Series: Easter: This Changes Everything
Message: Hidden?
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Sam Millen
Live Wonder: Bec Reid
Live Adventure: Jess Lee
Live Beyond: Art Preuss
Live Purpose: Don Pate
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: John 12:20–36 in the New International Version (NIV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: It is worthwhile to carefully compare this passage with John 3. As in this story, shortly after Jesus tells Nicodemus He must be “lifted up,” a contrast between darkness and light is made. In summary, darkness hides evil while light exposes it (John 3:19-21). Since Jesus uses “light” and “truth” interchangeably in John 3, walking in light can be equated to living truthfully—living transparently. Transparence doesn’t mean relinquishing privacy but excludes disingenuous living. Evil thrives in secrecy, which is why it cannot be confronted effectively without confession. The first step to sobriety according to Alcoholics Anonymous is admitting one’s true condition. One line I often recall from watching the early episodes of Dr. Phil’s show is, “You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.” It can also be reliably stated, “God cannot change what I don’t acknowledge.”
If walking in the light encompasses being truthful regarding who we really are, why is humanity enveloped by darkness? Transparency isn’t safe without the truth of who God is, as seen most vividly the moment Jesus was “lifted up” on a cross. God knows who we truly are, and still loves us more than life itself! “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We can walk in the light when in the light of the cross.
You may have noticed I often quote Tim Keller. I don’t agree with his “complementarian” views, but this thought found in his book, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God (Penguin Books, 2013) is priceless: “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us” (p. 101).
Recalibrate: Does believing you are fully known, and yet fully loved by God at the same time free you to live a transparent life (walk in the light)?
Respond: Reflect on the words of the song “Known” by Tauren Wells as you watch this online video.
Research: Study the prayer found on p. 352 in The Book of Common Prayer (2007) used in Episcopal Churches: “Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.”
Remember: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32, ESV).
Sam Millen is the pastor at Anacortes Adventist Fellowship in Washington State. He his wife Angie is a schoolteacher on Orcas Island and their three children are really awesome!
Grab the flashlight again in your home, or use the light on your smartphone, and go sit in a dark room or a dark area with your little one. Turn the light on and place it in a central location within the room, shining it on the floor across to the other side of the room. Take your little one by the hand and show them how to walk in the path of the light. You could dance in the light or place one foot in front of the other and pretend it is a tightrope or skip through it. This is what Jesus calls us to do, to walk in His light. Show your little one what it looks like to walk out of the light and talk to them about how we choose to walk in His light.
Who is someone in your family who does nice things for you or helps you? What are some ways you could say thanks to this person? Do something that shows this person how thankful you are.
One of my favorite things to do is surf (I’m not that good), but I love the feeling of being out there in the ocean. One of the things I use to keep my body warm is a wetsuit. I was reading the manufacturer’s warranty on it one day and it said, “lifetime warranty.” I thought to myself, “Great, I’ll go out to the store and get it repaired, free of charge!” Wrong! They wanted to charge me for the repair and simply stated, that their “lifetime warranty” policy was nothing more than a marketing ploy. After Jesus had said He was going to die, the people did not believe Him because they had read that the Messiah would rule forever! Hmmmm, sounds like they didn’t quite understand.
Let’s get real: Read the following texts: Psalm 89:4; 110:4; Isaiah 9:7; Ezekiel 37:25; Luke 1:33. Do you believe you would be confused as well if you heard Jesus say that He was going to die but you believed He was going to rule forever? Do you ever feel that God has said one thing and done another? In other words, has He ever contradicted Himself?
In the code of Jewish law during the days of Jesus, the Sanhedrin could only execute a person if they jumped through 15 specific hoops. The code was so geared toward mercy that it was really, really, really hard to condemn a person to death. But in the trial of Jesus, they completely ignored nine of those stipulations because they were determined to get Him. More than that, by wanting Him crucified they also broke their own law. Jewish law defined four methods of capital punishment and crucifixion wasn’t one of them. (We’ll visit that thought tomorrow.) The whole thing was a sham. Even more, the fact that there were false witnesses was really messy. The law said that if a person testified falsely that person should get the punishment that they intended for the one they were lying about. If you lied to try to have a person pay a thousand shekel fine you should be charged a thousand shekels. By trusting false and contradicting witnesses the Sanhedrin was complicit in what should have been the crucifixion of every one of the witnesses—and maybe the temple leadership, too!
Bec Reid is a real estate agent within her family business. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and is a part of the Wahroonga Adventist Church community.
Jess Lee is an education consultant for the New South Wales Adventist education system. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and attends Kellyville Church.
Art Preuss pastors in Massachusetts at the Springfield, Florence, and Warren Adventist churches and serves in the U. S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain.
Don Pate is “retired” in Tennessee after decades of teaching and pastoring but is still active in speaking and creating for the Kingdom.