Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 9

“I Am the Resurrection and the Life” [Matt's Messages]

“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchApril 14, 2024 :: John 11:1-52  
We’ve reached chapter 11, which tells the story of Jesus’ last major public miracle in the Gospel of John before His arrest. 
And it’s a doozy! 
This is probably a story that you know, at least for many of us. Many of you have known it all of your life and heard it told many many times. I’ve preached it at many a funeral over the years.But try, if you can, to read this with fresh eyes. Listen to this story as if all you know about Jesus is what you’ve read so far in the first ten chapters of John.
And then you read this. John chapter 11, verse 1.
“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’” (vv.1-3).
What do you think is going to happen? Knowing Jesus, what do you think is going to happen?
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
So, what do you think is going to happen?
This man, Lazarus, was sick. We don’t know what ailment he had. My guess is maybe cancer? Maybe it was something else. A virus?
Whatever it was, it was serious. His family was worried. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha, and all 3 siblings were friends with Jesus. Mary and Martha get mentioned in the other gospels, Lazarus, only here. Mary (v.2 says) is going to figure prominently in a story in chapter 12, tune in next week for that. They lived a couple miles outside of Jerusalem in a town called “Bethany.”
Lazarus was sick, and the sisters knew that Jesus would care, so they sent him an email (or a text message) or actually probably a courier of some kind with the message, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
What do you think Jesus is going to do?
Well, from what we’ve read so far in the Gospel of John, I expect Jesus to heal him! Maybe from a distance. Maybe with some creative application of mud. Maybe with just a word. But I expect Jesus to heal Lazarus.  And that’s what it sounds like He’s going to do according to verse 4.
“When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.’” (v.4).
Familiar themes! This sickness is not for death. It is for God’s glory. Like the man born blind. And not just God’s glory, but for the glory of God’s beloved Son! The monogenays . God’s One and Only Son is going to get ultimate glory from this healing.
And the one who is sick is not just some random person who applies to Jesus for help, but someone that Jesus already knows and loves. He loves the whole family. Verse 5.
“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”
What? Did I read that right? "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days."
Huh. Many translations are even stronger. They say, “So...he stayed where he was two more days.” Or “therefore.”
I don’t get it. It says that Lazarus is sick. It says that Jesus loves Lazarus. But then Jesus does not rush to Lazarus’ side.
Maybe Jesus knows that He’s not really that sick. Or maybe Jesus is scared to go because they want Him dead down in Jerusalem? No, that doesn’t sound right either. And in verse 7, Jesus says, “Ok. Now, let’s go.” V.7
“Then [after the two days] he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’ ‘But Rabbi,’ they said, ‘a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?’
Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light’” (vv.7-10).
So Jesus is not scared. (We didn’t really think He was.) He says, in effect, “Now is the time to go. Today’s the day. It’s daylight now. Let’s go; I’m on a mission. Because I am the ‘Light of the World.’”
“And nobody can kill me when it’s not my time to go.” Jesus is not scared. He’s going to go and heal Lazarus!
Except that Lazarus has already died. V.11
“After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’ His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. [They are so prone to misunderstanding.] So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him’” (vv.11-16).
The goal of this sermon today is to awaken and to strengthen your faith in Jesus. 
That is, of course, the goal of all of my sermons, especially these ones on the Gospel of John because that’s the whole point of this whole book. John said he wrote it so “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31).
But today, I especially want to awaken and to strengthen your faith in Jesus in three big ways.
After studying John 11 today, I want you to believe like you’ve never believed before that Jesus loves you.
#1. BELIEVE THAT JESUS LOVES YOU.   I want you to come away from today’s message more convinced than ever before that Jesus loves you.
Even when it does not seem like it.
Because it probably didn’t feel like it to this grieving family. 
I was struck this week as I meditated on this passage how many times and how many ways John insists that Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.
We’re only up to verse 11 and how many times have we seen it so far?
Verse 3. “Lord, the one you love is sick.”Verse 5. “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”Verse 11. “Our friend [same word for love, our loved one] Lazarus has fallen asleep.”
Jesus loved Lazarus.
And yet He did not rush to His side. He did not heal him from nearby or from afar.
Was it because He couldn’t heal him?
This must have been so hard for them. Sometimes it really seems like Jesus does not care. You might be going through a season like that right now. You feel like your prayers are hitting the ceiling and bouncing back down. Where is Jesus? It seems like He’s holding back.
This is especially true when we encounter sickness and death. 
There is a pernicious lie going around that if Jesus loves you then you will only experience health, wealth, and prosperity. 
That’s a lie.
Tell that to Job.Tell that to Paul.Tell that to Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.
Jesus loved them, and Lazarus still got sick and died.
Heather and I are empty-nesters this weekend. All of our kids are either living and working out West or visiting those who are living and working out West. So we came to church by ourselves today. Thankfully my folks are nearby and Dad’s sister is visiting them this weekend, so we have some kinfolk around the table for family dinner.
But 25 years ago this month, we came to church then without any kids because our oldest child, a daughter, was stillborn at 6 months gestation. It’s still pretty much the hardest thing that has happened to me yet. I feel it in my bones every time April rolls around. 
Death. Grief. Pain. Sorrow. Heartache. Death in the womb.
Where was Jesus?
Heather and I believed then, and we believe now, that Jesus loves us.
But to believe that, we have to believe that Jesus loves us in a way that is deeper than we can truly understand. We must believe that Jesus cares more about our faith than our health and even our very lives.
So that Jesus stayed back those two days for a reason, and it was not indifference. It was love.And see what He said in verse 15. He said, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you believe.”
He doesn’t mean that He’s glad that Lazarus died. We will see that very clearly in just a few verses! But He is glad he missed the death itself because He cares about something even greater than our health and life.
He cares about our faith. “So that you may believe.”
Jesus wants us to trust Him even to the brink of death and then beyond. Jesus wants us to believe like never before that He loves us. That He is our Good Shepherd. That He knows us. That He calls us by name. That He wants good things for us. That He cares. And that He knows what He’s doing.
Jesus loves you. Do you know that? Jesus loves you.
And then He says, “But let us go to him” (v.15).  “Let’s go to Lazarus.” As if Lazarus would care if he had visitors!
Look at verse 16. “Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’”
Thomas may be more famous for doubting but he should be famous for his courage. He knows how unpopular Jesus is with the authorities, but he’s like, “Oh well, let’s go die with Jesus! Let’s run towards the trouble.” And he was right, they are going to get Jesus before too long, though (spoiler alert), he isn’t going to die with Him. So they head down to Bethany. V.17
“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.”
In this time period, the Jews mourned for at least a month. They are still in the first week of that. Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days. 
He was long gone before Jesus arrived. And everybody is grieving and grieving hard.
One of the sisters, Martha, hears that Jesus is coming (finally), and she goes out to greet Him. Verse 20.
“When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’”
Do you feel her grief? It’s not quite a rebuke. She doesn’t say, “Where were you?!”  But she is feeling it. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
I don’t think she’s expecting Jesus to heal Lazarus now, she’s just saying,  “I still believe You are powerful. I still believe in You even though I don’t understand You. And I don’t understand why You let this happen. I still believe you love us.” Verse 23. 
“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ [Does the hair on the back of your neck stand up when you hear that? ‘Your brother will rise again. He doesn’t say when. Martha thinks she knows when. V.24] Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ [She believes her Bible. She knows her eschatology. She has read Daniel chapter 12. But Jesus is talking about something much bigger and much nearer! He’s talking about Himself. Verse 25.]
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
There’s our title for today and it’s also the fifth “I Am” statement of Jesus in the Gospel of John.
Jesus said:
“I am the Bread of Life.I am the Light of the World.I am the Gate for the Sheep.I am the Good Shepherd.I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
What an amazing thing to say!
Notice that He doesn’t just say that He gives people life. He says that He is the Resurrection and the Life. Personally! Himself! In Himself.
It’s another claim to deity. It’s like saying, “I and the Father are One.”
“Before Abraham was I am.”
“I am the Resurrection and the Life.” He is the thing itself. “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
Here’s the second of three things that I want you to believe today like you’ve never believed before:
#2. BELIEVE THAT JESUS WILL RAISE YOU FROM THE DEAD.
Believe that Jesus loves you even when it really doesn’t seem like it.And believe that Jesus will give you life again even if you die.
You see Jesus is the cure for death.
Jesus promises to kill death and to give new resurrection life to those who believe in Him (see Revelation 21:4). I think verse 25 is talking about resurrection to physical life and verse 26 is talking about spiritual life.
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies [that’s resurrection] and whoever lives and believes in me will never die [that’s spiritual life, eternal abundant life, life that never ever ever ever ends].”
“Do you believe this?”
That’s a big question. That’s a big question that Jesus asks Martha. He has made a bold claim, and He asks her very simply, “Do you believe this?” What is your answer?
A lot rides on it. Have you heard the phrase, YOLO? “You Only Live Once.” People who believe that often take risks but it’s because they think this is their one shot to really live. But Jesus says that if you believe in Him, you live twice. And that will change the kind of risks you take in this first life.  You will take risks that affect the life to come.
You will live for Jesus’ Kingdom instead your own.You will head out to Kansas City on a Challenge Trip.You will jump a plane for Malawi.You will talk to your neighbor or your co-worker about Jesus.
You will grieve over your dead loved ones because they’re gone for now, but you grieve with hope.
You will lean on the “everlasting arms.” And your anchor holds. Your “anchor holds.”
You really believe that Jesus really loves you and that one day He will really raise you from the dead.
We should be fearless.
“I am the resurrection and the life...[Martha,] Do you believe this?” Matthew, do you believe this?
“Do you believe this?”
Look at verse 27.
“‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’”
Woohoo! Way to go, Martha! That is THE right answer. That’s John 3:16. That’s the way to life in Jesus’ name (20:31). That’s faith.
“‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’” That's John 1:9, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”
“Yes, Lord, I believe.”
“I believe like never before that you love me and that you will raise me from the dead.”
That’s not a metaphor. I expect to die and to be buried in some way, and then, one day, for Jesus to bring me back to life.
Remember what Jesus said in chapter 5?
“I tell you the truth, 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. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out...” (Vv.25-28).
“Yes, Lord, I believe.”
And with that, Martha goes and fetches Mary. V.28.
“And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. ‘The Teacher is here,’ she said, ‘and is asking for you.’ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him” (vv.28-29).
These two sisters are very different in some ways and very similar in others. They both were grieving really hard. V.30
“Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. [“Oh, we’re going to the graveside to mourn with Mary at the tomb.”] When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’”
Same thing as Martha said. Same grief. Same bewilderment. Same belief in the power of Jesus to heal. Same sorrow. She’s weeping away.
And then Jesus starts to get emotional! V.33
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”
Those words are hard to translate into English to really get the sense of hem
The King James says, he “groaned in spirit.” The Greek word is “embrimaomai” and it comes from the sound that a horse makes when it’s angry. It’s almost a snort of indignation. It’s a release of air from the body in such a way that expresses extreme outrage and emotion. And the word for “troubled” has the idea of his body shaking with it. Jesus was rip-snorting-mad and distressed at...what?
He wasn’t mad at these people. He was mad at death. Jesus hates death. Death is an enemy. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Jesus loved Lazarus. And Jesus loved Martha. And Jesus loved Mary. So Jesus hated this death. He hated that they were grieving. He hated that they were ripped apart as a family. It made him cry and shake to see them weeping like this.
And so now He’s going to do something about it. And He’s going to prove that He is the Resurrection and the Life. V.34.
“‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept.”
Shortest verse in the Bible, but so meaningful.
“Jesus wept.” In those words, we see how human Jesus was. He was really human.  And He was as manly as they come, and He cried. And He was full of compassion. And He was full of grief. And He was a man of sorrow. He shows us how to live as a fully human person, not afraid of our emotions.
Men, don’t be afraid to cry. Ladies, don’t be ashamed of tears. Don’t be afraid to cry when you love someone and they die. Verse 36.
“Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’”
And He loves you! Jesus loves you. This is how He would feel at your graveside. Or the graveside of the one you love. V.37
“But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’”
They don’t believe. Yes, He could have done that. He’s not crying because He couldn’t heal Lazarus. He’s crying because His friend is dead, and because He hates death. And because loves these people so much. Here’s that word again. Verse 38.
“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 
‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’
Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’”
I believe that if Jesus had not specified Lazarus, then there would have been people coming out of their graves all around the world!
Jesus had told the disciples in verse 11 that He was going to wake up Lazarus, and now Lazarus awakes. Verse 44.
“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”
He’s alive!Lazarus is alive! He was dead. Totally dead. And now he’s back.Jesus is the resurrection and the life!
Oh, the questions we have! I wonder all kinds of things like if Lazarus was disappointed that He had been brought back (only to die again another day down the road). 
But we don’t get to ask those questions yet. 
We just have to sit with the question Jesus asked Martha in verse 26.
“Do you believe this?”
Because not everybody did. Even people who were there did not believe in Jesus after that! Look at verse 45.
“Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.”
They even saw the miracle and they just wanted to get Jesus in trouble.
And He did get into trouble. I told Jenni we’d stop at verse 46, but look what happens next. V.47
“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. ‘What are we accomplishing?’ they asked. ‘Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’”
Oh, how terrible it would be if they believed in Him. V.49
“Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.’ [We’re going to have to kill him.] 
He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.”
Here’s the third and last thing I want you to believe like you’ve never believed before:
#3. BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOU.
Caiaphas had it all wrong, and he had it all right. Jesus did have to die for the nation. Just not like Caiaphas thought. And Jesus had to die not just for the Jewish nation but for (v.52) “the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.”
That’s Gentiles like you and me. The other flock that Jesus was talking about last chapter.
Jesus had to died for you and me. The Good Shepherd had to lay down His life for His sheep only to take it up again. 
Jesus had to die for you even though you did not deserve it.
Jesus had to died for you and me.
So that He could give us forgiveness.
And so that He could give us new life.
Do you believe this?
I do. You know why? Because Lazarus walked out of His tomb.
"Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the resurrection and the life."
***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13
24. "I Am the Good Shepherd" - John 10:14-21
25. "I And The Father Are One" - John 10:22-42

“I And The Father Are One” [Matt's Messages]

“I And The Father Are One”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchApril 7, 2024 :: John 10:22-42 
What would you do if you were surrounded by a big group of angry men who were picking up rocks to throw at you?
What would you do if an antagonistic group of men had encircled you and were so enraged by your words enough to pick up stones to kill you with them?
In today’s story, that’s exactly what happened to our Lord Jesus. And here’s what He said right before they picked up those stones:
“I and the Father are one.”
That’s what Jesus said, and it’s what made them so angry and what can make us so happy forever.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
This story took place during Hanukkah. Also known as the “Feast of Dedication.” Let’s start again in verse 22. 
“Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade.”
The Feast of Dedication was a newer festival. It wasn’t one of the ones that was prescribed in the Law of Moses. It was created in the time between the testaments, between the Old Testament and the New Testament, during the time of Maccabean Revolt. The Jews had surprisingly defeated their Greek oppressors and had rededicated the temple which had been desecrated by Antiochus IV. This was about 165 BC. 
So for about 200 years, the Jews had been celebrating this Feast of Dedication right around the time of year we that we celebrate Christmas. And the Hebrew word for dedication is “Hanukkah.”
And at this same time was the Festival of Lights. With the menorah and everything.
So here we have the Light of the World during the Festival of Lights walking through the rededicated temple (which also points to Him) during  the eight-day festival to celebrate the great heroes and saviors of Israel.  And He’s the Hero and Savior of Israel!
But the leaders of Israel do not believe it. Instead, they gang up on Him. Look at verse 24.
“The Jews gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’”
Do you see how they have surrounded Him? That really jumped out at me this week in my study. They have encircled Jesus. They may feel, in fact, like they have Jesus trapped.
For some time now, they have been sparring with Jesus in a war of words. And a few times (we saw in chapter 5, and chapter 7, and chapter 8), they have tried to grab Him and kill Him.
Last week, a bunch of them were saying that Jesus was insane or a had demon possessing Him because He was claiming to be the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (His people) only to take it back up again–resurrection. 
Here, they are trying to get Him to unambiguously incriminate Himself. They want Jesus to say something about Himself that really gets Him in trouble once and for all.
“If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” “Enough of these metaphors.”
“I am the bread of life.”“I am the light of the world.”“I am the gate for the sheep.”“I am the good shepherd.”
“No more metaphors! Tell us straight up, who are you?”
But, remember, they do not actually want know. This circle of impatient men has already heard enough to clearly know Who Jesus believes He is. And they have seen enough, too. Verse 25.
“Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep” (vv.25-26).
Jesus says that He has given them all of the evidence they need. His message about Himself has been consistent, and His deeds, His works, His miracles say all the same things, too.
Water into wine. Time to celebrate.Healing the official’s son long-distance with just a word. “Your son will live.” Healing the lame man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. “Pick up your mat and walk.”Feeding the five thousand men with a happy meal of loaves and fish. With twelve baskets left over! Walking on the water. “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Healing the man born blind. “I was blind but now I see.”
All of these miracles say the same thing about Who Jesus is.
They are signs. They point! And they all point to the same thing. John says that’s the big reason for this whole gospel. These miraculous signs are written here...“that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:30-31 NIVO).
Jesus says, “The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me...” Notice that Jesus does the miracles, but He does them in His Father’s name. By His Father’s authority. They are working together in unity.
And the greatest miracle was yet to come. The Good Shepherd was going to lay down His life for the sheep only to take it back up again. And the Father was going to love Him for it!
All of these miracles point towards Jesus being the Christ. The question that this gang of men is asking Jesus to answer once again. But these guys do not believe what the signs are saying. V.25 again. “Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep” (vv.25-26).
What scary words to hear! I pray that no one within the sound of my voice ever hears Jesus say those words to them. 
“You are not my sheep.” It was clear that these men were not His sheep because they didn’t want to be His sheep. They didn’t want to believe what the miracles said. They didn’t want to believe what Jesus said. They didn’t want to belong to Jesus as their Good Shepherd. So they were getting what they wanted. But I want the exact opposite for me and for you.
Because look what you get when you are His sheep! Verse 27.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
There’s our title for today. Our mind-blowing title. “I and the Father are one.”
You know that those are big strong words because in the very next verse, this circle of men picks up big stones to kill Jesus with.
“I and the Father are one.” What does He mean?
Well, He doesn’t mean that they are one Person. There is clearly two Persons mentioned here. “I” and “the Father.” The Son and the Father. But there is also unity here. “I and the Father are ONE.”
That’s One in essence. One in substance. “We are one thing (the thing we call ‘God.’)” There is only one God. And the Son is that one God, and the Father is that one God. (And when we get to chapters 14, 15, and 16, we’ll learn that the Spirit is that one God, too.)
You know, by now in the Gospel of John, these ideas should sound kind of familiar.
They will always be mind-blowing, but they should also be familiar, because this is just chapter 1, verse 1, isn’t it?
What does John 1:1 say? “In the beginning was the Word [that’s another name for the Son], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1 NIVO).
The Son was with God. He has with-ness. “I and the Father” Two Persons different yet intimately related. And the Son was God. He has was-ness and oneness. “I and the Father are ONE.”
The Son has everything it means to be God.And the Father has everything that it means to be God.So the Son and the Father are the One God.
And their unity of essence leads to a unity of action. Everything they do, they do perfectly together. You can’t divide these two. In their essence or in their works.
And that is such good news for you me!
Let me show you. I’ve only got two points to summarize the implications of this message this morning, but they are both such good news! 
Here’s the first one. What it means for Jesus (and for us) when Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.”
#1. MY SHEEP ARE SAFE.
Jesus says that because He and His Father are one, His sheep are utterly and completely and totally and eternally safe.
Isn’t that good news?! Look back up at verse 27. And revel in the first two words, “My sheep.”
Jesus has sheep that are His that He knows. We’ve emphasized that the last few weeks. He knows His sheep. He doesn’t just know about them. He doesn’t just have a database or names in a binder somewhere. 
He knows them. V.27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
If you want to know if you are His sheep, that’s a good place to start. Listen to His voice. Follow His lead. Do what Jesus says. But this passage is not mostly about what we do but what He does.
He knows us. And He gives us eternal life. Verse 28.
“I give them eternal life...” It’s a gift! You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. You can’t become worthy of it. It’s all by grace. The Good Shepherd won it for us by laying down His life for the sheep only to take it up again.
“He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart.”
“I give them eternal life...(v.28) and they shall never perish...” Same word as from John 3:16. “They shall never perish.”
Now that is taking shepherding to a whole other level!
These sheep become undying sheep!
Imperishable sheep.Indestructible sheep.And un-snatchable sheep. V.28
“...no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, holds onto us in such a way that no force on Earth can grab us and wrench us out of His safe hands. 
If you belong to Jesus, then you are safe as safe can be.
By grace through faith He gives you eternal life, and you will never perish. You will never die the eternal death of Hell. And you are safe in Jesus’ hand.
“No one can snatch them out of my hand.”
Can it get any better than that?!
Yes, it actually can! Because Jesus and His Father are ONE.
So there isn’t just verse 28, there is also verse 29! Jesus says, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” Isn’t that wonderful?! Look at it again. V.29
“My Father...” Isn’t it wonderful?! He isn’t just a Shepherd that has sheep. He’s a Son that Has a Father. He says it over and over again. “My Father.” 
“My Father, who has given them to me...” Who is that? That’s the sheep. That’s us. The sheep are the Father’s gift to the Son. The Son gives the Sheep eternal life. We go through Him as the Gate and we get the life. The Son gives us life.
But the Father gives us to the Son. So the Father values us and gives us as a present to the Son. And He protects His gift! And there is no one who can take it away from Him.
“My Father...is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” 
Whose hand are these sheep in? Are we in Jesus’ hand or the Father’s hand? Both, right? Because, “I and the Father are one.”
This is you. If you belong to Jesus, if you are His sheep, you are safe in His hand. And no one can grab you out of it. I’d like to see anybody try.
But there’s another hand, inseparably operating, at the very same time with the very same omnipotent power. The Father’s hand! And there’s no one stronger than the Father. “No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.” No one!
“[N]either death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39 NIVO).
Because “I and the Father are one.” “My sheep are safe.”
By the way, that safety means that we are safe to follow the Good Shepherd wherever He leads. We are not safe to disobey Him. We’re safe to obey Him. Because that’s what His sheep do. We listen to His voice and we follow Him. Don’t take this safety as a license to sin but as freedom to follow the Shepherd wherever He leads.
But feel safe. Feel utterly, totally, completely, eternally safe in these hands because Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.”
That should make us so happy! But it made these men so mad. They understood exactly what this meant, and they picked up some sharp stones to do something about it. V.31
“Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’” (vv.31-32). 
He’s not scared at all, is He? He’s spunky in the face of this stoning. “I’ve done these great miracles from the Father...[notice that it’s from the Father, they are one in their miracles.]...For which of these great miracles do you guys want to stone me? V.33
“‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’” It’s in the law. Leviticus 24:16 says, “[A]nyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death” (Lev. 24:16 NIVO).
“You have just said that you are and God are the same being. Therefore it is time for the jagged rocks to come out.”
What would you do if you were surrounded by a big group of angry men who were picking up rocks to throw at you?
Well, if you were Jesus at Hanukkah, you would calmly show them all where they were wrong and walk right out of there.
Jesus makes an interesting argument from the lesser to the greater from Psalm 82, verse 6. Look at our verse 34. “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'?”
That’s Psalm 82, verse 6, where God calls the leaders of Israel “gods” with a small “g.” He doesn’t mean that they have super powers, but that they super responsibilities to “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps. 82:3-4 NIVO). 
These men have been raised up to a level to dispese god-like justice, so He calls them “gods” (small “g”) in Psalm 86 which is God’s Word.
So Jesus carries that logic through in verse 35. “If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came–and the Scripture cannot be broken–what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?” (vv.35-36).
Do you follow His logic? “If these guys were legitimately called ‘gods’ (in some true sense), and they were just men, then what should you call someone Who is like me?!”
I and the Father ARE ONE!
And that means:
#2. I AM SET APART AND SENT.
I am set apart by God the Father and sent by God the Father into the world! 
In other words: It’s not blasphemy if it’s true.
“Those guys in Psalm 82 are called “gods,” small “g.” But you know what, guys, I don’t care if you have sharp rocks in your hands. I and the Father are one.” The titles don’t matter as much as the realities do.
“I and the Father are one.” Do your worst.
“I and the Father are one.” Go ahead, if you dare.
“I and the Father are one.” I invite you to believe. I invite you to become one of my sheep. V.37
“Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.’”
Their unity is so perfect, their operations so inseparable, their oneness so absolute, that they are said to be “in” each other. 
“The Father is in me, and I in the Father.” We’re going to revel in that even more when we get to the Upper Room in chapters 14, 15, 16. And then we’ll get the Holy Spirit in the mix, too.
Think about Who Jesus says that He is. He is One with the Father, in the Father, and set apart by the Father and sent by the Father into the world. 
Those words “set apart” could be translated “sanctified” or “made holy.” What it means is that the Father has considered the Son His Special Son who has been set apart as special for a special mission.
The Father loves the Son, and that’s why He sent the Son.
He didn’t send the Son because He was disappointed in the Son. He didn’t send Him into exile or to redeem Himself. “That’ll teach Jesus a lesson.”
No, the Father sent the Son because the Son was special to Him and He had special mission for Him.
And we know what it was, right?
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only [beloved] Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish [never perish, never be snatched out of His hand] but have eternal life [“I give them eternal life.”] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Jn. 3:16-17 NIVO).
The Son is set apart and sent...to save.
V.39  “Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed and many people came to him. They said, ‘Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.’ And in that place many believed in Jesus.”
And were saved! If you believe in Jesus, you get life. Life in His name.
Do you believe in Jesus?
Come through the Gate and into the abundant life He offers.
Because if you are His sheep, then you have everything.
You are safe as safe can be.
Because the Son and the Father are One.

***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13
24. "I Am the Good Shepherd" - John 10:14-21

"I Am The Good Shepherd" [Matt's Messages]

“I Am The Good Shepherd”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnResurrection Sunday :: Lanse Evangelical Free ChurchMarch 31, 2024 :: John 10:14-21  
What did He say to get that kind of a reaction?
What did Jesus say to get the people around Him thinking that He must be insane? That he was stark raving mad. That He must have a demon inside of Him!
Verse 19 says, “At these words the Jews were again divided.”
Some thought that Jesus made a lot of sense and was a great miracle-worker. He had just given sight to a man who had been born blind.
But others heard these words that Jesus said about Himself and thought, “This guy is ‘Cukoo for Cocopuffs.’ This guy is not playing with a full deck. This guy is bonkers.” 
What did Jesus say to get that kind of a reaction?
This is what He said. It’s in verse 14. 
“I am the good shepherd.”
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Now, obviously, that might sound weird but not crazy to us today.
Jesus likened Himself to a shepherd, a person who takes care of sheep. Jesus already said that in verse 11. We looked it together last Sunday. 
And He meant it as a criticism of the religious leaders of His day. They were supposed to be good shepherds, taking good care of God’s good flock (the people of God), but they were miserable failures and had done a horrific job of it.
Jesus likened their shepherding to being a hired hand who doesn’t care one whit about the sheep. They wouldn’t lift a finger to help the sheep if the flock was attacked. They’d just run away.
And that’s on their best day. On other days, they were like thieves and robbers who steal, kill, and destroy the sheep. Steal, kill, and destroy.
They were bad shepherds, but Jesus said that He was the Good Shepherd.
Now that word translated “good” doesn’t just mean “good.” Like 3 stars out of 5. “Not bad.” That’s not good enough.
The Greek word can also be translated, “beautiful” or “noble” or “true.”
It’s hard to get across, but it’s more like the “Perfect Shepherd.” Or the “Wonderful Shepherd.” Or the “Real Deal Shepherd.” “The Shepherd Par Excellence.”
Maybe, “The Goodest Shepherd?”
Is that a word? It is now!
This is the Shepherd that fulfills and embodies all of what a shepherd is supposed to be. “10/10 No Notes.”
If you’ve ever read the Twenty-third Psalm, “The LORD is my Shepherd / I shall not be in want,” and you see how King David felt about His Shepherd, that’s what Jesus is claiming to be here for His people. 
Because if He’s the Shepherd, then we are the sheep.
Today, Landen, Treiton, Keagan, Maria, and Katie are all going to get up on this platform and declare that they are Jesus’ sheep and that Jesus is their Good Shepherd.
It takes some humility to admit you are like a sheep. Because, as we said last Sunday and as I shared with the Egg Hunt families yesterday, sheep are kind of dumb. They are clueless and helpless and needy. It takes humility to admit that you are a sheep and you need someone to care for you, provide for you, protect you, lead you, and guide you and keep you from true harm.
But it’s true, right? We are needy, as people. We are spiritually helpless. We are clueless and need a good Shepherd to guide us.
And that’s what Jesus says that He is. 
Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”
And in this passage (verses 14-17), Jesus says three big things about what that means for us, that He is the good shepherd. How He takes shepherding to a whole new level. Here’s the first one:
#1. THE GOOD SHEPHERD KNOWS HIS SHEEP.
We heard that last Sunday, too, up in verse 3, 4, and 5. Jesus said that His sheep will hear His voice as He calls to them by name, and that they won’t follow a stranger’s voice.
Now look how He says in verse 14 and 15: “‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father...”
Isn’t that wonderful?! Jesus says that He knows His sheep. That means personally. He doesn’t just know that He has some sheep on a hillside somewhere. He knows our names. He knows our lives. He knows our hearts. He knows our hurts. He knows our joys. He knows our sorrows. He knows our needs.
He knows our sins.
If you are Jesus’ sheep, then Jesus knows you. He knows you intimately. And He knows what’s going on in your life that is hard right now. He knows what you’re struggling with. He is your good shepherd.
In that day, a lot sheep were kept for wool. Some were for sacrifice and some for mutton, but most were just for wool. So the sheep might live a long time and have the same shepherd that knew them inside and out for their whole life.
If you are Jesus’ sheep, then Jesus knows you.
And you know Jesus! This is an invitation to become intimately acquainted with your Savior, with your Shepherd. To know Jesus. 
And look at how deeply we can know Him! Verse 15 says, “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father!” That’s an unbelievable amount of knowing! That we could know Jesus in some way like God the Father knows God the Son and God the Son knows God the Father. That is just mind-blowing!
The Good Shepherd knows His sheep.
He knows Landen, Treiton, Keagan, Maria, and Katie.
And today, they proclaim that they know Him!
Do you know Him?
Jesus is the good shepherd.
#2. THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS SHEEP.
He doesn’t just know them. He loves them. And here’s how much He loves them. He sacrifices Himself for them. Look at verse 15.
“‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me–just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Now, that is taking shepherding to a whole other level. And you can begin to see why it sounds a little crazy. Because a sheep is worth far less than a shepherd. Shepherds could take some risks to protect the flock. They were valuable. But if the choice is save the sheep or save your life, “Goodbye, Sheepie!”
But Jesus says that as our Good Shepherd, He plans to “lay down” his life “for the sheep.”
What’s He talking about? He’s talking about the Cross. He’s talking about how He was going to be nailed to a piece of wood and hung up on pole. And struggle to breathe for three hours and then die.
Why? He was laying down His life for His sheep.
The Bible says that, He “was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:5-6 NIVO).
The Good Shepherd saves His sheep by laying down His life for them, in the place of His sheep.
That’s what brings us into life! 
Last week, Jesus said that He is “the Gate,” that is, He is the way into life, eternal life, life to the fullest. 
And we get that life by believing in Him, by putting our trust in Him as our way in.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [who laid down His life for the sheep], that whoever [sheep] believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 NIVO).
Is that you? Jesus is on the hunt for new sheep to be in His sheepfold. Look at verse 16.
“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” [That’s Him! See also Ezekiel 34 for more on that promise!]
I love this verse, because you and I are in it. Jesus is talking about us.
"I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. [Meaning of the Jews. Jesus has other sheep that are Gentiles. That are not the group in front of Him that day.] I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
There’s a sheep pen over here in Israel in the year 0033 or whatever. And there’s another over here in central Pennsylvania in the year 2024.
And Jesus says, “I’m not content with just these sheep. I’m looking for a bigger flock. Other sheep. “I must bring them also.” 
That’s us! Like I told the families at the Egg Hunt, Jesus isn’t just searching for eggs. He’s looking for lost sheep to bring them into His sheepfold and give them life to full. And He will rejoice over them when they come. “Rejoice with me!”
Verse 16. “They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
Today, Landen, Treiton, Keagan, Maria, and Katie, are proclaiming that they have listened to Jesus’ voice and been brought into His one sheepfold.
How about you?
He has laid down His life for you! And the Father loves Him for it. Look at verse 17.
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life...” Now, that doesn’t mean it’s the only reason why the Father loves the Son. He loves the Son just because He’s the Son.
But He is such a good Son! The Father always looks at Jesus and says, “Oh how pleased I am with my beloved Son!
Look how obedient He is!Look how submissive He is!Look how He accomplishes His mission!
I am so pleased with Him.
Look at Him lay down His life for those sheep we love!"
Sometimes we can get the idea that the Father and the Son were in conflict with one another about our salvation. Like the Father hated us but the Son stepped in the way to save us from His meanness. But that’s not quite right. Remember John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that He gave His Son. He sent His Son. They were working in perfect unity to save us from the just wrath of God. And so at the very same time as the Son in His humanity was feeling the hot righteous anger of God poured out upon Him on the Cross, the Father was also saying, “That’s my boy!”
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again.”
Now that is taking shepherding to yet another level!
It’s one thing for a shepherd to take a risk for a sheep.It’s another thing for a shepherd to die for a sheep.But this shepherd says that He is going to come back from the dead for His sheep!
#3. THE GOOD SHEPHERD TAKES UP HIS LIFE AGAIN FOR HIS SHEEP.
Here’s the idea: A dead shepherd is not a good shepherd.
What good is it to have a dead shepherd? If the shepherd is dead, where does that leave the flock? The sheep are in trouble if the shepherd is dead.
How would Psalm 23 read?
“My shepherd is dead. I will never have what I need. I can’t find the green pastures. I can’t find the quiet waters.My soul is destroyed.I’m lost. I can’t find the paths of righteousness.I’m all alone in the valley of the shadow of death.I fear every evil.I have no comfort.I have no blessings.I can’t eat. My enemies are after me.My head is cracked and dry.My cup is empty.Surely evil and disloyal hatred will chase me all of the days of my life, and I’m headed to Hell forever.
Because my shepherd is dead.”
That’s what would happen to us if Jesus stayed dead.
But Jesus said that He would lay down His life “only to take it up again.” That could be translated, “so that” He would take it up again. He died in such a way as to earn a victorious resurrection. Jesus claimed that He had the authority to do this. 
No one was doing it to Him. V.18 “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord [willingly]. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Yes, the Jews put Him to death. Yes, the Romans put Him to death. Yes, it was our sin that held Him there. But in the end, it was His choice and no other human’s. He had the right to lay it down and the right to take it up again.
And He did both! On the third day, He rose again.
Christ is risen!He is risen indeed!
He is no longer a dead shepherd. He is a living shepherd. An unstoppably living shepherd. He has conquered death.
The choir sang, “Death is conquered! We are free! Christ has won the victory!”
The kids sang, “Alive! Alive!”
Our good shepherd is alive again and forever.
That, I think, is what they thought was crazy. That this guy was claiming to be the kind of good shepherd that not only dies for His sheep but comes back to life. “At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?’ But others said, ‘These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’”
What do you think? Which side are you on? Do you think He’s crazy? Or are you listening to Him?
Landen, Treiton, Keagan, Maria, and Katie have decided that they believe that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows them, laid down His life for them, and took up His life again for them, so they have listened to His voice and come into His one flock, by faith.
Praise God!

***

Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13

“I Am The Gate” [Matt's Messages]

“I Am The Gate”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMarch 24, 2024 :: John 10:1-13  
“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.’”
That’s verse 7. And it’s where we get our title for this morning, and it’s the third big “I Am” statement in the Gospel of John where Jesus tells us Who He truly is.
In chapter 6, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (Jn. 6:35 NIVO)
In chapter 8, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn. 8:12 NIVO) Bread of life. Light of life.
Here in verse 7, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.”
It’s been a while since I talked about our sabbatical last summer. 
You might remember this picture from my report. That’s not Israel. That’s Scotland. I haven’t been to Israel.
Last summer in the UK, I become much more familiar with the ways of sheep and with gates.
There are sheep just everywhere in Great Britain. It seemed to me like we were never more than 10 miles from sheep no matter where were in the United Kingdom except for maybe London, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find sheep there, too!
There was just always sheep nearby. And because of that, there were gates just about everywhere, too.
This one is on the south shore of England. You can barely see the English Channel through the opening.
Sheep have to be fenced in because sheep are dumb. They are wonderful animals, cute, and great for wool (the wonder-fiber that my wife adores), but they are dumb. They are helpless. They have to be cared for.
My favorite thing I ever learned about sheep, and the thing I almost always share when teaching about shepherds is that some sheep are so helpless they can get lost in an open garage. They wander in through that big opening, and then they can’t figure out how to get out.
But that also means that sheep can’t be trusted to NOT go where they are NOT supposed to go. They will wander out of just about any opening.
So unless you want sheep drowning in the English channel, you put this gate there to keep them on that side of the fence.
Here’s a picture of that gate from the other way.

There are gates all over Great Britain. You can walk and walk and walk on what they call “permissive paths” across fields and coastlines and all kinds of places, but every so often you reach a gate, and you have to open it and go through and make sure it latches behind you.
Or the sheep get out.
Or predators get in to attack the sheep.
There is life and safety on the right side of the fence. And that’s why gates are so important. They are gates for life. Gates to life.
And Jesus says, “I am the gate for the sheep.”
Now, in that illustration, you and I are the sheep. And that is not especially flattering for us. When Jesus calls us sheep, He’s not saying that we are cute and cuddly and good for wool. 
He’s saying that we are helpless and needy and kind of dumb on our own.
We need help. We need care. We need a shepherd.
And the Lord has promised to send a Shepherd. If we had time this morning, I would read to you the whole of Ezekiel 34 where God promises to send a Shepherd for His people from the line of David. In that passage, the LORD pronounces “woe” on the leaders who had shepherded Israel so horribly up to that time.
Do you remember when He said something like that Jeremiah chapter 23?  We studied it back in 2022. “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” (Jer. 23:1 NIVO). And then in Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23, God promises to send a good shepherd, a great Shepherd, “a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land” (Jer. 23:5 NIVO).
“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd” (Ezek. 34:23 NIVO).
We are sheep. We need a Shepherd. God has promised to supply a Shepherd from the line of David.
And God has kept His promise!
That’s what we are going to see this week and next in John chapter 10, verses 1 through 21. This week, were only going to get up through verse 13.
Chapter 10 flows right out of chapter 9. There is no break. It is apparently the same day, the same time, the same event as chapter 9.
Do you remember what happened in chapter 9? Jesus has been fighting with the Pharisees (verbally) in public for several chapters now. And He has claimed to be the Light of the World. And He makes good on that claim by healing the eyes of a man who had been born blind.
But now He sees.
Jesus put a mud-pack on his eyes and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and he was healed! Remember that from last time?
And the Pharisees were so happy for that man! They were just overjoyed and began to worship and follow Jesus. No that’s not what happened. Jesus did this miracle on a Sabbath, and they were rip-roaring mad about it. They tossed the guy out on his ear. And they called Jesus “a sinner.”
And Jesus called them “blind.” These leaders claimed to really see but they were really blind.
Jesus’ last words to the Pharisees in chapter 9 were, “Your guilt remains.”
And then He just starts speaking again in what we call chapter 10. Remember John didn’t put these chapter numbers here. They’re just addresses, points on the map, so that we can find things in the Bible.
Jesus is apparently still talking to and about these very same people when He says (V.1), “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.”
Now, in this section (vv.1-6), Jesus is drawing a sharp contrast between the so-called shepherds of Israel and the shepherd that God’s people truly needed. Verse 6 calls it a “figure of speech.” It’s an extended illustration.
The sheep are God’s people, and they need led and cared for.
And there are genuine shepherds out there and fake shepherds. Shepherds who may look the part. But they are illegitimate and bad for the sheep.
In verse 1, they get into the sheep pen in the wrong way. They skip the gate. The climb over the wall. They sneak in.
Jesus is talking about the Pharisees! Can you see how they would be getting all red in the face as he says this?! They are “thieves and robbers.” They come by stealth and do violence. They are out for themselves and don’t really care about the flock.
But the true shepherd is genuine. He comes the right way. He has the right credentials. Verse 3. He shows His ID at the gate. 
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
Now there were two main kinds of sheep pens in the Middle East at that time. One is the smaller one out in the fields. We’ll talk more about that in a minute. The other is the large one in a courtyard enclosure in a more populated area. They could be big enough that several flocks could share the space together for a time. I think that’s the one that we see here.
The gatekeeper opens up for the real shepherd, and He steps in and calls His own sheep by their own names. And He leads them out. He doesn’t drive them out. He leads them out. Verse 4.
“When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
I have three points to share this morning all about being Jesus’ sheep. And here’s the first one.
#1. FOLLOW JESUS ALONE AND BE TRULY KNOWN.
He hasn’t said it yet in so many words, but the real shepherd here is Jesus. 
His sheep know it. They listen to His voice. They know His voice. In fact, verse 5, “But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.”
True sheep ultimately don’t get duped by false shepherds. 
So Jesus was putting the Pharisees on notice. They were not going to get to keep Jesus’ people. His true sheep would hear His voice and follow Him alone.
Just the like the (formerly) blind man. 
He could now see through the Pharisees and their pretensions. Remember how almost snarky he got with them?
"Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.” (Jn. 9:30 NIVO)
“Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" (Jn. 9:27 NIVO)
Jesus says, “Expect more of that snark, guys. My sheep will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from you.”
And here’s what we are supposed to do–run to Jesus and follow Him.
Are you doing that? Are you a living as a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you living as a disciple?
In the four chair illustration that Pastor Joel Zaborowski gave us last week, are you growing in chair number two?  
Jesus says that His sheep follow Him (v.4). That means that they do what He says. Are you doing what Jesus says? Are you being obedient to His commands? Are you living in line with His teaching?
Are you following your own Shepherd? Or are you trying to go on your own?  Or are you listening to another voice? There are a lot of voices out there trying to be your shepherd. Listen to Jesus voice and follow Him alone.
And you will be known.
That’s my favorite part of these first six verses. It’s what it says in verse 3. It’s not just that we know Him and His voice, but He knows us. V.3
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
By name! There is such a close relationship between the genuine shepherd and His own sheep that He doesn’t shove the ones that are his out the door. He just speaks to them, and they cock their ear. He just calls their name, and they come follow Him.
You are known. 
But if you think about, He doesn’t just know their names. He probably named them Himself. He gave them their names. That’s the level of intimacy they have. They answer to the name that He has given them. You are known. And you are loved. And you are cared for.
Next week, we’ll see how deeply known we are. Just glance at verses 14 and 15! Do you know how known you are? Do you know how beloved you are to the Shepherd Jesus? He knows everything about you, including the worst things about you, and He still loves you.
In fact, He calls your name and calls you to follow Him alone.
Verse 6 says, “Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.”
We’re pretty used to that by now in the gospel of John. At some point later it started to make sense to them. So, in verse 7, Jesus switches the metaphor a little bit, and here we come to our title for today’s message once again. Verse 7.
“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
#2. ENTER THROUGH JESUS ALONE AND BE TRULY SAVED.
Now, which is it? Is Jesus a shepherd or a gate? (Some of your versions have “door”. The “door” of sheep pen is often called a “gate.”)
Is Jesus a shepherd or a gate? Well, it’s both, right?
In the first six verses, He was the genuine shepherd. And the gate was opened for Him. But now in this part of his illustration, He says that He is the gate for the sheep Himself. He Himself is the access point to the safety and security of the sheep pen.
Jesus has a way of making everything about Himself, doesn’t He? That’s probably because everything IS about Him when you get down to it, isn’t it?
Interestingly, there was a way in that culture where a person could be both a shepherd and a gate.
And that is a situation like this.
When the wall of the sheep pen was broken down. 
[This was a wall in the Lake District in England. Near to Beatrix Potter’s house where she wrote the “Peter Rabbit” stories for children.]
Or when it was designed that way. In Israel in that day, some of the sheep pens out in the countryside were small circles or squares with a five or six foot opening at one end. And the shepherd, after he had gotten his wooly charges into the circle would then lay down over the opening himself.
And nobody was getting out without Him and nobody was getting into those sheep without going through Him.
He was the door.He was the doorway.He was the gate. 
And if you had gone through Him and were inside, then you were safe. 
V.9 again. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
Jesus saying that there is only one access point to salvation, and that He is it.
He’s going to say something very similar in chapter 14. With another “I am” statement. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6 NIVO).
In other words, “I am the gate.”
And that might sound narrow, and it is, but it is also free to everyone. And it is the way to salvation. He is the way to salvation. 
Have you entered through Jesus? In the four chair illustration from Pastor Joel last week, have you gone from chair one to chair two? Don’t stay on chair number one! And there is only way to get to chair number two. And it’s by trusting in Jesus and what He did for you on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. At the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
Enter through Jesus alone and be truly saved.
On that first Palm Sunday, as they waved their branches the crowds were shouting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!” which is a quote from Psalm 118, verse 26.
Just a few verses before that Psalm 118 says this (vv.19-21):
“Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation” (Ps. 118:19-21 NIVO).
Enter through Jesus alone and be truly saved. 
And have true life. I love that word “saved” in verse 9, but I’m maybe even more excited about that word “pasture.” That means, grass, right? It means that sheep will have what the sheep needs for life. 
Pasture is food. It’s provision. It’s sustenance. It’s satisfaction. It’s life. It’s the good life. Right? Look at verse 10. Jesus contrasts once again.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
That’s a good verse to memorize. There are so many good verses in John to memorize!
Jesus says that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Who is the thief? 
It doesn’t say. I always think of it as Satan because that sounds like his mission. I think that’s right. But in the context, the thieves are these false shepherds, the ones who came before Jesus who made such a mess of it for God’s people. They were actually on Satan’s mission.  So the “thief” is anyone who would try to attack and destroy God’s people. Steal. Kill. Destroy.
But Jesus’ mission was the exact opposite.
“I have come that [my sheep] may have life, and have it to the full.”
In abundance.
#3. BELIEVE IN JESUS ALONE AND BE TRULY ALIVE.
These sheep have it good. They have all of the pasture that they can ask for. They have every blessing. They have grace upon grace. They have life. True life.
And we have learned that that life comes from believing in Jesus. 
John 20:31, These things “...are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Jesus is the bread of life.Jesus gives us the light of life.Jesus is the gate that leads to life.
Abundant life. The best life.  Eternal life. Eternal joy. Eternal blessedness. All because of Jesus.
We could not find this life on our own. We are sheep. Helpless and dumb. But Jesus has come to give us this life so that we can begin to enjoy it now and then enjoy it forever, to the full.
Isn’t that wonderful? Aren’t you so thankful for the abundant life that Jesus has given you? We only have it in part now. We still live surrounded by death and carry around a little death inside of us.
But death does not have the final word for us. 
Because of Jesus, life is the final word for us!
Everything we said earlier when we quoted Psalm 23 has come true for us in ways that maybe King David couldn’t have even imagined!
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. [That’s pasture! That’s abundant life!] Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:5-6 NIVO).
The Prayer Meeting looked at Psalm 23 on Wednesday, and we talked about those words “follow me” in Psalm 23. 
They mean “pursuit.” Like when you’re driving too fast and you start to see those red and blue lights flashing behind you. But it’s not the cops pursuing you. It’s “goodness” and covenant “love” chasing after you all of the days of your life and then forevermore!
Jesus “the Gate” has come that you may have life and have it to the full! Believe in Jesus alone and be truly alive. 
Because this is what it took for us to have this abundant life:
Jesus had to lay down His.
Verse 11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd...” (vv.11-14a).
Again, Jesus contrasts Himself with the Pharisees and the other Jewish Religious Leaders.
Here he doesn’t call them thieves and robbers, but He says that they are like “hired hands” who are just self-interested. They aren’t really invested in the sheep. When the wolf comes (who also wants to steal, kill, and destroy), they hit the road. They don’t care about sheep.
But Jesus does.
Oh my, does Jesus care about His sheep!
Now He comes out and says it loud and clear and two times, “I am the good shepherd.”
That’s the fourth of the great “I Am” declarations in the Gospel of John. This chapter has two of them! “I am the gate,” and “I am the good shepherd.”
Which is so good, we’re going to come back and finish this section on Resurrection Sunday.
He’s “good” not just in contrast to “bad” but good in the sense of “perfect” or “best.” He’s everything that a Shepherd should be and could be. He is the fulfillment of Psalm 23 and Isaiah 40 and Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34. He is great David’s greatest son. And He is God’s Son.
He is the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd like no other. The Shepherd par excellence!
We are sheep. We helpless. We are needy. We are dumb. We needed a Shepherd, and praise God, He sent us the best one!
And we know that because He said so and because He acted on it, too. 
“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
What?! What kind of a shepherd does that?!
That’s not like any kind of normal shepherd. A normal shepherd might take some risks. They work really hard for their flock.
But if it’s a choice between a sheep and a shepherd? Goodbye, "Sheepie." 
But not with us. Not this kind of sheep. Not you and me.
Not only does this Shepherd know us, including all of our failings and sin.
But this Shepherd loved us enough to lay down His life for us.
“[H]e was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him [our Good Shepherd, the Gate] the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:5-6 NIVO).
Be Jesus’ Sheep.

***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41

“Now I See” [Matt's Messages]

“Now I See”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMarch 10, 2024 :: John 9:1-41  
This is a delightful story. It’s just so beautiful and powerful. It's an incredibly familiar story and beloved, for good reason.
There’s an amazing miracle, a sign. And there’s humorous interaction, lots of it. It makes you laugh. And there is deep truth about Who Jesus truly is. It’s a delightful story, vividly told. And it’s true!
Let’s get into it together. John chapter 9, verse 1. Jesus has escaped the clutches of the Pharisees. After calling them children of the devil and claiming Himself to be pre-existent and self-existent, Jesus has slipped away from the temple grounds. Verse 1.
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” 
If you don’t already know the story, you can already guess where it’s headed. Jesus encounters a man with congenital blindness. This guy could not see anything and never could see anything.

We don’t know his name. We are never told his name! But we are told that he has never seen anything. Life has always been dark for him. He’s never seen his mom or his dad. He’s never seen a tree or a building or the sea or the sun. He was born that way. He has eyes, but they don't work. They have never worked. He has never seen anything. Which is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s not the way things were when God made the world. 
So this man’s condition raises a theological question for Jesus’ disciples.  They ask Jesus in v.2, “Rabbi [our teacher], who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 
How would you answer that one? How would you answer their theological question? Is it a good one?
I think it’s right to make some kind of connection between disease and sin, between disability and sin. There has to be some connection. Because blindness was not intended from the beginning.
But is the connection one-to-one? Does it have to be this man’s sin or his parent’s sin that caused this congenital blindness? No. The disciples are thinking like the friends of Job. I just read Job this week, and Job’s friends are convinced that Job is suffering because of specific sins in his life, and it’s just not true. Yes, suffering and disease and disability have entered the world because of our sin, but not every instance of suffering or disease or disability is the direct result of our particular sin or anyone’s particular sin!
Jesus’ answer to their theological question is (v.3), “Neither!” 
“‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
There’s more to it but not less! His parents didn’t sin so that he was blind. And he certainly didn’t sin in the womb so that God punished him with blindness–that’s not how it works.
If you are suffering from some disease or disability, don't let anyone put a guilt trip on you by telling you that your illness or handicap is because of some unconfessed sin in your life. That is not always true. This man had a whole other reason for being blind. Specifically, that God's glory, God's activity would be displayed in his life. God has a higher purpose for this suffering, for this disability. God’s going to do something with it. 
Instead of laying on shame, Jesus builds anticipation of glory. Jesus is going to do something big in this man’s life. Verse 4.
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’”
Does that sound familiar? That’s our memory verse isn’t it?
Let’s say it together again: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (Jn. 8:12 NIVO)
Jesus says in verse 4, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.” I think He means that as long as He is present on Earth, He and His disciples have a divine mission to accomplish. That word “sent” is very important to Jesus in the Gospel of John. How many times has He said it already? The Father sent the Son! “Night is coming, when no one can work.” I think that probably means the crucifixion and the time of burial, when His terrible work had been accomplished. 
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus is convinced that He is the light of the world. Jesus claims that He is the light of the world. And now Jesus intends to prove it. Look at verse 6.
“Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent).”
There’s that word “sent” again! This time Jesus is doing the sending of a man to the pool named Sent.
First, he spit on the ground and made some mud with His saliva. That’s the Creator of the World in the flesh making a mud-cake out of the Earth He created and smearing it on the never-seeing eyes of this man. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe there’s some kind of point about creation there. I don’t know. But it has the effect of separating the man from Jesus. Jesus actually drops out of the story here until the very end of the chapter.
We follow the blind man walking through Jerusalem with mud on his face heading towards this Pool of Siloam. That the same pool that they would fill the Golden Flagon with water at the Feast of Tabernacles that we talked about in chapter 7. This man stumbles over there and washes his face. Verse 7.
“So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”
Can you imagine?!
Remember, he has never seen anything before in his life! And now he can.
Suddenly, he knows what people really look like. What water looks like.  Can you imagine? As he's brushing the water from the pool of Siloam from his eyes, he catches his own reflection in the pool. He feels his face and watches his fingers touch what he sees. He can see for the first time! He lifts his head and can see Jerusalem–people bustling by on their business. He can see! Everything has changed for his man. Everything.
Do you think that Jesus is the Light of the World?
So, what was this guy’s job, up till now? Up till now, he was a beggar. In that culture and that state of technology in that day, that’s about all he could do. But now he doesn’t have to beg. And his old friends and neighbors don’t hardly recognize him. Look at verse 8.
“His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some claimed that he was. Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man.’”
He looks like the guy. But that guy was blind.
And the guy is like, “No, I’m that guy.” And they’re like, “What?” Verse 10.
“‘How then were your eyes opened?’ they demanded. He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’”
This guy is going to have to tell this story over and over again for the rest of his life. But he’ll gladly do it. Because now he can see!
Verse 12. “‘Where is this man?’ they asked him. ‘I don't know,’ he said. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.”
Wait. What? All of a sudden it seems like something bad has happened. This man is taken to the Pharisees for what feels like an interrogation. The greatest thing has happened to him, and now it feels like he’s in trouble. What’s going on? Verse 14.
“Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.”
Oh. Aha. We've seen this movie before, haven't we [chapter 5]? These guys are going to get upset that Jesus “worked” on a Sabbath by making up a mud-cake. And they're missing that Jesus gave this man sight!
And this guy is saying to himself, “Oh, so that's what a Pharisee looks like.”  He’s just so happy to see anything. But they are not happy. Verse 15.
“Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’”
That’s our sermon title, by the way: “Now I See.”
And I’ve got two big points of application to go with that title. Here’s number one:
#1. TELL PEOPLE WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU.
Tell your story. Give your testimony. If Jesus has done something big in your life, tell others about it.
For this guy, he had been given new sight. Brand new sight! He had never had sight before, and Jesus gave it to him. And then people asked what happened, he just told them.
Now, when you do that, it doesn’t mean that people will believe it. They may not even like it. These guys didn’t believe it or like it. Look at verse 16.
“Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man [meaning Jesus] is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’ But others asked, ‘How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?’ So they were divided. [Not everybody responds the same way to the same story.] Finally they turned again to the blind man, ‘What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ The man replied, ‘He is a prophet.’”
And he was right.
We know that he was more than a prophet, but He was a prophet, and in fact, He was The Prophet Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18. Remember that from December? Jesus is a Man from God.
All this guy is doing is sharing what Jesus did for him and what he then thinks of Jesus because of it.
That’s simple, isn’t it? Can you do that? Can you tell somebody what Jesus has done for you? I know that you weren’t born blind and then Jesus smeared mud on your eyes and sent you across town to wash and now you can see. But has Jesus done something in your life? Can you tell somebody?
The Pharisees are not happy that this man can now see. In fact, they don’t believe that he was ever actually blind in the first place. They don’t want to believe. So they interrogate his parents. 
The ones that the disciples thought must have sinned so that he was blind in the first place. Their son can see, but now it feels like they’re in trouble. They are subpoenaed into presence of the Pharisees. Verse 18.
“The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. ‘Is this your son?’ they asked. ‘Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?’
‘We know he is our son,’ the parents answered, ‘and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.’” 
They don’t sound happy, do they? No, they sound scared. Here’s why. Verse 22.
“His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’”
They are scared. They don’t want to be cut off from their religious community. They don’t want to get into trouble because of Jesus. So they don’t tell people what Jesus has done for them. Jesus has healed their son’s eyes, and they won’t say it.
They probably aren’t lying, per se, because they weren’t there so they don’t  “know” firsthand, but they’ve probably already heard the story from their boy. And they aren’t willing to repeat it.
Beloved, let’s not be like them. Let’s not be afraid to tell people what Jesus has done for us. 
So often I have chickened out. Of all the characters in this story, these two parents are the people I identify with the most, at least at first. I’m often afraid to get into trouble for Jesus. 
Now, I don’t mean get into trouble and blame Jesus for things He never asked us to do. And I also don’t mean that we should go around look to make trouble for Jesus. We’re actually supposed to live quiet lives. But I do mean we should be ready to get into trouble just because we’re talking about what Jesus did for us. And if we never do get into trouble, then we should ask ourselves if we are, in fact, being faithful to Jesus. 
So, that’s the last we hear from his parents. They are done with them. But they aren’t done with the man who can now see. Look at verse 24.
“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. ‘Give glory to God,’ they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.’ He replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!’”
One of the most famous lines in all of church history. And it even made it into the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
"Was blind but now I see."
Why? Because Jesus is the Light of the World!
This guy doesn’t even know what Jesus looks like! He doesn’t know if Jesus is a sinner.  He just knows one thing. And he tells them what he knows, “I was blind but now I see.” It’s the facts.
This is the best kind of evangelism. Just giving your personal testimony. It’s so powerful because it’s personal. And it’s just saying what Jesus has done for you. It’s hard to argue with.
Though, some will try. Verse 26
“Then they asked him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ [This is getting a little ridiculous.] He answered, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?’”
I love that! I think he’s getting the picture that they really hate that he can now see and that Jesus is responsible. There’s no way to wiggle out of the obvious conclusion, Jesus is the Christ. This guy is ready to join up and follow Jesus. And find life in Jesus’ name (20:31).
And it’s the last thing that they want to do. But all they can think of to do is throw personal abuse. Verse 28.
“Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. [Like me!] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’”
“So I think, I think, He must be from God. Because now I see.”
He is downright snarky, isn’t he? We don’t have to get snarky. But we do need to become bold. Who could you tell this week what Jesus has done for you? Who needs to hear it? 
There are people in your life that need to hear your story. Don’t keep it from them out of fear of what they will do with it. Just be faithful to share it. Maybe it’s somebody that you’ve invited to the Wild Game Dinner?
Jesus is the Light of the World, who brought the “light of life” into your life.
Tell somebody. Tell manybodies. Tell everybody. 
“I was blind but now I see.”
And don’t worry about how they will react. They might get saved! Or they might toss you out on your ear. Verse 34.
“To this they replied, ‘You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!’ And they threw him out.”
But Jesus never will (John 6:37).  In fact, when rejected by the world, Jesus will always find us. 
“Jesus said that if I am lostHe will come to meAnd He showed me on the crossHe will come to me
For the Lord is good and faithfulHe will keep us day and nightWe can always run to JesusJesus, strong and kind.” - CityAlight
Look at verse 35. “Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’ 
Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him.”
That’s point number two and last:
#2. BELIEVE IN AND WORSHIP JESUS AS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
I love that Jesus found this man! He has gained everything and lost everything. He gained his sight and lost his synagogue.
Just by being bold. But He didn’t lose Jesus. Jesus came for him. And says, “Do you believe in the Son of Man.” That’s another way of saying, “The Messiah.” “The Christ.” “The King of the Kingdom of God.” 
Do you believe in Him? That’s a great question, that He is asking us, too. And the guy is trying to put this all together. “Who is he, sir? Tell me that I may believe in him.”  “I want to!” 
Jesus says, “You have now seen him.” Isn’t that something? He had never seen anything, and now He is looking at the Son of Man! He is looking at the Light of the World!
He’s heard this voice before. This is the guy with the mud. This is Jesus. “Lord, I believe” and he worshiped him. He worshiped this man.
By the way, you should not worship a man unless He is the God-Man. Unless He is “The I Am,” like we saw last week.
But it was good and right to worship Jesus, and that’s what we are doing this morning. 
And that’s what the Pharisees refused to do. They refused to believe, and they refused to worship Jesus, and it will mean their condemnation. Look at verse 39.
“Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’”
Wait. I thought He didn’t come for judgment. John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Right! But what if they do not believe? What if they will not believe? Then they will perish. They will enter into the judgment. They will be condemned.
Jesus does divide people. He came into the world “so that the [physically and spiritually] blind will see and those who [physically see but refuse to spiritually] see will become blind.”
And, oh boy, the Pharisees didn’t like to hear that. V.40
“Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’ [We’re the Pharisees, man!] Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.’”
In other words, “Yes.” The Pharisees, devoted and religious as they came, were the ones, in this story, who were truly blind. Because they refused to admit it.
Here’s the principle: 
You have to truly see your blindness before you can truly see the Light.
You have to admit that you are a sinner to have a Savior. These Pharisees would not admit that they were lost. So they couldn’t be found. They would not admit that they were blind. So, they couldn’t say, “Now I See.” Friends, let’s not be like them.
Let’s repent of our stubborn spiritual blindness and believe and worship Jesus as the Light of the World.

***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59

“Your Father” [Matt's Messages]

“Your Father”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMarch 3, 2024 :: John 8:31-59  Last week, we lit the Christ Candle from Christmas Eve and studied together our Lord’s astonishing claim in chapter 8, verse 12. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12 NIVO).
And we believe that, amen? And so did many of the people who heard Him say it that day (v.30). 
But not all of them. And some of those who believed it at first stopped believing it at last. Because of Who was their true father.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Hold onto Jesus and His truth, and you will be set free.
The goal of this sermon today is freedom, spiritual freedom. You could hear the grand promises that Jesus made about spiritual freedom when Keagan read those first few verses to us. 
“Set free...free indeed.” 
Those are beautiful, powerful words! And John says that they were spoken to some Jews who had “believed” in Jesus, at least provisionally, initially. Jesus gave them this promise. Look at verses 31 and 32.
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Doesn’t that just sound wonderful?! “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
The problem is that many of the Jews who were listening to Him that day did not believe that they needed to be set free. We said last week that this entire chapter, chapter 8, of the Gospel of John is one big fight with the Pharisees. Jesus claimed to be the Light of the World, and they vigorously disputed that claim. They fought against Him. And they go back and forth and back and forth in a verbal battle of words. By the end of the chapter, both Jesus and the Pharisees will have said some  really strong things! Some knock-down-drag-out fighting words to and about each other. Here, Jesus offers to set them free if they will hold to His teaching. We’ll talk more about what that means in a little bit, but they dispute that they need to be set free in the first place. Because of who their father is. Look at verse 33. “They answered him, ‘We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’”
I’ve entitled this message, “Your Father,” because that’s a phrase that Jesus keeps using in this fight with the Pharisees. There’s this tug of war through the whole rest of the chapter about the true parentage, the true spiritual paternity of these people who are fighting with Jesus. And they, right back at Him, make claims about Jesus’ parentage.
The question keeps coming up, “Who Is Truly Your Father?” Where do you really come from? What is your true DNA?
Well, the Jews were descendants of Abraham, right? They had “Father Abraham’s” DNA. They were Abraham’s “seed,” Abraham’s offspring.
And they were proud of it! In verse 33, they say that because of Abraham, they had never been anyone’s slave. Which they could not have meant politically. Because since Abraham, they had been slaves of Egypt, and the Philistines, and the Assyrians, and the Babylonians [remember Jeremiah!] and the Medes and the Persians, and the Greeks, and now the Romans.
But they thought that because Abraham was their father, they were spiritually free! “We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
We call that being “self-deceived.” We all hate to be told that we are enslaved to something, but Jesus could see it clearly. They were enslaved to sin. V.34
“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (vv.34-36). Now, that’s a wonderful promise. But they weren’t sure that they needed it. 
Jesus says that “everyone who sins is a slave to sin” that means that everyone who gets caught up in sin gets entangled in it. And that’s true for everyone, not just Gentiles. It was true for the Jews, too.
Sinning looks like freedom at first, but it actually is slavery. The sins that tempt you and me? They look like freedom at first.
That first grumble.That first lustful look.That first small sneaky theft.That first juicy piece of gossip.That first little lie.
It all seems like freedom. But it’s never just the first one. “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” And, therefore, we need to be set free.
Here’s the kind of freedom that verse 32 is talking about. It’s not political freedom, as much as that is a good thing when we can enjoy it.
It’s spiritual freedom. 
It’s freedom from sin.It’s freedom from Satan.It’s freedom from self.It’s freedom from shame.
And Jesus offers to give it to us.
Because He is the Son. He’s never been enslaved and so He can give this freedom freely.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
And that’s the whole point of this message, and the whole point of this book. That’s why Jesus came. He is the Son! He came to save. He came to set the captives free. Amen?
That’s what Jesus was doing on the Cross and what we will be celebrating at His Table today.
But these people did not believe that they needed saving or that Jesus could save them. In fact, they wanted to kill Him, not follow Him!  Look at verse 37.
“I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
There’s our sermon title: “Your father.”
“You say that you come from Abraham, but you don’t act like it. I think you have a different daddy than Father Abraham.”
“Nu uh!” they say. Verse 39. “‘Abraham is our father,’ they answered. ‘If you were Abraham's children,’ said Jesus, ‘then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.’”
I’ve tried to summarize this whole section in three parts, each with its own major application. Each point is what Jesus was saying to these people about their father. Here’s the first one:
#1. YOUR (PHYSICAL) FATHER BELIEVED AND OBEYED.
Yes, Abraham was their physical father, but was He their spiritual father? Well, how did Abraham act? How did Abraham behave? Anybody remember what we said the major lesson of Abraham’s life was back when studied the book of Genesis in 2003?
Abraham had faith.
Abraham listened to God.Abraham believed God.Abraham obeyed God.
Hear, believe, obey.
Now, let’s look at the Pharisees.
Are they like Abraham? No, they are not.
You know, we have this saying, “Like Father, like child,” right? Children naturally reproduce their parent’s qualities. But these people weren’t reproducing Abraham’s qualities. “If you were Abraham's children, then you would do the things Abraham did.” 
Abraham heard, believed, obeyed. “You have set out to kill me, ‘a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.’" “I don’t think that Abraham is your true daddy.”
So what should we do in light of this point?
Stay tuned into the truth of Jesus.
Hold onto Jesus and His truth, and you will be set free. Be like Abraham and hear, believe, and obey. And continue to hear, believe, and obey. That’s the point that Jesus was making in our very first verse, verse 31.
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
It’s not just if you say you believe up front, but if you “hold” to it. If you stick with it. The word here is “remain” or the old English word is “abide.” To live in it. If you live in Jesus’ teaching, then you really are His disciples. That’s how Abraham lived! He heard, believed, obeyed. He “held” to the truth.
At Stay Sharp this week, the theme was “Always Making Disciples,” and we learned what a disciple is. It’s more than just someone who says that they believe in Jesus. It’s someone who actually believes in Jesus! It’s a follower of Jesus. A learner of Jesus. 
Our teacher, Greg Strand, used the word “apprentice.” That’s someone who conforms themselves to someone else. They tune their attention onto their master and conform their lives to their instruction. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
This summer our Challenge Crew is set to travel to Kansas City to grow as disciples there. All of the teaching will be centered on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. 
And as they learn that truth and conform themselves to it, they will be set free. I’m so excited for them!
But these people that Jesus was fighting with were not acting like their physical father, Father Abraham. Jesus says they were acting like they had some other father. 
V.41 again, “You are doing the things your own father does.”
Now, those are fighting words!
If it wasn’t Jesus, I’d say that this is almost like a daytime talk show where you have these people up on stage arguing about paternity tests. Did you ever watch one of those? Don’t. It’s not worth your time. But it’s like people saying, “I think that he’s your child.” Or “she’s not my child.” And they’re arguing on camera about where these kids are coming from.
Jesus is arguing about where these children are coming from, but He’s not in the dark, and He’s not saying it for sick and sordid entertainment. He’s saying it to get the truth out.
But they don’t want to hear the truth. Verse 41.
“‘We are not illegitimate children,’ they protested. ‘The only Father we have is God himself.’”
That’s upping the ante, isn’t it? They’re going above Abraham now. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Ok! Verse 42. “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.” 
You guys aren’t God’s children! God’s children love God’s Son. Because God sent His Son for them. God’s Children love God’s Son. In fact, that’s how they become God’s children!  
Chapter 1, verse 12 said, “to all who received him [they welcomed Him, they took Him in, they loved Him], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
God’s children love God’s Son, and these folks wanted to kill Him.
God is not their father. Someone else must be. Look at verse 43.
“Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!” (vv.43-45).
Here’s point number two, directed at these people Jesus was fighting with:
#2. YOUR (SPIRITUAL) FATHER KILLED AND LIED.
Your spiritual father lied and killed. Your spiritual father is the devil! Those are strong words, aren’t they? Jesus knows their true parentage. They are children of the devil even though they are incredibly religious.
Remember that! Jesus is not impressed by religiosity. It’s often just a front for depravity. We don’t just listen to someone’s pious sounding words. We look at their actions. Because behavior betrays identity. How we act shows what we truly believe. And how we act reveals who we truly are and whose we really are. According to Jesus, these folks were the devil’s own children.
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (v.44a).
Notice, “not holding to the truth.” That’s the opposite of “hold to Jesus’ teaching.” They were the opposite of Jesus’ true disciples. In fact, they wanted to kill Jesus. They wanted to carry out the devil’s desire to kill Jesus. 
He’s always been a murderer. From when he tempted Adam and Eve to introduce death to the human race. And when he tempted Cain to murder his brother Abel. From the very beginning, he’s been killing.
And he’s been lying. Jesus says it five different ways! The devil is...“not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Tell us what you think, Jesus! 
Does the devil speak the truth? No, he does not. 
So if we believe him, then it’s the opposite of verse 32, right? “Then you will know only lies, and the lies will leave you enslaved.”
Here’s the major application point for this one. It’s obvious but hard to do:
Tune out the devil’s lies.
He is completely untrustworthy. You can’t believe anything he says. He often mixes in enough truth into his propaganda to make it sound plausible, and attractive. But it’s all deception. All smoke and mirrors and bait and switch. Tune out the devil’s lies.
How do you know which ones are which? Well, that’s why we have this book. We’re supposed to compare and contrast everything we see and hear and are offered against what Jesus has taught us. And then we hold fast to Jesus’ teaching and we jettison anything that doesn’t accord with it.
This week at Stay Sharp, Greg Strand took us through a bunch of things in contemporary life where the devil is trying to sell us a bill of goods.
And he taught us some about how to navigate between them, steering towards God’s truth in light of God’s Word.
I remember a few years ago, I was driving down the road, and I turned on my radio, and it was stuck between like two different radio stations. And one of them was a Christian station with a song about Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life, and the other was a song from another station about how meaningless life is.
And I just left it right there on a the dial for a little bit and thought about the contrast.
That’s a picture of life for us right now, isn’t it? I’m not talking about radio station you listen to. I’m talking about what Father you listen to.  Because the Father of Jesus is telling you the truth (and Jesus is that truth), and the Father of Lies is doing what he always does. Which one are you tuning in?
Last month about this time I drove out to visit Isaac, and I used my GPS on my phone and I have a little thing that I plug in and can play my podcasts and GPS over the radio. But when I got into Indianapolis, the radio stations there started to bleed in, and drown out the GPS directions to get to Isaac’s house. 
“If you hold to my teaching, you are my really my disciples.” Stay tuned into the truth of Jesus and tune out the devil’s lies. And you will show who is truly your father. Verse 46.
“Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.’”
“You aren’t tuning in because you don’t want to tune in. You aren’t tuning in because you are not God’s children.”
Jesus was sinless. Jesus was guiltless. He did not deserve to die. They only reason why they wanted Him to die was because they were children of The Killer. And they have their fingers in their ears. That’s why they come back more name calling. Instead of repenting, they double-down. Verse 48.
“The Jews answered him, ‘Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?’ ‘I am not possessed by a demon,’ said Jesus, ‘but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death’” (vv.48-51). What a wonderful promise! 
Now, of course, He doesn’t mean physical death. He means spiritual death. He means John 3:16, “will not perish but have eternal life.” He means John 5:24, “crossed over from death to life.” He means John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” He means John 8:12, “Will have the light of life.”
All you have to do is believe and keep believing.
Keep His word in your heart. “Hold to His teaching.” “Know the truth, and the truth will set you free” from spiritual death!
Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus’ word? If you have not yet, I invite you to do so now.
“I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
Of course, the Pharisees misunderstand that, like they have been misunderstanding everything in this war of words. V.52
“At this the Jews exclaimed, ‘Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?’” (vv.52-53). 
They assume that Jesus would agree that He is not greater than Abraham who died. But the truth is that He is greater than Father Abraham. V.54
“Jesus replied, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.’” (vv.54-56).
Point number three and last. What Jesus was saying to these people:
#3. YOUR (PHYSICAL) FATHER REJOICED FOR JESUS’ DAY.
Jesus claims that His Father (God the Father) is glorifying Jesus. That’s a huge claim! But it’s true. And if He said anything else, He’d be lying like the Pharisees (or like the devil). But Jesus also says that their father, Father Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus’ day. He says that Abraham saw it and was glad. What does that mean? 
Remember God gave Father Abraham some great big promises: Offspring, Land, and Blessing? Lots of blessing. Blessing the whole wide world!
And Father Abraham looked down the road toward the fulfillment of all of those promises, and he rejoiced in faith that those promises were all going to come true.
And we know how those promises are all going to come true–in Jesus! 
And that would be big enough, right? Father Abraham looked ahead to see the fulfillment of these promise and we know that that fulfillment is named “Jesus.”
But the Pharisees scoff and Jesus goes even bigger. Verse 57.
“‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ the Jews said to him, ‘and you have seen Abraham!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’”
Whoa. What just happened? Jesus cranked the dial past 11 million. He uses that those words we’ve already seen a bunch of times “ego eimi” (I am) with something after it like I am the bread of life or I am the light of the world. Or what could be taken to mean, “I am he.” or “I am the one I claimed to be.”
And here He unmistakably just takes it by itself to decribe Himself.
“I am.”
“Before Abraham was born, I am!”
That sounds weird to us, but it sound blasphemous to them. This is the first thing they did not misunderstand in this war of words. Look what they did in verse 59. “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”
It still was not yet His time, His hour. But they understood what Jesus was saying. He was using the words from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).
“I am that I am.”
Jesus was claiming to be pre-existent. “Before Abraham was.” And Jesus was claiming to be self-existent. “I am.” Jesus was claiming to be God.
Application:
Worship Jesus as the I Am.
They tried to kill Him; we should bow before Him. Jesus is God! He is pre-existent. He is self-existent.
He is was. He is is. He is will be. 
He is worthy of all of our worship for all eternity.
He is God the Son, and He sets His people free.

***

Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30

“I Am the Light of the World” [Matt's Messages]

“I Am the Light of the World”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchFebruary 25, 2024 :: John 8:12-30
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
What an astonishing thing to say!!
Jesus sure has a big view of Himself, doesn’t He? This is no small claim. 
Jesus doesn’t just say that He is bright and shiny and that people should look at Him.
That would be one thing. “Hey, I’m bright and shiny. I am really something to see. I have a glory about me. Check me out! Look at me. I practically glow!”
But that’s not what He says. Jesus doesn’t just claim to be a bright light in the world. One of several. He claims to be THE light of the world!
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
The “world” here is, “kosmos,” humanity united in sin and darkness. And Jesus says that He has slipped into the darkness of this kosmos, the darkness of the world, and turned on the lights [and is, in fact, the light of that world Himself.
Last time we were in the Gospel of John together, couple of weeks ago, I pointed out that Jesus has a way of making everything about Himself.
Here He says if you don’t have Him, then you have darkness. But if you do have Him, then you have light. And more than just light, you have life!
Listen to John 8:12 once again. I think we ought to memorize this one starting next week: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'”
Most every morning, I get up before the sun does, and I put on my heavy coat and my reflective “high viz” vest, and my heated gloves, and my boots with cleats strapped to them, and grab my...flashlight. And I head out on my walk.
This time of the year it’s not as important as it is December. In December, if I don’t take my flashlight, then I often can be stumbling around on my morning hike. Maybe take a nose-dive, especially on the ice. I fell hard once in February of ‘21. Ouch! I need a light or I walk in darkness.
Jesus says that we if we follow Him in life, we will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
What does He mean?
Remember, seven times in the Gospel of John, Jesus says “I Am _____” and then fills in the blank with a wondrous description of His true identity. We’re going to see seven of these as we go through John together.
We’ve already studied one of them in this series. Do you remember what it was? Jesus says in chapter 6, “I am the bread of life.” Bread that leads to life. Bread that endures to life. If we treat Jesus like we treat bread, then we will have eternal life.
Well, here Jesus is promising the same thing with a different metaphor. Jesus says that He gives “the light of life.” Life eternal. Life better than anything that this world offers. Life that knows what reality really is. Life that escapes the death of darkness. Life that comes through the light. Life in Jesus’ name.
Light is a metaphor here for the glorious power of Christ to create life within the believer. The light of life.
John talked about this way back in chapter 1. He says this is why Jesus came. Chapter 1, verse 4. “In [the Word] was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (Jn. 1:4-5, NIVO).
I was complaining to Heather Joy yesterday about how wonderful this verse is. (Something you should never complain about.) But I just can’t capture how wonderful this promise is.
What does it mean for Jesus to be the light of the world?
Light speaks about power.Light speaks about glory.Light is about beauty.Light is about purity.Light is about holiness.Light is about life.
It’s small word, “light,” but it is everything!
And if you don’t have it, you have nothing.
You have darkness.You have emptiness.You have ugliness.You have impurity.You have sinfulness.You have lostness.You have death.
Do you feel how big this is?!
Think about the opposite. Jesus could have said it like this:
“Whoever rejects me will always walk in darkness and will have the darkness of death.”
That is true, too. That’s how important it is to understand John 8:12. It’s the difference between light and darkness. It’s the difference between life and death.
I have three points of application this morning, and they are each a matter of life and death.
#1. FOLLOW JESUS AND HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.
That’s what He says in verse 12.  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The application is obvious. Follow Jesus. If you have never begun to follow Jesus, then it’s my joy to invite you to start today.  He will not lead you astray. He will be your light, and He will give you life. He’s will be for you like the pillar of fire in the Old Testament that lit the way forward for God’s people in the wilderness. You will not be tripped up or trapped by your sin, by Satan, or by the world. You will be free and walk in the freedom of light. Come follow Jesus.
If you have already begun to follow Jesus, then I encourage you to keep going. Stay His disciple. Stay on the narrow path. Keep following Jesus. He will light your way. Last week, we talked a lot about marriage and how our theology of marriage is a mark of discipleship. 
We talked about a lot of ways in which we might struggle to follow Jesus and do marriage or singleness Jesus’ way, following God’s good design for our bodies, for our relationships, for our families, for our marriages. And it’s not always easy to do it that way. It’s not always easy to follow Jesus in discipleship. But it is the path that is illumined for us. Don’t go off into the darkness. Follow Jesus and have the light of life. It’s worth it! Following Jesus is always worth it. Especially in the light of eternity.
Now, you can feel already how Jesus is saying that there are two sides and only two sides. There is light and there is darkness, and we have to choose. In the rest of chapter 8, that choice becomes even more clear and stark. In the rest of chapter 8, Jesus gets into a verbal confrontation with the Pharisees.
When I first taught on John 8 twenty five years ago, I called this section, the “Fight with the Pharisees.” It’s going to take us at least two weeks to work through all of it.
The Pharisees (by and large) did NOT follow Jesus. They did NOT like what Jesus said in verse 12. They did not receive Him. They wanted to debate with Him, and in fact, they rejected His claims to be the light of world. They objected. “Objection, your honor!” Look at verse 13.
“The Pharisees challenged him, ‘Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.’”
“You’re not the light of the world. In fact, you are an unreliable witness in your own defense.”
And Jesus said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I must have spoken out of turn.”
No, that’s not what He says! Jesus gets feisty with them. Jesus fights back. Verse 14.
“Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.”
Jesus says that He is qualified to talk about Who He is. Because He knows Who He is.
And they don’t. They are ignorant. "I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going." You know what we call that? Darkness. Look at verse 15. 
"You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.” Not the way you do! These guys were looking at all of the wrong indicators to figure out Who Jesus was. They were focused on all of the wrong things, outward appearances. And they were missing the Light of the World.
Jesus didn’t just make decisions about people based on a limited understanding of outward appearances. Like His Father, Jesus looked on the heart. And He knew where people really were. Because of His relationship with His father. Verse 16.
“But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.”
Now, think about that verse for just a second. What does that sound like? It sounds to me like chapter 1. Notice what Jesus says is His relationship with God the Father.
Jesus is not alone.He is the Son.
He is the Son sent by the Father. So He’s FROM the Father. He has FROM-ness to use the language we said before. 
But He also has WITH-ness, doesn’t He? “I am not alone. I stand WITH the Father.” 
He is from, and He is with the Father! So they are one, but they are also two. And two is the number of witnesses that Deuteronomy says you need to have to establish a matter! So, even by their own rules, Jesus can speak as His own witness, because He doesn’t speak alone. Verse 17.
“In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.’”
Now, that should be a mic-drop moment. Jesus says that God the Father(!) has sent Him and testifies that Jesus is His Son and the Light of the World. That should be enough, right? Those are two pretty amazing witnesses.
Well, it wasn’t enough for the Pharisees. Look at verse 19.
“Then they asked him, ‘Where is your father?’ [Huh? How about you produce him? Where is Joseph anyway? They are ignorant. Probably intentionally so. Of course, He got into a lot trouble when He said that God was His Father in chapter 5. But...He goes there again. Verse 19] ‘You do not know me or my Father,’ Jesus replied. ‘If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’”
#2. KNOW JESUS AND HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS FATHER.
Know Jesus and know His father. Jesus says that if you know Him, you will know God the Father, as well. Now, that’s scary for those who do not know Jesus (especially those who do not want to know Jesus), but it is so wonderful for you and me.
Do you want to know God? Do you want to have intimate knowledge of the Creator and Lord of the Universe?
You know that God is high and holy and invisible and glorious and lives in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16)? Nobody has ever seen Him!
But what does John 1:18 say? “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known” (Jn. 1:18 NIVO). If you know Jesus, you know His Father.
Let me give you an illustration of this. It's a little known fact that I proposed marriage to Heather Joy before I asked her father for his blessing. In fact, I proposed marriage to Heather Joy before I had even met her father and mother in person.
Now, it is not a little known fact that in-laws can be a big part of a good marriage.  You might be wondering, how I dared to propose without seeing fully what I was getting into. What would the in-laws be like? They were 2,000 miles away in Canada but would become a big part of my life in a short amount of time. And I was accepting them, sight unseen. Sounds dangerous right? 
(If not, you haven't been married!)
No, because I knew their daughter. Because I had made a study of Heather Joy, I knew what I was getting into by seeking to add her parents to my family. I could have been wrong, because Heather is not a perfect representation of her parents, but I had a pretty good idea of who they were before I ever laid eyes on them. (And they turned out to be better than I ever expected!)
Now, think about Jesus. According to v.19, he is the perfect representation of God to us. If you want to know what God is really like, look at Jesus.  When you come to know him, you really know the Father.
Jesus is basically going to say that in the Upper Room when we get to chapter 14. He’s going to say, “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (Jn. 14:7-8 NIVO).
So you want to know God, study Jesus. 
The book of Hebrews says, “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being...” (Heb. 1:3 NIVO).
He is the Light of the World.He is the Light of God!“True Light of True Light.”
We accept this, but Jesus was saying really dangerous things right there. In public. That’s why verse 20 says, “He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.”
Remember Jesus said that to His brothers in the last chapter. It wasn’t His time yet. The hour of His passion had not yet come.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t want to arrest Him, but they just weren’t able to yet. Even though He was there at the temple saying things like this that if you want to know God, you need to know Him.
“I am the light of the world.”
In verse 21, Jesus predicts the future, and for the Pharisees, it is bleak. Verse 21.
“Once more Jesus said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.’
This made the Jews ask, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?’
But he continued, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.’”
#3. BELIEVE IN JESUS AND HAVE YOUR SINS FORGIVEN.
The stakes could not be higher. He says it three times, “you will indeed die in your sins.” That’s scary! That means that these people would die with their sins wrapped around them and go into God’s judgment.
In verse 21, Jesus talked about His death and resurrection and ascension. “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
I think He means that they will keep looking for a Messiah even after Jesus’ resurrection. The Pharisees will, by and large, reject Jesus, and they will not go where He is going if they reject Him.
They will stumble in the darkness. “You will die in your sin.”
The Pharisees ask if Jesus is depressed and suicidal. “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come.’” I don’t think they really want to understand what He means. They are not seeking the truth. They are content to live in the darkness.
Jesus says that the divide between them could not be greater. “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.'" And so you will go to Hell.
But! We don’t have to go to Hell. We don’t have die in our sins. We don’t have to stumble in the darkness. We can follow Jesus have the light of life. We can believe in Jesus and have our sins forgiven.
That’s the flipside of verse 24, isn’t it?
“[I]f you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
But the opposite is also true, “If you DO BELIEVE that I am the one I claim to be, you will have your sins forgiven.”
“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 crossed over from death to life” (Jn. 5:24 NIVO).
Now, hidden in the words of the NIV are some very interesting words in the Greek. They are going to be front and center next week, Lord-willing. Your translation may say, “believe that I am He.” Or it might actually just say believe, “I am.” Because that’s the Greek. “Ego Eimi.” “I am.” 
Like, “I am the light of the world.”
Or like at the burning bush, “I am who I am...Tell them ‘I am’ sent you.”
The NIV translation, “I am the one I claim to be” is very good. I think that is the sense of the words here. The correct interpretation. But you can’t help hear “I am.” “Believe I am.” But these men do not. They challenge Him again. Verse 25.
“‘Who are you?’ they asked. ‘Just what I have been claiming all along,’ Jesus replied. I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world’” (vv.25-26).
They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.” They didn’t want to understand. 
“Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
They didn’t want to know Who Jesus really is our Who His Father really is. But one day everyone will know. Verse 28.
“So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be [“I am” “ego eimi”] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.’”
Isn’t that amazing teaching? It’s that amazing Trinitarian teaching that the Son is never alone.
He is sent but He is with.He is sent by the Father but is with the Father.He is not abandoned and out there doing His own thing.
And everything He does is right. He always does what pleases the Father.
What does that sound like? Like what the Father said at His baptism, right? Our baptism class just looked at that this morning.
“This is my Son, whom I loved. With Him I am well pleased.”
For He always does what please Me.
Listen to Him. Put your faith in Him.Believe in Him.
There is Life in Jesus’ name.There is Light in Jesus’ name.
Because the Son is going to be “lifted up.” Did you catch that in verse 28?
Jesus said in chapter 3 that He was going to be lifted up which could mean that He will be exalted, and of course, He will.
But this kind of lifted up was lifted up on a pole. Like the snake in the wilderness. Jesus was going to be lifted up onto a Cross to die.
“I always do what pleases Him.”
And on that terrible day, what pleased God was to crush His Son and cause Him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10), making His life a guilt offering for you and me.
“[H]e was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:5-6 NIVO).
Believe in Jesus and have your sins forgiven.
Verse 30 says that, “Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.”
Some of that was fake faith, I’m sure. We’ll see that next week.
But some of it was probably real. And He invites you and me to really believe in Him today.
Believe in Jesus and have your sins forgiven.Know Jesus and know His Father.Follow Jesus and have the light of life.
Now and forever.
Because the last page of the Bible says that in the New Heavens and the New Earth, “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 22:5 NIVO). 
Because Jesus was right when He said, “I am the Light of the World.”

***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35

“What God Has Joined Together" [Matt's Messages]

“What God Has Joined Together”Marriage - God’s Divine DesignFebruary 18, 2024 :: Matthew 19:1-12
“What God Has Joined Together.”
Those words are how our Lord Jesus describes marriage in Matthew chapter 19, verse 6.
The chief reason for our detour into the Gospel of Matthew this morning is that a number of you have asked me to share more about what we had studied last week at the EFCA Theology Conference in the Chicagoland area.
The theme of the national theology conference was “Marriage: God’s Divine Design – Protology/Teleology, Anthropology, Hamartiology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology.” Three guesses who came up with that subtitle, and the first two don’t count! Yes, it was Greg Strand! Typically big words and typically rich and robust theology. 
At the conference, Isaac and I listened to six major lectures on the theology of marriage and a number of breakout workshops, as well. I’m so thankful to belong to an association of churches that takes sound biblical theology so seriously.
And what an important topic for today, is it not? Just as Keith Hurley is teaching the teens about these things at “Chasing Love” on Sunday evenings, our theology of marriage touches all of us in some way in today’s culture. There is a lot of confusion about marriage, not just out in society but within the church, as well. The whole first lecture at the conference by a Christian sociologist from Grove City College was all about the state of marriage, changes and challenges, how we’ve gotten to where we are. [All of the messages will be online soon, and I will link to them here.]
And as we’ve been focusing here this month on LOVE, especially God’s love, vast as the ocean, and our being God’s people exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, the first aspect of which is LOVE as Joel taught us last Sunday, it seemed to me like it might be good for us to meditate on marriage today.
[VIDEO OF THIS MESSAGE WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE] 
“What God Has Joined Together.”
There are many married people in this room. Some of you have been married for a long long time. Heather and I are coming up on 30 years this June. We’ve celebrated a lot of Valentine’s Days together. Some of you have seen many more! I think the Kepharts have been married for 66 years! There are also many unmarried people in this room. Some of you have recently had to bury a spouse. Some of you had to do that years ago. Some of you have been divorced. Some of you have never married. Some of you will soon marry--Reece and Hannah!. Some of you will never marry. Some of you will marry down the line. I doubt that anybody coming to Snack and Yack today with Heather and me is engaged yet!
We’re all in different places, but we all need to have a good theology of marriage in place no matter where we are at in life. 
And Matthew 19 is a great place to start building one.  Matthew 19 marks the beginning of a new section in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus has finished teaching in Galilee in the north and is now headed south towards Jerusalem. It’s a little bit further into the story than we are right now in the Gospel of John. And on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus runs into some Pharisees, and they have a test for Jesus on His theology of marriage. How do you think that’s going to go?
Here’s a life-hack for you. A pro-tip for living: Never try to lay a trap for Jesus. 
Unless you like falling into your own traps! Let me read the first two verses.
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.”
Jesus is marching towards Jerusalem. You and I know what is going to happen there. And Jesus knows what’s going to happen there. It’s what we focus on this time of year. Jesus is headed towards the Cross. He’s going to be abandoned there as He pays for our sins, but right now the crowds are still following Him and He’s healing the sick among them.
And then in verse 3, some Pharisees come, and they see the good work that Jesus is doing, and they see how the crowds are following Him, and they are convinced by His words that He is the Messiah, and they bow before Him and lead the nation to follow Him themselves.
Just kidding. LOL. That’s not at all what they do! That’s what they should do, but it’s not what they do. No, they come to Jesus and try to trap Him. V.3
“Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?’”
“Let’s give Jesus a theological test and see if He passes.” They are not sincere. They are not asking this question to find out the truth. They have an agenda with this question. They want to trap Jesus.
How does that work? Well, there was a big debate during this time about the theology of divorce. There were two major schools of thought. The school of Rabbi Shammai and the school of Rabbi Hillel. We learned about this in the third main message at the conference from the author of this book: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers.
Rabbi Shammai said that God requires divorce only in the case of adultery. But Rabbi Hillel said that God allows divorce any time a man is unhappy with his wife. Even if she burns dinner or her eyebrows get too bushy. And the Pharisees think that they can trap Jesus with this question: Which side are you on?”
“If you side with Rabbi Hillel, and anything goes, doesn’t that contradict what you said at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:32? And where does it all end?
But if you side with Rabbi Shammai (and I think that’s what they really hope He will do), then you might get into trouble with Herod Antipas.”
Do you remember Herod Antipas from when we studied this gospel together? John the Baptist (Notorious JTB) told “King” Herod Antipas that his divorce and remarriage to his former sister-in-law Herodias was not lawful. Do you remember what happened to John the Baptist because of that? Prison first. And then off with his head. That’s what happens if you side with Rabbi Shammai in those days.
They think they’ve got Jesus. Maybe they’ve even stumped Him. Can Jesus answer this stumper of a question?  What do you think?
The last time I preached this passage, I titled my sermon, “The Lord of Marriage.” Because Jesus does not just have a theology of marriage; His theology flows from His own authority. He is Lord over marriage. 
The Pharisees obviously don’t recognize this or they wouldn’t be asking the question this way, but that’s their mistake. Jesus pushes back. V.4
“‘Haven't you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.’”
It’s always a sick burn when Jesus says, “Haven’t you read your Bibles?” They think they have Him stumped, and Jesus says, “I think the answer to that one is on the first page of your Bible. Haven’t you read it? I think you’re missing the point. Let’s go back and look.”
And Jesus leads them on a Bible study of Genesis 1 and 2. And that’s what we did at the conference in the second major message. The speaker, a former professor at Trinity, started in Genesis and took us all the way to Revelation, seeing what the Bible says about marriage from cover to cover.
It’s always smart to start at the very beginning. It’s a very good place to start. Jesus was saying that they are starting in the wrong place with their questions.  We’ll see that they are starting with Deuteronomy 24, but Jesus says, “You’ve got to go back further than that or you’ll be missing the point.”
And speaking of points, I have three points of application for today’s message.
Here’s the first:
#1. TRUST THE DESIGNER TO DEFINE MARRIAGE.
That was the title of our conference, “Marriage: God’s Divine Design.” Look at v.4 again.
“‘Haven't you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one.” 
Marriage is God’s idea. He designed it. It’s not something that we came up with. It came from (v.4), “the Creator.” The Designer. The Original Lord of Marriage. Marriage is God’s idea, and so we should get our ideas of what marriage should be from Him.  Make sense?
Obviously, this flies in the face of so much of our modern culture, including among professing Christians. We want to define marriage our own way. We want to do what we want to do with it. And we figure that God (if He exists) just has to be okay with that.
But that’s exactly wrong. He is the Lord of Marriage. We need to listen to Him.
Marriage, for Christians, is a matter of discipleship.
This passage (vv.4-6) is very relevant to a whole host of contemporary issues and questions. It addresses marriage and also divorce. It also addresses same-sex marriage and transgenderism, doesn’t it? It has implications for LGBTQ.
Because Jesus says (v.4) that Genesis 1 says that humans are made male and female. Two biological sexes. Different and complementary. Male and female, not interchangeable. Not changeable. And that it was good. It was beautiful. It was God’s good design.
And here’s what marriage is. Jesus says that Genesis 2 says that a man (1 man, this passage addresses bigamy and polygamy, as well, a man) will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife (1 biological woman), and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one.
So here’s God’s math for marriage: One plus one equals one. One man and one woman come together to be one flesh. One new thing: a married couple. That’s the design.
Do not believe it if people tell you that Jesus never said anything about same-sex marriage.
Jesus said, “I agree with Genesis.”
The Creator has designed marriage, and it is good. In fact, it’s beautiful. God designed marriage to be a thing of beauty. Every faithful marriage is a gorgeous glorious thing for the whole world to behold!
In fact, the Apostle Paul quotes this same passage of Genesis and says that every marriage is designed to be a beautiful picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church! Read Ephesians 5 this afternoon.
The final main message at the conference was about that. There was a married couple who shared together on stage how they tried to live out Ephesians 5 in their own gospel-shaped marriage every day so that Jesus got the glory.
And that’s happening in every faithful Christian marriage in this room right now. The marriages here are a thing of beauty that sing about Christ’s love for His bride and His bride’s love for Him.
Well done, you. Keep it up! Don’t stop now. If you're engaged or believe you should be, jump into marriage live this thing of beauty! Be a picture of Christ and His bride that sings!
Trust the Designer to Define Marriage and believe that it is good and beautiful and sacred.
Which also means that abuse within marriage is a terrible, ugly, anti-picture of the gospel. Our fourth main message was all about that, by a Christian counselor who works with victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse. It was probably the most painful and sickening message at the conference. It was also a compelling Bible study of the book of Genesis which does not shy away from recounting ugly intimate partner abuse and how antithetical that is to God’s good design.
If you are abusing your spouse, you are defying God’s good design for marriage.
And if you are being abused, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be, and you don’t just have to take it. Get to safety. Find help. There was whole session on responding wisely to domestic abuse, and we are committed here to doing that as a church. Because God’s good design is on the line.
Jesus taught, “[A]t the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one.”
Trust the Designer to Define Marriage.
By the way, this passage also addresses co-habitation, doesn’t it? Living together as if you are married when you are not married. We talked about this recently in John chapter 4 with the woman at the well. It's one of the things I'm most concerned about as a pastor as even many professing Christians are falling into this sinful error.
Living together as if you are married when you are not married is not how God designed the one-flesh relationship.
The one flesh relationship is for a husband and a wife. Two people who have de-prioritized all other loyalties and then re-prioritized each other as their number one loyalty on earth so that they have actually formed a new entity, a new family, a new unity. “So they are no longer two, but one.”
That’s what marriage is, and it’s where sex belongs. “One flesh” means more than just sex, but it doesn’t mean less. Two bodies coming together in sexual intimacy is for marriage, by God’s design.
When God made our bodies, He made them for sex. He didn’t make Adam and Eve and then say, “Oh no, what are they doing?!”  No, Genesis says that after He made them male and female, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28 NIVO). He knew what He was doing when He made us sexual creatures.  But He gave us the gift of sex to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage.
Trust the Designer. He knows best!
I know it doesn’t always seem that way.
I do know that some people have same-sex attraction–persistent, unsought same-sex attraction. And they want to marry somebody of the same sex, and it seems like that would be really good to them. But that’s not how the Creator designed marriage. That’s not what marriage is. And the Lord of Marriage is calling us as His people to trust Him to do things His way and be blessed.
And I also know that some people suffer from gender dysphoria. They feel great unease about their own bodies. They would rather be the other sex than what they were given when they were conceived. I empathize with that pain. It must be very great, and I don’t pretend to know the half of it. It’s part of the brokenness of our world. But I do know that my Creator is good and His design for creation is good. And I know that I can trust Him.
And I know that some people are simply wary of marriage. They think it’s just a piece of paper. They have seen the ravages of divorce. They want to make sure that this person they want to be with is the “right person,” and so they want to test drive the relationship and live like they’re married before they are married just to make sure. And there are, unfortunately in some cases, financial benefits to living together instead of getting married. But that’s not how God designed it. That’s going against the grain of the universe. As is polygamy. And, as we’ll see, as is divorce in general.
Jesus is asking us to trust the Designer of Marriage and do it His way.
If you are living together like you are married and you are not married, the Lord of marriage is calling you to repent and to either to marry or to separate. To follow Jesus and do marriage His way.
One of you asked me after the conference if pastors in the EFCA were open to performing or blessing same-sex “weddings.” And the answer is no. And that if we did, we would lose our standing as pastors in the EFCA as would any EFCA church that went down that road.
In June of 2017 the national conference of the EFCA affirmed a resolution that says, “The Evangelical Free Church of America affirms that God created human beings uniquely in His image as male and female, and He has designed marriage to be a covenantal relationship between one man and one woman.” Sounds like Genesis. Sounds like Jesus.
And that was affirmed unanimously. For which I’m grateful. But I’m also grateful that at that very same conference, we followed that unanimous affirmation of God’s good design for marriage, by spending three hours in training each other how to love and serve and care for and relate to people with same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria.
Because we have been so loved, we are called to love. There are probably people several people in this room that experience same-sex attraction. I’m so glad you’re here. There may be a few of you who experience gender dysphoria. I’m so glad you’re here. I’m glad that we have a single-use restroom back that hallway over there so that everyone can feel comfortable and go to the bathroom in peace. I’m sure that if someone who is trans* or queer or non-binary (or de-transitioning) comes respectfully into our meeting, checking things out, that you all will show the love of Jesus to them with sweet hospitality.
Because we are trying, in God’s power, “to be God’s people in this place, live His goodness, share His grace, proclaim God’s mercy through His Son, be His love to everyone.” (Charles F. Brown)
Without compromise to His truth.
The Lord is calling us to trust the Designer to define marriage.
We don’t look to society to define marriage.We don’t look to the US government to define marriage.We don’t look to the Supreme Court to define marriage.
They are all going to do what they are going to do. But we, as Christians, are called to do what the Lord Jesus says we should do.
Now, your struggle with defining marriage might be different from what we’ve talked about already today. I don’t know what everybody here is tempted to do with marriage. But left to our devices, we will always come up with a design flaw, and we need to go back to the drawing board and follow the original design as best we can.
Again, in Matthew 19, the main issue was divorce. And here’s what the designer of marriage said about that. Look at verse 6.
“Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Application point number two (and,, don't worry, they will get shorter as we get towards the end of this message):
#2. DON’T RUSH TO AMPUTATE WHAT THE LORD HAS STITCHED.
“[W]hat God has joined together, let man not separate.’” What has God joined together? He calls it “one flesh.” Now, that’s just a metaphor, but what a picture that is! It’s like one man surgically sewn together with one woman to form a new unity. And after the surgery heals, there’s just one entity there.
And Who is the surgeon? “What GOD has joined together.” Marriage is not just something that two people do to themselves. It’s not even just something that the state does to two people. Jesus says that God puts people together into marriages. So we should be very careful about pulling them apart!
Do you see how this answers the Pharisees’ question? They wanted to know when it was okay to divorce. Jesus says, “Divorce?! Uh. That’s never ‘okay.’ That’s never best. That’s never good. Divorce wasn’t the idea. Divorce wasn’t the design, the intention from the start.”
Don’t do that if you can at all help it. Don’t just amputate what the Lord has stitched together.
Now, I know that this is a painful subject for many us in this room.
We have all been touched by divorce in our families, and many of you have experienced divorces personally. It has come closer in our extended family in recent months than ever before. I know this is painful. For some of you, it’s painful because you didn’t want it, but it happened to you anyway. For some of you, it’s painful because you know you did it wrong, and you feel the weight of that. For some of you, most of you who have been divorced, you feel some degree of shame. Even if you didn’t do anything shameful in the whole process, you still feel shame put on you by others. Even what I’ve said so far this morning might seem to pile it on further.
There is confusion and hurt. When you let someone into your life so that they get all the way to “one-flesh,” and then that relationship breaks and becomes jagged, it’s got to hurt. Being in conflict and estranged and eventually divided from the person who was the closest person to you has got to have lingering effects.
I know that divorces are painful. And so does the Lord.
And divorce, even sinful divorce, is not the unforgivable sin. And not all divorces are sinful (at least on one side) as we’ll see in verse 9. But Jesus is saying that divorce should be avoided if at all possible. We should be extremely reluctant to divorce because what God has joined together is something we should not separate. Marriage wasn’t designed to be temporary. It was supposed to be dissolved only by death.
So the Pharisees have a comeback. They don’t realize that they have already lost. They whip out Deuteronomy 24:1, and think they have answered Jesus. V.7
“‘Why then,’ they asked, ‘did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?’ [Huh, Jesus? Riddle me that! Answer that one!]
Jesus replied, [You numbskulls] ‘Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.”
Notice that word “permitted.”
Here’s where Jesus differs from Rabbi Shammai. Shammai thought that if there was adultery, then God required a divorce. “No,” Jesus says, “God through Moses permitted a divorce in those cases because of hard hearts, but He didn’t command them.” You don’t have to divorce even when there has been sexual immorality. That’s not the way it was is in the beginning. The design was for permanence. Marriage was built to last.
Yes, we messed it all up. Hard hearts. Lots of sin. Lots of covenant breaking. Yes, divorce got allowed. (Even polygamy gets allowed for a time.) But that wasn’t the design. Don’t rush out and get a divorce! Make every effort you can to salvage that thing. 
I know that’s not what the world says. The world rushes to divorce. And so do many professing Christians. And again, there are solid reasons to divorce, as we’ll see in verse 9. And if you have divorced for the wrong reasons, there is plenty grace at the Cross for all repentant sinners.
But the Lord of Marriage says, “Don’t rush to amputate what I have sewn together.”
Divorce should be a last resort. If possible, if the conditions are right including the appropriate repentance, then lean towards forgiveness. Because, verse 9: “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Now, you hear the exception there. And there is at least one other exception that Paul lays out in 1 Corinthians 7, abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. There may be more exceptions when the covenant is broken beyond repair.
But the emphasis here is not on the exception of sexual immorality, the Greek is “porneia” from which we get our word “porn” and it means various kinds of covenant-breaking sexual unfaithfulness.
The emphasis isn’t on the exception. It’s on the fact that if you divorce and remarry for the wrong reasons, you are committing adultery, breaking the 7th commandment. You’re badly amputating what the Lord has sewn together. 
And notice by Whose word this is. V.9 “I tell you...” Don’t miss that! That’s super important. Jesus is laying down the law here Himself. Jesus is the Lord of Marriage! And He’s saying, “Don’t do it. Don’t divorce for the wrong reasons. What God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Now, there is an exception here. And it’s a true one. If one spouse falls into marital unfaithfulness (porneia), they are, in that moment, ripping up the surgery themselves and defacing the one-flesh  relationship.  If your spouse has done that to you, you are permitted by the Lord of Marriage to divorce them.
Permitted, not commanded! I’d still say, “Make every effort. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.” Because we know that our marriages are pictures of Christ and the Church. And if we can salvage them, they can still be wonderfully beautiful pictures of Christ and the Church! We should be extremely reluctant to throw away any pictures of Christ and the Church.
But it is permitted, especially if an offending spouse is unrepentant. If they are amputating what the Lord has stitched together, you certainly don’t have to pretend that all is well. But the Lord of Marriage wants us to do everything on our end to uphold it.
Now, the disciples overreact to what Jesus has just taught. V.10
“The disciples said to him, ‘If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.’”
I’m pretty sure that was the Apostle Peter! Sounds like him, doesn’t it? Peter was married already. He knew that marriage was a lot of work. And now Jesus says that it’s “for better, for worse, and for keeps?” 
You might feel trapped in a marriage if it’s for life. A life sentence.
What’s fascinating is that even though that’s a rash overreaction, Jesus basically says, “Yeah, that’s right for some people.” For some people it is better to not marry. V.11
“Jesus replied, ‘Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. [There’s three kinds.] For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage [or became eunuchs] because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.’”
So, surprisingly, our last application point is:
#3. SERIOUSLY CONSIDER CELIBACY FOR THE KINGDOM.
Ironically, the Lord of Marriage says that marriage is not for everyone. Some people are (at least for a time and some for a lifetime) called to celibate singleness. 
And that’s not strange. We think that’s so strange. We think that’s so hard.
“Celibacy is so hard!”
But Jesus says, “Marriage is hard. Celibacy is just a different kind of hard.”
You know what’s hard?
Being born an eunuch. Being celibate because your body came out that way. Being celibate because somebody did that to you. It’s actually much easier to choose to live the celibate lifestyle than to have forced on you.
But what if you choose it for the kingdom? Isn’t that quite a phrase in verse 12, “because of the kingdom of heaven?!” Last time I preached this passage, I was really struck by this quote from Pastor Douglas O’Donnell.
He said, “The kingdom of heaven is so important that it should seem perfectly normal if someone would want to give up marriage for it.”
The remaining major message at the theology conference was by a pastor who has been a single man for his whole life. And he said that there are a bunch of reasons why it can be advantageous for the kingdom for Christians to stay single, at least for a time, and for some a life-time.
And if you are called to that, embrace it. Jesus says, “The one who can accept this should accept this.” 
And those of us who are married should celebrate those who are single right now for the kingdom. I think, all to often, we’ve treated singles as second-class kingdom citizens. But that’s totally wrong. The Apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 7, as well. Single Christians are first class kingdom citizens if they are living for the Lord. And this church has an awesome history of having wonderful single people in it serving the Lord.
There are many right here in this room today. If you are single right now and serving the Lord, thank you.
Thank you for being celibate.Thank you for being devoted.Thank you for using your singleness for the Kingdom.
You are living something beautiful, as well.
You know who you are like? You’re like the Apostle Paul. 
And you’re like the Lord Jesus Christ. Because ironically, the Lord of Marriage never got married Himself.
Or perhaps it’s better to say, He’s still engaged to be married to the Church His Bride, and we await the Wedding Supper of the Lamb when all earthly marriages will be over and we all will have in full what they all pointed to in part, the relationship between the Lord of Marriage and His Church.
What God will join together for eternity.

“At The Feast” [Matt's Messages]

“At The Feast”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchFebruary 4, 2024 :: John 7:1-52  
Have you ever noticed that Jesus has a way of making everything about Him?
The conversation that swirls around Jesus keeps coming back to Jesus. And He keeps talking about Himself, too.
Some people are always deflecting attention from themselves.  Some people are always drawing attention to themselves. Some people can’t help it if attention gets drawn to them for whatever reason. Some other people keep making themselves the topic of conversation.
Most of the time, we get tired of people like that–people that make everything about them.
But what if there was Someone that everything actually was about?
Have you made up your mind yet about Who you think Jesus really is? Have you decided yet which side you are on? The short passage that Keagan read ended with this statement, “[T]he people were divided because of Jesus.”
There are really only two options. 
With Him or against Him. For Him or opposed to Him.Believe in Him or disbelieve.Follow Him or leave.
At the end of the last chapter, some of those who had been following Him decided to cut out. The options seemed to be that Jesus was either bonkers or bread. And they decided that that Jesus must be bonkers.
Anybody Who thinks they are as important as bread must be “cuckoo for coco-puffs.” And Jesus insisted that He was the Bread of Life.  (See what I mean about Jesus making everything about Himself?) You see that there is no middle ground. 
And John chapter 7 tells the story of how more and more people were divided over Jesus at the feast. This story takes place around about one week–just before, during, and at the end of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. 
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Let’s get into it together. John chapter 7, verse 1.
“After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, ‘You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’ For even his own brothers did not believe in him” (vv.1-5). Let’s stop there for a second.
So Jesus has been hanging around up North because the people in the South want to kill Him.
Does that mean that Jesus is scared? There’s a lot of fear in chapter 7, but I don’t think it’s Jesus that shows the most fear here. Jesus is apparently being strategic.
By they way, do you remember why they want to kill Jesus? He’s kind of seen as a public enemy by the Jewish Religious Authorities. Remember what His crime in Jerusalem was last time? It wasn’t because He cleaned out the temple with whip or knocked over the tables of commerce.
It was because Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and then said that He did it because His Father is always working on the Sabbath, and so does He. Remember that? John chapter 5. That’s why they want Him dead.
And He doesn’t want to be dead just yet, so He’s been hanging around in the North. But His half-brothers try to egg Him on to going down to the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Festival of Shelters or the Festival of Booths was one of three biggest national annual celebrations centered in Jerusalem each year. Everybody hit town and threw a gigantic party. The Feast of Tabernacles came at the end of the harvest. So it was kind of like our Thanksgiving, but it was huge. And everybody moved out of their homes for a whole week and lived in tents. This is the like the Great Israelite Camping Extravaganza. Everybody gets out their tent or builds one out of branches and leaves and stuff and remembers what it was like to live in tents for 40 years when they were rescued from Egypt and brought safely to the Promised Land. And it was full of rejoicing. It was a gigantic camping party for the whole nation!
And Jesus’ half-brothers are like, “Hey, Jesus! You like to make everything about yourself. You should make this about yourself. You should go to Town and do some of your miracles. You don’t get a name for yourself in Nazareth, in Pinchy. You go to Washington D.C. You go to New York City. You got London. You go to Jerusalem. How about it?”
Notice that verse 5 says that they did not believe. Either they had never seen the miracles themselves or they didn’t believe what the signs were pointing to. Either way, they did not believe. Not yet anyway. So they’re trying to push Him out into the world and take center stage. And Jesus says, “Not yet.” Look at verse 6.
“Therefore Jesus told them, ‘The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.’ Having said this, he stayed in Galilee” (vv.6-9).
Notice that Jesus has perfect timing. He knows that there will be a time to go to Jerusalem. There will be a time to get in front of everyone. It just wasn’t that day. We’re going to see this idea of perfect timing, of Jesus’ time, Jesus’ hour not yet coming and then coming again and again in the Gospel of John.
What’s interesting is that soon after they all leave, Jesus does go to the Feast. Look at verse 10.
“However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. [Jesus is being strategic. He’s not going to make a miraculous splash. Though He is going to make a splash. V.11] Now at the Feast [There’s our sermon title.] the Jews were watching for him and asking, ‘Where is that man?’ Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, ‘He is a good man.’ Others replied, ‘No, he deceives the people.’ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews” (vv.10-13).
Jesus is there among them, quietly. Not like the Triumphal Entry. He’s not riding the donkey and with the palm branches being laid before Him. He’s got His hood up, and He’s just moving quietly through the crowd. I get the sense that He’s left His disciples behind. Or He’s asked a few of them come with Him quietly. 
He’s listening to the chatter. Everybody’s talking about Him. And they are divided. Is He good or a deceiver? And nobody is making big speeches in support Him because they are afraid of the authorities–the ones who are out for His blood. People are afraid of being canceled.
And, about halfway through the week, Jesus decides it’s now time to speak up. V.14
“Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. [I wonder what that was like? It was clearly amazing. And it threw the religious leaders into a tizzy. V.15] The Jews were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having studied?’ [He never followed another rabbi.] Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?’” (vv.14-19).
He doesn’t play around, does He? Neither do the Jews. They are locked in a conflict here. And there is no middle ground. They are like, “Where did you get this teaching?” And Jesus is like, “From God.”
Notice how many times He says, “not my own” and how many times He says, “from him who sent me.”
‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. [That’s God the Father!] If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.”
Remember Who Jesus is claiming to be? He’s claiming to be God’s Son. The monogenays. The Son of God and God the Son. He is claiming to be God but not God on His Own, but God from God. Very God of very God. Have you decided yet if that’s Who He really is? Notice the promise in verse 17. “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” 
“Whether or not I am who I claim to be.” If you want to know if Jesus is the real deal, commit yourself to doing God’s will no matter what it turns out to be. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Start there. If you truly commit yourself to following the evidence wherever it leads, you will see that Jesus is Who He said He is. 
These people were not doing that. Instead of being committed to the truth, they were trying to kill the Truth. “Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?’” (v.19).
They think He’s bonkers or worse. V.20
“‘You are demon-possessed,’ the crowd answered. ‘Who is trying to kill you?’ [Jesus say, “Oh, how soon we forget! V.21] Jesus said to them, ‘I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. [What was the miracle? It’s the one from chapter 5 that they are so obsessed with. He healed a man on the Sabbath. V.22] Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.’”
Do you see what He’s saying?
I’ve got three points of application this morning “at the feast,” and this is the first one.
#1. LOOK DEEPER.
Jesus says, “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make right judgment.” They were so focused on how bad it looked that He had healed a man “on the wrong day” that they didn’t think about what that actually meant.
Jesus says, “Yeah, it was a Sabbath. So what? You will circumcise a boy on the Sabbath if it falls on eighth day from when he was born, and that’s cutting something off of him. I gave someone complete healing on the Sabbath.”
Or as He said elsewhere, “The Sabbath was made humans, not humans made for the Sabbath. So maybe just maybe I am the Lord of the Sabbath?!” 
Look deeper. Commit to the fear of the Lord. Choose to do God’s will (v.17). Look deeper into the claims of Jesus, and you will be astonished by what you find.
I know that most of here are committed Christians. We’ve already made our big decision about this. Praise God! I hope this is just encouragement for you to keep on going in your faith. But others among us may have been drug here by someone else. A spouse. A parent. A boyfriend or girlfriend. Even a child. Or maybe you’re here because you want to be, but you’re not yet sure about Jesus. 
If that’s you, I’m so glad you’re here.  Look deeper. If you have questions, bring them. That’s why we’re here. And, it’s okay if you are not there yet. But I challenge you to not stop in your search. Look deeper. Look beyond just mere appearances. Because the reality is that things are often different from what they at first seem.
Now, it’s almost funny this stuff about whether or not they are trying to kill Him. Jesus knows that they want to kill Him. Some of them don’t know that they want to kill Him. But lots of other people do know that they want to kill Him. And they are confused why nobody is killing Him! Look at verse 25.
“At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? 
But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from’” (vv.25-27). 
The crowd is just buzzing! “Hmm. Jesus is still alive. Does that mean the authorities think He is the Messiah? Can’t be.” These particular folks have gotten the idea that the Messiah is just going to burst on the scene, out of nowhere. And they think they know all about Jesus. He’s from Nazareth.
And when Jesus hears that, He gets loud. Look at verse 28.
“Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts [nobody’s touching Him], cried out [LOUD], ‘Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own [there He goes again], but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.’ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come” (vv.28-30).
Jesus is a broken record, isn’t He? He’s a little sarcastic. “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from.” NOT! They don’t really know where He’s from. He’s from His Father. He is the Word of God. Right? This is living out the Prologue of John’s Gospel. This is John chapter 1 stuff:
“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.... The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (Jn. 1:5-11 NIVO).
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14 NIVO). 
And what is the Greek word for “made His dwelling?” in John 1:14? It’s the word we get the word “tabernacle” from! Jesus came to camp among us.
No wonder He makes everything about Himself. Everything is about Him! Even this festival. 
The Jews realize that He’s claiming once again to be God’s Son, sent by God, so they try to arrest Him. But they fail. Verse 30 says “no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.” It’s coming. His time is coming. But it is not yet here. So He escapes their grasp once more.
And some people listening come to faith. They look deeper and they see where the signs are pointing. V.31
“Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, ‘When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?’”
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn. 1:12 NIVO).
Oh, and that burnt the jealousy of the Jewish leaders. Verse 32.
“The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him. [And when the get to Him, they are arrested by Him. He confronts them with these words. V.33] Jesus said, ‘I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’” (vv.32-34).
We know what He’s talking about. It’s obvious to us who know the rest of the story, but it was mysterious to them. V.35
“The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?’” (vv.35-36).
They’re just scratching their heads. They think that Jesus is going to go abroad. They don’t realize that He’s saying He’s going to go to heaven. They don’t understand where He’s come from so they don’t understand where He’s going. So they walk away in a daze.
And the comes the last day of the feast. At first, He wasn’t going to go. The timing wasn’t right.Then, He went quietly. And then the time was right to teach and to argue. And now it’s time to issue His invitation. It’s time for Jesus to get as loud as He ever gets.
By the way, I haven’t told you yet about the major symbolic ritual that the Jews did in Jerusalem every day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Every day of the feast, a golden flagon (a huge pitcher) was filled with clear, pure water from the pool of Siloam and was carried in a procession led by the High Priest back to the temple.  
It was called “Simchat Beit Hashoavah,” “The Joy of Drawing Water.”
Listen to one scholar's description of this procession:
“As the procession approached the watergate on the south side of the inner court three blasts from the shofar–a trumpet connected with joyful occasions–were sounded. While the pilgrims watched, the priests processed around the altar with the flagon, the temple choir singing [in progression Psalms 113-118]. When the choir reached Psalm 118, every male pilgrim shook a lulav (willow and myrtle twigs tied with a palm) in his right hand, while his left raised a piece of citrus fruit (a sign of the ingathered harvest), and all cried, ‘Give thanks to the Lord!’  three times. The water was offered to God at the time of the morning sacrifice. ... These ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles were related in Jewish thought both to the Lord's provision of water in the desert and to the Lord's pouring out of the Spirit in the last days" (Carson, 322).
And I think on the last day, the priest went around the altar seven times and the crowd got loud and louder before they poured out the water! The cheering must have been deafening.
Water was incredibly important to the Jewish people and was never celebrated more than at this Feast.
And guess what Jesus is now going to do?
He’s going to make it all about Himself. 
Look at verse 37. “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (vv.37-39).
#2. COME TO JESUS.
He’s inviting you and me to come to Him. He’s SHOUTING out His invitation.
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
It’s just like what He said to the woman at the well, isn’t it? But He’s not in Samaria now. He’s in Jerusalem. He’s on CNN and FoxNews and the BBC and Al-Jezeera. And He’s saying it loudly so that everyone can here. "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
You see how He’s making his Feast all about Him? That’s because it’s all about Him. Every eye in the temple has turned toward Him at this moment. Everything stops. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was at the moment when everybody was going ballistic about the water that He said. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!”  [He’s not scared, is He?]
And He doesn’t say, “Come to God and drink.” He says, “Come to ME and drink.” And verse 38 makes it clear that the drinking of Jesus as water is another metaphor for true faith. Just like eating the flesh and drinking the blood was in the last chapter.
It’s totally taking in Jesus. It’s finding your satisfaction in Christ.It’s being fully engaged with Jesus. 
True faith treats Jesus like He’s the water we need to live. 
Because He is the water we need to live. He’s the only thing that will quench our spiritual thirst forever. If we believe in Him, then we get the Holy Spirit to life and flow inside of us. Look at verse 38 and 39 again. “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit...”
This is amazing. You and I have this water flowing in us right now if we have come to believe in Jesus. That Spirit is doing this right here, right now in this very room in the hearts of every true believer in Jesus. The Spirit had not yet been poured out at Pentecost. The Third Person of the Trinity will not come in all of that fullness until after the Cross and the Empty Tomb and the Ascension.
But we live on the other side of all of that! We have the Spirit living in and flowing in us in this exact way that Jesus is promising in verse 38. He has come and quenching our spiritual thirst and will do so forever and ever and ever. For those who believe in Jesus and come to Him.
Come to Jesus.
You have to decide for yourself. That’s the last third and last point today.
#3. DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.
Look deeper into who Jesus really is. Hear His invitation to believe in and drink Him up. And then decide for yourself. I can’t make that decision for you. Nobody can. Everybody has to come to that decision for themselves.
These folks listening to Jesus were divided. Some were impressed. Others were not. Look at verse 40.
“On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘He is the Christ.’ [I believe He’s both!] Still others asked, ‘How can the Christ come from Galilee?
Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?’ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.”
Look deeper! It turns out if you look into it that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Was from David’s Royal family. But was also from Galilee. He’s both and all of that. And so much more. But you have to decide for yourself.
The people were divided because of Jesus. V.44
“Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn't you bring him in?’ 
‘No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards declared. [We didn’t know what to do! He had more power in His words than you and yours.] 
‘You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. ‘Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law–there is a curse on them.’
[Hmm. Maybe some of the Pharisees have believed. Verse 50.] 
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier [Nick at Night] and who was one of their own number, asked, ‘Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?’ They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee” (vv.44-52).
Have you made up your mind yet about Who you think Jesus really is? You have to decide for yourself what you will make of Jesus. Nicodemus is beginning to speak up. He had come to Jesus at secretly at night. He started out in the dark. But it looks like he might be coming into the light. What about you?
Yes, Jesus has a way of making everything about Him.
But I believe that’s because everything is about Him. 

***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35

“As I Have Loved You” [Matt's Messages]

“As I Have Loved You”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchJanuary 28, 2024 :: John 13:34-35  
In 2024, we must grow in our obedience to Jesus’ command for us to love one another.
I’ve skipped ahead in the Gospel of John this morning because I want to give you a taste of my annual report and my pastoral vision for 2024.
We won’t get to chapter 13 for several more months. We’ve only just finished up chapter 6 last week, but as I have been praying about what to write in my annual report for today’s meeting, my mind has kept jumping ahead 7 chapters to this “New Command” that Jesus gave His disciples in chapter 13.
You know ever year I try to sum up the year with a word or a phrase. Last year it was it “good.” I had been praying for a good year for us in ‘22, and the Lord gave us one, praise His name.
And the word I ended up choosing for ‘23 was “exceptional.” I had been praying that the Lord would “shalom” us or “prosper” us in ‘23, and I believe He gave us an exceptionally prosperous year. 
There has never been a year quite like 2023 for Lanse Free Church. One exceptional thing was the sabbatical that you gave me last year. You graciously relieved me of my pastoral responsibilities for an entire quarter of the year. I was gone from May to July, and you gave me a much needed rest. THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I can’t tell you grateful I am for that. I really needed it. I had been burning the candle at both ends, and it was exactly what I needed. 
But you all didn’t rest while I rested. This church went full steam ahead. The church elders and other leaders carried all of my responsibilities and you all kept the pedal to the medal on our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ! I was so proud of you, and it also showed me how exceptionally healthy our church currently is.
From my report: “In 2023, the Lord prospered us with more people! Our average attendance at worship grew 11.8% to 142 people per Sunday. We have a lot more than 142 people who call our church ‘home.’ Our attendance team tracked 293 distinct people who came onto our campus on Sunday mornings in 2023. A few of those were guests from out of town, but 235 different people showed up with some regularity."
The Lord also prospered us with many more members. We received 11 new members at our meeting in December, and there are 8 more for us to present for membership at today’s meeting. I’m not good at math, but that’s 19 new members since this time last year. That is a 24.3% increase in church membership in the last twelve months! That’s the most new members I’ve ever seen in my 25 years here and the most members we’ve had in my time here, too.
The Lord is doing something exceptional among us, and I praise Him for it! I say all that and a lot more in my annual report. Come to the meeting to hear more.
So what is my “vision” for ‘24?
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
As I think about the challenges that lay ahead, my mind keeps coming back to our Lord’s New Command for His Disciples, “You Must Love One Another.”
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus gave this command to His followers on the night before the crucifixion.
It was at the Last Supper. Judas Iscariot had just the left the room to go betray Him. We just learned last week in chapter 6 that Judas was going to do that. Now he’s done it. And Jesus is teaching His disciples more about God’s glory. How the Father is going to glorify the Son and be glorified by the Son–paradoxically by His suffering. And Jesus has said that He is going away and that the disciples can’t follow Him there.  I can hardly wait to get to chapters13 through 17 and study that passage with you in depth.
But in that context, Jesus issues this command. He calls it a “new command.”
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Do you hear the repetition? Three times in two verses, Jesus presses home this command, “Love one another.” “Love one another.” “Love one another.”
I’ve got three points of application this morning, and they are all basically the same thing, “Love One Another.”
#1. LOVE ONE ANOTHER TO OBEY JESUS.
It’s interesting that we have to be commanded to do that, isn’t it? Apparently this kind of love doesn’t just happen naturally. We have to obey Jesus to do it. There must be something hard about it. 
Do you find it hard to love other Christians? I do. All Christians do. Christians have been struggling to love one another ever since Jesus gave this new command. That’s because we’re sinners and we’re different from each other. We don’t all see things the same way. We don’t always want the same things.
And so it’s work. It’s hard work to love one another. 
Love always sounds good until you have to start doing it. Think about 1 Corinthians 13. The “love chapter,” right? We love to read about love in February which is right around the corner.
1 Corinthians 13 says this, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:4-8 NIVO).
That sounds great, doesn’t it? Remember when we memorized that together? 2008 that was.
It sounds great until you realize you have to actually do it.
It’s hard to be patient.It’s hard to always be kind.It takes work to not envy, to not boast, to not be proud.It’s hard to not be rude, to not be self-seeking, to not be easily angered.It’s hard to not keep a record of wrongs!
But that’s what Jesus says we need to do with each other.
Love one another to obey Jesus.
Those words “one another” are super important. They show up again and again in the New Testament. 
And every time they do, they give us another facet of what it means to love one another. I think there are over 50 times when the New Testament tells us something we are supposed to do to or with one another.
One of these years, I could preach an entire year and just do a different “one another” each week.
Though a bunch of them are simply “love one another” or some variation of that. John, especially, is stuck on repeating the New Command so that we get it stuck in our little brains.
One anotherOne another One another.
It starts in many ways with knowing one another, right?
I think that’s one of our major challenges as a church right now. If there are 235 regular attenders and 142 of them on any given Sunday, it’s hard for us to love each other because we don’t know each other.
And every one of us has that problem. I hear that from our older members, and I hear it from our new attenders. “I just don’t know all of those new people.”
And who do you think has it hardest? It’s the newer people. Because they hardly know anybody!
So, I love the new feature that Jenni is doing in the bulletin, where we get to know our new members. And we have a lovely picture of Sue in this week’s bulletin and all about her. Thank you, Sue.
But we really need to do this for everybody, especially those who have been here for a long time. Because not only do we all need to know Sue, but Sue needs help to know everybody else.
So, there’s this amazing tool called The Church Directory. And Jenni is updating that. It’s a list of all the people who call this church their family and how to get a hold of them.
And we give this to everyone who calls this church their family. We put it in their mailboxes! Have you checked out your family’s information in the directory for Jenni?
Have you updated your photo? Just like we have a photo of Sue, and it’s so helpful to know who that is, we would like to have an updated photo of YOU so that people can put a name to that face. And how that face looks today. You don’t want a picture of me with wavy hair on top of my head. Nobody would recognize me. Some of your kids are tiny in those pictures, and they are not tiny any more.
But the Lord has something even more powerful than the directory that we can do to solve this problem as a church family that He has also commanded us to do in the New Testament to love one another.
And it’s really simple, but it’s really powerful.
Greet One Another.
The Apostle Paul is big on that command. Greet one another in the Lord. That means to say, “Hi.” It means to cross a boundary and welcome somebody. It means to shake a hand. It means to ask, “How was your week?” It means to say, “I see you there.” With a little kid, it’s to get down on their level.
And we’re doing it. I see you doing it. I see you greeting one another every Sunday. Keep it up, and do more. Don’t just greet your friends. Don’t just greet the people you greet every week. Keep greeting them, but expand. Go after others. Make it your goal to greet someone this week that you haven’t greeted yet or recently. Don’t wait for them to do it for you. Go and greet them.
If everybody does it, we’ll all meet in the middle!
Don’t worry about whether they have been a part of the church a long time and you’re a new person. Everybody is feeling disconnected right now. So many of you feel new. If you have been coming for a month or more then you’re part of the old group now. Greet one another. Welcome one another. Ask someone their name.
You might have to do it several times before you get it down. That’s okay. The Bible doesn’t say, “Remember everybody’s names.” It says, “Greet one another.” “Greet one another.” “Greet one another.” “Greet one another.”
And it says, “Pray for one another.” That’s another powerful way to show love for the other disciples. When people bring up prayer requests here in church. Jot it down and then pray for them. I know you do that. Keep it up!
And Denise is doing a wonderful job of keeping us updated on various prayer requests that come across on email. Do you get the prayer emails from Denise? See Jenni to get signed up for those. They come at all hours of the week into you inbox and then you can pray for them whenever you get them wherever you are.
You know one of the best places to pray? It’s right here in this room. Take a prayer request from the people you greet on a Sunday, and pray for them right then and there! Ten seconds of prayer on a Sunday can be used of God to answer their need and knit you together with your brother and sister in Christ in Christian love.
We’ve got to spend more time with one another. That might be just lingering a few more minutes after church on Sundays.  Don’t run out the door. Find somebody after church to build fellowship with.
The Bible says that need to “Show Hospitality to One Another.” To open up homes to another. To invite each other out for lunch. Everybody in this church eats. I know that for a fact. Everybody in this church eats. So the Bible encourages us to eat with one another. A bunch of us are going to do that in just a few minutes. We are OBEYING Jesus when we eat with one another!
Who could you invite out for lunch or over for lunch after church? Or on a Saturday or on a weeknight?
I’ve got a whole list of people right here you could choose from! We need each other. We need to build community with one another. Nancy just recently gave me a little devotional page that she had read and been encouraged by from the Daily Bread.
It says, “Community is essential for our growth and support. Don’t try to go it alone. God will develop that sense of community as you share your struggles and joys with others and draw near to Him together.” Amen!
That’s why we have things like the Ladies Fellowship Hour and the Skacel’s Community Group. And the youth group meeting starting tonight.  And the Prayer Meeting. Because we need to get into each other’s lives. In obedience to Jesus.
That’s not always going to be easy. Especially when we rub each other the wrong way. Another way we obey Jesus and show love for one another is to: “Forgive one another.” And to “Bear with one another.” These disciples of Jesus were going to disagree. They were going to sin each other. They were going to struggle to get along with one another. All Christians do.
But Jesus wanted them to love one another and that always means being ready to reconcile and forgive and bear with each other in our weaknesses and failings. And the more Christians you have, the more sin you’re going to have that needs to forgiving.
People ask me if I’m excited that our church has grown so much, and I am. But I also say, “More people, more problems.” “More sinners, more sinning.” And more people for me to hurt through my sin. We are going to need much grace for us to get along with another as we grow.
Our older generation is much larger than our younger generation. Even a lot of our newer members are older people. So our older generation (including me) needs to bear with the younger generation, especially as the younger generation steps up to lead us into the future. And our younger generation (no longer including me) needs to bear with the older generation as you step into leadership of church family into the future. New people will want do things in new ways. And we’ll need to be patient with one another as we work it all out.
And as we work it all out, we will not only obey Jesus, but honor Him.
#2. LOVE ONE ANOTHER TO HONOR JESUS.  As we love one another, we will bring honor to our Lord. We will show that we are His disciples. That’s what He says in verse 35.
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
It’s a “distinguishing mark” of the Christian to have brotherly love. The world will know that we belong to Jesus if we love one another. 
Say to the person next to you, “We get to love another in ‘24.” Ok. That was easy. Now say it to the person in front of you and the person behind you. “We get to love another in ‘24.” 
And when we do, the world will have to sit up and take notice. There is a great need and opportunity for Christian love in our nation and world right now. I don’t know whether you’ve noticed it or not, but it looks like it’s another national election year in America. I thought we just did that! And it looks downright divisive once again. Will those that name the name of Christ be known for their love in 2024?
We have in this room Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Non-Voters–all Christians. We will love one another in ‘24? Will the world see the Christians loving each other say to themselves, “What is going on over there? I want some of that. Those people are really different from one another. And they disagree. Maybe strongly. And yet they obviously are loving one another.”
And of course, loving one another isn’t even the hardest thing that Jesus asks us to do. He commands us to love even our enemies. But that’s another message for another day. Do you see the opportunity the church has to honor Jesus in our world in ‘24?
There is an epidemic of loneliness in our society right now. There’s all kinds of causes for that. But whatever they are, it’s out there. People are lonely. They may be “connected,” through social media, to more people than ever but they feel disconnected. They feel alone. What an opportunity we have to BE FAMILY for those folks! So that we can all sing, “I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God.”
As we enfold people into our church family, we are honoring Jesus. We are acting as His disciples.
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
By this! Not by what we proclaim about ourselves on our social media. Not by our bumper stickers. But by how we treat one another. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
How are you doing obeying that command?When you read those words, what comes to your mind?How does this sit with you this morning?What changes might you need to make?What is the Holy Spirit saying to you heart?What is He putting His finger on?
Because just as we have a great opportunity to honor the Lord Jesus by loving one another in 2024, we can also greatly dishonor the Lord Jesus by failing to love another this year, as well.
And don’t think that even as I emphasize bearing with and being patient with and living in harmony with one another, that I don’t recognize that another key part of loving one another is exhorting one another and speaking the truth to one another.
We may need to be sharp with one another at times this year because love speaks truth even when it hurts. The wounds of a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses (Prov. 27:6)! But those kinds of wounds are always for the ultimate purpose of healing. They are always patient, always kind. Never rude.
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
That is the command of our Commander.
Those are the orders of our Lord.
And He didn’t just tell us all to do it, He showed us all how it’s done.
#3. LOVE ONE ANOTHER TO FOLLOW JESUS.
In His example.
What is new about this New Command? Why does Jesus say that it’s new? I mean the Bible has told God’s people to show love for a long time before this, right? It’s the Law of Moses to show love. Love God and love your neighbor. That sums up the Law, right? So that’s not new.
I suppose it’s a little new that this is Jesus saying it to His disciples. So it’s not just love your neighbor but love your fellow follower of Jesus.
But I think the real newness of this command is the new standard of what love looks like. It used to be “Love you neighbor as you love yourself.” That’s in Leviticus 19:18. And it’s still a good guide for our conduct today. Love as you want to be loved. But He goes deeper here, doesn’t He? Look at verse 34 one more time. 
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
He has shown us how it’s done. Earlier this very evening, He started the meal by taking a bucket and a towel and walking around the table washing His disciples feet. He acted like a servant, putting their needs about His.
And in just a few hours, He’s going to get nailed to a Cross to show the true extent of His love. His love is so sacrificial and so powerful that He actually saves people eternally with it.
“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 crossed over from death to life” (Jn. 5:24 NIVO).
Because Jesus went to the Cross for you. You can cross over from death to life.
And you can love your brothers and sisters in Christ. Not just to love them as you want to be loved but to love our brothers and sisters like our Savior has loved you!
You can follow Jesus’ example and obey His new command. And if we do that (however imperfectly), people will have to stand up and take notice. And they will be drawn to Jesus.
And our church will be exceptionally blessed once again.
We must love one other in 2024.We get to love one another in 2024.And Jesus will get the glory.

***
Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71