From time to time, I write about an interesting license plate that I have recently seen. Well, it happened again this morning. Frankly, it was great that I ran across it because I usually have my post written before Thursday, but this week, for some reason, I have been waiting for the Holy Spirit to convict me on a topic. It was like a light bulb went on when I was coming home from teaching several chapters of John’s Gospel to the Soul Sisters.
John’s Gospel is a stand alone book and is not considered one of the Synoptic Gospels. Rather than focus on the Jews (as Matthew does), or the Romans (as Mark does), or the more educated (as Dr. Luke does), John reaches out to everyone with the message that eternal life awaits us all. All we have to do is BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
The Gospel includes accounts of eight miracles and it is more chronological that many of the other New Testament books. It is not known for parables but focuses on discourses – explanations using real life examples to transition to an important teaching. For example, Jesus confronts a woman at a well and tells her about living water. She gets a little stuck on the idea of water to quench her physical thirst but Jesus is trying to tell her about living water – the kind that will quench her thirst forever. This requires a transition from the physical to the spiritual.
And then the feeding of the five thousand… The people wanted to follow Jesus because they had been physically fed. But Jesus was trying to make the connection that He is the Bread of Life. They would never be hungry again. Once again, a transition from the physical to the spiritual.
And how about the healing of the man who was lame and trying to get into the pool to be healed. Jesus called to the man and healed him without the need to enter the water. In other words, I can just imagine Jesus seeking the man’s attention to keep his focus on Jesus – not the physical water. It was the spiritual part that was so important.
In each of the these examples, Jesus is teaching us to take our eyes off the physical and focus on the spiritual. In fact, after Jesus heals the man who was lame, He saw the man again in the temple. This is usually a sign that Jesus is going to make an important point. And notice in the Scripture that the man calls Jesus by name – the man KNOWS Jesus. Personally, I think he has even become a believer!
Jesus also goes on to identify with His Father and speaks to the things that He is doing, just as the Father is doing. These early chapters confirm that John is telling us that Jesus is God. And when we come to believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our eternal life starts right then. We don’t have to physically die to start our eternal lives. No! That happens the moment that we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior – the Son of God.
We also learn from John that God provides the impetus, through the Holy Spirit, for us to believe in Him. God does the work of salvation, tilling the soil of our hearts. All we have to do is accept the invitation to believe – nothing more. So we can’t work our way into heaven; or buy our way into heaven. No, salvation is a free gift. Just accept it.
When I saw the license plate on my way home from the Bible study I lead for the women of the church, I couldn’t help but affirm that the Gospel of John is about one word – believe. Or, according the plate, BE LEVE. Our verse for tonight highlights this biblical mandate. Clearly, John 3:16 is one of the best places to go. But I thought it would be helpful to use another verse tonight… also from John’s Gospel. John gives us the words of Jesus Himself in John 11:40, “Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
This sums it up clearly. Believing in Jesus allows you to see the glory of God eternally. My encouragement this evening is that God wants to spend eternity with us. It’s just that simple. My prayer is that we will spread the Good News of Jesus Christ around the world, preparing people for the prompting of the Holy Spirit to open their hearts to a new and eternal perspective. A perspective not focused on the physical but clearly focused on the spiritual – a lesson that Jesus Himself taught! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…