Matthew C. Mitchell's Blog, page 9

“The Way, the Truth, and The Life” - 2024 West Branch Baccalaureate

“The Way, the Truth, and The Life”2024 West Branch BaccalaureateJohn 14:6 :: May 28, 2024
Congratulations to The West Branch Class of 2024!
It is a joy and privilege to speak to you this evening.
It’s a joy because I’ve been watching this class grow up for the last 18 years! I’ve been around a while. I actually remember when some of your parents graduated from West Branch! In fact, I remember when your principal graduated from High School! Yes, I’m that old.
So I remember when you were all born and when you first entered school. I’ve watched you play West Branch sports and do West Branch dramas and perform West Branch concerts. I’ve had my pastoral eye on you all, and it’s a joy to be present as you pass this key milestone in your personal journeys.
And it’s a privilege because I get to talk to you tonight about my King–the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the most amazing Person Who ever lived. He’s the most compelling figure in human history. He’s the central subject in the library of books bound together we call the Bible.
The church family that I get to shepherd, Lanse Free Church, provided every senior with a copy of a short biography of Jesus written by one of His closest friends and followers, a man named John. We call it, “The Gospel According to John,” and that’s the document from which Kevin read to us this evening. 
Our church family has been closely for the last 10 months, so Kevin, Addison, and Zane have been listening to the Gospel of John quite a lot. We actually just studied chapter 13 two days ago. You can watch it on YouTube if you’re interested.
Next time I get to teach, we will be studying this particular passage in chapter 14, so thank you for helping me cram for my next lesson!
In the passage that Kevin just read to us, the author John recounts an interaction he witnessed between Jesus and one of his other followers, a man named Thomas. This interaction occurred on the night before Jesus was arrested and killed.
Jesus was meeting in secret with His closest friends, and had just told them that He was going away.
You see, Jesus knew was going to happen to Him in just few short hours. Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed by a close friend, that He was going to be arrested by the Romans, that He was going to be put on trial in a mockery of justice, that He was going to be mocked and beaten and scourged and crucified. Do you know what that means? It means a human being nailed to a pole and hoisted up in the air to die of blood-loss and asphyxiation, in total shame.
Jesus knew all of that was coming, and He was trying to prepare His friends for that by telling them that He was going away but that they knew the way to the place where He was going.
And, of course, all of that was troubling to them to hear! And so confusing. So, his friend Thomas says to Jesus, “We don't know where you're going. How can we know the way?”
And Jesus answered with one of the most amazing statements ever uttered in human history, that is what we might call, “Big, if true.” It’s verse 6 of John chapter 14. That’s what I want to talk to you about this evening. 
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Jesus has a way of making everything about Himself.
Which, when other people do that, can be really annoying, right? Who likes it when you’re talking with somebody, and they keep bringing the subject of the conversation back to them? Like the guy who has top every story with, “Oh that’s nothing. I once did something like that but much bigger.” You know what I mean? Or people who present themselves as the answer to everyone’s problems. Politicians do that all of the time. “Vote me for me! I can solve everything.” 
So we often can turned off by someone who keeps making everything about themselves.
Except, if it’s true.
If everything is about Some One Person, then it’s really important for us all to know it. And to know Him.
Our church family has been reading this book, and we’ve noticed that Jesus keeps making everything about Himself. He has all of these “I Am” statements in this books. At least seven of them where He says, “I am” and then makes a bold audacious claim.
He says, “I am the Bread of Life.” He says, “I am the Light of the World.”He says, “I am the Gate for the Sheep.”He says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”He says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”And after this one, He has one more. He is going to say, “I am the True Vine.”
This is the sixth one in the Gospel According to John. Here, He says:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Big, if true. And I believe that it is true.
Way, Truth, Life. That’s more than just the call letters to a radio station. That’s everything isn’t it? Jesus is claiming to be the key to everything. 
Notice that He does not say, “I know the way to everything. I know the truth of everything. I know where life is found.” That’s right, but that’s not what He is saying.
He is saying that He personally is the way, the truth, and the life. And that we have to know and trust Him to get to the Father.
That’s another mind-blowing thing that Jesus has been saying all throughout this little book. He says that God is His Father. That He stands in an unique relationship to God. So that God is His Father in such a way that Jesus turns out to be God, as well. That God is Triune. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Three in One. And that if you want to get to God the Father, the you have to go through God the Son, through Himself.
Wow! That’s a very exclusive claim, isn’t it? “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
That could be offensive...unless it’s true. We don’t get offended if Mr. Hughes tells us that 2+2=4.
“Well, that’s the not only way of thinking about that, right? I want 2+2 to equal 5. Let’s not be so exclusive here.”
So, we shouldn’t be surprised or offended to learn how the world truly is and Who Jesus truly is.
He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Let’s start with The Way.  That word “way” means the “road” or the “path.” Like “Allport Cutoff.” That’s the way we all got here today. We all took the Cutoff. That was our “way.”
The Class of ‘24 is on your way. You are on your path. And you are all going to find your way, the path from West Branch into all kinds of places. “O, the places you will go!” And, O, the ways that you will get there!
And Jesus says in an ultimate sense He is the Way. He is the Path. He is the Road to get to God and to get to truth, and to get true life. Jesus is the Cutoff. You can’t get where you really want to go unless you take Him. You see, He doesn’t just give you the map. He is the Map. And, in fact, He is the road.
Imagine for a second if you got lost out in Pinchy. Good old Pinchatolee. Easy to do. Cell service is bad out there in the woods. Maybe your four-wheeler broke down, and you aren’t sure where you actually were, and you found a dirt road and you’re seeing where it will take you.
And Kevin Hurley drives up in that big truck of his. And he rolls down the window and says, “Do you need help?” And you admit to him that you got lost and you could use some directions.
And Kevin (who’s a big talker, we all know) says, “I could do that. I could tell you how to get to Kylertown or wherever. But I could also just take you. Hop up here, and I’ll get you home.”
If that happened, then Kevin would be your “way.” Right? Not just the map but the transportation. Your ride.
That’s what Jesus is saying about Himself! But He’s not just getting you to Kylertown. He’s getting you to God the Father Himself. And He says that are not many paths to get there. There’s just one. And it’s Him. So we need to follow and trust in Him. He’s our ride.
And He is The Truth. That means that He is ultimate reality. He is the way things really are. That’s quite a claim, isn’t it?
I hope that you have learned a lot of truth here at West Branch over the years. And how to discover what the truth is.
The scientific method, for example, for understand the laws of nature. The tools of historical research to find out what happened in the past. The fundamental rules of mathematics. And even deeper truths that you can only discover through literature and the arts.
Jesus says that when you get the bottom of all meaning and all truth, you find Him there. And He will show what is truly true. In fact, He will show you God Himself. Because He is God Himself.
In very next sentence, Jesus said, “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him (John 14:7). There is nothing more true than that!
And He also says that He is “The Life.” Not just that He knows all about life or knows where life is. But that He is where life is. And He is what life is all about. And that He is the true source of true life. You aren’t really living unless you have Him. And if you want to live forever, you need Him.
That’s how big He goes here!
You see, Jesus is not just inspiring. I would hate if you came to your Baccalaureate and you just heard that Jesus is really inspiring. And you should find your inspiration in Him. No, Jesus is The Life. And you should make your life about Him. And you should find your life in Him.
That’s why He came. That’s why He was sent. The most famous sentence in the Gospel of John isn’t this one in chapter 14, it’s this one in chapter 3, verse 16.
“For God so loved the world [that’s you and me] that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 NIVO).
God the Father gave His Son, Jesus, so that if we believe in Him, we get eternal life. Because He is The Life.
Big, if true! And I believe it is.
In turns out, that we get this life because of His death. Jesus knew what was coming for Him in just a few short hours. The pain, the shame, the torture, the death. The Bible says that He went through all that because He was taking on our sin for us. The way He became the way was through the Cross. The truth is that He became sin for us and bore the penalty for our sins (2 see Corinthians 5:21). And it was through His death that we get life.
Because He came back to life. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. That’s in chapter 20 of the Gospel According to John. Check it out for yourself. He was so much “The Life” that He couldn’t stay dead!
And what’s even more amazing is that He offers Himself to us all today. You see the annoying people who make everything about themselves, are normally looking out for themselves, too. But Jesus gives Himself to all who will come to Him. He is all of this. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. And He offers all of that to us if we will put our trust and faith in Him.
It is an exclusive offer. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” But we can all be included in this exclusive offer. Everyone who comes through Jesus gets to the Father.
Jesus makes everything about Himself because everything is about Him!
He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Do you believe that? I don’t expect that everyone here is there yet. But everyone here is invited to hop on for the ride.
West Branch Class of ‘24, may the Lord bless you in all of your future endeavors. 
We shall be watching to see all of the amazing places you go and all of the amazing things you do as you drive off from 444 Allport Cutoff. 
But wherever you go and whatever you do, you’ve got to decide for yourself whether or not you believe what Jesus told Thomas on that fateful night.
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

***

Previous West Branch Baccalaureate Messages

June 2, 2005 "Don't Waste Your Life"

June 7, 2012 "Three Things I Pray"

May 31, 2020 "Certainties"

“I Am Telling You Now Before It Happens” [Matt's Messages]

“I Am Telling You Now Before It Happens”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMay 26, 2024 :: John 13:18-38  
Jesus knew. 
Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him that very night.
We talked about this the last few times. John chapter 13 begins with the wordsJohn chapter 13 begins with the words, “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (13:1). And He washed their feet.
Verse 3 says, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God” (13:3).
Jesus knew!
John the gospel-writer wants to us know that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him that dark night before His death. None of this was a surprise, and in fact, all of this was a part of the plan. Jesus was choosing all of this. He was going into it with open eyes.
And verse 19 says that Jesus not only knew what was going to happen, but Jesus told His disciples what was going to happen ahead of time.  Look at verse 19, where our title for today’s message comes from. Verse 19.
“I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.”
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Jesus knew the future, and He predicted the future so that His disciples might believe. There’s that word again! Jesus is always working to build our faith in Him. Believe!
Knowing the future should make a big difference, shouldn’t it? Our graduating seniors have made some big plans for their futures. You can read about their accomplishments and their hopes for the future in the back  of your bulletin. And it’s exciting to see what might be!
But they don’t know exactly what will happen to them. They don’t know the future. And they probably understand that better than many of the rest of us did when we graduated because these seniors were freshmen in 2020 when covid hit and upended all of our lives so unexpectedly. They know that they don’t know the future.
But Jesus did know the future. He knew the details. And He told His disciples some of the dark details before it happened. So that they would file it away and when it came pass exactly as Jesus said, they were not thrown for a loop but instead believed.
“I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.”
Those last words are “ego eimi” in the Greek, “I am” which has, as we’ve seen before (8:24, 8:28, 8:588:58) a least hints of Jesus’ divinity. He is the I Am. He is all that He claimed to be.
And because He accurately predicted the future, His disciples would believe in Him.
In today’s passage, I see at least four things that Jesus predicted were going to happen to Him that should build our faith and direct our steps in 2024. Four things Jesus knew and told His disciples in advance that make all of the difference for us today. Here’s the first one. “I’m telling you now before it happens...”
#1. I WILL BE BETRAYED.
What a terrible thing to know was coming.
Again, this is the very night before His crucifixion. Jesus and his twelve hand-picked disciples are having an intimate dinner together in the upper room of a home in Jerusalem. They are reclining around a low table in the center of the room like spokes on a wheel. And Jesus has just gotten up, dressed down like a slave, and washed and dried all 24 of their stinky feet. Shocking!
Everybody is unsettled. There is tension in the room. Outside of the four walls, there were people that hated Jesus and wanted Him dead. Inside of the room, there was an agent of Satan at the table with our Savior.
The other disciples didn’t know that, but Jesus knew.
He has just told them that not all of them are clean. Their feet are all clean, but one of their hearts has not been washed. They were going to be blessed if they washed feet like He did. But not all of them will be blessed. Look at verse 18.
“‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'”
That’s Psalm 41. I call it the “The Song of the Sick King.” It was written by King David one thousand years earlier when David had been personally betrayed by an intimate friend. And that set up a predictive pattern that was going to be repeated and fulfilled in Great David’s Greatest Son. 
Jesus would be betrayed by an intimate friend. Somebody He had eaten with in close fellowship was going to turn his heel towards Jesus as he walked out on him or even raised up his heel to stomp on Jesus as he betrayed Him.
This was going to shock his disciples, but it did not shock Jesus. He knew. And He wanted them to know He knew. Verse 19.
“‘I am telling you now before [this stomping] happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.’”
That’s what’s really important. To believe. To accept or receive Jesus. Because then you get Jesus and you get God the Father who sent His Son!
What’s important is receiving Jesus by faith (John 1:12!). But not everybody does. And don’t be surprised by that.
In just a few short hours, everything is going to seem to fall apart. It’s going to feel like the world is ending. But the opposite is actually true. Things are proceeding according to plan.  Things predicted a thousand years before are coming together on that dark night so that the plan is on track.
It is going to be terrible! Look and see how it makes Jesus feel. Look at verse 21. 
“After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.’”
We’ve seen this language of “troubled in spirit” before. That’s how Jesus felt at the tomb of Lazarus. When His friend had died. Remember how He cried? “Jesus wept.” 
That’s how Jesus is feeling about what is going to happen to Him. He’s not stoic about this betrayal. He’s not like, “Whatever. I didn’t care anyway.” This guts Him. This bothers Him. This hurts Him. He just washed their feet! And now He says, “I’ve gotta tell you guys something. One of you is going to betray me.” It troubles Jesus, but it does not surprise Him.
It does surprise His disciples. Look at verse 22. 
“His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. [“I’ve got no idea. Who would do that?” V.23] One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask him which one he means.’ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’”
I love the vivid details of this story. How they stare at one another. Everybody is looking at everybody else, and nobody has a clue (except Jesus, and Judas of course).
And John calls one of them, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” which is a beautiful description of how he felt. He just felt so loved by Jesus. Of course, Jesus loved all of them (v.1 said so), but this one disciple felt particularly beloved, a special bond. And we will find out later which one He was (hint, his named begins with J-O-H-N).
He’s on the cot right next to Jesus, and Simon Peter gives him the little nod. You know how men talk to each other in nods? Peter gives him the nod. “Ask [Jesus] which one he means.”
And the beloved disciples leans back against Jesus so they are really close and basically whispering to each other, “Lord, who is it?” Verse 26.
“Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.” 
Jesus knows.
And now the beloved disciple knows. Nobody else knows, not yet. Everybody else assumes it can’t be Judas because he was just honored by the Master by being hand-fed the sop by Jesus Himself. But Jesus knows. 
And just as the bread entered Judas, so did Satan. V.27
“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.”
What a terrible thing to read. What a terrible to know.
This disciple of Jesus was now fully a disciple of Satan and was going to return that very night with a detachment of soldiers to arrest our Lord.
You see, Judas did not surprise Jesus.
If anything, Jesus surprised Judas! Because look what He says to him. Verse 27.
‘What you are about to do, do quickly,’ Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. [Remember Judas earlier this week had made a big deal about selling the perfume to help the poor. What a champion of the poor! No, he was a champion of himself. But only Jesus knew it. So he sent him on his way. V.30] As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night” (vv.27-30).
It sure was.
What an ominous note. Things were dark. Things were bleak. Jesus was going to be betrayed by an intimate friend. But He was not going to be surprised. And He told them in advance, so they would, in time, believe.
I think this is helpful for us in many ways. First of all, just that Jesus knows what it’s like to be betrayed. If you have never been betrayed, just wait. It will probably happen to you. And when it does, it will hurt a lot.
Jesus understands what that feels like. He lived it out like nobody else ever has. He even knew in advance that it was happening, and He couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stop it from happening, but it was part of what had to happen for Him to fulfill the Father’s mission for Him and to save us from our sins. So He knows what it’s like. He can sympathize and walk alongside you as you go through the pain of betrayal yourself.
I think it’s also helpful because it reminds us that God’s plan is still on track even when it feels like it’s going off the rails. When the disciples find out that Judas–the guy they trusted with their money!–has sold out Jesus, they will be tempted to despair and to think that everything is lost. It was night-time for the disciples in every way. So so dark. And yet the Light of the World shines in the darkness!
Heather and I have some very close friends who are going through a very dark thing right now. And sometimes all I can say as we walk with them is, “The Lord knows.” 
“The Lord knows.” And we know He knows because He told us before it happens.
It was night time, but the light shines brightest in the darkness. And that’s what He tells them next. “I am telling you now before it happens...”
#2. I WILL BE GLORIFIED.
Verse 31. “When he was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once” (v.31-32).
Judas leaves the room, and the temperature changes. It’s just Jesus and the Eleven now. And Jesus can open Himself up even more. The teaching will go deeper than it ever has. And Jesus says that it’s time for Him (not only to be betrayed but) to be glorified. And to be glorified by being betrayed!
This glorification comes through His crucifixion. Remember, . Lifted up on a pole! Like a snake in the wilderness. But lifted up! Glorified. Bringing glory to Himself and to His Father. By completing the deadly mission on which He was sent.
Do you see the circle of glorification?
“Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.”
The Son gets the glory.The Father gets the glory in the Son.The Son gets the glory in the Father.
In a perfect unending circle, and it’s all going down now!
And the darkness can’t stop it. In fact, the darkness has to enable it. The Cross is the darkest thing that ever happened in human history. And it is the brightest!
Isn’t that wonderful for us today?! Isn’t it wonderful to know that God can take the darkest night ever and make it the brightest?! That God can take the worst most bloody suffering ever and make it the greatest blessing?!
And that no matter what happens, the Son gets the glory, gives the glory to His Father, who gives the glory to the Son, gives the glory to the Father, gives the glory to the Son, (and starting in next chapter, gives the glory to the Spirit, all three in one) forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Amen?!
He told us before it happens so that we would believe.
For the Son of Man to be glorified, He had to go away. This next portion of Scripture, from right here to the end of chapter 16, is often called “The Farewell Teaching” because Jesus begins to say, “Goodbye.” Verse 33.
“‘My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.”
He’s telling them in advance that He’s going away. He knows it, and He is telling them what to expect before it happens. And how to behave when He’s gone. Verse 34.
“‘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’” (vv.34-35).
I hope these words are very familiar to you. This is our theme for the year as a church family. Jenni has them on the bulletin board in the center of the foyer. We’re going to memorize them together for the next several months.
I taught on these two verses four months ago on Vision Sunday. Let’s read them together once again to remind ourselves what our Lord Jesus commands us:
“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.”
Three times in two verses Jesus tells us to love one another. It must be important! 
He says it’s a “new” command. What’s new about it? God’s people have always been commanded to love. The Israelites were supposed to love their neighbors (Leviticus 19:18). But this says to love one another. So it’s a command to love our fellow disciples, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 
But I think the real newness is not so much who to love but how to love. We are now being called to love (v.34) as Jesus has loved us. There’s a new standard. As the choir just sang, we love because he first loved us.
Jesus has shown us how to love one another. And it is a high standard that involves going low. Just minutes before this, Jesus had gone around the circle washing their feet. He showed them how to love by serving them in humility.
Love isn’t just words or feelings. It’s actions. It’s putting someone else’s needs before your own. It’s laying down your life, often a little bit at a time. Our Lord Jesus calls us to love one another just as He has loved us. Let’s make that number three. “I am telling you now before it happens...
#3. I WILL BE IMITATED.
“You must love another as I have loved you.” It is imperative.
How are we doing at this? Let me read to you some things I said to you four months ago on January 28th because they are all still true and still needed.
On Vision Sunday, I pointed out that our church family had grown. We had been exceptionally blessed in 2023 with growth in attendance. Up 12% from the year before to an average of 142 people per Sunday. But it was more than that because the same people don’t come every Sunday. We had counted 293 different people who came at least one Sunday in 2023 and 235 people who came quite regularly.
This year, attendance has grown even more. In 2024, we are averaging about 161 people every Sunday. (Another 9% growth so far.)
And that’s wonderful, praise God! But it also means that we have to work even harder to build a loving community here, doesn’t it? Because “More people, more problems. More sinners, more sin.” Right?
“Love” sounds wonderful until you actually have to do it. 
So four months ago, we talked about doing all the “one anothers.” Right? Knowing one another (using the church directory), greeting one another (and not just our friends or the people we always greet), welcoming one another, praying for one another (maybe over the back of the pew), showing hospitality to one another, eating with one another, forgiving one another, bearing with and being patient with one another, exhorting one another, speaking the truth to one another.
That’s hard work! How are we doing at all of that as a church family in 2024? This is a good time to check in and take our own pulse.
How are we doing at loving one another as Jesus loved us?
How are you doing at that? What is going well?What do you need to change?
Because the world desperately needs to see us imitate our Lord in this way!
On January 28th, I said this:

“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 [who] 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 [and] 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.”
...
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.”

That’s what I said on January 28th. How are we doing at this on May 26th? How are we doing at imitating our Lord?
If somebody looked at your life today, would they say, “Wow. That guy, that gal, sure is loving? They sure know how to serve their fellow Christians. They have picked up their basin and their towel. They sure act like Jesus.”
Let me just say, as your pastor, that I am very proud of you in this way. I see this as a very loving church family, and I see you stepping up to obey this new command every single day, especially when we gather together on Sundays.
Don’t stop. Don’t coast. We have much work to be done. Love does not come easy. It is hard work to do the “one-anothers.” But we are at it. I am so proud to be the pastor of Lanse Free Church. There is no other church family that I love more.
I believe the world can look at this bunch here and say, “They are Jesus’ disciples. Look at how they love one another.” Thank you. Well done, you.
Tomorrow, on Memorial Day, we will stop what we’re doing and thank God for those who acted like Jesus (whether they knew it or not) and gave their lives for others. Those servicemen and women served our nation by laying down their lives for their countrymen.
How are you and I each doing at laying down our lives for one another in the family of God? Love is supposed to be the distinguishing mark of the Christian. Verse 35. 
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus says, “I will be imitated.”
And that extends even to our following Him in death. Point number four. “I am telling you now before it happens...”
#4. I WILL BE FOLLOWED.
But not at first. Jesus’ disciple, Peter, has missed what Jesus was saying about all this love stuff, because he got stuck on what Jesus had said in verse 33.
“You’re going away?” Verse 36. “Simon Peter asked him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.’ Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (vv.36-38).
Jesus knew. Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed. And He knew that He was going to be denied. He was going to be disowned by Peter himself. Three times before the rooster was done crowing, this coming morning!
Peter had way too high an estimation of himself. His instincts were good. He wanted the right thing at that moment. But his self-confidence was too high. “Oh yeah, I’ll do that.”
Jesus knew that Peter was not going to lay down his life for Jesus. It was the other way around. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was going to lay down his life for Peter. And for you and me.
Have you put your faith in what Jesus did for you on that Cross?
Jesus knew what was going to happen in just a few hours. He was going to lay down his life for our sins. And then in three days, He was going to take it back up again to give us life forever.
Jesus knew that Peter was not going to follow Him that day. But He says in verse 36 that, one day, Peter would follow Him. Peter will get a chance, down the line, to put his life down on the line for Jesus. He will follow Jesus. Because Peter will believe in who Jesus truly is. Jesus told us this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, we will believe.
Kailyn, Kevin, Zane, Addison, on this Graduation Sunday, here’s my pastoral counsel for you. (And it’s true for all of us here today, as well.)
Believe in Jesus! Believe that He is all that He said that He was. Because He obviously knew the future. He knew Who He was. And He knew what was going happen to Him.
He was going to be betrayed.He was going to be denied and disowned.He was going to be crucified.He was going to be glorified!
And because of His sacrifice, we can be saved. And we can love one another. We can love like He loved. Painfully. Love is painful. If we are doing it right, it will sometimes hurt. It will sometimes feel like death. It will sometimes actually be our death to love one another. But it will be worth it all because the whole world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples if we love one another.
And follow Jesus even to death.
Because He is worth it.
His plan was not derailed.His death was not the end.The darkness did not win.
The Son of Man was glorified and God is glorified in Him. We believe!
***

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
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26

30. "Believe In Me" - John 12:37-50
31. "Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?" - John 13:1-17https://matt-mitchell.blogspot.com/2024/05/do-you-understand-what-i-have-done-for.html

“Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?” [Matt's Messages]

“Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMay 19, 2024 :: John 13:1-17  
This never happens.
This sort of thing never happened back in the ancient world.
This foot-washing story, was astonishing to the first readers of John’s Gospel. It was astonishing to the people who lived in the story! The Apostle John was blown away by what he saw Jesus doing...and felt doing to him.
This never happens. I read this week that there are NO instances–no instances–in Jewish, Greek, or Roman historical sources of a superior washing the feet of a subordinate. None. This never happens.
And yet it happened that night.
We have reached the section of the gospel of John that is often called the Upper Room Teaching or the Farewell Discourse. It’s that last night before Jesus went to the Cross. And it was emblazoned upon John’s mind. John is going to give this one night five or six whole chapters in his 21 chapter book. Chapter 13 to set the stage. Chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 to share Jesus’ deepest teaching and longest recorded prayer. And then the arrest and the trial and everything leading up to the crucifixion the next day. We’re going to be meditating upon this night for several months as a church family.
John just couldn’t get over it. And he wanted to make sure that we heard about it and that we understood what was going on. So he gave us these words in chapter 13. Let’s look at them together. Look at verse 1. John sets the stage. Verse 1.
“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Do you feel how weighty this is?
Notice the words, “Jesus knew.” That’s important. Everything that is happening in this story is something that Jesus knew about ahead of time. None of this is taking Jesus by surprise. We are shocked, they are shocked, but Jesus is not.
In fact, He’s choosing all of this. Like we said last week, it’s all going according to plan.
Jesus knew. What did He know? “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.”
Like we saw in the last chapter, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn. 12:23 NIVO).
Jesus knows Who is, where He’s from, and where He’s going. And He knows how He’s getting there. He knows about the Cross, and He is choosing it out of love. Verse 1 again.
“Having loved his own [His own people, His own disciples, His own sheep] who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”
Literally, “He loved them to the end.” Which has all of the ambiguities in Greek that it has in English. He loved them to the uttermost. He loved them to His own end. His own death.
Do you feel what John was feeling when he reflected on what was happening on that dark night? It was all going down. Everything was coming to a head. Jesus loved His people, and now He was going to show them just how much He loved them.
And He was going to start with a little human object lesson. Look at verse 2.
“The evening meal was being served [I think that’s what we call the Last Supper], and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.”
That’s a key piece of information that John knew only later. But Jesus already knew it at this time. There is an agent of Satan at this Table with our Savior. Jesus knows that. He also knows that it’s His time to go. Look what else He knows. Verse 3.
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;”
Think about that!! Jesus knows that He is in ultimate control. He knows that He has all authority. He knows that He has come from God and was returning to God.
What would you do if you were in that position?!
I would blast Judas right out of that room!I would call in 10,000 angels for back-up.I would call down fire on the Pharisees.I would start barking orders.I would call for a foot massage and for my throne to be set up and then ascend upon it.
And Jesus could have, rightly, done any of that. But He did the exact opposite! And what He did was burned into John’s memory. Look at verse 4.
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (vv.4-5).
That just never happens. In the Greek, John uses the present tense so that it’s like a video, and you see Him doing each thing in your mind as it’s happening.
Jesus gets up from the meal.
Remember, they normally reclined at a common table in the center of a circle, and they come out like spokes on a wheel from the table as the hub. So all of their feet are on the outside. 
And, apparently, nobody has washed them. Normally, you would wash before coming to a dinner like this and then when you reached the dinner, a slave would wash off the dirt and grime and dust that came from the roads.
People’s feet could be really yucky in just a short amount of time. First off, at best they had sandals and many of them were often barefoot. And second, remember they had dirt roads, lived with animals, and had no plumbing. You don’t want to know what was often on their feet! 
How do you feel about feet? Some people think that feet are really ugly and gross, and they don’t want to think about feet. Maybe I should kick my shoes off and preach this sermon barefoot. What do you think? Do you think you could concentrate if I did that?
Feet can be really smelly. I’m sure these were really smelly. Somebody should have washed them. But nobody was willing to do it! 
Because that was seen as the lowest job there ever was. Get this. In Israel, it was only the Gentile slaves that had to do this job. If you were a Hebrew, a Jewish slave, you did not have to wash even your master’s feet, much less their guests’ feet.
But Jesus gets up from the meal, and he takes off His outer clothing, and He wraps a towel around His waist.
He’s dressing up like a slave! Everybody’s like, “What’s going on? What’s He doing?”
And then He gets a bucket with water in it. He pours water into a basin, and begins to go around the outside of the circle washing His disciple’s feet.
Do you see it in your head?
Jesus is kneeling at the feet of His disciples.
Is that right?! Can that be right? They should be kneeling before Him, right?
But He is kneeling before them. And he’s washing their feet. 

Have you ever had your feet washed by someone else? It can be really ticklish. It feels very intimate. Very vulnerable. Those are tender moments.
Our Lord, Who knew that He was about to die, Who knew that the Father had put all things under His power, was using this moment to act like a servant and wash and dry and wash and dry and wash and towel-off His disciples’ dirty feet.
John could hardly believe this was happening and could never forget it. And Peter couldn’t believe it either. In fact, he was sure it was wrong! Look at verse 6.
“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’”
“You?!?!” Peter is stunned. “This can’t be right.” Servants wash the feet of lords. “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Can you feel how confused he is? Jesus says, “Don’t worry. You will ‘get this’ later.” Verse 7.
“Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’”
“I know it’s confusing, Pete, but give it time. All things will become clear. Roll with me now.” Verse 8.
“‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’”
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Steady now, son. That’s probably not a good thing to ever say to your Lord. I appreciate your honesty and your zeal, but we should never be saying, “No” to Jesus. I know you think you’re being humble, but there is a kind of humility that is actually proud. [This insight was gained from D.A. Carson.] Verse 9.
“Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’”
“If you are going to be my disciple, then you have to allow me to serve you.”
Isn’t that amazing?! Christianity is so different from every other religion on the planet. Because at the center of our faith is a Serving Savior. A King Who came to serve His people. The other religions of the world say that we must do something for the god at the center of them. “We must serve the gods!” But Christianity says that the God at the center of our faith became one of us and then...served us. And we have to let Him serve us or we have no part in Him. 
Jesus was showing His great love to those who belong to Him. And if Peter was not going to receive Jesus’ love, then He would not belong to Jesus.
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
And so, classic Peter, verse 9.
“‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’”
“Give me the whole bath! Scrub me up because I want to belong to you!”
Gotta love Peter! I think Jesus is probably chuckling as He begins to say verse 10.
“Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean” (vv.10-11).
Jesus tells Peter that he doesn’t need a full bath because everybody who belongs to Jesus is clean–though not everybody at that table truly belonged to Jesus.  This was just a symbol of cleansing. Not the full cleansing itself.  
And Jesus washed the feet of a person at that table who was not cleansed. And Jesus knew it. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him. What must that have felt like as He took Judas’ feet in His hands and washed them with water and dried them with the towel around His waist? I can’t imagine. And John almost couldn’t believe His eyes.
And then it was over. Jesus had washed their 24 stinky feet and was taking off His servant outfit and putting back on His dinner clothes and reclining back at His place. And what did it all mean? Verse 12.
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them.”
“Do you get it? You just saw something happen that never happens. Do you understand what you just saw? What you just felt? Everybody feel how clean your feet are? Everybody remember what it looked like for your Lord and Rabbi to have knelt behind you and cleaned the muck off your feet?”
“Do you understand what I have done for you?”
I think the answer must have been, “No.” That’s why Jesus told Peter in verse 7 that they would understand later. Probably much later. After the crucifixion, after the resurrection, after the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost [See John 16:13].
They didn’t get it right then. It had to sink in.
But do we get it? We are on the other side of the crucifixion, the resurrection, the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, and the writing of the Gospel of John. Do we understand what Jesus did for us?
I’ve got two points today to summarize what I think Jesus wanted them to understand from this astonishing object lesson, and here’s number one:
#1. I HAVE WASHED YOU CLEAN.
All of this was a picture of the gospel. All of this was a dramatic enactment of what Jesus was doing to save them. Do you see that?
Verse 1, “He now showed them the full extent of his love.”
And He gets up from table, leaving His rightful place. Like He left heaven. And takes off his outer garments like He laid aside His glory.
And He took on the form a servant. Remember how Paul said it in Philippians chapter 2?
“Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped [held onto], but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:5-8 NIVO).
Jesus was the Servant predicted by the prophet Isaiah. We read that in Isaiah 53 last Sunday. 
“[The Servant] was pierced for our transgressions, [the Servant] was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5 NIVO).
And we are cleansed. He did all of that for us. And we have to receive it. We have to let Him save us.  
Just like Peter had to let Him wash him, we have to allow Jesus to wash (not just our grimy feet) but our sin-stained souls.
Have you done that? Have you allowed Jesus to wash you clean, spiritually?
Judas did not. Judas had traveled with Jesus for 3 years and was never truly converted. In the end, Judas not only betrayed Him, but he rejected Jesus.
Remember how John said it in the very first chapter? “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. [Light of 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. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn. 1:9-12 NIVO).
Have you received Him? If you have, then you are clean!  Isn’t that wonderful? Jesus says over you, “I have washed you clean.” Do you know that? Do you understand what Jesus has done for you? He has taken away your sin. He scrubbed it off. It does not cling to you any more. He took your sin on Himself and washed it off, not just with the water, but the cleansing power of His own blood.
The Apostle Paul said it this way to his friend Titus:
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done [We didn’t clean ourselves up!], but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:3-7 NIVO).
That’s what He has done for us, brothers and sisters. Jesus says, “I have washed you clean.” Do you understand?
And, of course, it’s more than that. Jesus had another purpose for this little drama He acted out. He told His disciples that He was doing it to be a model for them of how to serve each other.
#2. I HAVE SHOWN YOU HOW TO SERVE.
Look what He goes on to say in verse 13.
‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (vv.13-17).
I think it’s fascinating that He doesn’t tell them that now that He has washed their feet, they need to wash His feet.
It’s not youscratchmybackIscratchyours, is it? No, it’s not “quid pro quo.” It’s "I have shown you how to serve one another." Especially those who may be under you!
He says (v.13), “You call me, ‘Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.”
Notice that Jesus doesn’t stop being the teacher or the Lord. He still has authority. His is still the rabbi, and He’s still the master. He’s still the top dog. But He doesn’t act like the top dog here. The top dog takes the bottom spot.
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.”
What does that mean? Does He mean literally? Everybody take off your shoes! Wait. Hold onto that.
I think it’s fine to do it literally. I have done it many times, and had it done to me. Footwashing is beautiful.
Here is a picture of me washing Blair Murray’s feet at Family Bible Week in 2006. We were studying this part of John in the adult class that year.
I see some familiar faces looking on: Eric, Wally, Anita, Nancy, Heather, Dawn. They have big smiles because I think Blair was being funny. Imagine that.
Blair said that nobody could touch his feet. They were too ticklish, but he let me try, and that day it worked. And it became a very solemn moment. Every footwashing service I’ve ever been in has grown serious and weighty and meaningful. Normally there are tears and deep prayers.
But I don’t think that Jesus was just setting up another ticklish thing for us all to act out.
Jesus was saying that we need to act like servants of one another. We need to swallow our pride and set aside our reputations and serve one another in love. Jesus has shown us how it’s done. And if Jesus could do it, then obviously we can and should!
Verse 15 again. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
In other words, if you aren’t willing to serve other Christians like this, then who do you think you are?
If the Lord of the universe will wash feet, then who do we think we are if we are unwilling to kneel before other Christians and serve them in love?
There is no excuse for refusing to serve others out of pride or reputation.
“Oh, I’m the pastor. I don’t do that.”“Oh, I’m the husband. I don’t serve my wife. She makes me a sandwich.”“Oh, I’m the boss at work. I don’t serve my employees. They work for me.”“Oh, I’m the top dog. I don’t take the lowest place.”
Is that right? So you think you’re better than Jesus, huh?
Now, again, Jesus didn’t give up His authority. He still was Teacher and Lord for these disciples and for us. There is a legitimate use of authority in lots of situations and relationships in life. But Christians, including those in authority, are called to humble ourselves like our Lord did and serve one another in love.
 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (v.15).
How are you doing at that? Are you a servant? How do you know? Do the people around you know that you are a servant? Do the people under you know and feel that you serve them? If you don’t know, you could ask.
I think one way to know is if it kind of seems weird. Because it’s still rare in our world today! 
Heather had a boss once that made it a point of learning and doing every job of every person under them. He was in charge of the food service at Moody Bible Institute, and he took a day to learn every position on the line. From dishwasher to server to the guy that cleared off the tables. And that has always stuck with me. He could have holed up in his office and made the big decisions. And I’m sure he needed to spend time in his office making the big decisions! But he also got out there and washed some dishes. He was washing feet.
Husbands, you have a responsibility to lead in your homes. What is the household job that your wife hates doing the most? That’s now your job. It’s not your job to make sure she gets it done. You get it done. And do it right. Don’t do it poorly so that she says, “I hate doing it, but he can’t do it right, so I’m going to do it.” And you get out of it. Even if you hate it more than she does, go wash her feet. You get the idea?
This is for church leaders. This is for parents. This is for the older kids in a family. This is for Christian friends.
Remember, this not about who deserves to have their feet washed. Which of these men deserved to have their feet washed by the Lord Jesus Christ? Don't wait until they deserve it to serve other people!
This never happens, but it should. And we should do it more and more and show the world what a difference Jesus makes.
“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
You know who was good at this? That guy whose feet I was washing in 2006. Many of you may not have known him, but Blair Murray was a servant. He didn’t throw around his weight. He was an elder. He had been a leader and a teacher in this church for many years. But he didn’t demand his own rights and angle for adulation. He saw people’s needs, and he humbled himself and served them like our Lord here.
How are you doing at washing feet? How do you need to change?
Do you get it? Do you understand what Jesus has done for you in setting this mindblowing example? Jesus says that if you do understand, then you will blessed if you do it. That’s the last verse for today. Verse 17.
"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (v.17).
Do you want to be blessed? I want to be blessed!!! I want our church to be blessed. I want us to be deliriously happy and have every good thing given to us as a church family. And here’s the way it comes–the blessing follows the serving.
Our Challenge Crew has served this last week by cleaning out all of this stuff throughout the church and several homes. A bunch of them came this weekend and rolled up their sleeves and organized it all. And it’s there now for us to choose what we want to take home. 
Thank you, Challenge Crew, for washing our feet, so to speak. May you be blessed.
Sometimes the blessing comes quickly. I know that I am often encouraged and filled with peace and joy after I humble myself and serve someone else. Just letting go of my pride and self-importance is a blessing all by itself.
But sometimes the blessing comes later. Sometimes much later. Some of this blessing will only come when Christ returns. Our Celebration Choir has a song they want to sing about that. It’s about the blessing that comes when we see Christ. Would the choir come forward?
Because Jesus Christ is coming again. Verse 3 said that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God...” But He also knew and is going to teach in the next chapter that He was going to return to this world one day. And then He was going to hand out all of the blessings He has promised to His children, especially as we follow His amazing example.
It will be worth it all when we see Christ.

***
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
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26
30. "Believe In Me" - John 12:37-50

“Believe in Me” [Matt's Messages]

“Believe in Me”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMay 12, 2024 :: John 12:37-50  
Did you notice a key word in this passage as it was read to us a minute ago?
Which word gets repeated over and over and over again?
You might miss it because it’s a word that John had already used again and again and again throughout this book.
Twenty-five years ago, when I first preached the Gospel of John, I got exasperated a few times with John for repeating this word so many times! I would come home from studying the passage for that Sunday, and Heather Joy would say, “So what did John have to say this week?”
And I would say, “He says again that we should BELIEVE.”
Did you hear that word again and again? Believe. I think it’s like eight times in these few short sentences. 
Believe. Believe.Believe. Believe.Believe. Believe.Believe. Believe.
And when Jesus says it, He says, “Believe in me.”  As we’ve seen again and again, Jesus tends to make everything about Himself. He doesn’t just want us to have faith. He wants us to have faith in Him.
That’s a big deal, you know? Lots of people talk about having “faith.” Maybe they even put a yard sign out in the yard that says, “Believe!” 
But the key question is, “Believe in WHAT?” or “Believe in WHOM?” Everybody believes in something. Everybody is trusting in something or someone every single second. But Jesus invites us to trust in Him. And He also warns us that there is grave danger ahead if we do not.
This passage is both an invitation and a warning. It’s one of those passages that is easy to miss. It’s easy to just let your eyes run over it on your way to the exciting things that happen in chapter 13. But today, I want us to slow down and consider what it is saying to us right now.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
This passage is a great place to stop and take a deep breath before diving into the last major section of the gospel. This is our thirtieth message and this is great place to stop and catch our breath and consider what we have seen so far.
Because this is the last chapter in John where Jesus is teaching publicly. It’s His last big invitation and warning to the general public out there.
Starting in the next chapter, Jesus is going to teach a lot more, but privately. Just to the disciples in what we often call “The Upper Room Discourse” or “The Teaching on the Night He Was Betrayed.”
And chapter 12 is kind of like a summary review of what Jesus has been saying for the first three years of His ministry and one final invitation and warning to those listening to believe in Him in that crucial last week.
It starts with something that might seem at first like a problem. Let me show you. Let’s look at verse 37. John 12:37. 
“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.”
How does that strike you? Does that make you worry a little bit? Does that surprise you? Jesus is inviting people to put their faith in Him. He’s done it over and over again. And many have consistently said, “No thank you. I don’t think so.” They have rejected Him.
nd He’s backed up His invitations with miracles! John says, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.”
What’s He talking about? What miraculous signs?    [ASK CROWD.]
Water into Wine. Chapter 2.Supernatural knowledge of the woman at the well. Chapter 4.Healing the official’s son long distance with a word. Chapter 5. “Your son will live!”Healing the man who was paralyzed for thirty-eight year. “Take up your mat and walk.” Chapter 5.Feeding the 5,000 men and with their families, maybe 20,000 people! Chapter 6.Walking on the water. Chapter 6.Give sight to the man born blind. Chapter 9.Raising Lazarus from the dead! Chapter 11.Speaking directly to God, “Father, Glorify Your Name” and the Father speaking directly back in a thunderous voice, “I have glorified, and I will glorify it again.” This very chapter, .
John says in chapter 20 that He did many other miraculous signs which are not recorded in this book (20:30).
But those are enough, right? He did all of these miraculous signs in their presence, but they still would not believe in Him. 
That sounds like a problem! Was Jesus a failure? Was His mission a failure? They should have, right? They should have believed in Him. It’s obvious, right? 
What’s wrong? There’s a part of me that starts to worry that something has gone terribly wrong with the plan here.
But John says the exact opposite. Look at verse 38.
“This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him” (vv.38-41).
I’ve got three points of application I want to make this morning, and here’s the first one:
#1. DON’T PANIC. 
God’s plan is on track. Yes, these people should have believed in Him. They had every opportunity and every good reason to, but they rejected Him. And yet, that did not derail God’s plan. In fact, it was all part of God’s plan. Verse 38 again.
“They still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet...”
Their unbelief was a part of God’s plan from the beginning. John makes that point from two different beloved passages from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Jesus was born, but he clearly got a glimpse of Jesus long before that first Christmas.
The first passage that John brings up is Isaiah 53 which everybody should know and try to memorize. Isaiah 53 is an amazing telling of the gospel more than 700 years before Jesus was born. It begins: “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
The “arm of the Lord” refers to the Messiah who is being prophesied. And the question is actually a lament that so few have believed the message. And so many have rejected the Messiah.
Isaiah goes on to say:

“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But 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.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:2-12).

The rejection was part of the prediction!
(And so was the exaltation.)
But the rejection was no surprise. It was baked into the plan. John pulls out Isaiah chapter 6 to say it even more strongly.
Isaiah 6 is that picture of the heavenly holy throne room. Isaiah writes: 

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 
And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 
Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ 
He said, ‘Go and tell this people: ‘'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed’” (Isaiah 6:1-10).

That’s the verse (v.10) that John quotes in chapter 12. 
The rejection was part of the prediction. In fact, it was part of the judgment. These people would not believe because they could not believe. And that was part of God’s judgment on them.
Now, how does that work? How is it that they are responsible for their wicked rejection of Jesus if God planned in advance for it to happen?
I don’t know. 
But John doesn’t think it’s a problem. The Bible consistently presents you and I as completely responsible for our free choices and God as fully sovereign over them, even our sinful ones.
I don’t know exactly how that works, but I’m glad it does. Because that’s what happened at the Cross, right? Sinful men put Jesus on the Cross in a sinful way. And at the very same time, God was working out His righteous plan through their sinful choices.
And that’s what saves us!
I’m not sure exactly how it all works. But I’m glad it does. 
And John doesn’t think it’s a problem. He thinks it solves a problem. Their rejection of Jesus did not create a problem. It didn’t mean that Jesus was failing was His mission. It didn’t mean that Jesus was clearly not the Messiah or they would have all believed.
It didn’t mean that everything was falling apart. There is no reason to panic. All is proceeding according to plan. 
I don’t know about you, but that is so encouraging to me. When I look out at the world and how it seems to be falling apart. And when I look out at people’s lives and see how they are falling apart. And when I see people I’m trying to share Jesus with and they don’t believe (at least yet). I am tempted to panic. And to worry that this is all wrong. And it is bad. It is trouble. It is terrible.
But that doesn’t mean that God’s plan has been thwarted. 
Not. in. the. slightest.
Now that doesn’t mean that we should just throw up our hands and stop our efforts to make the world a better place or to pray for people and situations that are falling apart or to share the gospel with those are currently rejecting Jesus. 
Just like this didn’t mean that Jesus was failing in His mission so that He should just quit and go home. But it does mean that we don’t have to worry or get scared that God’s plan is derailed and headed for the ditch. No, even the yucky stuff that happens along the way is all part of the plan.
Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:10 this way (Matthew 13:14-15). Paul quoted Isaiah 6:10 this way (Acts 28:26-27). John quotes Isaiah 6:10 this way to give us hope and reassurance that even though all is not well, all is going well.
And all is going to be well because Jesus is going to get the glory. Look at again at verse 41.
“Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.”
Remember, Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Jesus was born, but He saw Jesus. Prophetically. Just like Abraham saw Jesus prophetically (John 8:58) Isaiah saw Jesus prophetically.
That LORD high and lifted up? Holy, holy, holy. That was Jesus.
That Messiah that was going to be pierced for our transgressions? That was Jesus. 
That righteous servant that was going to “see the light of life and be satisfied; [and] by his knowledge [He] will justify many” ? That was Jesus!
And Jesus was going to the glory and nothing was going to stop Him.
In this very chapter Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn. 12:23 NIVO).
And Isaiah could see it from 700 years away!
Don’t panic. God’s plan is on track.
Now, John says that some people, even leaders, did believe in Jesus. Many had rejected Him (as predicted). But some believed. Look at verse 42.
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God” (vv.42-43).
That doesn’t sound good. It’s good that they recognized their Messiah when they saw Him. The miracles pointed to the truth all along.
But these folks were too scared to tell people that they believed. They were afraid of what other people would think, say, or do if they did. And that puts them in a dangerous spot.
It’s possible that some of them had real faith, and it was just timid at first. I think of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They both apparently came to believe and were quiet about it at first. Nick came at night, right? But by the end of the gospel, they are being bold and going public with their belief in Jesus. 
But others might have believed and then never have gone with public with their faith, never “confessed” that they believed, and it’s really unclear whether or not they were truly saved.
John has been warning us that there is a kind of “believing” that isn’t really believing.
And one of the ways you know your faith is real is if you go public with it.
#2. GO PUBLIC. 
Tell other people that you believe in Jesus.
These folks were scared that they might be ostracized. You might feel the same way. You might be scared of being laughed at. Or denied a promotion at work. Or excluded from the party. Look at what John says about them in verse 43.
“They loved praise from men more than praise from God.”
I don’t want that to be said of me or of you. So often it’s been true of me. I want people to like me. I want people to think I’m great. If they think I’m great because I believe in Jesus, that’s great. But if they are going to think I’m a dummy for believing in Jesus, then I get tempted to not talk about Jesus.
But what if we paid attention to that last phrase, “praise from God?” Do you want praise from God? The Greek word there is “doxa” which we often translated as “glory.”
Do you want the Glorious One to put some glory on you?
I do! We have to want that more than we want the glory that comes from Instagram.
Go public with your faith in Jesus by loving the praise that comes from God. “Well done, you.” 
We just had another baptism class the last couple of weeks, and we’ll be having some more soon. Because not all of us are baptized yet like Jesus told us to do.
Some of you are scared of being baptized because you have to stand in front of others to proclaim your faith in Christ. Let me tell you, everybody here is rooting for you if you do that. It’s not even that you’re going to be tossed out on your ear like these folks were worried about. We are all here for you.
And if you are scared to give your testimony, I will read it for you. I’ve done it before. You don’t have to speak. But you do have stand in front of others and be baptized in front of others. Baptism is going public with your faith.
Don’t be scared. Think about the praise that will come from God if you go public with your faith in Jesus!
Remember: There are no secret agents in the Lord’s Army.
Go public. Tell others. Don’t be like these guys in verses 42 and 43. Who could you tell this week? That you believe in Jesus.
#3. PUT YOUR FAITH IN JESUS.
In verse 44, Jesus invites the public one last time to believe in Him before He disappears to the upper room. And He tells them how wonderful it is to believe and how terrible it is to not believe. Look at verse 44.
“Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.”
Everything Jesus says here is going to sound familiar.  
When you and I believe in Jesus, we don’t just believe in Jesus. We believe God the Father. Jesus doesn’t just act on His own. He was sent on a mission. And when you look at Jesus, you don’t just see Jesus. You see His Father. Sounds like chapter 1 to me. 
“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). 
You want to know what God is like? Put your faith in Jesus.  Sounds like chapter 5 to me.  
“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (Jn. 5:17 NIVO).
Remember, they tried to kill Him for saying that! They are still trying to kill Him for saying that!
Jesus has been sent on a mission to show the Father and to save His people. Verse 46.
“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
When we believe in Jesus, we escape the darkness. Sounds like chapter 8 to me.
“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).
Who wants to escape the darkness?
Who wants to escape the judgment? V.47
“‘As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. [Sounds like chapter 3 to me. He didn’t come the first time to bring judgment though everyone who rejects Him will eventually receive it. V.48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.”
You see what He’s saying?
If you put your faith in Jesus, you aren’t just listening to Jesus.
You are listening to the Father. And you are escaping the darkness. And you are escaping the judgment that would come if you reject Jesus. And you are gaining eternal life. Verse 50.
“I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
“And He’s told me to say, ‘Believe in me.’” Sounds like chapter 3 to me.
“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” (Jn. 3:16 NIVO).
Life that goes on forever and is life with Jesus and His Father forever.
Do you believe in Jesus?
I know you believe in something. We all believe in something. But Jesus invites us to believe in Him.
And He warns of terrible things if we do not. Judgment. Darkness. Perishing. Eternal Death.
But wonderful things if we believe:
Listening the Father.Escaping from the darkness into the light of life.Eternal life.
Put your faith in Jesus.
Believe in 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
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
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26

“Father, Glorify Your Name!” [Matt's Messages]

“Father, Glorify Your Name!”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchMay 5, 2024 :: John 12:27-36  
It’s Palm Sunday. Jesus has ridden a young donkey into Jerusalem. He has a target His back. He’s a wanted man, but He’s not scared to show His face.
He smells of expensive perfume. His friend Mary has anointed Him with a small fortune of nard poured out on Him from His head to His feet. He’s been drenched. And He’s heading straight into town.
The crowd has been waving palm branches over Him and shouting, “Blessed is the King of Israel!” And He’s not stopped them. He’s received their worship and their faith in His messiahship, His kingship.
And the Jewish leaders are frustrated that the whole wide world seems to be coming to follow Him. For example, even some Greeks at the Passover Feast request an audience with Him, saying to Phillip, “We would like to see Jesus.”
Everything seems to be leading up to a climax. And it was at that point that Jesus announced to the crowd, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
“The hour has come.” That’s what Jesus said in the passage we looked at last week. V.23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
It’s high time that Jesus gets the glory.
Up until this point, it was not Jesus’ time, not Jesus’ “hour.” But now it’s all come together. Jesus said that the time has now arrived for the Son of Man to be glorified.
And that sounds wonderful, but we learned last week that it actually means something horrible (at least at first) something terrible and something painful. Jesus is going to die. To be glorified, Jesus must undergo great suffering. Jesus says that He’s going to be like a seed. In verse 24, He said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Much fruit.
And He went on to say that we need to be seeds, as well. We need to follow Him in sacrificial service and self-denying love for a spiritual harvest.
But He was mainly talking about Himself. He was going to be like that seed. He was going to die. He was going to be planted into the ground.
How do you think He felt about that?
Remember, Jesus is fully human. He has every emotion that you and I have, just no sin. But He feels everything. And this makes Him feel “troubled.” Look at verse 27.
“Now my heart is troubled...”
That’s the same word that John used to describe Jesus’ feelings at the tomb of Lazarus (11:33). He’s disturbed. He’s unsettled. He’s troubled in His heart.
Jesus was not all “pumped up for Good Friday!”
“Woohoo! I get to be crucified this week. Who’s excited?”
No. In His humanity, Jesus doesn’t want to go there. If it was just up to Jesus’ feelings, he’d skip this part. He’d skip this “hour.” He’s tempted to ask His Father to let Him off the hook. V.27 again.
“‘Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”
Do you see what He’s saying? Do you feel it?
I can hardly believe He was saying these things in public. He’s going to say something very similar in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane later that night, praying with sweat like drops of blood.
But here’s He’s saying it out in front of everybody. “Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’?
Should I? I sure want to. I sure don’t want to feel the nails. I sure don’t want to feel the thorns. I sure don’t want to take the beating. I sure don’t want to be scourged. I sure don’t want their spittle in my beard. I sure don’t want to struggle to breathe. I sure don’t want the just wrath of God to rain down on Me. The hour has come. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’”?
“No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”
“This is why I’m here. This is why I was sent. So this is what I’m going to pray right now...” [And it’s our sermon title, from verse 28.]
“Father, glorify your name!” That’s a great thing for you and me to pray ourselves today. But right here, right now, it’s Jesus praying it to His Father. The Son of God, whom it’s time to glorify, is now praying that God the Father will be glorified.
"Father, glorify your name!" “Do whatever it takes for you and your name to get the glory! Even if it means my suffering. Even if it means my sacrifice. Even if it means my death. Father, glorify your name!"
What a prayer request! 
In this context, what an amazing thing for the Son of God to pray to His Father!
"Father, glorify your name!"
I have three points of application this morning, each of them simply one word, and here’s the first one:
#1. REJOICE!
Rejoice that Jesus didn’t cave in to His feelings.Rejoice that Jesus prayed that His Father would be glorified.Rejoice that Jesus set His will and His heart to obey and to go to the Cross.
It’s so scary to think what would have happened if Jesus had given in to His feelings in verse 27.
There was nothing wrong with His feelings. It was completely natural and right for Him to be troubled. Think about what He knows He is facing on Friday!
But also think about what would have happened if Jesus had said, “I can’t hack it. I’m out. I refuse to go through this hour. I don’t want to be seed. I don’t want to die. Father, save Me from this hour. Not Your will but My will be done.”
But, rejoice, that’s not what He did! No, Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify your name.”
And, astonishingly, God the Father answered Jesus out loud.
There are only 3 times in the gospels when God the Father Himself speaks from heaven. 
The first is at the baptism of Jesus. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17-4:1 NIVO).
The second is at the transfiguration of Jesus. “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matt. 17:5 NIVO).
And here’s the third time. On Palm Sunday. Jesus prays (v.28), “Father, glorify your name! Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’”
The Father answers the Son’s prayer request with a resounding, “Yes.”
“Yes, I will do that. I have done it, and I will do it again. Yes.”
Rejoice, O Christian, that God the Father said, “yes” to God the Son!
The opposite is almost unthinkable. But try it on for just a minute. What if the Son had said, “Father, glorify your name,” and the Father not answered? Like He didn’t care. Or if He had answered, “On second thought, no. I won’t bring glory to My name. I won’t set in motion the crucifixion. I won’t give My One and Only Son for those people. No, I don’t think so.”
“I have glorified my name, and I think that’s about enough. Come on home, Jesus, you can skip the next part of the plan.”
Aren’t you glad that’s not what happened?!
Instead, a great booming voice spoke from the heavens, and said, “Yes.” Look at verse 29.
“The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine” (vv.29-30).
They weren’t all quite sure what just happened. Some of them heard the thunderous voice and all they could think was that it was just thunder. Others knew it was heavenly and supernatural, so they thought it must be an angel. But Jesus knew and the disciples knew and eventually came to understand what they had just witnessed (see 16:13).
They had heard God the Son speak to God the Father and God the Father speak back to God the Son.
“I have glorified [my name], and will glorify it again.”
Rejoice!
You see how Jesus said that was for our benefit in verse 30? He knew what the Father would say. He didn’t have to hear so much for Himself (and wonderful as I’m sure that it was to hear with His own ears). But they needed to hear it, and we needed to hear about it so that we would rejoice.
In just a few minutes, we’re going to gather around the Lord’s Table and celebrate what Jesus did for us. 
Today we celebrate Jesus’ prayer that the Father would glorify His name even if meant He had to go through that troubling hour, and we celebrate that the Father said, “Yes, I will glorify my name.”
Because here’s what that means. It means that judgment on the world has come. Look at verse 31.
“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.”
This is what it means for the Father to be glorified. It means judgment has come and Satan is being decisively defeated.
“Now is the time for judgment on this world.” 
By that, Jesus doesn't mean that the End Times are here in full and this is the Great Judgment at the End of Time. What He means is that the sin of the world is going to now be judged once and for all on the Cross. Justice is coming. God is going to maintain His glory by meeting out his wrath on God's Son for the sin of the world. “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” (Jn. 3:16 NIVO).  
Rejoice! This is the beginning of the End.
The Cross also shows that justice is coming on all those who will not repent of their sin, including Satan. Jesus says, “Now, the prince of this world will be driven out.” That doesn't mean that Satan isn't still very active on Earth, but it means that the Cross will be his defeat.
The Cross looked like Satan’s victory, didn’t it?
Who was winning when Jesus was dying?
It kind of looked like Satan was, but it was actually God Who was winning.
The Son was being glorified, and the Father was being glorified, too.
Rejoice! Hallelujah, what a Savior! Jesus didn’t cave in, and God’s righteous judgment has come.  And Satan is being driven out.
What a glorious thought! Can you imagine what it will be like to live in a world without Satan? Without the “prince of this world” tempting us, oppressing us, accusing us? Can you imagine?
Because Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify your name!”, Satan is now defeated and is on his way out.
Satan is being driven out, because the Son was being lifted up. Look at verse 32.
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”
Now, that phrase “lifted up” can mean two different things in both Greek and in English.
We say that someone is “lifted up” when they are glorified, right? When someone is exalted, we can say they have been “lifted up” for everyone to admire and extol and look up to. “Look at Him!”
But verse 33 said that this “lifted up” was “to show the kind of death he was going to die.”
So, this “lifted up” was lifted up on a pole. “Lifted up from the earth.” Suspended in the air on a blood-soaked cross. That’s how He was going to die. And Jesus knew it. That’s what His “hour” meant.
But it’s both, isn’t it? Both kinds of lifted up. Jesus was going to be glorified by dying this kind of horrible death.
And, rejoice, because in doing so (v.32), He will draw all kinds of people to Himself.
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
Not every single person. Some will choose to come to Him, some will not.
But all kinds people. Jewish people like most of the crowd standing around Him, and also Gentile people like those Greeks who wanted to meet Him. And Pennsylvanian people like the people in this room right here.
#2. COME!
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
That’s your invitation, right there, to come Him. You don’t have to clean up your life first. You don’t have to bring anything to the table except yourself and your sin. Jesus chose to go to the Cross and to be lifted up to die. And in so doing, He is drawing people to Himself.
Remember that word “draw” from chapter 6?
Jesus said, “For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day...No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:40&44 NIVO).
Come! The Father is drawing people to Jesus. And everyone who He draws comes.
Remember what Jesus said in chapter 3 about His being lifted up? He likened Himself to the snake on the pole in Numbers 21.
The only time you’re allowed to compare Jesus to a snake!
He said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 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” Jn. 3:14-16 NIVO).
“It was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28).
Come. The seed is going to go into the ground die, but that will mean a spiritual harvest. Come! 
The crowd was unconvinced. Some couldn’t believe the thunder was a voice. Some can’t accept the idea of a Messiah that dies. Look at verse 34.
“The crowd spoke up, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?’” (v.34).
“What you are saying doesn’t sound right. The Christ is an eternal person. He shouldn’t be able to die if that’s what you mean by “lifted up” (Like on a pole? Like the snake?).
That’s not the kind of Christ we’re looking for. We want the Messiah that puts the beat down on the Romans. Not the one that the Romans can lift up on a stake.”
You and I know that the Christ will remain forever. Because He will come back from the dead and live in the power of an indestructible life.
He is the Resurrection and the Life.
But, first, He must be lifted up. That is the kind of Christ He is.
And we must all choose to believe in and follow Him or not. That’s how Jesus answers the crowd. He invites them to come to Him and believe in Him while they still have time. Verse 35.
“Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.’ When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.”
Do you hear the invitation? Come!
There’s just a window of time, and the window is closing. For this crowd, Jesus was saying that darkness was coming that Friday. And, boy, was it going to get dark! Literally, the sun hid its face. But also the Light of the World was snuffed out that day.
Jesus uses the illustration of nightfall here. “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. [It’s the golden hour which is a beautiful time, but it’s always a short time.] Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. [Come to Jesus! Put your faith in Him before it’s too late.] The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light” (vv.35-36a).
Come. Put your trust in the light. Believe in the Light of the World.
We’ve been memorizing John 8:12 now since the last Sunday of February. Let’s say it together.
“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).
But we have to choose and before it’s too late. There is coming a time for everyone here in this room when it will be too late. Either because we die or because Jesus returns. 
Either way, the darkness is coming, but Jesus invites us to (v.36) “put your trust in the light.” I want that for everyone here. Because you see what happens if you do? Verse 36.
You “may become sons of light!” Daughters of light. Children of light! 
What a beautiful idea. It’s another way of describing what it means to be a child of God. We have the “light of life.” We are reborn, and we now can shine.
#3. SHINE!
To be a son or a child of the light means not only that the Father of Light has given us the light of life, but also now we can live out the family resemblance.
Jesus is the Light of the World, and you and I get to be, in some way, the light of the world, as well.
Paul said it this in Ephesians 5, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord” (Eph. 5:8-10 NIVO).
He used similar language in writing to the Thessalonians. He said, “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled” (1 Thess. 5:5-7 NIVO).
We get to live differently, because we’re on “Team Light” and not “Team Darkness.” We’re in “The Family of Light” instead of “The Family of Darkness.”
Last week, He said, “Be a seed.”
This week, He says, “Be a light.”
And if we shine like that, you know what that will do? It will bring glory to the Father and the Son.
And it’s high time for that to happen!
That’s what Jesus was praying for. He was praying “Father, glorify your name!”
And the Father answered back, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
At the Cross.At the Empty Tomb.And in the light-filled lives of the people in this room.

***
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
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26

“More to the Story” by Jennifer Kvamme

I have been searching for a book like this for a very long time.
As a Christian pastor, I want the young people I care for to have really good answers to the difficult questions they are all asking about sexuality these days. And to be really good answers for today’s teens, they have to be realistic, biblical, confident, joyful, hopeful, comprehensive, concise, and readable. That’s a tall order!
How pleasant it was for me to discover that one of my EFCA friends had written such a book.
Jennifer Kvamme is Student Ministries Catalyst at Centennial Church in Forest Lake, Minnesota. She and I have collaborated on EFCA publications in the past, and when I heard about More to the Story: Deep Answers to Real Questions on Attraction, Identity, and Relationships, I was eager to hear what she had to say.
Jennifer writes as a true friend and wise mentor. She is sensitive to her young readers’ feelings and gentle with past hurts and poor decisions. Life is gritty, confusing, and painful. At the same time, Jennifer is joyful, confident, and unwavering in holding out God’s good design for sexuality. In three opening chapters and then at every turning point across the rest of the book, Jennifer embeds all the biblical teaching on sexuality in the grand storyline of the Scriptures. Sexuality is a grand glimpse of something deeper. There is more to the story. And the ultimate hero of the story gets the credit He deserves for His compassion and redemption. Jesus is fixing what has been broken so that following Him will be worth it all.
More to the Story does it all. I no longer have to point teens to a little library of resources I have assembled to address the long list of questions they have. Jennifer covers the waterfront in concise chapters that each end with meaningful questions for personal reflection. Students that need or want to go deeper can follow the endnotes or read her annotated recommendations for further reading. Youth groups can utilize the well-written discussion guide to jumpstart great conversations. The folks at The Good Book Company have done a beautiful job of laying out the book’s design to undergird its message.
While I’m sure it’s not perfect, I don’t have any real critique to offer. Unlike most books on this topic, I never had to wince as I read it. I never wished that Jennifer had said something differently or “not gone there.” Her counsel is sound, balanced, robust, and hope-giving. It’s even humorous at appropriate times! As all other books on this topic, More to the Story will feel dated at some point, probably frustratingly soon. Life is just getting more complicated. But this book is simply excellent and just what the church needs in our day.
I wish we had this book when our own kids were teens, but I’m glad we have it now. Highly recommended.
Give a copy of More to the Story to every sixteen-year-old you know.

“The Hour Has Come” [Matt's Messages]

“The Hour Has Come”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchApril 28, 2024 :: John 12:12-26  
Verse 23 says, “Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
That is significant because, at this point in the story, everything changes.
Up until now, the hour had not YET come.
We’ve seen this “hour” again and again in the Gospel of John. For example: Chapter 2, verse 4. Chapter 7, verse 30. Chapter 8, verse 20. 
Up until now, Jesus’ “hour” or “time” had not yet come. If someone tried to take Him by force and arrest Him, they could not. If they tried to stone Him, they could not. If they wanted to kill Him, they could not. He was untouchable.
Why? Because His “hour” had not yet come.
But now our Lord Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” And He’s talking about Himself. Jesus is the Son of Man. He’s taken that name over and over again in this gospel, as well. And He says that His hour has come. It’s now time for Him to be glorified.
It’s high time for Jesus to get glory! And, as amazing as that sounds, what Jesus says about it is completely counterintuitive. Not what you might expect.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s see how we get to this point where Jesus declares that “the hour has come.” Let’s back up to verse 12.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
I’ve got three points this morning to summarize this portion of the Bible, and here’s number one:
#1. THE KING HAS COME.
In verse 12, this is the day that we often call “Palm Sunday.” This story shows up in all four gospels.
If you remember, the Jewish Religious Authorities have decided that they must arrest and kill Jesus. He’s gotten way too popular, and many people are talking and acting as if Jesus is a revolutionary king. The Jewish leaders are afraid there may be a revolt against the their Roman overlords. And they are afraid that they might lose their power if the Romans have to tamp down on a revolt.
So they’ve decided that Jesus has to go. They believe He’s a blasphemer anyway. Jesus says things that can only mean that He thinks of Himself as equal with God! And that can’t be true, and blasphemy deserves death.
“So, let’s kill Jesus. It will be good for everybody all around.”
And last week, we saw that they were planning to kill Lazarus, as well! Because Jesus had brought him back from the dead, which is pretty good publicity if you are claiming to be the Son of God!
The big question on everybody’s minds was whether or not Jesus would come that year to the Passover Feast. His picture was up on all of the wanted posters around Jerusalem. If anybody saw Jesus, they were supposed call 911 so he could be taken into custody. 
Will Jesus show His face?
Here’s what happened. Verse 12.
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! ‘ ’Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the King of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt’” (vv.12-15).
Yes, Jesus shows His face!
Jesus is not scared. Jesus rides into town as the coming king.
A giant crowd has heard that Jesus is coming and grabs palm branches which ever since the Maccabean revolt 150 years before have been the traditional signs of victory to wave as the rescuing heroes march into town.
The other gospels tells us that some of them tossed their branches down on the road ahead of Him as kind of way of rolling out the green carpet to welcome the king. Excitement is in the air!
And the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
The crowd is shouting, “Hosanna” which literally means “Save us!” but by this time basically means “Praise you for saving us!” 
How “blessed” is He who comes in the name of the Lord! That’s from Psalm 118.
“Blessed is the King of Israel.” 
They believe that Jesus is the King. And here’s the amazing thing: Jesus believes it, too.
Jesus does not stop them. He’s not like, “Oh, no, no. That’s too much. Guys, guys, don’t be yelling that. People will get the wrong idea.”
No, Jesus lets them call Him that. In fact, He encourages it. He finds a young donkey and sits upon it and rides regally it into town over the green carpet under the waving palm branches. And He lets them shout at Him. They are shouting! “Blessed is the King of Israel!”
And what does Jesus smell like? 
Like pure nard, right? Do you remember? Do you remember what happened the night right before this? We studied it last week.
Just the night before, Mary of Bethany had poured out an entire jar of expensive perfume on Jesus, anointing Him with a fortune of perfume worthy of royalty.
And Jesus had not refused that either, and I’m sure He still smelled of it ungently.
The King has come!The King has come!The King has come!
Of course, this is a King unlike any other king. He does not ride in on a warhorse. He does not roll in a limousine flanked by tanks. He does not fly in on Air Force One. He rides in on a donkey which may have been a symbol of royalty but was also a symbol of humility. Salvation has arrived. Rescue is here! But it doesn’t look like they might expect. 
They might be expecting someone to overthrow the Romans. A military king. A political savior. But this Messiah has set His sights on a greater enemy and a deeper rescue.
As usual, his disciples don’t understand what’s truly going on here. Look at verse 16.
“At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified [not that] did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.”
He hasn’t yet been glorified, and they won’t understand all of this until then. In fact, it will take the gift of the Spirit (which we will learn about in chapter 16) to fully understand this (see 16:13).
Jesus is fulfilling the Scriptures. Psalm 118, and this riding on a donkey is from Zechariah 9:9 where the LORD promises to rescue His people. Listen to what Zechariah says, with more context:
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit” (Zech. 9:9-12 NIVO).
This King was to come and rescue Israel and, more than that, bring peace to the nations. And He’s going to do it through the blood of His covenant. Sound familiar?
Now Jesus is coming and fulfilling all of these promises. Including reaching the nations. Not just Israel but “to the ends of the earth.”
The King has come and the nations are coming to Him. Look at verse 17.
“Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him.
So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’”
They are so frustrated, aren’t they?! They hate how popular He is. But we should rejoice with the crowds that the King has come.
And He’s not just come for Israel but for the Gentiles, too. That’s the point of the next little section. Verse 20. Proof that the whole world is interested in Jesus, there are some Greeks who are. Verse 20.
“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.”
Do you remember Philip and Andrew from chapter 1? These are the guys who love to connect new people to Jesus. And they have more Greek-sounding names, and Philip was from a Greek-speaking section of Galilee.
So he was the natural connecting point for these godfearers who had come to Jerusalem to see what Passover was all about, and they heard about Jesus and wanted to have an audience with Him, an interview.
“Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Isn’t that a great request?! That would make a great prayer every morning for you and me, wouldn’t it? As we open our Bibles or as we head out into our day, “I would like to see Jesus.”
The point here isn’t so much what happened to these particular Greeks as showing that the whole wide world was involved. Greeks could say, “We would like to see Jesus” and not be turned away. Pennsylvanians can say, “We would like to see Jesus.” And we won’t be turned away.
Because the King has come, we should come to the King!
We are welcome, and we rejoice.
It’s true that some of the people who were shouting “Hosanna!” on Sunday might have been shouting “Crucify Him!” by Friday. 
But they were right to shout “Hosanna!” because Jesus is the rightful, saving King. And not just of Israel, but of the whole world.
And it’s at that moment that Jesus says verse 23:
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
#2. THE HOUR HAS COME FOR THE KING TO BE GLORIFIED.
This is where everything has been heading all along. This is the moment of truth. This is when Jesus is going to get the glory that He deserves!
But He’s going to get that glory by dying. His hour of glory is going to come through the hour of suffering and death. Next, week we’re going to see how troubling this is to Him (when we get to verse 27). He is not afraid of the Pharisees, but He is troubled by His hour. His hour means glory! But it won’t be easy. In fact, it will be awful. But it must be. It must be. This is why He came.
Jesus likens Himself to kernel of wheat. Look at verse 24.
“‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [Here’s what that means:] I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
For a seed to really do its work and to really fulfill its purpose, it has to go through a kind of death. It goes down into the ground and is buried and is all but left for dead. But that “death” has a power to bring new life!
We’re seeing it our gardens right now, right? Buried seeds, rain, sun, and then bursting out of the ground comes, not just a seed or a plant but fruit with many seeds in it.
There is in one seed the potential for a field of grain!
One appleseed becomes an orchard.One acorn becomes a oak forest.One kernel of wheat becomes a wheatfield. 
But only through death.
The road to glory always goes through suffering. The power of life comes from a powerful death. The hour has come for the King to be glorified which means that the hour has come for the King to die.
Up until now, nobody could lay a hand on Him. But by the end of this week, hands that should never have touched Him will grab Him, drag Him, flog Him, crown Him with nails, and nail His hands and feet to a wooden cross.
The seed will die and go down in the ground. 
But then it will spring to life! And it will create new life, much fruit, many seeds, a great and bountiful crop of all who will believe!
The disciples did not understand this. Remember verse 16. Only after Jesus was glorified (after He died and after He rose again) did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
And that, in dying, He had done something beautiful to us.
Do you believe this?
Have you put your faith and trust Jesus and His sacrificial death for you? If you have not yet, it is my privilege to invite and urge you to do so right now. The King has come, and He has died and come back from the dead, and He is giving life in His name for all who will put their trust in Him.
And He has also shown us and told us how to live a fruitful, God-honoring life. Look at verse 25. Jesus goes on to say:
“The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (vv.25-26).
#3. THE TIME HAS COME FOR US TO FOLLOW THE KING.
And by that, I mean to follow Him in death.
We, as Christians, are called to live in a self-denying self-sacrificing way, just like our Lord. Jesus says, paradoxically “The man who loves his life will lose it...” That means loving your life like an idol, like your life is the most important thing in all the world. People who try to hold onto their lives, selfishly putting themselves first above all others, will lose the very thing they are clinging to.
But Jesus also says (also paradoxically), “the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v.25). He doesn’t meant that we have to hate our lives like loathing the next breath or something like that. “Oh, I just hate my life.” No, He means in comparison with loving Jesus and loving other people.
If we so love Jesus above anything else, and we choose Jesus, and we choose serving others over choosing ourselves and our desires and our lives, then (wonder of wonders!) we get to enjoy our life with Jesus for eternity!
In other words, we need to follow our King’s example and be kernels of wheat. We need to choose to die a little every day to bring forth much fruit in the lives of others. Does that make sense? Jesus says that everyone who serves Him needs to follow His example here. V.26
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.”
I want to be where Jesus is. Both now and forever, and that means I need to live my life His way. And when I do, then the Father will honor me. 
Isn’t that a crazy thing to read?!!! “My Father will honor the one who serves me.” I want that, and I want that for you. I want the honor that comes from the Father!
It follow our deaths. It follows our humbling ourselves and “hating our lives in this world.” “Humble yourself in the sight the Lord, and He shall lift you up.” Higher and higher!
What does this look like in day-to-day life? I’m sure you can come up with all kinds of ways in your own minds of following Jesus in a life of service and self-sacrifice. The hard part is doing it, not coming up with ideas of how it might look.
But, at the risk of losing my reward, let me give you an example from my own life of a time when, praise God, I did well. (It doesn’t always go that way, of course.)

It’s a story from our time on sabbatical that I promised to tell you someday after we got back.
We were enjoying an extended time in a beautiful seaside town called Sidmouth on the south shore of England along the English channel.
And I’ve shared pictures with you before about the hikes that we would go on together. Every morning I would go on one by myself. Often getting in 10 miles per day.
There’s a beautiful incline called “Peak Hill” that I would walk up several mornings a week. It’s quite steep. About 515 feet from the sea up to the peak, and that’s about a mile. So it’s like a 10% grade to walk up and then down. A good workout.
And one day, on my before breakfast walk, I encountered an older man, maybe in his 80's, standing by this sign and looking a little confused.
And I said, “Good morning.” And he said, “Good morning.”
And I said, “Beautiful day.” And he said, “Yes it is.”
And I said, “I’m headed back down to town now.”
And he said, “That sounds lovely. Would you like to take me with you?”
All of a sudden, I realized, “Oh, this guy is lost.”
And we started to walk back towards town. He tells me that his name is Ivor, and I piece together that he has wandered away from his home.
He’s gotten a mile out of town, uphill! Near the cliffs!
So we start walking down. And going down a steep hill is often harder than going up one. He really starts to struggle, and I’m not sure what to do. So I give him my arm. And before long I’m kind holding him up while we walk with my arm behind him.
And we’re talking. 
This is my sabbatical! I’m supposed to be resting. I’m supposed to be having fun. I’m supposed to have no responsibilities. I’m supposed to be having breakfast!
But I am a Christian. I am a servant of Jesus. I know that “Whoever serves Jesus must follow Jesus; and where Jesus is, I need to also be.”
And Jesus was right there walking with Ivor down Peak Hill Road.
So we finally get down to town, and Ivor assures me that he knows the way to his home, but I am not at all convinced that he does.
So I keep walking with him. And he wants to turn down this road, “No, that doesn’t seem right. Maybe they’ve changed the roads here. No, not that one. It’s the next one, I’m sure.”
And I don’t know what to do next.
They don’t have 911 in England. They have 999. Do you call that for a something like this or only if there is a crime? I don’t know.
We have walked for like an hour now. I’m starting to think I’m going to try to steer him to where Heather is and see if she can help us with some food and some ideas of how to find out where Ivor belongs.
And then this nice English couple walks by and says, “Hello.”
And I say, “Are you from this town? Because my new friend here and I need some help.” And they call 999 and stick around helping me until the police come, and they give Ivor a ride home (wherever that actually was, I never knew). 
I was sore for like three days after that! My back and my shins and my knees! Ooo!
I was confused about why that all happened. What was that all about? And I’m sure I may never know all the reasons. I did talk with Ivor about Jesus, but I’m not sure what he got from that conversation.
But then I saw that nice couple again on another one of my walks, and they stopped and introduced me to one of their friends.
And they told her the story of our helping Ivor.
They told their friend that I was a Christian pastor visiting from the United States on sabbatical. After 25 years of service, my church family had given me a three month sabbatical, and we were spending it in the UK.
And that day, I had spent most of my sabbatical morning investing it in helping Ivor walk down the hill.
And their friend said to me, “Well done, you.”
I said, “Well done to these two. I’m just glad I could help.”
And I think that was a small testimony to the transforming love of God.
I never saw Ivor again, but I did see that couple several more times on various walks around town before we left, and I pray that the Lord used that morning in their lives, too.
Afterwards, I kept thinking about how I might have not been a pastor at that point, but I was a Christian. I wasn’t on sabbatical from being a follower of Christ! I called to be a seed like my King.
And as wonderful as it felt for the English lady to say to me, “Well done, you,” how much more wonderful for God the Father to say it to me?
Jesus says in verse 26, “My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
I don’t know about you, but I want that! And I want it for you.
I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and enter the joy of your Master.” “Come be where I am.”
That means dying.
That means being like a seed.
But if you die, you will produce many seeds.
“The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [Jesus says...] Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me" (vv.25-26).
The hour has come to follow the King.

***
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
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11

“Expensive” [Matt's Messages]

“Expensive”Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of JohnLanse Evangelical Free ChurchApril 21, 2024 :: John 11:54-12:11  
So, one day, you go to the bank. 
Maybe tomorrow. You pull in. You go up to the teller, and you say, “Good morning. I’d like to make a withdrawal from my savings account.”
“Ok. I can help you with that. How much do you want to take out?”
And you say, “I’d like to take out $40,000. I’ve been saving up. That’s approximately a year’s wages for me. And that should close out my account.” [For some of you, this may be stretch! You don’t have that much saved up. You don’t make that much. Or, on the flipside, that isn’t even close to a year’s wages for you or how much you have saved up. Bear with me in this story. Let’s make it $40,000 for today.]
And the teller says, “Oh. Okay. We can do that. I’ll have to get the branch manager. She may have a question or two. I’ll be right back.”
And the teller goes back in the back room and the branch manager comes out and says, “We’re going to get that check for you. I was just wondering if you were dissatisfied with our service or our rates here? That’s a big withdrawl. You say that’s an entire year’s wages for you? Are you taking your business somewhere else?”
And you say, “No, I’ve been perfectly satisfied with the service and the rates here. Thank you. No, I’m just going to use the money today. All of it.”
“Oh, I see. Are you buying a house? Or a piece of equipment?”
“No, I’m buying some perfume.”
“Oh, I see. An investment in a perfume company?”
“No, just one vial of perfume. It’s worth a year’s wages.”
“Oh, I see. That’s going to be quite an expensive vial of perfume! Are you going to put it in vault or will it get used?”
“Oh, I’m going to use it today. Yes, it is expensive. It’s only about 11 ounces. So that’s like $3600 an ounce. And I’m going to use it all up today. I’m going to pour it out. I’m going to pour it all out on one Person today.”
And she says, “Who could be worthy of that expense?” ...
You and I have an answer to that question.
Maybe not in that story going the bank tomorrow, but in this story when Mary of Bethany poured out this expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
That word “expensive” jumped out at me again and again as I read this passage for this message this week.
This perfume that Mary poured out on Jesus’ feet was incredibly expensive. The in-house appraiser, Judas, estimated the cost of this exotic pint of pure nard as 300 denarii which was the equivalent in that day of a year’s wages for a laborer.
That’s a big chunk of change! An entire year’s worth of wages in one little jar. And she just pours it out on Jesus’ feet.
Expensive.
To understand what this truly means, we need to back up and get a sense of the situation. We should actually back up all the way to verse 54 of chapter 11. That’s where we left off last week.
This spot marks a new section in the Gospel of John. From here on out we’re entering into the crucial events directly leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We’ve reached the critical moments of the “endgame.” Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead. He was “four days late” and still on time.
And while some people put their faith in Him and began to follow Jesus, others ran to the Jewish Religious Authority to get Jesus into trouble. 
And they have decided to arrest and kill Him. Jesus is now “a wanted man.” They have put His picture up on wanted posters around town. Look at verse 54.
“Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 
They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, ‘What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?’ But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him” (vv.54-57).
What do you think? Do you think Jesus will show His face in Jerusalem?
The high priest Caiaphas has met with the Sanhedrin and said that they must kill Jesus or they are going to lose their nation and their place in that nation. So Jesus must die for the nation.
And John has said that’s a prophecy. Jesus is going to die for the nation and not just for the nation but “also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one” (John 11:52). That’s us.
What do you think? Do you think Jesus will show His face in Jerusalem? Or will He stay far away?
It turns out that He will come, in this story, as close as Bethany. Remember, that’s just two miles away from Jerusalem! He’s not scared. He’s strategic, but He’s not scared. 
In fact, He’s in the suburbs at a public party! On day before He rides in on the donkey. Palm Sunday Eve. Chapter 12, verse 1.
“Six days before the Passover [Palm Sunday Eve], Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him” (vv.1-2).
Can you imagine what that dinner party must have been like? It’s in Jesus’ honor. Everything is centered around Him. Martha is serving. Which we know she loves to do. Making sure everybody’s glasses are filled. Everybody’s got enough to eat. Martha is the one who said last week, “Yes, Lord, I believe!” And here she is bustling around, serving everybody and smiling from ear to ear at her brother Lazarus who is reclining at the table with Jesus.
Lazarus is alive! He’s telling stories. Maybe he’s saying what it was like to stumble out of the tomb wrapped in all of that graveclothes. And how the kids gathered around to see what his face looked like when they took the headcovering off of him. Was it all green and grey and decomposed? 
No! He isn’t a zombie. He’s alive! Fully alive and filling his belly.
Everybody is rejoicing. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. And Lazarus is the proof. Look at him there reclining there with Jesus. Not that long ago, Lazarus was dead.
And Jesus knows that, not that long from now, He will be dead Himself.
But the mood right here is festive. Lazarus is alive!
Now, it says “reclining” because in that day and place, they often lay on benches or mats facing out from a small table in the center like spokes on a wheel. So Jesus is reclining too. His head towards the table, and His feet towards the outer wall of the room.
And at some point in the banquet, the other sister, Mary, enters the room with an expensive perfume. Look at verse 3.
This was a calculated move. This was a decision she was making. It’s very intentional. Verse 3.
“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (v.3).
I really can’t imagine what this was like, but it was clearly a dramatic moment. This nard was bought from India. It was an exotic import from a faraway land. It was about 11 ounces or half a liter of an “expensive” perfume. The King James says, “costly.” 
This was perhaps their family’s greatest heirloom, their most prized possession. It might have represented their most important asset. We don’t know how rich they were, but this was by any measure an expensive act.
She poured it on Jesus’ feet.
The whole thing. The other gospels tell us that she broke the container. There was no turning back. And they also tell us that she covered Jesus from head to feet with this oil.
John emphasizes the feet, probably to emphasize the humility of Mary as she unbinds her hair and uses her hair wipe the nard all over His feet.
This is a picture of abject humility and unashamed intimacy as Mary pours it all out on Jesus and wipes His feet with her hair.
“And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (v.3c). 
You can just about smell it.
I don’t have a great sense of smell. I broke my nose in junior high wrestling in gym class. But I can still smell a strong smell:
Bacon frying in a pan.A skunk goes off in the yard.Somebody’s perfume bottle breaks in their purse.The fresh mown grass.Wood-smoke from a fire.
“And the house was filled with the fragrance of the [expensive] perfume.”
The smell of sacrifice.
The smell of worship. Right? This is worship. Our English word “worship” is short for “worth-ship.” Worship is saying that something is worthy. And that’s what Mary was saying.
She was deeming Jesus as worthy of her expensive sacrifice.
She was so thankful for what Jesus had done in raising her brother from the dead that she filled the house with the fragrance of worship.
She was treating Jesus as a King, wasn’t she? This kind of anointing is something you see in the Old Testament for royalty. Priests and Kings get this kind of anointment treatment. And that on the national dime not just out of a family’s household wealth.
But here she is treating Jesus like a Messianic (anointed) King!
She is saying with her expensive sacrifice, “This one is worthy!”
But not everybody saw it that way. The gospels tell us that the other disciples objected to Mary’s actions. John tells us that Judas was the ringleader. Look at verse 4.
“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (vv.4-6).
John told us back in chapter 6 that Judas was going to betray Jesus. He reminds us of that again here.
Judas was trusted with the money bag. He was the treasurer, but he was a thief. So it wasn’t a legitimate concern for him to bring up the poor. He didn’t care about the poor! He wanted a piece of that 300 denarii for himself.
And what he is basically saying is that Jesus is not worth what Mary just did.
The expensive sacrifice was wasted.
“Good job, Mary. You just wasted a year’s wages. Gone like that. It could have gone to a good cause. A worthy cause. And you just poured it all out at once. What were you thinking?”
And that’s when Jesus speaks. And He says, “Leave her alone!” Look at verse 7.
“‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘ It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’”
That’s amazing to me. Probably the most amazing thing is what Jesus does not say.
Jesus does not say, “Oh, Mary, Mary, stop. Not so much. Don’t pour out all of your wealth on Me. Keep some of that for yourself. Keep some of that for your family. Judas has a point. Sell that and give some of it, at least, to the poor. I really care about the poor, too. Don’t waste your expensive sacrifice on me.”
He doesn’t say any of that. He doesn’t stop her.
He stops Judas. “Leave her alone.”
“You are saying that this is a waste. I am saying that I am worth it.”
Nobody cares more about the poor than Jesus. Verse 8 is not saying that we should neglect the poor. The rest of the Bible says that we should have compassion and meet needs and relieve poverty.
But Jesus says, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” 
There He goes again making everything about Him! (Maybe because everything is about Him?!)
Jesus was saying that Mary was right. He is worth it.
Two points of application from this story. Here’s the first one:
#1. VALUE JESUS AS WORTHY OF EXPENSIVE SACRIFICE.
In other words, we should be like Mary.
We should be willing to pour out our worship on Jesus. We should recognize the infinite worth of Jesus and act accordingly.
Now, of course, it’s going to look different for us than it did for Mary. She was present with Jesus in the flesh on Palm Sunday Eve. So her expensive worship looked a certain way, and ours will look differently, but it’s the same Jesus that we are valuing.
What in your life shows the value of Jesus to you?
What do you do with your money, your time, your reputation, your energy to say to Jesus that He is worthy?
It could actually be what you do for the poor! Jesus tells us in other places that we do for the “least of these [His] siblings” we are doing for Him (see Matthew 25).
What we put in the offering plate for missions in places troubled by poverty (like Haiti or Malawi) is one way of valuing Jesus as worthy.
But it’s not just our money. We aren’t like Judas just always counting the money.
How about our time? We worship with our time, don’t we?
What you give your time to is what you worship. Randy was saying yesterday when he gave his testimony that a temptation for many in his circles is to make racing your addiction. It consume them. All of their discretionary money and all of their extra time.
Sports can be like that. Work can be like that. Family can be like that. Travel can be like that.
All of those are good things! But do we put Jesus first in our time over all of those things?
Or do we think, “Oh, time for Jesus? I don’t want to overdo that! That would be a waste.”
What in your life shows that you truly value Jesus?
How about reputation? Mary put her reputation on the line. She was willing to be thought of as crazy because of her actions.
What are you and I doing for Jesus that other people would shake their heads at and say, “I think that’s bit much.” ?
I don’t know about you, but I would love it, if I could hear King Jesus say to others about me, “Leave him alone.” “Leave Matt alone.”
“He’s doing that for me. And I am worth it.”
I’m not trying to put a guilt trip on us today. I’m trying to help us all to see just how worthy our Lord Jesus is so that we act accordingly.
Some of you may be called soon into full time missionary service.
That seems like a big waste of time and money and energy to many people in our world.
“You are so gifted. You are so talented. That’s such a lot of money. Why would you do that?”
Because Jesus is worthy. Pour it out.
A number of years ago, I preached this passage, and I passed out little pieces of paper that kind of looked like checks. And I encouraged everybody to write down something that they thought the Lord was calling them to pour out like Mary did. It wasn’t necessarily money. 
What would you put in that blank right now? Hopefully, you could put everything or anything. But what is it that you think you be being called to pour out soon in worship of Jesus?
For some of you, it means volunteering your time. Maybe showing up on Saturday for the workday here on our campus. Your one day of the week to do something fun and you’re going to pour it out for Jesus with shovel and a rake.
It might be something completely different for you. Maybe it’s establishing an early morning devotional time. You are going to get up and read your Bible and pray. You haven’t prioritized that, but you’re going to start doing it now.
I don’t know what it might be.
I just know that Jesus worth it.
Pour it out.
One last thing before the choir comes to sing to us. 
Notice that Jesus connects this anointing with His burial. I don’t know that Mary did. She was just expressing her love for Jesus. Her thankfulness for His power in Lazarus’ life. She was treating Him like the king that He is.
But Jesus saw her as preparing Him for burial. Look again at verse 7.
“‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’”
Do you feel the ominousness of that statement? “You will not always have me.” In other words, “I’m going away. I’m going to be taken from you. I’m going to die. This expensive perfume has been saved for my burial. This perfume prefigures and anticipates and prepares Me to be buried."
Jesus knew what was coming. By this time next week, He was going to be His tomb.
And we know why He was going to do that. Out of love, Jesus was going to give His life for you and for me. Application point number two:
#2. PRAISE JESUS FOR MAKING HIS EXPENSIVE SACRIFICE.
Because the One Who was worthy of all of this worship turns around and gives up His life for us, His sheep!
Talk about an expensive sacrifice. The One Who is:
The Bread of LifeThe Light of the WorldThe Gate for the SheepThe Good ShepherdThe Resurrection and the Life.
The Word of GodThe One and Only Son of GodOne with the Father.
That Worthy One died for you and me.
The Prophet Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would poured out his life unto death, and be numbered with the transgressors. “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa. 53:12 NIVO).
“Poured out His life,” like a vial of expensive perfume. 
Do you believe this? His sacrifice was greater than any we could ever make. And He invites us to believe. 
Verses 9 through 11 tell us that many more people were believing at that time. V.9
“Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him” (vv.9-11).
Poor Lazarus! He just came back from the dead once. Now, he’s got people gunning to kill him again just to keep people from hearing about his resurrection and believing in Jesus.
As if that could stop Jesus! Jesus could have just raised Lazarus again, I believe.
But you can see how things are heating up. Because Jesus is clearly being seen and known as the Resurrection and the  Life, and many are putting their faith in Him.
How about you? Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus? If you do, then you will have life. Life now and life forevermore.
Because of Jesus’ expensive sacrifice.
Praise Him!Trust Him!And Worship Him.
Pour out your worship on Him like Mary did with that expensive perfume.
Let’s fill our houses, and workplaces, and our neighborhoods, and our world and our church with the fragrance of extravagant worship.
Because we know Someone that is worth it all.

***
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
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53

“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