THE STORM AT SEA

#822                                                                   THE STORM AT SEA                                                                                          

Scripture  John 6:15-24 (Mark 6:34-52) NIV                                                                                          Orig. 2/12/1984

                                                                                                                                                                             Rewr. 3/27/1990

Passage: John 6:15-24: ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[a] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

²² The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. ²³ Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

Mark 6:34-52: ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. ³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” ³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷ Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

Purpose: Continuing the series from John, here depicting the events that took place following the feeding of the multitude.

Keywords:                           Bible Study         Miracle                 Christ as Saviour

Timeline/Series:               Series on John

Introduction

                There  is a story of a family with a small child visiting in the home of wealthy, and influential people.  With the parents distracted, the child stuck his hand through the opening of a rare Chinese vase and then could not extract it.  He began to cry, both out of fear for the stuck hand, and concern that he would be punished.  His parents and the friends tried in every way to free the boy’s hand.  The harder they tried, the louder were the cries from the lad.. boy’s hand was so  hopelessly stuck.  He had seen a penny in the bottom of the vase and had it clutched in a tightly balled fist.  In his childish ignorance, he did not know that by releasing the penny his hand would have slipped free.

                Helmut Thielicke  has a sermon on prayer in which he refers to John 6:26 (20C/12/p234). “Ye seek me,  ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat the loaves, and were filled.”  He added, “He (Jesus) miraculously fed the multitude so that behind the event they might catch sight of the true Bread of Life; . . . But the significance of the event was lost on them.  It was not ‘transparent’ to them. And so they overlooked this hand entirely, and only hungered after ‘the five barley loaves and two small fish.’  If they had caught sight of the Giver behind the gift, and the Saviour beyond the bread, then this experience would have really meant something to them, and it would have stayed with them all of their lives. . . .  We might wander through waterless desert wastes, but God is with us.  He can provide us with oases of fresh water.  He can also surround us with his peace even when things are going to get worse—so that the thirst cannot do anything further to us.  But this gift, which was extended to you in the hour of God’s miracle, you refused.  When your cry for bread was answered, you did not say, ‘Glory to God alone!’ or ‘Praise be to God in the highest,’ but you only rubbed your hands across your well-filled stomach and murmured ‘Food!’  Then you rose up to play and forgot the  whole thing.”

                Too many of us are like the child mentioned earlier.  We clutch selfishly the physical symbols of God’s gifts to us, ignoring the deeper meaning of the symbol behind the gift.

                The Storm at Sea will address three things:  (1) Christ alone at prayer; (2) The disciples at sea and afraid; (3) The multitude discounting the Saviour behind the symbol.

I.             Jesus Alone at Prayer: A Sudden Change.  V15 “When Jesus perceived that they would come and take him by force, . . . he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

                It is where He and His disciples had been just a few hours earlier.  They had discussed the mission:  Luke 9:10.  They shared tribute for John: Matthew 14:13.  Jesus saw a glimmer of His own death.

                With the coming of the multitude, Jesus went to them, taught them, fed them.  God’s concern is for worldly needs.  But His principle concern is that we see Jesus as the “bread of life.”  V33 bread of God; V35 bread of life; V51 living bread.

                Suddenly, it is as if a different spirit fills the place.  Jesus sends the disciples ahead to Capernaum; Matthew and Mark say “constrained”; by force of will He compels them.  The multitude is dismissed; “They” v15 see visions of regal splendor, thoughts of Judas Maccabeus. Were the disciples the ring-leaders?  Christ had this great power: they were His chief workers.  Jesus resorts to the Father.  Was He tempted by the crown?  Hebrews 4:15: “. . . In all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

                The prayer, the vision of the cross returns.  The afternoon reveals His deity.  Close of day, His humanity.  Nothing would stay Him from His cross.

                Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Lord God?”  Nought but prayer will bring us to that place of submission and surrender.

II.            We Next Encounter the Disciples on the Boat, at Sea, and Afraid.  V18 “And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.”  We can safely assume somewhat of thoughts.  They saw first hand the feeding.  They heard and encouraged the talk of insurrection, not resurrection.  Lithuania 4/1990.

                They are sent on their way for  Christ to recover His sense of mission.  They were 4-5 miles from Capernaum.  A storm swept in suddenly.  By three a.m. had gone 25-30 stadia. “Stadia” provides our “stadium”—distance around a contained oval, or about 600 feet.  Compute to 5,000 yards—2-1/2 to 3 miles.

                They were confused—King or Messiah or what?  Mark 6:48 “distressed”—vex, harass, toil.  What they did not know was that Jesus knew their distress.  Above 6:48.  In the midst of this “storm” Christ appears.  With four miles, probably a  mile of shore.  Dark, and wind disorient them.  Some say Jesus was on the beach.  If you don’t know a Jesus who can walk on water, you don’t know a Jesus who saves.  The “stilling” of storm prior—Mark 4/Matthew 8.

                They see Christ as an apparition or a ghost.  Common belief of spirit visits.  Welcoming them to abode of death.  “Be of good cheer,” Matthew and Mark show confidence/courage.  “Ego eimi”—“I am,” not “It is I.”  Courage not in Jesus being thee.  Rather in who Jesus was/is.  “I am.”  Moses: “I am hath sent  thee” very similar in Hebrew to YHWH.  Abraham: John 8:58 “Before Abraham was, I am.”

                They welcome Jesus on board on His terms, not their own.  Have we?

III.           The Multitude Makes a Choice.  V24 “When  the people . . . saw that Jesus was not there, . . . they took shipping . . . and came to Capernaum seeking for Jesus.”

                Remember, this is the same crowd from the day before.  They had eaten of loaves and fishes.  They had been prepared to enthrone.  They would have taken up arms against Romans if He had chosen to accept.  A day later they have sought Him out. Many apparently left the scene.  Some did not, or returned.  They saw disciples leave alone. Knowing Capernaum to be center for His activities, (Matthew 4:13f) came there.  Following is in synagogue 6:59.

                A distinction must be made about those who  heard Jesus.  The twelve 6:67 “the twelve.” Many “disciples” 6:66 turned away, “went back as before Christ.”  Counting on Christ as teacher, provider; not as Saviour.   Don’t confuse yourself about one losing their salvation.  Not at issue with these “disciples.”  V24 “came . . . seeking.”  V26 “seek me . . . because . . . you did eat . . . and were filled.”

                There were, also, earnest and sincere seekers.  They would heed the message.  V40 “This is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life.”  Jesus, as the bread of life next.

Conclusion

                A Texan named Kenneth Reedy went to Bahrain in early 1970 to take advantage of the oil boom.  With the help of a local contractor he built an ice cream factory.  A few years later, it went bankrupt.  The contractor sued, and won.  Reedy was forced to give up his passport until the $60,000 was paid.  Without a passport, he can only find maintenance jobs.  Nothing can help him until someone pays his debt, or the litigant withdraws the lien.  It is human sin without Christ.

THE BOY WHO WOULD

#817                                                               THE BOY WHO WOULD                                                                                      

Scripture  John 6:1-14 NIV                                                                                                                           Orig. 1/18/1984

                                                                                                                                                                             Rewr. 3/23/1990

Passage: Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. ¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Purpose: Continuing our study from John, here examining Jesus’ attention to a scrap of a boy with a scrap of bread, and the meeting of needs.

Keywords:  Biographical                Miracle of Christ               Sacrament          Series of John    Bible Study John

Timeline/Series:               New Testament Character

Introduction

                There are two miracles here.  We are going to talk at some length about the miracle of Jesus feeding a company in excess of 10,000 people. It is said to be a “large crowd,” and reference is made to “5,000 men.”  I hope that we will not become so caught up in the scope of feeding such a crowd that we overlook the message contained within.

                The second miracle is that “a lad,” a boy, perhaps eleven to fourteen still possesses his lunch, even though he has been with this crowd for both hours and  miles.  This is a  happening, without concession stands.  Through it all, for reasons we cannot imagine, the boy has held on to his lunch.

                A good friend who was a scout leader told me of a trip his troop took.  They were going whitewater canoeing, and were to be gone three days.  They stopped after about two hours on the road for a brief break.  Back in the van, fifteen  minutes later, he found out that one of his boys had spent every penny he had on the first break.

                The boy’s mother had prepared what she could.  Evidently, they were poor.  The bread identified here was barley, the bitter bread of poor people.  Something to accompany the bread was necessary, thus the fish.  She prepared him, not only with what fare she could, but forewarned him to eat it sparingly.  Evidently, it was she who encouraged him to share.

                Not every lad has this good fortune.  Ann asked her children, for a science experiment, to bring a can from home.  One boy, of age ten or so, replied, “We ain’t got no cans but beer cans.”

I.             We Must Look Back at Where They have Been.  John 6:1 “After these things, Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee. 

                Any good Harmony will attest to John’s death just prior to this.  Matthew, Mark, Luke all affirm.  Matthew 14:13 “When Jesus heard of it, he departed  thence by ship into a desert place apart.”  Also, the disciples have just returned from their preaching mission.  Luke 9:10 “. . . when they were returned, . . . he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place.”

                John’s death was a foregleam of His.  The word “desert,” means nothing more than desolate, it was a place apart.  John was dead, they needed to assess his death.  The disciples had followed Jesus’ guide in preaching.  They needed to discuss what had happened.

                One other important factor arises.  Luke 9:9 “And Herod said, John have I beheaded; but who is this ? . . .  And he desired to see him.”  The curious followed Jesus daily.  Their interest was material  not spiritual.  He wasn’t looking for a sponsor, certainly not someone like Herod.

                There is another factor  It is Passover.  John 6:4 “And, the Passover . . . was nigh.”  Jewish men were required by the Law to be in Jerusalem.  (Hezekiah, II Chronicles 30.)  Jesus would not be there.  His objection was not the feast, but the manner of men in observing. 

                It was Passover when they found the 12-year-old Jesus in  the temple (John 2:13).   Luke 2:46f “about my Father’s business.”  They occupied themselves searching out leaven, with corrupt hearts.  Passover is about the hoped-for Messiah, already rejected. Of what does our spirit convict us in relation to Jesus?  Why are we here?

II.            Also, We Need to See Where They are Going.  “. . . Over the Sea of Galilee . . . to a desolate place belonging to the city called Bethsaida (Luke 9:10). . . up into a mountain.”  V3

                So, let’s learn a little bit about Bethsaida.  A suburb of Capernaum (fishing hub).  Just across the narrow north end of lake.  Two Bethsaidas, one across the lake.  The other at the ford crossing the river lowing into the lake.  There is a mountain above.  A grassy plain near.  The crowd would have had to travel about nine miles.

                This has been a busy time for Jesus.  John 4:54 Cana, Capernaum, “second miracle.”  John 5:1 “Went up to Jerusalem”—paralytic.  John 6:1 here as stated.  John 7:1 “After this, Jesus walked in Galilee; he would not walk in Jewry, because. . . .”

                Jesus moves with the disciples to a place where they can be to themselves.  Suddenly, there is a great crowd.  John 6:5 “great company come unto him.”  They watched as He left.  Mark 6:33 “people saw them departing, . . . and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them.” 

                Jesus needed this time alone, but His compassion was so great, He turns all His energy to the needs of these people.

III.           Two Men are Important to this Story.  V5 “He saith unto Philip.”  V8 “Andrew, . . . saith unto him.”  Philip, first of all is from Bethsaida, as were Andrew and Peter.  John 1:44. He is asked about a commissary where food may be purchased.  His doubt springs not of unavailability, but because they have no funds for such.  Rub out pennyworth:  put denarius.  A day’s wage: thus 6-1/2 months.  Philip’s response was not “must we” or “dare we” or “should we,” but “can we.”  And he concluded that they could not. 

                In faith assessments, how do we think?  What should we do?  What can we do, which regrettably turns to what we cannot do. 

                What God expects of His people He always makes possible for His people.

                At this point, Andrew enters.  He, too, knows the area, but it isn’t bakery shops that are brought to mind.  What is there on this hillside that will satisfy this need?  One feeds his doubt, the other doubts his faith.  “There is a lad here, which hath. . . .”

IV.          Finally, We See the Boy Who Would.  There are those who doubt the story.  Jesus could not do such.  Others say he could but would not.  Matthew 4:3f “command these stones.” 

                Others suggest Jesus used the boy as a kind of leaven.  Others were shamed to share theirs. Andrew didn’t see it that way.  V9.  Some translators see it as a sacramental meal.

                So, here is the boy who would. 

                The boy who would hear Jesus.  Teenagers, how interested are you?  Adults, what are they learning of you about Jesus?

                The boy who would follow Jesus.  He stayed with this crowd all day.  He is here on his own.  He is more concerned for truth than he is in strutting around.

                The boy who would invest in Jesus.  What little he has, he gives.  He has an open heart toward God.

                There is a final direct message for us.  Christ is the bread of life for a perishing world. John 6:35.  That the message is to be delivered to an impoverished world by those who have to give.

                The disciples were left with a remnant to be renewed.  A parable, as it were, to share.  A reminder of mission, miracle.  On the ship, in the dark, the basket could have worked its own miracle.  Hebrew Pe'ah—“corner," the portion of the crop that must be left standing for the poor—remnant in trust for the servant.  Twelve baskets v. twelve disciples.

WITNESSES ABOUNDING

#802                                                             WITNESSES ABOUNDING                                                                                    

Scripture  John 5:31-47 NIV                                                                                                                         Orig. 3/10/1990

Passage: Testimonies About Jesus 

³¹ “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³ “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵ John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

³⁶ “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You study^[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹ “I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴² but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God^[d]?

⁴⁵ “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

Purpose: Continuing the series from the gospel, here sharing the witnesses who declare Christ to be Saviour.

Keywords:           Bible Study John’s Gospel             Christ as Saviour               Salvation

Timeline/Series:               John

Introduction

                One thing among many that we have learned in our study of this gospel is that Jesus faces the antagonisms of the Jews fearlessly.  He is not operating on the back streets of Jerusalem and the small towns of Galilee.  He is addressing everyone everywhere, telling them that He is the Messiah, and that they, sooner or later, are going to have to deal with who He is.

                Does His fearlessness surprise you?  Do you have the spiritual volition to compare His boldness with your own?  Would you like to have a faith conditioned by such purpose as His?  (E14p114)

                Bishop Hanns Lilje wrote a book about his experiences in German prisoner of war camps.  One of the clear messages of The Valley of the Shadow is the differences in the lives of people who had a “living” religious faith.  Lilje says that they had conquered their fears, even the fear of death.  He wrote, ”In those days it was granted me to tread the shores of that land which lies on the outermost fringe of time, upon which already something of the radiance of the other world is shining.  I did not know that an existence which is still earthly and human could be so open to the world of God.  It was a stillness full of blessing, a solitude over which God brooded, an imprisonment blessed by God Himself.”

                Jesus was God, imprisoned within a human body, but it was an imprisonment of purpose.  Can it also be said that every believer, who chooses to live by his or her faith, does so with that same sense of imprisoned purpose?  “I am what I am, and therefore, I must be what I must be.”  It is not a prison of fear or dread, but a simple constraint of purpose.  Do WE seek such faith?  This passage calls forth witnesses to so testify of Jesus, and to call us to follow.

I.             The Witnesses Are Identified.  V31 “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.”

                He is the Word, but does not depend upon His “word” only.  He is well able to identify himself.  People everywhere are seeking to find out who they are.  Jesus knew absolutely.

                The rest of this chapter, however, is an enunciation of those witnesses of who He is.  The law clearly states the concern for integrity among witnesses.  Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15 ,           17⁶ Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 19¹⁵ “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.  II Corinthians 13:1 “In  the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”

                Jesus here tells us that there are unlimited witnesses whom He can call.  Six are clearly identified.  His own witness is the allusion of the first (31) and the last (47) verses.  They all say the same thing: that Jesus is God’s unique son, a monogene.

                Jesus next identifies the six witnesses.  Our word for martyr.  Greek times did not connote this.  The first witness is the Holy Spirit.  V32 “There is another.”  “Is” is a word for fundamental being.  “Another” is of the same kind.  Remember that we Baptists believe in the Trinity: the Godhead.  The Holy Spirit is still the agent of confirmation of who Christ is.  When you trusted Jesus, you do so at the urging of Holy Spirit.  Some will deny Him today by denying the Spirit urging in your heart.  We deny by denial.  We deny by closing our minds.

                Next, Jesus identifies John as a witness.  V33 “Ye sent unto John, and he bears witness.”  In actual fact, they went twice to John.  John 1:22 “Who art thou?”  “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”  “I baptize with water . . . among you is one you know not.” (Matthew: “baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”)  John 3:26, “He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness.”  Also in actual fact John testifies He is the Christ (28). Speaks God’s words (34).  One with Holy Spirit (34). To believe is to receive life (36).  Deny is to be condemned (36).  Romans 2:5: “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”

                Nor must we overlook v36: “He was a burning and shining light.”  Burning is present/past participle—consumed.  Shining is aorist/active/participle—still shines.  We are more interested in shining than we are in burning.  The will of these people was emotional rather than resolve of comm. 

                The third witness is the oneness of Jesus’ own works with God’s will.  He has affirmed that it is not given to Him to boost Himself. V31.  He does not find it necessary to use words to affirm who HE is.  In vocal silence, however, His works still establish who He is:

• Going public in Cana.
• Preaching like John in Judea (John 4:1).
• Healing an official’s son (John 4:43).
• The paralytic at Bethesda (John 5:1).
• Every work attests to who He is.
• It is in this tradition that chapter 6 of John opens with the feeding of 5,000.

                Three witnesses should be quite enough but the fourth is God.  V37 “And the Father Himself, . . . hath born witness of me.”  The Holy Spirit/John/His own works.  The problem is their own unbelief.  Someone (Z#191) defines hear as hearing with the ear of the mind.  We can condition ourselves with noise so as not to hear music.  We can condition ourselves with error so as not to hear truth.  The person who claims inability to believe blames externals.  Philosophical/Witness of others. “Seen” ‘orao—to see with the mind, to suddenly grasp a fundamental but obscure truth.  They must come to terms with God, but to do so they must believe Him.

                Jesus describes salvation.  What it is.  What it is not.

• It is not religious law. V39
• It is not human personality. V44
• It is not spiritual heritage. V45
• It is Jesus Himself. V40
• This outline for next week.

                Next, He adds the scripture as the fifth witness.  V39 “Search the scriptures: . . . they are they which testify of me.”  The reference is to the Old Testament scripture.  Genesis 49:10 “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah till Shiloh comes.”  Isaiah 11:1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse.”  Jeremiah 23:5 “I will raise unto David a righteous branch.” Micah 5:2 “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratha.”  And many, many others.

                Finally, He certifies what should not have been, but was, the most important voice to the religious leaders, . . . Moses.  V46 “Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”  No text above from Moses but there is one.  Deuteronomy 18:18 “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my word in his mouth; and he shall speak  unto them all that I shall command.”

                Dr. Vaught says they probably had pictures of Moses  in the classrooms.  We have Lincoln, Washington, King. Grant and Winn Parishes had pictures of Huey Long. 

                It was Moses who prepared the serpent on the pole for the relief of the people.  Numbers 21:8

The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live,” to which Jesus alludes in 3:14.

Conclusion

                Someone (T43p240) writes “How many popular histories, encyclopedias, and school textbooks have blindfolded Jesus by an apologetic paragraph on The Carpenter of Nazareth, or The Greatest Jew Who Ever Lived, or The Great Teacher of Galilee!  They read about the seamless Robe but do not receive new life by the touch of a living faith.  They follow the story of The Big Fisherman but never make the great confession he did, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’  They listen to The Greatest Story Ever Told . . . but do not know the power of Christ’s Resurrection.”

“I SEEK NOT MY WILL”

#199                                                                “I SEEK NOT MY WILL”                                                                                       

Scripture John 5:17-30 NIV                                                                                                                          Orig. 6/10/1962

                                                                                                                                                                               Rewr. 3/1/1990

Passage: ¹⁷ In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” ¹⁸ For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. ¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. ²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

Purpose: Continuing a study from the gospel, here revealing the intent of Jesus to do God’s will even though it will result in His death

Keywords:           Bible Study of John’s Gospel                       Divinity of Christ               Resurrection                      Sovereignty

Timeline/Series:               Bible Study of John’s Gospel

Introduction

                Last Sunday we followed Jesus back into Jerusalem, and near the sheep gate, at a place called Bethesda.  We looked on as He healed a man paralyzed for thirty-eight years.  When the Jewish religious leaders found out that this had been done on the Sabbath they were incensed.  It was a violation of the law, and as says verse 16:  “Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him.”

                Most of us are smart enough to know that when someone is out to get you, the thing to do is to lie low, to be  obscure.  Apparently, Jesus didn’t know the meaning of lying low, didn’t know how to be obscure.  “My Father worketh hitherto,” He said, “and I work.”

                And with that terse statement they hated Him the  more.  They hated Him so much that they started keeping a book on Him.  They would record everything He did that was outside the law.  They would be especially sensitive to charges, legitimate or otherwise, that they could bring against Him that would result in His death.  They were not interested in redeeming Him as a Jew.  They were interested in destroying Him as an enemy.

                John records then, the first discourse of Jesus to the Jews.  He has talked at length to Nicodemus, and to the woman at the well.  He  has  talked with disciples (2:22) and others.  There were brief encounters with Jews (2:18f), and with individuals.  Here, Jesus gives notice to the Jews for what He has come.  And they do not like it.

I.             Jesus First Identifies Himself with God.  V17 “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”  This is one of five parallels established.  The same word for work is used.  The Father and I are both doing the same perfect work.  There is a oneness in ACTIVITY.

                Next Jesus correlates what is done.  “Whatsoever things the Father doeth, also the Son.”  You can imagine their uneasiness.   There is a oneness not only in ACTIVITY, but also in WILL.  It is one thing to claim to be righteous but to be one in WILL with God.

                Thirdly, Jesus takes sovereignty upon Himself.  V21 “As the Father raiseth up and quickeneth, even so the Son.”  He has already alluded to the work at Bethesda.  In response to their disdain for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus responds saying, “My work is God’s work.”  Now Jesus talks about ‘raising’ the dead. SOVEREIGNTY.  So, a man paralyzed 38 years is walking.  You will see much more.  He will return to this subject momentarily.

                Next, Jesus interrelates honor of God and Son.  Someone suggests that Jesus came to Jerusalem to leave His calling card.  It was Passover.  God redeems.  Redemption had its inception in the covenant, but the law stifled it.  A friend years ago: “Me: missed mothing; my church: missed something; Christ: you’ve missed everything.”  The major negative quotient in our lives is failure to honor God, Son.  Letter in New Orleans inviting participation in highway dedication. “Don’t pray in Jesus’ name.”  Don’t blame them.  Blame Christians who compromise.

                Finally, the same life-force the Father has in Himself, so also has the Son.  V26 “As the Father hath life in himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in him.”  In Him is  the fulness of divinity.  Also, there is undiminished humanity.

II.            Next, Jesus Establishes the Dominance of the Role that is His.  V26 “The Father hath . . . given to the son . . . authority to execute judgment.”   Back in the old days, a gospel was preached that required sublimation in Christ.  Funerals didn’t beat around the bush.  You were a Christian or you weren’t.  You gave evidence of your faith by the way you lived, worshipped.

                People depend on something other than faith.  The sobriquet “I don’t drink and I don’t chew and I don’t go with girls who do” never has been a valid distinction.  How much graver the danger today: “I’m a church member!” “Deacon!” “I go to Sunday School!” “Teach!” “I don’t drink!” “I don’t use drugs!”  “l live by the Bible!” “I follow the Golden Rule!” 

                If Christ is not Lord of your life, and a part of every decision, you don’t!  These people got riled with Jesus because He told them their ragged righteousness would not save them.

                We don’t have time to get into the resurrection this morning, but Jesus defines two momentous events.  One has already come, and they are accountable for it.  V25, “The hour is coming, and now is.”  V24, 25 both use the Greek word for “hear”—to hear obediently.  V24 establishes the condition, not only of eternal life, but deliverance from Hell as well.  In life, we determine our own destiny in the way we choose to live.  But v25 eliminates the condition  The spiritually dead shall hear the call to live, and in response, live.

                Which brings us to the second event.  V28 “For the hour is coming, (note) in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.”  V25 addressed spiritually dead. V28 speaks of physically dead.  V25 is conditional, optional even.  V28 holds no condition, option.

                Whether you have heard it believingly in life or not,  you will  hear it in death.  Jesus is the essence of your choice.  You, I, cannot honor the Father and dishonor the Son.  Believing in deity doesn’t save you, believing in Jesus does.  You don’t believe that, you throw the Bible in the garbage.  Deny that,  you say Jesus is a liar, a charlatan.

                This did not start out as a message of the resurrection, but the word is there.  Most of us have been touched by death.  Some of us have recently been to the grave.  My second Winter, six in 12 days.  Proclaimed message was different.  Some gave evidence when v25 in “spiritual death, heard, and responded.”  Some gave  no evidence. Others, only God knows.  All, will hear, v28 and they will do as they are commanded.

                There are members of First Baptist Church, if I had to preach their funeral tomorrow, I would  have to guess if asked their spiritual condition.

                The human bones, apparently of a 17-year-old girl, were found in Union Parish earlier this week.  A search went on for days for proof. When the dead are called from their graves that girl will come forth fully formed.  No question about identity.  If a believer she will answer the summons unto “the resurrection of life.”  If not, just as certainly, “unto the resurrection of damnation.”  It matters not that she was brutally murdered by a person more beast than man.  Unimportant detail that she had so little time to prepare.  The Christ who came seeking “not  His own will, but the Father’s” holds absolutely and eternally  her condition, yours, mine.

MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS

#828a                                                         MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS                                                                                  

Scripture  John 4:1-42                                                                                                                                    Date 2/19/1985

Passage: Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— ² although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. ³ So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. ⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. ⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) ⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a]) ¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” ¹⁶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

¹⁷ “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸ The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” ¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰ Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” ²⁵ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” ²⁶ Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

²⁷ Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” ²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” ³⁰ They came out of the town and made their way toward him. ³¹ Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” ³³ Then his disciples said  to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” ³⁴ “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. ³⁵ Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Purpose: Begin a series lasting through two weeks on THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST, here introducing the Christ who came.

Keywords:           Christ the Messiah                           Doctrine of Christ

Timeline/Series:               Doctrine of Christ

Introduction

                My father has been an avid reader for most of his adult life.  I remember often encountering him in some reading venture.  What he particularly liked was westerns, and Bret Harte was a favorite.

                One of Bret Harte’s most famous stories was called “The Luck of Roaring Camp.”  It is about a wild mining camp in the late Nineteenth Century.  Roughness and crudeness were not only acceptable, they were expected.  The story revolves around a young, pregnant woman in the camp, who, when she gave birth to a fatherless son, died of complications from the delivery.  The miners were left to care for the baby.  Unexpected changes began to take place.  The baby was kept in an immaculately clean room, amidst the rubble of the camp.  But soon, other areas began to improve in appearance.    Cleanliness became the order of the day.  Swearing, which had always been the language of the men, came to be strictly forbidden. Their favorite pastime  had always been drinking.  After the coming of this child in among them, they spent their off hours taking care of “their” baby.  What a difference one little baby can make in one’s perspective of life.

                Grapple, if you can, with the reality of what it has meant, not only to the believing Jew of the first century who expected Him, and to whom He came, but to all of us, that the Christ has come into our world and became one with us.

                I heard a classic recently about children, and pleasure derived.  Someone said “If I had known how much I was going to enjoy my grandchildren, I would have had them first.”

I.             The  Samaritan Woman Allows Us to Examine the Expectations of Messiah.  V25 “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ).   ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’”

                First, a word about Samaria.  When David’s kingdom was divided during the reign of Rehoboam, it was divided north from south, between Judah, and a confederation of the other tribes.  25 years after the death of Jeroboam, their first king, Omri, then King, bought a site identified as the Hill of Samaria (I Kings 16:24), and built a new capital called Samaria.  This kingdom collapsed in 721BC, many of the people were taken away, others brought in.  The feelings between Judah and Samaritans worsened.  After Judah fell, people returned, Samaritans sought to prevent settlement and reorganization.

                The Samaritan:  She comes to Jacob’s well, away from her village.  Why?  She opens up immediately to Jesus. She senses quality, she has religious  values.  Jesus shows His concern for an unseemly woman.  She identifies her concept of Messiah, limited to Samaritan horizons. “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain”—the shrine at the site of destroyed temple on Mt. Gerizim.  Settle human differences.

                It will surely help to understand better what the Jews expected.  The term means “anointed.”  Word has various Old Testament uses not referring to Christ.  “Christ” is Greek form.  Some expected a warrior/anointed, a David.

                Others expected a priestly Messiah who would be like God’s regent.  What is clear at Masada is that these faithful Jews waited for a “deliverer.”  When none came, they committed mass suicide. 

                We will talk a little later about what Jesus taught of the Messiah.

II.            Jesus Gives Us Our Best Practice of Messianic Expectation.  He identifies Himself as a Jew, but not a standard Jew.  He is in Samaria.  He is at Jacob’s Well talking to a Samaritan woman.  V7 “Give me a drink.”  It is not that they do not drink from a vessel.  Sugchrontai—to use in common.

                He reveals to such a one as the complex reality of His messiahship.  He has established Messiah’s humanity.  (See John 1:14—and the Word was manifested among us.)  He was weary, needed food.  He refutes any idea of nationalistic deliverer. 

                He affirmed His message.  She spoke of “proclaimer,” v25.  He acknowledges this. V26 “I Am.”  Exodus 3:14, “And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am’” . . . say . . . ‘I Am has sent me to you.’”

                Jesus identifies Himself as THE ANOINTED OF GOD: 

• In Jerusalem, John 10:24f, “If you are the Christ, tell us.”  “My sheep . . . follow me.”   Salvation is His goal. 
• In the garden at prayer, John 17:3,  “That they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom  you sent.”
• At Jesus’ trial before the High Priest, Mark 14:61, “Are You  the Christ, the Son of the  Blessed?”  Jesus replied “I am.”   Then He stresses that His throne is heavenly not national.
• The Risen Christ so identified Himself, Luke 24:26f, to the couple from Emmaus—“ought the Christ to have suffered these things?”

III.           Finally, a Brief Word about the Salvation He Came to Offer.  V42, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the World.”

                Jesus’ enterprise is not material or national, it is spiritual.  He came into the world as the promised and anointed of God.  To redeem all, and to reach reconciliation among them.  He came to fashion faith not for the Jew only, but for Jew and Samaritan; descendant of Abraham and one never having heard; child of faith and one born of superstition; Jew as well as Gentile—Romans 2:10f, “to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile, for there is no respect of persons with God.”        

                He forever destroyed the barriers that separate us one from the other.

Conclusion

                Historian Will Durant is reported to have once said, “The greatest question of our time is not communism versus individualism, not Europe versus America, not even the East versus the West: It is whether a man can bear to live without God.”

Added: Source PBS 12/12/1999, 7:50a.m., “Circle of Light.”

Young Indian boy alone with a fire and the belief that his grandfather’s spirit was in the trees nearby.

                Elk comes to rest in still light, scar on his flank

                Wolf comes to opposite side, blind in one eye

                Flurrying of wings and an eagle rests opposite, leg is broken.

Boy asks each what the fire means: It is a circle of light in which each can rest without fear.

HE MUST AND I MUST ALSO

#860b                                                        HE MUST AND I MUST ALSO                                                                                 

Scripture  John 3:22-36 NIV                                                                                                                         Orig. 8/27/1961

                                                                                                                                                                           Rewr. 11/30/1989

Passage: ²² After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. ²⁴ (This was before John was put in prison.) ²⁵ An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷ To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less.”^[a]

³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God^[b] gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Purpose: In a series from John’s Gospel, sharing this passage related to the early ministry of Jesus as to our dependence upon Him

Keywords:           Bible Study                         Christ as Lord                     John Series                                                                        

Timeline/Series:               Sequential                                         

Introduction

                One of the distressing realities of our time relates to public figures who are indicted following some scandal.  We read, and hear about it with great dismay in the lives of prominent religious leaders.  It is made to be a public spectacle when these, and well-known political figures compromise certain standards, and are accused, tried, and convicted.

                We struggled last week with the sentence directed against James Bakker.  On the same day, an actress was convicted of hitting a policeman.  A few days before, one of America’s wealthiest women was indicted for tax evasion.

                It is not new.  We well remember the Nixon years and the Watergate scandal.  One of the men who figured prominently in that was the man who was counsel to President Nixon, a lawyer by the name of Charles Colson.  Colson was found guilty and sentenced to several years’ incarceration.

                During his time in prison something different happened.  He acknowledged his own involvement and guilt, realized that the wrong was in himself, and sought to change his life.  And the help he sought was spiritual.  Mr. Colson became a believer in Jesus Christ.  He later wrote his autobiography with the title, Born Again.   

                Many people were skeptical.  “Oh, no, not again,” was a commonly heard refrain.  It has been ten years or more, and Charles Colson is out of prison, still holding his new birth experience, and is involved in ministry to men and women who are in, or recently released from, prison.

I.             The First Theme that We Encounter is Summary. V22 “After these things came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Aenon.”

                Here is a bridge between two important texts.  Some called John 3:16 the most important verse in the Bible.                  W.O. Vaught tells about a prior Little Rock Crusade back in the fifties.  He was sent with a committee from the ministerial association to Fort Worth to check out Mr. Graham.  And, he said, though they brought back a glowing report of Graham’s message and manner, twenty-three of his ministerial colleagues signed a petition saying in effect, “this is not the kind of man we need in Little Rock.”  John the Baptist had his critics also, but they will get very little of our attention this morning. 

                Others refer to chapter 4 as the single most significant chapter in the Bible.  1966 JL Sullivan—John’s Witness to Jesus.  1989 HH Hobbs—The Gospel of John:  Invitation to Life.  So much more than just a bridge.

                The summary is that of perspective.  John 3:1-21 has provided perspective of the new birth.  John Newton:  “I am not what I ought to be, but thank God, I’m not what I used to be.” Separation from the past, commitment to life of discipleship.

                John 3:22-36 insists that we take note of the increasing centrality of Christ to the believer.  Pilgrimage might begin with loyalty to none. Shifted with loyalty to none but Jesus. Being a follower calls forth two requirements: a statutory commitment, and a circumstance of growth.

                It is summary also of personality.  Facts about Jesus and John otherwise unknown.  Of Jesus early ministry: Matthew 19:1, Mark 10:1—come to Judea, Luke 4:44 Judea (KJV reads Galilee).

                Jesus public ministry before John imprisoned.  Mark 1:14 “After John was delivered up, came Jesus into Galilee.”

                Jesus’ affirmation of baptism.  Synoptics never mention Jesus baptizing.  John 4:2f clarifies this about administering.

                That John continues an independent ministry after Jesus’ baptism at a place called Aenon near Salim.  “There was much water there.”  Summary statement on baptism.  Are you distressed about baptisms?  Some say that John chooses a less promising site to open the way for Christ.

                Finally, there is seen an abrupt change from this revival . . . for Jesus.  Luke 3:3 and Matthew 4:17 depict the common mode of their message.  “Baptism of repentance.” “Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  After John is imprisoned, Jesus goes into Galilee (Mark 1:14) with same style and message.  But change is in the wind.  Perhaps this explains John’s uncertainty.  See Matthew 11:1,2.

II.            Next, There is the Theme of Subordination.  V25 “Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples . . . .  Rabbi, [Jesus] baptizeth, and all men come to him.”

                In regard to the ceremonial washing, it was major concern to Jews, and a way to make money.  In Cairo ten years ago coverlets; in Jerusalem no admission to the Dome of the Rock.  Regeneration dealt with inside, therefore they wouldn’t pay the tax.  Discussion turned to Jesus and His prominence over John.

                Matthew 14:1f: “Herod had arrested John . . . because of his brother Phillip’s wife.”  From this diatribe on religious ceremony, John shows us what Christian grace ought to be.  His followers are uneasy because Jesus has come to a more favored posture.  They have no idea what is ahead.  The concept of cross is unknown. 

                He reaffirms the centrality of Jesus.  “I am not he!  You know who is!”  John 4:26f same without the negative.  He sees himself as “friend,” philos.  His role in the wedding is to protect interest of bridegroom.  He guards the chamber where the bride awaits.  John will not usurp Christ’s place.

                To what degree do you subordinate yourself to Jesus? I was envious of a friend when 200 of his people were present at S.C.  I had 20 who had chosen to come to the M.C. to hear warmed over Th. Ms. (Meaning unknown.)  Don’t do it for Brother Lamar’s sake.  There is a reason for doing it, and

Remainder of paragraph lost.

                Someone tells about the passenger who went trackside, found his train, and went aboard. He found the car empty, chose his seat, got comfortable.  After a few minutes a grease-stained trainman came through.  “You’ll have to go up to the forward car.”  “Why? What’s wrong with this one?” “Well, nothing’s wrong with it.  It’s just not hooked up to anything that’s going anywhere.”

III.           Finally, There is the Theme of Superiority.  V31 “He that cometh from above is above all . . .   V35 The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand.  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life . . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.”

                Here is the eternal two-fold choice.  It is not that they are “saved” or they are “lost.”  The choices are: they are saved or lost, or there is nothing.  Then, you can conclude that since there must be something, we are either saved or lost.  Or, are you too sophisticated (worldly) to believe that.

                The choice epitomized here is of life or death.  Deuteronomy 30:15 “See I have set before thee this day, life and good, and death and evil.”  Joshua 24:15 “Choose ye this day whom you will serve.”

                John reminds us that the same choices are still much in vogue today.  Herschel Ford wrote: [The sinful man}

• Shuts the door on his highest possibilities.
• Puts himself in the way of others.
• Puts himself on the devil’s side.
• Insults God.
• Crucifies the Son of God afresh.
• Rejects testimony of greatest men.
• Seals his doom in hell forever.

Conclusion

                We must not, in our haste to get from the greatest verse to the greatest chapter, overlook what may be the greatest concept:  “He  must increase, and I must decrease.”  He must and I must also!  Self-subordination is vital to our faith.

                A line on the drug awareness program (C12 11/30/89) said it well.  “It’s painful to take inventory of the things you’ve done wrong.  It’s painful to change.”

FOR THUS LOVED GOD

#117                                                                FOR THUS LOVED GOD                                                                                      

Scripture  John 3:16-19 NIV                                                                                                                      Orig. 11/22/1989

Passage: ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Purpose:  Continuing a series from John, here declaring the manner of God’s love as revealed through Christ

Keywords:           Love of God                        Bible Study         Sin          Christ Redeemer              Love

Timeline/Series:               John     

Introduction

                It is hard to believe that the Houston astrodome has been in place for a quarter of a century.  Twenty-four years ago this month, Billy Graham preached the first evangelistic crusade in that 8^th wonder of the world.  He stood before a full house to preach the first sermon ever preached in a completely enclosed sports complex.  Somewhere around 50,000 people heard him.  Governor Connally of Texas was there.  Mayor Welch sat on the platform with other dignitaries.  Many prominent citizens of Houston and Texas were in that crowd of interested, or curious, people.

                Dr. Graham noted the importance of the occasion.  He summed it up succinctly when he said in his opening remarks:

                “I want to speak tonight as if this were the last sermon I will ever preach.  I want you to listen as though this were the last sermon you will ever hear, and well it might be.  None of us knows what a day may bring forth.”

                Then Mr. Graham told that assembled congregation that he was not there to entertain them.  He would not be bringing the latest words of the psychiatrist, or sociologist, or report of governmental officials.  And again, I quote, “I am here to open this Bible and tell you what God has to say about our daily life, our daily problems, and all the tremendous decisions we have to make in our complex society.”  With that, the evangelist opened his Bible, invited them to open theirs, and follow as he read John 3:16.

                The last sermon that I will ever preach, or that you will ever hear?  Probably not! But the test demands that we give it our fullest attention.

I.             “For Thus God Loves” Teaches Us the Origin of Love.  “For God so loved.”  The background, you remember, is Jesus in communion with a man named Nicodemus.  He was a religious man.  He was a righteous man; recall the lesson about the righteous king Josiah in 2 Kings 22.  He was an important man.

                But he was a disturbed man.  The teachings of Jesus had forewarned him of God’s expectations.  This interview leaves him in jeopardy of soul.  “You must be born again.”  V12 “I have spoken of earthly things . . . you have not believed.  When I speak of  heavenly things you cannot believe.”

                More, he was a man to whom Jesus revealed Himself: He who was talking to Nicodemus.  He is from God, is in Oneness with God.  He will return to this Union from which He has come:  Man sends no delegation ferreting out God’s true feelings; God reveals the apex of His love.

                The love that is described here is absolute and it is infinite.  It is the aorist tense.  It was perceived in eternity  past.  It was rendered in the only way that man in his finiteness could understand.  But God stayed with the original plan until it could be fulfilled.

                The One before Nicodemus  was that plan.  “Abraham rejoiced to see my day,” Joshua 8:56.  In Isaiah 6, Isaiah spoke of Jesus.  In John 12:41: “Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory, and spoke about him.”  In Daniel 3:25, Nebuchadnezzar said “I see four . . . and the fourth is like unto the Son of God.” 

                It should not surprise us to see Him suddenly come to light in Jerusalem. It should not startle anyone that His work continues.  God’s love is past, it is present, it is future.  Love is, because God is.  There is no other source.  Love in the context of sexual reproduction is not the same as brute passion.

II.            “For Thus God Loves” Teaches Us the Opportunity of Love. “For God so loved the world.”  The extent of that love is beyond reproach.  This text is thought by many to be the most important in the Bible.  It is called the “gospel in the gospel.”  Graham uses it “as if this were the last sermon” he would preach.

                The subject of this text is the love God has for the world.  V14 is a reference to the serpent on the pole, a parable of their guilt and their potential to faith.  Thus, Christ would be expressive of guilt and faith forever, for all.  John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”  It can be seen from  any point in the camp.  With eyes of faith, the cross can be seen from anywhere.  No place so filled with evil that God’s love cannot validate.  No person so reeking with sin that he cannot gain forgiveness.

                Someone explains this verse with terms of greatness.  It tells of

• The greatest person—God.
• The greatest feeling—love.
• The greatest mass—world.
• The greatest sacrifice—gave.
• The greatest gift—God’s son.
• The greatest invitation—whosoever.
• The greatest condition—believe.
• The greatest forgiveness—not perish.
• The greatest promise—eternal life.

                The extent of this opportunity can only be seen in its measure.  “That He gave His only begotten Son.”  He is the monogene.  In one sense, we are all the children of God.  Donald Grey Barnhouse (C25p53) said that Jesus is “the only one of His kind.”

• Unique in His origin
• Unique in His birth (without father)
• Unique in His being (Pilate: “I find no fault in Him”)
• Unique in His teaching (I am truth)
• Unique in His work
• Unique in His death

III.           “For Thus God Loves” Teaches Us the Order of Love.  “For God so loved the world that He gave.”  The essence of religion is stirred up by the reminder that to love is to give.

                This is not a stewardship sermon.  The last, and least important factor in giving, is of our material goods.  II  Corinthians 8:1f Macedonians out of “deep poverty abounded not the riches of their liberality . . . but first gave their own selves to the Lord.”  And the first example of sacrificial giving is occasioned at the cross.

                Though Jesus is Himself the Gift, He perceives the mind of God.  Not only does He agree to this, He offers Himself gladly.  Ephesians 5:2 “Christ also hath . . . given himself as an offering.” 

                His agreement is in the order of love. 

                Phileo—tender affection, see John 5:20.  

                Agapao—sacrificial love—John 3:35.  For the world: here.  Aorist—indicates no new thing.

                Murphey Terry tells about the Buddhist monks in Laos who requested help in study of scripture.  God across Mekong.  We know He’s there.  We don’t swim. No boat.  No bridge.  You see Jesus’ willingness is in knowing that He is the bridge. 

                If we, as Christians, perceive any other thing as of equal importance we have missed the heart of the gospel.  It speaks in relation to belief: Belief not limited to time, place; Belief that God is committed to; Belief that must yield personal response.

Conclusion

                Dr. Clyde Dodson spoke to the Foreign Mission Board some time ago and told of his arrival in Rhodesia as a missionary.  He found a people who had no Bible in their own language.  Impressed of the Lord to do so, he spent 38 years translating the scripture.  He told the story of those years of agonizing study.   Every Hebrew and Greek word was checked again and again.  He typed the whole Bible, every word, five times.  Dr. Dodson gave a copy of that Bible to Dr. Cauthen, President of the Foreign Mission Board, and then he quoted John 3:16, greatest verse.

                “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

WHERE THE WIND BLOWS

#859                                                            WHERE THE WIND BLOWS                                                                                   

Scripture  John 3:1-15 NIV                                                                                                                                    11/15/1989

Passage: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”

⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]

⁹ “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.^[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”^[g]

Purpose: Continuing a series from John’s Gospel, here describing the action of the Holy Spirit in personalizing the experience of the new birth.  

Keywords:           Bible Study         New Birth            Christ as Saviour               Holy Spirit

Timeline/Series:               Gospel of John

Introduction

                One thing was clear from the start, the limit past which this message could not go.  Clearly, a message from 3:16 must grace such a series, therefore I could go no further than verse 15.  But, even at that, there is so much to cover.  There is the man, Nicodemus, the impact of the Holy Spirit on the proceedings, the requirement of an  experience called the “new birth,” and lastly, a means toward that end likening it to an Old Testament event when a brass serpent, placed on a pole and elevated before the Hebrew people (Numbers 21) brought deliverance from danger.

                There is, for all that, but a solitary subject here. Jesus encounters a Hebrew religious leader genuinely concerned about the kingdom of God.  Jesus deals with the subject of the new birth as the need of every person.  F.B. Meyer advises us as to the seriousness of this contention.

                “When Christ says must, it is time to wake up.  He is so gentle, winsome, tender.  He is always persuading, inviting, entreating. He so seldom uses the imperative mood.  When, therefore, He speaks thus it becomes us to inquire into the matter on which He insists so earnestly.”

                While we are today seeking to fathom the physical birth, Jesus declares as of greatest importance, the spiritual birth.  We are making our opinions known about abortion, defining ourselves as either pro-life, or pro-choice, we take our stand.  And scientists are attacking the presidential position that disallows the use of the tissue of aborted babies for federally financed research.  But you, and I, and they, and he and she, MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

I.             The Blowing Wind Begins with a Compliment.  V2 “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

                A linking word:  The compliment comes from one named Nicodemus, “a ruler of the Jews,”  a Pharisee, probably of the Sanhedrin; committed to scrupulous observance of Old Testament law (v10); he will be referred to as “teacher.”  John ended chapter 2 with an insightful word about Jesus.  “He knew what was in man.”  Suddenly, one appears, known to Jesus.

                We must speculate as to his reasons for coming to Jesus.  John 1:19, “The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jeremiah to ask ‘who art thou?’”  He comes representing them, or on his own for certification; or, because he wanted to hear for himself.

                This is not a man with a noxious spirit.  This man is a seeker, and Jesus is whom he is seeking.  Are you one of those sad people who will learn only from those who know YOU know, and hence learn nothing?

                His reasons for coming “by night” are likewise constructive.  Rabbis taught best study at night.  Could have been arranged by Jesus; didn’t want this time to be hassled. 

                I know none closer to the kingdom than those who hold Jesus in high esteem.

II.            The Blowing Wind Next Comes in the Form of a Command.  V3 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

                The clamor for human rights is the voice of the throng today.  It failed in Tiananmen Square last summer.  But the signs of success grace the world: Hungary, Poland assert their rights; ethnic tribes of people under Communism are speaking out; the Wall has come tumbling down; Li Phong (Chinese patriot) this week received the RFK Human Rights Award.

                When you celebrate Thanksgiving Thursday, will a grateful heart grace your home?

                In this statement of Jesus to Nicodemus is expressed the greatest of human rights: that God, in Christ, has come to save.  But it is not our right to choose the means of that salvation.  Unless one come to God as God decrees, he shall not come at all.  Jesus attests to man’s re-birth. Nicodemus is confused: re-born from beginning; or, a second time; or, from above. 

                His presence here asserts that being born a Jew was not enough.  Remember Paul’s attestation in Philippians 3:4f “a Hebrew [born] of Hebrews . . . (Philippians 3:7) what  things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”  John described this (Matthew 3:9) of the religious “generation of vipers” saying “we have Abraham to our father.”

                Jesus does us all the kindness here to make it plain that a new birth is required.  It is not church membership, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is  not moral excellence, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is not birth fortune, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is not religious heritage, or Nicodemus would not be here.  It is a sinner, by any name, facing up to his sin, and passionately turning to God to erase the guilt of  his burden.

III.           Now, the Blowing Wind Surges Forth with a Comparison.  V6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit.” Nicodemus’ mistake has been an inability to separate who and what he is.  Up to now, being a Jew covered both.  What he heard of and from Jesus unsettled all of that.  It should as well be unsettling to all of us.  V7 “Ye must be born again.”

                Jesus shows us that in the comparison, the salvation birth is a non-fleshly one. 

• It is of the Holy Spirit. V8 “The wind bloweth where it listeth.” 
• It is required.  V7 “Ye must.”
• It is of human volition. V15 “whosoever believeth in Him.”
• It is a miracle of God.  V8 “so is everyone born of the Spirit.”  Blowing wind cannot be prearranged.  It is fraught with danger, unpredictable.  Invisible itself, its impact is seen. 
• It is of sovereign will. 
• Its passing clears away litter.  James Stewart: “When the winds of the Spirit begin to blow, they may blow up some trash, but we must remember, the wind is not the trash, and the trash is not the wind.”
• It declares its presence by familial manifestations.  With physical birth there are genetic characteristics.  Even so with spiritual birth.  Rev. E.V. Hill, civil rights leader and pastor of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist in Los Angeles, “We are not brothers [if] we do not have the same Father.”

IV.          The Blowing Wind Concludes with Compassion.  V14f “. . . so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

                Jesus describes this as an arrangement of God.  Man, by his will, could never have reached God.  God has reached down to us.  V13 “He came down from heaven.”

                Jesus pictures himself as God in the flesh.  He shows Himself alive with Nicodemus.  He declares Himself to be in eternity. 

                The illustration used is an Old Testament event.  Numbers 21:8,9 tells the story of the murmurings of Israel, of self-affliction.  The antidote fit the offense; a bronze serpent raised before the people.  All they had to do was lift the level of their vision to the antidote. V14 “So must the Son of man be lifted.”  Our murmurings of sin have afflicted us with death, but when the vision is lifted to the cross, there is forgiveness. In Jesus, the old life becomes new.  In Jesus, God’s mercy heals ravages.  In Jesus, grace transforms death to life.

                Isaiah 45:22 “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God.”

MY FATHER’S HOUSE

#609                                                                 MY FATHER’S HOUSE                                                                                        

Scripture  John 2:13-25, NIV                                                                                                                     Orig. 10/20/1989

Passage: ¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”^{[a] 18} The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. ²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.^[b] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. ²⁵ He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Purpose: Leading a sermon from John’s gospel here pointing out variances in understanding relative to worship

Keywords:           Christ as Teacher                              Worship              

Timeline/Series:               John, Series

Introduction

                It is relatively easy to form opinions in regard to worship.  We know what it takes to formulate the worship experience.  We know that preaching is involved, and music.  We share in spoken prayers, and a minimal measure of ritual.  We accept a certain amount of form in the order of service (i.e. the morning offering is scheduled before the choir anthem.)  When the service is over, we leave with a sense of emptiness or of fullness as to the way we think things have gone.

                The sermon may have been second rate.  There may have been problems with the music.  The praying may have been too long or too short.  There may have been some distraction or the other with the flow of the service.  We go home disgruntled because some external circumstance denied us the real worship experience.  We blame someone or something for the failure.

                Does my spirit of worship wait upon what others do?  Or is it a quietly personal matter, affected by nothing outside of myself?  My dictionary defines worship “An act or feeling of adoration or homage.”  The Bible seems to agree with  this.   

“God is spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”  Ephesians 5:19           

                That tends to leave out other factors than ourselves.  Worship is from within, determined in its entirety by our own attitude.

I.             Jesus Does Describe the Temple of Worship.  V15 “He drove them all out of the temple . . . and said unto them . . . ‘take these things hence and make not my house a house of merchandise.’”

                It emphasizes commitment over convenience.  Accessibility has a way of rationalizing need.  Other things are more demanding.  Other things are more pleasure-prone.  Compromise lessens requirements.  Jews compromise requirements of law.  A) “without”  B) 2 dozen verses.  We compromise, not the requirement of Law, but the expectation of grace.  Why do you worship the way you do?  Is it rationalizing of convenience? Or the realizing of commitment?

                It emphasizes self-sacrifice instead of self-seeking.  As their spiritual awareness deteriorated, they sought short-cuts to form. They wanted to spend less time.  They insisted upon fewer demands upon themselves.  A market for sacrificial animals in the temple enclosure was a god-send.

                Remember how it went in the old days?  Sermons went on and on, sometimes there was more than one.  Sunday School changed it some, then BYPU was added, and evening service.  We chose TV over Church Time.  Decided in favor of Turner Broadcasting over the local church.  The good thing about tv preaching is we can end it to suit us.

                How much real self-sacrifice is there when you come to church on Sunday a.m.?

                The third thing suggested by Jesus here is the emphasis on inclusion rather than exclusion.  The temple area was the Jews’ Holy Place.  Jewish men only involved in temple exercises.  But there were courts (women, gentile) within the enclosure.  The Court of Gentiles was the area being used as a market.

                God’s original intent for Israel was to these people.  Exodus 19:4f “. . . all the earth is mine and you shall  be a kingdom of priests.”  Isaiah 42:6 “I the Lord . . . will . . . give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the gentiles.”

                The intent of the Holy  Spirit of God wherever we find it is to bring a needy world to God.  I was interested in the article last week defining the Westminster congregation.  “The main purpose is inclusion rather than exclusion.”—Craig Henry.

                And Jesus appeals for relationship over ritual.  Ritual is not ruled out here.  The practice of religious organization without relationship to God is an abomination.  Many of the ills that have beset a dissolute society over the centuries  has been in the name of a godless religion.

II.            Jesus Goes One Step Further to Describe the Temple of His Own Body.  V19 “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  If your Bible is red-lettered you will note there are thirteen verses here.  In only two does Christ speak: To describe the temple of worship and to describe the temple of His body, which, by the way, defines the nature of your body also.  I Corinthians 6:19: “What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in  you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 

                The Jews raise the question by asking Jesus what His authority is.  By what sign?  It’s the same word John uses to describe Jesus’ works. (2:11)  They want to know what His authority is.  He defines it in terms  of resurrection.  They presumed His allusion was to the temple for it stood in God’s place.  It had taken 46 years to build, how could He replace it in 3 days?  If you understand it,  you do so from a favored advantage.  “When He was risen (v 22) His disciples remembered.”

                We need to be aware that there are two words for temple, both used here.  Jesus: naos (Holy of Holies, sacred center); Jews: hieron (entirety). V 15. They stood in the place defying God’s presence with them, but could not recognize the divine Word Himself.  We come to church because it marks God’s place in our lives.  We understand as little of His real presence as Jews, disciples.  We exit the place content to leave God where He was not found.

                The important lesson relates to this understanding  of Jesus, and of ourselves.  II Corinthians 6:16 “. . . for ye are the temple of the living God; . . . (I) will be a Father to you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.”  Do you leave this place each Sunday with that sense of WHO  you are?  You can’t know that answer until you know WHO HE IS.  If you leave empty, it may be because you came to leave empty?  You blame it on what the preacher or Sunday School teacher said.  Or didn’t say.  Or the way it was said. 

                Or, bless God, you came to experience God’s presence, and, praise His name, every word spoken here touched a vital chord in your soul.  In the temple, His temple addressed your temple, and you are the better for it.  You make it a regular part of  your life because you need it.  Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night.  Revival speakers.  Because I have friends, relatives, neighbors who are lost.  Because I want to learn commitment over  convenience, self-sacrifice over self-seeking, inclusion rather than exclusion, and relationship over ritual.

Conclusion

                F.B. Meyer said it well: “Jesus spoke of the TEMPLE of His Body and if He was so zealous for His FATHER'S HOUSE that He drove out the unholy traffickers, and refused to allow a vessel to be carried through the courts, should we not be equally careful, we who are His FATHER'S HOUSE? We are the custodians of the DIVINE RESIDENCE, so let us be very careful that there be nothing to offend or trouble the Celestial Guest." 

                Long ago, England had a great, good Queen by the name of Victoria.  The royal chaplain was preaching on duty on the “Coming of Jesus.”  Those present saw their earthly Sovereign moved that day as they had never seen her before.  Later the Chaplain asked this gracious Christian lady what in particular had moved her.  She answered, “Because the Lord of Lords is coming, and I wish I could be here when Jesus comes, so that I might remove my crown and lay it at His feet.”

BEHOLD THE LAMB

#227a                                                                 BEHOLD THE LAMB                                                                                          

Scripture  John 1:29-34                                                                                                                                 Orig. 10/4/1989

Passage: ²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”^[a]

Purpose: Continuing a series from John’s Gospel, here declaring the Lamb, and the disordered world that needs His stability.

Keywords:            Christ as Saviour                              Salvation

Timeline/Series:               John Series                         Bible Study

Introduction

                In the years of our lives, we have watched our world become fatally, almost hopelessly entangled against itself.  Our world is more conscious of individual human rights than any world ever to exist.  But this world of ours is not a safer world.  The creation of such rights, born singularly of the gospel of Jesus, has usurped the “oughts" of our moral dilemma.

                We are reminded how far apart the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights is from our own Declaration on Independence. (B74p118).  Carl Henry reminds us that the UN Declaration is preoccupied with human rights, and neglects an emphasis on human responsibilities.  It has no voice, and apparently no stomach, for a divine source and a divine sanction of man’s freedom in society.  The Declaration of Independence, however, proclaims human equality, declaring all “created equal.”  But it takes a hallowed step further.  It reminds us that we are “endowed by our creator” with those “inalienable rights.” 

                If you care to know what makes the difference in these two documents,  you will find the answer opposite the line  on the Order of Service that says “sermon.”  “Behold the Lamb!!”

                The early church was aflame with a passion for Jesus.  We know today what the church ought to be because they are our role model.  The church of the 16^th and 17^th centuries, out of which American democracy was born, was also aflame with this passion for the Lamb.  What message are you leaving, are we leaving for the generations of the unborn?  Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

                “Behold the Lamb!”

I.             A View of the Voice.  V29 “John saith, . . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  John 12:21 “We would see Jesus” read the inscription at a former pastorate.  Even the most casual view of these six verses must take John into account.  It was he who declared himself to be the voice.  It was he who down-played himself so that the Master would be magnified.  John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  It was he who would view all men as in sin, and in need of the gospel.  It was he who saw Jesus as the timeless One. John 1:30 “Preferred before me, for He was before me.”  It was he who would give no man a preferential place with God.  The Jew would be treated exactly as the Gentile in matters of the Spirit.

                It is this man, John the Baptist, that John the Apostle describes as the true messenger.  The fact that he was a kinsman of Jesus does not enter into this at all.  V31 “I knew Him not.”  Perhaps they were strangers.  Perhaps separated since childhood.  Perhaps in the heat of spirit-control Jesus was unrecognized. 

                But now, the messenger must come to grips with his message.  The  Holy Spirit points Him out.  V33.  The message already preached requiring personal response is related to the Lamb.  A formidable picture.  Some tests suggest John could sheepmen taking lambs to be used in sacrifice.  2:13, the Passover is at hand.

                He now, seeing Jesus for himself, calls on others to see Him.  “Behold the Lamb of God.”  Remember Simeon, “My eyes have seen your salvation.”  Uniquely, the sacrifice.  “Lamb” refers to provisioning.  And His sacrifice relates to man’s sin as no other can.

                Going beyond our text, we see John lead his own disciples to Jesus.  He won them to himself.  With approbation, he points them to Jesus. See 35-37.  “Behold!” v36.  Remember Paul’s admonition to the church at Corinth.  2 Corinthians 4:5. “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.”

II.            A View of the Void.  “Behold the Lamb . . . which taketh away the sin of the world.”  The void is the present generation.  Ours is a day of internal discord.  There is more to do with than ever before. V23 Wilderness.  We have  more time than any other people.  But there is minimal concern for the lostness of humanity.

                The media hypes the void for its entertainment value.  There is the void of homelessness.  The void of aging in America.  The void brought on by a bludgeoning drug war:  Many are haters of drug traffickers; their refrigerators are never empty of booze.  The void of sexual license that is opting for the murder of babies which ultimately becomes abuse of survivors.

                Has it not occurred to you that our present distress is directly attributable to the compromise of religious values?  The lack of faith is becoming a vocal unfaith.  In response to this polarizing unfaith is a militant Christian action concept.  Other non-Christian religions are more determined than ever for their voices to be heard.  Religious wars are presently underway in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland.  Communism’s “openness” approach may be a wait-and-see attitude for these present crises (drugs, sex) to overwhelm us.

III.           Finally, and I Use the Word with Great Deliberation, a View of the Victim.  V34 “And I saw, and bear record, that this is the Son of God.”  In this expressive chapter are eleven names by which He is called

• Word, v1
• Life, v4
• Light, v7
• The only begotten of the Father, v14
• Jesus Christ, v17
• Lamb of God, v29
• Son of God, v34
• Master, v38
• Messiah, v41
• Jesus of Nazareth, v45
• King of Israel, v49

He added one more, his own favorite designation of himself, Son of Man, v51.  A term used significantly by Daniel. 7:1 a man, but of heavenly cast.  A man identified with God’s people.

                Put aside all other names to concentrate  on Jesus, the Lamb: victim. 

                Victim in that this is the sinless Jesus:  The Jews brought lambs “without blemish.”  The greatness of man’s sin called for the greatest of sacrifice.  God’s integrity is such that sin must be dealt as is due.  Hebrews 10:12 “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”

                Victim in that He has come to redeem.  “. . . the lamb of God that taketh away sin.” Years ago, Rhonda spilled oatmeal she couldn’t put back.  Kevin accidentally destroyed tomatoes and they couldn’t be fixed.  A teenager provided drugs that cost his brother’s life.  A Costa Rican farmer used slash and burn attack on  his rain forest: within two years erosion made it unusable.  Whether we think of wrongs as sin or indiscretion, we can’t fix them.

                Victim in that from His death comes my life, your life.  “The lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”  John advises his own two disciples to “behold” the son V35, 36.  They hear the Word after they have heard the voice v37a.  They come to personal belief v37b.  (John’s assurance doesn’t count.)  They become followers of Jesus v39.  “They abode with him.”  (Greek meno persevere, steadfast)

Conclusion

What of the night, O watchman? Turn to the East thine eyes;

And say is there any token of the dawning in the skies?   

Or do the shadows linger, the lips, are they sad and dumb

With never a word of gladness that the tarrying morn is come?

Then answered the patient watchman from the mountain’s lonely height,

To the waiting souls in the valley, I can see the breaking light!

There’s a glow on the far horizon that is growing more wide and clear;

And soon shall the sun be flinging His splendours both far and near!

What of the night, O Watchman?  Rises to Thee our cry.

Prophet divine of Nazareth, make to our hearts reply.

Over the earth’s wild warfare comes not a time more fair?

Swords into ploughshares beaten? Peace reigning everywhere?

Wait, saith the heavenly Watchman; let not the spirit quail.

Strife shall not be eternal; harmony shall prevail.

Battle-clouds all shall scatter; hatred shall be outcast.

Love’s ever-broadening glory break o’er the world at last!

                                                                                                                                                                        Quoted by J Sidlow Baxter