as a future state after we die, but as something we begin to experience in the present. According to Jesus, eternal life starts now. I think that means that if we know that Christ is the I Am, if we accept him as our King, if we recognize the significance of his death, and if we trust in his resurrection, we see and experience God’s intention for human life now. This Word from God, this message embodied in Jesus’ life, teachings, death, and resurrection, once accepted, changes everything. It is life-giving. The Resurrection and its promise of life after death show that evil, sickness, and even death will not have the final word. Christ’s promise in John 14:19—“Because I live, you will live too”—fundamentally changes how I face the deaths of people I love, how much risk I’m willing to take in my life, how I approach growing old, and how I look at my own death. I’m okay with death, at least my own. The older we get, and the more of our loved ones are on the other side, the more we’re meant to look forward to that great reunion. Of course we feel sorrow, we cry, and we grieve. But we do so as those who have hope. Today’s post is an excerpt from John: The Gospel of Light and Life. To find out more about this best-selling book and small group study, click here.  

Sorrow to Joy and Hope, Fear to Peace and Courage

David Burns on March 25, 2016

During this Lenten season, we have been reading through the Gospel of John together. I hope this Challenge has been a blessing to you. As we begin Holy Week, we now turn to Jesus’ final days leading up to and including his crucifixion. Each day this week, I’ve been posting excerpts from my latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life.   On this Good Friday when we remember Jesus’ crucifixion, we look forward to Easter morning, the promise of resurrection, and the hope of eternal life. Let’s begin with the touching story of Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb. Her life had been changed forever by her encounters with Jesus. Mary Magdalene was likely a single woman, which we can surmise from her name. In the first century, if a woman was married, she would often be identified as Mary, wife of . . . . If she had children she might be Mary the mother of….But this Mary was referred to as Mary Magdalene—that is, Mary of Magdala, a town on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. Not only was Mary likely a single woman; she was a woman who had had a troubled past. Luke tells us that she had had “seven demons” (Luke 8:2). A demon in the first century could be anything from an unexplained physical illness to a psychiatric disorder to an addiction of some kind. It also could indicate a deep spiritual wrestling that might have involved an actual spiritual entity. Any of these meanings could have been covered by the word demon. Whatever had afflicted Mary, she was a troubled person until she met Jesus, who set her free from the demons. She seems to have had some financial means despite the demons that had plagued her, because after her deliverance at Jesus’ hands she is named as one of several women who followed Jesus and the disciples wherever they went and supplied some of the financial resources that made their ministry possible (see Luke 8:1-3). I’ve always loved Mary’s song in Jesus Christ Superstar, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” It captures what must have been the range of feelings Mary had for Jesus. He had utterly changed her life. It is not hard to imagine just how deeply she loved him. Her love and courageous devotion to him were shown by her presence at the cross (John 19:25), by her accompanying his body to the grave (recorded in each of the Synoptics), and by her being the first to arrive at his tomb on Easter morning. She came to the cemetery at dawn on Sunday morning—weeping, her faith in tatters, her heart broken. She couldn’t stay away, but she was full of sorrow. Twice John tells us that she wept as she stood there, and as she did, she represented each of us who has lost someone we love dearly. We’ve all known Mary’s sadness—the grief that comes in waves, and the tears that won’t stop. If the death is untimely or unjust, as Jesus’ death was, the sorrow is even greater. Our hearts break. We weep as Mary wept for this man who had loved her and whom she dearly loved. The Angels Inside the Tomb In John’s account of the Resurrection, Mary looked inside the tomb and saw two angels. I want to pause for a moment at this point in the story to consider some unique features of John’s account. In each of the Gospel descriptions of the empty tomb, there is at least one angel. (The word in Greek means “messenger,” and these would look like people. In fact, Mark simply describes a young man dressed in white.) In John’s account there is an interesting detail included. He tells us there are two angels, and they are sitting inside the tomb on the ledge “where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot” (20:12). Why does John tell us the angels were sitting? Further, why does he tell us the precise location where they were sitting (at the head and the foot of the place Jesus had been)? I believe these details are an allusion to the so-called mercy seat of God—that is, the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, as described in the Book of Exodus. This “seat” was God’s symbolic throne on earth. It was the place where God’s covenant with Israel was kept. (The Ten Commandments were under the lid.) In Exodus 25:22, God said to Moses, “There I will meet with you.” Once a year the high priest was to slaughter a bull and a lamb on behalf of the people, and he was to take some of the blood and sprinkle it on the mercy seat. This seat was constructed with an angel on either end. Is it possible that John, in describing the angels in Jesus’ tomb, is trying to point us to the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection? Was he hoping we would see that this place where Jesus’ body had lain was the new mercy seat and that here, by his own blood, Christ had reconciled humanity to God? Today’s post is an excerpt from John: The Gospel of Light and Life. To find out more about this best-selling book and small group study, click here.  

The Crucifixion of the King

David Burns on March 24, 2016

During this Lenten season, we have been reading through the Gospel of John together. I hope this Challenge has been a blessing to you. As we begin Holy Week, we now turn to Jesus’ final days leading up to and including his crucifixion. Each day this week, I’ll be posting excerpts from my latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life.   The soldiers took Jesus prisoner. Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha). That’s where they crucified him—and two others with him, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a public notice written and posted on the cross. It read “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. (John 19:16b-20) Notice the sign that was placed over Jesus’ head. Every criminal who was crucified had a sign that named his crime. The sign over Jesus read “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.” Only John tells us that this inscription was posted in three languages: Aramaic, the language of the Near East; Latin, the language of the West; and Greek, the language of the Hellenistic world. Why does John tell us this? Because these were the languages of the Roman Empire; these were the languages of the world. In other words, in the very inscription meant to name Jesus’ crime, the Roman governor inadvertently became the first to declare that Jesus is the King, not just to the Jews but to the whole world. This detail leads to a really important idea for John, something that he’s been driving toward for the entire Gospel: here, on the cross, Jesus is enthroned and his glory is revealed; he is a king who embraced death to save his people. We’re meant to wonder and to reflect in awe: What kind of king would willingly give himself as a ransom, an offering of redemption, to save his people? John goes on to tell us that as Jesus hung on the cross, those nearby offered him a drink of wine. They affixed a sponge to a hyssop branch, dipped it in sour wine, and raised it to his lips. Isn’t it odd that John would feel the need to tell us the type of branch that was used? But hyssop wasn’t just any branch. Listen to Moses’ instructions to the elders of Israel on the night of the first Passover: “Go pick out one of the flock for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood that is in the bowl, and touch the beam above the door and the two doorposts with the blood in the bowl.” (Exodus 12:21b-22a) Hyssop was used to ensure that the children of Israel wouldn’t die, even as they were being delivered from slavery! Once again, John is seeking to make it clear that Jesus came to liberate us and save us from death, and the hyssop branch is one of several clues and symbols John uses to that end. But there was another use of hyssop in the Old Testament: hyssop branches were used in rites of purification (see Leviticus 14 and Numbers 19). It became associated with God’s work in cleansing his people. Thus David would say, “Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). We find two things happening at the same time in John’s version of the story. Jesus the Passover lamb sets us free from slavery, and Jesus the King sacrifices himself to purify God’s people and to save them (us!) from sin and death. We look at the cross and ask: Exactly how does this work? How can someone who died two thousand years ago save us from our sins? It’s okay to scratch your head. I certainly have at times in my life. Sometimes you’ll hear Christians say they’ve got it all figured out. They have a theory of atonement that explains it all, sort of like an equation in math. The sum weight of the world’s sin is x. Jesus’ righteousness is y. So x minus y results in our being forgiven. I don’t think Jesus’ death works like that. To me, it’s not math; it’s more like poetry or a divine drama. The way we see the cross of Christ changes, like a kaleidoscope, at different times in our lives and affects us differently. At times his death is primarily about our need for forgiveness and his willingness to purify us. At other times the cross will convey God’s power to liberate us from what enslaves us emotionally or spiritually. At still other times the cross becomes a reminder of the selfless love of our King, who laid down his life for his people. Today’s post is an excerpt from John: The Gospel of Light and Life. To find out more about this best-selling book and small group study, click here.  

Jesus’ Crucifixion in the Gospel of John

David Burns on March 23, 2016

During this Lenten season, we have been reading through the Gospel of John together. I hope this Challenge has been a blessing to you. As we begin Holy Week, we now turn to Jesus’ final days leading up to and including his crucifixion. Each day this week, I’ll be posting excerpts from my latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life.   In many ways, John’s account of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion parallels the one found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But I want to focus on several differences regarding what one might think to be minor details. Remember, the details matter in John, and when there’s a divergence from what we might call the normative tradition (the story as it came to be told by Matthew, Mark, and Luke), we may want to pay particular attention. Allow me to point out just a few of the details that are unique to John’s Gospel. Notice that in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, when Jesus is sent to be crucified he is unable to carry his own cross, hence Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service and forced to carry it instead. But in John we read, “The soldiers took Jesus prisoner. Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha). That’s where they crucified him” (John 19:16b-18a). Why did John emphasize that Jesus carried his own cross? Once again John seems to want us to see Jesus as the strong and dignified Son of God. In crucifixion, the vertical portion of the cross, called the stipe, was kept at the site of the crucifixion. But victims were forced to carry the horizontal portion, a seventy-pound crossbeam, which in Latin is the petibulum, and it became the instrument of their own torture and death. In John’s Gospel, Jesus picked up the heavy crossbeam with strength and intentionality, changing it into an instrument of salvation. It’s as if Jesus was saying, “This is not only the instrument of my death but also of the fulfillment of my mission.” Again we return to John’s text: “It was about noon on the Preparation Day for the Passover” (19:14). In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus was crucified on the first day of the Passover in the morning. But John tells us Jesus was crucified at noon on the Preparation Day, one day before the first full day of Passover. As always in John, the differing details—in this case date and time—turn out to be important. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Passover Seder is the Last Supper, and the lambs have been sacrificed and prepared earlier on the Day of Preparation. But in John, Jesus is crucified on the Day of Preparation. Why does John tell us that Jesus was crucified as the lambs were being slaughtered? Because he wants his readers to see Jesus as a kind of Passover lamb. In John 1:29 he has already introduced this theme when John the Baptist looks at Jesus and announces, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” On that first Passover, the lambs were slaughtered not to take away sin but to spare the firstborn of the Israelites from death. From that time on, the lambs were slaughtered at Passover as a visible reminder of God’s deliverance of the Israelite children from death and of the Israelite people from slavery. This is part of what John wants his readers to see: Jesus, by his death, delivers us from slavery to sin, and he frees us from the fear and power of death. How are we slaves to sin? The Apostle Paul captures it well when he writes, “I’m sold as a slave to sin. I don’t know what I’m doing, because I don’t do what I want to do. Instead, I do the thing that I hate” (Romans 7:14b-15). Sin seems to “own” us. But, like the death of the Passover lambs and the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, the death of Christ is intended to free us from slavery to sin. John wants us to understand that Jesus, like the Passover lamb, liberates us from slavery and bondage. And Jesus frees us from death. There are many metaphors in the New Testament by which the apostles sought to explain the significance of Jesus’ death, but for John this idea of liberation is essential. To make further sense of it, we’ll take a closer look at John’s account of the Crucifixion in tomorrow’s post. Today’s post is an excerpt from John: The Gospel of Light and Life. To find out more about this best-selling book and small group study, click here.  

The Trials of Jesus

David Burns on March 22, 2016

During this Lenten season, we have been reading through the Gospel of John together. I hope this Challenge has been a blessing to you. As we begin Holy Week, we now turn to Jesus’ final days leading up to and including his crucifixion. Each day this week, I’ll be posting excerpts from my latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life.   Unlike what is described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in John’s Gospel Jesus did not appear before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. He appeared briefly before Annas, the former high priest, and again before Caiaphas, the reigning high priest, but very little is said about these trials except that the priests apparently agreed Jesus should be executed for claiming to be the Son of God. Then Jesus was bound over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Pilate’s job was to maintain the peace of Rome, making sure Rome’s power was exerted in the land of Judea. The charge the high priest made against Jesus was insurrection—that he was claiming to be King of the Jews in rebellion against Caesar. Insurrection was a crime punishable by death. This charge sets up the theme of Jesus’ kingship. In John’s account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate and his crucifixion, the word king or kingdom is used fifteen times. Pilate went back into the palace. He summoned Jesus and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others spoken to you about me?” Pilate responded, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your nation and its chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.” “So you are a king?” Pilate said. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:33-37) John’s account depicts Jesus as a King whose Kingdom is not like those of this world. It is a Kingdom that transcends geographic boundaries and even time. It is a Kingdom made up of all who believe in him, follow him, and seek to love God and neighbor. It is a Kingdom of truth, light, and life. When John describes Jesus as King, his hope is to persuade his readers to accept Jesus as their King—for us to accept him as our King. His kingship comes before our earthly political allegiances. In Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, again and again Pilate said he found no basis for putting Jesus to death. But the crowd, including the religious leaders, demanded Jesus’ crucifixion. Would Pilate do the right thing, or would he do the politically expedient thing? Pilate knew that the right thing was to release Jesus, but he didn’t do it because he was afraid. What would it do to his career? What would it do to his stature? In this account, Pilate represents all of us, because at some point in our lives we will face this trial and this test. What will we do when given that choice? Is it Christ or career? Christ or status? Christ or money? What is the trial you face? Of course, in a very real sense this wasn’t Jesus’ trial at all; it was the trial of Pontius Pilate and the religious leaders. Pilate stood in conversation with the King of kings, sensed that this man was more than he seemed, and referred to him repeatedly as a king. Yet because of Pilate’s concern for himself, he sent Christ to die. He may have helped his political career, but he failed the test. Today’s post is an excerpt from John: The Gospel of Light and Life. To find out more about this best-selling book and small group study, click here.  

The Arrest and Trial of the King

David Burns on March 21, 2016

During this Lenten season, we have been reading through the Gospel of John together. I hope this Challenge has been a blessing to you. As we begin Holy Week, we now turn to Jesus’ final days leading up to and including his crucifixion. Each day this week, I’ll be posting excerpts from my latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life.   The Gospel of John reaches its dramatic climax with the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. One of the major themes in John’s account is that it was precisely here, in his suffering, that Jesus was revealed to be the long-awaited messianic King, and it was here that we see his hour of glory as he suffered and died on the cross, giving himself to save the world. The Arrest of the King It was late Thursday night of what came to be known as Holy Week. Jesus and his disciples left the upper room and made their way down Mount Zion. They passed the temple and walked through the Kidron Valley to a garden that the Synoptic Gospels call Gethsemane, at the base of the Mount of Olives. It was likely around midnight that they made this journey. There, in Gethsemane, Jesus was arrested. Let’s take note of the differences in John’s account of the arrest, as compared with the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. When Matthew, Mark, and Luke describe Jesus’ arrest, the focus is on Jesus’ human agony. Mark tells us, He began to feel despair and was anxious. He said to them, “I’m very sad. It’s as if I’m dying. Stay here and keep alert.” Then he went a short distance farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if possible, he might be spared the time of suffering. (Mark 14:33b-35) Matthew parallels Mark’s account, and Luke adds that Jesus was in such anguish that his “sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground” (Luke 22:44). But John doesn’t include any of this. He merely says, “Jesus went out with his disciples and crossed over to the other side of the Kidron Valley. He and his disciples entered a garden there” (John 18:1). Why doesn’t John include the story of Jesus’ anguish in the garden, or his prayers that “this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39 NRSV)? It’s because, in contrast to the Synoptic Gospels’ focus on Jesus’ humanity, John’s Gospel stresses Jesus’ divinity. John does not show Jesus in agony in the garden. He was a King firmly in control of his destiny. He was the Divine who, with strength and dignity, approached his destiny. Only in John are we told that a cohort of armed Roman soldiers came to arrest the unarmed Jesus. A cohort was approximately six hundred soldiers (though the term could occasionally be used for as few as two hundred). Picture six hundred police officers showing up to arrest someone. John’s mention of the size of the arresting force is likely intended to show the perceived threat Jesus represented. John reports what took place next: Jesus knew everything that was to happen to him, so he went out and asked, “Who are you looking for?” They answered,  “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I Am.” (Judas, his betrayer, was standing with them.) When he said, “I Am,” they shrank back and fell to the ground. (18:4-6) This detail is not found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. The words “I Am” in Greek—ego eimi—are roughly equivalent to the Hebrew word Yahweh—a personal name for God that means “I am that I am” or “I am life (or being) itself.” When Jesus spoke that name, the soldiers shrank back and fell to the ground. Why? What does John intend for us to understand by including this detail? Once more in this passage, Jesus was identifying with God, and at his words the soldiers retreated in fear. By depicting the scene in this way, John captures the authority, courage, and hidden identity of Jesus. In the garden, the six hundred soldiers shrank back as Jesus, the mighty King, willingly presented himself for arrest. This was hardly Jesus in anguish throwing himself to the ground, asking for the cup to pass from him, as he is portrayed in other Gospels. In fact, in John’s account Jesus said to his disciples, “Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11b). Both pictures of Jesus are important, but here John wants us to see Jesus’ divinity and to understand that Jesus was in complete control of the situation. Today’s post is an excerpt from John: The Gospel of Light and Life. To find out more about this best-selling book and small group study, click here. Above image is of an ancient olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane.  

Take the Challenge to Read Through John This Lenten Season

David Burns on January 28, 2016

So many people “give up” things for Lent: sweets, sodas, favorite TV shows. How about “taking on” something new this year? Join me in establishing a new habit—reading through a Gospel each year. The Lenten season is the perfect time to read through the Gospel of John. We’ll get started on Ash Wednesday on February 10 and read together for 40 days. To guide you through John, I’ve written a new book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life. This book is divided into 6 chapters to help you explore the major themes of the Gospel and is meant to be read alongside the Scripture. With that in mind, the entire text of John is included. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a portion of the Gospel, and if you read each portion after you read the chapter, by the end of the book you will have completed the Gospel of John. I’m also encouraging congregations to begin preparing now for the Lenten season.  I believe that when an entire church reads through the Gospel of John together during Lent they will find the light and life John’s gospel promises. We have created several resources to help you and your church as you read through the Gospel of John. You can find those here. Today’s post is an excerpt from Chapter Three, “The ‘I AM’ Sayings of Jesus” in John: The Gospel of Light and Life. Jesus’ Words, “I Am The Light of The World”  John’s gospel records a number of “I Am” sayings of Jesus.  Among the best known, and one we marked by candlelight at Christmas Eve is this one, “Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12). The context of this passage may be important in appreciating the statement. We read in John 7 that Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Festival of Sukkot. Sukkot is a Hebrew word meaning huts or booths; hence, the celebration is often called the Festival of Booths. This is a fall harvest festival in which the people erected (and Jews to this day continue to erect) tents (or temporary outside structures) to remember Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness, a time in which the people lived in tents or “booths.” The forty-year period is described in the Book of Exodus: “The Lord [Yahweh] went in front of them during the day in a column of cloud to guide them and at night in a column of lightning to give them light. This way they could travel during the day and at night” (Exodus 13:21). In the time of Jesus, on the first night of the Festival of Sukkot, four giant lampstands seventy-five feet tall, each with four golden bowls at the top, were erected in the Court of the Women at the Temple. The bowls were filled with oil, and multiple wicks made of fabric were inserted into the bowls and lit. It was said that the light from these lampstands dramatically illuminated Jerusalem. These lamps were visible reminders of the column of light by which God guided the Israelites and reassured them as they sojourned in the wilderness. It was at this festival, in the Temple courts where the lampstands stood, that Jesus made this “I AM” saying: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” In framing the story this way, John wants us to understand that Jesus came to guide those who believe in him through the darkness. He came to dispel the darkness. He came to be our light in the midst of the darkness. This “I AM” saying draws upon so many Old Testament Scriptures. We can find 180 or more references to light in the Old Testament, many of which may have been behind Jesus’ “light of the world” statement. Psalm 27:1 proclaims, “The Lord [Yahweh] is my light and my salvation. Should I fear anyone?” In Psalm 104:2, the psalmist sings to God, “You wear light like a robe.” The prophets repeatedly speak of God bringing light to the people, as with the memorable words of Isaiah 9:2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.” The early church saw in this passage a prophetic word about Jesus. Isaiah 60:19 points to a time when “the sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the moon shine for illumination by night; the Lord will be your everlasting light; your God will be your glory.” Both in Scripture and in literature from the Dead Sea Scrolls, written just before the time of Christ, we find that themes of darkness and light were prominent in Judaism. Darkness represents spiritual blindness, lostness, and also evil. In John, when we believe in Jesus our eyes are opened, and suddenly we see ourselves and the world in his light. In the Synoptic Gospels, the light metaphor shifts. Jesus does not say, “I am the light of the world” but instead says to his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. . . . Let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16). Both statements are true, and at our Christmas Eve candlelight services, we always link the two together. We light the Christ candle in the midst of the darkened room, showing that Jesus is the light of the world. Then we take the Christ candle and light all our candles from it, signifying that our lives have received the light of Christ. In doing so, we remember that we are called to leave the candlelight service and take the light of Christ to others. To find out more about the light Christ brings, and to explore the other “I Am” sayings of Jesus in John’s gospel, check out John: The Gospel of Light and Life and read the Gospel of John this Lent.

The Lenten Challenge Begins Soon; Are You Ready to Read Through John?

David Burns on January 21, 2016

I hope you’re planning to join me in reading through the Gospel of John during the Lenten season this year. We’ll get started on Ash Wednesday on February 10 and read together for 40 days. To guide you through John, I’ve written a new book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life. This book is divided into 6 chapters to help you explore the major themes of the Gospel and is meant to be read alongside the Scripture. With that in mind, the entire text of John is included. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a portion of the Gospel, and if you read each portion after you read the chapter, by the end of the book you will have completed the Gospel of John. What if your entire church, or even just your small group, committed to read the entire Gospel of John together this Lent, and to take an in-depth look at the major themes in the gospel?  At Resurrection we’re anticipating this study will deepen our faith and unify our church. We have created several resources to help you and your church as you read through the Gospel of John. You can find those here. Today’s post is an excerpt from Chapter Two, “The Miraculous Signs of Jesus” in John: The Gospel of Light and Life. Changing Water Into Wine John calls the miracles of Jesus “miraculous signs.” A sign points toward something else. Scholars often refer to John 2 through 12 as the “Book of Signs.” John’s stories of Jesus are intended to have a deeper meaning, which answers the questions, Who is this man Jesus? How does he affect my life? What is required of me? Today, we’ll focus on Jesus’ first miraculous sign in John 2:1-12—turning water into wine—and how we might study it to find deeper meaning. Jesus and his disciples had been invited to a wedding, and a wedding banquet followed. Jewish wedding banquets in the first century are thought to have lasted seven days. These occasions were then, as weddings and wedding receptions are today, among the great moments in the life of a family and one of the most joyful times in any community. It’s for this reason that the Bible often associates heaven with a wedding banquet. But remember, there is a deeper meaning to John’s stories. This story is not only about Jesus providing wine for a wedding but also about the life he offers to each of us. At the wedding banquet described in John 2, the wine ran out. This was terribly embarrassing for the host. Remember, at that time water was not always safe to drink, and people often drank wine at every meal. Wine offerings were made to God as a sign of life and joy and goodness. And though some passages of Scripture warn about drunkenness, there also are many that portray wine as a good part of life. (There are over 250 references to wine in the Bible, and most are positive.) In the story, Jesus’ mother came to Jesus and told him the wine had run out. Then she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them. We don’t know that Mary was expecting a miracle at this point, only that Jesus was going to make sure the wine problem was solved. I think she may have imagined Jesus going with them to the local wineseller to purchase more wine. With this in mind, she gave instructions to the servants at the wedding banquet. But remember, John’s stories of Jesus are intended to have a deeper meaning. Here’s a question that might help you see the deeper meaning here: Who are Christ’s servants today? The answer: we’re his servants. Now, listen again to verse five: “His mother told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” Note that when the servants did as they were told, a miracle occurred—water was changed to wine; the ordinary was converted to the extraordinary. John may have been saying, similarly, that if all of us do as Christ tells us, then our ordinary lives can become extraordinary. You might say, “Is that really what John meant?” We can’t be sure, but so much of John’s writing has multiple levels that the little clues and phrases may well point to this deeper meaning. The servants didn’t just fill the jars; they filled them “to the brim.” I think John is telling us that Jesus wants to fill us up completely. We’re meant to be overflowing, as a cup “runneth over.” Remember, the overarching theme of this Gospel is that we might have life in Christ’s name. Notice that the wine Jesus created from the water was not just any wine, but the really good wine. And not just a little, but a lot: perhaps 150 gallons! The wine that Jesus created was better than the wine the guests had been drinking before. John wanted us to see that the life Jesus offers is richer, deeper, and of a higher quality than the life we live apart from him.  To find out more about the meaning of Jesus’ transformation of water into wine, and the point of the other miraculous signs recorded in John’s gospel, check out, John: The Gospel of Light and Life and read the Gospel of John this Lent!

The Lenten Challenge: Read and Study the Gospel of John

David Burns on January 14, 2016

Last week I issued the Lenten Challenge. I hope you’ll join me this year for a 40-day read-through of the Gospel of John. Lent begins in a few weeks on Ash Wednesday on February 10 and runs for 40 days. My latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life, is divided into 6 chapters to help you explore the major themes of John. It is meant to be read alongside the Gospel. With that in mind, the entire text of John is included. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a portion of the Gospel, and if you read each portion after you read the chapter, by the end of the book you will have completed the Gospel of John. I’m also encouraging congregations to begin preparing now for the Lenten season.  I believe that entire congregations will find reading through a Gospel during Lent an unifying and deeply spiritual experience. We have created several resources to help you and your church as you read through the Gospel of John. You can find those here. Today’s post is an excerpt from Chapter One, “The Word Made Flesh” in John: The Gospel of Light and Life. Light Shining in the Darkness What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. (John 1:3b-5) Permeating John’s Gospel are two ideas: light and life. Light is a metaphor for several things and is always understood over and against darkness. Sometimes darkness is synonymous with spiritual blindness or a failure to understand what it means to be human. Sometimes darkness refers to evil. Jesus came to dispel the darkness. He came to be the light for us. At our Christmas Eve services at Church of the Resurrection, we turn off all the lights and stand in the darkness. Babies cry and people cough and little children squirm, and it’s uncomfortable for a while. In the darkness we talk about the darkness we experience at times in our lives. Then we bring in one candle from the back of the room. This candle represents Jesus. We read the Prologue of John and remember that Jesus came to bring light to our darkness. He dispels the darkness. You’re likely familiar with the service: each person has a candle, and we pass the candlelight throughout the room, saying to one another, “The light of Christ.” Soon the entire room is filled with light. John would be pleased, for it captures a premise of his Gospel: Christ came to push back the darkness in our world and in our lives. We can’t appreciate the light until we recognize the darkness. We see darkness in the news when we read about another act of violence in a school, a movie theater, a community square. We see it in the natural disasters that leave communities in chaos. We see it in the terrorist attacks and the heinous crimes committed against humanity, sometimes in the name of God. For some, the darkness comes when our spouse leaves or we lose our job or we receive a frightening diagnosis. And, of course, all of us walk through the valley of darkness when someone we love dies. These are all expressions of the darkness into which Jesus offers light, comfort, healing, and hope. In John, darkness is a metaphor not only for evil, despair, and hopelessness, but also for losing our way. Those who walk in darkness are lost and blinded by sin. Jesus is the light that can guide us, helping us see the way by the things he taught and by what he showed us in the example of his life. He showed us forgiveness and love and grace. He showed us compassion and kindness and mercy. He not only removes our sin, he shines a light on the path we’re to take. Jesus embodies the words of the psalmist: “Your word is a lamp before my feet and a light for my journey” (Psalm 119:105). I’m reminded of times when I’ve taken cave tours, and I was so grateful for the guides who held flashlights and helped us navigate through the darkness. We are followers of Jesus as he illuminates the way we’re meant to follow. You know the way: loving God and neighbor, forgiving others, loving enemies, speaking truth, showing compassion. In his Prologue, John reminds us that human beings at times love the darkness rather than light. But he also makes clear that the darkness could not overcome Christ’s light. When we walk in the light of Christ, when we listen to, hear, and accept God’s Word, we have life. Jesus came to be the light for us so that we, as his followers, might in turn be light for others. As those who have the light of Christ and walk in the light of Christ, our task is to dispel the darkness—to bear the light of Christ and embody his light. To read more about why John uses the metaphors of light and darkness, and what it means to walk in the light of Christ, check out John:  The Gospel of Light and Life and read the Gospel of John this Lent.

Take the Lenten Challenge: Read and Study John This Lent

David Burns on January 7, 2016

It’s the first full week of 2016—a fresh start to a new year. While you may have made any number of “resolutions” this month, I’d like to offer you a challenge that will help you establish a new habit that will transform your life. Commit this year to reading through at least one of the Gospels. Specifically, I challenge you to a 40-day read-through of the gospel of John during Lent. Believe it or not, the Lenten season is only a few weeks away. Ash Wednesday is February 10 and is the start of Lent, which runs for 40 days until we celebrate Palm Sunday on March 20, followed by Easter Sunday on March 27. How will you observe Lent this year? The gospel of John is the perfect Lenten companion. My latest book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life, will help you on your journey. This book is divided into 6 chapters to help you explore the major themes of John. It is meant to be read alongside the Gospel. With that in mind, the entire text of John is included. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a portion of the Gospel, and if you read each portion after you read the chapter, by the end of the book you will have completed the Gospel of John. Each year at the Church of the Resurrection we challenge the entire congregation to read through one of the gospels, often during the 40 days of Lent.  This year our congregation will be studying John together with sermons each week from John, and our small groups studying John together.  We have created several resources to help you and your church as you read through the Gospel of John. You can find those here. Over the next few weeks I’ll be publishing excerpts from my new book, John: The Gospel of Light and Life, here on my blog.  Recently I had an hour-long video conversation with Shane Raynor at Ministry Matters about John. You can view that conversation by clicking here or on the image above. In John 20:31 we read, “These things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.”  My hope is that the Gospel of John will help you to grow deeper in your faith and that through your study of this gospel you will find life in Christ’s name. Today’s post is an excerpt from the Introduction to John: The Gospel of Light and Life. Introducing John: The Gospel of Light and Life John is unique among the Gospels. We call Matthew, Mark, and Luke the Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic is a Greek word that means “to see together,” and it is appropriate here because these three Gospels are very similar. They share much of the same material and general outline of Jesus’ life. John’s portrayal of Jesus is markedly different from that of the Synoptics. Many of the events recorded in John are not found in the Synoptic Gospels. John’s Gospel is largely set in and around Jerusalem, whereas the Synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. Jesus sounds different in the Synoptic Gospels, where he speaks in parables and in a straightforward, plainspoken way. But in John, Jesus speaks in metaphors that are more obscure. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus describes the kingdom of God and the ethical imperatives demanded in the Kingdom. (The Kingdom is mentioned seventy-five times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.) In John’s Gospel, the focus is not on the kingdom of God (only mentioned twice), but on Jesus himself as the one who reveals God. The author of John presents Jesus as the source of life, and he wants to be sure we “get” this. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus calls people to follow him. In John, Jesus calls people to believe in him and to abide in him. Both following and believing in Jesus are important dimensions of Christian discipleship. Clearly, we need the insights and invitation of both John and the Synoptics. None of the Gospels are, strictly speaking, biographies of Jesus. But John’s Gospel, more than any of the others, is something of a spiritual or theological commentary on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We’re not meant to read it as a journalist’s or biographer’s account of Jesus’ life. In John, details of events and even the words of Jesus are not so much about what actually happened, though clearly they are rooted in what actually happened. Instead they are about the meaning—the spiritual significance—of Jesus’ life. For this reason, I believe, Clement of Alexandria (a.d. 150–215) described John as “the spiritual Gospel.” To find out more about why John wrote his gospel, how it differs from the Synoptic gospels, and the spiritual significance he hopes his readers will see, check out John: The Gospel of Light and Life and read the Gospel of John this Lent.