THE WORD MADE CLEAR
#195 THE WORD MADE CLEAR
Scripture John 10:22-42, NIV Orig. 3/28/1971
Rewr. 5/1977, 2/3/1985
Passage: 22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[a] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’[c]? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Purpose: To make clear the authority of God’s Word as the instrument through which the message of salvation is made known to all people.
Keywords: Bible Christ the Son of God Word of God Salvation
Introduction
Have you ever been so over-whelmed with words that they somehow lost their meaning? Perhaps a doctor’s explanation of some serious illness suddenly confused you with too much information. Or, an agent’s identification of certain clauses in some important financial contract, and the harder you tried, the less you understood. Maybe some matter involving pending litigation, and the lawyer is trying to cover some potential traps and uncertainty surrounds you.
If you have not already, you will soon take tax forms in hand. You were referred from Form 1040 to Form 2950SE. Then to 3903 and 2120. Then you noted that there were exclusions of 2950SE that you had over-looked, and you suddenly realize that the best tax deduction is that paid to a consultant. You are reeling under the load of annuities, exemptions, tax write-offs, casualty losses, reimbursed expenses, and percentile exclusions. You glance at your watch and discover that it is April 16th. “Words! Words! Words!” (Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2).
Many people treat the Bible this way. They let themselves get lost in words. A second grader could apply what he has learned and tell you that there are 66 books in the Bible. Two or three years later, he has learned enough to add the chapters of these books and amass a total 1189. By the time he is a freshman in high school, with a little luck and … [text lost]… are 773,692 words. He may know certain facts about the Bible: The longest chapter is Psalm 119; the shortest Psalm 117; the longest verse is Esther 8:9; the shortest John 11:35. He may know facts, or words, and be totally ignorant about the message contained within.
I. There Is the Establishment of Authority. V36 “Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” V35 reminds us “The scripture cannot be broken.”
William Tyndale was a man used of God to bring His word to the language of men. Burned at the stake, betrayed by a friend. Most persistent enemy—the church. Engraving of William Tyndale standing before a burning stake with a Bible tied. Out of the fire numberless Bibles take wing to the ends of the earth.
Jesus came to bear witness to the Word of God. Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. . . .”
Jesus came as the redemptive agent of God. V27f “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life.” So many people lack assurance of salvation. Tyndale opposed the 16th Century church that was selling indulgences. Do you have assurance of salvation? I Samuel 12:22 “The Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake.” V29, “No man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hands.”
Jesus came to assert His right in every life as personal Lord. V37f, “If I do the works of the Father, though you don’t believe me, believe the works: that you may know and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in Him.”
Early in the 20th Century, Albert Einstein, a lifetime pacifist, spoke to a convocation of scientists. He wrote E=MC2, energy is proportional to mass: the first stumbling steps toward atomic fission. Twenty centuries ago “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
II. There Is the Anticipation of Response. Regrettably, the first clear response was a negative one. V33 “The Jews answered him saying, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” They were the people of the book, yet they understood not. Shakespeare somewhere said “words without thoughts never to heaven go.” Too often we try to blame our sin on failure of the word to attest, rather than failure to believe.
The needed response is one of faith and acquiescence. Do we genuinely seek to know the will of God? Romans 12:2, “That you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God.” Ephesians 5:17 “Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” And knowing God’s will are we content to live accordingly?
Wilbur Rees has a piece entitled “$3.00 worth of God.” “I’d like to buy $3.-00 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I’d like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.” I58p29.
In other words, simple words, having learned the truth, to act upon it. What do you say of him? Few words—“He blasphemeth.” Many words that tout truth, but do not testify of it. Or, “He is the Son of God,” then to treat myself to faith, and others to forgiveness.
III. The Word Makes Clear the Assertion of Salvation. V28 “I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish.”
The first essence of belief is in the reality of God. Many of these “believers” are Deists. They believe that God made and wound-up the world, as a watchmaker would a clock. Then He went off, and to sleep, to let it wind down of its own accord.
But the essential essence of belief is in a God of contemporary relationship. He is not off somewhere asleep. Clearly, He doesn’t always take my need as His first consideration. But His activity is that of caring and loving parent.
Salvation teaches us this belief. It teaches of relationship. It teaches of security. It teaches of belonging.
Conclusion
My family was involved in an auto accident several years ago just north of Alexandria. Ann and both girls were hospitalized. Ann was in bed for 8 weeks. Two had injuries serious enough that they could not be moved. The back half of my car was on the highway. As I tried to comfort them and await the ambulance, I was unaware of a transport truck that had stopped, blocking the lane. Should I have accosted him to determine the contents of his truck? I may not want such protecting my family. How many times I have wished for just the name of the company.
God offers you eternal life. You are quibbling over word meanings. You reject
***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***