Sermons

This morning we’re in chapter 6 of John’s gospel…we’re going to look at the miracle of the feeding of the 5000…but there are some significant things you need to know about John’s version of this event…need some history.

This is the only miracle Jesus performed that is recorded in all four gospels…

[Matthew 14:13-21 / Mark 6:32-44 / Luke 9:10-17 / John 6:1-13] …so it must be an important event…and although all four writers record the feeding of the 5000, each writer included details unique to his version not found in the other three.

Mark was the first to write his gospel…his is the shortest in length…Mark was not an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’ life so many believe that Peter was the primary source for most of what Mark wrote.

Matthew—who was an eyewitness to Jesus’s life—and Luke—who was not an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’ life—were familiar with Mark’s Gospel and relied on it as a framework—more realistically—they borrowed his accounts.

The three accounts complement one another…with each of the writers contributing something to the story and offering additional details omitted by the other writers.

The Apostle John was clearly familiar with all three of the Synoptic Gospels…he wrote his gospel 60 years after the event happened…in fact…by the time he wrote his account all or most of the apostles had been dead for close to 30 years.

Apart from events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion, John repeated very few things that had already been recorded by one or more of the other three writers…it’s as if he thought no need in repeating information that’s already been written.

When John does repeat something that has already been recorded by the other three writers, it’s always for a specific reason…and this is one of those times.

John wrote his gospel from a different perspective…the goal of the other three gospels had been to present a chronological account of Christ’s life and ministry …recording as many details that would be helpful for God’s people to know.

John’s intent was not to provide a chronological record of everything that had occurred during Jesus’ ministry…because John wrote his account of Jesus’ life so much later he probably had come to a far better and clearer understanding of the events in Jesus life.

Having 30 years to think about those events, John wrote to provide additional understanding of things that had not previously been clearly written about.

In order for us to get a detailed account of what led up to the feeding…which John doesn’t include…you have to review what is written in the other three Gospels because John doesn’t give us much detail other than the miracle its self…he doesn’t reveal the buildup of why the event even occurred.

John starts out in John 6:1…same thing he said in 5:1…‘after these things’ …what things…that’s a pretty broad statement…that really doesn’t give much information as to what had been happening…Mark, however, does tells us some of what had been happening previous to the feeding…and what the Disciples had been doing:

And the apostles gathered themselves together with Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. (Mark 6:30)

Luke offers the same account:

When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him all that they had done [Luke 9:10].

Couple things…One; what had Jesus been doing and where had He been…Two; where had the apostles been…what had they been doing…and why did they need to get together with Jesus and give account of their activities.  

Mark and Luke make no mention of where Jesus had been…only Matthew tells where Jesus had been…again

When Jesus had heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by himself [Matthew 14:13]

Jesus was obviously affected by the news of the death of his cousin…John the Baptist…King Herod had John beheaded [Matt. 14:10-11] …Jesus departing into the desert was a response to that news.

So, Jesus is already in a secluded place…and the disciples show up giving Jesus ‘all that they had done’ …what had they been doing? Luke tells us:

He (Jesus) sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. [Luke 9:2].

Having now returned from their mission trip Mark says:

The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught [Mark 6:30]

Jesus then encourages them to

“Come away…to a secluded place and rest a while. And they went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. [Mark 6:32]

John says that didn’t work out exactly as planned because the people saw where they went.

A large crowd followed Him because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. [John 6:2]

Here we see what drew the people…they came to Jesus because of what He could do for them…then and today…this is the default position of all sinners…give me what I want now…people with earthly interest…personal interests…it’s what all unregenerate people want.

Even though Jesus knew that their earthly interest was their deepest desire He still did what Jesus always did…He felt compassion…His healing and feeding of the crowd shows His compassion on human beings and their needs.

He saw a large crowd and He felt compassion on them…” [Mark 6:23]

and he healed their sick. [Matt. 14:14].

This is an all-day compassion occurrence…you can imagine how many ailments 5000 plus people must have had…Jesus spends the entire day preaching and healing [Matt. 14:14 / Luke 9:1] it’s now getting evening time…look at the compassion the disciples demonstrate:

His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and it is already late; send them away so they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” [ Matt.14:15 / Mark 6:35-36].

Buy themselves something to eat…they don’t have any money…the disciples have just returned from a mission trip where they talked to people about the truth of who Jesus is…performing miracles to confirm that truth.

These guys are the chosen ones Jesus picked to reveal the kingdom of God…yet they are the same ones telling Jesus to send the crowd away to find their own food knowing there is none…that sounds a little calloused.

At this point the disciples should have recalled the many miracles they had seen Jesus do…maybe they saw an impossible situation confronting them… possibly feeding a few…BUT feeding 5000 people including women and children …maybe they worried and doubted their ability to feed such a great multitude.

What Jesus says next is the KEY verse of this entire miracle…Jesus looks at them and says: ‘you give them something to eat’ [Matt. 4:16 / Mark 6:37].

Notice the lame response from the disciples:

And they say unto him, shall we go and buy (food for) them to eat? (Mark 6:37)

OK…these guys don’t have any money either…so what’s up with that response?

Throughout Jesus’ entire ministry…without malice…or intent…He sets these guys up for failure…for three years these guys are a major disappointment…they never come to the realization of who Jesus is…or what He’s capable of…they continue to be clueless as to what He can do…even after just coming back from performing

miracles themselves…they’re asking…should we go buy food.

Matthew and Luke record the disciples saying:

‘we have no more than five loaves and two fish’ [Matt. 14:17 / Luke 9:14].

That’s not exactly true…the disciples have nothing…not sure where the ‘we’ came from…John is the only one who records the conversation between Jesus…Philip and Andrew…something the other writers leave out.

A key piece of the lesson is found in the conversation involving these three men:

(Jesus) said to Philip—testing him— “where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” [John 6:5]

One of His disciples Andrew …said to Him. “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish. [John 6:2].

Here’s where critical scholars explain how everybody got fed…skeptics explain away the feeding by the explanation that the little boy’s generosity in giving his bread and fish to Jesus prompted others to share the food they had brought so that there was enough for everyone.

We know that during this period there were many people who were made destitute by the Romans – resulting in poverty and hunger throughout the entire region.

Here’s something to consider…if Jesus’ purpose and concern was about feeding people why didn’t He continue to feed people?

Since the time of Jesus…over the past 2000 years, billions of people have gone hungry all over the world with many having starved to death including children.

Many Christians have died from starvation in the 2000 years since Jesus fed the 5000 people…if the story was about feeding people:

…Why didn’t he set up restaurants or food distribution centers in every village?

…Why have so many people gone hungry over the centuries?

HERE’S THE KEY TO THIS WHOLE STORY — If you’re looking at this narrative from the view point of people being fed you’ve missed the whole meaning of what’s going on.

What is the lesson of feeding the five thousand?

Want to share with you again what the salient point of this entire miracle is:

 ‘you give them something to eat’ [Matt. 4:16 / Mark 6:37].

What happened next is paramount to the lesson Jesus was giving them…if we assume that the lesson here is about Jesus feeding people…we have it wrong.

It’s about Jesus giving the disciples the opportunity to display the kingdom of God…unfortunately…they were clueless.

ONE of the reasons for the feeding goes back to what we talked about last week…to validate that Jesus’ works are evidence that He is the Messiah …I’ve preached two sermons on that the past two weeks…so let me just say…the miracle of the feeding demonstrated the presence of the kingdom of God…but that’s just one reason.

This is a monumental miracle…Scripture declares that there were 5000 men…but that also included women and children…this causes the 5000 number to swell to a number that is actually somewhere around 20,000 people.

Now the miracle grows to a level that is hard to fathom…not 5000 but 20,000…and despite the incredible size of this miracle…the feeding is only one part of the miracle…this isn’t just about feeding people…the disciples had to trust the Lord for everything they distributed…they were put in a position of total dependence upon the Lord for the supply…confirming His claims as the Messiah.

Here’s the SECOND amazing thing about this miracle…Bible doesn’t say that Jesus just passed around the baskets of food…Jesus fed the crowd through His disciples…His disciples were the arms and hands of God.

Jesus could have simply snapped His fingers and caused everyone present to have a meal…but He didn’t…instead, He “gave to his disciples to distribute to the people” [Mark 6:41].

God still uses people in the same way today…He graciously involves us in His work today…allowing us to be God’s arms…hands…and feet in blessing others.

The Church has become the arms and hands of God…we are given the same opportunities He gave to the disciples.

It’s not about doing things per se…more importantly…it’s about proclaiming the kingdom of God through what you’re doing.

Jesus is telling the church the same thing He told the disciples…“You give them something to eat!” but if you just focus on the food giveaway you’ve missed the intent of what Jesus is saying…here’s what it is…you give them something that reveals the kingdom of God!

It’s not the size of the miracle…nor the size of the work you are performing…it’s what you’re doing that reveals the kingdom of God.

Many times I think about our church when compared to larger churches…I feel at times like our resources are but a few loaves and two fish while the big churches with their big budgets overflow with potential.

Let me tell you – never underestimate the ministry of a church when God is involved…God delights in taking humble, seemingly insignificant people and using them for His glory.

I am constantly overwhelmed and humbled by your commitment to proclaim the kingdom of God.

This church is following Jesus by being open for opportunities of service…we are following Jesus’ command, “You give them something to eat!” …which is really saying… “You give them something that reveals the kingdom of God!”  

This church is following that command and is proclaiming the kingdom of God through our partnership with New Hope Food Pantry which easily feeds 5,000 families annually.

This church is proclaiming the kingdom of God with our offerings to support our many missions including…Lottie Moon…Annie Armstrong…and Advice and Aid.

This church is proclaiming the kingdom of God with help feeding those at the Somerset apartments with weekly food assistance…helping the kids with back-snacks …supplying residents with household needs…giving Christmas baskets

This church is proclaiming the kingdom of God with our work at Villa St. Francis and Good Samaritan care homes insuring those who can’t be in church still have the opportunity to sing and hear God’s word preached.

This church is proclaiming the kingdom of God by insuring the Hispanic church… and the Algerian church have a place to worship…giving the Narcotics Anonymous folks a place to meet…giving the Ethiopian missionary an office.

This church is proclaiming the kingdom of God with our AWANA program that for over 20 years has been proclaiming the love of God to little children…we’ve been doing it for so long that some of those kids have grown up and they’re bringing their kids back.

Do you ever think about all we do…you do…it’s not only proclaiming…but demonstrating through actions, the presence of the kingdom of God…no matter how insignificant you may think your efforts are…you can expect God to do far beyond what can be imagined.

My prayer for this church is that God’s Spirit will continue to move among us to open our spiritual and physical eyes to see even more opportunities to proclaim the kingdom of God.

If we assume that the lesson here is about Jesus feeding people…we have it wrong.

It’s ‘you give them something to eat’ …not physical food…Jesus is speaking about something that has eternal consequences…proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Here’s the THIRD lesson…Scripture says they ate as much as they wanted [John 6:11] everybody was filled with enough food…BUT LOOK…they gathered up the leftovers fragments and it filled twelve baskets [John 6:13]. Nothing wasted.

I’ve read commentaries that elaborate on the 12 baskets of leftovers at the feeding of the 5000…and the seven baskets of leftovers at the feeding of the 4000 and how they are symbolic in nature.

And on the surface that sounds really great…I’m amazed how theologians seek to continue to find new ways to explain the Bible.

I don’t want to make light of the fact that numbers are spiritually significant in the Bible…they are…but I think what’s more important than trying to symbolize 12 baskets with the 12 tribes or the 12 apostles OR the 7 baskets as establishing the Church…more than that…it’s emphasizing Jesus’ concern that nothing should be wasted…and how that applies to our lives today.

Jesus had power to provide any quantity of food He wanted…he could have feed 5000…25000 or whatever number He chose…He fed close to a million Jews wandering in the desert every day for forty years.

The lesson here is…regardless of the bounties of Providence…regardless of how much we have…it is not to be squandered or wasted…though Jesus had an infinite supply He didn’t waste it.

If it was important that God’s supply was not wasted…it’s important that we don’t waste the blessing God provides to us.

The lesson is that we are not to squander the bounties of Providence that God gives us…this includes not only physical blessing but spiritual blessing as well.

We do this by thinking that God has been less than generous with us when compared to someone else…often times as Christians we don’t feel monetarily rich especially if you’ve ever driven through Leawood… but the reality is…I’m not destitute…God is meeting my physical needs.

Often times we see big churches with their big budgets providing unlimited services to their church members…and I wish we could provide the same services for our members…but the reality is God provides so we can take care of our church family.

Often times we think God has slighted us spiritually when seeing big name Pastors or Christian speakers with their thousands of social media followers and realize… I’m just a Preacher…a Sunday school teacher…an AWANA leader…or I play in a small praise team in a small church.

The reality is…the same Spirit that gives spiritual gifts…that calls Christians into service, is the same Spirit that gives you your spiritual gift and calls you into whatever activity you’re involved in.   

We all have gifts from God…and it becomes so easy to compare ourselves with others and then to not be the kind of stewards we should be because we feel we haven’t received as much as someone else OR we haven’t been blessed as much as others.

God has given us each a variety of skills…gifts…and talents…as just as the loaves and fishes created by Jesus was a gift…a gift not to be wasted…squandered or lost…as Christians we should not squander or waste what God has given us by being less than faithful managers with the abilities God has given to us.

When thinking about how you’re involved in church…about how and where you spend your free time, can you say that you are using your gifts fully…or are you squandering God’s gifts?

Now comes the hard response…if the answer is “yes” …what are you willing to do about it? …if I am squandering His gifts am I willing to make a change? …do I love God enough to seek to do the best with all He has given me?

God will shatter the expectations of what we are able to do if we would learn to be reliant on Him…when Christians are willing to offer whatever it is we have…our lives…our time…money…talents…using what God has given us…God will use ordinary things to create extraordinary things.

The point of the feeding of the 5000 is:

FIRST…a continuation of Jesus providing evidence of His claim as the Messiah;

SECOND…that He can and will meet all the needs of his people;

THIRD…for Christians to have the same compassion that He did;

FOURTH…we must never believe our gifts are too small to serve God.

FIFTH…God has given each of us…skills…gifts…and talents that are not to be wasted or squandered.

God delights in taking humble, seemingly insignificant people and using them for His glory.

If we assume that the lesson here is about Jesus feeding people…we have it wrong.

It’s ‘you give them something to eat’ …something that has eternal implications … proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Last we week we started looking at the four witnesses to Jesus’ claim of being the Messiah…almost the entire fifth chapter of John revolves around His claim to be equal with God… [v. 19-47] are Jesus’ defense and proof that His claim is true.

We looked at the importance of providing evidence because Jewish law demanded that for something to be declared a fact it required the testimony of at least two or three witnesses.

“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any sin which he has committed…(but) on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed”. [Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6]

Even Jesus realized that His testimony did not, of itself, satisfy the requirements of the Jewish Law.

“If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.” [John 5:31]

Jesus’ testimony concerning Himself would not stand up in a court of law…there would have to be collaborating witnesses…Jesus understood the “Law,” and assured them He did have the witnesses to testify to the truth of His claim.

So, Jesus gives them four witnesses to His claim:

The Witness of God

The Witness of John the Baptist

The Witness of Works

The Witness of Scripture

Last week we looked at the first evidence…The Witness of God

The witness of God was in Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit…same Spirit that is on every person today if you’re a Christian…here’s the importance of that.

The witness of the Holy Spirit has a direct tie into the favor of God…it’s how God demonstrates Himself to us…favor is a witness of God in the world.

At the expense of re-preaching last weeks’ sermon, it’s important as Christians that we know that we have the favor of God working in our lives…it doesn’t mean having wealth…prestige…position…power…or real estate…God’s priorities for us do not consist in an abundance of material things for your benefit.

It’s through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives that gives us the favor of God and verifies the witness of God to lost sinners.

I like to draw a similarity between Jesus and us…a distant similarity, but it shows how the favor of God works in our lives…Jesus did nothing on His own initiative, but according to the Father’s will by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit [John 5:30/ 8:42 / 14:10].

Jesus didn’t need the favor of God in His life…He was God…and although He was obedient in everything He did…the human side of Him did need guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For us the favor of God in our lives centers around the same concept…living a lifestyle of faithfulness and obedience to God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

When we do that, two things become evident…this leads to a life full of favor from 1) God and 2) the right people around us…having the favor of God in our lives causes the favor of people to be on us sometimes for no apparent reason… this is seen throughout Scripture.

As difficult as it is to admit this…I have to agree with Joel Olsten in this respect… Christians … ‘have the favor of God. He has lined up people and circumstances for your future. Every blessing in your life is His gracious hand at work.’

Favor is a divine force that God releases on behalf of his people that brings blessing into our lives…God wants to give favor to His people…however the part that is often omitted has a direct bearing on God’s favor…and without this ingredient you will not have the favor of God in your life…you must accept Jesus as your Savior.

God’s favor will not happen if we are not the kind of people that deserve it.

God treats everyone alike but He puts His special favor on those who respond wholeheartedly to his calling and yield their lives entirely to Him…people who are sincere in growing in the knowledge of God…seeking to discover God’s will and purpose in their lives.  

A lifestyle of faithfulness to God leads to a life of favor…favor from God and favor in the eyes of people around us…it’s the tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord…it’s having the witness of God in our lives.

Here’s the mistake…instead of giving God the credit for the many things that happen in our lives…we refer to it as luck…or being in the right place at the right time…when in reality it’s the favor of God on our lives…referred to as the Providence of God.  

BUT…instead of giving God the credit we go about our merry way never thanking God for what He has allowed to happen in our lives…ingratitude…how disrespectful we are.

AGAIN…the favor of God in your life is not so you can get rich…Joel Olsten and I split here…in a couple areas:

FIRST…nowhere in the New Testament is there any indication for you to give so you can get back in return for your own personal gain.

SECONDLY…favor of God in your life is not something that occurs automatically …the favor of God is the result of faithfulness and obedience…to just believe that it’s going to happen or God is going to come through with your big expectation because you’re believing for it…is un-Scriptural.

The favor of God means that God is guiding and directing our lives by the people we meet and the occurrences that happen in our life…that all falls under the favor of God…for one purpose…that what occurs will be the witness of God in our lives.

The second witness Jesus mentions is the testimony and evidence of John the Baptist.

“³³ You have sent to John (the Baptist) and he has testified to the truth.”

In other words, …Jesus is saying…I am not without human testimony…in fact I have the testimony from a pretty respectable source.

There were large crowds that went out to see and hear John. Matthew 3:5 …John was the first prophet in Israel in over 400 years…between the last page of Malachi and Matthew 1:1 is 400 years. John who was Jesus’ cousin became quite a novelty.

The Apostle John writes about John the Baptist…that the priest and Levites came from Jerusalem to inquire as to who he was and left convinced regarding his claims as a prophet.

Many of the Pharisees believed on John the Baptist…he was candid…and sincere… considered to be an extraordinary man whose evidence was impartial…at least twice John used the phrase … ‘behold the Lamb of God’ [John 1:29/John 1:36] in their presence to validate Jesus’ mission in the world.

That statement… ‘behold the Lamb of God’ for a Jew would have required no explanation…that statement could be applied to only one person.

John making this testimony about Jesus ought to have satisfied them…someone whom they considered to be from God.

BUT…in reality John’s peaching was actually directed at the Pharisees as well …his preaching of repentance also was targeted at them…not something they wanted to hear…as a result they became disgruntled toward him.  

Jesus might have rested on John’s testimony alone that He was the Messiah…but realizing that the religious leaders would later reject John’s testimony because he was preaching to them as well…Jesus says…I have a greater testimony than John’s:

The Witness of Works.

“³⁶ But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works the Father has given Me to accomplish…testify about Me…”

The witness of Jesus’ works is greater than John’s testimony because they were of such a nature that they could only have been done by God.

Even Nicodemus testified that ‘no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with Him.’ [John 3:2]. The works alone should have been more than evident that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus is saying…you won’t give me credit based on my own assertion…or my authority…you won’t take me at my word…you won’t take John’s word…at least believe on the works that I do for they prove that I came from God.

Jesus is saying…here’s another testimony…direct observation…believe the works that I do that you may know that the Father is in me, and I in the Father [John 10:38].

This is the major purpose for John’s Gospel…John wrote his gospel some 60 years after the other three gospels were written…by that time all or most of the other original apostles had been dead for close to 30 years.

John wrote his gospel from a completely different perspective…the goal of the other three gospels had been to present basically a chronological account of Christ’s life and ministry…recording as many details as they felt would be helpful for God’s people to know.

John’s intent was not to provide a chronological record of everything that had occurred during Christ’s ministry…but to provide an understanding of things that had previously not been clearly written about or understood.

As a result, John focuses on seven of Jesus’ miracles calling them “signs” [John 2:11] …the purpose of choosing only these few incidents is to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God [John 20:30–31].

Miracles are used by God as a way to prove His message [Heb. 2:3–4]. The fact that Jesus is wielding the power of God is meant to inspire faith in those who see His works [John 3:2].

The claims Jesus made were evident in the miraculous signs He performed… healing the sick…feeding the hungry…calming storms…and raising the dead…He also performed many other supernatural signs that authenticated the fact that He was who He claimed to be.

The acts of healing and performing miracles should have been recognized as coming from God…and although the testimony of John the Baptist was compelling …it should not have overshadowed real-world miracles that are far more powerful evidence than any human testimony.

Jesus offers a fourth form of evidence…He refers to The Witness of Scripture:

³⁰ You search the Scriptures…⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would  believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?

The Jews had put their confidence in the writings of Moses…two of the greatest figures in Jewish history are Moses and Abraham…but it was those very writings that condemned them because Moses wrote about the Messiah.

If they were unwilling to believe Moses’ writings that foretold about Jesus…then they’re obviously not going to believe what Jesus was telling them about Himself.

The reality was that they only believed what fit into their religious system that they themselves created…they only believed what they wanted to believe…as tragic as this is, there are still people that respond the same way to Jesus today.

Often times people will profess to be Christian but really all they have done is to create their own belief system and reject what doesn’t fit that belief system.

They have the Bible, and some are even diligent students of it, but they don’t respond to its message…they distort the meaning for their own purposes.

Jesus claimed to be equal with God the Father because He is God the Son…He backs up that claim with the testimony of four witnesses: John the Baptist, His works, God the Father, and the Scriptures.

Unlike other religions…or religious people…Jesus is the clearest and most specific picture of God revealing Himself to us.

Look throughout the major world religions and you’ll find that Buddha…Confucius, Muhammad…and even Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets… BUT…none ever claimed to be equal to God…Jesus did…that is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. Jesus said God exists and you’re looking at him.

In the book of Hebrews the author repeatedly demonstrates Jesus as being superior to everything…and every person:

— to the angels “let all the angels of God worship Him” [1:6] 

— to Moses “He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” [3:3]

— over the Old Testament priests “being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek” [5:10]

— that faith is superior to the works of the Law because Jesus is  “the author and perfecter of faith” [12:2] …He is our source of salvation.  

As Christians, everything I’ve shared with you this morning is rather ‘ho um’. It’s what is literally referred to ‘preaching to the choir’ because as Christians we believe Jesus is the divine Son of God…if you didn’t believe that there’s a slim chance you wouldn’t even be here today…we believe the evidence of Scripture that Jesus is the fulfillment of biblical prophecies…who is the promised Savior of the world.

And if you’re a skeptic you’re probably never going to hear this message because of your belief that Jesus was neither divine nor that any of His claims are true.

Most people will reserve a place of honor for Jesus even though they may not believe in Him…they hold Him in high esteem…that He was a great teacher… BUT…He’s just one of many who claimed to possess the truth…and regarding this resurrection thing…it’s a lie or it’s the result of people experiencing grief-induced visions…familiar with that concept.

Psychiatrists note that after the death of a loved one visual hallucinations of the deceased are common and may be part of the grieving process.

This is one of the explanations proposed by Bart Ehrman…in his book How Jesus Became God …Ehrman, questioning Jesus’ resurrection, argues that Jesus’s resurrection may have actually been visual hallucinations among Jesus’s bereaved and grief-stricken disciples.

Ehrman speculated that, “…the disciples had some kind of visionary experiences and these led them to conclude that Jesus was still alive.”

Bart Ehrman…grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, graduated from Moody Bible institute, received his M Div. and Ph D from Princeton Theological Seminary…an extremely intelligent person.

He later became convinced that there are contradictions and discrepancies in the Bible and is now an agnostic atheist who focus on discrediting the Bible and Jesus.

If you have a red-letter edition Bible, you’ll notice that all the verses in John 5:33-47 are in red…they are the testimony of Jesus Himself as recorded by the Apostle John…they are accurate and they are trustworthy.  

Jesus is using human logic to prove His claims as God…something that every court –in at least America– would demand if it were to make a legal determination regarding the legality of Jesus’s claims.

It’s amazing that Christianity continues to exhibit artifacts to authenticate Jesus’ existence…the Shroud of Turin…nails from the Cross…pieces of Christ’s crown or wood chips from the Cross…not sure who they’re trying to persuade…to help confirm their own belief…or to persuade a non-believing world that Jesus existed.  

Jesus gives four witnesses to confirm His truths…2000 years later we’re still struggling to convince people that Jesus was real…no need…all you have to do is see what Christianity has done for the world.

The impact of Christ on mankind is a confirmation of His existence:

…more schools/colleges have been built in the name of Christ than any other man;

…more hospitals/orphanages are built in the name of Christ than any other person.

…More laws and ethical codes are built on His teachings than any other man.

…His impact on every area of culture is unparalleled by no one else.

It was Christians who drafted the Bill of Rights…fought for the rights of women, children and limited working hours…ended slavery and slave trade…lead the civil-rights movement…fought for prison reform…and shaped politics which gave us laws that protected the common man.

The legacy of Christianity is all around us…Christianity has shaped every area of our lives…and yet we’re still trying to convince the world…and sometimes ourselves…Jesus existed.   

The proof of Jesus’ existence…His death…and resurrection is more than obvious.

You can believe the witness’ and Jesus’ claim and receive eternal life, or you can reject them and receive His condemnation…the most important question anyone will ever face is, “Who is Jesus Christ?”

The answer to that question WILL have a direct bearing on where you WILL spend eternity.

We’re continuing in John Chapter 5…Jesus is still in the process of telling the Jews…specifically the Pharisees that He possess all the qualities of God Himself.

As we have previously seen, Jesus angered the religious leaders by violating their traditions…one was by healing a lame man on the Sabbath and the second by claiming to be equal with God (John 5:18).

Both were essential if Jesus was to establish His claim as the Son of God…Jewish law demanded for something to be declared a fact it required the testimony of at least two or three witnesses [Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6] “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any sin which he has committed…(but) on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.

FIRST…if you’re going to make a claim against someone you need to have multiple sources who are willing to testify to the validity of that claim.

SECONDLY…it’s not enough to make a claim about yourself… there must also be others who will be willing to testify to the truth of your claim as well…So, Jesus gives them four witnesses to His claim:

The Witness of God

The Witness of John the Baptist

The Witness of Works

The Witness of Scripture

This morning I want to talk about just one of those…The Witness of God …Jesus’ testimony concerning Himself would not stand up in a court of law…there would have to be collaborating witnesses…so Jesus says my claims do not arise from Myself, but from the Father who also bears witness to the truth of the claim.

In [v. 18-23] Jesus provides five statements that reveal His equality with God…that gives evidence of His deity:

Jesus is Equal to God in person-5:18

Jesus is Equal to God in works-5:19

Jesus is Equal to God in Power-5:21

Jesus is Equal to God in Judgment-5:22

Jesus Is Equal to God in Honor-5:23

These Jewish religious leaders were putting themselves in the position of judging Jesus as if they were the only ones that could speak for God.

In reality these men had never heard God’s voice or seen Him…they were not even present to hear God’s voice at Jesus’ baptism…but they were ready to speak on God’s behalf now…they couldn’t see God’s hand at work in the miracles Jesus performed or in the Scriptures that pointed to Him as the promised Messiah.

They were the self-professed keepers and teachers of God’s law…here’s the danger …what was true then is still true today…there are those that claim to speak for God and assure us that they have the truth of the Bible…yet as you listen to what they say it becomes evident that they have twisted the Scriptures in order to justify their own personal gain.

It’s actually very easy to make the Bible say whatever you want it to say… you can pull verses out of context and easily make the Bible say something that it doesn’t say…ignorant people…churches… denominations…preachers…and even theologians have all proven this to be true.  

Accurate Bible interpretation is absolutely critical if you are to understand the Bible correctly…verses can be misconstrued and applied to situations that have no application to that verse at all…meaning you can’t take a single verse or a part of a verse out of context…even with good intentions and claim that’s what the Bible says.   

People will cause you to believe ideas and concepts about the Bible based on nothing more than their poor interpretation of the Bible.

People attempt to seduce you into believing that a Bible story applies to you by using a verse out of context to support that claim…a couple week ago I shared with Elaine’s Sunday school class about the mis-representation regarding the three men Nebuchadnezzar tied up and threw into the fire…and Daniel in the lion’s den.

We tell this story to kids in children’s church and falsely give them the impression that God is going to save them from harm…that is not true…little kids die every day…God saving you from harm is not the intent of those stories.

So, at times people un-willingly and not with malice make claims about the Bible that are less than accurate…but with good intention…then there are some who with intent distort the Bible…making false claims for personal gain.

People promoting the idea that the abundant life is having lavish homes…expensive cars… and more money than you know what to do with…is distorted intent.

Wanting you to believe that that’s what God wants for you…and masking it under the heading of ‘The Favor of God’.

I want to share with you this morning what the favor of God is…it doesn’t mean having wealth…prestige…position…or power…God’s priorities for us do not consist in an abundance of material things for your benefit.

The witness of Jesus has a direct tie into the favor of God…it’s how God demonstrates Himself to us…and to the world…it is a witness of God in the world for those who experience it.

The witness of God was in Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit…same Spirit that is on every person today…if you’re a Christian…it is through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives that gives us the favor of God and verifies the witness of God to lost sinners.

Christ did not come to earth to please Himself or to demand His rights…in fact, He did just the opposite…while on earth He made it His passion to do the will of God, to finish the work which God had given him to do, and not to seek his own comfort and enjoyment. [John 6:38; John 5:30].

In His life He did not seek personal comfort…wealth…or honor…He was willing to endure whatever trials and pains the will of God might demand on Him… not seeking to avoid them or to shirk away from them [Luke 22:42].

Jesus’s entire life was for six reasons:

…FIRST — to identify Himself as the Son of God;

…SECOND — to show compassion and meet human needs…He denied himself to promote the welfare of others;

…THIRD — to affirm God’s mercy…extending hope to those who deserve to be punished;

…FOURTH — He allowed Himself to be nailed to a Cross and die for an ungrateful world.

…FIFTH — by willingly dying on the Cross He secured Salvation for all who trust in Him;

…SIXTH — Jesus’ resurrection was a glimpse of what will occur…His resurrection was the evidence of life after death…a preview of that glorious day when we shall live forever with Him.

But that’s not what is being preached in many churches today…it’s not about the suffering Savior…it’s about what the favor of God is going to do for you in this life.

When you go to hear a minister…preacher…evangelist…televangelist and pay $20-25 dollars or more a seat you don’t want to hear what was preached here last week.

…that the whole human race is born spiritually dead;

…that as a result unbelievers are the enemies of God;

…that there will be a judgement by Jesus of every person who has ever lived;

…that some Christians will receive no heavenly rewards;

…that some people will be condemned and asked to leave heaven and be eternally separated from loved ones and God.

People aren’t going to pay to hear that…they want to know what God is going to do for them while on earth…and the Bible is clear what God wants to do for you while on earth…He does want you to be a part of and share in His favor but not in

the way they describe it.

FIRST…we should not think of the favor of God in material or worldly terms…if we are going to grasp what is applicable for us today from the Bible it’s knowing that God’s favor will be given in spiritual blessings more than in material blessings.

SECOND…favor follows after faithfulness…a Biblical principal seen throughout the Bible…this does not mean that everyone who is prosperous or healthy has found favor with God…nor does it mean that those whom the Lord favors will never suffer difficulties.

A lifestyle of faithfulness leads to a life full of favor from 1) God and 2) the favor from the right people around us…having the favor of God extends to people around you…God causes the favor of people to be on us…see this throughout Scripture… it’s a biblical principle.

In my own life I can testify to countless times when the favor of people has been extended to me for no rational reason…see the favor of God in three areas of life.

1) Favor on a universal level

Even before we became Christians God was giving us His favor…even while we were still rebelling against Him…while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

The “favor of God” can be described as a divine kindness, or an act of true compassion on the part of God toward needy and undeserving human recipients …that’s us.

In Scripture the act of God toward unworthy humans is referred to as God’s “grace” – which means “the unmerited favor of God …God saved us because of His favor toward us…wanting that all should come to a saving knowledge of who He is… it’s God’s grace at work in every person’s life…on a universal level that enables them to be born again.

2) Favor on an individual level

Once we experience the favor of God on a universal level we move to the favor of God on an individual level.

From the moment you trusted Jesus as your Savior you stepped into a new life… people say; Oh, I can’t wait until I get to heaven, so I can experience the fullness of God’s favor…you don’t have to wait…God’s favor is happening right now.

God is pouring out His favor on us right here and now…God’s favor is working nonstop on your behalf…being born again was just the starting place for His favor. He will continue to pour out favor on you every moment of your life.

See this repeatedly noted in Scriptures…Abraham and Moses took their direction from God…they were faithfully obedient…as a result the favor of God was on them… God rewarded them as they did great and impossible things in their lives.

…David while just a boy was crowned the king of Israel…but he waited patiently for over 20 years of his life…so why David…he was passionate for the Lord…he was obedient to the Lord…he worshipped God…he was repentant when he sinned.

He never questioned God’s promise but all the while demonstrated a lifestyle of faithfulness towards God…until God’s favor became a reality.

…Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD [Gen. 6:8] …why? …the next verse explains why…Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God [Gen. 6:9].

We can’t assume that Noah never sinned because in reality…Noah was corrupt like everyone else…BUT…Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him [Genesis 6:22; 7:5,9] …he had the favor of God in his life…Noah and his family were saved by their righteousness…the rest of the world perished for the lack of righteousness.

3) Favor in the eyes of the right people around us.

Having the favor of God means having the favor of people without even realizing it…this is shown to be true throughout Scripture.  

…Esther, a Jewish orphan girl raised by her cousin Mordecai (Esther 2:7) …she became a queen…what a fairytale story that is…that’s what’s known as the providence of God…one day without permission she goes before the king… something that was deserving of death…even for the queen …but she had been granted favor from God that resulted in her being favored by the King.

She was faithful in her calling…as a result she found favor in the eyes of the right people around her…God rewarded her faithfulness…she bravely revealed a diabolical plot to have the Jews exterminated…her faithfulness to God was rewarded.

…Ruth was the daughter-in-law of an Israelite family…she was not even Jewish… her husband died…in that day women without a man to take care of them were at great risk…but she found favor with God and with the right people around her…a man Boaz who she marries because:

All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband… how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth to help provide for her…then it says ‘may the Lord reward your work [2:12].

…In the life of Joseph…God’s favor towards him was so abundant that it spilled over into the life of a pagan Egyptian ruler…if you’re familiar with the story of Joseph you know that even during his darkest hours in prison…even during our most adverse times when we get the impression that God is not for us…that He is not with us…the opposite is true.

God showed Joseph exceptional favor…sometimes our inability to see the favor of God in our lives particularly during difficult times is because we are looking through the lens of circumstance, rather than through the lens of providence.

Favor is a divine force that God releases on behalf of his people that brings blessing into their lives…God wants to give favor to his people…however, he cannot do that if we are not the kind of people that deserve it.

God’s favor isn’t something given just because you go to church…being a “part-time” Christian isn’t going to get you there…being inspired by watching some TV preacher is not enough…just warming the seat of a pew a few times a year isn’t going to lead to a life in which you experience the favor God.

What can we do that will release that favor…look again at the lives of Abraham… Moses…Noah…Joseph…men who were obedient and faithful to God’s commands.

For us it’s being involved in a local congregation of believers…it includes studying …meditating…praying…it includes growing spiritually by participation in a personal group study like Sunday school.

It includes some form of personal ministry and outreach…this leads to a rewarding personal fellowship with God through His Spirit and causes the favor of God on your life.

God treats everyone alike but He puts His special favor on those who respond wholeheartedly to his calling and yield their lives entirely to Him…people who are sincere in growing in the knowledge of God…seeking to discover God’s will and purpose in their lives.  

Ruth…Esther…Moses…Abraham…Noah…Joseph…were those kinds of people… their lives reveal the reason God had favor on them.

In every instance their lives demonstrated a lifestyle of faithfulness and obedience towards God which results in God granting favor in their lives.

There are things we can do to begin seeking the Lord’s favor…the favor of God occurs when we live out the life we know God expects us to live…faithfulness brings favor…obedience brings blessings.

The favor of God can be described as the tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord…goes back to the beginning of this message…having the witness of God in our lives…God showing favor to the ones who delight in and give honor to Him.

[Isaiah 66:2] “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and who are contrite in spirit and who tremble at my word.” …contrite in spirit is feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin.

A lifestyle of faithfulness eventually leads to a life of favor…favor from God and favor in the eyes of people around us…BUT…it’s conditional…favor requires faithfulness —- and blessings require obedience to God.

If we are to receive the favor of God it requires a decision to accept Jesus as Savior and live in obedience to His commands.

If our sole purpose in life is to attain favor in the eyes of people, we will inevitably compromise our fellowship with God because we are seeking Man’s favor at the expense of God’s favor.

Here’s the error in today’s understanding of what the favor of God means… thousands of people believe that the ‘favor of God’ on their lives means God providing for you everything you need to live comfortably in this life.

Let me share with you again…because I’ve said this before and I will say it again in the future…I had a Pastor tell me…you keep telling your church the same thing over and over until finally someone asks how long you are going to keep preaching the same thing…then you know you can move on.

So I’m going to say it again…the favor of God has nothing to do with material abundance…SO…then can I fully trust that God will take care of my physical needs…here’s why God generously provides you with all you need:

Paul gives the reason in [2 Cor. 9:8]

“Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others” …God does not only meet your needs…but He will also furnish you with the means to…WATCH THIS…help someone meet their needs.

By allowing you to do good for someone else…not so you can get rich…NO WHERE in the New Testament is there any reference to give so you can get back in return for your own personal gain.

When we willingly and freely give to others…God responds toward you in like manner…giving back to you because you are faithful with what He has given you.

He gives it back NOT so you can spend it on yourself…as those preachers on TBN…Daystar…and the Word network would have you believe…but so you can share with others.

The principles laid down in [2 Corinthians 9:8] is to encourage us to give an offering to the Lord…not out of necessity…not so I can get something in return… not a requirement to give 10% as some preachers would have you to believe so they can fund church projects.

Let me just say this about giving money to the Church…if you’re giving money to the church to get something in return…it won’t happen…it’s giving from the heart…faithfulness finds favor with God…obedience brings blessings.

The witness of God in our lives is evident in many ways…how we live…how we act…how we talk…how we dress…who our friends are…but one way that someone is known by is…is having God’s favor in our lives.

God guides and directs our lives by the people we meet and the occurrences that happen in our life…that all falls under the witness of God…when people see those things occurring in our life that is the work of God in our lives that comes as a result of faithfulness that brings favor…and blessings as we strive to be obedient to God.

Today’s text is powerful…what we are going to look at today are the words of Jesus…I’m not sure if Jesus elaborated more on what we have written in Scripture, because speaking to the Jews, it would have been ‘common knowledge’ regarding the resurrection…judgment…and life after death or if possible John condensed down what Jesus said.

Because there is so much information in such a short narrative, it requires we do a critical analysis of the text in order to understand what Jesus is saying. [5:19-20]

It’s been suggested that the following verses are Jesus’ response to the Jews regarding Him curing the man and commanding him to carry his bed on the Sabbath and the argument concerning His equality to the Father.

¹⁹ Jesus gave them this answer: “…I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “…whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has passed out of death into life. ²⁵ …I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

The Jewish rulers charged Jesus with two very serious crimes…ONE charge grew out of the miracle of healing on the Sabbath that Jesus performed at the Bethesda Pool in Jerusalem…the SECOND charge was because Jesus claimed equality with God.

¹⁸ For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God”.

It’s interesting that for the people who claim there is no God…or that they don’t believe in God…they will state their belief in Jesus…not that He is the Son of God…they’re not willing to go that far…but that He was a great teacher…a good person…an emancipator…that His teaching has been the catalyst that has changed the world’s views regarding…women…children…marriage…education…and humanitarian reform.

They don’t deny that an historical figure named Jesus has been the dominant figure in the history of Western Culture for almost 20 centuries…but they refuse to believe that Jesus was God in the flesh…and mistakenly assert that Jesus never claimed equality with God.

So, based on people’s unbelief in who Jesus says He was…there are really only three options regarding Jesus’ claims about Himself:

1. His claim is true…He is who He says He is…or
2. He is a liar and a deceiver…or
3. His claims are false and He doesn’t know it…He’s deranged.

Jesus had already proven that the last statements are untrue…He’s not a liar…He’s not a deceiver …and He’s not deranged…He’s given positive evidence to show that through miracles and by divine wisdom and omniscient insight He is the Son of God.

To add validity to that assertion…in [v. 17-24] Jesus gives evidence of His deity by declaring that the work He is doing is equivalent to the work done by God.

Jesus is Equal to God in person

5:18 – “…He was making Himself equal with God”

Jesus is Equal to God in works

5:19 – “…whatever the Father does the Son also does”

Jesus is Equal to God in Power

5:21 – “…the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes

Jesus is Equal to God in Judgment

5:22 – “…not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son

Jesus Is Equal to God in Honor

5:23 – “…all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father…”

All this is what Jesus says about Himself…it confirms that Jesus is one in function with God…that He doesn’t operate independently from God in nature…in works…or in power.

No other person in the history of the world can make those claims…what person can even remotely say that whatever God does I do…what human can make that

statement.

John’s Gospel probably contains the deepest insights of any book in the Bible concerning who Jesus is and how He relates to the Father…the previous verses are a summary of what Scripture declares about the relationship between Him and God.

Based on His relationship with the Father Jesus tells the Jewish leaders as the Son of God what has been granted Him:   

“²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

In these two verses, Jesus identifies two attributes that have been delegated to Him: ONE…His ability to give life… and TWO…He is the final judge of all mankind.

The FIRST attribute…Granting life (5:21). What is the ultimate power in the universe…to give life…without the ability to give life there would be nothing…who besides God has the ability to give life…God has given all creatures the “breath of life” [Genesis 1:30] …He gives life and breath to all things [Acts 17:25] …He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them [Psalm 146:6] …both the Father and the Son give life [5:21].

BUT…not just a physical life…but eternal life as well…the age-old question…if a man dies will he live again? …the question asked by Job [Job 14:14] …what does the Bible say…all people…both believers and unbelievers…every person who has ever lived will one day be raised from the dead …EVERYONE…will live forever.

But Jesus clearly makes a distinction between the two regarding what happens after the resurrection:

“²⁹ …those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

So…clearly there is a distinction regarding where believers and the unbelievers will spend eternity…for the Christian the place we go has already been settled.

The phrase, “whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life” [24] is the promise of life now and after death…it doesn’t say “will have eternal life,” but “has eternal life”. The verb “has” (ἔχει) in the Greek is in the present tense…it’s something you possess now…it’s not something just in the future.

To emphasize this fact, Jesus says that the believer has passed (μεταβέβηκεν) “out of death to life” …the word “passed” is in the perfect tense… meaning it has already happened.

Our names are already written in the “Lamb’s book of life” [Rev.13:8] … we have already been transferred ‘out of death into life’ [24] …we are “pardoned” through the blood of Christ… [1 John 2:1-2; 1 Peter 1:18-19]. The decision regarding eternal life has already been made when you accepted Jesus as your Savior.

I don’t understand why this continues to be a source of conflict with some denominations…we looked at [1 John 5:18] last week and the statement ‘We know that everyone (who) has been born of God’ clearly states the security of the believer.

OK…but what happens after I die…the time between when I die and the resurrection?

There is a spiritual resurrection and a physical resurrection…this is illustrated as– already/but not yet–…the resurrection of all who have died is still in the future…that’s the not yet part… BUT notice… ‘An (time) hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God’ [25] Jesus is not referring to a physical resurrection…but rather to a spiritual resurrection that happens in this life.  

By nature we are all spiritually dead [Eph 2:1] …the whole human race is born spiritually dead…unresponsive to God…in this verse Jesus says I give spiritual life… ‘an hour is coming’… Jesus says the time is now…He has been giving spiritual life for 2000 years…that’s the already part.

But even though we were dead, because of our sins God gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead [Eph 2:5]. Jesus describes it this way: ‘he has crossed over from death to life.’ [24].

So what happens at death? … there are three occurrences that happen at death…one is immediate…the other two happen in the future…Jesus mentions them in quick succession…this gets especially difficult when trying to interpret Scripture.

The first…is not even mentioned here by Jesus…here’s something important about the Bible…no single text contains the full picture of what occurs at death.

The complete collection of information must be assembled from various passages with each one contributing to the overall explanation of what occurs at death.

The Bible teaches…for the Christian…the human spirit at death goes immediately into the presence of God:

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it

Luke 8:55 And her spirit returned, and she rose immediately;”

Luke 23:46
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

Stay with me…at death your spirit leaves the body and remains in a separate state where you await the physical resurrection of your body…BUT that place is NOT heaven.

The error is in believing that at death you go to Heaven…or at death that is the resurrection …that is not correct… at death you are transported to what Jesus Himself called Paradise…the righteous dead are now in Paradise…NOT in heaven.

For thousands of years Christians have been in Paradise with Jesus awaiting the resurrection of their bodies…so, a physical resurrection is not experienced immediately after death but rather a way of referring to a newly embodied life after death.

To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord, but this “place” is not heaven because Christians have not yet received their glorified bodies…clearly then there is a distinct difference between Paradise and being in Heaven.

At death you enter into Paradise where you wait for your physical resurrection… referred to as the first resurrection.

²⁸ “for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice        ²⁹ and come out…”

There are two resurrections…let’s look at the first resurrection for a minute…it includes those who have died and are raised to life when Christ invisibly returns to earth…more commonly referred to as the Rapture.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [1 Thess. 4:16]

Even though you are physically dead…you will hear the voice of Christ calling to you…your body will hear and awake and be reunited with your spirit that has been waiting in Paradise. The second part of that event occurs:

we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever [17]

Both groups…those who have died and those who are alive on earth, will be immediately taken into Heaven…you will then be transformed into your immortal body…you will have a body like Jesus Himself.

Remember earlier I said God delegated two attributes to Jesus…just discussed the first one…His ability to give physical life and life after death…now we’ll look at the second one.

The SECOND attribute…He is the final judge of all mankind.

Back to the Rapture…those taken into Heaven at the first resurrection…and those who are alive on the earth and who will accompany them will then come face to face before Jesus…again…Jesus glazes over this by simply saying:

²² …the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgement to the Son.

Not much detail in that statement because among the Jewish people there was a common belief in a resurrection of all people to some type of judgement.

But Paul elaborates on that belief in two different writings regarding what happens once we’re in heaven…and what that judgement involves.  

“We will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (Romans 14:10) and

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ….” (2 Cor. 5:10).

Once in Heaven there will be a judgement…all Christians will appear at the bema seat or judgement seat of Christ…the writer of Hebrews makes this point:

“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement” [9:27]

For Christians this is what you can expect:

FIRST…our names are already written in the “Lamb’s book of life” [Rev.13:8].

SECONDLY…at death our spirit goes to be with the Lord. [2 Cor. 5:8].

THIRDLY…we have the promise of a physical resurrection [John 11:25].

FOURTHLY…Scripture says upon arrival there will be a judgment [Heb 9:27].

Need to understand something about this judgement…FIRST…our eternal destiny is determined here on earth, not after we die…the judgment in the next life has nothing to do with your salvation…it’s not a judgment to determine lost or saved.

Jesus gives the qualifications of those who are eligible to receive entrance into Heaven.          

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has passed out of death to life.” (5:24).

Paul rejoices over this fact in Romans:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1-2)

The phrase, “will not be condemned” is literally, “does not come under judgment” …it’s important to know that Jesus is referring to Christians only.

So…if our names are already written in the Book of Life…we’re standing in Heaven and been declared ‘not guilty’ …why a judgement…why will we still stand before Christ?

This is important…don’t lose sight of this…first of all the term ‘judgement’ is a little misleading…it’s not to determine lost or saved…the benefit of having the completed Bible explains what the Judgement is for.

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done,” (Rev. 22:12)

That describes a future time when there will be a giving of rewards based on what we have done during our time on earth….

For the Son of Man is going to come… and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. (Matt. 16:27)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Cor. 5:10)

Let me show you the Grace of God…even for those people who have nothing to show for being Christians…I don’t know how someone can go through their entire life on earth and not have one thing that identifies them as a Christian… BUT…it must happen because it’s talked about in Scripture.

This verse shows the mercy of God.

“each [believer’s] work will be shown for what it is…it is to be revealed with fire; and fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he built upon it remains [[talking about things done for the glory of God]] he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss [of rewards]; but he himself shall be saved [from hell]. [1 Cor. 3:13-15]

Notice that even in the worst-case scenario the believer who is denied any reward is still saved…despite the totally unfavorable evaluation it does not jeopardize his possession of eternal life.

Look again at verse [24] …”whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned.”  …the only requirement for Salvation.

So, we have a positive statement… “whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life” …and a negative statement… ‘those who have done evil will rise to be condemned [30].

This is the second resurrection…it’s independent of the first…it happens 1000 years after the first and includes those who are unbelievers.

So, here’s the promise that both believers and unbelievers will have a bodily resurrection…that both will be judged…for believers it will be a judgement based on what we have done during our time on earth…for the unbeliever it will be a judgement based on their unbelief in Jesus…here’s what John says about that event.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.” (Revelation 20:12)

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of lie, he was thrown into the lake of fire. [Rev. 20:15]

This was common knowledge among the Jews…Daniel prophesied about this event hundreds of years earlier [Daniel 12:2]

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt

In the Old Testament…Yahweh is called “the Judge of all the earth.” (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 94:2; 1 Samuel 2:10] …But here Jesus claims the right to judge …as Son of Man He has been given authority and dominion over the Kingdom of God.

Here stands a Galilean carpenter with dirt on His sandals claiming that He is the One who is the giver of all life…both now and in the life to come…and…who has the power to judge the eternal destiny of all people…it’s a staggering claim.

See how critical it is to have an understanding of what Jesus is saying in these verses…unfortunately millions of people will go through their entire earthly life and never understand the severity of what has been said…many more will read it and be clueless of what it implies…mostly because no one ever shared with them the gravity of these verses.

Jesus’ ability to give life… whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life [24] … and that He is the final judge of all mankind…the Father…has entrusted all judgement to the Son [22].

Here’s the cold reality of this whole message…there is going to be a future, physical resurrection of every man and woman who has ever lived…everybody is going to live forever, somewhere…there is a resurrection of life and a resurrection of condemnation.

Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned [29].

To accept Jesus is to receive the resurrection of life.  To reject Jesus is to receive the resurrection of condemnation.

Last Sunday we began to look at the story of the healing of the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years.

The first 16 verses of John chapter 5…describes Jesus’ healing of this man on the Sabbath…this starts the beginning of the hostility against Jesus that will ultimately culminate at Golgotha with His death on the Cross.

We see in Scripture that Jesus frequently chose to do miracles that alleviated people’s suffering…theologians believe that during the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ ministry that He practically eliminated all disease from Israel for the duration of His ministry… ‘great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all’ [Matt. 12:15] Jesus did so many miracles that the Bible doesn’t record them all.

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem at the pool in Hebrew called Bethesda Jesus sees this man and asks the man lying there:

5:6 – “…Do you wish to get well?”

A man who hasn’t walked in 38 years…seems to be a rather obvious question…but instead of the man responding with ‘yea, I’d like that’ he launches into a well-rehearsed answer that was designed more at making people give him money rather than in being healed…then he repeats his sad story about how he has no one to help him get into the pool so he can be healed… completely ignoring Jesus’ request of ‘do you wish to get well’.

5:7 – “…Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up…”

The man’s focus is more on who’s going to help him into the pool of water… Jewish superstition believed that periodically an angel would come down and stir up the water…the first person into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured.

He was more intent on being cured by a superstition than the possibility that Jesus could cure him…that fact never entered his mind…his only concern was finding a way to be the first one into the pool when the water began stirring.

People are no different today…this story calls for people to put away from trusting in superstitious religions…or…of being superstitious in their religious devotions such things as prayer cloths…miracle water…using KJV only Bibles…God wants you to be rich… blood running from a crucifix…statue of Mary shedding tears…if I do my Bible devotions, I’ll have a good day…having a cross on my rearview mirror.

Relying on superstitions does nothing more than give false assurance…just as a rabbit’s foot promises luck…there are many promises in Scripture…these are not flippant, casual promises such as we often make; the promises of God are rock-solid unequivocal commitments made by God Himself….and because God is faithful, the recipients of His divine promises can have the full assurance that what God has pledged will indeed be realized.

In this instance Jesus exceeded this man’s expectations and gave the crippled man far more than he could have ever expected.

5:8 – “Get up, take up your mat and walk…”

Jesus doesn’t ask him if he has the faith to be healed…Jesus doesn’t debate with him about his superstitious system for being healed…instead…He tells him… ‘Arise’… ‘take up’ …’walk’ …all these are in the imperative voice…all are a command, not a suggestion …Jesus is telling the man ‘do it’ stand, carry…and walk.

5:9 – “Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk”

The man is healed even without believing in who Jesus is…there’s no mention of Salvation…Redemption…or Justification…the man is immediately healed based on nothing more than Jesus’s command.

Scripture later records that Jesus finds the man in the Temple and makes a statement to him that seems to connect the man’s prior condition to some sin in his life…that the man’s disability was the result of personal choices.

Today’s message focuses on the statement Jesus makes to him in the Temple.  

5:14- “…do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you”

On the surface this is a very difficult statement to understand…certainly a very stern statement that suggest some grave consequences if not followed…this is not the only time Jesus speaks the words do not sin anymore…He tells thewoman who had been caught in adultery the same thing…  ‘Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.’ 

Often times the wording in Scripture leaves us confused and unsure of what  actually has been said or what the intended meaning was…what is the purpose of Jesus telling these people ‘do not sin anymore’ …there are a couple possibilities that need to be considered in the command “do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you”.

FIRST…Was the man’s condition actually the result of some sort of sin which caused him to be crippled…was his condition the result of God punishing him for something he did…some would suggest that the wording so that nothing worse happens to you implies that all diseases of the body are a result of sin…the idea was that God punished people by causing or giving them health issues.

This was the belief in why Job suffered so much…that the severity of Job’s suffering must be the sign of some grievous sin in his life…in the case of the man born blind…even the disciples asked: ‘..who sinned…this man or his parents that he was born blind’ [John l:2]

In this particular instance…not sure what the sin was…but the wording by Jesus is implying that if he continued in that sin…God could send a worse disease…OR…a worse affliction…OR…a heavier punishment than what he has already experienced …it’s possible that a worse thing might come to him.

People still believe today that God punishes people…even though there is not even a hint in the Bible that God ever punished any one…BUT…it must be true…why else would Jesus say, ‘Go and sin no more or else something worse will happen to you’ if it wasn’t true?

Is Jesus telling the man that if he remains in sin, he would suffer a fate worse than thirty-eight years of sitting beside some pool of water…so does the statement “so that nothing worse happens to you” suggest that he must give it up or suffer the consequences?

The SECOND possibility is…was Jesus really expecting this man never to sin again …that he is somehow going to leave his sinful flesh at the door and never be tempted again?

Here is where we have the benefit of the completed Bible to rely on …in both cases where Jesus uses the phrase ‘do not sin anymore’ is that literally what that means?

Want to look at three passages…two are especially difficult to understand and leave open the possibility of being mis-interpreted.

The first difficult passage is 1 John 2:1:

“I am writing these things to you that you will not sin…”

Seems to agree with what Jesus said…don’t sin anymore.  A number of translations …NLT…NIV…KJV and others translate this verse exactly like that…I am writing this to you so that you will not sin’ EVERYBODY…that’s a bad translation of the Greek…not saying the Bible is wrong…saying in this instance it’s a bad translation.  

It does not say… “that you will not sin” …the wording ‘you might sin’ …is one word in the Greek…is in the subjunctive mood…here’s why that’s important to know… the Greek subjunctive mood is implying “what may or might be” not what will be…it’s the mood of possibility or probability.

The addition of the Greek word ‘not’(μὴ) in front of ‘you might sin’ offers a more correct translation…“so that you might not sin” …that introduces a whole new meaning…a lot of difference between ‘will not’ and ‘might not.’

John is not saying…if you’re a Christian you’re not going to sin …people read this verse and doubt their salvation because there are times when I do sin and reading this verse incorrectly suggests if I’m a Christian I shouldn’t be sinning…that’s not what it says.

Here’s what John is referring to…he is speaking of a BELIEVER’S occasional sins that are the result of Satan’s fraud…deception…and malice attacks on us…the use of “anyone” implies the possibility exists that we are all capable of sinning.

If you’re a Christian the possibility exists that you’re going to sin…BUT…you still have the option to not sin…you may or may not sin…it’s your decision.

Here’s the difference…if you’re not a Christian…you have no choice…you are going to sin…John writes: “…I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” [John 8:34]

He uses the analogy of a slave and his master to make the point that a slave obeys his master because he belongs to him…slaves have no will of their own…they are in bondage to their masters…when sin is our master, we are unable to resist it.

That is the fate of the unsaved…they have no choice…they have no will of their own to resist sinning.

The second difficult passage is [1 John 5:18] …as with 1 John 2:1 if translated in a less than accurate way can also result in un-necessary confusion.

I am going deep this morning and I don’t want to lose anyone because this is important…I want to unpack this verse phrase by phrase and remove any mis-understanding regarding exactly what is meant…this verse has been titled: Our Security through the Guardianship of Christ.

If you have your Bibles with you I would like for you to turn to that verse…I want to do a detailed study of that verse and hope you see its importance because it goes back to what Jesus told the man at the pool and the woman caught in adultery…Do not sin anymore.

1 John 5:18 – ¹⁸We know that everyone having been born of God does not continue to sin; the One having been begotten of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him.

In the opening phrase of [1 John 5:18]some translations read:’We know that no one who is born of God sins’ (NAS)…’We know that whoever is born of God does not sin’ (KJV)both areinaccurate translations.

This seems to be in agreement with [1 John 2:1] “I am writing these things to you that you will not sin…”

Again…that wording implies that as a Christian…you won’t sin…how frustrating is that…if you accept this verbiage, you’ll spend the rest of your lives living a defeated …dejected Christian life believing that as Christians we should be sin free.

BUT…looking at [1 John 5:18] in the Greek there is a change in tense and wording that if not translated correctly and understood properly creates unnecessary confusion.

Here’s the importance of knowing…to some degree languages…we read the Bible and many times miss the importance of a verse and how it applies to our lives because we don’t see the true meaning of the verse in English.  

John starts off by saying ‘we know’ meaning it’s settled (perfect tense) it’s intuitive knowledge…knowledge which has been divinely imparted…John is saying I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything I have told you is true…because ‘this is the message we have heard from Him’ [1 John 1:5].

You’ll notice the beginning phrase ‘everyone having been born’ —(πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος)—it’s conditional… ‘having been born’ is a perfect tense participle …it expresses completed action…referring to the person who is a Christian and who forever will continue to be a child of God…it’s a done deal…it’s complete…you will always be a child of God…once saved always saved…see how important just that one phrase is.

Then following that you have the difficult statementas translated by somethat implies you will not sin… (οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει) in the Greek ‘continues to sin’ is one word: (ἁμαρτάνει) …it’s in the Present tense indicating continuous action… something you’re going to continue to do…BUT

With the addition of the Greek word meaning ‘not’ (οὐχ) in front of ‘continues to sin’…the more correct translation is in line with the NLT which reads: ‘not make a practice of sinning.’

The wording is so obviously clear… ‘everyone having been born of God’ referring to Christians does not willfully…continually…make a practice of sinning …or make a lifestyle of living in sin.

Don’t know why you would translate it ‘does not sin’ …it doesn’t say that…it says “does not continually sin”.  

This is in agreement with [1 John 3:9] ‘anyone having been born of God does not practice sin’ …when you understand what this says in the Greek—it becomes clear that John is saying the one who is born of God cannot habitually commit sins as their general pattern of life. 

the One (He) who was born of God

 ‘The One who was born of God’ in Greek is ‘having been begotten’ that’s significant…Jesus is the only begotten of the Father meaning He came directly from the Father…John refers to Christians as ‘having been born’ but he refers to Jesus as ‘having been begotten’.  

The phrase ‘having been begotten’ (ὁ γεγεννημένος) is a reference to God making Jesus His Son [Psalm 2:7] …it’s an aorist tense participle indicating past tense… Jesus has always been…BUT…when speaking of Christians John uses wording that indicates at some time you became and will forever be a child of God.

So what we have is…everyone having been born of God…is us…andthe One having been begotten…is Jesus…it is the One who was born (begotten) of God who:

keeps

Means to keep an eye on, to keep watch over or to attend carefully…the idea is guarding something which is in one’s possession…believers are God’s possession.

them safe

Carrie Underwood has a song out “Keep us Safe” so what’s that mean and how does God do that?

First of all, here’s what ‘keeps them safe’ does not mean.

John is not implying that God is going to keep us safe from the pain…sickness… death…and all the other ills that we’re subjected to because we live in this world …that those are all just suddenly going to go away…I don’t know anyone that is naive enough to believe that.

John is speaking about the troubles that come upon us all because we’re human, the troubles in life everyone experiences.

Just because you’re living a godly life does not mean you will avoid troubles in this life.

Neither is John referring to escaping the chastisement that will come to us as Christians.

In the world you will have tribulation [John 16:33] that is in the present tense meaning it’s going to happen…one because you live in a fallen world and two because you’re a Christian.

If you’re living a godly life seeking the Kingdom of God you must expect that persecution…affliction…and torment…will accompany your decision…nowhere in the Bible does it say that if you’re a Christian you won’t be persecuted or suffer affliction…those only come if you’re a Christian.

Here’s what ‘keeps them safe’ does mean.

 ‘The One born (begotten) of God’ speaking of Jesus…is the one who keeps us safe from the devil…not from worldly problems…or temptations…here’s the importance of the word ‘keeps’…it means to keep an eye on…to watch over…or to attend carefully.

We don’t keep ourselves safe in our own strength…the Christian’s safety is not in ourselves but from the Lord…we are to put forth our best efforts to keep ourselves from sin and by divine assistance God will be able to accomplish it.

the evil one does not touch him

God keeps us safe from the evil one…Satan…who cannot touch us…the word “touch” is somewhat too weak a rendering…here it means touching someone in a way that alters, changes, or modifies them…if someone touches you in such a way that it alters…changes…or modifies you…that’s a little more than a superficial touch…here it clearly conveys a hostile intention.

The word ‘touch’ is in the present tense meaning the ‘evil one’ is persistent in his effort to ‘touch’ you in a way that alters, changes or modifies you…Satan is “the accuser of the brethren” [Revelation 12:10]…his desire is for us to be fearful and doubt our salvation…he accuses us of sin to keep us stuck in sin or to make us despair of ever being right before God.

He accuses us before ourselves and he accuses us before God to try to get God to renege on His promise of forgiveness.

That’s where the imputed righteousness of God overrides Satan’s accusations… imputed righteousness is God seeing us without sin…and declaring to Satan we are and will be forever His children…Satan may attack us but he cannot lay hold or ‘touch’ us to make us captives of sin…he cannot sever the connection between the believer and Christ.

If you’re a Christian, God has a purpose for your life…in fact He has a purpose for every person’s life…an unbeliever will never get the opportunity to experience that purpose…AND…for some Christians they will never get the opportunity to experience it because they will never submit to God’s will for their life.

In life there are detours…had a study on that a while back…at times our plans become derailed…circumstances leave us perplexed…afraid of the future…feeling powerless to improve our situation…that is the consequences of living in this world.

BUT…despite how helpless we may feel in these moments…we are never truly helpless…because the phrase ‘keep us safe’ doesn’t mean we’re not going to have detours in life…it doesn’t mean that at times we won’t become overwhelmed with the issues of life…it means that regardless of life’s situations they are never a surprise to God…He works in those difficult times using us…always for His glory.

I realize this has been a lengthy explanation of that verse…but I want you to understand what the statement “do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you” means and how it apples to us in maybe more detail than you wanted.  

Having spent a considerable amount of time on this verse…here’s the Peluso paraphrase of 1 John 5:18:

We know that everyone (who) has been born… [referring to Christians… completed action—you are and always will be a child of God] …does not continually sin [does not continue in a lifestyle of habitual sin] …but the one having been born (begotten) of God [who is Jesus the Son of God] …keeps (believers are the possession of God who watches over them] them safe [the Christian’s safety is not in ourselves but from the Lord]…the result is the evil one [Satan] does not touch Him… [Satan cannot lay hold of you to sever your relationship with God].

See the importance of this verse…when you break it down…word by word…phrase by phrase you see the eternal truths contained in this verse…this all goes back to Jesus is telling them…telling us… “do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you”.

God does not punish people…He doesn’t cause pain…sickness…or kill people… so…what’s the worst that happens to you?

It has nothing to do with physical harm…the worst is that sin severs our fellowship with God…it stops the Holy Sprit’s work in our lives…it opens the door for Satan to hamper God’s purpose in our lives.

SO…tointerpret Jesus’ words to mean you are no longer going to sin is incorrect …that’s not what that means.

In fact John confirms the fact that you are going to sin… ‘we are liars if we say that we do not have sin’ [1 John 1:8] …WARNING…that is not a license to sin.

Jesus’ words are actually a reminder to say NO to the sin that dwells in us…stop the desire before it conceives and becomes sin…because desire when conceived brings sin …and sin when completed brings death [Jas. 1:15]

As a Christian you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in you to help you stop the temptation from becoming sin…the phrase “do not sin anymore” is a sober warning regarding taking a casual position about how we approach sin.

This man’s physical healing was followed by a spiritual healing…earlier I said… Jesus exceeded this man’s expectations and gave the crippled man far more than he could have ever expected…you can’t have an encounter with Jesus and not be changed.

Jesus did this in two ways:

FIRST, He healed the man of a 38-year ailment.

SECONDLY the man had a personal encounter with God…after having come in contact with Jesus he was made aware of his sin…Jesus knew his heart…He wanted to emphasize the bad decision of returning to a lifestyle of sinful choices.

It’s what happens when Jesus has an encounter with us…when we enter into the Lords presence and behold His glory…His mercy…His perfection…His purity and holiness…we come face to face with our own sad imperfections…I like how Isaiah responded when being in the presence of God “Woe is me”.

Just being in His presence reveals the flaws in our lives and we immediately recognize the changes He wants to make in us.

God wants to have a personal encounter with us…He wants that every day of our lives…to have a personal encounter is for all, everyone (who) has been born of God…and  who are being indwelt by the Holy Spirit…it’s having a lifelong process of growing in the knowledge of Him.

5 ¹Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

² Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool…which is surrounded by five covered porches. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

¹⁰ and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”   —hey…not my idea—

¹² So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple…

Starting in Chapter 5 and going through Chapter 7 of John’s gospel there is a noticeable shift in Israel’s attitude toward Jesus…ranging from “I’m not sure” to outright rejection.

Chapters 5 and 7 describe the opposition that Jesus faced in Judea…while chapter 6 records the opposition in Galilee.

The first 16 verses of chapter 5…describes Jesus’ healing of a sick man on the Sabbath…this starts the beginning of that hostility…intensifying in chapter 6 when many of Jesus’ followers…unwilling to accept His teaching, abandoned Him. [6:66]

We see in Scripture that Jesus frequently chose to do miracles that alleviated people’s suffering…theologians believe that during the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ ministry that He practically eliminated all disease from Israel for the duration of His ministry… ‘great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all’ [Matt. 12:15] Jesus did so many miracles that the Bible doesn’t record them all.

Chapter 5 starts off with Jesus going “up to Jerusalem” where he encounters a sick man in Jerusalem at the pool called, in Hebrew, Bethesda.

5:5 – “A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.”

Jesus sees Him and asks him

5:6 – “…Do you wish to get well?”

This is the same question Jesus has been asking for over 2000 years…but He’s altered the question a bit…do you wish to get spiritually well…some people have not yet reached the place where they’re ready to accept Jesus’s help.

They’re not helpless enough yet…they’re not ready to give up on their human efforts to solve their problems…they’re not ready to stop what they’re doing… they’re not ready to admit they cannot make it on their own…they’re still determined to get into the water on their own.

Jesus is asking this question of every person who has ever lived…that requires an individual response…you have to answer that question…if you say, “Not yet,” or, “No, I don’t,” then there is nothing more Jesus can do for you.

LOOK what the man answers…he completely fails to grasp the significance of Jesus’ offer…instead of saying…yea, I’d like that…instead of asking Jesus for healing…the man’s reply is more of an automatic well-rehearsed response without really hearing what has been asked.

He’s had 38 years of practicing his reply which is designed more at making people dig in their pockets for coins rather than being healed…telling the same story he’s been telling for decades…he isn’t expecting healing…he’s expecting pity or charity. He expresses his belief in the healing power of the pool over the possibility that Jesus can heal him…completely ignoring Jesus’ request of ‘do you wish to get well’

5:7 – “…Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up…”

We hear little hope in the man’s sad reply…the possibility that Jesus might heal him never entered his mind…in fact…he didn’t even know who Jesus was [13] …

this man’s only concern was finding a way to be the first one into the pool when the water began stirring. Like many people today…this man’s expectation of what Jesus could do for him was limited to what he believed was possible.

At times we hamper God as well… HOW…couple ways: 1) we restrain God in what He can do based on our limited understanding of what we think He can do…and 2) we limit God by our disobedience and disbelief.

For this man, his belief was in what the Jews believed was the secret to healing:

5:4 – From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such  disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.

[[John 5:4…most reliable Greek manuscripts omit the last phrase of verse 3 and all of verse 4…was apparently added as a note to explain the stirring of the water]].

What seems clear is this stirring of the waters by an angel was a superstition that was believed by many…this man had more faith in a superstition about the stirring up of the waters healing him than he did that Jesus could heal him.

BUT Jesus exceeded his expectations and gave the crippled man far more than he could have ever expected…it’s God’s desire to do the same for us today…Paul writes ‘Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.’ [Eph 3:20]

God is unlimited in His abilities…we’re the ones that limit God…we restrain Him in what He can do based on our narrow understanding of what we think He can do… He’s only limited because of us…at times we find ourselves like the man at the pool forgetting that his power can exceed my expectations and do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

5:8 – “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk…”

Jesus doesn’t ask him if he has the faith to be healed…Jesus doesn’t debate with the man about his superstitious system for being healed…instead…He tells him… ‘Arise’… ‘take up’ …’walk’ …in the Greek all these are in the imperative voice…all are commands…not a suggestion …Jesus is telling the man to…stand…carry…and walk… Jesus’ healing was always complete and instantaneous…with or without faith.

5:9 – “Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk”

The man had a choice…to be made ‘well’ required obedience and a willingness to take Jesus at His word…the man had to take a risk…a belief in who Jesus was.

That was not even a consideration in Jesus’ decision to heal him…Jesus didn’t ask the man about his faith or his beliefs…Jesus heals this man without the man showing or demonstrating any faith that Jesus could actually heal Him.

In fact…he doesn’t even know who Jesus is…we’re not even sure why Jesus randomly picked this man out from among the many that were gathered there.

We need to know something about this story…like the story last week of Jesus healing the official’s son…if we just look at this story on the surface, we come away with a distorted understanding of how God works in the lives of people today.

What’s unique about the story last week as well as this story is that neither story has anything to do with salvation…in fact…the man at the pool had more belief in the healing power of the pool than he did in Jesus.

As you read this account you are so eager for this man to ‘see the light’ and come to the realization of who Jesus is…you’re almost willing to accept this as proof that he does believe…but the man exhibited absolutely no saving faith in Jesus at all.

If he had become a believer why doesn’t John mention it…because this man’s healing has nothing to do with salvation…yet he was healed instantly…Jesus is demonstrating His divine power as the Messiah.

Here’s the difference between then and now…we cannot expect…based on Scripture, that Jesus works the same way in the world today…without a belief that Jesus is God’s Son…you are in essence rejecting Him and as a result have automatically disqualified yourself from receiving anything from God.

The response of ‘well I guess I’ll give God a try’ …or ‘well I guess it never hurts to ask’ is not the attitude you can have in approaching God and expect to be heard.

FOUR REACTIONS

FIRST REACTION—was towards the healed man — when they (the Jews) saw him…either at the pool…or as he walked through the streets…or in the Temple with his bed on his back…look at their reaction…WHOA what’s this…hey pal it’s the Sabbath day…don’t you know…you new around here or maybe you’ve just forgotten?

It was forbidden by the law to carry any burden on the Sabbath day [Nehemiah 13:15] carrying out and bringing in anything, from one place to another, is said to be work…and therefore was forbidden by the law.

Violation of the sabbath meant you could be stoned to death so you can imagine what this guy is thinking…having gone 38 years of not being able to walk I’d really like to hang around long enough to enjoy it.

Remember Jesus’s instruction to the man…rise up…pick up your pallet…and walk …now the man could have thought to himself…what I’m doing is in violation of the Sabbath…and since I really don’t know who this guy was that healed me…I’m betting he might be a stranger and he’s probably not familiar with Jewish laws…so how-about I do this:

      I’ll have a friend put up my pallet tomorrow…or

      It’s time to celebrate…I’ll come back and get it up later…or

      I’ll just give it to the man next to me…his is kind a worn out.

The man was told to: “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk…” which he did.

Said it last week and I’m going to repeat it again this week…we see repeatedly throughout Scripture, see the importance of obedient faith…if we have true faith, we will be obedient to what God’s Word says and will respond with appropriate action …you can’t claim to have faith if you’re not obedient.

This is critical in understanding the importance of obedient faith…if a person professes to believe in Jesus as Lord of their life…but there’s only a scant evidence in their life that reflects that belief…that faith is not genuine.

SECOND REACTION – was towards Jesus.

5:16 – “For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.”

Actually…Scripture records seven miracles that Jesus performed on the Sabbath.

For the Jews…they don’t care that this man’s healed… all they know is this man has been a local fixture by the pool for thirty eight years…the priests couldn’t do anything for him…they didn’t have any power to help him…now he’s healed…but they don’t care about that…they only want to know when they can start chucking rocks.

For the Jews Jesus was not the God they wanted…they knew what to expect…but Jesus was not the Messiah they expected or wanted…people today are like that… they want a “god of my understanding” a homemade god…who fits their expectations.

Their views are not the views of any standard religion…for them…there is no judgement…no such thing as sin…if it feels good do it…he’s a god who treats everyone the same…where everyone gets saved…a god who is independent of Scripture…if that’s your god… then you have no god.

THIRD REACTION – Is the reaction of the healed man.

5:14 – “afterward Jesus finds him in the temple…

Why does Jesus find the man in the temple?

We’d like to think he’s there praising God and worshipping…I’d like to believe he’s showing gratitude for what has been given him…BUT…do you assume that just because someone goes to church that they’re there to worship God…that they’re there to worship Him in spirit and in truth…really?

People go to church for a lot of different reasons…just because people are in church is not proof of piety…people go to church out of duty…obligation…because going to church is what it means to be a Christian…to get their physical needs met…for personal gain…people go to church for a lot of reasons that don’t include worship, that’s the reason Jesus drove people out of the Temple.

For those going for the wrong reasons…worshiping in spirit and in truth is not one of them…when only 20% of professing Christians make it to church 3 out of 8 Sundays…for them I’m not sure worshiping in spirit and in truth is even a priority.  https://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html

In last week’s sermon I talked about the five stages of faith…the last stage was a ‘witnessing faith’ that includes not only telling others what God has done…but thanking God for what He has done…for a Christian there is no greater sin than ingratitude…not thanking God for what He has done…and for what He is doing.

I would like to believe that the man was in the Temple praising God and showing gratitude for what had happened in his life.

FOURTH REACTION – is of the Jews.

The Jews ignored the miracle…remember last week we talked about [John 4:48] – “…Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe”…why is it that the Jews would not believe…even after seeing the miracles Jesus performed?

Jesus said this as a prophetic utterance…not only of the Jews but as representing a whole class of people whose faith rests solely on outward signs and miracles as a confirmation of Christ being the Messiah.

Most of the world’s peoples…including here in the U.S., are power-oriented…they respond more readily to Christ through power…demonstrations…through healings …signs and miracles.

People are primarily curiosity seekers who come for the excitement…healing…and free food instead of hearing about faith…love… forgiveness…and redemption… because people on a whole are likely to have more response to demonstrations of power…than preaching.

This type of power had few if any lasting conversions…they saw the miracles but ignored them…WHY…because they were not devoted to Him as Lord…a prophetic statement that is just as accurate today as it was 2000 years ago.

SO…why is there no faith healing today…just mentioned one…this type of power had few if any lasting conversions…in Jesus’ case here’s how this works…one healing leads to many healings…once word gets out…by evening a horde of sick people are assembled outside His house…the more He heals the more come for healing…the emphasis switches from salvation to meeting people’s physical needs.

SO…where are all the TV faith healers of today…in times such as these why aren’t they up in New York City healing people…people are dying by the hundreds… where’s the faith healers…NO WHERE…because they can’t heal people…never have been able to heal people.

The only thing they’re good at is taking your money…these prosperity charlatans keep counting their money and there are plenty of people being duped into giving them money…they serve no purpose.  

So does Jesus care about these people dying from coronavirus…of course He does …BUT…He also knows dying…for whatever reason…is a never-ending problem.

It’s easy to look at this story and see the excitement of a man being healed after 38 years of not walking…Jesus has meet the man’s physical needs…it’s a problem I’m having with Somerset apartments…giving them food but not giving them spiritual guidance.

It’s important to remember that Jesus’ primary mission was not to heal…but to proclaim the good news of the Gospel…His healing ministry was secondary…His mission for coming to earth was to meet man’s basic problem of sin.

Said it earlier…without a belief that Jesus is God’s Son…you are in essence rejecting Him and as a result have automatically disqualified yourself from receiving anything from God.

⁴⁶ Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death.

⁴⁸ “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

⁴⁹ The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”

⁵⁰ “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.

In John’s gospel he writes about seven specific miracles of Jesus…for the sole purpose ‘that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God’ [John 20:31] the whole purpose of John’s gospel is summed up in that one verse.

This morning’s message focuses on the story I just read…an incident that occurred at the place of Jesus’ first public miracle in Galilee where He turned water into wine…there He’s approached by a nobleman…John calls him a ‘royal official’…a government official holding some high position in Herod’s court…a person in dire need of Jesus’ help.

Here’s something we need to know about this story…if we just look at this story on the surface, we come away with a distorted understanding of how God works in the lives of people today.

THREE THINGS…FIRST…what is unique about this story is that although the nobleman is seeking Jesus’ help for his son…it has nothing to do with salvation… SECONDLY…Jesus works differently in the lives of people today than how He  worked in this situation…THIRD…it reveals the various stages of growing faith that everyone…who has ever come to Christ experiences; The five stages of faith.

First Stage is a Beginning Faith. Realizing there’s a desperate need and Jesus is the only person who can help (v.46-47).

While in the city of Cana an official of the King’s royal court approached Jesus…a man in good social standing being a person of authority…he has a major crisis in his life…his son is at the point of death and comes to Jesus for help.

We can’t prevent people from hurting…God can’t prevent people from hurting… our living in this world means life is going to be painful…whether you’re an official in government…the King himself…or just a common person—it doesn’t matter—there will eventually come a day when every person needs help…the disasters of life are beyond any one single person’s control. No one is exempt.

Problems are no respecter of persons…position …or authority…the action of this man demonstrates that; what’s involved in beginning faith… Realizing there’s a desperate need and Jesus is the only person who can help (v.46-47).

How do we react when such events come to us? …What will we do…will we be beaten down by them or will we triumph over them in complete victory?

This man is facing a severe disaster in his life…he comes to the only person who could help—Jesus.

He has decided to act…despite what society dictates is best…for the official it was not the socially acceptable thing to seek the help of a Jew…BUT…the man didn’t let his high position keep him from Jesus…he didn’t wrap himself in pride or allow what others might say to keep him away…he swallowed his pride and confessed his need in the face of all who ridiculed him and went to Jesus.

How many times do you see that happen in people’s lives…a crisis must develop in people’s lives before they choose to seek God…human nature…when things are going well who needs Jesus…why go to Church…but…when all other avenues are exhausted, they turn to the only true source of help…Jesus.

Unfortunately, it usually takes “a desperate need” for many to come to the Lord… going back to the coronavirus…for many it does take a crisis to get our attention …to get us focused on Him…how many more people are praying today that weren’t praying a week ago…I’d say quite a few more…this has got someone’s attention.

Often times it takes a tragedy in our life before we come to Christ…note what he had to do if he believed Jesus was the answer to his dilemma…he had to come out of his self-reliant cocoon and make a conscious decision to trust in Jesus.

We don’t know what illness the man’s son may have had but the man’s request of ‘come down and heal his son’ appears that whatever the illness was he clearly expected the boy to die from it.

Again…it’s important to understand that this story…like many other healing stories in the New Testament are unique in how God deals with people then and now.

If we look at this story just on the surface, we come away with a distorted understanding of what the intent was.

During Jesus’s time on earth His emphasis was on performing signs and wonders for the single purpose of revealing His divine nature.

God dealing in the life of people was… ‘that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God’ [John 20:31] …that was accomplished by performing signs and miracles for the purpose of demonstrating His power…so people would recognize Him as the Messiah.

The misunderstanding today is based off Jesus’ immediate response to the request …implying that anyone can simply ask God and it will be done…that is not biblical.

This story is NOT recorded to suggest that just asking God to do something will cause God to do it…OR…that God performs miracles because He has nothing better to do.

If a person believes strongly enough that Jesus can perform miracles…then that belief should cause them to also recognize His claim regarding who He is and why He came.

He wasn’t just hanging out in heaven one day and decided to come down and visit. If you’re seeking Jesus for help then you’ve already come to the understanding that there’s something supernatural about Him…or you wouldn’t be asking Him for help in the first place.

If you believe that Jesus can perform miracles then you must have some assessment of who He is…and an idea of why He came…which is to meet your spiritual need before He meets you physical need…that need is your salvation.

At that point you’re just like the man in this story…you’ve come to the realization that Jesus is the only person who can help because salvation is found in no one else [Acts 4:12].

That’s the difference between then and now…Scripture is clear…it’s true that it is God’s desire to provide everything necessary for the spiritual…material… physical …and eternal good of His people…but that’s conditional…it is based on our fellowship with Him.

Without being in fellowship with Jesus by first accepting Him as Lord and Savior means you have no access to Him…Jesus helping this man was out of the need to reveal who He was…Jesus helping us today requires we understand there are conditions that must be met before your prayers will be heard.

It’s important to understand that you asking and God reacting is conditional…it’s based on you trusting Him as your Savior…is this man asking out of faith? …Yes he is…but it’s not saving faith…it’s a faith that believes Jesus can heal.

Scripture says; ‘he went to him and was imploring Him to come heal his son’

What is the character of a faithful person? …it has nothing to do with gender …or race…or any other human traits…it’s realizing there’s a desperate need and Jesus is the only person who can help…here we see the second stage:

Second Stage was a Persistent Faith. Persistence means not giving up (v.48-49).

One characteristic of a faithful person is persistence

Genuine faith does not give up…often times Jesus puts up barriers…not because He’s being cruel…but because He’s giving us a life lesson…often times He tests our faith by setting up obstacles…WHY…not to keep us away…but to draw us closer.

Ever felt that way…I’m praying but I’m not seeing any results…here and in other instances in the Bible we see a side of Jesus not often found in Scripture…Jesus puts up barriers…not because He’s being cruel…in this instance to give the disciples a life lesson.

He’s using the occasion to show the disciples:

          1)  The Character of a faithful person.

          2)  The Character of God

Notice Jesus’ response to the nobleman…the reply of Jesus seems like a heartless rejection… ‘Unless you people see the signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.’

When looking at Jesus’ response He uses the word ‘you’ …in the Greek it’s obvious that Jesus is not talking to just this man…the word ‘you’ (ἴδητε) is second person plural meaning ‘you all’ …all of you… I’m talking to each and every one of you…the better translation is ‘unless you people’

Jesus’ response seems to insinuate that the official…like the rest of the Galileans… was only asking for something so he could see a miracle…so the statement without signs and wonders you simply will not believe seems a little coarse…in the Greek that is exactly what that means οὐ(no) μὴ(not) a double negative… ‘you will never’

The man was in no position to argue…not even to think through what Jesus had just said…he was desperate…a disaster had stricken his life…he believed Jesus was the only One who could help him and he was determined to secure Jesus’ help.

He persevered…he cried out, “Lord come down before my child dies.”

This man did not allow Jesus’ rebuke to deter him…he was relentless…he kept after Jesus…in the Greek the imperfect tense of the verb ‘was asking’ (ἠρώτα erota, to ask or request) impliesrepeated or persistent action…the request was not casual but insistent.

Persistence means not giving up…persistence was absolutely necessary in securing the Lord’s help…when we cease to be persistent it shows that we don’t believe God will answer…despite the Lord’s hesitation the man refused to give up …this man did not allow the Lord’s hesitation to stop him.

Most people would have said… “Well, so much for that message of compassion you’re always preaching about…so much for that fruits of the Spirit…I always knew Christianity was a narrow-minded bigoted religion…I want nothing to do with a God or a religion like that.”

In the case of the nobleman…he must have heard the reports that Jesus had healed people in Jerusalem…learning that Jesus had returned to Galilee the man sought Jesus out and urged him to heal his son who was dangerously ill.

In traveling to Cana the man knew he would be gone for many hours…imagine the anxiety and fear realizing that his son might die while he was away.

Think about this man’s situation for a movement…the man would literally have to tear himself away from his son…such an act shows how strongly he believed that Jesus could help him.

The man had to travel almost a day’s journey to reach Jesus…Capernaum was about twenty miles from Cana…I’m sure there was the obvious concern and apprehension on the part of the father as he wondered if he should leave his son’s side…the fact that he persevered and kept his eyes on the hope of Jesus shows his faith that Jesus was able to help his son.

Third Stage was a Trusting, Obedient Faith (v.50).  Jesus’s Wordalone is enough

Jesus had to teach the man that His Wordalone was enough…his faith had nothing to do with saving faith…for him obedient faith was a child like faith…a faith that consisted of having the assurance and trusting that Jesus could do what He said… but for Christians it’s far more intense than that.

We read these parables and too often have a distorted understanding of what obedient faith involves…I want you to see how important obedient faith is in the life of a Christian.

In the book of Romans Paul uses the phrase… ‘the obedience of faith’ in chapter 1:5 …then at the close of the book in the last chapter in the next to the last verse again uses the same phrase ‘the obedience of faith’…that phrase is the book ends for the book of Romans…it’s used in the first chapter…it’s used in the last chapter.

Faith requires obedience from us…there are precepts…there is knowledge…and there are commands which we as Christians must be obedient to…faith and obedience are two sides of the same coin.

If we have true faith we will be obedient to what God’s Word says and will respond with appropriate action…we will be obedient and base our life upon its promises and demands…you can’t claim to have faith if you’re not obedient.

This is important because many today have turned faith into a kind of self-help, self-affirming thing where the role of faith and religion is to ‘comfort me’…togive me meaning that ‘pleases me’ to make me feel good.

People talk about the “god of my understanding” …if that understanding is independent of Scripture then you have no understanding…you’re just inventing your own god and worship…this is how I think of God…it’s called being “spiritual but not religious” …ever heard that.

These people describing themselves as being ‘not religious’ are saying…their views are not the views of any of the standard religions …more specifically what they’re saying is they’re rejecting religion, including the organized church.

In such a view, “god” becomes a kind of divine butler whose role is to fetch…to provide for me and console me…they want a god who doesn’t says ‘no’ to what I want… or who will not ask me to endure difficult things.

The “Jesus I know” or the “god of my understanding” is fine with almost any sin…gone is any demand to repent or to come to conversion…the only thing the ‘god of my understanding’ demands is that I learn to love and accept myself just as I am…and others just as they are…I’m OK you’re OK…no you’re not.

For the Christian…obedient faith continues to grow by searching God’s Word and allowing it to search me…wherever God is speaking to you hear what He’s saying and act on it…when God puts His finger on an area of sin…obedient faith responds …even if it’s difficult or inconvenient….That’s obedient faith.

I want to share this with you…here’s how I would define obedient faith…if a person professes to believe in Jesus as Lord of their life…but there’s only a scant evidence in their life that reflects that belief…that faith is not genuine.

I want to just for a moment to share with you how important that is…here’s what ‘faith that is not genuine’ means…Jesus Himself gives us a clear revelation of that.

We have duped people into believing that just walking the aisle…making a profession of faith…and being baptized is all that’s needed to get my ticket punched to go to heaven…the idea that I can then go out and live a life exactly like I’ve been living it is OK because I’m now a Christian…is a lie from hell.

Here’s what Jesus says about that; Luke 12:47 ⁴⁷“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows”.  

Matthew records two parables concerning that very statement…one is the parable of the Ten Virgins and the other the Parable of the Talents…both are dealing with Christians…in one parable Jesus tells them ‘I don’t know you’ [Matt. 25:12] and in the other one Jesus says throw the servant ‘into outer darkness’ [Matt. 25:30].

Not what you want to hear from Jesus…but that is exactly what millions of people are going to hear because they have been fooled into believing they’re saved and they’re not…that’s the whole purpose of these two parables…it all has to do with obedient faith.

Clearly…there are degrees of punishment as well as degrees in glory…both are distinctly spoken of…and both center around obedient faith.

Fourth Stage was a Confirmed Faith. Believing without seeing (v.51-53).

Note the words “as he was now going” …the nobleman was on his way home… ‘The man took Jesus at his word and departed’ [50] …he was in the act of believing and obeying…believing without seeing…belief…persistence…and obedience.

THINK about this…if the father had refused to return home without taking Jesus with him…it would show that he didn’t believe Jesus’ words ‘Go’ your son lives’ BUT…if he trusted Jesus, he would be willing to return home with no outward assurance…only trusting Jesus’ claim that his son would recover.

The man was forced to make the difficult choice between insisting on evidence or exercising faith without any tangible proof to encourage him—he ‘believed the word that Jesus spoke’ …he believed immediately and headed home to his son…he acted on his faith…“seeing is believing” is not theChristian approach. [John 11:40; 20:29].

This man believed without seeing…he heard, and he took Jesus at His word “Go, your son lives” and headed home…that’s faith.

In this man Jesus heard and saw what He wanted to hear and see:

1) He came to Jesus with reverence…he came with no pride, the man implored Jesus to heal his son.  

2) He came to Jesus with humility…he called Jesus by His title, Lord.  

3) He came to Jesus with faith…with no self-will…with no right…only the absolute conviction that Jesus had the power to heal.

4) He came to Jesus with action…he was persistent…he reached out to God and stayed persistent in his request.

Fifth Stage Was a Witnessing Faith. Telling others what God has done (v.53-54)

The man was a witness in “his whole house.” …he told them about the experience he had with Jesus…the Word of promise Jesus had given him was all that was needed for his son to be healed…and the proof they needed to believe.

Witnessing for Jesus was not easy for this man…he was a high official who would face the possibility of ridicule…possible persecution…perhaps the loss of his position in government…and even loss of life…But note…his faith was a witnessing faith…he testified to others about what Jesus had done for him.

In the story of the woman at the well we’ve previously talked about…you have to marvel at the woman who was willing to make her shameful life the principle evidence that God caused a transformation in her life…evidence that would eventually lead an entire city to the Lord…not a small thing she did.

The account she gave was so plain and honest they concluded He must be the Messiah.

No person will obey Christ unless they truly believe in Christ…if you don’t believe in Christ, you’re probably not going to live a life that reflects Christian principles …in the Bible the person who obeys Christ is the person who believes in Christ.

In the past weeks we have looked at what the Bible defines as necessary for eternal life…the most important component being faith…the five stages of faith are the components collectively that fall under the heading of ‘belief’.

Belief leads to faith…when someone believes something, he has faith…true faith leads to salvation which culminates in true worship…these are the evidence that you are a follower of Jesus.

I want to share with you this morning a story about two men…one you probably already know a lot about…the second…if you’re unfamiliar with some of the New Testament…you’re probably not as familiar with.

What one man did and said has everything to do with Resurrection Sunday.

He’s a man who was sent to replace his mostly-inept predecessor as the governor of the Roman province of Judea.

This man had one basic goal: Keep the peace, keep the lid on, don’t let things boil over…but that was not going to be easy because there was already in progress a tense situation that had developed between the Jews and Rome even before this new governor took office.

A situation that showed signs of a revolution…primarily because the Jews were noted for being a rebellious bunch that lacked the art of submission.

The new governor hardly steps off the boat from Italy when he runs into his first problem…there’s a man in prison in Caesarea…seems he did something to upset the Jewish leaders.

This new leader is not acquainted with Jewish law…as a result he cannot understand the charges brought against the man in jail…his Roman background prevents him from understanding why the Jews would want to kill this man simply because he keeps talking about a dead man named Jesus who he claims is alive [Acts 25:19]. 

To the new governor it’s all vague and confusing….so three days—just three days—after he takes office, he makes the 60-mile trip from Jerusalem to Caesarea to first…make a social call and pay his respects to the Sanhedrin…the Jewish religious council…and secondly… to find out why they are so intense about killing this guy in jail.

If you’re familiar with this story you probably already guessed the man in jail is Paul…he had been there for two years because the previous governor, wishing to do the Jews a favor, left him imprisoned [Acts 24:27].

The new Roman governor is Festus…once in Jerusalem he’s confronted by the chief priests and leaders who are bringing many and serious charges against Paul which they could not prove…they couldn’t prove them because they weren’t true.

Paul simply says to Festus, “I’m not guilty of anything. I committed no offense against the law of the Jews …against the Temple…or against Caesar”.

Need to understand that Festus…the governor…is not a bad man…he’s basically a new man on the scene…he doesn’t know Paul…he doesn’t know Jewish law…he’s a Roman governor…this whole case is a mystery to him.

Festus…wanting to do the Jews a favor, asks Paul if he is willing to go back to Jerusalem and stand trial there.

Paul then throws a wrench in the works…FIRST…he says, “I’m a Roman citizen and I ought to be tried right here…if I’m guilty, punish me. If I’m innocent, release me.

Paul is unwilling to go back to Jerusalem…Scripture reveals that if he had consented to return to Jerusalem the Jews were setting an ambush to kill him on the way.

Even if that failed…if he made it back to Jerusalem safely…the Jews would at least have the home field advantage at the trial to press their charges.

Then the SECOND thing Paul says will change the course of his life forever. He says the words, “I appeal to Caesar.” (25:11)…need to understand the importance of that statement.

In the days of the Roman Empire only a few were actual Roman citizens…in fact it was hard be a Roman citizen…in the first century there were over 50 million inhabitants of the Roman empire but only about 5 million—only 10% of the entire population—were considered to be full Roman citizens. (The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity (James S. Jeffers, IVP Academic, 1999))

To be a Roman citizen was considered very prestigious…it was an honor…one of the benefits of being a Roman citizen was that if you were charged with a crime and felt you weren’t getting a fair hearing you had the right to skip all the lower courts and make an appeal all the way up to Caesar himself.  

Such a person would be sent directly to Rome to have an audience with Caesar…it was like appealing to the Supreme Court…there was only one catch. Once you made such an appeal, you couldn’t change your mind later.

Now…this many sound like a history lesson but it’s pertinent to the story…at this point two other people enter the story—man by the name of King Agrippa II and his sister Bernice…it was his father…Herod Agrippa I, who murdered the Apostle James and put Peter in jail.

Herod Agrippa II is king of a tiny territory northeast of the Sea of Galilee…he has no authority in Judea but he is someone who is well-versed in the Jewish religion… he and his sister have come to Caesarea to pay their respects to the new governor.

While they are there…because Agrippa has a history of the Jewish religion…Festus decides to ask for Agrippa’s help…Agrippa doesn’t have to consent…this isn’t his  territory…he’s being more or less a friendly consultant in the matter.

Agrippa is different than Festus…in addition to knowing Jewish law he also knows quite a bit about Jesus and His death…so he says, “I would like to hear this man myself.” And Festus says, “Tomorrow you will.” (25:22)

Now listen to how the new governor Festus states the case against Paul.

There is a certain man here whom Felix left as a prisoner…the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned. I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges…When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. I was at a loss how to investigate such matters. (Acts 25:14-20)

It’s been over 2,000 years and the struggle still continues…in these words you get an insight into how the secular mind deals with the Resurrection.

Did you get that? “A dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive” and the clincher: “I was at a loss how to investigate such matters.” [25:20] …you see, Roman law didn’t cover resurrections. Insurrections, yes. Resurrections, no.

It’s just too much to comprehend…the words of Festus rings across the centuries—”I was at a loss how to investigate such matters.” …of course he was, and every modern-day Festus stumbles over the Resurrection in the same exact way…walking away scratching his head.

The accusations against Paul are really summed up in one sentence which is the whole problem of Resurrection Sunday… ‘a dead man named Jesus whom Paul asserted to be alive [25:29] …Paul believed it…the Jews didn’t believe it…. and the Romans couldn’t understand it. The Jews said Jesus was dead, Paul said he was alive.

To Festus, it’s all incomprehensible…he’s never heard anything like this before… he doesn’t know what to say…how to react…or even where to begin.

Paul isn’t guilty of anything…he’s not a murderer…or a thief…he’s not a criminal …maybe a little over enthusiastic about this resurrection thing. But that’s it.

Festus represents all the broad-minded people of the world…when people come face to face with a true believer, they don’t know what to say…they don’t even know where to begin…Festus doesn’t believe it but he doesn’t know what to do with it either.

For 2,000 years the world has looked at the Resurrection in exactly the same manner as Festus…they hear the words…they know what we as Christians believe …there’s not a person in this country that’s not familiar with Easter…but they don’t know what to do with it.

It’s still a problem today…unbelief has a thousand excuses…some people refuse to believe that God raises the dead because they’ve never seen it happen and they only believe what they see…in fact the wording in the Greek suggests that…it reads: ‘why is it considered unbelievable by you if God raises the dead?’

People confess… “If I can’t do it and I don’t know anyone who can do it, therefore I don’t think it can be done.” …NOW I freely admit that in one sense reality is on the side of unbelief…there are plenty of funerals…but…where are the resurrections? That’s because the problem is if I can see…I’m not believing it.  

I believe the issue is not…intellectual…scientific…mechanical…or biological…as if we had to somehow understand how the dead could be raised…in the end…the problem is a matter of the heart.

Many people simply do not believe what God has said…they worship their own intellect…if they can’t explain something, they assume it can’t be true.

But for the Christian the truth is…if God can create and give life…why can’t He do it again after death?

Our deeper struggle comes when we stand by a casket and look down at the face of someone we love…many of us even Christians at that moment wonder… “Is it possible that I will really again see this person?” Death seems so final.

During those times we need more than arguments from logic or philosophy…we need hard facts…well, Scripture gives us those hard facts if people would simply observe them.

There seems to be confusion regarding the length of time Jesus spent in the grave…most people believe Jesus’ crucifixion took place on Good Friday…and He was back to life on Sunday…two days.

According to Jewish law, to be declared legally dead, a person had to be dead for three FULL days or more…that’s why Jesus delayed four days before going to the tomb of Lazarus…therefore, if Jesus had risen from the dead before being in the grave 3 days, He would not have been considered legally dead.

The Bible nowhere states that Jesus’ crucifixion was on a Friday…scholars assume Jesus died on Friday, thus promoting a Good Friday hoax… Scripture clearly says Jesus was in the grave for three days…Mark 8:31; Matthew 27:63…other verses say “in three days” (Matthew 26:61, 27:40, John 2:19 – 20, Mark 14:58, 15:29)…still others speak of “the third day” (Mark 9:31, 10:34, Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 20:19, 27:64, Luke 9:22, 18:33, 24:7, 21, 46, Acts 10:40, 1Corinthians 15:4).

This then, is the order of events:

Wednesday night: Last Supper in the Upper Room, and the arrest in Gethsemane
Thursday morning: Conclusion of Trials and Crucifixion
Thursday afternoon: Death at 3pm… Burial before 6pm Counting of days begins.
Thursday Day ends at 6pm: Day 1
Friday Night starts at 6pm: Night 2
Friday Day end at 6pm: Day 2
Saturday Night starts at 6pm: Night 3
Saturday Day end at 6pm: Day 3
Jesus rises on Sunday

After His resurrection He gave us more than ample evidence that He rose from the grave…appearing to least 10 different times to hundreds of people.

• He appeared first of all to Peter. I Corinthians 15:5
• He appeared to Mary Magdalene. See Mark 16:9
• He appeared to two disciples as they were walking to Emmaus. Luke 24:13–15
• He appeared to all eleven of the apostles the same day. John 20:19; Luke 24:33–36
• He appeared to more than five hundred at one time. 1 Corinthians 15:6
• He appeared to James. I Corinthians 15:7
• He appeared to the eleven apostles again, one week later. John 20:26
• He appeared to seven of the apostles while they were fishing. John 21:1
• His disciples saw Him ascend into heaven. Acts 1:9
• He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. I Corinthians 15:8

TWO THINGS

First…what were the Romans…and especially the Jews thinking during the 40 days Jesus walked the earth after His resurrection… ‘uh, didn’t we just kill this guy’ really…no one thought it strange He’s up walking around…performing miracles …and talking to people…not even people who had known Him recognized Him.

Why was He unrecognizable?

1. They were not looking for a resurrected Jesus…He was dead.

2. He was not recognizable because He existed in a greater dimension of reality…’He appeared to them in a different form [Mark 16:12]…Jesus was not physical as we are physical…what’s that mean…He could pass through walls and unlocked doors…appearing and disappearing at will…I’d say He was not as physical as we are.

3. Jesus was in His transformed resurrected body…they were unable to see Him fully with their mortal eyes ‘their eyes were opened and they recognized Him’ [Luke 24:31].

Second thing…It’s amazing that Christians around the world celebrate Lent…as Southern Baptists we don’t observe Lent…nothing wrong with Lent…Lent is the 47 days between Ash Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday…it’s the Christian season of spiritual preparation before Easter.

During Lent Christians observe a period of fasting…repentance…moderation… self-denial… spiritual discipline…reading the Bible…and spending more time in prayer to draw nearer to God…isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing every day?

What we really should think more about are the 40 days after His resurrection…that time that showed the world that He lived again…His physical Resurrection and bodily ascension into Heaven to join the Father at the Throne confirmed the Divinity of Jesus.

Is it difficult to believe that God raises the dead? …not if we believe in God! …not if we believe the testimony of God.

For those who don’t believe in God or in the testimony of God no argument will ever suffice…there is nothing you can say that will cause them to believe…but for those believing in God and His testimony…no arguments are needed.

If God can raise Jesus then He can also raise your loved ones who are now dead…is it any harder for God to raise 10 million people than to raise one?

If God can raise the dead…what difference does it make as to how many…the cause of death…the location of the remains…none of it matters to God…that’s irrelevant.

This line of reasoning answers the question about those whose bodies were destroyed in a fire or who were lost at sea…God will have no trouble reassembling the atoms that make up the molecules that constitute the bodies of those who died believing in Jesus…there is not a place anywhere on earth that will not give up the dead on the day when Jesus calls them from the grave.

Paul’s defense before Festus and Agrippa in Acts 26 is the greatest defense of the Christian message in the N. T. …in many ways it’s the climax of the book of Acts.

Paul retells the story of his conversion and proclaims the power of the Resurrection …Paul’s explanation to the king resonates across the centuries: “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:7) …that is the question of the ages.

He adds these words in [v 22] “…I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Christ would suffer and, as be the first to rise from the dead…”

Paul’s not adding any hype to the story…. ‘just the facts ma’am’ …Festus reacts the way all doubters react…it’s just too much to take…Festus interrupts Paul and shouts, You’re out of your mind, Paul! [26:24] …no sane man can talk that way… that statement is the final verdict of the secular mind.

Truth or the possibility of truth doesn’t enter in because everyone knows that dead men stay dead…there simply was no category for this strange doctrine…for Festus he concludes that Paul, who is obviously a well-educated and brilliant man, had simply gone crazy because Festus can’t really think of anything else to say [26:24].

For Festus unless he’s ready to become a Christian, he must say Paul is crazy…for Festus, only two alternatives are possible…it’s the greatest question of life… Either I believe him for who He is…or I reject him and His claims. Yes or no.

Still the question plagues modern man. Who is this Jesus of Nazareth? It’s been 2,000 years but Festus is still with us…there are two things the people of the world cannot understand.

First, they cannot understand the Resurrection…it’s a miracle which baffles the mind…it seems man has an answer for everything, but he’s still baffled by an empty tomb he cannot deal with.

Secondly, because they can’t deal with the Resurrection, they can’t figure out anyone who can. They think we’ve all gone nuts.

We’re in agreement with the words of Paul when he replied to Festus…we’re not mad…what we believe is both true and reasonable…the evidence is there for all to see…the empty tomb is still empty. No one has ever found the bones of Jesus. No one ever will.

As far as being a myth or legend, the Resurrection of Jesus stands as the best-attested fact in all human history…a certainty that invites everyone—skeptics and scholars alike—to examine the evidence.

What should we do with all this? If you’ve never made the choice, it’s time to come to grips with it…where do you stand on the question of Jesus Christ? …with Festus or with Paul?  …with secular man or with the church?

No question is more important… more crucial…more vital…your eternal destiny is riding on it.

This is the greatest issue of life…the issue of Jesus and your relation to him…there are only two alternatives…either you believe Him for who He is or you reject Him and His claims…there’s no middle ground.

Resurrection Sunday…or Easter as the world calls it…will never be Easter for you until you make the determined decision to accept Jesus into your life…and realize the promise that Jesus made…that whoever believes in Me will never die…it’s a promise for the believer that death ceases to be death at all.

That which God did for Jesus he will also do for those who follow Jesus in faith.

This morning I want to talk to you about something that I think every preacher in America has preached on…the Coronavirus…for the past three/four weeks I have listened to a number of people talk about this virus…not from a medical standpoint but reading and listening to countless opinions from pastors as to the reason for the virus.

As a result, I have been burdened to speak about what is occurring…for that reason I have spent more time preparing for this sermon than any I have preached at the Branches in the over 3 years I have been pastor.  

Whenever something tragic happens in life the first question is usually why…SO… what is the ‘why’ of the virus…how did the outbreak start…is it a curse from God …is God judging America…is this the start of the end times? These are some of questions that are being asked and unfortunately have been answered incorrectly.

I think the Biblical response by some is less than accurate…I was studying [2 Cor.] last week and read a verse that really spoke to me about those trying to put a ‘reason’ on why this virus even exists…2 Corinthians is a letter written by Paul to those who are in the ministry…in fact the title of 2 Corinthians could be entitled ‘Who is Adequate for the Ministry.’

Among other things Paul asks the question of those entering the ministry… ‘who is adequate to preach and to lead the Lord’s people’ …it should not be like the ‘many, peddling the word of God’ [2:17] BUT should be from sincerity as from God.

Paul says those entering the ministry should not be adequate in themselves or consider anything as coming from themselves…in other words not preaching from self-interest or what I want people to hear that will be the most pleasing to them.  

BUT rather Paul says… ‘our competency is from God’ [3:5] meaning preaching in sinceritywithout error…unfortunately that has not been the case in some instances and especially with regards to the coronavirus.  

Let me share with you some facts about the coronavirus…the source of the coronavirus is believed to have originated in a “wet market” in Wuhan China…a wet market is an outdoor market that sells both dead and live animals.

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause disease in both animals and humans…coronaviruses originate in animals and are usually not transmissible to humans but because hygiene standards are difficult to maintain in such markets, they pose a heightened risk of viruses spreading from animals to animals and from animals to humans…and because they are typically densely packed it allows the disease to spread more easily from species to species.

The source of Covid-19 has not been positivity identified, but the origin is thought to have come from bats…bats were not sold at the Wuhan market in China and may have infected live chickens or other animals that were sold there…and then was passed on to humans.

As strange as that sounds…bats are the source of other coronaviruses…they have discovered that bats may have as many as 200 different types of coronaviruses … bats are a common cause of some of the most deadly coronaviruses.

I have read what some preachers believe is the reason for the virus…not the cause, the reason…some of the reasons people are giving as to ‘why’ is border line ridiculous…their biblical interpretation of what is occurring and why it is occurring is seriously misleading.

That is why I want to share with you this morning what the coronavirus is not.

FIRST — the Coronavirus is not the beginning of the end of the world.  

If social media serves no other purpose it reveals how dumb people are… conspiracy theorists proclaiming, ‘the day of reckoning has begun’ …using [Matt. 24] as the foundation for such outlandish claims…they base their reasoning on Jesus’ outline of certain events that will occur before He returns…one sign is pestilence.

They have attempted to tie the coronavirus to Jesus’ statement that this is one of the signs of the last days…a sign that is the beginning of sorrows.

In addition, they use [2 Tim. 3:1] that states in the last days perilous times will come…or make reference to the fourth horseman in Revelation who rides the pale horse of pestilence.

A Florida minister (Rick Wiles) has stressed that such a plague is part of the “end times,” tribulation that precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ.

SO…are we approaching the ‘end times?’ …there is certainly a fearful anxiety that has descended on humanity…and if a person was completely ignorant about what the Bible says about the End Times, they may think these people are right.

Jesus’ statement in [Matt. 24] about the signs of the last days…[2 Timothy’s] reference to the last days…and the fourth horseman in Revelation are events that will occur…they are in the Bible…they will occur…BUT …they will occur in a future period of time…a time that will be immediately before Jesus physically

 comes back to earth…EVERYBODY…that time is not now.

It’s important to understand that Jesus’ return to earth is in two stages…the first stage is where He comes back invisibly to take all Christians and all Christians who have died up into Heaven…called the Rapture…the second stage is when Jesus comes physically back to earth at the end of the Tribulation.

Matthew 24…2 Timothy…and Revelation are talking about a time just before Jesus’ physical return to earth…a time after the rapture…and since you’re all still here…that’s a clear indication the Rapture has not yet happened…so the idea of the coronavirus being tied to the end times is without merit.

This isn’t the first pandemic that has occurred in America or the world.

—In 1917 Spanish influenza killed millions of people worldwide. 675,000 in U.S.

—In 1957 the Asian flu killed over 116,000.

—In 2009-2010 the swine flu caused more than 12,000 deaths in the U.S.

—In 2014 the Ebola virus killed over 11,000 people.

—In 2018 the flu—data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—  killed 61,000 Americans.

—An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications last winter…the deadliest season in more than four decades.

This is not the beginning of the birth pains as described by Jesus in Matthew 24…or the fourth horseman of Revelation…this is another strain of coronavirus that is infecting the world.

SECOND thing I want to share with you this morning is that the Coronavirus is not God punishing the United States.

At times like this everybody’s either a psychic or a Theologian…everybody has their own opinion based on very little evidence because they have very little knowledge.

You’re probably all familiar with the well know theologian and Biblical scholar Kourtney Kardashian …there are times that you see more of her than you hear from her.

She recently shared a Bible passage on social media where she suggests the virus is God punishing an evil world with an “epidemic.” …she quotes from [2 Chron. 7:13].

“Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send a pestilence among my people, if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins and make their land prosperous again.”

I have no idea how Ms. Kardashian found this verse…who showed it to her…or how she remotely thinks it is applicable in this situation…BUT she’s not the only person who is completely misguided regarding the coronavirus.

A pastor (Ralph Drollinger) who holds regular Bible studies on Capitol Hill for members of President  Trump’s cabinet is suggesting that the coronavirus is God’s wrath on America due to widespread…immorality…abortion…homosexuality… gender nonconformity and what he calls a “religion of environmentalism”.

Probably what bothers me more than his unfounded assessment of the reason for the coronavirus is the fact that he’s advising the President that these are the causes this virus exits…that’s a little dangerous.

A Florida minister (Rick Wiles) said the virus is a “plague” sent by God. “My spirit bears witness that this is a genuine plague that is coming upon the earth.”

It’s important to understand the context in which this verse was written …with respect to 2 Cor. 7 which Ms. Kardashian shared…the first thing to do is to look at the whole passage to see whether it applies to us.

The context in 2 Chronicles 7 is a conversation between God and Solomon…it’s imperative to know that this verse was directed to Solomon regarding Israel’s faithfulness to Him…it’s a promise God made to ancient Israel that if Israel obeyed God, they will be blessed …if they disobey, they will be judged.

In essence God was telling Israel…I’m the reason for your lack of peace… I’m behind your disturbances…God troubled them because they no longer took Him seriously …they had replaced the true God with false gods…there was a void of teaching priests …they had left out ‘thus says the Lord’ …they had dumbed down the Bible.

It has nothing to do with the U. S. because the U.S. does not have the same covenant relationship with God that Israel enjoyed …the statement ‘My people who are called by My name’ they claim is in reference to the Church…it’s not.

Look again…God tells Solomon ‘I have heard your prayer’ speaking specifically to Solomon…let me just be very blunt with you…the application of this verse to America makes about as much sense as hoarding toilet paper.

BUT can Christians in America find an appropriate application from [2 Chron. 7]… is there a timeless theological principal in that verse…YES there is…is it a warning with a principal that can be applied to us today? …YES…because like Israel we too have dumbed down the Bible…HOW…by not preaching on what God says about living a Christian lifestyle…instead:

…accepting what is popular

…what is preferred

…preaching to fill churches rather than preaching God’s Word.

…replacing the true God with false religions

…accepting what I believe to be true

…what the media says is right

…what is politically correct

…what society says over ‘thus says the Lord’.

As bad as that is…it doesn’t mean that God has abandoned America…quite the opposite…my Bible says God will never leave you nor forsake you [Heb 13:5] because God always takes advantage of every situation to do something…and here’s what that something is.

God is wanting us to become personally involved with Him in all areas of our life… but for many it takes a crisis to get our attention…to get us focused on Him…how many more people are praying today that weren’t praying a week ago…I’d say quite a few more…this has got someone’s attention…how about a month ago.

Here’s the problem…and it’s ugly…this is the problem with America spiritually …if you think you can go from NO Bible…NO God…being indifferent…having no interest in church…living as you please…how your parents say…what professors say…what is politically correct…living a life that is self-sufficient…indifferent… callused… and self-centered…then when trouble comes expect God to show up and ask ‘what do you want me to do’…your mistaken.

God is not manipulated by your crises…God does not operate that way…look at the church today…research polling shows that more Americans than ever before say that they’re not connected to any religious faith…it’s interesting that while President…Mr. Obama made the statement that ‘America is no longer a Christian nation.’

Some people were offended by that…interpreting that statement as the President having a flippant attitude towards the Bible…that he was suggesting we should be adopting… accepting…and embracing the other ‘religions’ of the world…I don’t interpret that statement that way.

I saw it as a prophecy…much like when the high priest Caiaphas prophesied at Jesus’ trial…not on his own…concerning Jesus dying for the Jewish nation…I think Obama has stated or prophesied ‘not on his own’ concerning the spiritual condition of American today…statistics prove that.

…77% of Americans claim to be Christians… only 23% of that 77% are in Church on any given Sunday.

…29% of Americans openly admit they never attend church.

…self-described atheists account for 4% of U.S. adults

…agnostics make up 5% of U.S. adults

…and 17% of Americans describe their religion as “nothing in particular,”

All of the last four…those never attending church…atheist…agnostics…and those who describe their religion as “nothing in particular” are all up since 2009.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx

https://www.statista.com/statistics/245491/church-attendance-of-americans/

More than 4000 churches close their doors every year…3500 people are leaving the church every day.http://www.fifthavenuechristian.org/u-s-church-statistics-over-the-last-century/

Do you know how they define a regular church attendee…today a church member is considered active in the church if he or she attends just three times out of every eight Sundays…that’s only 37% of the time.

That doesn’t mean that 37% of the 77% who claim to be Christian are in church… it means that only 23% are in church on any given Sunday…some suggest that 23% figure may be high. https://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html

People want to quote the part of [2 Chronicles] that is pleasing…the part about if people humble themselves…pray…seek God’s face…turn from evil…THEN He will relent concerning the calamity He planned to bring on them.

Again…is there a theological principal involved here in how God reacts to people praying…turning from evil…YES…BUT…as a nation the statistics prove we have no intention of doing that…only 23% of Americans attend church on any given Sunday…then we expect God to intercede…let me just say…good luck with that.

BUT…despite Christians flippant attitude towards the Bible…their lack of Church attendance…and our reluctance to be obedient to God…God has not brought a curse on us…He is not punishing America.

THIRD thing I want to share with you this morning is that God will not give you a protective shield from the coronavirus.

A Pastor (Hank Kunneman) in Omaha claims that God will save Americans from the coronavirus because President Trump’s administration has aligned itself with the right side of life…that citizens in the U.S. will not have to fear the coronavirus because God has extended and opened a window of mercy to this nation.  

Joseph Prince, pastors a 33,000-member congregation (New Creation Church) in Singapore…says: “pray the prayer of protection found in [Psalms 91:3] daily:

He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the deadly pestilence… [10] No evil will befall you nor will any plague come near your tent.

He goes on; “I encourage all believers to speak the promises of God’s protection over yourself and your entire household and church.”

I would be anxious to hear how they apply that verse to 68,000 deaths that have occurred around the world as of Friday.

If [PS. 91:10] is a promise of protection…do you really believe that none of those 68,000 deaths around the world were Christians?

If you’re a pastor how can you make such an outlandish promise to your church… here again…pulling Old Testament verses out of context to reassure people that God has a plan to protect you…that is bad exegesis.

This verse or any other verse in Scripture should never be construed as a pledge of physical protection to ALL believers for ALL times in ALL circumstances…if it is then how do you explain the suffering and death of the countless number of Godly

believers throughout history…here’s the reality of how God works in the world.

He makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good…(He) sends rain on the just and on the unjust’ [Matt. 5:45] …we live in the world just like everyone else… because you’re a Christian is no guarantee that you won’t contract the virus.

In ancient Israel both the righteous and the unrighteous had to endure the same type of judgement that God sent…when the Assyrian and the Babylonians attacked Israel, they killed…tortured…carried off into slavery hundreds of thousands of Jews…do you really think only the unfaithful disobedient Jews were affected…No

 …trouble comes to both good people and to people who are evil.

I’m amazed that Pastor Prince or this preacher in Omaha…and others I’ve heard would make the statement; ‘that you can’t be defeated…God would not have allowed it if it was going to keep you from your destiny’ …EVERYBODY…just because you’re a Christian is not a guarantee that you won’t contract the virus.

Let me say…if I were going to claim Psalm 91 for myself, I would have to preface it with what I know is a fact about Scripture and how God works in the life of a Christian…and it’s not that He is obligated to keep anyone safe…I would pray this:  

He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the deadly pestilence… that is how the verse reads…however…I would then preface that by saying;

except that God in His love and wisdom allows somethings to occur for His ultimate good…this is in exact agreement with [Rom. 8:28] in all things God works together for good.

Let me share with you what that means…God has the right to do what He chooses to do…whenever He chooses to do it…in any way He chooses to do it…for any purpose He chooses…and to use any person He chooses to accomplish it…which will always be for His good.

Let me say this in closing…what we’re experiencing today is a divine disruption… God has crushed our idols… no sports…no entertainment…gyms are closed… stocks and 401K’s are suffering, the country has literally shut down…never in my life time has there been anything like this…even the cigar bar is closed down.

It’s times like this that demonstrate that we are not in control of our lives as much as we would like to think we are…but I can assure that nothing happens that doesn’t pass through the filter of God’s sovereign plans.

It’s times like this that God is perfecting us…not necessarily protecting us…the reason we’re in this condition is because we have chosen less than God’s best…we live in a fallen world by our own decision.

Is God judging the world…well…at some time He will…it’s not God’s intent to bring people to believe in Him by killing them…by causing viruses…that is not how God works.

It’s the kindness of God that leads to repentance…not His anger…is God speaking to the world through this pandemic…it might be better said that God is reaching out to the world through this pandemic.

The coronavirus is another example of how frail we all are…like a vapor that appears for a short time then vanishes away [Jas. 4:14]…the psalmist wrote “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field…the wind passes over it, and it is gone,’ [Ps 103]  

In times of trouble the Lord desires that you move towards Him…using the situation to dislodge us from a dependence from this life to Him.

We need to keep things in perspective

—the Coronavirus is not the beginning of the end of the world.

—the Coronavirus is not God punishing the United States.

TWO THINGS: No matter if we live or die or by what means we die; our lives are in God’s hands…eternity is long, and life is short…if you haven’t committed your life to Christ, do so now! And as Christians we need to continue to affirm our belief in the sovereignty of God.

This morning we’re continuing in the story of the women at the well…it’s a story about a woman Jesus talked with at Jacob’s well…a 2000-year-old well located in a region called Samaria.

A great story about a nameless Samaritan woman…although we don’t know her name…we do know something of her life…a story that is recorded only in the Gospel of John.

It’s no accident that this woman just happens to be at the well…Jesus was on a divine assignment (v. 4) …He was compelled to go… the text makes an emphasis on the fact that Jesus “had to” go to see this Samarian woman.…He ‘must’ go through Samaria.

In fact John says [6] Jesus is sitting at the well waiting for her…Jesus was on His way to a divine encounter…a predestined meeting that had been scheduled millions of years in advance…if you really believe that God is sovereign…then you’ll see this as not just a circumstance that just happened…but as God’s providence.

We’ve had a couple weeks break from this series and at the expense of preaching back over those two weeks it’s important for us to see where this woman is with respect to what she has been told so far in her encounter with Jesus.

Upon arriving at the well she sees Jesus sitting beside the well resting from His walk that day…so here you have a Jewish man and a Samarian woman alone at a remote well…two unlikely people from two different and adversarial backgrounds, each one’s families who were social, religious and political enemies of one another.

In this story, Jesus’ conversation with this woman is legendary…a conversation that is the longest anyone ever had with Jesus…even longer than any recorded conversation with any of his disciples.

She is essentially a social outcast…a woman who has had five husbands and the man she is now living with is not her husband [4:18] …living in sin had ruined her life…she was living in moral and spiritual squalor.

BUT…before we pass judgment on this woman let me just say that she was no worse than any of us…certainly some sins are worse than others…murder is worse than simply hating someone…but…going back to our study of the Sermon on the Mount we know that in regard to sin they’re all the same…but notice Jesus isn’t confronting the woman’s adulterous life style.

This woman has no idea who Jesus really is and what He wanted to give her…as a result she almost passed up the most important offer of her life…the opportunity to live with God in eternity.

Yesterday I preached the funeral of my best friend…someone I’ve known since junior high school…he was the best man at my wedding…someone who may have passed up on the most important decision of his life…the opportunity to live with God in eternity.

Here’s where the uncertainty comes in…how do I know eternity to be a fact…no one has ever come back from the dead to confirm that there’s an eternity.

I’m amazed that people will readily accept ideas because they’re written in a book…example…light travels at 186,000 per second…I’ve never measured that…I don’t know that to be a fact…I only know that because I read it in a physical science book.

Electricity is the movement of electrons through a wire…I spent 30 years at Beech Aircraft…part of that time as an electrical design engineer designing circuits and components for airplanes…never saw an electron…but when I energized the circuit the electrons moved and the system began to function.

BUT when it comes to accepting eternity…people balk at the idea as a hoax…the most widely published book in the world says there’s an eternity but the same people who don’t question the speed of light or electrons through a wire will question the existence of eternity…then there’s all the other assumptions that follow that:

Is there really an afterlife?             Is heaven real?             Does heaven exist?

Where is heaven?                           Is hell real?                   Does hell exist?

Every person here this morning is standing on the threshold of eternity…how many millions of people every day…will miss the opportunity for eternal life when all they had to do was: to ask and to receive the gift of God! …that’s what Jesus told this woman… “If you would ask… I would give you.”

Here we see the generosity and patience of God…how Jesus tries time and time again to get people to simply just ask! …Jesus tried to talk her into asking for it… He freely offers eternal life to all…Jesus wanted to give her life, but she needed to ask him for it.

With respect to salvation…thinking that somehow God owes it to me…or I’ve somehow earned it because I’m really a good person…doesn’t meet the condition that you have to ask Him…then ‘He would have given.’ 

Here’s something most people never get…heavenly gifts must be asked for…God doesn’t just give out stuff—a deep theological term—gifts because He has nothing to do…everything that is necessary for the spiritual and eternal good of His people must be inquired of…and sought after.

If you would have asked Him…He would have given you…this is the law of Heaven…you do not have, because you do not ask.

In this woman we see the common response of Jesus’ offer of salvation…this woman is representative of everyone who is exposed to saving grace…it shows how slow sinners are to understand the doctrines of religion.

Talking to this woman Jesus reveals two truths about salvation…salvation is the deliverance from the effects of sin…goes back to mercy…God not treating me as I deserve to be treated…here’s what Jesus says about that:  

–Salvation comes only to those who ask God for forgiveness and repent of their sin…it’s telling God I’m sorry. Salvation comes only to those who ask Jesus to be their Savior.

Though a stranger to her…Jesus has convinced her that He’s not some ordinary person she’s been having a conversation with…He’s not just some weary traveler as she first thought Him to be.

She has previously heard two extraordinary statements from Jesus;

…ONE…that He possesses some type of ‘living water’…and

…TWO…He knows about her past without ever having previously met her…she is now beginning to see this is not just some ordinary guy striking up a conversation …so she tells Jesus something about Himself:

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.”

Jesus has delicately spoken to the woman’s conscience in such a manner as to give her the opportunity to view her lifestyle of sin…while at the same time leading her to perceive that He is someone special.

²⁵ “I know that Messiah” the one called Christ is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

“The one called Christ” are probably not the words of the woman but are put there for the Greek readers….it’s John’s explanation of the Hebrew word Messiah… Jesus certainly didn’t need the Hebrew word “Messiah” to be explained to Him…but the wording ‘the one called Christ’ …are the words of the evangelist using Greek terminology to interpret the Hebrew word “Messiah”

Jesus is now at the end of His conversation with this woman…she has made a statement that she believes a Messiah who possess the qualities of Jesus will one day come.

Jesus makes a statement to her that says He has already come…Jesus defines Himself as the Messiah.

²⁶ “Jesus says to her      I am         the one speaking to you.”                \λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς    Ἐγώ εἰμι,         ὁ       λαλῶν       σοι.

Often hear people say… ‘nowhere in the Bible does Jesus ever say He is God’ … well here it is.

This is an amazing statement from Jesus…the impact of this statement is not seen in any English translation…only in the Greek does this statement fully reveal who Jesus is…here He plainly claims to be the Messiah.

In this statement Jesus’ use of the words “I am” …in the Hebrew it is a clear statement that He is the Messiah she has heard about that will someday come to earth…imagine her surprise when Jesus says, “I am the one speaking to you”

He uses the same verbiage in identifying Himself to the woman as God did to Moses when Moses asked… ‘who shall I say sent me’ in the Hebrew it reads ‘I AM who I AM has sent me

שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם ׃  אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה

“I AM” was the name by which God revealed himself to Moses (Exodus 3:15). Jesus is claiming identity with God…No doubt this woman was blown away…she came for water and ends up meeting God.

In the book of John…Jesus repeats this phrase seven times…here’s the impact of the phrase ‘I AM’ …the Jews didn’t plot against Jesus because He performed miracles…because He healed people…fed people…hung out with sinners…they killed Him because He claimed equality with God.

Probably the phrase that sealed Jesus’ doom was when He said [John 8:58] …”I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!” …to most English readers the impact of this statement is not seen…Jesus’ use of the phrase I AM (ἐγὼ εἰμί) is the most salient statement in the Bible that identifies Jesus as God.

Jesus is declaring that, I am from all eternity…I have existed before all ages…it denotes continued existence without respect to time…I am an equal with God.

This statement goes back to [1:1-2] ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

The woman’s immediate reaction

 ²⁸ Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”

If you’re anything like me…you struggle at being an effective evangelist for Jesus …something I’ve prayed about for decades…read books on it…gone to training seminars, even took seminary classes in evangelism…but I fail miserably at going out and witnessing for Jesus…I’m going to be honest with you…I hate it…I know that’s terrible…but witnessing is painful for me.  

An hour or two after an opportunity to share Jesus, I think, “I should have said such and such, but I didn’t think of it at the time” …so shame on me…an opportunity lost.

In this verse we see a woman who is a brand new convert…still living with a man outside of marriage…she doesn’t tell Jesus I’m going back to town and get my life in order…she knows almost no sound doctrine…she’s never taken a training course in how to share her faith…yet she effectively evangelizes her entire village.

When Jesus tells her that He is the Messiah…she gets so excited she forgets about the water…she leaves her water pot and goes back to her village to tell them about a man who has told me all things—everything—(πάντα) that I have done.

We don’t know how long the conversation between her and Jesus went on…but long enough for Jesus to reveal ‘everything’ to her about her life…and her testimony to the village is…  ‘can it be this is the Christ?’

It’s interesting how John records this statement…it’s in an unusual manner…in the Greek the wording implies a negative answer…NO…this can’t be.

She goes to tell them about a man she believes to be the Messiah then ends with the wording that implies…NO this can’t be the Messiah.

The wording (μήτι) in Greek carries with it the assumption that ‘this cannot be the Christ…but something about Him indicated He was…you can’t come into contact with Jesus and not be changed.

I’m sure there was an immediate transformation…they couldn’t help but see that something was different about her…her encounter with the man whom she is telling them about had changed her life…she unflinchingly laid bare the dark secrets of her soul…carrying the message to all who would hear it.

And despite the phraseology that it might not be…her own actions and testimony heightened their interest by her admittance that this man has told me all I have ever done…what further proof do you need.   

Just the religious excitement from a women who was less than religious would have produced some sort of interest…as a result, they streamed out of the city to meet Jesus…they invite Him to stay with them…something none of the Jewish cities did.

The Jews rejected the testimony of their own Scriptures…they rejected the testimony of John the Baptist…they rejected the miracles and teaching of Jesus… but here…the Samaritans accept the testimony of an adulterous woman…who suddenly has become the first apostle of Christ in Samaria.

Regardless of what any of them thought or knew about her…regardless of the woman’s standing in the eyes of her neighbors and I’m sure especially with the other wives…she was not a popular person…they were probably mean to her…but she can’t help herself. She rushes back to tell them anyway.

You have to marvel at this woman’s willingness to make her shameful life the principal evidence that would eventually lead a city to the Lord…no one can look upon this as a small thing that she did.

The account she gave was so plain and honest that they concluded He must be the Messiah…BUT…it must not be thought for a moment that her mere statement, “He told me all the things that I ever did,” would have been enough to turn out a whole city to see Jesus. Not at all.

God was clearly at work…they saw a change in this woman and it helped to convince them…it was apparent to them that something had happened…that she was no longer the woman that she had been…as a result even before they met Jesus some believed.

³⁹ Many from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony…⁴¹(but) because of His words many more became believers.

Notice something here…The Samaritans believed Christ to be a prophet based upon the testimony of this woman…but they believed in him based upon the credit and authority of his own word.

The true progress of faith is displayed here…the pattern hasn’t changed in 2000 years…Jesus’ dialogue with the woman reveals three truths about salvation:

First the conviction

“He told me everything I have ever done” without conviction there can be no salvation…salvation comes only to those who recognize they are eternally lost.

Secondly, the invitation

Her testimony caused her neighbors to ask Jesus to stay whereby many more became believers. Salvation comes only to those who ask Jesus to be their Savior.

Finally, evidence

This is KEY…having heard Jesus they now believed and demonstrated the evidence of salvation…the woman’s testimony not only consisted of telling what she said… but a change in how she lived…that is the effect that was the proof she had been transformed…believers who live in a continuous lifestyle of sin and rebellion prove that they have not been born again [Matt. 7:22].

Salvation is evidenced by living a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Conviction…Invitation…and Evidence…it’s the pattern God has been using for thousands of years to affirm that those who in sincerity confess Jesus as their Savior have truly been born again.