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Meditative Reflection
Nicodemus

“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (Jn. 3:21)

It is quite obvious that the reason for which John twice mentions Nicodemus' visit to Jesus at night (3:2; 19:39) was to highlight the secrecy of his visit. In those days with no electricity and properly paved roads, one would venture out in the evening only for special or urgent reasons. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was afraid that his visit to Jesus might arouse criticisms from his peers, and perhaps would even adversely affect his status among them. However, to venture out at night also indicated his genuine desire to seek the truth.

We do not know the immediate outcome of his visit to Jesus, but the path to the Kingdom of God was laid out to him in no uncertain terms. “No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit”; and the gospel message was presented in an unprecedented manner, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (3:5, 16).

Given the sincerity to seek the truth, I believe that Nicodemus could have been one of the Pharisees who went to John the Baptist to hear his message which pointed him to Jesus as the Lamb of God (Matt. 3:7). Together with the signs he saw in Jerusalem performed by Jesus (3:2), he must have believed in Jesus in his heart, although not openly. However, at the trial of Jesus, probably together with Joseph of Arimathea, he did not side with his peers in the council (Lk. 23:50). Although they could not prevent the death of Jesus, they eventually pushed aside all fears, and stepped forward to bury Jesus (19:38-39).

Nicodemus was certainly one of those who lived “in the truth” and thus came “into the light” (3:21), while most of his peers hated the light for fear that their evil deeds would be exposed (3:20). Of course, his sincere effort to live in the truth did not yield him salvation, but it did prepare him to acknowledge Jesus as the True Light through Whom he had eternal life — something that he did not accomplish for himself, but was done through God (3:21).

Meditative Reflection
Eternal Life

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (Jn. 3:36)

One of the important features of the Gospel of John is its emphasis on “eternal life”. It mentions eternal life at least 14 times, more than all the three Synoptic Gospels combined. One wonders why?

While we may not be too sure about the reason why John chose to make such an emphasis, but we do know that such an emphasis has great relevancy to the preaching of the gospel today.

I really admire Billy Graham in that in all the years of preaching the gospel, he has made the same emphasis as John has, while many evangelists would not even mention eternal life in their so-called gospel message. They turn their emphases on things like, “the meaning of life”, “life of significance”, “fulfillment” or “healing” — all of temporal values only.

Such a change in emphasis has created a church with no eternal perspective and a so-called faith community that focuses only on success and meaningfulness of their earthly pursuit. Such a Christianity without its eternal perspective necessarily downplays the seriousness of sin and its consequence and creates a one-sided view of God — that of love but void of wrathful judgment. This error of the Social Gospel Movement of more than one hundred years ago is rearing its ugly head once again in these days, but the Word of God remains unchanged. For John 3:16 makes plain what the gospel is all about and it is worth repeating:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Meditative Reflection
The Word Made Flesh

“Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” (Jn. 4:6)

A well-meaning leader of a church once felt frustrated by the poor health condition his pastor was in. His pastor was a very good pastor who loved the Lord and the people he served. But the demand of ministry, especially in a church of its size, had ruined his health. This leader confided in me that his was a case of poor management of his time and task, and it was not only unbiblical, in his words, “He was not following the example of Jesus”. In his mind, Jesus must have been a very well-balanced minister who would have taken good care of His physical body.

To his surprise, I showed him the passage in Isaiah 53 which vividly describes not only Jesus’ condition on the cross, but as a norm, “a man of sorrows and familiar with sufferings” (Isa. 53:3). I also reminded him of passages like John 4:6 in which Jesus experienced fatigue like many ministers do.

I am so thankful that Jesus, although He has never sinned, has chosen “to be made like His brothers in every way in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God” (Heb. 2:17). Yes, indeed, in times of frustrations and extreme fatigue, I can always approach the throne of grace and say to the Lord, “Lord, you do understand because you’ve been there!”.

Meditative Reflection
Worship in Spirit and in Truth

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” (Jn. 4:23)

The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was a fascinating one:

- The setting was most unusual, with a Jewish man needing to quench His thirst from the provision of a Samaritan woman.

-The timing was also most unusual, as normally no one in her right mind would draw water from the well under the noontime heat of Palestine.

- The broader timing was also unusual in that it appeared to be a chance-occurrence — Jesus and His disciples were only “passing through".

- The woman was not just an adulterous woman, but a notorious one who made Elizabeth Taylor pale in comparison!

But this story has occupied a very important role in the history of the gospel in that it signifies the universality of the gospel which reaches beyond the people of Israel. At the same time, many valuable truths are also expressed through this story, one of which touches on the core of what is true worship.

One should not be too quick to dismiss the importance of worshipping together with other saints in a formal worship setting. This is not the core of the message. The core message is that without a worship that is in spirit and in truth, no matter how vibrant the music is, how powerful the preaching is and how prayerful the service appears to be, it will not be God-pleasing; it is not what God desires.

To be able to worship in “spirit” implies a prior relationship with God and therefore no one who is unsaved, even a seeker, can worship God.

But this “prior relationship” is not just a matter of status, i.e. just being saved does not mean that you will necessarily worship “in spirit”; it has to be “in truth” and that implies a genuine relationship that is living and unhindered. Unfortunately, with the hectic and pressured lifestyle to which most of us are subjected, not to mention the sins that have entangled us during the week, it is not natural for us to suddenly be able to worship “in spirit” and “in truth” as we come to the sanctuary of the Lord. Therefore, it is imperative that we should come “prepared” to worship and this includes:

- avoiding late night activities the night before the day of worship, ones that could wear us down and distract our minds to focus on God;

- a thorough examination of our life and confession of our sins before we come to worship;

- a cultivation of a heart of hunger and thirst for the Word and the presence of the Lord through consistent daily devotion.

Without the above, I am afraid, to worship in spirit and in truth is just an illusion. For years, I have made clear to the congregation that I would not attend any banquet on Saturday night, and if my presence were really needed, I would leave as early as possible, so that I would not displease the Lord with an unprepared heart on Sunday.

Meditative Reflection
We Are All the Same

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I ever did '.” (Jn. 4:28-29)

John introduces us to two characters, one immediately after the other. They could not have been more different,

Nicodemus was a Pharisee who prided himself not only as a learned scholar of the Scriptures, but as man of purity and righteousness, at least when viewed from the point of the Law.

On the other hand, this Samaritan woman was not only despised by the Jews as a perverter of the Law of Moses, but also as a social outcast whose lifestyle was despised by even her own people — that probably was the reason why she had to fetch water from the well under the noontime heat when no one would be there.

However, both were sinners who knew they could not enter the Kingdom of God and more preciously, both admitted their need for salvation.

The sheer fact of initiating his contact with Jesus and the reply by Jesus clearly showed that Nicodemus knew he could not enter the Kingdom of God on his own. Although the woman did not initiate her contact with Jesus, the fact that she left her water jar behind was a powerful symbol of her leaving her old sinful lifestyle behind. For when she believed in Jesus, she even testified immediately to the people of her town (4:28-29).

As much as these two contrasting stories were well-known to Christians, from time to time I still find that people in the church revere the “Nicodemuses” and despise the likes of the Samaritan woman in their midst. They have failed to understand both their own depravity and the power of the gospel in making us into “new creation” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Meditative Reflection
Not Just an Emotional Decision

“We no longer believe just because of what you said: now we have heard for ourselves; and we know that this man is the Savior of the world.” (Jn. 4:42)

I find it a bit disturbing when the church puts too much emphasis on mass evangelistic rallies that feature the testimonies of celebrities. Do not get me wrong, I am not against it at all. In fact, any outreach events that seek to share the gospel biblically should be supported by all. The only thing that concerns me is when we take the raising of hands or coming forward to indicate a decision to believe in Christ at its face value. As most of us know, a very small percentage of those who make a so-called decision for Christ go to church subsequently, let alone become committed followers of Christ. This phenomenon is particularly common when decisions are made purely as a response to some emotional testimonies of celebrities.

The problem lies in the hearers projecting the experience of the celebrities onto themselves. Their stories become theirs emotionally. But the conviction and rejection of their sins, the giving up of their former lifestyles, the owning of Christ as their Lord and Savior — these are not transferable and must be acted upon by the hearers themselves. In many cases, when the emotion of the event fades and they face lives where “the rubber meets the road”, their commitment (if we can even call it as such) vanishes also.

This is why the conversion of the people in the town of the Samaritan woman was so precious. No doubt, they were much affected by the conversion and the testimony of the woman. Who wouldn’t! A notorious adulterer openly confessed her past and pointed them to Jesus. It definitely deserved attention; it definitely evoked an inner desire to believe. But they had to make sure for themselves who Jesus really is, in order that they would take the same step of open confession of sin. As a result, it was the staying by Jesus for another two days that enabled them to make a genuine and lasting decision, and to declare,  “We no longer believe just because of what you said: now we have heard for ourselves; and we know that this man is the Savior of the world.” (Jn. 4:42)

Meditative Reflection
Faith and Miracle

“The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” (Jn. 5:15)

John tell us that “a great number of disabled people used to lie (at the pool at the Sheep Gate) — the blind, the lame, the paralyzed” (Jn. 5:2-3). Upon reading of the healing of the invalid by Jesus, we cannot help but ask, “Of all the sick lying at the pool, why did Jesus choose to heal this man?”

However, as we read further on in this story, it becomes obvious that this healing turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing to this man.

For sure, it was a dream come true for this man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. To be more exact, he had given up his dream for healing a long time ago. It was just another day at the pool, perhaps, more for begging for money than for healing. But the joy of being given a new lease on life must be exhilarating, and yet we do not read about any jumping, any praising of the Lord, and certainly no worshipping at Jesus’ feet or enquiring as to who Jesus is! He simply “picked up his mat and walked”.

To say that he returned to normality would be true — a return to his former way of life which was sinning. That was why Jesus chose to confront him with these words, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (Jn. 5:14). Did this man listen to Jesus? Obviously not: No sooner had he known where Jesus was, than he told the Jews so that they could persecute Him!

I have come across people who were miraculously healed by God of a sickness that could have lead to certain death. When I said “miraculously healed by God”, I was not putting words in their mouths. They themselves recognized it. But, like the invalid of this story, their healing was not followed by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Unlike the invalid they did express gratitude, but such gratitude was short-lived and like the invalid, their lives returned to normality — and they continued to live in sin.

To me, the moral of the story is that genuine faith does not depend on miracles!