Meet John

Earlier this week

Earlier this week I started writing a post on John and Jesus … mostly about Jesus, but also about John.

My blog post was birthed from a place of intimacy reading John 15 and 16. It touched me deeply. I was awakened to the fact that the Gospel of John was different from the others in that John is the disciple who refers to himself as the disciple that Jesus loved. John talks more about life compared to the others that talk about the kingdom (but synonymizing them). John talks more about the cloak of the Spirit Who abides as the Comforter, the Aide-memoire of Jesus instead of the mere spirit referred to by the others.

I started writing on how this is the Gospel where Jesus categorically prepared those who loved Him to what was going to happen to Him, the most significant event ever in HIS-STORY.

The unforeseen

My post was at an advanced stage, and the emotions and precious revelations that came to me spilled out on the screen until the unforeseen happened.

I received an email from Google saying that my cloud storage is almost full and that I should free up some space or buy more.

So I did.

I deleted those large files and videos that I did not need. I deleted large documents that I have dealt with already and would no longer need. I deleted duplicate documents, folders, photos and videos and emptied my trash folder.

And in the process I deleted my post along with the others. Which goes to show that names are important and the giving of meaningful names are even more so important.

So, I deleted my draft post that I liked.

How?

I don’t know.

All I can say is that it was the devil!

The new opportunity

But it provided for a perfect opportunity to write this post.

Even though I cannot remember word for word what I wrote (and won't attempt to recreate what I wrote), I will touch on some of the memorious reflections and revelations I wanted to bring across … and I will add … and strengthen my post. And then, I will publish it!

Meet John

John is my favourite disciple.

According to himself, he is the favourite of Jesus.

This means that John unshackles many unique truths in his Gospel. It comes from a place of intimacy and closeness to someone you love, and knowing this person, what He really is like, how He moves, what He makes, where He comes from.

John is the Disciple who laid his head on the chest of Jesus.

John sees the whole picture

He is the only one who starts right at the beginning and ends at the end. Read John 1:1. He is the only one who knows that Jesus is mentioned in Genesis 1:1 and he is the one who concludes in the last verse of the book of Revelation saying: The favour of our Master יהושע Messiah be with the set-apart ones. Amĕn. (TS 2009), directly translated, Grace is yours!

Profound!

The Alpha and the Omega (see this post).

The bottom line

Let me share a good office joke.

A while back a close colleague of mine started cleaning up his office and in the process he threw out a book titled The Bottom Line. Well, ever since when we struggle with any of our projects, we simply respond that we don’t know what the bottom line is, we don’t have an answer because we threw out The Bottom Line. 😂

It’s different when it comes to the abiding Spirit of Jesus, the Beginning and the End. Admittedly, someone would be able to reject Him and throw Him out (you have free choice, remember), but it is extremely difficult. Jesus said All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Mat 12:31). 

Blasphemy?

Blasphemy is the Greek blasphēmia, a compilation from blaptō, to harm and phēmē, to make famous (fame) and put together it means to make famous as harm. Thus, to make Jesus out as the One Who is responsible for all our circumstances, good AND EVIL, is BLASPHEMOUS!

It is to say God is sovereign and He is the author of everything that happens. That He brings crisis to teach us. It is to say that He chastises his children in whichever way He deems fit.

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1:13-15)

Blasphemy is to find evil and reject the goodness (only) in Jesus. It is to reject who He is, Goodness Personified, the Spirit of Goodness … and it is unforgivable.

John is loaded with meaning and prophecy

Back to John who tells us all these precious veracities.

It is mind-blowing that the person who tells us about the heart of Grace Himself, has a prophecy of exactly that embedded right into his name.

In Hebrew (his name has a Hebrew origin with a Hebrew meaning) John is yᵊhôḥānān, a compilation of two root words, namely Yᵊh or Yah that is short for Yahveh (YHVH), the unexpressionable name of God and ḥānan, the Hebrew word for grace (favour; stooped kindness). Put them together and you have YHVH-has-graced. John is the known name of at least nine persons in the Bible.

John is like John the Baptist. 

The person who God has graced with Grace brings the Gospel of Grace. Wow!

John prepares for Grace to be graced

I love how John spends 3 chapters quoting Jesus on Him bestowing us with His Spirit. It is the outcome of the finished work in no uncertain terms, in the most perfect way ever possible - Life embedded.

That is the thing with relationships and intimacy. If we allow ourselves to be drenched and flooded with the other person’s nature and character, we become like that person. The qualities rub off.

The similarities are striking

We see this phenomenon often when we hear that husband and wife after a certain time, grow to become like one another. Some people even take on the characters and physical attributes of their pets (!). I mean just check out social media with people and their pets!

Not different with Jesus.

And highly likely with His Spirit residing inside of us.

We cannot blame Paul saying: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

And: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor 3:18)

With insight: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Rom 8-29)

Being transformed: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)

Not of ourselves: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:6)

Totally transformed and new: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2Cor 5-17)

Finally we see

I see Christ in other people. I see Christ in me. Even if the mirror at times seems smudged or besmirched, even cracked or broken. He is there, whether I deny or accept.