“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” John 2:23-25

Many, at the Passover feast in Jerusalem, believed that Jesus was the Messiah when they saw the signs and miracles which He worked among them. But though they had come to believe that He was the Messiah, Jesus did not entrust Himself to them because He knew what was in their hearts.

These few verses contain an important truth for us to consider. It is not enough to just know and believe the facts about Jesus. We, too, have heard and read of His mighty miracles. We have heard and read of His sufferings and death and of His resurrection on the third day. And we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah and Savior. But do we know Him and trust in Him as our own Savior? Have we entrusted our very hearts and souls to His keeping?

Jesus searches and knows our hearts! This can be a frightening thought since, as the Scriptures testify, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Yes, the Lord Jesus Himself searches our hearts and tests our minds. He knows our every thought and desire. And, certainly, not a single one of us deserves that the Lord Jesus should commit and entrust Himself to us.

Yet, through His Word and the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus does reveal and entrust Himself to those who look to Him in faith. He first reveals our utter sinfulness and unworthiness before God, bringing us to confess and agree with God’s judgment that we are sinners deserving of His eternal wrath and punishment. But then, Jesus, through His Word, also reveals to us His great love and mercy. He so loved us that He went to the cross to suffer and die in our stead and take our punishment. He rose from the dead in victory, and He gives to us His mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance when we trust in Him for life and salvation.

Many people in Jesus’ day believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah because of His mighty works, but they did not know Jesus as their Savior and trust in Him for pardon, forgiveness, and life eternal! And so also today, many believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah, but they do not know and have not partaken of Jesus and His love and mercy for them through faith. Instead, their hearts remain closed, and they continue on in their old evil ways, not seeing their lost and sinful condition or knowing and receiving in faith the mercy and forgiveness God offers and extends to them in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Though Jesus’ many mighty works and signs confirm His identity and authority, He has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind through His Word. Thus, those seeking only signs and wonders and spectacular works are likely never to know Him. But to the ones who sit humbly at His feet, hearing, reading, and studying His Word, Jesus reveals Himself as their merciful and loving Savior!

Dear Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, open my heart to hear Your life-giving Word, to acknowledge and confess my utter sinfulness, and to trust in You and Your cross for my salvation. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Genesis 3:1-13

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The paradise which God created in the first two chapters of Genesis did not last long, for chapter three tells of the temptation of the devil, a fallen angel, who came to Eve in the form of the serpent.

“Did God really say that that you should not eat from any tree of the garden?” he asked, creating a question in the woman’s mind. And when Eve said the prohibition and warning that disobedience would bring about death — alienation and separation from God — was only in regard to the tree in the middle of the garden, the devil distorted the truth by saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Thus, he caused her to think that perhaps God was somehow holding out on her and keeping from her and her husband something good and desirable.

Of course, this still happens every day. The devil comes to us through friends and coworkers, through the media and entertainment industries, and in our own thoughts and minds and says, “Does God really expect you to keep all those commandments in the Bible?”

And he works hard to convince us that God is trying to keep us from having fun and enjoying life, or that He is placing an impossible burden upon us, that He really doesn’t expect us to keep all of His commandments, or that breaking just a few of the commandments now and then won’t really alienate and separate us from God — after all, everybody does it.

And, like Eve, when we look at the thing we are being tempted to do, it looks good and desirable to us. We think it will be fun or pleasurable, it will work out for our good, it won’t hurt anything, no one will know.

And so, we rationalize and give in to the temptation and to our own sinful desires, and the result is death! We recognize our nakedness and guilt before God. We may attempt to cover it up or even learn to cope with it, but the guilt remains. We are afraid to stand in His presence. We would rather not hear God’s Word or walk into His house of prayer.

Why? Because our sin, though it may have appeared to be good at the time, brought about spiritual death and separation from God. When confronted with the presence of God and His truth, we hide. When questioned about our disobedience, we make excuses and blame others.

As a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, we are all born into this world sinners — our very thoughts and desires are turned away from God and His holy commandments. What David wrote is true of each of us as a result of that first sin: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

Instead of loving God, trusting Him and desiring to honor and glorify His name, we think only of ourselves, question and doubt God’s Word and seek our own honor and glory. We are born in spiritual death and are alienated from God.

That is why we so desperately need God’s pardon and forgiveness. We need Him to find us, forgive us, cover our shame and nakedness, and give us life again! And God has come to us and reached out to us in love and forgiveness. He desires to free us from our guilt and shame and give us life everlasting with Him!

He did this by sending His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to overcome temptation and sin for us and then go to the cross to be condemned, forsaken of God, and to die in our stead that we might have God’s pardon and forgiveness through faith in His name and not be afraid of God or troubled by our guilt and shame any longer.

In Christ Jesus and His cross, atonement has been made for the sins of the world. And in Christ Jesus, when we trust in Him and His atoning sacrifice in our stead, your sins and my sins are pardoned and forgiven, and we are made acceptable in God’s sight.

O dearest Jesus, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on me, find me, and wash away the guilt of my sin in Your shed blood. And, dear Lord Jesus, grant me a place in Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” John 2:11 (Read John 2:1-11)

Jesus’ presence at a wedding feast in Cana and His turning water into wine has troubled some, especially those who are teetotallers for “religious” reasons. “Why would Jesus attend a wedding feast where wine was served,” some wonder? “And why would Jesus turn water into wine, making some 120-180 gallons of it for the wedding guests to drink?”

Jesus’ presence at this wedding — and we do not know precisely why He was invited — shows His respect for the divine institution of marriage between a man and a woman (cf. Gen. 2:18ff., Matt. 19:4-9). And His making wine, as well as drinking it, shows that drinking wine or alcoholic beverages is not of itself sinful, nor is one holier or more righteous through abstinence. What is sinful is the overindulgence in it and drunkenness.

St. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Tim. 5:23); and he wrote to the Ephesians, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18; cf. Matt. 11:18-19; Rom. 13:13; Gal. 5:19-21).

But far more important in this account is what His miracle teaches us about Jesus. Even though it was not yet His time to be revealed as the Son of God in human flesh and the Messiah and Savior of the world, Jesus used the divine power He possessed to come to the aid of a wedding party in a potentially embarrassing situation — they had run out of wine. And not only did Jesus turn water into wine; it was the best wine served at the feast.

And this miracle, of which many at the feast had no knowledge, revealed the glory and power which Jesus possessed as the Son of God to a few — to Mary, to the servants who drew the water, and to Jesus’ disciples.

The result was not only a wedding feast without the embarrassment to the hosts of running out of wine; it was a revelation of His person to His disciples, causing them to believe that He indeed was and is the Son of God and the promised Messiah and Savior of Israel.

The Apostle John, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, records this miracle for us that we too might see and believe that this same Jesus who humbled Himself and lived among us as a true man is more than just a man or even a great prophet and teacher. Jesus was and is Jehovah God Himself in human flesh! And this was necessary in order for Him to pay the price required for the sins of the world!

This miracle is but one proof of that fact. He also healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, fed the multitudes, raised the dead, and rose from the dead Himself after being crucified!

Through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit reveals to us Jesus’ divine glory and might; and through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that Jesus redeemed us and all mankind from sin and death by His own innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Jesus’ resurrection is proof that atonement for our sins has been made — we’ve been redeemed by the blood of “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!

And, through faith in Christ Jesus, God the Son and our Savior, the forgiveness and life He won for all when He paid the price for our sins upon the cross becomes our own. Through faith in Christ Jesus, we have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting!

Oh, that all would see and believe that Jesus is God the Son and that He has paid the price and redeemed us from all our sins!

I cannot reveal Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world to anyone. All I can do is preach the Gospel and tell those terrified by the threats of God’s Law of the comforting promises of the Gospel — the promise of forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who look to Christ Jesus and His cross in faith.

I can repeat the words of Jesus, such as those found in John 3:14-18: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel, reveals Himself to those whom He wills. It is as Jesus said in Matthew 11:27: “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (cf. John 1:10-14).

Jesus also said in John 6:44,63: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day”; and, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

It is as we confess in the Unaltered Augsburg Confession (Art. V, Of the Ministry): “That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.”

As we think about this miracle worked by our Lord Jesus, I invite you to also think about Holy Baptism. I, of myself, can’t wash away sins or give the Holy Spirit to anyone by pouring or sprinkling water on them. But when water is used in connection with God’s Word, Jesus does wash away sins and give His Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38-39; 22:16; Titus 3:3-7; Eph. 5:25-27).

John the Baptist said in Mark 1:7-8: “There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (cf. Matt. 3:11).

Think about the Lord’s Supper, of which we are about to partake. I can’t turn water into wine, but Jesus can and did. And, I cannot cause Christ’s body and blood to be present, distributed and received in the Supper (in, with and under the bread and wine), but Jesus can and still does through His words of institution spoken on the night when He was betrayed (1 Cor. 11:23ff.).

Through His words of institution, He offers and gives to all who eat and drink of His Supper to partake of His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world — of His body which was given into death for our sins, and of His blood which was shed for the remission of our sins. And, through faith in Christ’s life-giving words, we receive the blessings He won for us when He was sacrificed for our sins. We are given and receive forgiveness for all our sins and life everlasting for Jesus’ sake!

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, grant that I see your divine glory and believe that You indeed are my God and my Savior and place my trust in You for forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” John 1:47 Cf. John 1:43-51

When Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, saying, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45), Jesus said of Nathanael that he was a true Israelite in whom was no guile (or deceit).

What did this mean? We find the answer in Psalm 32, where David writes, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (v. 1-2).

To have guile is to be self-deceived and deny one’s utter sinfulness and hopelessness before the LORD God. Such self-deceit (thinking that one is righteous on the basis of his own life and works) keeps one from receiving and possessing the forgiveness which God gives through faith in His Son.

Nathanael was not deceived about himself as many others in Israel were at the time. Nathanael knew he had not kept the commandments of the LORD and was a sinner in need of a savior. Instead of pretending to be righteous of himself, he looked for salvation in the coming Messiah promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets. Thus, he was an “Israelite indeed”; and he came to know and trust in Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of Israel.

Today, too, our churches are filled with people who have guile in their hearts. They are self-deceived and think that all is well with their souls because of their own lives and works. They think that by going to church, doing good works, saying their prayers, etc., they will find entrance into heaven.

Sad to say, this keeps many from coming to Jesus and placing their hope and confidence in His holy life and His innocent sufferings and death in their stead.

What about you? Do you have guile in your heart? Are you self-deceived into thinking that all is well with your soul because of what you believe and do? Think again! Read what God’s Word says of you in Romans 3:9-20. Look at what it says of your heart in Jeremiah 17:9.

Look to Jesus for your salvation! He is the Son of God in human flesh, and He has redeemed you by bearing on the cross the full punishment for your sins (cf. Colossians 1:19-23)! Only in Him can you be saved (cf. Acts 4:12)!

O dearest Jesus, reveal to us our utter sinfulness that we not be deceived and full of guile in our hearts; but also reveal to us the forgiveness and life You have won for us by Your innocent sufferings and death on the cross and made sure to us by Your glorious resurrection. By Your Spirit, graciously forgive our sins and renew our hearts. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” John 1:35-42

We sometimes feel that we are not capable of leading others to Jesus if we do not have a formal degree or specialized training. But Andrew, who had only himself been directed to Jesus by the witness of John the Baptist saying that Jesus is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world,” first went and found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah,” and brought him to Jesus.

Of course, knowing the rest of the story, Jesus called Simon “Cephas” (which, in the Greek form, is Peter and means a stone). Peter became an important leader among Jesus’ disciples and, after his fall, boldly bore witness to Jesus as the crucified and risen Messiah and Savior.

While followers of Jesus will want to learn more and more of Him and His Word, even a new follower of Jesus, or untrained believer, can still tell others, “I have found the Savior.” Though a person may not know theological terms or formal Christian dogma, he can still tell people that Jesus died for the sins of the world and rose again and that, in Jesus, there is forgiveness and life everlasting!

Nor should anyone minimize the importance of such a witness for Jesus. The Holy Spirit can and does use the weak, the simple, and even the uneducated witness of believers to call others to faith in Christ Jesus. Even if it is simply a “come and see” or “come and hear” witness, the Holy Spirit can, as He did in the case of Jesus’ first disciples, call people to learn of Jesus and bring them to trust in His sufferings, death, and resurrection as the source of comfort, forgiveness, and new life.

We learn, too, that Jesus’ disciples came to know Him and trust in Him by spending time with Him; for not only did they spend that day with Jesus, but they also spent three years walking with Jesus, hearing His Word, and witnessing His mighty works and power.

We, too, can spend time with Jesus by reading and studying His Word. The Scriptures were written to make us “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). And through the Scriptures, the Spirit reveals to us Jesus — we see Him for who He is, and we witness for ourselves His love and mercy toward sinners and learn of His love and mercy toward us!

Dear Jesus, reveal Yourself to me through Your Word and grant that I know You and Your love and mercy toward me. And, Lord Jesus, give me the opportunity to tell others of You and direct them to You that they too might come to know and trust in You as their Savior. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]