Good morning! What a beautiful day yesterday!! Breakfast with a friend, then home to a day packed with outside yard work with Sherri! We got so much done and plan on getting more done today.
The most common comment from yesterday is why didn't the disciples recognize Jesus? That is a good question! We assume Jesus looked the same as pre-crucifixion, but we don't know. Maybe the disciples still didn't believe and were trying to figure out who this guy was; even though they saw Jesus in the upper room, did they still doubt the resurrection and were not expecting to see him? Lots of good thoughts!
Today we begin the Johannine epistles. Although called "letters" they may not be. 1 John certainly reads like a religious tract- there is no sender or recipient mentioned and it just doesn't read like a letter! None of these letters say they are form John! The first one is anonymous; the second two are from "the elder". The sequence is also unknown. There is no indication in the texts which was written first, second, or third! The early church assigned these letters to John, so that is where the titles came from. The style and word usage is similar to John's Gospel, so they are possibly written by John or one of his disciples. Regardless- there is some great reading in these works!
This letter begins with a similar feel as John 1..."was from the beginning". This is one link to John the Gospel author. Whatever John is writing about has been around since forever. This is real for them- they felt it, they sensed it, they saw it, they heard it. God was with them. Notice the author uses "we" in the words! This eternally existing God was with John and others...the Word of Life came to people. God made this Word physically present (revealed, manifested v 2). John intimately links together God and Jesus and will eventually add in the Holy Spirit in a few chapters. The Trinity is being established. John's desire is for the readers to be able to have fellowship with them (v 3), to be able to join them in ministry, to join them in love and spirit. John wants to build a relationship with the people to whom this letter is written. Do we, like John, desire a relationship with others and precede that relationship with a discussion of God and Jesus? Should we?
John begins with a commentary that God sent this message (v 5)- it isn't from John; this is God's message about God- not John's message about God. John begins with Light- reminiscent of the Genesis story. God is Light- there is no darkness in God; darkness results from us! In our darkness, we cannot see God and we cannot have a relationship with God; for us to be present and have a fellowship with God, we need to move out of the darkness and walk into the light- that is where God is. If we walk in the Light- get rid of our sins (or do as best as we can), we can commune with God. John reminds us that Jesus' blood delivers us from the sins that we all have- so we can walk with God.
John has introduced ideas of walking in light and being cleansed from sin- but he is not suggesting that we are sinless. If we say we are, we are kidding ourselves (v 8). To think we have no sin is deceiving to both God and us! Though sin is present (v 9), it doesn't have to be a stumbling block between us and God. Talking with God about our sins makes us right with God. A "simple" conversation with God about our sins makes things right; God forgives and we can rebuild that relationship with God that we so desire.
A short beginning but packed with some powerful words! Hope you like it
Have a good day and enjoy the outside.
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
I am thinking this has to be John because he draws me in just like when I was reading the Gospel According to St. John. And what a wonderful reminder - vs. 10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
ReplyDeleteDo you think one or more apostles wrote this WITH John? Since John says in vs. 1 - ...WE have heard, WE have seen, WE have looked upon..." vs. 2 "WE have seen it, and bear witness" and vs. 3 "WE have seen and heard declare WE unto you." Was this written as a testimony to an organization/authorities that were questioning it? The more people bearing witness to something the truer it gets???
Looking forward to all "3" Johns.
It sounds as if there is more than one author to this book as there reference of we. Perhaps there is only one author and he is writing to incooperate the other disciples? There is the opening of proving by the words that jesus existed as he was seen touched by more than one person. There is a tie of Father aond Son John speaks of God being Light Good. the darkness as being the Bad or evil and sin .
ReplyDeleteThe Light (God) can cleanse our sins because he forgives us our sins. Isn't it great the the Light overpowers the darkness !
I agree that it does sound like more than one person writing this letter but it has that John essence; referring to the Light. Vs 4-We write this to make our joy complete- could this mean that sharing their knowledge of Jesus and what has happened to him is joyful?
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds so familiar, if we walk in the light, have fellowship with one another, with Jesus, he purifies us from sin. The authors want us to admit that we sin and should not pretend that we don't. Confessing our sins puts us in a relationship with God that can only benefit us because then we are forgiven.
If there is more than one author, they may be spread out over the several chapters. For instance, John may have written chapter 1; disciple 1, chapter 2; disciple 2, chapter 3; and so on. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way that the author spoke about darkness and light. You can find God only in the light. Jesus’s blood purifies us, and our sins can be forgiven only in the light. This sounds a little like Genesis, except here, Jesus is present.
Not to be overlooked is verse 8: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” This is a very powerful verse. The author goes on to say that “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us or sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Both verses are powerful.