John 15:7

Verse of the Day Devotion John 15:7 

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” – John 15:7  

This verse is best understood when it is looked at in relation to Jesus’ words in the first six verses of this chapter.  He starts by discussing the relationship between a vine and a branch of that vine.  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-5.  In this mashal, which is Hebrew for a short parable with a moral lesson of religious allegory, Jesus pictures himself as a vine within the vineyard with His Father as the vinedresser.  The role of the vinedresser is one who is the keeper of a vineyard.  And Jesus’ disciples are the branches on the vine.  

He then tells them that as a branch they must be attached to Him, the vine, in order to be bear fruit, for apart from the vine the branches cannot bear any fruit.  He then doubles down on this idea in the next verse. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:6. Failure to produce fruit brings a severe warning concerning the certain end of unfruitfulness.  John separates any unfruitful person from the faithful, persevering, fruitful disciples/branches and indicates that such a person is thrown away and withers. 

So, now to our focus verse.  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7.  The idea regarding the focus verse continues the theme of abiding or remaining in Jesus, the Vine, but that theme is here linked to the subject of prayer.  Jesus warned His disciples that failing to abide means that life fails. A branch only has life as it is connected to the stock of the vine; a disciple only spiritually lives as they are connected to the Master. 

Abiding in Jesus means abiding in His words, and having His words live in us, His disciples. We should not overlook the importance of the reference to ‘my words’. The teaching of Christ is important and is not lightly to be passed over in the interests of promoting religious feeling.  The connection is maintained by obedience and prayer. To remain in Christ and to allow his words to remain in us means a conscious acceptance of the authority of the word of God and constant contact with him by prayer. And being faithful, we should expect answered prayer as part of our relationship with Jesus. A failure to see prayer answered means something is not right in our disciple’s relationship. Perhaps something is not right in the abiding, and prayers are amiss and unanswered. Perhaps something is not right in the asking and there is no perception of what Jesus wants to do in and through us.  Charles Spurgeon puts it this way. “It shall be done for you: It becomes safe for God to say to the sanctified soul, ‘Ask what thou wilt, and it shall be done unto thee.’ The heavenly instincts of that man lead him right; the grace that is within his soul thrusts down all covetous lusting’s and foul desires, and his will is the actual shadow of God’s will. The spiritual life is master in him, and so his aspirations are holy, heavenly, Godlike.”

It is important that in our relationship with Christ that we abide with Him.  It pictures an intimate, close relationship, and not just a superficial acquaintance. In our focus verse, Jesus tells His disciples that drawing life from Him is essential.  In fact, one of the proofs of salvation is perseverance, or sustained abiding in Christ. The proofs of abiding in Christ, proof that one is truly saved and not just pretending, include these four things.

1: Obedience to Christ – “And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” 1 John 3:24.

2: Following Jesus’ examples – “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” 1 John 2:6.

3: Living free from habitual sin – “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” 1 John 3:6,

4: The awareness of a divine presence in His life – “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” 1 John 4:13.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

John 1:16

Verse of the Day Devotion John 1:16   

“For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” – John 1:16 

John chapter one speaks of the promised Messiah coming into the world.  First, He is the Word who was from the beginning with God and in fact was God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.  And he eventually came into this world as the promised Messiah. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14. Therefore, this one who has come to us is God in the form of man. John the Baptist spoke of Him saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” John 1:15. Now remember that John was born before Jesus was, therefore, his reference to Him having existed prior to himself must refer to ‘from the beginning’.

Then we see our focus verse. “For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” John 1:16. What does this mean? There are many interpretations as to what this means.  But after much time looking into this, I want to present this viewpoint. But we must first go into the Old Testament for some background.  First, God created the heavens and the earth.  Then He created all the animals and plant life, and ultimately man in His own image. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27. But man, disobeyed God and was then removed from the Garden of Eden and not allowed to return. Note, He did not kill them, but promised a way of reconciliation. “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15.

Then God, as recorded in Genesis twenty, gave the Law to His people.  However, again they broke His Law. However, they were given the means of repentance by way of sacrifices.  There were two mandatory sacrifices regarding sin. The first was the sin offering. The purpose of the sin offering was to atone for sin and cleanse from defilement. And the other mandatory sacrifice was the trespass offering, and this sacrifice was exclusively a ram. The trespass offering was given as atonement for unintentional sins that required reimbursement to an offended party, and as a cleansing from defiling sins or physical maladies.

In all these instances, both regarding Adam and Eve and the Jewish people, God provided grace to His people. Adam and Eve were not killed, but they were removed from the garden. And with the sacrifices, He provided a means by which they could be forgiven. But only past sins, not future also.

And now back to our focus verse, “For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” John 1:16. In verse fourteen we read, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. We see here the Jesus, the Word who became flesh, was full of grace and truth. And it is through this truth that we understand God’s grace as exhibited by Jesus. Grace used to come via the works of the law and the sacrifices they made for sin, however, Jesus took on the work of salvation for us, and we do not need to do anything but believe and become Jesus’ follower.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.

The primary focus is on this grace, as is evident in what follows the parenthetical reference in verse 15 to the Baptist’s witness. The Son is not simply full of grace; he has a fullness from which he shares with others. The verse reads literally, “For from his fullness we all (have) received even grace upon grace.” In part the image may be of an unending supply of grace like the water he will offer the Samaritan woman. The grace within the law was a grace that came through works. However, Jesus brings a grace that is a gift from God, which is infinitely greater than the former grace. This is a grace that we accept from Him which, in essence, replaces or ‘covers’ the grace that was offered before. This grace was technically offered from before creation for He knew we would fall. And remember what God spoke to Adam and Eve. “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15. The Christ will address the enemy and defeat him, and because of this, He will provide the grace we need through His death.  This is grace upon grace we now have access to grace that goes beyond what we do, and through His death and resurrection, we can receive grace unimaginable; the grace which covers all sins, past and future, through His work which completes the overall work of grace.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 9:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 9:5 

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” – John 9:5  

Over the next week we will be looking at seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John.  These signs show that Jesus was not just some ordinary man but was truly the Son of God.  Today we will look at the sixth sign which is Jesus healing a man blind from birth.

After Jesus walked out of the temple in Jerusalem to avoid being stoned, He was walking and saw a man who had been blind from birth.  The disciple asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” John 9:2. Most Palestinian Jews at this time believed sin and suffering were closely connected.  Theologian D. A. Carson expands on this idea. “In this instance, the disciples presuppose the tightest possible connection. This specific individual is suffering from blindness; therefore, some specific, individual sin must have been the antecedent cause. Because he was born blind, it must be that either he sinned in the womb (certainly regarded as possible by some Jews), or his parent sinned in some way that implicated him.” However, Jesus states this is not the case. “Jesus answered, It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:3. Jesus essentially tells them he was blind in order that God’s work might be displayed.  And this is so that the world can see who He is.

And this work must continue. “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5. The reality of God and His mercy, as well as Jesus being His Son, must be displayed as much as possible, for there is a time coming when He will no longer be there. After making this statement. He proceeded to heal Him. “When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). And so, he went away and washed, and came back seeing.” John 9:5-7. 

After the man came back seeing, the neighbors who knew he was blind and was a beggar said, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” John 9:8. They was also questioning whether this was the blind man. “Others were saying, this is he, still others were saying, no, but he is like him. He kept saying, I am the one.” John 9:9. They asked where Jesus was, however the formerly blind man did not know. Therefore, they brought him to the Pharisees on the Sabbath, and they also asked him how he received his sight. The man gave them the specifics regarding applying clay to his eyes and when he washed off the clay, he could see. But because this was done on the Sabbath, some of the Pharisees said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs? And there was a division among them.” John 9:16b. They then asked the man about Jesus. He responded by saying He is a prophet.

The Jews decided they did not believe the man had been blind, so they called his parents in asking, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” John 9:19. And they answered clearly, saying “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age he shall speak for himself.” John 9:20-21. When they finally spoke with him, they then kicked him out saying, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” John 9:34b.

Then Jesus, hearing he had been kicked out found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” John 9:25b. “He answered and said, And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” John 9:36. And here we come to the crux of the matter. “Jesus said to him, You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped Him,” John 9:37-38. And finally, He addresses the Pharisees that were there. “And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind. Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, We are not blind too, are we? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” John 9:39-41. They saw Him but refused to believe.

Instead of faith in the Lord, the Pharisees demonstrated the futility of faith in themselves. The Pharisees asked what they thought was a rhetorical question: Are we blind too? Jesus being the light declared them guilty of rejecting relief from their blindness. Every person who realizes his or her spiritual blindness becomes a candidate for seeing; those who refuse to recognize their spiritual blindness place themselves beyond help. We might paraphrase Jesus’ final words like this: “If you would only admit your blindness, you would not be guilty of sin because I would forgive it; but because you claim your own self-righteousness, your guilt remains.

The sign I see here is showing those who see the light and those who refuse to. Many were seeing that Jesus was the Son of God, and that He was not just an ordinary man.  He did miraculous things that proved He was the promised one, the Messiah, with the healing of this blind from birth man being the latest.  Those who were blind and now see the Christ will be saved, however, those who see and refuse to acknowledge the Christ will be lost.  This is what Jesus was getting across. 

And in closing, I want to put this statement from Kenneth O. Gangel where he said, “How many people enter church Sunday after Sunday thinking they must be good enough in God’s eyes since they assess themselves as righteous. Yet they desperately need the light of God’s truth to shine on their own wickedness so the light of the world can open their eyes and help them see his truth.”  

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 6:19

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 6:19 

“When therefore they had rowed about three or four miles, they *beheld Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.” – John 6:19  

Over the next week we will be looking at seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John.  These signs show that Jesus was not just some ordinary man but was truly the Son of God.  Today we will look at the fifth sign which is Jesus walking on the water.

After the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus left to go to the hills to pray. “Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.” John 6:15. John does not say He went to pray, but we read this detail in Mark’s account. “And after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray.” Mark 6:46. The disciples went down to the sea to take the boat west to Capernaum. “and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.” John 6:17.

As they were crossing, the wind picked up significantly and caused the water to get rough.  As they continued, they saw Jesus on the sea. “When therefore they had rowed about three or four miles, they beheld Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.” John 6:19. It is somewhat understandable they would be afraid, for in such rough waters they saw a man walking on these waves. Again, in the account by Mark, it gives a clearer reason for their fear. “But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were frightened.” Mark 6:49-50a. But Jesus calmed their fears. “But He said to them, It is I; do not be afraid.” John 6:20. And upon hearing Him, they were relieved. “They were willing therefore to receive Him into the boat; and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” John 6:21.

The next day, the multitude that were at the feeding of the five thousand saw something they could not understand. “The next day the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” John 6:22-25. It did not make sense that He could be over there, when He did not get in the only boat that had been there or with the disciples. 

But Jesus does not answer their question.  On the contrary, He questions their motives in looking for Him. “Jesus answered them and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set His seal.” John 6:26-27. He was referring here to Himself as the Bread of Life. “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread out of heaven to eat. Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” John 6:31-33. And then culminates with “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

There is a significant point here. Jesus showed the disciples, once again, that He was not an ordinary man but proved to the disciples that He was in command of all things, including the elements, which is something that God alone could do. He revealed this truth to the disciples who recognized His divinity and responded with a confession of faith in Jesus as God. Matthew records, “And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” Matthew 14:32-33. Interesting note, this was the first time Jesus was called the Son of God by the disciples or that they had worshipped Him. And this is what worship is, acknowledging who God is and praising Him both for who He is and for what He has done. It was in this story that the disciples took the first step and worshiped Jesus as the Son of God. And it was due to the sign of Him walking on the water to meet them.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 6:9

Verse of the Day Devotion: John 6:9 

“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” – John 6:9  

Over the next week we will be looking at seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John.  These signs show that Jesus was not just some ordinary man but was truly the Son of God.  Today we will look at the fourth sign which is the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness.

This miracle is unique in that it is the only miracle during the ministry of Christ that is recorded in all four gospels.  Jesus had just traveled to Tiberias on the other side of the Sea of Galilee and a great number followed Him.  According to John it was because of the signs which He performed on those who were sick.  Jesus then went up on the mountain with His disciples.  It is not said here the name of this mountain, but because of where the verse describes its location, it very well could be what is known today as the Golan Heights.

Now the Passover was coming up, but they remained in Galilee because of the Jews desire to get rid of Him. “And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee; for He was unwilling to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” John 7:1. There was a great multitude of people, and as they were coming, He asks Philip. “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” John 6:5. Jesus asked Philip this to test Him. “And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.” John 6:6. Philip responds telling Jesus that even if they all worked for several months, we would not have the money to feed them all. He could only think in traditional ways, and not beyond to the miraculous. According to D.A. Carson, “Since a substantial proportion of a worker’s wage went into daily food, this was, presumably, enough to provide for a family for eight months or a little longer. But the crowd was so large (v. 10) that even such a large sum of money would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Then Andrew pipes in. “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” John 6:9. Then Jesus responds. “Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So, the men sat down, in number about five thousand.” John 6:10. How was this going to work?” Now, Matthew clarifies the number of people as, “And there were about five thousand men who ate, aside from women and children.” Matthew 14:21. Based on the amount of food the young boy had, there would be about one loaf of bread for every one-thousand people. However, this did not stop Jesus. “Jesus therefore took the loaves; and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise, also of the fish as much as they wanted. And when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost.” John 6:11-12. How could there by any leftover food?  Well, there was. “And so, they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.” John 6:13. As you can see, there was a lot more leftovers than there was food available. There is no way to see this except that it was a miracle. 

Next, we see the purpose for this sign. “When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, this is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14. They saw this as proof that Jesus was the prophet promised by God through Moses. “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” Deuteronomy 18:16. And, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And you may say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Deuteronomy 18:18-22. The people find in the miraculous sign sufficient evidence to argue that Jesus is the expected Prophet who was to come into the world.

Christians should also be reminded that their problems are never too large (the “many” of John 6:9) for God to handle. Surely, Andrew was wondering, “What good are we going to do with only five loaves and two fish?” Theoretically, believers know God can easily multiply whatever He wants, to feed as many people as He wants, to meet the needs of all His people —He is God. The problem comes when we are faced with a practical outworking of the theory; we tend to doubt that God will want to meet our need. However, we must remember what Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi.  “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 5:8

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 5:8 

“Jesus said to him, Arise, take up your pallet, and walk.” – John 5:8   

Over the next week we will be looking at seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John.  These signs show that Jesus was not just some ordinary man but was truly the Son of God.  Today we will look at the third sign which is the healing at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath.

We are entering a time in chapters three thru five that lay out a shift from mere reservation and hesitation about Jesus to outright and sometimes official opposition to Him. The first point of controversy regards the Sabbath.  In chapter five we see that Jesus went into Jerusalem when the people were preparing for a feast to celebrate this import day. In Jerusalem, by the sheep gate, there was a pool named Bethesda, Bethesda being Aramaic for ‘House of Mercy’, where many would wait for healing. “In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]” John 5:4-5. Those who were sick or disabled would lie there, for as long as needed, for an angel to stir up the waters, then they would race to the water, for the first one to enter would be healed. Now, an interesting point is that the pool of Bethesda was used to provide water for the temple.

Now there was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus came to the water, He had compassion on this man. “When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you wish to get well?”  The sick man then answers, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming another steps down before me.” John 5:7. The answer this man gives is a sad one.  He was there for he greatly wanted to be healed.  However, being disabled he was unable to get up and go into the water himself, and there was no friend there with him that could help him into the stirred-up waters.  By the time he would have reached the water, someone else had already beaten him to it.

However, Jesus then responds to his answer by telling him, in our focus verse, “Arise, take up your pallet, and walk.” John 5:8.  Jesus showed compassion for him, but He provided the healing to him in a surprising way. He simply told the man to get up, taking his pallet with him, and walk.  “And immediately the man became well and took up his pallet and began to walk.” John 5:9a.  I tend to think this was a complete shock to the man, however in faith he followed Jesus’ command.  We read of a similar incident where Jesus is talking and an invalid is lowered through the roof for Jesus to heal.  And Jesus uses the same wording to that man as He did with man at the pool. “And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.” Mark 2:3-4.  Then, in healing the man, He said, “I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” Mark 2:11.

After this, the Jews came to this man. “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” John 5:10.  “But he answered them, He who made me well was the one who said to me, Take up your pallet and walk. They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, take up your pallet, and walk?” John 5:11-12.  They were upset that the man followed the leading of someone to break the Sabbath law by carrying the pallet.  However, this man did not know who it was that told him to pick up his pallet and walk. However, in a later verse, “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may befall you. The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” John 5:14-15.   

This was a sign to the Jewish leadership that He was more than just a simple man, but that He had authority over them. He told them, “But He answered them, My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” John 5:17 For this reason, the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was also calling God His own Father, thus making Himself equal with God. It did not occur to them that because a remarkable healing had taken place, they ought to glorify God for it. No, the only thing that troubled them was Jesus’ transgression of the Sabbath (as they had decreed it should be kept). The problem, of course, was that they were so wedded to the traditions with which they had overlaid the law that they could see nothing else. They were infuriated that someone had upset their cozy little empire, especially one who declared Himself the Son of God.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 4:50

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 4:50   

“Jesus said to him, go your way; your son lives. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off.” – John 4:50

Over the next week we will be looking at seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John.  These signs show that Jesus was not just some ordinary man but was truly the Son of God.  The second sign which we will look at today is where He healed the son of a nobleman who was deathly ill.

In the beginning of the John chapter four, we find Jesus knew the pharisees were greatly irritated because Jesus was doing more than John the Baptist.  “When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were.)” John 3:1-2. Many of the Jewish leadership were upset with John the Baptist and what he had done, and to find out Jesus was making more disciples than John had, they we more displeased with what Jesus was doing. And probably because of this He decided to go to Galilee and chose to go through Samaria and it is at this time that He ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well.

After this event with the  Samaritan woman, Jesus arrives again in Cana, and there He meets a royal official of Rome, probably one connected by birth with Herod Antipas.  Herod was tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to 39 AD and not properly a ‘king’ at all; but he was popularly considered one. “And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” Mark 6:14. This nobleman, finding out that Jesus was in Galilee, went to Him regarding his sick son asking for His help. “When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him, and was requesting Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.” John 4:47. Both here and in verse forty-nine this official is requesting Jesus come down and heal his son.  It appears that he is approaching Jesus out of desperation, not concerned with who He was, but having heard that Jesus can perform miracles. 

Now Jesus responds in a somewhat confrontational fashion. “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” John 4:48. And this was not just intended toward this man, but to the Galileans as a whole. The Samaritans had believed without any miracle. The Galileans, he said, were less disposed to believe him than even they were and though he had performed miracles enough to convince them, yet, unless they continually saw them, they would not believe. Then in the next verse, He asks Jesus again. “Sir, come down before my child dies.” John 4:49. Then Jesus tells Him, “Go your way; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he started off.” John 4:50. This brings out an interesting thought. God may not do it how we want in answering our prayers, in this case having Him go home alone rather than Jesus going with him.  As Colin G. Kruze writes,   “It is also worth noticing that although Christ does not grant his desire, He gives him far more than he asked. For he receives the assurance that his son is even now well. So our heavenly Father often does not comply with our prayers in every detail but goes to work in an unexpected way to help us, so that we may learn not to dictate to Him in anything.”

The royal official, after hearing the words of Christ, headed back home.  And while heading home, he was met by some of his slaves. “And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. So, he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So, the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed, and his whole household.” John 4:51-53.

This man’s son was healed. However, the story does not end there. John adds, so he and his whole household believed. His faith in the promise of Jesus concerning his son’s healing and seeing that faith rewarded led the official to greater belief in Jesus and resulted in his whole household coming to believe in him. And in those days, normally when the head of the house believed, the rest of the household followed. And I believe this was a reason Jesus performed this and other miracles, and this is a great example.  The fact that the royal official and his household believed and exercised true faith in Jesus I believe shows this may be what John, in including this information, wanted his readers to understood.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 2:3

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 2:3   

“And when the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, they have no wine.” – John 2:3

Over the next week we will be looking at seven miraculous signs performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John.  These signs show that Jesus was not just some ordinary man but was truly the Son of God.  The first sign we will look at is where He changed water into wine at a wedding in Cana.

Jesus and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana. “And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding.” John 2:1-2.  This wedding is said to take place on the third day, a note that connects this story with those in John 1:19–51. And along with Jesus and His disciples, Jesus’ mother was also invited and present. And as seen in our focus verse, they ran out of wine during the celebration. According to theologian J. D. M. Derrett, “their unexpected presence at the wedding may account for the wine shortage. Since guests were to provide some of the wine, it is also possible that the supply ran out because Jesus did not contribute, either because of his last-minute arrival or because of his poverty.” It is also understood that wedding celebrations could last a week, with the final financial responsibility falling on the groom. To run out of supplies would be a horrible embarrassment in a “shame culture”.

When the wine does run out Jesus’ mother told Him they had run out of wine. Jesus then replies, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.” John 2:4. Jesus was not being insulting by calling her woman, it was a normal way of addressing a mother or wife and had an endearing meaning. In fact, when Jesus was on the cross, He referred to Mary in the same way. “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, Woman, behold, your son!” John 19:26. Also, the phrase ‘what do I have to do with you?’ is probably better rendered as the ESV translation puts it, “what does this have to do with us?” And He explains this with the phrase, “My hour has not yet come.” John 2:4b. The reference to His “hour” means that Jesus was constantly working from a divine timetable. So, He was not going to reveal His power sooner than the Father intended. This is clarified in John 5. “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 5:30. Based on this verse, I believe Jesus received an OK from the Father to do what was necessary, for it would be wrong to perform a miracle if the time and place are not according to God’s will.

I also believe His mother understood this as well. She responded in such a way so as not to pressure Jesus. “His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2:5. Mary does not waver in her conviction that He will help by perform something to bring about a solution. Then Jesus tells the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.” John 2:7.  There were six waterpots, made of stone, which could hold twenty or thirty gallons each.  After the pots were filled and brought back to Jesus, He then told them, draw some out now, and take it to the headwaiter. And they took it to him.” John 2:8. “And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer; you have kept the good wine until now.” John 2:9-10. Jesus did act, performing His first miracle. He turned the water into wine, but He did so in a very subtle, subdued way. Only the servants, Mary, and a few disciples even knew what He had done. The miracle was to introduce the disciples to His ability, not to show off or to go public with His power. “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” John 2:11.

As we can see, the turning of water into wine was the first sign, or miracle, Jesus performed.  This sign, as seen above, helped His disciples to believe what He said about Himself and who He was; the Son of Man. “Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:50-51. Jo

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 15:20

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 15:20 

“Remember the word that I said to you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” – John 15:20 

Jesus in this verse is eliminating any surprise His disciples could have when persecution comes upon them.  In the two previous verses He introduces this concept to them “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” John 15:18. He is telling them not to be surprised when the world comes against them, for they hated Him prior to hating them.  And the reason was the message He was presenting, which the disciples will continue to declare after He is gone.  The world hated Jesus because He taught a message that appeared contradictory to their beliefs. He was essentially telling them that it was the message they hated, and because He delivered it to the world, their hatred moved to Him as well.  And because He is calling them to deliver this message after He is gone, they will hate them as well.

Then in the next verse, He clarifies His point. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:19.  If they were of the world and taught their ways, this would not be an issue. The world loves its own, and thus is a society of rebels that have turned their backs on God to pursue their own ways and desires. And these ways were contrary to what they were teaching.

Jesus’ focus was to warn the disciples that their mission would not be easy. He had told them essentially the same thing earlier. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.” Matthew 10:25. It was important that this idea be fully understood, for soon they would be on their own.  He was encouraging them to stay strong and not to give in and abandon their calling, Judas had already left to betray Jesus to the Jewish leadership. Therefore, this was intended for the remaining eleven. . “Jesus therefore answered, that is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him. so, when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. And after the morsel, Satan then entered him. Jesus therefore said to him, what you do, do quickly.” John 13:26-27.

However, next He states the opposite idea, that being “if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:20b.  If they persecuted me (and many of them did), they will persecute you also; if they obeyed my teaching (and some of them did), they will obey yours also. After Jesus ascends, they will have the same results Jesus had.  They will be doing God’s work here just as Jesus did when He was here.  If those in the world rebel and deny the message Jesus gave, they will deny their presentation of the same message.  And if they accept the truth of the message from Christ, then they will receive theirs as well. 

And He says all this because they do not know the one who sent Him. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.” John 15:21. Essentially, the peoples responses to Jesus’ disciples, whether positive or negative, are ultimately based not on who they are, but on who Jesus is. And the reason for this is because they do not know the Father who sent Jesus here.  The implication in this statement is that if they had truly known God, they would have recognized the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.  The Jews had their own perception of who God was which was not revealed in Christ, the promised Messiah. 

This is important because those of us who are saved are the disciples of Christ.  And we must understand we will be persecuted for our beliefs and at times hated by those who want nothing to do with Christianity.  However, this should not stop us from presenting the good news of salvation to a lost people. We should never back down from declaring the gospel, for maybe some will not accept it, but if one hears us and accepts the message and becomes a Christian, it will be worth all the persecution we have experienced.  This is our purpose here, and there should be nothing that prevents us from being a witness to a lost world.  Be strong and stand firm, not being intimidated by anyone.  The message we have is the most important message ever presented here and will make an incredible difference here that will last for all eternity.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

John 15:1

Verse of the Day Devotion:  John 15:1 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” – John 15:1 

Over the next few weekdays, we will be looking at seven verses where Jesus declares “I AM”, and then gives a metaphor regarding what He is.  Today, we will look at the seventh and last of these, “I am the true vine.”

Jesus is now preparing the disciples for their work they are to do after He ascends into heaven,  Judas has already left to betray Him.  They were sitting in a room together when Jesus told them one would betray Him, and He showed it would be Judas. “Jesus therefore answered, that is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So, when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. And after the morsel, Satan then entered him. Jesus therefore said to him, what you do, do quickly.” John 13:26-27. And then further down, “And so after receiving the morsel he went out immediately; and it was night.” John 13:30.

Jesus wanted His friends, not only those eleven, but those of all time, to know that He was not going to desert them, even though they would no longer enjoy His physical presence. His living energy—His spiritual reality—would continue to nourish and sustain them just as the roots and trunk of a grape vine produce the energy that nourishes and sustains its branches while they develop their fruit. Jesus wanted us to know that, even though we cannot see Him, we are as intricately connected to Him as the branches of a vine are connected to its stem. Our desire to know and love Him and the energy to serve Him will keep flowing into and through us as long as we “abide” in Him.

Jesus then goes further in verse four. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4.  He is saying that no branch can even live, let alone produce fruit by itself.  Cut off from the trunk, a branch is dead. Just as a vine’s branches rely on being connected to the trunk from which they receive their energy to bear fruit, Jesus’ disciples depend on being connected to Him for their spiritual life and the ability to serve Him effectively. And the fruit we produce is from the Holy Spirit, not of ourselves.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23.  What we do for Jesus, what fruit we produce is purely through Him, and the only way we can truly serve Him is to be rightly connect to Him in a faith and love relationship. 

Then looking one verse further, we read, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:6. No believer can achieve anything of spiritual value independently of Christ Jesus. He also reminds us that there are some who are “in” Him who bear no fruit. But these are not, as some would suppose, true branches that just happen to be fruitless. All true branches bear fruit. Just as we know a healthy, living tree by the good fruit it produces, so do we recognize fruitless branches as having no connection to the True Vine. And therefore, we read in Matthew, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-20.

In closing, Jesus was telling the disciples the only way they can bare fruit is if they rely on Him and be connected to Him after He goes.  And the same is to be said of us.  If we try to do the work of Christ through our own strength, we will not be successful, for no fruit can be produced if we are not connected to Him, just as no branch can produce fruit if it is not connected to the vine.  And He, as our focus verse says, is the true vine. He is our source of all things good. So, we depend on Jesus for everything, starting with our very life—“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Romans 5:10.  And this includes reconciliation with God through Him by which no one can serve God effectively until he relates to Jesus Christ by faith. Jesus is our only connection with the God who gave life and who produces in us a fruitful life of righteousness and service. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.