June 12 The Mystery of Providence
"It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness to Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness to Me." Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. John 8:17-20, NKJV.
One gets the impression in reading John 8 that something like a court trial is taking place. On the other hand, one wonders who is being tried. First impressions are that the Jewish leaders are sitting in judgment on Jesus. But the more one meditates on the chapter, the more it looks like as if it's the leaders who are on the defense.
That was certainly so in the case of the woman caught in the very act of adultery (John 8:1-11). The Jewish leaders had come out strong in not only condemning the woman but also in seeking grounds on which to find Jesus guilty. Yet after He wrote a bit on the ground they all slunk off in shame. Jesus had the evidence, and there was no one left to cast the first stone except Him. He was in control. They had been judged.
Beginning with verse 12, the Jewish leaders entered yet another round of judgment and sparring. This time it centered on Jesus' claim to be "the light of the world" and that those who followed Him were in the light. That left the Pharisees, by implication, in the darkness.
At that point the Pharisees launched into an attack on Jesus that was in essence a defense move rather than one of prosecution. They argued that He was out of bounds in His claims, because He was witnessing to Himself to be the light, which in Jewish thought was tantamount to ascribing to Himself the functions of God and the Messiah. Jesus didn't back down, claiming not only that His witness was true but that His Father joined Him as a second witness. Jesus had His opponents on the defensive. Yet, remarkably, they did nothing to "lock Him up," even though it was becoming more and more obvious that it was what they desired to do.
And why didn't they arrest Him? Because "His hour had not yet come." Here we have a phrase that John uses repeatedly. All through his Gospel Jesus is moving toward His "hour." And that hour will finally come. But only after everything is ready.
There is something important here. We as humans will never fully understand God's activity in human history. Yet He in his providence is always carrying out His plan. And that providential working is taking place daily in each of our lives.
"It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness to Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness to Me." Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. John 8:17-20, NKJV.
One gets the impression in reading John 8 that something like a court trial is taking place. On the other hand, one wonders who is being tried. First impressions are that the Jewish leaders are sitting in judgment on Jesus. But the more one meditates on the chapter, the more it looks like as if it's the leaders who are on the defense.
That was certainly so in the case of the woman caught in the very act of adultery (John 8:1-11). The Jewish leaders had come out strong in not only condemning the woman but also in seeking grounds on which to find Jesus guilty. Yet after He wrote a bit on the ground they all slunk off in shame. Jesus had the evidence, and there was no one left to cast the first stone except Him. He was in control. They had been judged.
Beginning with verse 12, the Jewish leaders entered yet another round of judgment and sparring. This time it centered on Jesus' claim to be "the light of the world" and that those who followed Him were in the light. That left the Pharisees, by implication, in the darkness.
At that point the Pharisees launched into an attack on Jesus that was in essence a defense move rather than one of prosecution. They argued that He was out of bounds in His claims, because He was witnessing to Himself to be the light, which in Jewish thought was tantamount to ascribing to Himself the functions of God and the Messiah. Jesus didn't back down, claiming not only that His witness was true but that His Father joined Him as a second witness. Jesus had His opponents on the defensive. Yet, remarkably, they did nothing to "lock Him up," even though it was becoming more and more obvious that it was what they desired to do.
And why didn't they arrest Him? Because "His hour had not yet come." Here we have a phrase that John uses repeatedly. All through his Gospel Jesus is moving toward His "hour." And that hour will finally come. But only after everything is ready.
There is something important here. We as humans will never fully understand God's activity in human history. Yet He in his providence is always carrying out His plan. And that providential working is taking place daily in each of our lives.
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