Sermons

John 12:23-26

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 

24 Truly I say to you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 

25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Jesus has just visited at the home of his friend Lazarus and his two sisters…He is now on his way to Jerusalem…up to this point Scripture has indicated that Jesus’ ‘time had not yet come.’

In previous settings Jesus’s opponents plotted and schemed to arrest Him and kill Him…but found themselves stymied in their attempts.

[John 7:30] – they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His time had not yet come.

[John 8:20] – He spoke these words while teaching in the temple…yet no one seized Him, because His time had not yet come.

But now…The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified [24] …His time had come…His purpose for coming to earth was about to be fulfilled…but the events that were about to happen were happening on God’s terms and in God’s timing…and that time had come.

He enters Jerusalem……the triumphal entry is part of God’s schedule as prophesied by the ancient prophets [Dan. 9:25-26].  

He enters Jerusalem with the pomp and circumstance of a king…but that is not His intention…He begins to clarify something about His kingship that will trouble the multitudes:

…1) He is not the kind of king they are expecting

…2) He’s going to reveal what being a follower involves…it’s harder than it looks.

John notes [20] that there were some Greeks who were there to worship…a lot of controversy about who these guys were…probably proselytes to the Jewish religion who like all the other Jews came to Jerusalem to worship…hearing about Jesus they asked the disciples if they could see Him.

So did they get to see Him?…most likely they did but Scripture never really indicates they did…in addition, Jesus’s remarks to them is probably not what they expected to hear.

John records Jesus’ response to their request in [24-26] …in these three statements we see something of Jesus’ mission…and our mission…that each verse has a common message…with each verse helping to explain the other two.

The first statement [24] is in reference to the multitudes who see Jesus’ arrival as the military leader to free Israel from Roman oppression…this is His first response regarding His kingship that will trouble the multitudes:

…1) He is not the kind of king they are expecting…He reveals Himself as a different kind of king…I’m sure they were taken back at His response:

unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Initially you have to ask…what has this got to do with anything…obviously in this analogy Jesus is referring to Himself but the analogy is applicable to us as well… Jesus didn’t have to physically show Himself to the Greeks…He showed Himself to them the same way He shows Himself to us today…He reveals Himself by stating truth.

He does this by using the analogy of something everyone at that time would have been familiar with…a kernel of wheat …that the seed, in order to produce a harvest, must die.

A single seed does not have the capacity to become fruitful and multiply while it’s sitting inside a sack…the seed must be planted in the earth and die…if it dies, it bears fruit.

Knowing nothing about wheat or what the seed to harvest ratio is I looked it up… generally there are two bushels of seed an acre…so…what do you get in return? forty to fifty bushels…that is quite a return…not surprising Jesus uses this analogy.

BUT…without the seed dying…it is incapable of bringing forth fruit…Jesus is the single seed that become fruitful but that can only occur under certain circumstances …like the seed…He must die.

The meaning of this verse is really deeper than what we perceive it to be in the English…I want to share with you the more accurate translation from the Greek.

Of all the translations I looked at…over 20…Young’s Literal Translation more closely agrees with the original language:

if the grain of the wheat, having fallen to the earth, may not die, itself remains alone; and if it may die, it bears much fruit

The way that reads and sounds makes it difficult to understand…but this translation more closely reveals the difficulty of Jesus’ decision to die…we have this idea that Jesus was willing without any emotion or distress…without having any second thoughts just submitted to the brutality of the Cross…that is not the case.

Notice it says:  having fallen to the earth, (it) may not die…and if it may die, it bears much fruit…here’s something about this verse that doesn’t get emphasized because of the English translation.

Both words translated as ‘may not die’ are in the subjunctive mood…here’s why that’s important…the subjunctive is the mood of probability…what may or might happen…it indicates what the subject may do…or is expected to do…but is not commanded to do…it’s a choice.

Almost all translations bring this idea out to a small degree when they say ‘but if it dies’ implying a possibility it might not…so this verse is emphasizing the importance of His death…BUT…the wording in the Greek is implying what may or may not happen…John here is highlighting the human side of Jesus.

The wording in the Greek suggests Jesus had a choice…He could have at any time called the whole crucifixion thing off… ‘I don’t think I’m really up to this’ … ‘I’m just not feeling it today’ we see this same attitude in His prayer in the Garden.

Thankfully for our sakes…Jesus did fulfill His earthly mission…He did die…He saw it through to the end…dying on the Cross…He had a choice and He made it.

This verse is also applicable to us…we can make the decision to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior…we’re like a seed in that sack…if a grain of wheat saves itself, it remains one grain until it rots…but if planted it may die but it multiplies itself thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold and continues its multiplication through all future generations of people.

Let me share something with you…why do you think God makes us wait until judgement day to give us rewards…why doesn’t He just do it when we die…why wait…here’s why…because what you do in this life will continue on long after you’re dead…you have no idea how many people in the future will be effected by what you have done during your time on earth…God wants you to get rewarded for it.

BUT…unless you’re planted, we won’t bear fruit…we’re good for very little.

For the Christian…here’s the thing about dying…dying doesn’t begin when we get a bad doctor’s report…for the Christian dying begins now…I’m not talking about the physical part of dying…what Jesus is referring to is the need to prepare and stay focused on the spiritual part of death.  

How do we do that…by embracing dying as a way of life…I’m not talking about physical death…I’m talking about developing the habit now of letting go by dying to self.

Jesus expands on that statement in His SECOND point about His kingship that will trouble the multitudes…in [v 25] Jesus builds on [v 24] speaking exclusively to those who truly want to be His disciples…He’s going to open the minds and hearts of all those who wish to follow Him…is harder than it looks.

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life

The words of this verse are familiar from the other Gospels [Matthew 10:39; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33] …all these gospel writers record these same words in one form or another.

We have a few things to look at.

…FIRST…at this point who is Jesus talking to or about…is He still talking about Himself or is He talking about us as well…again it could be both… remember earlier I said Jesus makes three statementsthat have a common message…this is tied to [v. 24].

For Jesus…it’s game time…its decision-making time…but here’s the question… will He complete the task that He has been sent to do…goes back to the previous verse… ‘may not die’ …indicating what may happen.

Will He in fact follow through on His expected mission…or will He renege… loving this life more than wanting to lose it…that sounds blasphemous…but Scripture indicates that was a possibility… “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? [27] …these words show that Jesus, like us, is fearful and apprehensive at the coming of death. 

Here’s Jesus…will He become the seed that remains alone…will He be swayed by the attractions of this world and walk away…or will He die so He can bear much fruit…ultimately…it is His choice.

It’s the question that’s been at the forefront of His ministry for the last three years… really since eternity…why would Jesus die for us…a question asked by the Psalmist thousands of years ago…what is man that you are mindful of Him?

For millions of years Jesus knew He would take on human form…come to earth and be disrespected…abused…and reduced to a mere criminal…why subject Himself to that…that’s what ‘may not die’ implies…He didn’t have to do it.

There’s not a person in this sanctuary that’s not faced with that same alternative everyday of our lives…it’s not as severe as being killed…but the question is just as great…will I remain faithful in my commitment to Jesus or will I be swayed by the attractions of the world.

…SECONDLY…we must not miss the point Jesus is making here when He uses the words ‘love’ and ‘hate’…Jesus uses the same terminology when referring to our relationship to our family members [Luke 14:26]:

If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even their own life–such a person cannot be my disciple.

To get His point across He uses very contentious and challenging language – you must hate everyone else…how confusing…how do you do that…is Jesus speaking about making a choice between family and Himself…is Jesus commanding people to ‘hate’ their family members?

How can the Redeemer who “loved us and gave himself for us” [Galatians 2] at the same time require hatred from those He has redeemed? …how does that match up to what He teaches elsewhere: “Love your enemies” and “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”?

This is all included in [25] in what Jesus tells the Greeks:

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life

I’m going deep into this verse this morning and I want you to stay with me…I’m going to unpack this verse and show you the importance of this verse by what it means in the Greek.

There are two confusing parts in this verse…the words ‘loves’ and ‘hates’ and the three words translated as ‘life’.

‘Loves’ and’ hates’ in this verse are both Greek present participles…that means it’s happening now…that you’re both hating and loving at the same time and the action of hating and loving doesn’t end…there is no termination of action…the Greek present participle means…it goes on indefinitely.  

If you’re a Christian you’re both hating and loving…and it goes on throughout the remainder of your life…Jesus is not referring to hating people…in this verse Jesus defines the two types of people in the world.

Those who love their lives in this world and live as if this life is all that there is… their aim is to do what I want to do…what makes me happy…for some that is accumulating as much money and stuff as they think will make them happy…that is the person who loves his life.

The second type of people are those who hate his life in this world …in no way is Jesus saying we are to hate the life He has given us…nor is He suggesting we hateour family and friends…He’s saying…for those who want to cling to the world…love the world…instead of Him, demonstrate that they ‘love’ the world too much to sincerely follow Him [Mark 10:21-23].

He’s stating that our love for God…when compared to the love we have for anything else…whether that be for family or any earthly possession…in comparison will seem as hate.

He is saying be ready to hate everything that begins to compete with—even replace—our adoration, our affections, and our devotion toward him.

The question is in two parts:

FIRST…are we willing to place Jesus in first position and place what we think are the most important people and possessions in our life in second position.

SECOND…hating life in this context means being willing to forfeit our own personal purpose for God’s eternal plan for us…is this what you’re willing to do?

In this verse you see the intensity of commitment Jesus is asking for.

Our love for Jesus by comparison should be so great that our love for anything else will appear as hate.

…THIRDLY I want to look more closely at what Jesus is saying here in regard to loving and losing your life…look one more time at [v. 25]:

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life

In the English this verse is confusing…because…the word ‘life’ appears three times as it does in the Greek…but the confusion comes because in the English all three words ‘life’ are spelled the same giving the impression they are all are referring to the same life… they’re not.

In the Greek…the first two words translated ‘life’ ψυχή (psoo-khay’) are referring to the life which is lived on earth…it would have helped if John would have added the words’ ‘in the world’ after the first two ‘life’…Peluso paraphrase:

The man who loves his life—in this world—will lose it, while the man who hates his life—in this world—will keep it…that seems to add clarity to the verse…it defines the difference between hate and love I just talked about.

When you add in the third ‘life’ (ζωή), which is not referring to physical life as the previous two did…but referring to the eternal life that adds clarity to this whole verse.  

Again the Peluso paraphrase:

The man who loves his life—in this world—will lose it, while the man who hates his life—in this world—will keep it eternally.

We begin to see how all three of these verses tie together…first Jesus says: that trusting in Him as Lord and Savior is like being a seed…unless we’re planted, we won’t bear fruit…we’re good for very little.

Then He makes a comparison between love and hate…that our love for Him…our devotion to him when compared with anything else will seem as hate…not that we are to hate but that is how intense our love for Him should be…and when we do… there’s where the third verse 26 comes in:

Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.

What Jesus is saying here is not a suggestion, it’s a command… ‘must follow’

‘whoever serves me must follow me’ is in the imperative voice…it’s a command from Jesus Himself…goes back to Jesus’s statement on serving two masters.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other [Mat 6:24].

Not to take this verse out of context because the meaning is in regard to money …but the application is to anything that is in competition to our loyalty to Jesus.

Human nature gravitates toward comfort and pleasure…when faced with the reality of denying themselves to follow Jesus, most people turn away (John 6:66) the truth is that not many people are willing to pay the price to follow Him.

God offers salvation to everyone who accepts it [John 1:12; 3:16-18; Romans 10:9; 1 John 2:2] …but it’s on His terms…as a result there are few that want to endure and find it…this is stated in Matt 7:14.

The gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life and those who find it are few.

This verse is in agreement with [v 23, 24] because everything in our natural environment says love yourself…serve yourself…worship yourself…stand up for yourself…indulge yourself…please yourself…seek gain and honor and wealth and possessions for yourself …all leading us away from serving God.

Opposing masters demand different things and lead down different paths…if we attempt to align ourselves with two different masters, we will end up hating one and loving the other…it’s only natural.

The Lord is headed in one direction, and our flesh and the world are headed in the other…this is where the conflict comes in…we can only be obedient to one.

Let me share with you the importance of this…Jesus’ claim to us is exclusive…He bought us with His own blood and delivered us from our former master, sin [1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; Rom. 6:17]. He owns us…He paid for us…Jesus doesn’t share His throne or possessions with anyone…He doesn’t share us with anyone or anything.

Scripture doesn’t merely say God is jealous…it’s more intense than that…His name is Jealous [Exodus 34:14] …this means He guards what is rightfully His.

You cannot serve two masters…there are no options…if we attempt to serve two masters, we will have divided loyalties…no such thing as following or serving Jesus part time.

It’s not…can you serve one or the either…today this one tomorrow that one…it’s either all or none… following Jesus is a choice…BUT…it means obeying Him… you must follow Me if you’re going to serve me…and if you do…it comes with a promise:

where I am, my servant also WILL be. My Father WILL honor the one who serves Me.

These words are in the future indicative…affirming an action will happen in a future time…that we will at some time be with Jesus…and God Himself will honor the one who serves Jesus.

Jesus is sharing what it looks like to be an obedient servant…the requirement is

1)  the seed must die in order to multiply

2)  the love for this world must take a back seat to our love for Christ

3)  hating life in this context means being willing to forfeit personal purposes for God’s eternal purpose for us.

A servant who focuses on the desires of God will find his own desires being fulfilled

In these three verses Jesus is telling these Greeks about what a life of faith as His disciple looks like.

He makes it clear that this is first and foremost a salvation issue…saving faith in Jesus involves being that seed that is willing to die to self and surrender to Jesus as Lord and Master.

For each Christian, that happens at some initial point in our lives, whether or not we can identify exactly when it occurred…and for each Christian, that commitment expresses itself in ongoing acts of hating and loving each hour of each day of our lives…that’s what it means to take up one’s cross…the seriousness of that statement is not properly understood in today’s world.

In ancient times the cross was a torture tool used by the Romans to terrorize those who would speak against Caesar…the cross was a public humiliation that always represented death…so, when Jesus said that in order to follow Him, we must carry a cross…He meant that we must die before we can live.

We are called on to die to ourselves…our rights…our desire to be our own boss, and live unto him daily, in every aspect of our lives…it’s to follow him…to serve him rather than our own desires or the ways of the world…it’s to be where He is, rather than where we want to be.

Last week we looked at the most miraculous ‘sign’…miracle…in Jesus’ three-year ministry…the resurrection of Lazarus.

Here’s what’s amazing about this miracle…besides the fact that Jesus brings back to life someone whose been dead for four days…they completely ignore the testimony of Jesus and all the signs and wonders that authenticated His claims as the Messiah…which instead of convincing people who He was…it only further hardens Jesus’ enemies against Him and adds to their hatred to kill Him.

Instead of Israel accepting Him as their expectant Messiah and welcoming Him as their King, the religious authorities stealthily waited to ambush Him…arrest Him…and falsely accuse Him of blasphemy.

You would have thought that seeing this miracle would have softened their hearts toward Jesus BUT it only further inspired the religious leaders to actively seek His death…this is one of many examples disproving the claim that non-believers merely lack sufficient evidence.

So to escape those seeking to kill Him, Jesus retires from the city of Jerusalem to the village of Ephraim…this is where we pick up the account, as John begins his countdown of the fatal week in Jerusalem leading to the Cross.

What happens in [V. 54, 55 John 11] happened in Ephraim before His arrival in Bethany [12:1] …the events that occurred during the short time He was in Ephraim concludes His public ministry…John makes no mention of what occurred but is included by the other Gospel writers that reveals John performed a number of important things…According to Robertson, these were:

He healed ten lepers (Luke 17:11-37).

He gave two parables on prayers, (Luke 18:1-14).

He gave his teaching on divorce (Mark 10:1-12; Matthew 19:1-12).

He received the little children (Mark 10:13-16, etc.).

He spoke with the rich young ruler and gave the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Mark 10:17-31).

He gave the third prophecy of his death and resurrection (Mark 10:32-45).

He healed Bartimaeus and a companion at Jericho (Mark 10:46-52). He visited Zacchaeus…gave parable of the pounds…went to Jerusalem (Luke 19:142:8).

Here’s what’s strange…John makes no mention of any of these things…and at the same time the other Gospel writers omitted much of what John recorded…it’s not known why John omitted so much of what the synoptics recorded nor why they omitted so much of what John recorded…commentators speculate for the most part John recorded only the events in Judaea and Jerusalem.

Between Jesus’ stay in Ephraim [54] and His arrival in Jerusalem which included time in Bethany [12:1] John reveals the four types of people and their reaction to Jesus as John begins his countdown to the cross.

…The first is the curious. [11:56]

…The second are the defiant one [11:57]

…The third are the true worshippers…seeking Jesus for who He is. [12:1-3]

…The fourth is the pretender [12:5-6].   

John introduces the curious, the first of four groups of people who are usually present wherever Jesus is being spoken of…the curious want to hear more about this intriguing, mysterious person.

⁵⁶ they were looking for Jesus and were saying…‘What do you think; that He will not come to the feast’

By this time Jesus had become popular throughout the whole countryside…the curious wanted to hear more about Him…He was a mysterious person.

The pilgrims who had gathered for the feast wondered if He would dare show himself in defiance of the authorities…their intent was one of just wanting to see Jesus…these were the curious.  

12:20 tells us about the Greeks who heard what Jesus did to Lazarus…they were part of the crowd that upon hearing what Jesus did, “went out to meet Him” [Jn 12:18] …They wanted to see this Miracle Worker for themselves.

The curious are in the Church today…whenever a well-known person is likely to appear, the curious gather to get a look at him…if it was known that Patrick Mahomes was attending church here today it would be hard to find a place to sit…that’s always the way it is with those wanting to hear and see intriguing people.

John identifies the second group of people [11:57] the defiant ones:

⁵⁷ But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him

Motivated by fear…resentment…and self-interest…they conceived a plan to have Jesus arrested and murdered…using fear as the motivation to guarantee they would continue to maintain their place and their nation.

^11:47 the chief priests and the Pharisees were saying… if we let Him go on …all men will believe in Him and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation

The Scribes…Pharisees and Sadducees had a generally wrong response to Jesus… being stubborn…hard-headed and unbelieving they see Jesus as dangerous while deliberately ignoring evidence of Jesus’ Messiahship.

John identifies the third group of people in the opening words of [12:1-3]:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was reclining at the table…Martha was serving…Mary took a pound of costly ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus.

It’s possible John chose to include this account in order that we might understand something of what real worship is…in [Verses 2-3] Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are the worshippers…each worshiping in their own personal way.

Worship can take various forms…Martha did what she was most comfortable doing …she served…she, like many who find it difficult to express in words how they feel about the Lord…she expressed how she felt by doing…she served.  

Mary worshiped in another way…all three Evangelists agree that Mary did not anoint Christ sparingly…but according to the other gospel accounts, she anointed Him with an expensive ointment beginning with His head first…running down his body until it covered his feet…using her hair she wipes the excess ointment with it.

This costly perfume was derived from a special plant which grew only in the Himalaya Mountains…but somehow Mary had obtained a whole pound of it.

Her heart was so filled with joy and thanksgiving that she poured the whole pound on Jesus until the fragrance filled the whole house.

Then there was Lazarus…he was with Jesus and sat with Him at the table…he ate…drank…and conversed with Jesus…proof that 1) he was really risen from the dead…2) he is the only person in Scripture to have died twice…3) despite the danger he openly and publicly associates with Jesus.

John possibly chose to include the accounts of Mary…Martha …and Lazarus in order that we might understand something of what real worship is…that each worshiped in their own personal way.

In addition, in the crowd were the people that were with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead (Jn 12:17). We are told that this crowd “continued to spread the word” (Jn 12:17). These people were witnesses to and followers of Jesus (Mt 21:9; Mk 11:9).

Nisan 9. The sabbath.–Six days before the Passover Jesus sups with Lazarus at the going out of the sabbath, when, according to the custom of that country, their suppers were more liberal.

10. Sunday.–Five days before the Passover Jesus goes to Jerusalem, sitting on an ass; and on the evening returns to Bethany, Mark 11:11. On this day the lamb was taken and kept till the Passover, Exodus 12; on which day this Lamb of God presented himself, which was the antitype of that rite.

11. Monday.–Four days before the Passover he goes to Jerusalem again; curseth the unfruitful fig tree, Matthew 21:18; Mark 11:12: in the evening he returns again to Bethany, Mark 11:19.

12. Tuesday.–Three days before the Passover he goes again to Jerusalem. His disciples observe how the fig tree was withered, Mark 11:20. In the evening, going back to Bethany, and sitting on the mount of Olives, he foretells the destruction of the Temple and city, Matthew 24, and discourses those things which are contained in Matthew 25.

13. Wednesday.–This day he passeth away in Bethany. At the coming in of this night the whole nation apply themselves to put away all leaven.

14. Thursday.–He sends two of his disciples to get ready the Passover. He himself enters Jerusalem in the afternoon; in the evening eats the Passover, institutes the eucharist; is taken, and almost all the night had before the courts of judicature.

15. Friday.–Afternoon, he is crucified.

16. Saturday.–He keeps the sabbath in the grave.

So what we have is the curious [11;56] …the defiant [11:57] …the seriously devoted [12:1-3] …then we have Judas…who represents the fourth group of people…the pretenders…he is the example of those who outwardly seem to be committed to Christ but in fact view their commitment to the Lord as a waste of

time…they try to appear as though they are with us, but their hearts are far from us.

It’s the people I talked about last week…the hypocrites…these are the people who were curious to see Jesus…people who exhibit faith in God but only for personal reasons…acknowledging Him as The Messiah but are the same people who in just a few short days with hearts full of hate are wanting to kill Him. [John 12:10] …in reality, they’re hypocrites.  

God hates hypocrisy because hypocrisy misuses religion…taking advantage of it for self-advancement… hypocrites want religion—but only for the advantages they gain from it…Judas loved to be recognized as one of the ‘12’ but in reality, he was using his popularity to deceive and steal.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words in the entire New Testament makes it clear that God’s most severe judgments are reserved for hypocrites.

In all the Bible Jesus never spoke in more severe or harsher terms than He does [Matthew 23] where He gives a scathing condemnation of the religious authorities because of their hypocrisy.

These are the people in [Luke 20:20]: ‘spies who pretended to be righteous’ … People who worship but only doing so to look good in the eyes of others.

They don’t want to change their lives…their habits…to conform to God’s will… their intent is to appear to be righteous…to seek the approval of people so they can be thought of as being earnest Christians.

This is exactly what aroused Jesus’ anger…people wanting the blessings of God and the approval of men, without actually turning their hearts to God appearing to be outwardly righteous while actually being full of self-indulgence…these are the modern days Judas’s.

There are many Judas’s in the church today…they don’t worship God…they don’t do their work “as unto the Lord” …they fall in step with the ways of the world… who are there for purposes other than real worship.

John reveals the heart of Judas…he had no care for the poor…any concern was nothing, merely an excuse…as the treasurer of the disciples it turns out Judas was a thief who stole money from the money box…he wanted the money for himself.

But at the same time…it’s important to understand what hypocrisy is not…it’s not the difference between what we are and what we long to be…as Christians it should be our desire to be different tomorrow…next week…next month…next year …than what we are today…that’s called spiritual maturity.

It is important to distinguish between a person who is a hypocrite, and one who falters in sin because we’re human…who falls short of his Christian profession because of our sinful nature…who seek to do God’s will but at times does sin.

How sad it is to see people who have made a profession of faith in Christ…then  began to follow Him…but later fall away and now are far from God…in some cases these people have even been involved in serving the Lord in full time ministry…but something went wrong and now they are not only out of the ministry and away from the church…some are not even professing to believe in Jesus.

There are many causes for such spiritual failure…sometimes, things in life or ministry did not go as they had hoped…maybe they got burned by other believers who violated their trust…some developed doubts or were given answers about the Bible that were fed by skeptics…or in some cases the person fell away because of serious sin.

The Bible contains many examples of spiritual failures:

…Judas [John 12:4]  one of the twelve, who betrayed Jesus.

…Ananias and Sapphira [Acts 5:1-11] church members who were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit.

…Simon the magician (Acts 8:9-24), who professed faith in Christ…was baptized, but tried to buy spiritual power from the apostles so that he could impress the crowds with miracles.

…Paul [Acts 20:30], warned the Ephesian elders that some would draw away the disciples after them.

…Paul [1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 1:15] warned Timothy about those who had turned from the faith.

…Both Peter (2 Peter 2) and John (1 John 2:19; 3 John 9-10) warned about false teachers, who probably once were sound, but now were preying on the flock.

Here’s the common denominator in every one of these instances…they fell away from the Lord because they never knew Him in the first place…or they lost sight of who Jesus was.

Understanding Jesus’ identity is crucial because your eternal destiny rests on believing the truth about who Jesus is and what He did on the Cross.

If at any time your ideas about Jesus are based solely on what He will do for you in this life…at some point you will become disappointed and will fall away from your initial profession of faith.

The question is…which one of these four groups do I find myself in…am I only wanting to hear about Jesus…or am I wanting to be a follower of Jesus.

The longer I’m a Christian, the more I’m saddened to see people who made a profession of faith in Christ and began to follow Him, but later fell away and now are far from God.

In some cases, these people have even been involved in serving the Lord in full time ministry. But something went wrong and now they are not only out of the ministry and away from the church, but they’re not even professing to believe in Jesus.

There are many causes for such spiritual failure. Sometimes, things in life or ministry did not go as they had hoped. Perhaps they got burned by other believers who violated their trust. Some had nagging doubts or difficult questions about the Bible that were fed by skeptics. In many cases, the person fell away because of serious sin.

John tells us that Jesus was in Bethany six days before the Passover [12:1].

               On the next day the large crowd who heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took branches of the palm trees and went and went out to meet him [12,13]

On the next day…the day after Mary’s anointing of Jesus—the Lord’s day, or Sunday…people were wondering if Jesus would come to the feast (11:55-56).

Jesus’ so-called “Triumphal Entry’ into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passion Week is a good example of people putting their faith in Jesus based solely on what He could do in this life.

When Jesus approached Jerusalem [Luke 19:41] the crowds lined the street and cheered for Jesus as the long-expected king of Israel…problem was they were confused in His mission.

They were not interested in a Messiah with a spiritual kingdom who would provide forgiveness of sins…they wanted a political king who would lead them in a military victory over the Romans…who would provide peace and prosperity for their nation …they were looking for someone who could do something for them in this life.

That didn’t happen so within a week the shouts of ‘Hosanna” turned to Crucify Him” …they were following Jesus for the wrong reasons.

Up to this point John has revealed seven of Jesus’ miracles…he calls signs…most were done in a relatively quiet manner…even asking people not to proclaim Him as Divine… BUT now Jesus’ celebratory parade by riding into the city on a donkey affirms His mission as the Messiah.

This sums up the entire gospel of John…something he states in the last two verses of the last chapter…to provide proof that Jesus is the divine Son of God [20:30-31].

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem begins Passion Week…five days before Passover.

Passion Week is the time from Palm Sunday the day Jesus enters into Jerusalem through Easter Sunday (Resurrection Sunday) [Matthew Ch. 21-27; Mark Ch. 11-15; Luke Ch. 19-23; and John Ch. 12-19].

 Also included within Passion Week are Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

• Palm Sunday is the beginning of Passion Week and Jesus’ final journey to His crucifixion.
• Holy Monday – Following Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, He spent Sunday night in Bethany…He returned on Monday to Jerusalem two things; First Jesus curses the fig tree for not having figs…another event of Holy Monday is the Temple cleaning.
• Holy Tuesday – the religious leaders…Pharisees…Herodians…Sadducees join together combine forces to discredit Jesus…He pronounces seven condemnations (“Woes”) (Matthew 23:13-33).
• Holy Wednesday – On Wednesday, the day Judas first conspires with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus.
• Maundy Thursday – On Maundy Thursday, believers remember the last meal Jesus Christ had with His disciples prior to His arrest and crucifixion…often called The Last Supper.
  Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane – It was here that Jesus, having been betrayed by Judas, was arrested and taken to several sham trials before the chief priests, Pontius Pilate, and Herod.

Jesus endured six trials. Three of the trials were by Jewish leaders and three by the Romans (John 18:12-14, Mark 14:53-65, Mark 15:1-5, Luke 23:6-12, Mark 15:6-15). During this time, Jesus survived painful beating, whipping, and mocking (Mark 15:16-20). Pilate tried to compromise with the religious leaders by having Jesus beaten, but this act didn’t satisfy them, so Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified (Mark 15:6-15). Jesus was mocked by the soldiers as they dressed Him in a purple robe and a crown of thorns (John 19:1-3).

• Good Friday – Jesus was crucified .
• Holy Saturday – The time Jesus spent in the tomb before His resurrection…this ends Passion week.  

Jesus fulfills prophecy by riding into the city on a donkey… affirming the fears of the local religious leaders who worry Jesus’ popularity will attract the anger of the Romans…in response…the religious leaders tried to arrest Jesus in an attempt to control the crowd.  

How successful were they? …almost the same response that was made after the resurrection of Lazarus… they said to one another…no matter what they did to control Jesus and His crowds, they were getting nowhere…in fact, Jesus was gaining in popularity.

John records that “the great crowd that had come for the Feast … went out to meet [Jesus] [Jn 12:12] …most commentaries state that the population of Jerusalem grew by 100,000 people during the Passover as caravans of extended families would come and offer sacrifices in the temple.

It is on this day the sacrificial lamb was taken and kept until the Passover [Exodus 12] …it is on this day…the same day the Passover Lamb was identified…that Jesus enters Jerusalem and presents himself as the Lamb of God…declaring His victory over sin…Satan…the world…and death.

The news about Jesus’ arrival is spreading…Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem (12) …the Pharisees watched the crowd…the crowds were meeting Jesus…the crowds were honoring Jesus…the crowds were greeting Jesus…the crowds were praising Jesus…no wonder the Pharisees said to one another:

Look how the whole world has gone after him! [19].

So here we have the TRIUMPHAL ENTRY into Jerusalem…all four Gospels make reference to it and although the accounts differ, they do not conflict in any way.

In His suffering and death, we see the achievements of Christ:

1. Christ absorbed the wrath of God on our behalf — He did it by suffering.

2. Christ bore our sins and purchased our forgiveness —He did it by suffering.

3. Christ provided a perfect righteousness for us that becomes ours in him — He did it by suffering.

4. Christ defeated death — He did it by suffering death.

They recognized what they saw as proof of Jesus’ divine power and authority [12:11] …as we begin to look at the events of Passion Week, we need to realize that the word ‘passion’ does evoke the emotion of love…but in Latin the original meaning meant to endure suffering.

So in Passion Week we see the last week of Jesus’ life on earth…a life filled with compassion…and with a strong emotion of love.

The effort this morning is to teach you the Word of God…not for the purpose of just having information about Christ…but that you might know Him and the salvation He offers…that you might understand the sufferings Christ endured for you…that His death is your death….His life is your life.

By committing your life to Jesus today you have the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life…which is the sole purpose of Passion Week.

John 11:1-46

Anyone who has lost a loved one knows the pain of how death seems to reach up from the grave and suffocate us.

The loss of a loved one is life’s most stressful event and can cause major emotional crisis…when a death takes place you may experience a wide range of emotions even if the death is expected…then after the death of someone you love, you experience bereavement, which literally means “to be deprived by death.”

In John the eleventh chapter we see the effects of death on Jesus…his friend Lazarus had died and as a result Jesus wept and was “greatly disturbed” noting that death even affected God Himself.

So, even Jesus was not exempt from the human emotion of grief…it may be a surprise to know that the Bible records three separate times that Jesus was so overwhelmed with emotion that he broke down in tears [John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Hebrews 5:7-9]  

Jesus wept bitterly and loudly at times.…He experienced the same inner turmoil and tension that we often experience in life…He faced real anxiety and anguish on many occasions.

In John chapter 11 is the last of the seven ‘signs’…it’s the story of Lazarus’s funeral, a story that many of you are probably familiar with…but despite the long narrative, the actual raising of Lazarus is contained in only two verses [43-44].

As you might recall Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha were dear friends of Jesus…in fact Scripture says it was more than just a friendship relation…the Bible says, ‘Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus’ [5].

Jesus had been across the Jordan River when He received word that his dear friend Lazarus was gravely ill and despite the sister’s plea that Jesus immediately return to Bethany, He does not go right away…in fact…He delayed for another two days [6].

He intentionally waited before going to see his sick friend…after waiting two days He makes the two-mile walk [18] from Jerusalem to Bethany to get to where Lazarus was at…when Jesus arrives Lazarus has been dead for four days [17].

Here’s what’s interesting about this miracle as opposed to His previous miracles… the healing at Bethesda and the blind man…after each miracle they were followed by a dialogue…in the case of the

…Healing at Bethesda…Jesus elaborates on being the Son of God who only does what He see the Father doing…with respect to the

…Healing of the man born blind…Jesus again elaborates on and affirms His deity.

The events, discussion, and details occur after these two miracles…but in the raising of Lazarus from the dead John comments on the miracle before it happens… he gives this long narrative before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead…why is the structure changed for this last miracle?

It seems that what comes before the miracle is just as important as the miracle itself…in this miracle Jesus reveals in the fifth I AM statement… something He has said previously but now discloses in unprecedented clarity.

When you read this account, it is obvious from what He told the disciples that Jesus knew all along that Lazarus would die before He arrived. That was part of His plan. 

John records that upon His arrival in Bethany, Martha was the first one to greet Him…Martha heard that He was coming and goes out to meet Him…as soon as she sees Jesus, she says…‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died’ [21].

How many times have we said those same words when praying to God…Lord, if only you would have done something…but what may have been even more difficult was to hear Martha’s suggestion that Jesus had been insensitive in His efforts to hurry back…especially in knowing the love Jesus had for Lazarus.

Then just a few moments later Mary runs to Jesus but she doesn’t go to Jesus until after Martha summons her to do so [28] …she also is seeking comfort and compassion…it’s striking that Mary says the exact same thing that her sister said to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” [32]

In essence Mary and Martha are asking… ‘Where were you? Why weren’t you here? Why didn’t you do anything? How could you let this happen?’

How many times have we blamed Jesus/God for not doing something…not realizing that His plans include something much bigger than we are able to see on the surface?

Mary utters the exact same words as Martha…essentially saying…Lord if you’d just done something…but there’s a noticeable difference in meaning…notice what Mary doesn’t say…she doesn’t follow up her statement the way Martha did, with the words, “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” [22].

Mary just says that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’s death — period…now he’s dead, so that’s that. There is no hope.

Notice Jesus’s response to Mary in contrast to His response to Martha…remember Martha ran to Jesus…Mary didn’t go until she was called by Jesus to do so.  

Jesus comforted Martha with the hope in the promise that ‘your brother will rise again’ [23] whereby she affirms her belief that ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God’ [27].

But look at His response to Mary…there’s no words of comfort…there’s no theological promise that Lazarus would rise from the grave…just her question of ‘what took you so long to get here’ …not realizing that His plans included something much bigger than she was able to see on the surface.

So…why was there a delay…why wouldn’t Jesus go immediately to be with His friend… why the wait…because He wanted to make sure that Lazarus was good and dead…sounds like a rather cold statement to make…but it has to do with Jewish belief.  

That’s why the narrative that set up Lazarus coming out of the tomb is significant… Jewish understanding was that the decomposition of a corpse begins after the third day of death…so for Jesus to raise Lazarus before the fourth day would have only proven that Jesus really hadn’t raised him from the dead…because he wasn’t dead.

Unlike Martha, Mary was of the opinion that Jesus could do nothing now that death has come…He might be able to heal the blind…turn water into wine…and even prevent death…but no one can do anything about death once it comes.  

On the surface it’s apparent that both women believed that Jesus could have restored health to Lazarus but now it’s too late…it’s been four days and by now his body has begun to decompose…his sisters had no reservations about him being dead…concluding ‘there would be a stench’ [39].

Here’s something they both didn’t realize and it’s revealed in the southern gospel song you may be familiar with…it was applicable then and it’s applicable today… it’s called Four Days Late:

“And isn’t it great
When He’s four days late
He’s still on time”

Time was not a factor in raising Lazarus…whether it was four days or four weeks… it had nothing to do with Jesus’ ability to bring him back from the dead.

The questions the ladies were asking are the same series of questions asked by probably everyone at one time or another when tragedy or catastrophe strikes, we wonder, ‘Where is God!?’… where is God when bad things happen? Where is God when life is unfair.

The Bible says when Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jewish women who had come along with her also weeping He felt her pain…English translations soften what John records was Jesus’ actual reaction to Mary’s weeping.

The more acceptable translation is that Jesus: was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled [33] …that’s not what it says in the Greek.

Many times translations…not wanting to reveal the true meaning of a verse, offer a more toned-down version.

Here the single word used in the Greek (ἐνεβριμήσατο) we translate as ‘He was deeply moved” doesn’t reflect Jesus’ true feelings…the original meaning of the word is: “to snort like an angry horse with rage” expressing a vehement agitation.

This is more defining of Jesus’ actual feelings…which is not entirely one of sorrow …in the English translation it comes across like that…but in the Greek it is more intense.

Why such a strong reaction? What is the cause of this intense emotion? We’re seeing a side of Jesus that most people shy away from…it makes us feel uncomfortable…those words are expressing Jesus’ reactions to mockery and hypocrisy.

These people who are weeping over the death of Lazarus…they are the same people who in just a few short weeks are wanting to kill Jesus [John 12:10]. Anyone see the irony in this charade?

These are the same people who sought to stone Jesus…who will cry out to crucify Him…who sought to cut Him off from all religious interactions…with hearts full of hatred they profess to be comforters mingling their tears with Mary…but in reality, they’re hypocrites.  

That is why in the Greek the wording regarding Jesus’ feelings is so intense…God hates hypocrisy because hypocrisy misuses religion…taking advantage of it for self-advancement… hypocrites want religion—but only for the advantages they gain from it…they fail to truly turn their hearts to God.

Some of Jesus’ harshest words in the entire New Testament make it clear that God’s most severe judgments are reserved for hypocrites.

In all the Bible Jesus never spoke in more severe or harsher terms than He does [Matthew 23] where He gives a scathing condemnation of the religious authorities because of their hypocrisy.

This is exactly what aroused Jesus’ anger…people wanting the blessings of God and the approval of men, without actually turning their hearts to God and submitting their lives to His rule.

People who worship but only do so to look good in the eyes of others…they don’t want to change their lives, their habits, their affections to conform to God’s will…their intent is to appear to be righteous…to seek the approval of people so they can be thought of as being earnest Christians.  

But at the same time…it’s important to understand what hypocrisy is not…it’s not the difference between what we are and what we long to be…hypocrisy is appearing outwardly righteous while actually being full of self-indulgence—failure to practice what you preach.

So what we have is the result of three emotions:

…one is indignation and anger at the hypocrisy of those wanting to appear sincere

…one is the actual result of Mary’s sorrow…Jesus feels Mary’s pain.

…one could be Jesus’ anger with Mary herself…she’s grieving as one without hope

Let me just say something about that…grieving as one without hope…because it can be a misleading statement…First, it is ridiculous to say that Christians should not grieve…it is like telling people that we should not breathe. Grief is human.  Grief is normal.

But here’s a difference in how we grieve…Christians don’t grieve as those with no hope not knowing what the future will be…we grieve as those with hope knowing what the future will be…instead of the hopeless and empty grief that death brings to those who have no hope…our promise is one day our pain will be over!

So…as a result of Mary’s sadness…sorrow…grief…and heartache…and possible lack of faith in Jesus raising Lazarus…Jesus was moved to tears. He wept [33].

After taking time to weep with Mary and Martha Jesus asks them to show Him to the tomb…it was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance just like the tomb Jesus Himself would soon occupy.

We have the benefit of knowing how the story ends…neither Mary or Martha know the end of this story, as we do…neither one has any idea of what Jesus is about to do…they don’t expect Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead.

The only hope Martha has is in her belief that even after death there will be a resurrection…Jesus adds to that belief when He comforts her by saying, ‘your brother will rise again’ [24].

He tells Martha exactly what He plans to do but Mary doesn’t get the full meaning of what Jesus is referring to…she misunderstands.

Being a good Jewish woman, Martha’s knowledgeable about the general resurrection that will take place on the last day [Dan. 12:1-2 / John 5:28-29] …so she took Jesus’ statement to mean Lazarus would rise again someday…a truth she believed was an event in the far-off future…not realizing He’s talking about today.

Martha viewed Lazarus’ resurrection as something distant and removed so she responds: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” [24] …but that’s not what Jesus meant.

Jesus had something far greater in mind…a concept that was unimaginable…Jesus takes Martha’s belief in the resurrection at the last day and redirects it toward himself.

Here’s something I include in every funeral I preach…I tell the family in advance what I’m going to say…if that’s unacceptable they are free to find another pastor.

Jesus makes a statement that is the single most profound statement in the entire Bible that defines Jesus as God…it demands that people know this.

Jesus tells Martha something that no other religion…or religious leader of any so-called religion can make…it’s a statement only Jesus can make…He looks at her and makes the fifth I AM statement: I am the Resurrection.

In that one single statement Jesus defines Himself as the God-Man…He is the sole reason that death has no hold on us…He is declaring Himself to be the Resurrection …revealing I am not tied to the last day…I have the power when I please to raise the dead. 

That ought to be a source of unspeakable comfort to us…that Christ is the resurrection and the life…a promise made to all of His true disciples…to them that believe in Jesus as their Savior…this is as critical as the miracle itself.

The Bible says, ‘Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb’ [38]. There’s that Greek word again meaning ‘expressing a vehement agitation’ …so what causes Jesus to be agitated this time… [37] their evil thoughts…they’re openly saying  that if Jesus would have come earlier He could have kept this man from dying …causing this new emotion of anger.

Now Jesus is standing before the tomb, an air of authority swirled around Him as He commands to ‘Roll the stone aside’ [39].

But Martha protests…she had no idea what Jesus was about to do…she should have…earlier Jesus comforted her by telling her: ‘Your brother will rise again’ [23] …then Jesus states a further promise… ‘he who believes in Me will live, even though he dies [25].

The promise ‘he who believes in Me will live, even though he dies’ is a promise that God makes to only those who believe in His Son…a promise so we won’t grieve like those who have no hope…not knowing what the future will be.

It’s the promise of eternal life that every person who has trusted in Jesus as their Savior and is now dead is seeing and experiencing first hand…and will continue to do so forever.

So how is Lazarus raised? By hearing Jesus…like the sheep that recognize the voice of the shepherd who calls them by name [10:3] Lazarus hears his name being called and recognizes the voice of the shepherd…a dead man walks out of a tomb because only the shepherd can lead his sheep out.

As Christians we are part of the fold…and here’s what’s really exciting about being part of Jesus’s flock…the magnitude of this verse gets overlooked far too frequently:  

and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep

by name and leads them out [3].

All of Jesus’ metaphorical references to sheep are personal:

His own sheep [10:4],

My sheep [10:14],

I have other sheep [10:16].

And He calls then by name…Lazarus heard his name called and He arose…one day Jesus WILL call us out of the world in the same way…calling us personally by name.

That might be at the Rapture or at the resurrection…but regardless whether I’m in this body…or at the resurrection…I believe that—he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The promise is that, one day, if you are one of his sheep two things are certain:

First…He knows you personally by name.

Second…After He calls every believer by name, He will lead them to heaven.

John 10:22-29

John stops his recording of the dialogue between Jesus and the religious leaders in [10:22] …it’s a recurring theme with His critics in one form or another since chapter seven when Jesus preached at the Festival of Booths…so we are left unsure how the rest of this encounter played out…John just stops writing about it.

Starting in [v 22] the narrative leaps ahead several months to the Feast of the Dedication.

The Feast of Dedication was once also called the Feast of the Maccabees…it was an eight-day winter festival celebrated by the Jews commemorating the victory of Judas Maccabeus (Jewish) over Antiochus Epiphanes (Syrian) in 164 or 165 B.C.

Antiochus tried to force Greek philosophy and religion on the Jews…failing that, he attacked Jerusalem, looted the temple… the treasury…and desecrated the altar by sacrificing a pig on it.

Judas Maccabeus and his brothers gathered an army, liberated Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and rededicated the altar…this festival is celebrated to commemorate that meaningful event in Jewish history.

The original feast according to rabbinic tradition involved a miracle…when the Jews re-entered the temple, they found one small sealed jug of olive oil that had not been contaminated…they used it to light the menorah in the temple…supposedly there was only enough oil to last one day but it miraculously lasted eight days… today, this festival is called Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights and is the reason Hanukkah lasts for eight days.

So, in [22] Jesus is at the temple complex…some Jews had gathered around him… the word used in the Greek (ἐκύκλωσαν) doesn’t mean a bunch of guys gathering around to talk about local events…in the Greek it means to encircle.

This is the same word used to describe siege warfare in the fall of Jericho…the Jews surrounded Jericho forming a siege with no possible way to escape…He is physically cornered by the local religious leaders He’s been in conflict with… these guys mean to cut Him off from leaving.

They were not willing to let Jesus just pass by without Him first answering some questions.

They wanted Him to put an end to the debate concerning his identity once and for all:

“How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the  Messiah tell us plainly” (10:24).

In [25] Jesus answers them…I told you before…I’ll tell you again…that the works I do bear testimony to me…I have told you I am the light of the world: …the Son of God: …the good shepherd: …that I am come to save – to give life – to redeem…and in order to do this, I must die, and rise again…I am absolute master of my life, and of my death.

So…besides His words…His doctrine…His ministry…and His miracles…all which plainly showed who He was…in addition to His own confession as the Messiah…  people are still asking Him to give proof of His claims and the power behind the miracles.  

But the questions in this passage goes beyond that…they are questioning not only His identity but if His power is verifiably from God [25].

So, here’s Jesus on Solomon’s porch with the Jews gathered around Him…the wording in the Greek… ‘gathered around Him’ …is not a dry academic statement …these guys are like a bunch of school bullies shoving someone against a wall and taunting Him to speak.

They’re asking Jesus ‘How long will you keep us in suspense’ …in the Greek it literally reads… ‘Until when do You hold our soul in suspense?’ …in other words, …how long do you make us doubt…how long are you going to deprive us of that knowledge…If You are the Christ, tell us plainly [24].

On the surface that doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request…except for the past 3 years He has demonstrated to them through His words…His doctrine…His ministry…and His miracles that He is the Christ.

The Jewish leaders had gotten Jesus by Himself and had circled around Him …they had Him hemmed in…their request was not…as it seems in reading it in English… a simple desire to know who He was for the sake of information…their intent was  to ensnare him… they wanted evidence to accuse Him to the Roman governor as an enemy to Caesar.

Jesus responds by saying; I told you, and you do not believe…I can just see these guys saying…what? …when was that? …where was I? …when did that happen?

The expression ‘the Son of God’ they would have understood to be equivalent to the Messiah…He had often used that title when referring to Himself…on numerous occasions and in many ways.  

Look at the many ways He makes reference to Himself as the Messiah in just the ten chapters we have looked at so far… Jesus told them:

I am the one who came from heaven (John 3:13, 6:38).

I am the Son of God (John 5:19-23).

I am sent from the Father (John 7:28-29).

I am sent from God (John 8:42).

I will raise Myself from the dead (John 10:17-18).

I am the Bread of Life (John 6:48).

I am the Light of the World (John 8:12).

I am the Door (John 10:9).

I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).

I and the Father are one (John 10:30).

The problem wasn’t that Jesus was unclear about who He was and where He came from…the problem was that the religious leaders had unbelieving hearts.

Throughout the book of John, we see one continuing theme…Jesus reiterates time and again His claim as the Messiah…but in every case all it further reveals is the inability of unbelievers to believe in Him.

So, why in spite of all the evidence were the Jewish leaders so adamantly opposed to Jesus as their Messiah?  Two reasons:

FIRST…they plainly give the reasons why they don’t believe in Jesus…looked at these reasons before…it’s the same reason they don’t believe today…don’t need to dig for this…they’re blunt about it.

For blasphemy and because you make Yourself out to be God. [33]
               because He healed on the Sabbath [Matt. 12:10 / Luke 13:14, 10-17]

SECOND…Jesus tells them [26]

                You do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

Contained in that one simple statement is the reason for their unbelief…in Jesus’ statement; You do not believe because you are not of My sheep… He hits a sore spot…He’s emphasizing the consequences of unbelief.

You are not My sheep because you do not believe…only those who have accepted Him as their Savior are His sheep…those who don’t aren’t.   

BUT there’s another reason they don’t believe in addition to the two I already gave …He tells them…in [27] and it bears careful reading.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me

We expect Jesus to say that the sheep follow Him because they know Him…that’s how sheep are herded…they follow the shepherds voice…but here Jesus says with me that’s not the case… just the opposite…they follow Me because I know them.

Here’s the importance in that statement…we are His…because He knows us…not because we know Him…there are a lot of people who say they know Jesus…but who are not known by Him…in fact He will use that statement one day as judgment against them ‘depart from Me I never knew you’ [Matt. 7:23].

Only those who have Christ living in and governing their souls belong to Him…that is because of their faith in Him as Savior…as a result…those that are His will never perish, because they have eternal life abiding in them.

I’m going to explain that in a little more in detail…about what it requires to be saved …to be one that shall never perish…one who has eternal life.

I have been recently reminded that I don’t talk about that enough…how to be saved is something I don’t mention very often because I have a belief that you all here this morning are already saved based on my years of knowing you all.

BUT…not knowing who is watching on Youtube, I’ve been asked to share on a more frequent basis what is required for salvation…the easy answer is:  

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).

That’s what Peter told the jailer when he asked, ‘what must I do to be saved’ BUT…without some clarification there’s danger in that statement…again…that implies all I need to do is believe that Jesus existed…easy believeism answer.

I said last week…we need to be aware of statements that are partly true but also partly false…and let me just also add…those that are incomplete…not that there’s anything false in that statement…but by itself it’s incomplete.

Because salvation does require that you do something;

…First of all, it requires that you admit that you are a sinner…that despite your best efforts to be a ‘good person’ you’re not…all have sinned.

…Second, it requires that you do something the Jewish leaders wouldn’t do… believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

To believe in the Greek means more than just knowing…it’s more than intellectually knowing that He is who He claimed to be.

There are five ‘do you believe’ questions that I would expect a ‘yes’ answer on all before I baptize any one:  

1. Do you believe with all your heart that Jesus is the Son of God?
2. Do you believe that dying on the Cross Jesus bore your punishment  paying for your sins? That is the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement
3. Do you believe that on Resurrection Sunday He literally, physically, bodily rose from the dead never to die again?
4. Do you believe that Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God?
5. Do you believe that Jesus’ resurrection removed death for all who trust him?
That’s what it means to believe in Jesus.

…Third, confess our sin…when we sin, a barrier is created between us and the Lord which interrupts our fellowship with Him.

This is why we need to confess our sins…when we confess our sins we are forgiven and our fellowship with the Lord is restored.

It’s not just admitting ‘I may have done some bad things’ …confessing sin is far more than just ‘yea, whatever’ …it means I am serious …I have sinned and I have done it purposefully.

Does that mean you’ll never sin again…not hardly…and although we will continue to sin…asking God to forgive us of those sins keeps us in fellowship with Him.

…Fourth, salvation includes repentance – a sincere willingness to radically change your behavior…something a lot of people are not willing to do…it means to make a commitment that you’re going to live your life not according to how you want to…but how He wants you to.

That is what God is expecting from us if we are serious about being one of His children…ADMIT you’re a sinner…BELIEVING that Jesus is God’s Son… CONFESSING our sins…and REPENTANCE. Anything short of that is not salvation.

Salvation encompasses what God has done for us, not what we can do for Him.

God has taken the initiative…He’s the One who reached out to us…it’s only through Jesus’s death on the Cross that God can overlook the sins that separate us from Him…and if not forgiven…will cause us to be eternally separated from Him.

Salvation and eternal life with God are completely, uniquely dependent on Jesus…it is only through His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection to life eternal that we are able to enter into His presence.

I want us to look at [28] …because this verse gives the promise that is the result of admitting…believing…and confessing…it is the guarantee to every person who is known by Jesus…who trusts in Him.  

It is yet another verse that stresses the promise of God in keeping those who believe in Him eternally secure.  

and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand

God wants His spiritual children to know that He loves and accepts them…He wants us to know that we are eternally secure in our salvation even when we sin.

That doesn’t mean that He will not discipline us for our own good…but He will not punish us and He will not withdraw His love for us…nor will He cast us off.

We need to know that our salvation is secure forever and verse 28 promises that.

The security Jesus offers is not security as the world understands security…too often people attempt to make a correlation between what the Bible says and put it into worldly terms…this goes back to the misunderstanding regarding the ‘abundant life’ and the mistaken belief that it’s referring to God giving me everything I need to live the good life.

Being secure in the Lord doesn’t mean that you may not be asked to die for your faith—or lose your job—or be denied opportunities—or suffer ridicule…being secure in the Lord is the assurance that we will not lose our relationship to the Father…to the Son …or the salvation that that relationship brings.

I want us to look at [27 & 28] a little closer…note the word ‘follow’ in [27] …it’s in the CONTINUOUS TENSE in the Greek and it describes Jesus’ sheep…it is something done continually…not just when it’s convenient…not just on Sunday.  

The plural pronouns ‘they’ and ‘them’ in [28 and 29] refer back to [27] …the ‘them’ in [28,29] is the same ‘them’ in [27] …meaning the only ones promised to never perish are the ones who CONTINUE to follow Jesus!

That’s the importance of that statement I made earlier regarding believing…to believe in the Greek means more than just knowing.

It’s more than intellectually knowing that He is who He claimed to be…it’s committing your life to Him and being willing to continuously follow Him.

There are people who dispute the claim of ‘eternal security’ and use this verse as proof that eternal security is bad theology…and here’s their argument.

All of us know people who seemed to believe in Jesus…but because of certain events in their life…or they have grown weary of Christianity…or just want to return to their previous lifestyle…they now deny the Savior they once professed to believe in…so…are they saved?

Well first of all only God knows that answer because only He knows their hearts.

BUT…with regards to those who make a claim to believe in Jesus but live in willful sin…they certainly don’t give evidence that they believe in Him.

If people truly possess eternal life they will be miserable in their sin…but for those who are comfortable in sin and are indifferent about Christ…and give no evidence of being saved…we should not give them the assurance of salvation.

Think about yourself for a moment…as a Christian you can’t be comfortable in sin…you’ll be miserable…the minute we are convicted of something…we know we are not in God’s will and we should want to immediately repent and receive God’s forgiveness.

Some argue that a believer can remove themselves from Jesus’ hand…change their mind so to speak…but that goes against what Jesus says in [28] ‘no one will snatch them out of My hand’ …that no one includes you because Jesus knows that our greatest enemy is ourselves…what about those people I just mentioned…who seemed to believe in Jesus but now don’t show it…I’d say they were never saved.

If believers could lose their salvation by sinning then every believer who has ever lived would be lost because we all have sinned after coming to faith in Christ…so these words are words of comfort knowing that He knows us and promises to give us eternal life…here’s what that means:

First…Eternal life is a gift that Jesus gives… ‘I give’ [10:28] is a claim to deity… no one but God can give eternal life.

Second…eternal life is a gift…it cannot be earned nor is it something given as a reward…it’s undeserved.

So…how can we know if we have received this gift of eternal life? …you know that you have the gift of eternal life if you believe in Jesus as your Savior.

John 10:17-18

We are continuing in our study through the gospel of John… we’ve been there for a long time and we’ll continue to be there for a long time…in fact 28 sermons so far and we’re just half way thought the book.

Not because I’m dragging this out…or so I can hear myself talk…but because in John’s gospel we’re learning what God’s Spirit is saying to us through the Apostle John as he details the events in the life of Christ.

In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke they recorded the life of Christ in terms of His birth…His death…His resurrection… and the things in His life which bear important weight on His deity.

In John’s gospel he has one basic theme…we have repeated it again and again… John constantly desires that we understand that Jesus is God…that He is God in a human body.

In John 10 [vs. 1-16] that we looked at last week…Jesus made a number of startling comments that support that claim:  

FIRST… that God has special affection for Him…that God loved Him [17].

SECOND…that He is the sole legitimate means of salvation for all mankind [9].

THIRD…that He has ‘other sheep’ to bring in the fold…referring to Gentiles.

In [vs. 17-18] Jesus makes three more startling claims that we’re going to look at…He adds fuel to the fire so to speak…with the addition of these two verses He adds further controversy:

Because of this the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Few passages in the New Testament tell us so much about Jesus in such a short amount of space…in these verses we see the complete trust that Jesus had in the Father…and the reason the Father loves the Son.

In verse 18, Jesus shares His own heart concerning His death…He lets us know that—in reality—everything remained under His control…with respect to His own life, He said,

‘No one takes it from Me…I have the authority to lay it down
and I have the authority to take it again.’

What did Jesus mean? …once He died how could He possibly have ‘the power’ to come back to life? …The dead don’t have any power, do they? 

Being dead and having power are contradictory states…anyone who still has any kind of power cannot possibly be dead…how could Jesus have any power while He was dead?

Verse 17 starts with the Greek words ‘because of’ (Διὰ) translated by some as ‘therefore’ …but the more correct translation of  Διὰ is ‘because of’ which tells us these two verses are tied to the preceding verses where Jesus referred to Himself as the door and the Good Shepherd.

By referring to Himself as the ‘door’ [7] …Jesus is laying down the fundamental truth of salvation…He is the only way of entrance into eternal life with God.

By referring to Himself as the Good Shepherd He was not merely describing His role or His care for His people but was also claiming to be the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy…asserting His deity.

Salvation and eternal life with God are completely, uniquely dependent on Jesus…it is only through His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection that we are able to enter into His presence.

In Jesus’s fourth ‘I AM’ statement He more than clarifies without any hesitation the exclusive nature of salvation:

whoever enters through me will be saved [10:9]

So in [18] Jesus describes how that is possible…that He can die and then bring Himself back from the dead…we see Jesus’ complete control of the situation:

I have power to lay My life down, and I have power to take it again’

FIRST… we see the free obedience of Jesus… ‘I lay down My life…no man takes it from ME…I lay it down of Myself.

SECOND… No single person can kill Me…I control My own destiny [18].

THIRD…He has the power to raise Himself from the dead [18] …no human can do that…there is no previous record of anyone anywhere in the Bible dying and bringing themselves back to life.

In [v. 17-18] Jesus shows that He was in complete control of when and how He would die… Jesus would not be a victim…in less than six months He would be crucified but even then, He would still be in complete control of His own destiny.

Nothing would happen by chance…it would be according to God’s plan.

Jesus would willingly lay down His life with the express purpose of taking it up again…there were those who plotted to take Jesus’ life but it was never within their power to do so.

No one could take His life until the appointed time for Him to ‘lay down’ His life according to prophecy…Jesus was not a reluctant martyr but a willing Savior carrying out the purpose for which He came.

Despite the best efforts of some, Jesus’ death on the Cross was pre-determined by God regardless of the efforts of all those who plotted against him…there were instances when the Jews sought to kill Him but could not because it was not the right time:

• Luke 4:29-30, “(they)…led him unto the brow of the hill…that they might cast him down headlong. But passing through their midst went his way.”

• John 8:59, “Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”

• John 10:39, “they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand.”

Scripture declares His life wasn’t taken from him…He laid it down willingly…no one could take Jesus’ life.

As with most everything in the Bible there are those who insist that Jesus was not saying that He Himself had the power to resurrect Himself…even in Christianity there are those who insist that Jesus was not saying He had the power to resurrect Himself from the dead…that only God could resurrect Jesus from the dead.

As with everything that refutes the Bible it is partly true and partly false…that’s what makes discerning false teachers so hard to identify…what they say has just enough truth in it to sound like it’s out of the Bible…that’s how Satan works in the world… just like with Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness…Satan was partially right…but completely wrong.

We have the same situation here…people who want to deny that Jesus could raise Himself from the dead because it’s not possible…the common-sense approach is that dead people can’t bring themselves back to life…making Jesus a liar.

In Jesus coming back to life we see the mystery of the Trinity…it is true…God did raise Jesus from the dead;

God raised Him from the dead [Acts 13:30]

But so did the Holy Spirit;

He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit [1 Peter 3;18]

And Jesus also brought Himself back from the dead;

               I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again [18]  

So the real truth is that it was the combination of the Father, The Son, and The Spirit that contributed to Jesus being raised from the dead.   

In [vs. 17-18] it has two aspects…we have a love statement…and an obedience statement…two things that characterize the relationship of Jesus to the Father…love and obedience.

The first statement in verse 17 is a love statement:

For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life’

Followed by the obedience statement in [18]

this commandment have I received of My Father

So what you have in [vs. 17-18] is…you have love at the beginning…obedience at the end…and the act in the middle.

Contained in these two verses are the things that characterize the relationship of Jesus to the Father and…should characterize the relationship of us to Jesus…love and obedience…there is no such thing as love without obedience…It doesn’t exist…John will go on to emphasize this in the later chapters…[15 verse 9]:

As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you. Continue in My love, if you keep My commandments you shall abide in My love.”

Without obedience love is a mockery…love is seen in obedience…I don’t care whether it’s your children…whether it’s your wife…your husband…whether it’s you and God…regardless of the relationship love is viewed in obedience.

John reiterates the importance of the love obedience relationship in 1 John 2:3-4:

³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do

what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

I want to share with you the importance of the word ‘know’ in the Greek…when John says ‘we have come to know him’ it’s far more intense that what we think it means when we do a casual reading of this verse…the word ‘know’ to us means beingaware of something through observation, inquiry, or information.    

But in the Greek, it is far more powerful than that…this is the same word γινώσκω

Mary used when she asked how she could be with child since she didn’t ‘know’ a man [Luke 1:34] …the same word used when describing Joseph’s relationship with Mary that he didn’t know Mary until after the child was born [Matt. 1:25].

This word in the Greek means to knowespecially through personal experience… having a first-hand acquaintance…that is the way God wants us to know Him… through personal experience…to ‘know’ God is referring to a relationship that is more than just being friends…it is so personal it can refer to sexual intimacy.

That is the kind of love we should have for Jesus…because it’s the kind of love He has for us…this is the love we have for God when we keep His commandments [1 John 5:3] …BUT…there can be no love without obedience.

People may say, ‘Well, I love God’ …people sing ‘O how I love Jesus’ … ‘When we all get to heaven’ boy I’ll show Jesus then how much I love Him…but how much do you love Him today? …for many not enough to obey Him.

The Bible says, ‘Study to show yourself approved.’ [1 Tim. 2;15] …but they don’t study…they say I love God but they;

…can’t be bothered coming to Church on Sunday

…can’t be bothered to give to the needs of others

…can’t be bothered to pray

…can’t be bothered to serve

…can’t be bothered to use their spiritual gift.

BUT…when I get to heaven that will all change…there’s a danger in that…you won’t be given the opportunity.

OH we’ll be able to worship alongside angels [Rev. 5:13] …we’ll feast and eat with the Lord and His people [Matt. 8:11 / Luke 22:30] …we will celebrate for eternity in heaven [Rev. 19:9] …we will continue to serve the Lord [Matt. 4:10.

BUT… our rewards from God are given for what we have done for Him while living here on this earth…the greater our labor and work for the Lord in this life, the greater our rewards will be in heaven…all those things I mentioned…they equate to work…serving…praying…worshiping…using spiritual gifts…there is a direct correlation between the two – greater service leads to greater rewards.

Here’s what the reward is…more work…more responsibilities…and increased opportunities…the more we serve Christ now, the greater our capacity will be to serve Him in Heaven…Jesus rewards His faithful servants not by taking away responsibilities but by giving them greater ones.

God expects you to do something with what time you have left down here on earth.

How well you work for God, and what you accomplish for Him while on earth is where the works comes in.

Salvation is the gift that gets you into heaven…good works is the reward once you enter into heaven.

That’s really what love is all about? …God keeps a record of people’s love…that record is based on our obedience or lack of it as people just sort of float through their Christian life.

You want to know how to prove your love? Obey. You know how Jesus proved His love? …He obeyed…self-sacrifice is always the measure of love.  

Jesus’ relation to the Father was a relationship of love that showed itself in self-sacrificing obedience…that was Jesus’ relationship with the Father…love and obedience…that should be our relationship to the Father. Love and obedience.

John 10:19-21 is the response of the people as a result of the previous 18 verses…a dialogue we have talked about for the last two weeks…John records the people’s actions:

               A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words [19]

This is actually an on-going confrontation that started back in Ch. 9 after Jesus had given sight to the blind man…the miracle leads some to believe Jesus is the legitimate messenger from God…others suggest He’s a nutcase in His analogy to explain His ministry as the Good Shepherd.

No one had ever raised themselves from the dead…they reasoned this proved Jesus was insane and demonized and therefore not worth listening to.

Verse 19 reveals a polarized situation…there are two extremes…there is a division of people into one of only two categories…there are only two groups of people in the world…saved and unsaved…not maybe…not almost…not kinda.

John uses the words ‘again’ but there has always been a division ever since Chapter 7…you have two groups…group ‘A’ gives their remarks in [v 20] …they have descended to name calling…earlier they called Him a demon-possessed Samaritan  …they now add another layer: He has a demon and is mad.

He’s not only demon possessed…now He’s crazy as well…they ask those who have been listening to Jesus: ‘Why do you listen to Him? …why do you stand around listening to this guy? No one brings themselves back from the dead.

There are some people today who think Jesus is a madman…they make the same assessment as those in Matthew 12… “What He does He does by the power of Satan.” …the seriousness of that sin is: for that you will not be forgiven.

For those people who stood there and saw all His miracles and heard all His words and concluded He did it by Satan…they were beyond the possibility of salvation because of their total rejection of Jesus and His revelation.

That is blasphemy…there are blasphemers today, plenty of them…some of the most notable are: Woody Allen / Hugh Hefner / Joaquin Phoenix / Kathy Griffin / Brad Pitt / Jodie Foster / Kevin Bacon / Bill Maher/ Barry Manilow…Some of those don’t surprise me.

So why would I mention these celebrities…because today…unfortunately people become so obsessed with them they idolize them….and the more details they know about their personal life the more they emulate them…including their beliefs.

People Magazine has a weekly audience of 4.6 million readers…the largest audience of any American magazine…in addition there are TV shows running in prime time that are exclusively about celebrities such as Entertainment Tonight.

That’s a lot of people spending a lot of time and money reading and watching about people they don’t even know…but who are obsessed in following their favorite celebrities…as a result these people shape how they live…who they vote for…and what to believe in.

And when they make statements that are contrary to Christian beliefs and when they say, ‘Why do you listen to Him?’ they have the potential to influence a lot of people because of their celebrity status…and they do just that.

But then you have the other side that society often divides itself… [21]

Others said, ‘these are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?’  

The miracles lead some to believe Jesus is a legitimate messenger of God…I like that last statement… ‘Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’ …So the world is polarized regarding Jesus.

On the one hand some think He’s a madman…on the other hand…some are hanging on to the faith in what they know about Him.

Those who don’t want to believe will always find a way…or a reason to resist…no matter what [John 5:39-40] …miracles and truthful teaching ought to lead people to accept Him [John 3:1-2] …but a hard heart can always make excuses [Mat. 12:31].

John stops his recording of this dialogue at [v21] so we are left unsure how the rest of this encounter played out…starting in [v 22] the narrative leaps ahead several months to the Feast of the Dedication.

I said earlier…few passages in the New Testament tell us so much about Jesus in such a short amount of space.

First…It tells us that Jesus saw his whole life as an act of obedience to God. God had given him a task to do, and he was prepared to carry it out to the end…He never doubted that he must die.

Second…He had a unique relationship to God which we can describe only by saying that He was the Son of God…a relationship that was never based on anything except love and obedience.

As the Good Shepherd His relationship to the Father hinged on two principles… love and obedience…the same two that should characterize our relationship with the Father.

His relationship with the world also hinged on two poles…the close minded and the open minded.

Sometimes we fail to hear the bite in Jesus’ words because we have heard them so many times before that we become numb to them…for Jesus to claim to have the power to lay down his life and take it back up again is to claim the humanly impossible and preposterous.

The people reacted with clamoring, as they often did, to his strong claims…they recognize that they either have to believe him and put their trust in him, or else recognize him as being crazy. It’s the same choices people must make today…What’s your choice? You cannot be neutral about Jesus. He is either Lord or liar…He’s either the Christ or crazy man.

John 10:1-18

Truly I say to you, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. Truly I tell you, I am the door for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So, when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Jesus is at a point in His ministry where He exclusively begins to teach using parables…His disciples asked Him, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” [Matthew 13:10)] because after many frustrating attempts to reveal Himself as the Messiah only to be rejected, He turned to parables.

Many Christians believe that Jesus taught in parables to make His message clear, that is not correct…it’s not biblical …the enemies of Jesus were always waiting for him to say something they could use against him (Luke 11:53-54) …by speaking in parables, Jesus was making it hard for them to arrest Him by not directly speaking out openly against them.  

But the disciples weren’t much better…it’s not that Jesus was trying to hide anything from them…it’s just that after three years of preaching and teachings even the disciples understood NOTHING concerning His life…ministry…death …and resurrection.

They did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them [6]

So He uses earthly stories to teach heavenly truths…but only those who sought the truth were able to understand them…He wants to teach something about the Kingdom of God to believers while simultaneously concealing the truth from stubborn unbelievers.

In the Parable of the Good Shepherd Jesus uses the illustration of a public sheepfold which would have been familiar to His audience…in this context, the sheep pen refers to the nation of Israel…the thieves and robbers are false teachers like the Pharisees…the Good Shepherd is Jesus, and the sheep are those who are being saved out of the nation of Israel. 

The true shepherd has the authority to approach the sheep through the gate, which is the proper entrance…anyone who gains access to the sheep by improper means is not the true shepherd.

Sheep pens in Jesus’ era were constructed with sturdy walls and a single doorway with a gate keeper to ensure the sheep’s safety.

In the evening all the shepherds who lived in the town would bring their sheep to the sheepfold which often held several flocks and turn them in for the night…they would trust their sheep to the gate keeper who watched over the sheep while the shepherds would go to their homes for the night.

What you have is an enclosure with a single access point that would allow easy control over what animals or people went in or out…and who could access the sheep.

There were no physical barriers across the opening to the sheep pen and since a gatekeeper was always on duty…for him to rest, or even to sleep, the gatekeeper would literally lay across the doorway.

Inside the pen several individual flocks would come together for the night…

during the night the individual flocks would become intermixed…sheep have a natural inclination to assemble in flocks…the next morning the shepherds would identify themselves to the gate keeper who would let them in to get their sheep.

Each shepherd separated his sheep from the other by making a unique call…the sheep would hear his voice and separate themselves from the larger flock.

                he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice [4]

Instead of driving them he leads them and they followed him as one unit. The shepherd always went ahead of them to guide them…this enabled a lone shepherd to handle hundreds of sheep successfully…he shepherds them by going in front of the sheep leading them purely by voice recognition rather than driving them.

In this ‘parable’ Jesus is making a comparison between sheep and people.

First of all…I know little to nothing about sheep…and secondly…it’s not very flattering to some to be compared to sheep because sheep are really dumb animals

however, scientists believe that research shows that humans and sheep do have something in common…so Jesus wasn’t so far off after all.

People like sheep subconsciously follow the minority…published results show it takes a minority of only five per cent of what scientists call ‘informed individuals’ to influence a crowd’s direction — and that the other 95 per cent follow without realizing it.

So when you compare the effects of the many who call themselves ‘Christians’ and how they react there is a rather stunning comparison.

Unlike other animals, sheep rarely find their own way safely…since sheep easily go astray they require constant guidance and constant care…their safety lies in the shepherd’s leadership [Psalm 23:1-2].

Sheep are also notorious creatures of habit…if left to themselves they will follow the same trail until it becomes a rut…they will graze the same field until it’s barren of any grass all the while polluting the pastures until they are corrupt with disease and parasites…consequently, shepherds must constantly lead them to fresh pastures.

BUT…and here’s the key…unlike humans, sheep listen to just one shepherd and follow him, whereas people have a tendency to listen to many different shepherds instead of following the one true Shepherd.

That’s why it’s important that we ask ourselves…what are the voices you’re listening to? …who is speaking to you? …are they leading you to Christ, or are they leading you away from Him? …are you able to discern between the voices to determine what is good and acceptable…as opposed to what are flat out lies?

Some believe it’s acceptable to treat religion like a buffet table…like sheep mixing together at night people mix and match religions to have it their way… believing it’s a Godly thing to listen to and follow other religions, while still maintaining they’re ‘a Christian’.

People today are just like sheep…hence the analogy…so then how are sheep to know their shepherd? How can the sheep know that they are not following a wolf before it’s too late?

Sheep are at least smart enough to recognize their shepherd’s voice and not be confused or led astray:

                A stranger they simply will not follow but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. [5]

People today hear a religious-sounding voice and are led away from the truth by false religious leaders who are not speaking the truth, instead of listening to the one true Shepherd who speaks the truth.

This is the figurative meaning in John 10…notice how often Jesus emphasizes the importance of the shepherd’s voice in this short section:

The sheep hear his voice [3];

The sheep follow him, for they know his voice [4];

They do not know the voice of strangers [5].

When the true and faithful shepherd speaks, his sheep will hear and immediately follow!

Jesus came to gather into one flock the scattered children of God…in his narrative  John uses a wider principle than does Matthew, Mark and Luke in their parable… the three synoptic gospels emphasize the careful concern that the shepherd feels for them, but John emphasizes the sovereignty of Christ as the Shepherd…He is the Ruler and Owner of all His sheep.

In this parable are several important details that need to be looked at…First of all for the 3rd time Jesus uses the I AM statement…confirms His identity as God.

1. John 6:35; I am the bread of life;
2. John 8:12 “I am the Light of the world;

In the ‘I AM’ statements Jesus declares Himself to be God…He contrasts himself with the Pharisees who were acting as a door to prevent people from coming in… Jesus says you guys are all wrong and introduces the third I AM statement;

• John 10:7 I am the door of the sheep.

By referring to Himself as the ‘door’ …Jesus is laying down the fundamental truth of salvation…He is the only way of entrance into eternal life with God…Period.

Salvation and eternal life with God are completely, uniquely dependent on Jesus…it is only through His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection to life eternal that we are able to enter into His presence.  

Jesus makes a distinction as the true shepherd as opposed to the false teachers that included many of the Pharisees…I didn’t sneak over the fence like the thieves and robbers that the sheep pen keeps out.

I came in by fulfilling the prophesies of the Old Testament…I came in under the law [Gal.4:4] …I came in the line of David according to the prophesy [Luke 1:32] …I was born in Bethlehem according to prophesy [Micah 5:2].

He was the Messiah…no one else could have had the credentials that He had… anyone else would have been a thief and a robber… they would not have had the credentials of the Messiah and would have had to climb over the fence.

Second thing Jesus says is:

whoever enters through me will be saved [9]

In the pluralistic society we find ourselves in it has no problem with God as long as there are many ways of accessing Him…people are intimidated and frustrated by the idea that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

In Jesus’s fourth ‘I AM’ statement He more than clarifies without any hesitation the exclusive nature of salvation:   

• John 10:9 whoever enters through me will be saved

In making this statement He’s going back to His encounter with the Pharisees over the healing of the blind man in Ch. 9.

The Pharisees at the end of chapter 9 declared that the blind man was born in sin…that’s why he’s blind…they believed his blindness was proof that he was a sinner and that he couldn’t possibly come to God…being filled with scorn for him, they threw him out of the synagogue.

Notice Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees… ‘all who came before Me are thieves and robbers [8] …as opposed to the apostles who were sent under the authority of Jesus.

The Pharisees were trying to decide who could have access to God …even Jesus’ own disciples were in danger of deciding who could be saved when they asked Jesus who was responsible for the man’s blindness. Was it his sin or his parents?

In Jesus’ comment as the door…He is revealing that He’s the One who’s going to allow him to come to God…whoever enters through me will be saved [9].

Jesus is the Shepherd who enters into the fold calling his sheep by name…and as such He is the one and only door or means by which a person can be saved and enter into fellowship with God.

Jesus then makes a contrast between Himself and the false religious leaders…but more specifically against Satan…and the purpose each one is proposing:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy [10]

John is saying that the religious leaders, or more specifically Satan, is literally killing and destroying us by stealing our most precious commodities…what are they and how is he doing it?

One is time spent in prayer and meditation…Satan does this by keeping us too busy with work…or by prompting others to constantly seek worldly pleasures thus denying us the right balance between work and rest. One of Satan’s worst enemies is a man on his knees.

He steals time away from our families with the countless gimmicks and gadgets in our homes demanding our attention and keeping us distracted from time bonding with our families.  

He steals our time through recreation and sports…those we play or our kids play… it’s all time away from spending time in prayer…he can steal our ambitions, goals and aspirations to seek all that is good and leave us in a state of depression, despair, gloom and doom.

As a destroyer he destroys loving and caring relationships among individuals, families, communities and countries by breeding competition, greed, selfishness and strife…which all lead to evil thoughts and acts of revenge, murder and suicide.

He takes pleasure in dividing and blinding us from knowing the real purpose of why we are born and stealing our potential as created beings in the image of God.

He has ended countless lives through abortion, drug abuse and disease…the result has left a multitude of suffering, torment, misery, wars and death.

These are but a few of the acts that Satan instigates…could go on to mention hatred, anger, fear, envy, adultery, fornication, idolatry and a host of other deceitful works Satan uses to entice us to sin…so he truly does come “to steal, kill, and to destroy.”

Jesus contrasts with the reason he came;

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly

If you heard me preach for any length of time at all you’ve heard my explanation of what the abundant life is NOT…it’s NOT about what we have…it’s NOT about what we get…it’s NOT about what we claim…the abundant life does not consist in an abundance of material things.

The abundant life means something more meaningful than material wealth and prosperity [Col. 3:2 / Matt. 6:25-32]

…it begins with salvation [Rom. 6:23]

…it’s the result of having been made new [2 Cor. 5:17]

…it’s living eternally with Jesus [John 17:3]

…it means growing into a life full of the fruit of the Spirit [Gal. 5]

…it’s receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit [John 3:5]

Ultimately the abundant life is not in what we have received, but in what we have given…when we have shared the blessings of God (mercy, peace, love, grace, wisdom) and have shared that with others that’s when we truly have abundant life.

False teachers and false religion offer only shallow…temporary relief…only Jesus brings truly everlasting life and spiritual abundance.

Jesus has made two analogies about His ministry using a topic familiar to His listeners…the first idea is that sheep instinctively listen only to the voice of their particular shepherd and no other.

Secondly…as ‘the door’ He is the single narrow opening in the sheep pen that allows the sheep to enter…this means He is the sole means by which we are able to come into His presence…all others are like thieves and robbers who are trying to enter without using that door.

Then Jesus makes a statement that would have certainly led to a riot if understood correctly…not even the disciples understood what Jesus was about to say…for the first time Jesus is revealing a revelation that has been keep secret to the Jews for thousands of years…BUT…in reality a secret that was revealed thousands of years earlier to Abraham…they just missed it.

                   I have sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also [16]

Jesus is referring to believers who are Gentiles…something unimaginable to the Jews.

First, He claims to be God with the ‘I AM’ statement when referring to Himself as the door…now He’s suggesting that Gentiles are also welcomed into the fold as well…that there will be one flock…that Jews and the Gentiles will become one church.

As Christians we are part of the fold…and here’s what’s really exciting about being part of Jesus’s flock…the magnitude of this verse gets overlooked far too frequently:  

and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [3].

All of Jesus’ references to sheep are personal:

His own sheep [4],

My sheep [14],

I have other sheep [16].

And He calls then by name…one day Jesus WILL call His own out of the world… that might be at the Rapture or at the resurrection…but regardless whether I’m in this body…or at the resurrection I believe that—he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out—is referring to the promise that He will call every believer by name and lead them to heaven.

I think I will hear Him personally call me by name…how wonderful to know that Jesus knows my name…that He knows me personally and He’ll call me at that time.

Here’s the promise for every person who has ever lived and has professed Jesus as Lord…if you are one of his sheep you will hear your name on the last day when He shouts.

This is a twofold calling…hearing the voice of God is actually hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts…without His active participation in our lives the voice of God would be silent in our hearts.

There are many voices floating around in our heads [Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 John 2:15-17] and it’s important as Christians that we are aware of those other voices that can be harmful…first of all there’s the real thing:

• God’s voice — the real thing.
• The World — voices of others, peer pressure, worldly standards of success.
• The Flesh — our own desires and thoughts, many of which are selfish.
• The Devil — demonic temptation and misdirection from Satan and his forces.
• Our Conscience – the moral sense of right and wrong obtained from our upbringing.

Here’s the problem with our conscience…our conscience can be educated by the Word of God as we seek God’s direction in our lives…but…our conscience can also be strongly influenced by the culture we grow up in.

As a result, sometimes we can be hindered by a skewed sense of justice…or…of what is right and wrong which results in a suppression to certain sins when we   intentionally suppress the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin in our lives.

But there’s another who is just as important as the ‘door’, that’s the ‘doorkeeper’

The doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice [3].

It has been suggested that the doorkeeper is the Holy Spirit…the doorkeeper refers to the Holy Spirit opening the door to the heart.

He is the One bringing the Jews the realization that Jesus is the Messiah…and for those Jews who believed…it was The Holy Spirit who was opening the eyes and ears of His sheep to hear His voice and bring them out of Judaism.

Without the opening of our spiritual eyes and ears we walk in carnal blindness unable to comprehend the good news of the Gospel and what it means for our eternal salvation.

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you…” [Ephesians 1:16-18]

I see two main points of Jesus sharing the figure of speech using sheep and shepherds.  In the parable Jesus shows the difference between Himself and all those who claim to be religious leaders.

Firstly, He is the only door…the only life…and the only truth that brings people into the flock of God.  There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved [Acts 4:12]. 

Secondly, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who truly knows his sheep…Jesus’ use of the word ‘good’ in this parable implies that

…as the Good Shepherd He manifests all the characteristics of perfect goodness

…as the Good Shepherd He died for sinners who like sheep have all gone astray

…as the Good Shepherd He didn’t come just to save Israel alone

…as the Good Shepherd His call is to anyone who would listen to his voice

…as the Good Shepherd He knows us by name

…as the Good Shepherd He guides us through life

Isaiah the Prophet described all of us perfectly: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

God’s point is that we are His sheep, but we are helpless without Him…we can do nothing without Christ [John 15:5] …Jesus knew the nature of people without a shepherd, just as a he knew what happens when you neglect sheep or leave them to themselves.

When Jesus “saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36), and we are helpless too…without Jesus, our Good Shepherd.

John 9:7-34

Last week we looked at the conversation in John 9 between Jesus and His disciples concerning the man born blind and how it related to the problem of suffering and disability …the common misconception in Jesus’ era is seen in the question asked by the disciples concerning this man’s blindness;

 Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind [2]

Rather than compassion, the disciples see this as an opportunity to ask Jesus a question regarding people who were afflicted with physical deformities.

Their thoughts were based on the thinking of that day that suffering was because God was punishing them.

We must never look at suffering and equate it to personal sin.

God does not punish us for our sin because Jesus took that punishment but the Bible does reveal that there are consequences for sin. But it’s not punishment.

The disciples were asking for an explanation in the categories of cause…what is it that caused his blindness? … Jesus says that won’t work…instead He gives them an explanation in the category of purpose.

This specific suffering was not the result of the sins of the parents…or the man… nor did God cause this man to be born blind…don’t look there for the explanation …stop looking for a cause…instead look for its purpose.

The question of suffering and disability is not in who sinned…OR… not that God deliberately caused this man to be born blind and remain that way for all these years so He could display His glory in the removal of the blindness.

John chose only 7 of the countless miracles Jesus performed to write about…this miracle only occurs in the gospel of John. 

John says the reason for only writing about these specific seven is: [John 20:31]

that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 

This is the theme of John’s gospel.

This was the whole purpose in writing…even Jesus comments [4:48] that the Jews will never believe unless they see signs and wonders…Paul says the same thing [1 Cor. 1:22] when he says:

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom

It has been suggested that the reason John picked these seven miracles was because the Jewish people believed when the Messiah does come He will do certain ‘signs’ as proof that He is the Christ…John doesn’t refer to them as miracles.

These 7 signs would validate their expectations so they would believe…the Messiah they were looking for and are still looking for will possess the following qualities:

—He will be a descendent from King David (Jeremiah 23:5).

—He will be well-versed in Jewish law and observe its commandments (Isa. 11:2)

—He will be a great military leader, who will win battles for Israel (Rev.19:11)

—He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jeremiah 33:15).

—He will appear during a time of war and suffering (Ezekiel 38:16)

—He will bring about the political and spiritual redemption of the Jewish people (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5).

—He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1).

—He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship (Jeremiah 33:18).

—He will establish a peaceful co-existence for all people (Isaiah 2:4).

—He will be recognized as the only true God. (Zech. 4:9).

—the Jewish religion as the only true religion (Isa. 2:3; 11:10; Micah 4:2-3).

—He will build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

—There will be no sin (Zephaniah 3:13).

http://www.jewfaq.org/mashiach.htm

Every one of those expectations…are taken right out of the Old Testament…so why wouldn’t they expect their Messiah to do all those things…BUT…they are exactly the same expectations Christians are looking for when Jesus returns.   

Again…something both Jews and Christians believe will be the condition in the world when Jesus returns…just looking at these qualities it would seem that the Jews and Christians are both looking for the exact same qualities in a Messiah.

That we’re agreeing on all the same points…BUT…there’s a problem…there’s a number of problems.

In this morning’s text the Jewish leaders give a number of reasons why they do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God…I’m not going to dwell on these other than mention them briefly as part of the reason for rejecting Jesus because I’m not here to give you the reasons why the Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah…I’m here to tell you why Jesus IS the Messiah.  

In their discussion they list the reasons whythey are still looking for the Messiah to appear:

FIRST…the Jews believe the Messiah will be born of human parents and possess normal physical attributes like other people…He will not possess supernatural qualities…the person the Jews are looking for is a human leader…not a savior

The notion of an innocent, divine being who will sacrifice himself to save people from the consequences of sin is purely a Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish thought.

SECONDLY… of all those qualities I just mentioned from the Old Testament… they believe no person ever born has even remotely fulfilled those prophecies so until someone does, any person claiming to be the Messiah is lying.

THIRDLY…the division between Judaism and Christianity is brought out in the text and it is still an issue today

You (Christians) are His disciples, but we are disciples of Moses [28]

We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man we do not know where He is from [29]

This last comment by the Jewish leaders is a combination of the first two…goes back to the discussion regarding Abraham in Ch. 8…and now in Ch. 9 they throw Moses in the discussion to further identify themselves as being descendants of these men…as part of their rejection the Pharisees claimed to be followers of Moses and they did not know who Jesus was or where He was from [9:29].

This was to dispel Jesus’ continued insistence that I and the Father are one…that very statement by itself excludes Jesus from being the Jewish Messiah.

Their claim is that they are of the linage of Abraham and Moses which is the exact reason for the disparity between the religion of Judaism and the faith of Christianity.

Christianity puts an emphasis on miracles…Judaism does not…mass conversions in the early years of Christianity were directly attributed to the miracles performed by the Disciples and evangelists…John’s gospel lists the importance of the seven specific ‘signs’ or miracles for a reason.

that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 

It has had no effect on a majority of the Jewish people.

WHY…Judaism is unique among all of the world’s major religions…it does not rely on ‘claims of miracles’ as the basis for its religion…only Judaism bases its belief on national revelation – God speaking personally to the entire nation.

Even when it came to believing in Moses…and all the miracles he performed… their belief was not based on seeing miracles because it’s possible miracles could be performed through magic or sorcery.

All of the miracles performed by Moses in the desert were because they were necessary…not as proof of his being sent by God.

The basis of [Jewish] belief is the Revelation given at Mount Sinai…when they saw with their own eyes and heard with their own ears and were not dependent on the testimony of others…God speaking to the entire nation.

God did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us (Deut. 5:3)

If God is going to start a religion…to the Jewish way of thinking…it makes sense He’ll tell everyone, not just a few selected people.

John spends a large portion of chapter 9 recording the controversy over the miracle of the blind man…and just like with the lame man who was healed the fourth major point of contention of why Judaism does not accept Jesus as the Messiah:

FOURTHLY…notice the response of the Jews in this healing is the same response Jesus got when He healed the lame man at the pool at Bethesdah…they state the primary reason why the Jews deny that Jesus is the Messiah.

now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus opened his eyes.  

The religious leaders tell us point blank why they refuse to believe in Jesus’s claims as the Messiah ‘He does not observe the Sabbath’ [16] that statement still stands today.

For the Jews…because Jesus did not observe Jewish Law, He couldn’t possibly be the Messiah.

John describes the Pharisees’ reaction to Jesus’ miracle of healing …rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power they look for excuses to criticize and discredit the miracle.

What we have here is the classic answer used by people all the time… ‘If I could just see a miracle, then I’d believe’ …no you wouldn’t.

The Pharisees saw all sorts of miracles and yet they hardened their hearts against Jesus…so seeing a miracle is not going to convince you that Jesus is real.

These miracles should have substantially changed their view of Jesus…that Jesus was divine, but they responded in a predictable way.

They made it clear that they will not accept Jesus…no matter what…even though His miracles are signs of His divinity [John 12:37-38] …they instead find excuses to doubt or dismiss them.

What we see is what happens when unbelief investigates a miracle…see this on TV…when unbelievers want to assess the miracle of the virgin birth…the miracle of the resurrection…they find fault…it defines logic…it’s inconceivable…they exhibit the same qualities as the…truth rejecting…stubborn…hard hearted unbelief …of the religious leaders of Israel…and of people today.

They interrogated both the parents and the healed man looking for any reason to dismiss Jesus’ work…here we see how sin effects the ability to recognize the works of the Holy Spirit.

Let me just comment on the way this man was healed…if you are familiar with the story then you know.

He (Jesus) spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes. [6]

Several commentators note that what seems strange to us…using saliva as a medicine upon the eyes – was not so strange in the ancient world

“Spittle, and especially the spittle of some distinguished persons, was believed to possess certain curative qualities.” (Barclay)…Mark recorded two other healings that Jesus performed with the use of His saliva [Mark 7:33 and 8:23].

In this long controversy two things become apparent…the FIRST is the response of the blind man…it is the picture of the spiritual progress of the Christian life…and SECONDLY is what always happens when sharing the Gospel.  

First the response of the blind man…unlike his parents and the Pharisees who both begin by claiming certain knowledge…this man begins by admitting he has no knowledge…he knows nothing…all he knows about Jesus is His name…he represents a new believer who doesn’t know much.

He probably can’t state the biblical doctrine of the trinity…he doesn’t understand how God’s sovereignty and human responsibility tie together…he probably can’t articulate clearly the two natures of Christ…or the many theological controversies surrounding His claims as the Messiah…all he knows is the man who healed him is called Jesus (9:11).

The Bible pictures the Christian life as a spiritual growth process and this man represents that…spiritual growth begins at:

…birth: ‘unless one is born again’ [John 3:3]

…spiritual growth continues through spiritual infancy: ‘I gave you milk to drink, not solid food: for you were not yet able to receive it’ [1 Cor. 3:2] … ‘like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow’ [1 Pet.2:2]

…through childhood ‘I am writing to you little children’

…through young adulthood ‘I am writing to you young men’

…through fatherhood ‘I am writing to you fathers’ [1 John 2:12,13]

John wants to encourage us at each stage of our maturing process…each one of us, regardless of what spiritual level we’re at, should be growing in our spiritual maturity.

Generally speaking, in theory, the longer one has been a believer, the more mature he should be but sadly that is not always the case…there are many spiritual ‘fathers’ …speaking of physically older believers, who are still babes in the faith, because of the failure to take in the Word and obey it.  

Time alone does not ensure spiritual growth…we must be actively engaged in the process;

…we need a daily diet of spiritual food from the Word of God [Rom 15:4]

…we need to talk with our Heavenly Father in prayer [1 Pet. 5:7]

…we need to spend time with our Christian brothers and sisters [Heb. 10:25]

…we need to be turning from the sins that hinder spiritual growth [Heb 12:1].

This man begins to mature before their very eyes…he doesn’t engage in an argument with the Pharisee, he just states what occurred.

This starts out with the man knowing very little about Jesus…he didn’t seem to know that Jesus was from Nazareth…or was the Messiah…or claimed to be God …or the light of the world…he didn’t even know where Jesus was at [12].

The man seemed to know nothing about Jesus except His name and that Jesus was the Man who healed him. [11, 12]

In his second encounter with the Pharisees he escalates his assertive answering… he begins to grow in his understanding about Jesus…he progresses by calling Jesus a prophet (9:17).

You have to admire this man’s courage…his own parents refuse to acknowledge that Jesus healed their son for fear of being expelled from the synagogue…so they therefore essentially abandon their son…BUT…he boldly speaks up.

Despite being abandoned by his parents…being terrorized by the Jews…fearing being cast out of the synagogue because he identifies with Jesus…which in reality he would have never been allowed in the synagogue anyway because he was blind.

But in spite of all of that…he keeps his faith in Jesus…he is given the option to denounce Jesus…but refuses…clearly tired of defending himself, he astounds those around him in his persistent defense of Jesus.

It’s not known how much this man knew about what we refer to as the ‘Old Testament’ …but he had enough knowledge to make some startling claims…this guy is on a roll.

We know that God does not hear sinners: but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. [31]

He recites a general theme of the Old Testament in God’s refusal to not hear the prayers of sinners…the man uses the words of the Jews against them…he suggests, that had Jesus been a sinner like you’re suggesting…that is, an impostor, God would not have heard him, or have assisted him in doing a miracle.

But he’s not done…having once begun he won’t be stopped…he makes a statement that must have startled the Pharisees.

Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind [32]

That is a true statement…no one before this man had ever heard of any one restoring sight to someone born blind…there is no record of any cure of blindness in the Old Testament.

He’s to the point now that he boldly asserts himself by sarcastically finishing up the conversation by asking the Pharisees if they too want to become His disciples.

Having heard that the Pharisees had thrown the man out [34] …Jesus later finds him, and seeing Jesus for the first time…he states a fact regarding Jesus’ existence that Jesus had to come from God…he believes and worships Him as Lord (33/38).

This introduces the SECOND thing that will always happen when sharing the Gospel…contained in the story of the blind man is a microcosm of what we will face when we attempt to share the gospel with unbelievers.

In this ‘discussion’ is revealed what we will encounter when we share Jesus with unbelievers…most people are not only going to reject what you tell them about the gospel…they will become hostile.

Those in spiritual darkness think that they know spiritual truth, but sin blinds them from true spiritual knowledge.

Again…why did John think it important to write out this entire discourse…because in this event we see the true schism between the Jews and Christians…why Judaism refuses to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah…and between un-believers and Christians.

Unbelief will produce an aggressive hostile attitude towards Christians and Christianity… look at some of their responses… ‘He has a demon’ … ‘they picked up stones to kill Him’… ‘He’s a sinner’ … sounds pretty hostile.

From this miracle we can learn several lessons:

1. This miracle reminds us of the devastating nature of sin.

This man did not suffer blindness because of a particular sin he had committed…or his parents committed…or because God caused it…his blindness was the result of sin in general.

2. We see the all-surpassing power of Jesus.

During Jesus’ ministry He cured thousands…He healed the blind…the lame…the demon-possessed…the woman with an issue of blood…there was no infirmity, no weakness, and no problem that Jesus could not heal.

3. We see the stubborn resistance to God’s work.

The neighbors and leaders of this man’s community were suspicious of the healing to keep from giving credit to God for the miracle…God is at work every day doing things that we are not giving Him credit for.  We need to start praising God more for the marvelous things that He is doing all around us. Unbelief is hostile towards the truth.

4. In this miracle we see the simple nature of personal witnessing.

Christians are often reluctant to share their faith…feeling as though we don’t have the answers to every conceivable question and therefore feel we must remain silent. But that’s not true.

This man didn’t worry about what He couldn’t answer. He simply testifies to what he had seen and knows to be true.

We can learn a lot from this man…every person in here has a testimony about what Jesus has done for them…our simple expression of what Christ has done in our lives will impact those around us for the gospel.

In the exchange between the Pharisee and the man in [v. 25] we see all four of these lessons…and it’s summed up in the man’s response to the Pharisee who claims that ‘this man is a sinner’:

Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

That is a testimony…here’s what God has done for me…I was blind but now I see!

He doesn’t worry about what He can’t answer…the Pharisees ask: How did He open your eyes…he doesn’t know…said before he can’t answer the many theological controversies surrounding Jesus’ claims as the Messiah…all he knows is the man who healed him is called Jesus (9:11).

He simply is testifying to what he has seen and knows to be true…Jesus does not ask us to teach theology…He asks us to testify of our relationship and our faith.

God does not always reveal why He does what He does…or why He allows it…He never promised us that we would be a success in life…if we don’t understand this then we will develop distortions about God’s purpose for our lives…if we hold on to the idea that we will be free from trouble and that we will be comfortable in all situations of life…then we are not living in a real world.

Ask Ethel about her water problems…misfortune is not God’s primary will …but He does work in us through our problems…we can praise Him in knowing that He never allows anything to happen to us that does not manifest His grace on us and give Him glory…even in our physical problems He manifests who He is.

There is not a person in this room that doesn’t have a story of how God at some point in your life miraculously intervened through specific events…our simple expression of what Christ has done in our lives will impact those around us for the gospel.

The simplest testimony can be used by God to reach those who are lost…we all have one…some more dramatic than others…but everyone has one…it’s time for us to share the good news of what Jesus has accomplished in our lives.

The Gospel of John

John 9:1-4

¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work”

For the past few weeks we have been in John’s Gospel where Jesus is having a dialogue with the Jewish authorities…now in Chapter 9 we come to where Jesus is in a conversation with his own disciples.

As we look at the beginning of chapter 9 there is a reason for the introduction… in this opening narrative John describes what is occurring:

As Jesus was passing by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth

They likely don’t know he’s been blind from birth by just by looking at him, but [v. 8] seems to indicate that John writing this much later in life is giving us additional details about the man after this episode had occurred.

John could have recorded in [v. 1] about a man born blind and then gone to the miracle of his healing in [v. 6] …on the surface it would have been just another healing miracle…but…if John had gone straight to the healing part of this miracle, we would have missed out on what transpires between [v. 1-4].

Jesus performed countless numbers of miracles…on the surface this seems as though we’re being privy to another one…BUT…there are a number of issues associated with this story that need to be addressed.

Contained in this discussion with the disciples John addresses the problem of suffering and disability… The Holy Spirit guided these words to be written for a purpose…because there is an issue that is being dealt with…an issue that is still being misunderstood today…an issue that every human confronts whether a believer in God or not.

One in particular reflects the disciple’s narrow theology of God’s justice…the common misconception in Jesus’ era is seen in the question asked by the disciples concerning this man’s blindness;

 Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind [2]

Rather than compassion the disciples see this as an opportunity to ask Jesus a question regarding people who were afflicted with physical deformities.

Their thoughts were based on the thinking of that day, that suffering was because God was punishing them.

This is hinted at in the question the disciples asked Jesus…we see the same mindset regarding the death of the 18 men killed when a tower fell on them [Luke 13] …it was the presumption by the Jews these eighteen men were especially sinful because 1) they were working for the hated Romans…and 2) they were being paid with money that Pilate had stolen from the temple treasure…they got what they deserved.

So, in this simple statement about who sinned is the belief of the disciples that the man’s blindness was caused by sin…unfortunately people today still believe that when bad things happen it is the result of something they did to make God mad.

It is a question that every parent asks…what caused this? …what did I do to cause this to happen to my child? …did we do something wrong? …these are questions asked whenever there is a disabled child born.

We wonder about suffering. Everyone wonders about suffering, even godly people …so the question arises: “Who sinned?” …It was a popular Jewish doctrine which asserted that physical suffering was the direct result of sin.

We must never look at suffering and equate it to personal sin.

God does not punish us for our sin because Jesus took that punishment, but the Bible does reveal that there are consequences for sin.

God does discipline us as a father disciplines his children…and punishment is not part of the discipline…when ‘bad things’ happen in our lives to correct us it is not a punishment for sin, rather it is correction, as a parent would correct a child. 

Jesus begins to dispel the Jewish belief that sin and being handicapped or disabled were linked together…the error of the disciples is that they can see only two options for why this man was born blind…either the sin of his parents…OR his own sin has caused his blindness…all they wanted to know was who was at fault.

Was it the parents or the man himself? They entertained no other possibilities.

I just said we must never look at suffering and equate it to personal sin but I just mentioned…it’s important to note that Jesus does not deny that there is a link between sin and punishment…in the general sense there are consequences for sin.  

FIRST…Death is the final consequence for sin.

Adam’s disobedience brought death to the entire human race:

sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin [Rom. 5:12]

Scripture declares from Genesis to Revelation that we are living in a broken world which is not what it once was.

If there never had been sin, there never would be suffering…all suffering is the consequence of sin.

The existence of sin in the world is the cause of all suffering in the world.

And because we live in a fallen world, we are ALL afflicted with hurts…injuries… difficulties…and hardships…and eventually death.

The Bible clearly gives the reason that every person will eventually one day die…it is because of sin…that is the penalty…but don’t look to that as the explanation of why this man is blind…his blindness has nothing to do with sin.

His eventual death can be attributed to human sin…something every person is born with…but it has nothing to do with God punishing him or causing his blindness… this man was simply born blind.

Jesus is dispelling the Jewish belief that deformities and disabilities were the result of some specific sin by an individual or his parents.

Just looking at this story with no more information than we have…that should be obvious…it’s a little strange on the part of the disciples to even think that the man’s blindness was caused by his sin.

How could his sins have caused him to be blind, when his blindness was something he was born with? …a condition he had before he ever had an opportunity to sin.

SECONDLY…suffering can be a punishment for sin.

There are texts that clearly indicate that people did suffer…and die…as the consequence of their own evil ways.

Ananias and Sapphira sold some property and told those in charge of the collection that they would contribute the entire amount of the sale to charity…but when it came time to give the money they gave only a part of it but let on as if it was the entire amount…they kept the difference for themselves.

Their sin was in misrepresenting to both God and the apostles that they were giving the entire sale price.

They wanted everyone to think they were being honest in giving the entire amount when, in truth, they were not…their lying to God cost them their lives…they both died on the spot…but…again in this case…the man is simply born blind.

Let me just say one more thing related to sin and punishment…God does not punish Christians…there is a correlation between sin and punishment but not in the life of a Christian.

THIRDLY…God’s patience runs out.

This is a quality Abraham learned about God in last week’s message concerning Sodom…it is possible to exhaust God’s patience…we see this throughout the Bible.

God was patient with the people of Noah’s time [1 Pet. 3:20 /1 Pet. 3:9] …Noah was preaching to them while building the ark [Genesis 6:3; 2 Peter 2:5] but ultimately the entire world was destroyed except for eight people. God’s patience ran out.

God was patient with Israel for 40 years in the wilderness but there were times when their constant complaining and lack of faith prompted God to unleash His wrath upon them [Num. 14:22-24] …as a result thousands died by plagues … snakes…swords…fire…and even by the earth opening and swallowing them alive! God patience ran out.

God was patient with the entire nation of Israel…both northern and southern kingdoms of Israel including Judah until His compassion came to an end: [2 Chron.  36:15-17 / 2 Kings 17] the entire nation was overrun…the temple destroyed…they were killed by the thousands with thousands more being taken into slavery.

In Romans we see God’s patience running out with people today…people’s failure to listen to His command for all men everywhere to repent is not being heard…the Lord’s patience toward sinners will one day eventually run out [Rom. 2:4–5; 2 Peter 3:8–10] …this is the story of the book of Revelation.

FOURTH…this story disproves a number of myths:

…One is the mistaken idea of reincarnation…that hemust have sinned in a previous life and he’s being punished for it in this life…there is no reincarnation teaching in the Old Testament…OR

…Secondly…that his condition is the result of him sinning while in the womb before he was born…or

…Third…the idea of Karma…that a person’s suffering is somehow brought about by their own actions…that all suffering in this life is payment or punishment for prior acts of wrong doing.

…Four…the belief that sin and being handicapped or disabled were linked together.

Nowhere in Scripture does it reference that any of those four are reasons for suffering.

FIFTH… suffering reveals God’s glory.

Question: did God cause his blindness so some purpose of God might be achieved?

Commentators typically appeal to this passage as evidence that God causes infirmities…the NIV translation:

this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him 

The wording in the NIV seems to support that idea…this translation seems to support the idea that Jesus is saying God caused this man to be born blind for his own glory.

Looking at the wording in the Greek reveals Jesus answering the disciples using the same syntax the disciples used when asking their question.

The Greek wording in both the question and the response uses the Greek word  ἵνα (hina) which means… ‘in order that’ ‘with the result that’ … ‘for the purpose that’ indicating that what has occurred is the result of something…that God caused this for a purpose…so a more appropriate translation would actually be:

“Who sinned, this man or his parents (with the result that) he was born blind,” …Jesus replaces the misguided result clause of the disciples with a different result: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned (with the result that he was born blind), but with the result that the works of God be manifested in him.”

Their misguided understanding of sin causing him to be physically disabled can be partly the result of Old Testament teachings…a concept King David wrote about:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful.” [Psalm 139:13]

SO…if I take this verse literally, it would seem that God is directly involved in the creation of everyone…that He forms each of us in the womb…and if that is correct  that fosters the idea that there are no imperfections…that is not correct.

Some babies are born deformed or sick, so how can that be? …would God purposely allow or create a deformed or seriously ill child…NO…that would be a violation of His character to do so.

Birth defects can be the result of a number of things…the product of a genetic imperfection as the consequence of our fallen creation…by the things we ingest into our bodies…or the medications we take.

I don’t agree with the idea that God would will a child to be born blind so that some purpose might be achieved…this is validated in Jesus’ pointing to the result of the blindness, not the purpose of the blindness.

When Jesus says [3] … “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him,” He means two things:

First… there is a purpose in this man’s blindness…not that God caused it…but there is a divine design…there’s a plan…that the works of God will be displayed in him.

God knows all things. He knows exactly what is happening in the moment of conception…if there is a defective chromosome or some genetic irregularity God can simply say no…but He has reasons for its permission…those reasons are for his purposes…No child has ever been conceived in whom He has no plan.

Secondly…any attempt to deny God’s sovereign control over conception and birth is a head-on collision with [Ex. 4:11] … “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?’” [Ps 139:13] … “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”

God was aware of this man’s condition before he was ever born…it was no surprise to God…BUT… as a result of his blindness God was able to use his blindness to show his work…not that God planned the blindness to show his work.

The disciples were asking for an explanation in the categories of cause…what is it that caused his blindness? … Jesus says that won’t work…instead He gives them an explanation in the category of purpose.

This specific suffering is not the result of the sins of the parents or the man…nor did God cause this man to be born blind…don’t look there for the explanation… stop looking for a cause…instead look for its purpose.

The disciples looked at the man and can only think of whose fault it is that he’s blind…Jesus looks at the man and sees an opportunity for God to be glorified.

Jesus says this is an occasion for the glory of God to be revealed…it is an opportunity for God’s works to be displayed.

The question of suffering and disability is not who sinned…the question is how this can be used for God’s glory. 

If God was the cause of this man’s blindness that would make God the author of evil…it’s like the idea that God causes people to die…we see it in the worn-out phrase when someone is miraculously saved… “Guess it just wasn’t their time to go” …or the opposite if they do die… ‘well guess it was just their time” …Nothing could be further from the truth…the Bible tells us that:

all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be [Psalm 139:16]

God knows the day of your birth and the day of your death…this verse applies to every person ever born…each day of our life is recorded in His book before one of them actually occurs.

This is validated in [Ephesians 2:10] that God has already prepared for every person what He wants us to do for Him…He has already planned what He wants us to do with our lives…He has a unique plan for each of us to serve Him in this world.

This includes the giving of spiritual gifts in our lives to lead us in that service to Him…so yes, because God is omniscient, He absolutely knows everything about us including exactly when, where, and how we will die.  

God already knows what will happen…so does that mean our fate is sealed?  Does that mean we have absolutely no control over when we will die? …the answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’, depending on the perspective.

The answer is ‘yes’ from God’s perspective because He knows exactly when, where, and how we will die…the answer is “no” from our perspective because we do have an impact on when, where, and how we die.

For example, a person who commits suicide causes his own death…they would have lived longer had they not committed suicide so’ yes’ your decision does have an impact on the manner, timing, and place of your death…BUT ‘no’ it was no surprise to God because He knows when…where…and how you’re going to die.

Jesus shifts the emphasis from the cause to the purpose of His healing…So, then why was he born blind?

That the works of God might be made manifest in him [3]

Here’s what’s interesting about this story…if you read it…on the surface it seems as though this man was really lucky…that he was like a game show contestant who was picked out of a crowd of people to be healed…and too bad for everyone else.

That is not the case…Jesus performed thousands of miracles…John only writes about 7…John was inspired to choose 7 signs to clearly show that Jesus was the Messiah…Scripture reveals Jesus performed many more signs…miracles:

There are many other things which Jesus did…if they were written in detail the world itself would not contain  the books that would be written [John 21:25]

John only records 7 so to think that this guy must have been really lucky and everyone else missed out is a wrong assumption…John just elected to use this incident for a specific purpose…to deal with the question of cause and effect.

Jesus goes on to say…what must be done…must be done while it is still day.

We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. [9:4]

Jesus is using the term ‘day’ to refer to the time left for Him to serve God… ‘night’ refers to the rapidly-approaching time when Jesus will die…it was probably about six months after this when He was put to death…ending His earthly life and works.

Jesus knows He has a finite amount of time to ‘work’ in His earthly ministry… He took advantage of every opportunity because He knew that His time in a physical body on earth was short…but while it continued, I must employ in doing the works which God has appointed Me because the night is coming.

But notice…in [v. 9] Jesus doesn’t say ‘I must work’ but rather ‘we must work’ (ἡμᾶς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι) as Christians…we have as well…only the days of our earthly lives to accomplish the work God has assigned to us.

This verse is about us looking for and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes our way every ‘day.’

Time and opportunities should not be wasted…we should look for opportunities to do good…not allowing any to pass…we go but once through this life…we cannot return to correct errors…or do-overs of neglected opportunities.

Rather than saying ‘I must work’ Jesus places an obligation on us to be responsible with our time by saying ‘we must’…as Christians we must not waste ‘day-time’.

The approach of death should quicken us to do two things:

FIRST…to be aware of all our opportunities to do good…what opportunities we have to do good…we should do quickly.

SECONDLY…for those not realizing they are on borrowed time…one day it will be too late to work out their salvation when the “night” of death comes…for who knows if you’ll be here tomorrow.

John 8:31-47

For the past five weeks we have been looking at Jesus’ teachings and the resulting confrontation that occurred with the Jewish religious leaders over His claim to be the Son of Man [27] at the Feast of the Tabernacle.  

The religious leaders made three claims they believe validated their position in God…the first claim is they are the physical descendants of Abraham…the Jewish religious leaders took pride that they were Abraham’s offspring…they saw their physical connection to Abraham as a guarantee of God’s favor. 

Just so you know there is another group that can claim to be Abraham’s descendants because he produced two sons…Ishmael, whose lineage includes most all Arabs, and then there’s Isaac’s lineage which includes the Israelites.

The second claim is they are of the spiritual seed of Abraham…because for them Heaven was for people of faith…so they claim to be favored by God…they understood that heaven was their final home.

Their third claim is they are the Children of God:  as described in

‘You are sons of the LORD your God…’ [Deut. 14:1]

   We have one Father—God [41]   

Jesus agreed with their first claim…twice Jesus agrees in the physical sense they are Abraham’s descendants…BUT here’s where the conflict comes in…you are not the spiritual descendants of Abraham because:

      If you were Abraham’s children you would do what Abraham did [39]

Jesus tells them…Abraham was my friend [Isa. 41:8] he never treated Me the way you do…you might be the physical descendants of Abraham…but your second claim as being the spiritual seed of Abraham is bogus because you reject Me.

Jesus makes a startling comment…first by claiming they weren’t the spiritual descendants of Abraham…and secondly…by implying that He knew Abraham.

They’re asking Jesus…you’re not even yet 50 years old [57] …Abraham’s been dead for thousands of years and yet You make the outlandish claim that You knew him.

So how could you have remotely known Abraham…that you were friends with him…you must have a demon [52] why would anyone believe you had a relationship with a man whose been dead for thousands of years?

So starts this long discourse between Jesus and the Jews about Jesus’ relationship with Abraham.

This portion of Scripture has captivated me…I’m studying this last week and I’m wondering why John would put so much emphasis on Jesus’s relationship with Abraham…why did he think it to be such a big deal that he dedicated so much space to it in his Gospel…why did John include so much detail…and what is there in this story that John thought would be so relevant to us today?

What is there about this that is so important that John can recall this conversation with such preciseness…theologians believe John wrote his gospel as many as 60 years after Jesus’s ascension and yet he’s able to recall the exact words of Jesus.

The words of Jesus are in red so they are the actual words Jesus spoke…it is not a paraphrase…why did the Holy Spirit impress upon John to record this conversation with such detail…what is so intriguing about this event that John feels the need to expound on it in explicit detail?

Contained in this discourse are some of Jesus’s most salient points.

1) — I am the light of the world [12]

2) — unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins [24]

3) — If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make your free [32]

4) — I proceeded forth and have come from God [42]

5) — If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death [52]

Jesus enters into this long discourse in John 8 but to fully understand everything that’s being discussed it’s important to include the events that occurred back in Genesis 18…without knowing what occurred in Gen 18 you wouldn’t understand why this story is relevant to us today.

It’s an event the religious leaders would have all known…they would have been familiar with Abraham’s encounter with the three men on their way to Sodom and Gomorra [Gen. 18] …but…they certainly would not have known…because they had no knowledge of Jesus…that one of the three men in that story was Jesus in human form even though Scripture clearly reveals it was.

Now the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) [Gen 18:1]

Abraham was still standing before the Lord [18:22]

Jesus and two angels took on the appearance of men…these ‘men’ are a physical manifestation in human form…there are eight recorded appearances in the Old Testament where Jesus/God took upon Himself a physical form.

Being familiar with this story they would have known how Abraham treated these three visitors.

When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth [18:2]

So now we have the story of Sodom and Gomorrah…Jesus appears to Abraham in the ordinary dress of the day…no thunder or lightning as He did on Mt. Sinai when Moses went up to get the Ten Commandments.

There is an important concept we can draw from this story…this story teaches us that God is aware of what is happening on earth… and He is involved….an element about God seen time and again in Scripture.

God is not insensitive to what’s occurring in the world and especially to His people…God knows from eternity past what things are going to happen and when they will happen…what is occurring in Sodom is no surprise to God…He knew years before it happened.  

God knows the beginning from the end because He has planned it that way.

He came in a personal way…sharing His plans with His friend Abraham…His plans are to visit Sodom…even though the wording hints that God has been taken by surprise at what has been occurring: [Gen 18:21]

the LORD said, the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, I will go down and see if they have done according to its outcry

Obviously, God does not have to come down from heaven and see for Himself…if that were the case He would not be the omnipresent and omniscient God we know Him to be…He would not be God.

What happens to the angels once they arrive in Sodom…people wanting to have sex with them, is proof that the situation has gotten completely out of hand…God knew…now we know the reason for the visit.

Jesus’ visit to Sodom was to assess the sins of the people…to confirm the outcry against that city and then make a judgment on what to do which ultimately is to destroy the cities killing every man…woman…and child.

So what you have is four ‘men’ looking at the city of Sodom…one is Abraham… one is the Lord in human form…and the other two are angels also in human form… on their way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

Contained in this judgmental act of God we see the basis of Abraham’s friendship with God…maybe why John was so intent in capturing this occurrence.

Abrahams’s friendship with God displays the elements of those who have a meaningful fellowship with God…Abraham was by no means perfect, however; the overall direction of his life was always towards God.

The New Testament presents Abraham as a person who believed the truths of God and lived out those truths in his day-to-day living…and although the Old Testament portrays a different Abraham…still…he exhibited at least five characteristics that define who can be called a friend of God.

Friends of God Continually Worship Him

Not when it convent…when I have time…if I’m not doing anything else.

Friends of God Prioritize Time with Him

We must plan to develop intimacy with God to prioritize time with him.

Friends of God Are Enthusiastic in Serving Him

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. [Rom.12: 11]

Friends of God Are Generous in their Offerings to Him

If we are unfaithful with God has given us…then God cannot give us more.

Friends of God Grow in the Knowledge of God’s Will

Friends of God receive revelation from the Lord through his Word. Isaiah 66:2

At this point in the story things begin to get weird…Jesus is having a conversation with Himself;

shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do [17]

But He’s talking loud enough to ensure Abraham hears Him…why would God make known His intentions to Abraham…what is the reason Jesus wanted Abraham to hear this? …what’s the point?

He is inviting Abraham into what He’s doing…He’s sharing His intentions with Abraham…it is in this dialogue that we see the heart of Abraham and why Jesus decided to share His intentions with him to destroy Sodom.

God Himself says, “I have chosen him …”[Gen 18:19] …there was nothing special about Abraham that led God to choose him…he wasn’t better than all other men…he wasn’t stronger, smarter…not because he had higher moral standards than his friends…God chose him purely out of grace…this means it was not something Abraham deserved…or earned…rather, it was something that God decided to do.

Abraham had been chosen by God. So, what does God expect from him? Keep the way of the LORD…Do what is right…Do what is just.

I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, [Gen 18:19]

Abraham possessed the qualities that made it possible for him to approach God and the reason why God would listen to him…as we grow in spiritual maturity…there are certain conditions we must meet…that is why Jesus elected to share with Abraham and possibly the angels His plans for Sodom.

Remember angels have no ability to see into the future…all they know at this point …based on Scripture…is that they are on their way to assess with Jesus the sins of Sodom…so Jesus explains to the angels…and us…why He will not hide from Abraham what He is about to do.

—Because Abraham was His friend;

—Because Abraham listened to God’s commands and put them into effect;

—Because of his steadfastness to be obedient to God’s commands;

—Because of his desire to lead his children accordingly;

—Because Abraham trusted in God and declared his faith by obeying God.

—Because Abraham possessed those five characteristics that define who can be called a friend of God

But in doing so Abraham begins to become concerned about the residents of Sodom…about what is about to befall them…because again…Abraham has some unusual qualities…qualities that God is desirous to see in every Christian.

FIRST…Abraham’s gift of compassion.

In Elaine’s Sunday school class they’re going through the spiritual gifts…here we see one of those spiritual gifts…the gift of compassion.

It could be argued that Abraham didn’t have the ‘spiritual gift’ of compassion because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given…but what we see in Abraham is an abnormal concern regarding the people of Sodom.

Two of the many descriptions of someone with the motivational gift of compassion are: 1) they want to remove hurt from those who suffer and 2) they often wonder why God allows people to suffer.  https://bible.org/seriespage/9-becoming-friend-god-genesis-18

We see both of these features in Abraham…let me share something about spiritual gifts I shared with Elaine’s class: Having spiritual gifts is different than having human feeling about someone or something.

I’m sure we all have feelings about those people who were destroyed but for those with the spiritual gift of compassion it goes much deeper…it’s more intense.

Human compassion recognizes the suffering of others and then has a desire to take action to help…and that’s OK…that’s just the natural human response…we all have that feeling of compassion when someone is hurting…BUT

What Abraham exhibited was an almost supernatural sensitivity to the emotions of those who were about to die.

A compassionate/merciful person cannot stand to see another person hurt or be offended…they are quick to take up the offended person’s cause…even…as in this case… ‘arguing’ with God about His decision.

In fact, those with the gift of compassion tend to react negatively to the idea that God would ever allow a good person to suffer.

We see this in Abraham’s concern that the righteous in the city should not suffer the same fate or be treated in the same way as the wicked…Abraham wanted God to spare the righteous people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah… [23]

                Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked…to treat the righteous and the wicked alike

SECONDLY…Abrahams’s desire to intercede.

Because of Abraham’s gift of compassion, he approaches Jesus and begins to talk with Him with terrifying boldness…notice God allows Abraham to have a say in what was about to occur.

Abraham was so agonized that he was driven to speak again and again about what he believed was an injustice.

Who was Abraham to question the integrity of the God? …Abraham was pleading with God…interceding on behalf of the entire city…Abraham realizes he was on shaky ground…twice he uses the expression “May the Lord not be angry” [30,32] But Abraham can’t be silent…he can’t help himself…he has to speak on behalf of these people.

Something to notice here…Abraham asks…he doesn’t demand…not a good idea to make demands of God…that attitude won’t go far…there’s a difference in being insistent…and being demanding…God needs no counseling from us.

Here we actually see the down side of someone with the gift of compassion… they’re so absorbed in wanting to relieve the oppression of the person suffering… they often don’t take into account why God would allow people to suffer…and so they misjudge God’s actions…or fail to understand how and why God works.

Abraham was unable to sit by and let the good suffer with the bad…he just felt he had to say something…that was exactly what God wanted…he wanted a response.

In this verse is the example of God allowing a human to know more of His mind… in this verse God is speaking to Abraham about something He has already determined that He would do…He already knows how it will proceed…to emphasize the extent of Sodom’s sins and why He must take appropriate action.

Abraham knows the situation in Sodom…he anticipates what the angels will find there and that God will wipe out the city.

In his eyes God’s judgment is a foregone conclusion…Abraham is right in feeling horrified about the coming destruction of the cities…but Abraham was convinced that God would never act unjustly by “putting the righteous man to death with the wicked one.” [23] …such an act was “unthinkable” to Abraham.

So…here they stand…just the two of them…standing there together:

Abraham was still standing before the Lord. [22]

God is silent and waiting…He is waiting on a response from Abraham.

It’s as if Jesus is expecting Abraham to say something regarding what He’s about to do to the people in Sodom…He wants someone to speak up on their behalf.

This is a trait of God found throughout Scripture…God is looking for people to intercede…to speak up…to implore Him to reconsider His intentions.  

It’s as if God was saying to Abraham…I am going to destroy the city…are you satisfied with my decision to kill every living thing?

Here’s something we see about God…God does not invoke His wrath on people with pleasure… I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, [Ezekiel 33:11]

It is God’s desire that as Christians we would intercede on behalf of people…in the Bible we actually see God asking people to intercede on behalf of the lost.

Abraham’s dialogue with Jesus reveals the deep friendship he had with God…a friendship that afforded him the privilege to question God’s actions.

May the Lord not be angry but let me speak just once more

God knowing Abraham’s heart…knowing his compassion for those people…He knew Abraham would intercede for those cities…unlike Jonah whose response to God destroying Nineveh…kill ‘em all…who cares.  

But because of Abraham’s compassion he did approach Jesus and talk with Him with terrifying boldness…realizing his own smallness. ‘I am dust and ashes [27]

Abraham is exhibiting both qualities God desires to see in every Christian…a compassion not to see innocent people suffer…but also a desire to intercede not just for the righteous people but for the entire city if God would spare the city on finding just ten righteous people.  

BUT notice what happens because of Abraham’s fear of continuing to intercede for Sodom…so the Lord wouldn’t be angry with him…he cuts his intercession short.

Abraham asks God if just 10 righteous people [32] were found would He spare the entire city on account of just ten…so God agrees…if just ten righteous people are found…I won’t destroy the city…BUT…he stops asking with the number ten.

We don’t know what would have happened if Abraham had been persistent…if he   would have continued asking…what if there is just one righteous person… because…there was one righteous person in Sodom…his nephew Lot.

Another downside of those with the motivational gift of compassion is at times they let their sense of compassion override their spiritual discernment as to why things happen…if Abraham had continued his request until he got to one he might have known why God was preparing to destroy Sodom.   

Discernment is being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure or not evident to the average mind…because of Abraham’s lack of discernment he was unable to see God’s purpose in dealing with Sodom.

As a result, he questioned God’s dealing in how He was going to treat these people. Abraham was giving sympathy to those who were about to suffer, not realizing it was God who was sending the suffering in the first place.

We must understand that God evoked this kind of response from Abraham by revealing His intentions to him…God knew how Abraham was going to respond… but at the same time He welcomed Abraham’s response knowing Abraham’s compassion for those who were to die.

(Joyce G. Baldwin, The Message of Genesis 12-50, The Bible Speaks Today, The Old Testament Series, pg. 74)

Those who live a life of faith live a life in communion with God.

Genesis 18 brings out the delight of being in true friendship with God…in this dialogue we see the heart of Abraham and the heart of God.

Abraham was a friend of the Lord and the Lord showed himself friendly to him… treating him as His friend, by imparting His secrets to him.

Those that live a life in communion with God are able to know more of God’s mind than other people…they have a better insight into what is present, and a better foresight of what is to come.

So is it possible to be a friend of God to the extent Abraham was?…that is the significance of this story…these are the qualities needed…Abraham exhibited all these qualities:

Prayer with God is about His will and intentions, not ours.

The importance of praying in God’s will…because of Abraham’s lack of discernment, he was unable to see God’s purpose in dealing with Sodom. Intercession is not about moving the heart of God…God was trying to move the heart of Abraham…intercession is sharing in the burdens with the Lord.

When appealing to God’s plans and purposes we can be bold.

May the Lord not be angry but let me speak just once more.

Be persistent until an answer is received.

If just 10 righteous people [32] were found would He spare the entire city on account of just ten…so God agrees.

God is looking for intercessors.

This whole thing of intercession is at the very heart of the Bible…find it in Ezekiel…with Moses…here with Abraham…and ultimately with Jesus who is the intercessor and mediator of the whole world…there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

“I have chosen Abraham,” says the Lord [Gen 18:19] …but God has also chosen you and me…every single believer, like Abraham, is chosen of God…every single believer, like Abraham, has an everlasting covenant relationship with God…every single believer, like Abraham, is to be God’s partner…God’s fellow worker in bringing about the Kingdom…every single believer, like Abraham, is a friend of God to whom God reveals His will – not in person, but in the Word.

John 8:31-47

When you think about the history of the United States and the identification of America as a ‘Christian nation’ you have to wonder what does that mean? 

Historically it’s a term that means this nation was founded on biblical principles despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution is a wholly secular document…there is no mention of Christianity or Jesus in the Constitution or Bill of Rights.

But…there is evidence that the Founders of the American republic were for the most part professing Christians…fact is that at least 51 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention were members of a Christian church. [Christianity and the Constitution: The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Baker Book House, 1987, 2008]

Being influenced by Christian ideas they brought biblical principles to this nation and implemented those principles in our system of government including the freedom of personal liberties.

So, the idea that the U.S. is a Christian nation does not come from the idea that the Founders were religious…or from the constitution…or from the assumption that a  majority of U. S. citizens are members of what can be identified as attending a ‘Christian’ church…but rather from the possibility that the Founders identified themselves as having Christian values.

And although some of the country’s founders believed that the government should support Christianity that viewpoint has not been shared by all throughout the years …more recently the idea is that God’s gratitude in America has been declared unconstitutional.

That certainly seems to be the trend in this country today by some who have become increasingly detached and distant from the values implemented by our Founding Fathers…they have:

–Taken Bible reading out of school to keep from offending those who don’t believe in the Bible. 

–Disallowed state-sponsored prayers in schools to keep from offending those who don’t like prayer. 

–Legalized abortion so as not to offend someone wanting to have one.

–Kicked God out of schools and public buildings to make heathens feel more comfortable.

–legalized gay marriage so as not to offend those who don’t believe in God’s covenant between a man and a woman.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRRF) —A group that focuses on preserving the separation of church and state in the military—during the global prayer for health care workers fighting against the coronavirus there were videos of military chaplains praying…the MRRF demanded it be removed from Facebook because they complained it amounted to “illicit proselytizing” of Christianity.

In addition, how many university professors who are teaching your children and grand-children are not Christians and influence their lives with their teaching… …those who produce our newspapers and magazines…television shows and movies that are not Christian.

Even the number of people who profess to be Christians in our culture do not seriously claim the Christian faith with any great seriousness…people living their lives with nary a serious thought about Jesus…heaven…or hell.  

What we have in John’s 8^th chapter is a similar occurrence…despite the religious leaders’ claims to seek truth and to follow God’s law…they are mostly concerned with their own power and reputation.

In three successive chapters Jesus uses imagery of the Feast of Tabernacles…a feast that commemorated the Jews’ 40-year journey in the wilderness…to point to Himself as someone who is more than just a man…He was God in human form representing everything that celebration was symbolizing.

Jesus is the bread that came down out of heaven

Jesus is the source of spiritual eternal life-giving water

Jesus is the Light of the World.

In essence Jesus is asking…who is a true believer? …there are instances that some gave the indication that they were believers:

As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him [30]

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him [31]

John acknowledges them to be believers [31] but in [44] Jesus turns around and calls their father the devil… goes back again to the statement in [John 2:24]

‘Jesus…did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people.’ 

There’s a kind of faith in Jesus that He does not approve of…not all that looks like faith is really faith.

He did not commit himself – The word translated “commit” means to put “trust” or “confidence in.” Jesus did not put “trust” or “reliance” in them…He acted cautiously and prudently…the reason He didn’t commit himself to them is “that he knew all men.” 

He knew their inconsistencies…that their faith was superficial…people doing then what people are doing today…desiring the relief of their problems…they like the idea that Jesus is the problem solver…but without desiring a true relationship with Him.

So how can we tell who is genuine and who’s not… [31] says many who believe… but [44] gives an indication that their belief may not be real.

What we have is some who believed in the fascination of the supernatural…but their faith was a faith that was a half-faith…these are the ones Scripture identifies as those who hadn’t committed to Him but rather… 

withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. [6:66]

Having a half-faith belief is the most dangerous spiritual position any person can ever be in…you’re halfway to Christ…you’ve been exposed to the truth…but you’re not willing to give in fully to Jesus’ claims and demands…that’s who these people are.

Initially it was easy to believe…they ate the free lunches…they were healed…they came after Jesus because of what He could do for them…again…they liked the idea that Jesus is the problem solver…starting to believe in Jesus was easy.

You can’t take it for granted that they were real believers…they believed because it was convenient to believe.

There are many today who believe but their belief is not real…people who are half-way to Christ but not willing to give in to the full demands that Jesus requires of turning from sin to righteous…so they fall back…hanging on to carnal pleasure… therefore…Jesus refers to them as the children of the devil.

you do not understand what I am saying’ [43] 

because ‘you are of your father the devil’ [44].  

That sounds pretty blunt…telling someone that their father is the devil is a little harsh…why would Jesus talk to them in that way? 

Jesus has been preaching for over 2 ½ years…in six months He’ll be hanging on a Cross in Jerusalem… He has seen the hardness of the Pharisee…they are relentless …they want to kill him…Jesus has been in a confrontational discussion with the leaders of the Jews since Chapter 7…His patience is running out.

Within six months He’ll be dead…because their eternal souls are at stake Jesus is actually showing mercy…I’m going to heaven and you’re not…He is showing them the dire circumstance of their situation…He’s not smoothing things over…He is speaking boldly about their future.  

It’s the same today…people feeling good about themselves because they attend Church…problem is there’s no security in going to church…no security in religion.

These religious leaders have three claims they believe validate their position in God…first claim is they are the physical descendants of Abraham [33] …the second claim is they are of the spiritual seed of Abraham [51] …and the third claim is they are the Children of God [56]. 

In [37] Jesus agrees with their first claim…twice Jesus agrees in the physical sense they are from the seed of Abraham…BUT something is wrong…they really have another father…He states it plainly: “You are of your father the devil.” [44] 

Abraham was my friend [Isa. 41:8] but you are seeking to kill Me…Jesus is shifting their thinking from Abraham is our father to the Devil is your father [44]. 

You might be the physical descendants of Abraham…but you are not the spiritual descendants of Abraham and so your second claim is bogus because you reject Me. 

Jesus is pointing out that you are sons of Abraham through genealogy but the ‘true sons of God who those who are of faith (they) are sons of Abraham [Gal. 3:7].  

Whatever blessings they counted on as the physical ‘sons of Abraham’ were negated by their condition as the spiritual ‘sons of the devil.’ 

Jesus used Abraham as the example…you don’t believe my words nor do you treat me the way Abraham treated Me when I went to his house…He received Me. 

Now the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) [Gen 18:1] and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth [18:2]

Three men visit Abraham in [Gen 18] … [v.22] makes it clear that one of the three men is the pre-incarnate Jesus:

Abraham was still standing before the Lord [18:22]

Jesus took on the appearance of a man…there are eight recorded appearances in the Old Testament where Jesus/God took upon Himself a physical form.

There are a couple of things we can draw from the story of Jesus’s visit with Abraham and Sarah:

FIRST…This story teaches us that God is aware of what is happening on earth… and He is involved…God can visit or send His heavenly messengers to help fulfill His plans. 

SECONDLY…He has always been…the appearances of Christ in the Old Testament confirm the fact that Jesus existed prior to the Incarnation: 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” [58]

Jesus gives a narrative of what Abraham did when he met Jesus…Abraham took Me in… he gave Me water…he washed My feet…he brought Me bread to eat…I ate and refreshed Myself at Abraham’s table…all you’ve done is reject Me…you’re not spiritual children of God.    

Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad [56]

Couple things…the word ‘rejoiced’ in Greek is difficult to translate into English in just one word… a more accurate translation is: being ‘so glad one jumps in celebration’ Abraham was jumping with excitement to see My day. 

Already stated that Abraham saw Jesus in the form of a human body BUT how did Abraham see ‘My day.’ What does that mean? …Abraham lived thousands of years before Jesus was born.

A very interesting statement…when did this occur? It didn’t happen in Abraham’s lifetime…this verse goes beyond what happened in Abraham’s life span.

The word day does not, in this passage, denote eternity…but the time when Jesus appeared in the world as a human to fulfill the office of Redeemer…see Abraham was a part of all those people listed in [Heb 11] people of the faith chapter who: 

“all died in faith, not having received the promise, but having seen them (from) afar off, and were persuaded of them”

 (Hebrews 11:13).

Jesus adds the testimony of Abraham…although Abraham did not see the times of the Messiah, yet he was permitted to have a prophetic view of Him…how was that possible? Answer: [Heb. 12:1]

we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses

So who are the ‘cloud of witnesses’ …to understand this, need to look at the previous chapter, as evidenced by the word therefore beginning chapter 12. 

Chapter 11 ends by telling us that the forefathers had faith to guide and direct them…Chapter 12 begins with a reference to these faithful men and women believers who looked forward in faith—to the coming Messiah.

Abraham saw it when he was promised that he should have a son who was the beginning of that fulfilment…in the promise that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed.

BUT Jesus tells the Pharisees…you guys aren’t like Abraham…you’re acting like your true spiritual father the devil who is a murderer and a liar [44] …as a result …you’re not from God… you don’t know God…nor do you hear from Him [47] 

Therefore, your father is not Abraham…your father is the devil [44] 

How do you know when God is someone’s father…you have an eagerness to hear the Word and embrace His Son…if God was your father you would embrace Me because I came from the Father [42].  

Isn’t that why you’re here this morning…because you want to hear God’s Word… that’s how you can tell how someone is a child of God…they love the truth, they love the Savior…they enjoy being in the presence of other believers. 

You can stop cars on Blackbob and ask them if they are a child of God they tell ‘oh yea of course I am’ …but ask them what are the characteristics of someone who is a child of God and their response may be more in the form of an argument. 

‘So, by not being in Church you’re equating me with the idea that I’m not a child of God?’ …you can’t make that judgement that I’m not a child of God…you can’t make that assessment.’

My response to that is: being in Church has nothing to do with you being a child of God.

First of all, church is not something you go to. It’s something you are. 

You don’t go to church. You are the church.

So…does that mean I don’t need to go to church? …that my relationship with God is really between me and Him and since it’s personal…something I do on my own …going to Church is not a priority?  

I like how John Wesley…one of the founders of Methodism…put it this way. “There is no religion but social religion.” …in other words, without being vitally connected to other people in the church, we cannot reasonably claim to be practicing the Christian faith at all. 

The Bible describes the children of God as having certain characteristics…and it has nothing to do with you going to church…so…what are the characteristics of someone who is a child of God?

Hearing

The sheep hear His voice [John 10:3]

He who is of God hears the words of God [47]

God’s sheep know His voice, they can discern / distinguish it from that of a stranger

Obedience

if you continue in My words then you are truly disciples of Mine [31].  

Practicing Righteousness

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God [1 John 3:10]

Led by the Spirit

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God [Rom. 8:14]

So, the characteristics of a child of God are; hearing…obedience…practicing righteousness…and being led by the Spirit of God.

BUT…we can’t stay on the path of righteousness with Christ without the help and support of other Christians.

Without hearing the Word read and preached…without gathering with other Christians we become like embers of a fire separated from the community of believers…we grow cold and the fire and flame of love grows cold and we die spiritually. 

You may still have some Christian beliefs but you can no longer credibly say I am joined with Christ…the union between Christ and each member of His Church is a spiritual one…we are the Lord’s body… [1 Cor. 6:17]

the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

Believing in Jesus means being in a relationship with His living body, the church. 

A Christian is someone who has been baptized into the body of Christ which is the church…who has identified themselves with Christ’s death…and as Christ was raised from the dead you now also have been raised to live a new life… if you believe that…then the answer is yes…you need to be in Church!

What is the benchmark of a Christian? ONE is perseverance

Perseverance is defined as: “A continued forward movement or steadiness along a course despite any obstacles or resistance that comes up against you.”

Perseverance is a key quality that every Christian needs in order to finish their life’s  journey…as Christians we face an incredible number of hurdles, road blocks and resistance from Satan himself and those who follow him.

Perseverance…along with determination…persistence…and endurance…describe a person who is full of the Spirit of God…who are immovable in the course of their Christian walk and the plans God has for them.

Scripture declares we are to be persistent…we are to persevere and we are to have a steadfastness about us in order to keep the faith and receive our reward at the end of our time here on earth.  

SECOND benchmark of a Christian is understanding…you cannot grow as a Christian without a continually increasing understanding of the Word.

Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My words. [8:43]

In essence Jesus is saying; If God were your Father…if you had anything of His moral image, as children have of their earthly father’s likeness…you would understand what I’m saying…but as it is…you hate it…you pervert the meaning… you choose error rather than truth:

For this reason, you do not hear…because you are not of God [47]

Therefore, what I am saying to you is unintelligible because you cannot take in the truth which it conveys.

In this portion of Scripture, we have two types of people…the ‘they’ in [33], and those ‘who had believed’ in Jesus [31] both of whom we’re told eventually were not really ‘from God’ [47] 

This underscores Jesus’ insistence that knowing what ‘Truth’ is and what it means to be ‘free.’ 

You will know the truth, and the truth will make your free [31]

The Truth Jesus is referring to here ‘the truth will make you free’ [32] is not a philosophical idea of knowing right from wrong…it has nothing to do with knowing truth from falsehood.

Knowing this ‘Truth’ is knowing God and His Son Jesus who is the very revelation of God [1:18; 5:19-27; 14:8-10]…who is ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’ [14:6]…Jesus makes this clear in [8:36], when he substitutes ‘the Son’ for ‘the truth,’ saying knowing this “truth” is knowing God.

And as a result of knowing that Truth…then comes the freedom part that ‘will make you free.’ …not referring to the Constitutional principles of freedom of personal liberties I mentioned earlier… BUT freedom from slavery of sin. 

Until we come to the truth about who Jesus is…until people stop being half-way committed to Jesus and come to know Him as ‘The Truth’ and live and remain in Him they will never experience the freedom associated with that Truth.