The True Messiah (John 1:6-9)

Imagine you are attending a seminar, a conference or a talk by someone popular.  Or imagine you are watching the Oscars.  Have you notice how much effort the organizers exert to identify the presenter of the Key Speaker or the Best Actor or Actress?  Did you notice all the efforts they have to put in so that they can introduce that special person, that Best Actor or Actress, that Key Speaker very well?  For the Oscars alone, the presenter is almost always an A-Lister in Hollywood.  That’s how special the message is.  That’s how special the person who is about to be introduced.  And it’s never about the presenter.

Just recently, I was invited to deliver the commencement address to the graduating class of my elementary school.  The Principal and almost all the teachers went to our home to talk to me and my parents.  Probably to get a glimpse of how I am at home or the kind of person before the eyes of the people who know me and are close to me.  They asked questions about my current work, the works I had, the schools I’d been, awards, affiliations, etc.   These people wanted to know a little more about me before they present me to the graduating class – before I give my message. 

I think there’s more than just courtesy in there.  I believe that what they've done was due diligence.  Those people wanted to know me better so they can introduce me better.  But to make their work a bit easier, I asked my wife to draft the introduction and gave it to the school as guide.  Who would know me better than the very person I spend all of my time and secrets with. 

Join me as we take a first look on how Jesus was introduced by John the Baptist.

†In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“God sent John the Baptist to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.  John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light.  The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world.”  (John 1:6-9 NLT)

John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin from His mother’s side.  John was a little older than Jesus - by merely three months.  If you are like me who grew up in the province and with closed family-ties, then you might be close to your cousins as well.  Jesus and John did not come from well-off families.  Probably, they grew up together.  I Imagine Jesus and John as kids, playing in the dirt during summer and enjoying themselves running and dancing together under the rain.  I can even imagine the two of them talking about the pretty girls they meet.  They are both humans after all.  I don’t know what was John’s profession but I know Jesus became a carpenter.  They are about thirty years old when something happened.  John was called to be in the wilderness.  He threw off his clothes and dressed in camels’ hair instead.  His food?  Locusts and honey.  John became a mad man in our today’s standard.  A crazy one crying out for the people to repent and turn away from their sins for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Imagine you are in a country under foreign rulers and your prophets of early days promised you of a deliverer, a Messiah that will liberate your nation.  Scholars said that during this time in Jesus’ life, there were a lot of people who claimed that they were the promised Messiah – the one promised to unite and rule the kingdom of God just as David did in his time.  Many of these so called messiahs failed.  Of course we know, that because we know who the True Messiah Is.  

So during those times, John was so bold asking people to turn away from their wicked ways.  Could he just be another one of those so-called messiahs?  Probably that was what the people were asking then.  They came to the Jordan River to see John the Baptist and hear his message.  Many believed in him because we know he had his own disciples.  But I still believe there were skeptics who went there to question if John’s message was true?  If he is the promised prophet who will come before the Messiah?  Or if he is the promised Messiah?  John became popular those days.  We can almost see him both as a hero to his people and a threat to the rulers of that time.  He might have won a few friends but he certainly had a lot of enemies.

People who were desperate for a savior, people who wanted liberation from the foreign rulers, people who were tired of poverty, hunger, illness, and persecution were looking for miracles – looking for hope.   And they thought they found it by the Jordan River through John the Baptist. 

But from among the many nameless faces in the crowd gathering around John, his beloved cousin came silent as a cat.  John was a flickering light of hope during those times, but a “nameless face in the crowd” would change that forever.  John was about to become a channel of a Divine Message far greater than what he had been preaching all this time.  The True Light was about to reveal Himself to the world through “mad-man John.”  And what makes John special to be called as the presenter of the True Light of the World was not any of his heavenly visions or divine appointments, but because he was related to Him by blood.  They were childhood friends.  They probably grew up together.  They knew each other well.  That what makes John the Baptist special to be called to announced the forthcoming salvation. 

In our world today, we see a lot of “John the Baptists.”  These are the people who preach about Jesus.  We see them on televisions, on concert halls, on lavished buildings, hear them on the streets, on radio, and read about them and their messages on books, magazines and the internet.  Today, they no longer shout in the wilderness.  They no longer wear clothes of camel hairs nor eat locust and honey.  Today, many of them wore expensive designer clothes, eat delicious foods and drink the best wines.  They no longer sleep in caves of the wilderness because they own big and grand houses. 

These modern John the Baptists still shout the same cry the first John shouted about 2000 years ago.  “Prepare a straight pathway for the Lord’s coming (Jn. 1:23).”  We hear them alright, but like the people of the old, some of us listened and act, some just stood and wonder.  Is it because we grew too used to their messages or is it because they don’t really know this Jesus they are talking about?

Next time we hear of a modern John the Baptist, care to take some time to listen to his message.  Does he really know who is this Jesus he is referring to?  Would he trade everything he has, put on a camels’ hair as robe, eat locusts and honey, and live in caves to get his message across?  I’m sure there are some who will.  But many will fold.  Why?  They really don’t know who Jesus is because they never had the experience to sing and dance and cry with Him out in the rain. 

Test these voices that cry-out in the wilderness.  There is only One True Light – and He’s not one of them.  So before you put your trust in that flickering light in the dark; listen, think, and search for the One Who Gives Light to Everyone – that’s Jesus and there’s no one else. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen! †

Christ the Divine (John 1: 1-5)

Let us begin our journey by walking through and with the Bible.  Our first stop, the Gospel according to John. 

It is believe that the author John is the same Apostle often described as the Disciple whom Jesus loved.  According to Bible Commentary by Matthew Henry, the Gospel and Epistles of John were written in Ephesus about 97A.D.  Therefore, putting it much later than the time John wrote the Revelation, while he was exiled in the island of Patmos. 

We picked John, as suggested by many Bible scholars, for us to have a glimpse of understanding of the true nature of Jesus before we proceed to other books in the Bible. 

† In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

John 1:1-5:

“In the beginning the Word already existed.  He was with God, and He was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  He created everything there is.  Nothing exists that He didn't make.  Life itself was in Him, and this life gives light to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (NLT)”

In his commentary, Henry said that “the plainest reason why the Son of God is called the Word, seems to be, that as our words explain our minds to others, so was the Son of God sent in order to reveal His Father’s mind to the world.”

So what’s in God’s thought that He wants us to know?

Clearly, we can see that Jesus did not just exist some 2,000 years ago, but even before the beginning of time.  Jesus, we know is a Man because we know that He lived as a man and died as a man.  But this passage shows that He is God even before He became man.  If we will go back to the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, we will learn that God created everything.  But in here, we are given a different version of that story – that “nothing exists that He (the Word, referring to Jesus) didn't make” and that “He created everything there is.”  Therefore, if we follow a simple logic, then the Word who created everything and who was with God before the beginning and at the same time is also a God, must be the same God of Genesis. 

John, and in relation with Genesis alone, solves the mystery of the Trinity, or at least the Father and the Son being One.  If the Son is God and the Father is God, then there are two Gods – “He was with God, and He was God.”  But the entire Bible tells us that there is only ONE TRUE GOD, even Jesus said this.  How can, then, a God be with “another” God at the time of creation?  Must be, God the Son is in God the Father.  That’s “two person” being One at the same time.  The unity of the Father and the Son – both God, both Creator. 

It is very difficult to comprehend because we are trying to picture out God in the image of man and within the bounds of the physical realm.  Physics, we know, rules that a matter can only occupy one place at a particular time.  Therefore, in the physical world, which we try to use to understand the nature of God, it will be impossible to have two God in One Being.  But God is, and forever will be, outside the boundary of the physical world, which in the first place, He created.  How can you fit the Creator in His creation?  How can you limit the Creator within the properties of His creations.  If the nature of God will be too small to “fit” into our understanding, then, how was He able to formulate and maintain the entire creation as it was, as it is today, and as it is in the future?

By the moment we realize that Jesus, the bringer of Good News, is the same God who created everything, wouldn't we be grateful to know of His awesome power?  Wouldn't you put your trust in Him?

Jesus, the One who holds Life in Him, came into the world and every moment knocks on our doors to share the Life that gives light to everyone.  When are we going to open that door for Him?  If you know that someone is at your doorstep, willing to give you this kind of Light that no darkness can ever extinguish, will you not let Him in?  How long will we stay in darkness if we know that Jesus holds the life that gives light to everyone?

Jesus - God, Creator, Bringer of Life and Inextinguishable Light – is standing at the doorsteps of our hearts, knocking, will we let Him in? 

Amen! Lord Jesus, come in to our lives. 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. †

Classes (Re)Start

Most of the schools here in the Philippines opened today.  In my younger days, I always looked forward at the beginning of the school year.  New notebook... new... ?? I think that’s all I had then.  I never had problems using old bags or clothes or even recycled notebooks from the previous years.  New or old, it didn't matter.  All I needed was something I could use.  But of course I wanted something new every start of the year. 

It’s a different feeling when you hold in your arms something new.  It gives you renewed hope that this time it will be better than the last one.  Something new is something you will always look forward to, something you will love sharing and talking about. What’s new inspires you.  What’s new excites you.  But sometimes, it is not always that something or someone “NEW” that will give you the needed inspiration, the needed excitement.  Sometimes, it is the old one being rediscovered.  Finding something different, understanding it deeper, and appreciating it more will lead you to greater joy and happiness. 

The same goes with faith as it is with other things.  You are searching for something that will give you more meaning, more purpose.  You look for answers to your questions and instead of finding the answers, you find alternative “fixes.”  Good for you if can find the answer from a different path.  But better if you can care enough to study more and learn what’s already there.  Sometimes, the answers we’re looking for is not from without but kept within.  Sometimes, change is not even necessary.  Maybe it is just a little effort to look deeper, listen more intently. 

As we’ve invited you in the past articles, please join us as we take this journey of (re)discovering Jesus.  Join us as we take small, baby steps towards Him and get to know the Son of Man better. 

For our reference, we decided to use the New Living Translation (NLT) version of the Bible (©1996), not for any other particular reasons, but merely for easier understanding of the words.  We are still babies, you know, so we need to take “soft” foods for now. 

This is not a philosophical or theological or religious journey.  This is just about a man trying to rediscover his faith in One Man named Jesus.  This is just about a man being in front of the Divine as he tried to see a glimpse of His glory. 

Who is This Jesus?

“Jesus?  Jesus who?”

“Hi! My name is Jesus and I came from Galilee.  My trade?  Oh, yes, I am a carpenter.  I inherited a shop from my father Joseph. But, actually, I don’t do much carpentry nowadays.  I’ve been roaming around the countryside, with my small group of friends, talking to people, giving them hope and preaching the good news of God’s salvation.  We don’t have a regular place to stay, so no permanent address. We are usually seen dining with the poor, the outcasts of the society, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the lowest of the lows and the poorest of the poor.

“From time to time, we heal the sick, cast out demons, bring dead man back to life, feed five thousand men and a lot more that most people would call miracles.  Well, scholars of the law, priests, leaders of the church and of the cities call us enemies of the religion and threat to the existing traditions and customs.  We are not pretty much the kind of preachers and teachers you may have in mind.  Most of my friends and co-workers have no formal schooling, they were fishermen and ordinary men from the lowly part of the country.  All of us, and I mean all of us, are in danger of arrest and persecution, everyday.  One day, we will die in the most painful ways.  But that’s still in the future right?  For now, I, we, just do what my Father in Heaven asks me to do.  If you trust in Me, join us.”

Imagine talking to Jesus right now and He said those lines.  What will you say to Him?  How will you answer?

“Gee, you seems to be doing a great job.  But, you see, I am too occupied right now. I got bills to pay, my parents are aging and I have to take care of them, my kids are still young and they need me most of the time.  You know, I am really busy right now.  Maybe some other time.”

“What have you been smokin’, man?  Bringing back to life a dead man?  Healing the sick, dining with harlots and tax collectors?  You must be insane?  I heard you are in constant argument with the high priest and his cohorts.  Don’t you know that you are endangering your life and that of your friends?  I wouldn’t join you, man.  Not in this life, not even in the next.”

“Jesus?  From Galilee?  Is there something good from that place?  Just talk to someone else and stay away from me.”

“Oh, I see. What you are doing seems pretty interesting.  But, what’s in it for me?”

“Sure, but let me just tell my family about it.  I need to consult my wife first, you know.”

“I have a lot of troubles of my own.  Why should I join you?”

We don’t have to look too far to see that one of these responses may resonate our own. Who is this Jesus that we should be spending our time thinking about Him and what He said or has to say? What’s in it for us?  Is there any available resources or references that we can use to know exactly who He is?  He’s too popular and yet no two individual know Him exactly the same.   

Jesus and His words are more than just fashion and fad that last for a short time and then go away.  He and His words have been with us for more than 2000 years.  And we don’t see it going away.  He’s going to stay for all eternity.  Amen.  Jesus was there even before the beginning of time. 

So who is this Jesus? 

Jesus is both Human and Divine.  Trying to understand Him with our small minds would never be enough to see how big His nature is.  

Just to have a short but clear picture of who Jesus is, let’s take a look at how John introduces Him:

“In the beginning the Word already existed.  He was with God, and He was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  He created everything there is.  Nothing exists that he didn’t make.  Life itself was in him and this life gives light to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it... The One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world... But although the world was made through Him, the world didn’t recognize Him whe He came... So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.”

“For the law was given through Moses; God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God.  But His only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart; He has told us about Him.” (John 1:1-5,9-10,14,17-18 (NLT))   

Join us in this journey as as we try to know more about this Man named Jesus.  Let us live our lives, from being good to being godly.    

An Invitation

“The night is dark and full of terror.”

That is the famous line from the TV series Game of Thrones, an adaptation of the book with the same title. 

It is a fictional line but it cannot be too far from reality.  

We are now in the age when every street and every corner is illuminated by man-made lights but we remain in darkness and hides in terror.  We live in the world of interconnected lives but with disconnected hearts.  We know what’s happening on the other side of the world but we don’t even care on what’s happening with our next door neighbor or the person sitting on the next cubicle in our workplace. We, despite all the glory and honor that man received in this world, still live in darkness and fear. 

But we know too well that there is fear only when one is left too long in the dark.  For from light, from illumination, comes forth courage and hope.  Light birngs forth true understanding and wisdom.  From lights comes life and freedom.  But that light must be searched with diligence, perseverance and eternal dedication.  We need to find that light, come what may.  But which light, for many have claimed to be bearers of light?  The Light of Faith, Lumen Fidei, which can only be found in Jesus.  

“Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey” (Pope Francis I, Lumen Fidei, #57).

For many of you who have been with us for more than a couple of years now, you know that try to dwell on the natural things and talk about how we can live the good life.  If you’ve been with us for quite a long time, you will realize that we are sharing with you things that may inspire you to live a life that you want.  But you will also be wise enough to see that we’ve been doing it the wrong way.  We encourage you live a good life instead of urging you to live a godly life – a life that imitates the life of Jesus. 

I invite you to join me, as I search for that light of faith.  This is an invitation for everyone, ordinary people who wants to go out of dark and run away from terror.  This is an invitation for everyone to march forward for their faith, their freedom, their life – both here and in eternity.  Join me in this journey of self-discovery and making Jesus more famous.   

We are going to change the theme of this site.  We will now be dedicating this site to the men and women who seeks to find not a good life but a godly life.

This is an open invitation – free of charge.  Join us as we journey towards life, using nothing but the light of faith to illumine our path, until we meet Jesus as He welcomes us in His loving arms.