Devotional: John 14:6

Transcription

1 Devotional: John 14:6 Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomin: John 14:6: Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the father but by me. As a 12 year old child I recall attending the Billy Graham Crusade in Chicago. We attended every night of the crusade and each night above the 3,000 voice choir there stood a banner proclaiming the words: Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the father but by me. I made no conscious effort to memorize this verse; it just embedded itself in my memory as I observed this passage of Scripture every night for the two week duration of the crusade. It is no wonder that I have been fascinated with the words way, truth, life and Father all my life. Yesterday I did a study on the word truth or sharar. I indicated that the word sharar means to be firm by twisting and tightening. It also means to rule or command. I pointed out an ancient teaching about leadership that still exist today as being able to make a decision, stand firmly and tight by that decision and accept responsibility for that decision. What Jesus is saying when He says He is truth, is that He is the commander of what is and what is not, He will not change, nor alter his position and he accepts full responsibility for the consequences of his instructions or commands. I would like to add that this truth is spelled with a Shin which tells us that truth contains the power and passionate love of God. The double Resh indicates that truth is the ultimate in leadership or headship. If a leader is not totally honest with those who follow his leadership he will lose their respect, their loyalty and their devotion and when the time comes they will question his commands and decisions. Jesus also says He is the life. In the Aramaic the word used for life is identical to the Hebrew word chi which means a

2 physical life, quality of life and a spiritual life. The word in Aramaic ends with an Aleph which indicates a definite article. Hence He is the life. He is the controlling factor in not only our physical life, when it begins and when it ends, but the quality of life as well. Not only that He is the controlling factor in our spiritual life and the ultimate destination or destiny of our spiritual life. To say He is chi a (the life) is a claim no one, not even the angels in heaven can make. Finally He says that He is the way. The word in Greek is hodos which means way, road or path. Yet, Jesus spoke the words in the Old Galilean dialect of Aramaic and the word used has a little twist in it that the Greek does not or cannot give. The word in Aramaic is urcha. Hodos is the closest Greek word you can get to it, yet no word in Greek can convey the one other rendering or use of the Aramaic word urcha which would more easily fit the context of this verse. That is the word religion. Religion is after all nothing more than the way to the Father, which is the context of this verse. Hence Jesus is saying that He is the religion. That little Aleph at the end of that word destroys any notion that Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and yes even Christian is the true religion. There is no religion in the world that is the true (sharar) religion. Jesus is plainly saying in Aramaic that He is the only one and true religion, the only way to the Father. This brings us to the last word of interest in this verse, Father. The Greek uses the word patera, which means a father, elder, or senior. Again the Aramaic word avi can mean father, elder or senior, but that little Yod at the end of the word, that personal pronoun adds a little dimension to the word that you will not find in the Greek. Avi is used in the Old Galilean dialect by one who wishes to address another as my beloved. All fathers, elders or seniors may not be beloved. I spoke with someone the other day whose father abused him and then abandoned him. He would scoff at the

3 notion of calling his father an avi (beloved). So Jesus is saying that He is the truth commander of our faith who will never change and who will bind Himself to use such that He will be the controlling factor in our physical and well as spiritual life and destiny and that He and He alone is the true religion, the only religion that will lead us to our beloved God, the God we wish to be with not for a better life, but simply because we love Him. Devotional Genesis 38:9 Good Morning Yamom Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim: Genesis 38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. Mordecia Ham (a nice kosher name) was a great evangelist who lived and ministered in the early 20th Century. He traveled through the deep South holding revival meetings and thousands upon thousands came to salvation through the efforts of Mordecia Ham. Churches were known to double and triple in size after Mordecia Ham passed through with his revival meetings. He was so used to hundreds coming forward during his invitations to receive Jesus as their Savior that when he held a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina and just a handful of people found Jesus, Mordecia Ham was convinced the power of God left him and that his ministry had ended. He wrote in his diary that it seemed his only convert in the meeting was a skinny little farm boy. This was proof positive to Mordecia that his ministry was over. However, by the next crusade he was again seeing hundreds of people come to a saving knowledge

4 of Jesus through his preaching. Once again Mordecia Ham realized that he had become too focused on the here and now, his reputation, the numbers and not on God s perfect will. Recommitting himself to just do the will of God and not focus on his numbers he continued for many years to be mightly used of God. Oh, by that way, that skinny little farm boy? His name was Billy Graham. Onan was from the tribe of Judah. Hebrew law required that if his brother were to die and not leave an heir, he was to marry his sister in law and give her a child who would receive the birthright which included the family estate. Onan was very focused on the here and now. He knew full well that if he gave a child to his sister in law he would not possess the birthright of his older brother, that it would go to that son. So every time he was to perform his duty in giving a child to his sister in law he would spill his seed on the ground. God was so displeased with this act of disobedience that he lifted his hand of protection from Onan and he died leaving another who would be obedient to give the woman a child. Oh, by the way, that child would father another child who would father another child who would eventually become King David, who would father a child, who would father another child who would eventually become Jesus, the Messiah. There is a word used here in the Hebrew which reveals the nature of Onan s sin. The Bible says: lest that he should give seed to his brother. It is that word give that shows the extreme selfish nature of Onan, who wanted the family estate for himself and not share it with an heir. You see that word give in Hebrew is Nathan. It means to give but there is much more wrapped up in that word. The word is spelled Nun, Taw, Nun. The Nun represents fertility, growth, the Taw represents a completion of a cycle. The final Nun;

5 which represents growth, has no foot on the bottom of the letter or no foundation so that what has been produced falls out at the end to be shared with others. This is a picture of Onan s sin. Actually, his refusal to share his seed with his brother s wife was preventing the completion of a cycle that would bring a Savior into the world to be shared with the entire world for all generations. Another little thing about this word to give or Nathan. In Hebrew it is spelled the same backward and forward. In other words when you give you begin a cycle of giving that is poured out and then returned back to you to be given out again. You do not see the word Nathan used that often in the Old Testament, it is actually used more in the Aramaic. I believe the reason is because this word is a very powerful statement about giving and it is not used lightly. Because Nathan or the Nun, Taw, Final Nun teaches us that when we give we can expect a return, but that return is meant to be used to be given out again to continue the cycle of blessing. Onan broke that cycle in trying to keep it all for himself. Mordicai Ham gave and when he did not get the return he wanted he was ready to pack up his marbles and go home. He never stopped to realize that maybe God got the return He was looking for. Just keep giving and if you get a return, give it out again. If you don t get the return you are looking for, just remember, Nathan teaches there is always a return, it may just be the return that God wants and not the one you want.