Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Click Here to Listen to Or Read John 17 Jesus Prays to Be Glorified On the earth as is in his upcoming death on the cross, Jesus' singular goal was to glorify his Father in heaven. What a great goal in life to glorify our heavenly Father. Jesus glorified His Father by being obedient unto death on the cross. Jesus glorified the Father by giving people eternal life. Then, he describes eternal life as knowing the Father. This is not just an intellectual knowledge, but an experiential knowledge that finds its completion when we are face to face with the Father and the Son in heaven.   As we continue to grow as Jesus' disciples, we can learn a lot by learning from the way he prayed to the Father.  Most of us know what it is to hear a true man or woman of God deep in prayer; there is something holy and awesome about it. Far beyond all that was this prayer Jesus prayed unto His God and Father, which is the only long, continuous prayer of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. The senten...

Click Here to Read John 16 John continues to explain the role of the Holy Spirit. We learn more about the Holy Spirit in John than any other gospel. Jesus says, " It is good for me to go because if I don't I can't send you the Holy Spirit."   “ The withdrawal of the bodily presence of Christ was the essential condition of His universal spiritual presence .” (Dods) Jesus was just one man but by sending the Holy Spirit every believer would have the Spirit of Christ living in them. It is the Holy Spirit that will convict the world about sinfulness, and the fact that we can never measure up to God's perfect standards. Simply put, the Holy Spirit shows us our need for Christ.  Also, the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth. The Holy Spirit is the voice of truth, just as Jesus was the truth. The Holy Spirit would take what Jesus said and make it known to the disciples. The Holy Spirit helps us to discern the difference between truth and a lie. The Holy Spirit is ...

Click Here to Listen to or Read John 15 The Vine and the Branches Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine and its branches to illustrate what a relationship with him looks like and the results. Being an amateur gardener, I know the value of pruning. Once the flowers on my rose bushes have bloomed, at some point I need to prune the branches in order to bring another bloom of beautiful roses. At the time it is hard to do but once the bush starts to grow again, it is worth it.  Jesus says that the only way we can bear fruit as Jesus' followers is if we stay connected to him. Without Jesus in our lives, we can do nothing of eternal value. But as we grow in faith, God prunes us so that we can be even more fruitful. Though it may seem painful at the time, as God prunes away old attitudes, habits, and behaviors, we see new fruit being borne through the process.  The scary thing about the passage is the branches that don't abide in the Vine and don't bear fruit are eventually cut down ...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 14 The next 4 chapters of John are some of the richest in the bible containing some of the most important aspects of Jesus we need to know. John 14:1-6 is often the gospel verses I use for funeral services. Again these verses highlight John's portrait of Jesus as being fully divine. As he is preparing his disciples for his departure, he tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. Why? Because he has prepared a place for them in His Father's house, which is full of many rooms. He has prepared a place for them to be with him after they die and go to be with him in heaven. Jesus says that if he goes to that place, he will return (his second coming) and take them to be with him. I can only imagine that the disciples really did not fully understand what Jesus was saying at this point.  We see this when Thomas says, " Lord we don't even know where you are going. How can we know the way? " Then Jesus shares a most famous verse, ...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 13 Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet Jesus' time on earth was coming to an end and so was his three years with his disciples. On the night of his last meal with them, he would need to leave with them an indelible impression about what he wanted them to be about after he left. So he took the occasion to wash his disciples' feet before dinner.  This was the job of a servant. When Jesus came to Peter to wash his feet, Peter was mortified. He protested telling Jesus he would never let him wash his feet. Then, Jesus said if he wouldn't let him was his feet, he had no part of him or his ministry. Like the other disciples, Peter thought Jesus was going to deliver the Jews and restore them to the glory they once had as a nation. Surely this had nothing to do with washing feet, but to Jesus it had everything to do with washing feet.  Jesus was setting an example for them about how they were to serve others just as he had done. As he washed their f...

Click Here to Read or LIsten to John 12 Jesus Anointed at Bethany It is now six days before Jesus will be going to the cross. Since it was six days from the Passover, it was a Saturday. Jesus went to one of his favorite homes, the residence of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, so I'm sure it was quite a reunion. As usual Martha was serving the meal, and Mary was at Jesus' feet. She bought an expensive perfume, worth about a year's wages, which was a lot of money. She anointed Jesus feet as a matter of hospitality and honor.  Mary’s gift was remarkably humble. When a guest entered the home, usually the guest’s feet were washed with water and the guest’s head was anointed with a dab of oil or perfume. Here, Mary used this precious ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus. She considered her precious ointment only good enough for His feet. “To attend to the feet was the task of the most lowly slave. Thus Mary’s action denoted great humility...

Click Here to Read or Listen To John 11 The Death of Lazarus This is a very poignant story about the supernatural power of Jesus combined with His deep love and affection for Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus loved all three of them equally though the each of them had unique qualities and personalities. The story gets more dramatic when Jesus waits for two days, after he hears about Lazarus being sick. The two sisters had seen Jesus heal sick people, so it was natural for them to call on Jesus to help their brother, who was dying. Their brother Lazarus was, "the one who Jesus loved!" Note: John realized that their were other "beloved" disciples besides him.  We don't know why Jesus waited two days, but when he told his disciples he was going back to Judea, the disciples tried to stop him. After all, the people had just tried to throw him off the cliff for claiming He was God. When Jesus said Lazarus had fallen asleep, they were confused as they wer...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 10 The Good Shepherd and His Sheep One of my favorite "I am" statements of Jesus is when he says today on John 10, " I am the good shepherd ." In our day and age we are not familiar with the "shepherding" business. But, when Jesus said this to the people he was speaking to, they would have known exactly what he meant by it. Important Jesus was going to take this metaphonr and apply it to himself. His description was also meant to be an indictment on the Pharisees, who weren't very good shepherds.  So what would be the qualities of a good shepherd?  His sheep hear and recognize his voice and follow him. They won't follow a stranger's voice. A true shepherd enters in sheep pen through the right gate.  " God always intended that His people be led, fed, and protected by those who come in the legitimate, intended way. The door is there for a reason. Some will always climb over the barriers, but God has the b...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 9 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind Jesus' disciples ask him an interesting question, as they go by a man who was blind since birth. They wondered who had sinned to cause his condition, he or his parents. Obviously if he was born blind, he couldn't be culpable for his condition, but what about his parents. Their view was reflective of the Jewish belief that the sins of the father visited future generations.  Jesus dismissed this opinion and said rather that this man's blindness gave God an opportunity to show his works. There is a lot of unnecessary pain and burden added to someone who is sick or has a disease by implying that somehow they deserved this as a consequence for their siu. Our sin was paid for Jesus on the cross, which is why we don't have to pay for it ourselves.  People still get sick today and 100% of us will die, but oftentimes our sickness can be used for God and his glory. This can happen in a couple of ways. Either thro...

Click Here to Listen or Read John 8 Woman Caught in Adultery This story is another reason I like the gospel of John so much. Without John's gospel, we would not have this story about the woman caught in adultery. If you look at textual notes there is some disagreement on whether it should be included in the bible. Most early manuscripts do not include it, but other versions do including the Textus Receptus, which was used to write the King James Version and also Luther's German Bible. “If we cannot feel that this is part of John’s Gospel we can feel that the story is true to the character of Jesus.” (Morris) Bottom line is that everything in this passage is consistent with the way Jesus has dealt with sinners before like the woman at the well.  The context is the teachers of the Law and Pharisees brought the woman to Jesus to try and test him. If he excused her, they said he would be disobeying Old Testament law. If condemned her, they would say he was heartless. But Jesus call...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 7 Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles Feast of Tabernacles: This was a joyful, weeklong celebration in September or October when families camped out in temporary shelters to remember God’s faithfulness to Israel in the wilderness on the way from Egypt to Canaan under Moses. - Guzik  Though Jesus knew it would be dangerous to go to the Feast, his disicples urged him so that more people could see his see the works he was doing. They had a worldly perspective and thought this would be good for public relations. After all even his brothers did not believe in him.  Many a man faced with cruel opposition in public life has been sustained by the faith and faithfulness of his kith and kin. Jesus was denied this solace.” (Morris) Jesus told his brothers to go on ahead of him, because it was not his "time" yet. But a little while later Jesus went in secret. The people were making comments wondering where he was. Some thought he was a "goo...

Click Here To Read or Listen to John 6 to John 6 Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand Today Jesus performed another one of his great miracles, which John calls "signs". While they essentially mean the same thing, a sign has the connotation of pointing to something. In John, the signs point to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah.  Once again Jesus is not only going to feed the hungry people who are following him because of the signs he is doing, but he is also teaching his disciples and allowing them to participate in the sign. He asks Philip how they are going to feed the people. He wonders what they will do so with only a few loaves in hand. Andrew sees a boy with a five barley loaves and two small fish. Clearly Jesus is showing that them is no way that these meager resources will feed five thousand without God's intervention.  So what did Jesus do? First, he had them sit down. We know from other gospels they were organized in groups of 50.  Jesus was in no panic or hurry. He ha...

Click Here To Listen to or Read John 5 The Healing at the Pool We don't know which one of the three festivals this story is referring to. It could either be: Passover, Purim, or Pentecost.  Many sick and diseased people hung around this pool thinking that if the pool were stirred something supernatural would happen in the water producing healing. People lined up to encounter this healing water, so the man who was invalid for 38 years virtually had no chance of getting into the pool. After all, who would help him up.   I love when Jesus says to this man, " Do you want to get well? " What does this mean when he says this?  This was a sincere question. Jesus knew that not every sick person wants to be healed, and that some are so discouraged that they put away all hope of being healed. Jesus dealt with a man who may have had his heart withered as well as his legs. Jesus therefore attempted to build the faith of this man. Guzik Jesus responded to the man by saying, " Pic...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 4 Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman As Jesus went back to Galilee, he had to pass through Samaria, where he encountered a Samaritan woman. Many Jews took great pains to avoid walking through Samaria by taking a circuitous route around it, which took much longer to go on. But Jesus chose to go this route probablhy knowing he would run into a Samaritan along the way. Samaritans were considered "dirty dogs" by Jewish people, because they were usually Jews who had intermarried with Gentiles. But Jesus will show that God's love was for all people not just the Jewish people.  The Samaritan woman was going to the well at noon, which was an unusual time for a woman to go there. At noon, Jesus was very thirsty from traveling during the heat of the day.  "This woman came for water at an unusual hour and she came alone. Typically, women came for water earlier in the day and they came in groups. Perhaps there was a sudden need, or perhaps sh...

Click Here to Read or Listen to the John 3 Jesus Teaches Nicodemus This is one of my favorite chapters in all of scripture. It starts off with Jesus teaching Nicodemus, who is one of members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body for the Jews. Nicodemus came to him at night suggesting he didn't want anyone to see him with Jesus. He had seen the signs and wonders and heard Jesus' teaching, which is why he called him "rabbi". He is one of the few Jewish leaders who connect the signs Jesus did with who he was.  Jesus responded to him by saying, " Unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God. " Nicodemus took him literally and didn't understand how someone could jump back into their mother's womb. Jesus answers him again by explaining that he is talking about being born of " water and the Spirit ". There are lots of different explanations of what he means when he says by being "born of water", but I think given the context i...

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 2 Jesus Changes Water Into Wine One of the reasons O love the gospel of John is that we get to see stories we don't in other gospels for instance this one, which reveal sides of Jesus we don't see in the other gospels. There are several things I love about this story.  First, we see interaction between Jesus and his mother.  When the wedding party ran out of wine, which would have been a huge "faux pas" in the Jewish culture, Jesus' mom told him to take care of it. This leads us to believe she knew something of his supernatural power, or she just expected him to do something about it. Jesus gives her an unusual response basically says, " Mom it is not my time yet" .  He calls her " woman ", which is an unusual way to address her with. “So far from being a rough and discourteous way of address, it was a title of respect. We have no way of speaking in English which exactly renders it; but it is better to trans...

  Click Here to Read or Listen to John 1 Today we get to my favorite gospel, the gospel of John. Whereas the other three gospels work methodically through the life of Jesus each with their own distinctive, John tells us more about the personal side of Jesus. It has been called "the relational" gospel. Being a relational guy, John is the disciple I can't wait to meet.  John is famous for the "I am sayings" and poignant stories about, "The woman at the well and "the woman caught in adultery". Today he tells a story we don't see in any other gospel "the Wedding at Cana". John also focuses on the divinity of Christ. John's gospel was written 30 years after the other gospels and some early heresies had starting creeping into the church. The most common one with "gnosticism", which asserted that Jesus only seemed to be human but he is really a "spirit being". Because of the human interaction and compassion Jesus sho...