The Gospel of John (3)
Pray Psalm 2.7-9.
“I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
Sing Psalm 2.7-9.
(Agincourt: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High)
I will declare the LORD’s decree. He said, “My Son I have begotten Thee.
Ask Me, and I will give every land for You to rule as I have planned.”
Read John 1.16-18, 49; 3.11-18, 34-36; 5.19-30; 6.66-69; 9.35-38; 19.5-7; 20.31; meditate on Jn. 3.11-18.
Preparation
1. How do these passages teach us to think about Jesus?
2. Why did the Son of God come to earth?
Meditation
It’s not surprising that the gospel of John, more than any of the other gospels, emphasizes that Jesus is the Son of God. After all, John testified that to assert and support this claim was the whole purpose for writing his gospel (Jn. 20.31).
We see how Jesus as the Son of God is spread throughout the entire gospel of John. This is the promised Child of Isaiah’s visions, Immanuel (Is. 7.14) and the King and Redeemer of God’s people (Is. 9.6, 7). Jesus testified that He, the Son of God, had come into the world for the salvation of all who believed in Him. All His works and teaching in the gospel of John point to that being true.
Since the early years of the Church some have taught that Jesus is not the Son of God but merely, at best, a son of God—just as we can be by imitating Jesus’ life. But the people among whom Jesus taught and lived understood very well the exclusivity of His claims. His disciples confessed Him as the Son of God. Those He healed and blessed believed in this claim. Even His enemies were correct in saying that Jesus made Himself to be the Son of God. To deny this claim is to deny the heart of the gospel of John and the heart of the Gospel of Christ and His Kingdom.
But Oh! the joy that comes from confessing Jesus as the Son of God, of being adopted as sons and daughters of God through Him, being seated with Him in heavenly places, gazing upon Him in His beauty and glory as He intercedes for us, and knowing that because of Him and Him only we both know the Father and have eternal life with Him!
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus—The Son of God, The Christ—is the point upon which antagonistic minds stick. Like Saul.
He raged against the early Christians, but he was really raging against Jesus.
Jesus, of course, knew that, so spoke thusly to Saul:
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
And he said, ‘Who are You Lord?’
Then the Lord said, ‘I AM Jesus, Whom you are persecuting.
It is hard for you to kick against the goads’” (Acts 9.4, 5).
I find it fascinating that folks don’t rage against the Easter bunny or Santa Claus—whether they exist or not.
Or whether they are who they claim to be. Or if you believe in them or not. Tribes across the globe are not killing one another because of them.
It is Jesus Who enrages them. “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes…And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder” (Matt. 21.42, 44).
And why? Why does He enrage them?
Because He is the Son of God.
Because He is the Promised One. The Christ.
Because He is the only way, truth, and life.
Because He was given the work, from the Father, to make atonement for our sins.
He, and only He, could finish that.
“…for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—
bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (Jn. 5.36).
No one else could do what Jesus did.
Only The Savior—The Lamb of God—could atone.
“You shall know that I, the LORD, AM your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One…” (Is. 60.16).
So, “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us’.
But “He Who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
the Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
and distress them in His deep displeasure:
‘Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion’.
I will declare the decree:
‘The LORD has said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”’”
Then He gives a word to the wise:
“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way,
when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2).
There He is! JESUS. Only JESUS (Matt. 17.5, 8).
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Jn. 6.68, 69).
Reflection
1. Why is it so hard for people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
2. How has knowing Jesus as the Son of God affected your life?
3. How would you explain that Jesus is the Son of God to a non-Christian friend? What Scripture would you use?
Thus, the love of Christ must intervene for the purpose of reconciling God to us, before we have any experience of his fatherly kindness. But as we are first informed that God, because he loved us, gave his Son to die for us, so it is immediately added, that it is Christ alone on whom, strictly speaking, faith ought to look. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on John 3.16
Pray Psalm 2.10-12.
Praise God for His Son, the eternal Word of God, our Savior and King, Jesus Christ. Spend some time in silent meditation on the meaning of Jesus as the Son of God and the implications of this for you and for the world. Pray that the Lord will give you one immediate takeaway from this time of meditating on the Son of God.
Sing Psalm 2.10-12.
(Agincourt: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High)
Be wise, O kings, O judges, hear, and tremble with joy, serve the LORD with fear.
Embrace the Son, keep His wrath at bay, or you shall perish in the way.
His wrath is kindled like a flame at all who refuse to bow to His Name.
Beware His anger and judgment grim: How blessed are all who trust in Him!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast takes up the book Understanding the Times to help us in knowing how to live and proclaim the Kingdom. Our twice weekly column, Crosfigell, is well into a series on the life of Brendan the Navigator, one of the great saints of the 6th century. Our ReVision series, “The Kingdom Economy”, continues to unpack the secrets of the Kingdom. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
