For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
John 14
How does Jesus describe the relationship between love and obedience? Love is an ambiguous word. It means different things to different people at different times. Some think it means having feelings for another. Others think it means being nice. Still others think it means doing what another wants. I could go on. What I am learning through Jesus’ teaching, both directly from Him and through His apostles after Him, however, is that love is all about surrender. I don’t mean quitting. But giving yourself up in a sense, yes. You love when you obey those with authority over you and serve those under your authority. You love when you apply yourself toward the benefit of others rather than using others for the benefit of self. Love surrenders all pride.
Zech. 3-4
I love this vision of Joshua the high priest. He truly is symbolic of things to come! The Bible talks about God’s people – that’s us – being a kingdom of priests. So I see Joshua as a symbol of each one of us. Like Joshua, we will stand before the LORD one day, with Satan at our side accusing us. However, also like Joshua, our filthy clothes have been removed and we have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. But I don’t think the symbolism ends there. For one thing, it is no coincidence that his name is Joshua, which is a variation of the name, Jesus. To me, this both connects several aspects of this vision to Jesus while also representing how we are made like Him. Very awesome indeed.
As for the parts that connect to Jesus, He is, of course, the One who takes away our sin. He is also the branch and the stone with seven eyes. The NIV has a footnote with an alternate translation of “eyes” being “facets”. This immediately made me think of Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements in the book of John. Jesus is the LORD Almighty, who removed our sin the day He conquered death.