Keeping On Keeping On
Opening Prayer
Father, let me hear Your voice when You speak from heaven.
Read John 12:27–36
27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“He walked where I walk… he felt what I feel” (Graham Kendrick). Praise God that he understands all the demands of your life and continues to walk with you.
There is a paradox in the way John portrays Jesus. On the one hand, Jesus appears to be clearly divine. He knows the hearts of those around him and so withholds himself from them (John 2:24). He has supernatural insight into the lives of those with whom he speaks (John 4:29). Along with the seven signs, he makes seven claims using the divine name “I am….” All this is introduced by the loftiest description of eternity in the prologue. No wonder John’s Gospel became the most important early reflection on how we talk about Jesus in relation to God.
And yet John also portrays Jesus as clearly human. He hungers and thirsts,
he is weary from long traveling (John 4:6), he is abandoned and alone when
followers desert him (John 6:66), and he is moved to tears by the death of a friend (John 11:35). Where the other gospels find him agonizing in the
Garden of Gethsemane, confronted immediately with the cross, here we see
him “deeply troubled” (27, NLT) addressing his Father, knowing what is to
come. Yet, despite his foreboding in the face of suffering, he still commits himself to glorifying his Father through obedience as a son (Heb. 5:8). The Father’s thundering voice from heaven testifies to Jesus’ faithfulness—for those who will listen.
There’s a second paradox, found in John’s description of “the world.”
Insofar as this is the world that God created and loves, he gives his only Son so that those who believe might have eternal life (John 3:16). However,
insofar as this is the world that did not recognize him (John 1:10), then Jesus’ death means judgment for those who refuse to believe. The problem is not the Romans but another ruler who holds sway over the lives of those
who will not respond.
Apply
Where are you currently experiencing human frailty and vulnerability? How might the example of Jesus enable you to face this with courage and hope?
Closing prayer
Lord, I believe that You are the light of the world. Help me to walk in Your light.
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