K—Kindness

Journey through the Gospel of John from A to Z with rookie bloggers who are seeking to honor their friend, Tina.

Today we examine a story that exhibits the kindness and compassion of Jesus toward one who has erred.  It carries a message we all need to hear.

This story, preserved for us in John 8:3-11, 
is set in the temple where Jesus was teaching.  Some religious leaders interrupt Him and bring in a woman, forcing her to stand in the temple court before the crowd that had gathered to hear Jesus.

Accusers:    Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 
                    In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. 
                   Now what do you say?

We are told that this question is a trap.  Perhaps they wanted to see how Jesus would balance the two legal systems that they lived under: the Roman law that did not permit the Jews to execute someone, and the Mosaic law that sometimes called for stoning. What makes this story so captivating is how beautifully Jesus balances grace and truth and addresses the heart.

The accusers persist in questioning until Jesus answers.

Jesus:        If any one of you is without sin, let him be 
                 the first to throw a stone at her. 

Gradually, the crowd dissipates. The audience disappears one at a time.  At last, only Jesus and the women are left.  

Jesus:        Woman, where are they? 
                  Has no one condemned you?  

Woman:     No one sir.

Jesus:        Then neither do I condemn you,
                  Go now and sin no more.

It is not difficult for us to imagine the superior attitudes of the accusers, or the woman's shame, humiliation and fear.  But Jesus did not have to imagine.  John makes it clear that Jesus knew what was in the heart of man in John 2:24. We see Jesus demonstrate his intimate knowledge of others when He speaks to the woman at the well about her husbands, and to Nathaniel about the fig tree.

Here we have Jesus addressing the needs in the heart of each person present. He points the audience in the direction of humility, suggesting that they cannot consider themselves better than a fellow sinner.  Without condemning the woman, He admonishes her to stop sinning.

The tender mercy demonstrated here is breath-taking.  The gentle nudge toward humility and holiness so inspiring. The kindness from One who knows the depth of sin in the human heart, so divine!

Surely, John's word's from the Prologue are echoed here:  "we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." —John 1:14

G—Grace

Journey through the Gospel of John from A to Z with rookie bloggers who are seeking to honor their good friend, Tina.

Today we will look at a theme that runs through the entire gospel of John, the theme of GRACE.

This theme is first sounded in the Prologue, when John explains that the very character and nature of God is reflected in Jesus:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Exactly what is grace? Grace can be defined as favor or blessing that is bestowed as a gift, without being earned.

John is telling us that this beauteous generosity is part of the essence of God's very nature, so of course it characterizes His dealings with us.  
And from his fullness we have all 
received grace upon grace.  (John 1:14-16)

In other words, because of who God is, He has given us favor we don't deserve, and He will keep on lavishing that grace upon us.

Grace is at the root of John 3:16 that says that "God so loved the world that He gave..." Over and over we see how God gives to us out of His own nature, a nature of love.

Grace is the core of what Jesus was trying to communicate to Nicodemus and to the woman at the well.

Nicodemus needed to hear about grace because he had bought into a behavior-based system where people had to try to work their way into being acceptable. Jesus sought to free him from this performance trap by explaining that coming into eternal life was more like a birth. And that birth would bring him into the very family of God. As a son, he would not have to work for acceptance.  "But to all who receive Jesus, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."  (John 1:12)

The woman at the well needed to hear the message of grace even more desperately, for she had fallen to a place where she likely felt that she could never be acceptable.  But because grace is based on God's love and character, it didn't matter what she had done.  Jesus encouraged her to ask for the living water, she would be changed internally through His gift.

The GRACE that Jesus offers is really AMAZING.  We don't need to worry that our self-worth, our success, our security, or even that our salvation is based on our behavior. 

Do you know that God loves you and freely gives grace upon grace?

When you grasp that truth you can be free indeed.  Free from fear and striving.

F—Faith

Journey through the Gospel of John from A to Z with rookie bloggers who are seeking to honor their good friend, Tina.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Gospel of John is how it relates Jesus' interactions with a variety of people. Yesterday, we looked at how Jesus talked to Nicodemus, a spiritual leader who came to see Him at night.  Today, we see Jesus as the one who comes and initiates a conversation with a woman who is on the opposite end of the social ladder.  Where Nicodemus was the one pursuing answers, here we have a woman at Jacob's well who is avoiding answers.  While Nicodemus might be considered upright and moral, this woman would more likely be labeled "immoral" as she had had a string of husbands and was currently living with someone she wasn't married to.

John makes it clear that "Jews do not associate with Samaritans," reminding us that Jesus did not respect cultural barriers. Even though the culture didn't value her, He cared about this woman and persisted in seeking to reveal the truth to her—that He is the Messiah. Here, Jesus describes eternal life as water that He offers, living water that will abundantly flow from within the believer.

"Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  (John 4:13-14)

There is a marked contrast between the Samaritan woman's response and Nicodemus's.  He reacts with confusion, while she reacts with faith that does seem to spring up like a fountain from within—a fountain that refreshes everyone about her.

She testifies to her neighbors and challenges them to believe that He is the Christ. Her faith is somewhat contagious, leading her fellow townspeople to come to Jesus, spend time with Him, and then at last to believe.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony... So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.  And because of his words many more became believers.  They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."   (John 4:39-42)

John writes this gospel to bring others to faith.  Like the woman at the well, John's faith in Jesus is contagious and refreshing.  Have you put your faith in Jesus?  Are you refreshing others with the living water of Jesus Christ?