Category Archives: John’s Gospel

Overlooked Scripture No. 2 “Why Jesus is the authority on Heaven”

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“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13).

Jesus knows about Heaven.

He should. He’s a native.

When He speaks of Heavenly things, everyone else on the field should retire and every mouth be closed.  No one else carries the credentials Jesus does regarding the divine.

I wonder if people have ever considered the width and breadth and depth of this statement (the text above), given by our Lord to Nicodemus.

John MacArthur said, This verse contradicts other religious systems’ claims to special revelation from God. Jesus insisted that no one has ascended to heaven in such a way as to return and talk about heavenly things (cf.2 Cor. 12:1-4). Only He had His permanent abode in heaven prior to His incarnation and therefore, only He has the true knowledge regarding heavenly wisdom (cf. Proverbs 30:4).

Question:  Didn’t other biblical characters go to heaven? Didn’t Enoch? And Elijah? And on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus met with Moses and Elijah, weren’t they from Heaven?  Aren’t the “dead in Christ” at home with the Lord?

Our answer:  Heaven seems to be a huge place.  (smile, please)  So, perhaps in saying no one had been there except the One who came from there, referring to Himself, Jesus meant no one had yet entered the Holy of Holies itself. The throne-room of the Godhead.  Only He.

Humans have known for centuries that the universe is huge.  But only in the last, say, 100 years have we learned just how big it is.

Mind-blowing big.

We do not have to use our imagination to think of Heaven as incredibly large.  We can see that by walking outside on a dark night and glancing upward.

Scripture speaks of heaven in at least three ways: the sky above us, the physical universe around us, and the remote and holy dwelling-place of the Lord and the host of heaven.

Even so, we would err, I imagine, in devoting too much time to reflecting on the various heavens or what portion of heaven Jesus meant. These are unknowable.  The point He was making to Nicodemus that day should take our attention:

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It’s all right to let some people leave your church

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“As a result of this, many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” (John 6:66)

“They went out from us because they were not of us.” (I John 2:19)

Sometimes the best thing to happen to your church is for a few people to leave.

Not long ago I ministered in a church where a few longtime leaders had just left. From what I was told, these were the ones who had controlled that church for decades, who dominated pastors and drove them away whenever it suited them, and who resisted anything remotely looking like change. The pastor’s greatest surprise was that they had left. He was one happy camper.

My seminary professor used to say, “People measure the effectiveness of a revival by the additions to the church. Sometimes, a better gauge is the subtractions.”

I unfriended a certain person on Facebook.  This troubled individual latches on to the Lord’s workers and devotes herself to controlling their lives, playing on their guilt, and making demands on their time. I don’t need this. After we unfriended her, she began leaving critical messages on this blog–two one day and four the next morning.

Don’t bother looking for them.

One of the luxuries of having your own blog is the ability to manage it. We went into the program and erased her comments.

“It’s pastors like you,” she said on one of the now-erased comments, “who cause people to quit going to church.”

Interesting logic. According to that, pastors who refuse to let strangers manipulate them are responsible if that person leaves the church.

I don’t think I’ll buy any of that today, thank you.

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About that blind fellow Jesus healed. (John 9)

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Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But because you say you see, your sin remains.”  And the Pharisees said, “Huh?”  (John 9:41. Sort of.)

My pastor preached on the Lord’s healing of “the man born blind” from John 9 yesterday.  Pastor Chip Stevens did his usual superior job with it.  He spoke of how Jesus saw people whom others overlooked, saw circumstances in a different way, and saw his purpose clearly. And, the people standing around that day were blessed to see the work of God right before their eyes.

I did what I always do when listening to a good sermon: I opened my notebook and let my mind roam far afield.  I’m like the hunting dog who never stays close to his master when he’s turned loose, but is always on the prowl.  That’s me.  I listened and thought and jotted down things.

I find myself wondering about that fellow, the one formerly blind….

–I wonder how he felt being the object lesson of the disciples’ theological discussion?  (9:1-2). They talked about him as though he were not there.  Ask any blind person. They know that feeling.

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