In John 17:9 Jesus makes the rather startling statement, “I pray not for the world.” It seems to fly in the face of John 3:16, that “God so loved the world,” and verse 17, that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Why, then, would Jesus not pray for the world he was sent to save?

Because – as Jesus himself explains in verse 19 – “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil.” Why bother praying for people who love being evil, have no interest in being saved from evil, don’t want anything to do with Jesus, whose minds are tightly shut against any glimmer of light entering in case their “evil deeds are exposed,” verse 20? It’s like talking to, or praying for, a brick wall.

But – as Jesus also explains in John 17:6 – in amongst all those brick walls the Father had selected a few people “out of the world” and “you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.” It was in the Father’s plan to have some people recognize “that everything you (Father) have given me comes from you,” so that when Jesus gave them the words the Father had given him they would accept them, verse 8, and  know “with certainty that I came from you,” and “that you sent me.” And these are the people Jesus was praying for in verse 9: “I pray for them, I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

This is where Jesus’ attention was concentrated; it was totally on revealing his Father and his Father’s words to those whom his Father had chosen. Jesus acknowledged that it was just to these select few that the Father had granted him the authority to “give eternal life to” (verse 2), and just in the minds of these few that the brick wall of rejecting him had been broken down, and just these few that the Father had sent him to teach. And this alone was “the work” the Father had given him to do (verse 4), to teach and pray for those the Father had given him at that time.

Jesus also acknowledged in verse 20 that his work of teaching and praying for those his Father selected would continue through the centuries, because this was the way the whole world would come to “believe that you have sent me” – not by Jesus praying for the world, but by praying for his disciples.

Part 8, King Ahaz (Part 7, Feb 17)

Back in Isaiah 7:3, God gave Isaiah specific instructions as to where he was to meet with King Ahaz: “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field.” 

Imagine being Ahaz and here comes Isaiah with his son, whose name means ‘A Remnant Will Return’ – which in itself had to be a hint, because why bring the boy along in the first place? And a lad with such a strange name too. So did God have Isaiah give this name to his son – or inspire the thought, perhaps – in preparation for this moment?  

Because names really come into this story – which seems odd, though, because Ahaz didn’t pick up on any of them. But God went ahead and had all the details recorded anyway. As a trail of clues, perhaps, for us to follow?….

If so, the second clue was the name of the location. Did Ahaz even wonder for a moment, however, why he had to meet Isaiah “at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool”? The name “Upper Pool” meant “the blessing of the Most High,” so here was Ahaz standing at the end of a channel down which, in its name, God’s blessing flowed. Significant? Not to Ahaz, unfortunately. And there was more to come too. 

The channel, for instance, verse 3, was “on the road to the Washerman’s Field,” or as other translations have it, the “Fuller’s Field.” It must have been a well-known landmark, because this was where the fullers gathered with their woven woollen cloth to scour it clean from oils, dirt, and other impurities, using the agitating water from the aqueduct. They would also shrink the cloth by pounding it, and they’d bleach it too (to ‘full’ means to ‘whiten’), the end result being a thicker, tighter, smoother, stronger and more water repellent duffel coat like fabric.   

And Ahaz would have known that. Putting two and two together, then, he could have figured out why he was meeting Isaiah at this very spot. In the boy’s name was a promise that his nation would not be destroyed, and in the location a promise that God would pour out a blessing on him – like the water flowing down from the Upper Pool. And it would have the same cleansing, whitening and strengthening effect on Ahaz as the fullers were able to create in their cloth.  

Three clues, all designed to give Ahaz confidence, but also to grow him up, because a fuller’s cloth went though quite a process to turn it into functional, lasting clothing for the wearer. God was offering Ahaz the chance, therefore, to become a great king and leader of his people….(part 9, March 3) 

I imagine those who are gunning for global power, and those obsessed with sexualizing the culture, are hoping we won’t recognize what they’re up to. But anyone who’s read the Old Testament knows exactly what they’re up to. Which is probably why these power and sex mad influencers hate Christians. 

Because as Christians we believe God gave us clues in Scripture that help us recognize when things are veering off track. Like the Tower of Babel, for instance, and Sodom and Gomorrah.  

Babel represents the endless quest for world power; Sodom and Gomorrah the endless descent into sexual deviancy. In any society all through history these two things crop up as either the cause of societal problems, or the symptoms of a society collapsing. For those who think we can’t see what they’re up to, therefore, we simply reply, “It’s all happened before.” 

Babel in Genesis 11 is a classic example of it all happening before, because it starts off in verse 1 with, “the whole world had one language and a common speech.” And isn’t that the dream of some today, that there’s no such thing as sovereign nations with their own rules and culture? Much better that “we’re all one,” they say, all speaking the same language, with one central power controlling everything, like the World Health Organization dictating health measures to all nations, or the World Economic Forum dictating “planet saving” measures to all nations. 

And it has the same appeal as the Babel of old, that if people all worked together under one central global control “nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (verse 6). Which may be sincerely meant, but it always turns into a power grab by an elitist few, and all those sucked into their eccentric dreams always suffer. 

And seven chapters later is the other clue, two cities whose “sin was so grievous,” Genesis 18:20, that the inhabitants demanded two visitors be “brought out to us so that we can have sex with them,” Genesis 19:5. Like the dreadful sexualization of children today, so that pedophiles and other sexual deviants have a ready made crop of victims too. 

And amazingly they get away with it, ignored by politicians and mainstream media, but Christians know from Scripture what’s going on. And we’re not shy about revealing it either, because it’s not just us who know what these power and sex mad people are up to – so does God (Genesis 18:20-21).   

When Jesus told Peter and Andrew, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” in Matthew 4:19, their reaction was immediate. “At once they left their nets and followed him,” verse 20. And the same with James and John in verses 21-22. 

It’s amazing how quickly they changed gears, from throwing their nets out to catch fish, to the idea of throwing nets out to catch people. But a new era had begun, which started with Jesus choosing disciples to follow him. And out of the five disciples whose professions we know, four of them were fishermen. Fishing was a tough job, long hours, bad weather, and many sleepless nights and meals missed. But not a bad profession for what Jesus had in mind for them, because fishing for people would be a tough job too. 

To follow Jesus meant “following in his steps,” 1 Peter 2:21, meaning “arming ourselves with his same attitude,” 1 Peter 4:1, of not living for “evil human desires, but rather for the will of God,” verse 2. So following Jesus would mean a serious switch in their attitude, lifestyle and behaviour. Because living God’s will would become the new fishing net they’d be working with.    

Peter gives an example in 1 Peter 3:1, where he addresses wives married to husbands who “do not believe the word,” to encourage the wives that their husbands can be “won over by your behaviour when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” 

That’s the net that works; respect and goodness. That’s what made her an effective “fisher of men,” just as “gentleness and respect” are characteristic of any disciple, verse 16, so “if people speak against you they’ll be ashamed when they see what a good life you live.” Jesus has given us a powerful net. 

But like the life of a fisherman, that “good life we live” can be tough, because obeying God’s will is like heading out into choppy waters to fish. But as a fisherman that’s what you do. And it makes you tough. It also makes you good at what you do. You catch fish. 

Which is what Jesus chose us to do. He gave us a net – sticking like glue to the attitudes, lifestyle and behaviour outlined in God’s will and Jesus’ example, in the choppy waters of our culture. Because obeying God’s will is how we catch fish best.

In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter uses the term “a royal priesthood” to describe those who, in “growing up in their salvation, have tasted that the Lord is good,” verse 3. So these are people who have personally experienced Jesus growing them up, chipping away at their imperfections, so they know something wonderful is happening to them. 

And Peter tells us why it’s happening too, that like Jesus who was “chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,” verses 4-5. 

So God is building an extraordinary “house” – extraordinary because it’s being built out of “living stones,” the first and most precious of which is Jesus, “the living Stone” (verse 4). 

And what was the purpose of this house of living stones? It was to create “a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God,” verse 4. We have this picture, then, of a ‘club house’ being built by God, the members of which make up his royal priesthood, all of whom have one goal and purpose, to offer “spiritual sacrifices.”

And Peter explains in verse 9 what these spiritual sacrifices are: they’re about “declaring the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” to make us into “the people of God” belonging to him now, not to the darkness we were in before – and purely because of his “mercy,” verse 10.  

So God’s royal priesthood exists to make clear that this is God’s purpose for all human beings. He is lifting us out of floundering around in the darkness, not knowing anything about God or his mercy and love for us, to enter a whole new world where everything about him comes alive.  

But how does this new world come alive? Because it can be seen in the “spiritual sacrifices” offered by members of the royal priesthood. They are “living stones” – “living such good lives among the pagans,” verse 12, that “they may see your good deeds and glorify God.” 

Being a member of the royal priesthood, therefore, comes with the power to save others. Which is why we seek perfection in living as Jesus did, no matter how impossible it seems. Because that’s what gave him the power to save others (Hebrews 5:9). 

(following on from last Thursday…)

Jesus’ prayers were “heard” because, 1 Peter 2:23, “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God.” And the effect of his respect for his Father’s will was the power to save others (Hebrews 5:9).

Well, “To this you (too) were called,” verse 21, “because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” But if that’s our goal, to be as perfect in our obedience as he was, does that give us saving power too?

I hope so, because it gives us reason for obeying the impossible commands in verses 13-14. These are tough, agonizing verses to obey: “For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority – whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honour those who do right.” And verses 18-19, “You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you – not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment,” just as Jesus did.

Humanly I’m not very good at enduring unjust treatment, or not retaliating when insulted, or not seeking vindication if wronged, or being asked to respect loathsome leaders. To continue in that vein, though, where being conscious of God’s will is superseded by my will, I’ve forfeited the God-designed effect of respect. 

Which is a pity, because when Jesus respected his Father’s will, and accepted no excuses for disobeying it, he became a source of salvation for others (Hebrews 5:9). That was the effect of his respect. Not only did the Father answer Jesus’ prayers to save himself, he also gave Jesus the power to save others. So can that now be the effect of my respect for God’s will too?                                                                                                        

Well, James did say “the prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results,” James 5:16 (NLT). And a righteous person, according to Peter, is one who is “conscious of God’s will,” so if that’s our attitude can our prayers produce wonderful results in others too? 

Including the best one of all, that in us people are seeing God’s will being lived, because isn’t that the most important thing they need to see to get them started on the road to salvation too?  

(More on this tomorrow…)

Knowing that Jesus read Psalms made me wonder just how much the Psalms were expressions of his own thoughts, written down in advance of him becoming human. 

Like Psalm 22:1, for instance, which quotes Jesus’ words on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” So here’s an exact example of Psalms detailing Jesus’ words in advance, that one day he would recall to express what is probably the most heart rending thought we have too, when it seems God isn’t listening, or that he doesn’t care about us when people are scoffing at us for obeying and trusting him. 

Jesus was mocked for that too, verse 8: “He trusts in the Lord, so let’s see the Lord rescue him,” the very words thrown at him as he hung on the cross. And it hurt. Just as it hurt when family and friends mocked those who trusted in their God-given immune system to see them through the pandemic. 

Many people said they felt isolated and alone during the pandemic, because nobody in their circle was even willing to reason or listen to any other point of view, including their doctors. And Jesus lived through the same dystopian nightmare, where even his disciples deserted him, as did most of his fellow Jews. Only a few understood him and stayed with him. 

So Jesus knew what feeling forsaken was like, by both God and people. But he also knew he’d be forsaken, because he had it written here in Psalm 22. Did it ease the hurt? No, he still felt it, because he was human, and being forsaken hurts when you’re human. Like a teenager rejected by his peers.

Is there any solution in Psalm 22, then? Yes, and Jesus had that written down too. We will learn, as he did, that in times of desperate loneliness and abandonment, God “never let us down, never looked the other way when we were being kicked around. He never wandered off to do his own thing, he was right there, listening,” verse 24 (The Message). 

Expect to go through the same experience he did, then. Because, like Jesus, we have this Psalm written for us in advance for our lives too.

And it includes the part in verse 27, that those who made life miserable for us will one day “come to their senses.” They’ll come round and when they do, they will “proclaim God’s righteousness,” verse 31, as they too realize – that for all their bluster, pride and nastiness, God didn’t forsake them either.

The end goal seemed like a good place to start in delving into Jesus’ teachings – which Jesus spelled out in Matthew 5:48, that “you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” To Jesus, nothing less than perfection for his disciples will do. 

It seems like a tall order for either me to fulfill, or Jesus, because what he inherited in me is a far cry from his Father’s perfection. But he takes us on as his disciples to help us become perfect by his Father’s standards.

He’s like a highly skilled diamond cutter, who can tell by looking at a rough diamond what cuts need to be made for that particular diamond to shine to perfection. 

And Jesus isn’t scrimping on the cutting either. Now that we belong to him, he’s settling for nothing less than the cuts necessary to make us shine to perfection too. And where we might feel satisfied with our progress, he isn’t. He won’t be satisfied until he’s got us to the perfection he’s after.  

Or as John phrased it in 1 John 1:7, he “purifies us from every sin.” The Greek word for “sin” in that verse is hamartias (ha-mar-tee-us), meaning a structural defect or fatal flaw, which ties in rather nicely with the rough diamond analogy, because a defect or flaw in the diamond could lead to it splintering when being cut, and never being the beauty it could have been. Well, Jesus isn’t going to allow that to happen. He sees every defect and flaw in us, and he’s not about to let them destroy what he sees in us, and the final perfection he has in mind.   

And he’s chipping away at us as far as he can go before we die, never for a second letting our weaknesses and flaws distract or discourage him. His goal remains fixed, to make us into something beautiful that his Father can say of us too one day: “This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.” 

In other words, it’s a perfection in us that his Father will love forever, want to live with forever, and live in forever too, as his eternal home. And a home fit for the Father isn’t a nicely renovated house with a few cosmetic improvements; it’s a brand new palace, a thing of beauty, without a flaw. And to Jesus nothing less than that for his Father will suffice.  

Part 7, King Ahaz (Part 6, Feb 10)

So what was the point of God offering amazing signs and promises to Ahaz to boost his faith, if none of them meant anything to Ahaz himself, and they did nothing for his faith either? Instead, Ahaz went in the opposite direction and put all his trust in pagan gods and pagan practices. 

But God didn’t remove this dismal story of Ahaz from Scripture. So there must be some good purpose to it, and relevance too, that would carry through to anyone reading it in the future, including us trying to cope with the pressures of our world in 2023. God drops these clues on us, but leaves it up to us to figure them out.    

There’s that intriguing clue, for instance, in the name of the second boy sent to Ahaz, the boy named Immanuel, because that name would appear again in Scripture. It’s mentioned in Matthew 1:22-23, that “All this (the story of Mary giving birth to Jesus in verses 20-21) took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.’” 

That’s a direct quote out of this story of Ahaz in Isaiah 7:14, so whatever is happening to Ahaz has major significance for the whole human race as well. But why on earth would God drop this clue about Jesus in the middle of a story about Ahaz?  

Well, for those like me who like to take a hammer to rocks to split them open to find out what they contain inside, God offers us a hammer to split this story open for what else it contains too – with another intriguing clue: this time in the location where God had Isaiah meet Ahaz.

And it’s so specific in its detail that it has to be another clue. Because in Isaiah 7:3,God told Isaiah to meet Ahaz “at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Fuller’s Field.” So why meet at that spot in particular?

Again, are there messages in the names of the places, just like there were messages in the names of the three little boys? Because “Upper Pool” in Hebrew also means The blessing of the Most High – ‘Upper’ meaning ‘most high’, and ‘Pool’ meaning ‘blessing’. 

So what we’ve got now is Ahaz meeting Isaiah at the end of an aqueduct, or channel, down which ‘The blessing of the Most High’ is flowing. Which has to mean something, surely, but what? And is it significant for us now too?…. (part 8, Feb 24) 

(following on from yesterday…)

So far, then, we have Jesus yelling out to his Father for help to obey a command that was humanly impossible for him to obey. And the Father heard and responded because of Jesus’ deep respect for his will. 

Through that process Jesus learnt obedience – it became second nature to him, that when faced with an impossible situation he cried out to his Father for help and he was able to obey. And his obedience was crucial, because it “saved him from death,” Hebrews 5:7 – the death that any and all disobedience to God results in. With his Father’s help he was able to obey the impossible, every time, which personally saved him from death. 

But was Jesus’ perfect obedience only for his own sake, to save him personally from the death of disobedience? No, because, verse 9, “once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Ah, so now we get to the reason why he needed to be perfect in obedience to his Father’s will: because it gave him the power to save others. 

So, is that why the Father puts us through the same process? He gives us the impossible task of obeying all the commands of his Son, impossible commands like: “As I have loved you, so must you love one another” (John 13:34), and “bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely” (Matthew 5:44). And out of deep respect for Jesus and his will we want to obey his commands, perfectly. 

In which case Jesus hears our cries to him when there’s someone in our lives, or in the government, who are simply too awful for us to want to bless, do good to, and pray for. And if, amazingly, he turns our loathing and disgust into proper respect, we’ve learnt the same thing Jesus learnt as a human being, that obedience to the impossible is possible. But it’s the reason why impossible obedience is made possible – because in Jesus’ case it gave him the power to save others. 

So, does that apply to us too? We’re faced with a command that’s humanly impossible for us to obey, but in deep respect for Jesus we cry out for his help to obey it. To which he responds, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it,” John 14:14. 

That’s a promise. Jesus promises to help us obey. So having been made perfect in the obedience we were asking him for, does that now give us the power to save others as well?…

(More on this on Monday…)