Prayer: Communion with God: On the night before the cross, who did Jesus pray for? Jesus prayed for his disciples and those who would believe in him through their message. In other words, if you are a Christian, Jesus prayed for you! What did he pray for? Jesus prayed that we would experience true joy in a relationship with God and real unity with one another. Recorded on Mar 17, 2024, on John 17 by Ted Selker.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Joy in a World of Trouble: “In this world you will have trouble,” said Jesus. How will any of us survive the troubles of this world? Jesus taught about endurance, but at the end of the Last Supper, he called his disciples to go far higher than mere survival. There will be times of grief, but there is unshakable joy for those who are found in him. Recorded on Mar 10, 2024, on John 16:16-33 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, we’ll be working on John chapter 16, considering how we might have joy in a world of trouble. And this world is full of trouble, isn’t it? Every category in life is subject to trouble. There’s trouble with our health/relationships. There’s trouble with our money/work/politics. It’s not long before we have a world of trouble if we’re even a little public with our faith in Jesus. “When you’re weary; Feeling small; When tears are in your eyes; I will dry them all.” (Simon and Garfunkel know what we’re talking about). Well, for the last six weeks or so, we’ve been studying the events and teachings of Jesus on that night of nights, the night before the cross of Christ. At this Last Supper, Jesus taught many things to help his disciples endure not only the trauma of the cross but to help them remain faithful and fruitful for the rest of their lives. Our passage today brings this long section to a close before, as we’ll see next week, Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17. But one of the themes of this long section is that of endurance/perseverance in the face of difficulties, hardships, and persecution. How will the disciples will be ok? How will they survive the pain and suffering of this broken world with Jesus returning to the Father? How will any of us survive the troubles of this world? Doesn’t it sometimes feel as if this world will shatter to pieces? Doesn’t it sometimes feel that we’re powerless in the face of such pressing darkness? Jesus has been teaching about endurance, but here, at the end of his discourse, Jesus lifts us up far higher than mere survival to the joy that is possible in him. Followers of Jesus don’t have to simply endure. We can have real joy — the joy of Jesus himself, the very joy of heaven. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 16:16. We’ll unpack this as we go.
John 16:16–22 (NIV), “16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” 17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Ok, let’s pause here. One of the consistent themes in John’s gospel is how little the disciples really understood about the person and work of Jesus until after his death and resurrection. They just could not envision a dying messiah, much less one who would come back from the dead. That had never happened before! But here, they’re confused about everything Jesus said about his departure. What did Jesus mean by saying, “In a little while?” or that they won’t see him, but then they will see him? What does all this mean? Jesus knew they were asking each other about this and wanted to ask him, so he answered their questions in v. 20. And remember, in John’s gospel, the phrase “Very truly I tell you” means to pay attention because what I’m about to say is important. He says, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” This refers first to his suffering and death. His hour had come, just as he predicted. Jesus was about to be arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified. And his disciples would be devastated by this, not yet realizing that it was necessary for salvation. However, they will not grieve forever. Jesus would be buried, but on the third day, he would rise again. And their bitter grief would turn to astonished joy. Jesus then gave the analogy of a woman in childbirth. He says she has pain because her time (lit., her hour) has come. Part of the grief/trouble the disciples would experience over the next several days had to do with what time it was, the hour. But he assured them that just as a mother forgets the anguish of labor because of her joy in her new little child, so in the same way, the disciples would rejoice when Jesus appears alive once again. Now, the analogy of a mother giving birth is used many times in the OT, which makes sense. They didn’t have hospitals or birth centers at this time, so childbirth normally took place at home. And, of course, they didn’t have anesthesia or other modern methods for reducing pain. As a result, the intensity of both the pain and joy of childbirth made a powerful analogy everyone understood, which is why it was used so often. One of the OT passages that used the childbirth analogy is Isaiah 66, which has several interesting connections to what Jesus said here. First, a cataclysmic time was promised — when judgment would come, but restoration and comfort would follow. In other words, grief followed by joy. After the analogy of childbirth is made in Isa 66, God says, “When you see this [this salvation/restoration], your heart will rejoice and you will flourish…” (Isa 66:14). This is exactly what Jesus says will happen for his disciples, using language that mirrors Isa 66. So joy is in the foreground of what Jesus is promising. But there must be other implications if something this big, big enough to fulfill Isa 66, was about to happen, right? That’s where Jesus takes the conversations in v. 23. Let’s keep going.
John 16:23-28 (NIV), “23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” 25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Let’s pause one more time. So, the disciples will have a time of grief and mourning, but their grief will turn to joy. And in that day of joy, there will be a new pattern of life, including a new pattern of prayer. In that day, they will no longer need to ask Jesus for answers or clarifications. They will have new access directly to the Father in Jesus’ name. Until this point, the disciples didn’t pray in Jesus’ name. But once Jesus is risen and exalted, once he ascends and is seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, their faith in Jesus will give them the kind of access to the Father that only the Son and Spirit had ever enjoyed. Jesus didn’t say that by praying in his name, he would take their prayers and forward them up to the Father or ask on their behalf. “No,” he says, “the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” Because of their faith in him, a faith that will fully blossom after the resurrection, and their love for Jesus, they are already known and loved by the Father. A relationship with Jesus means you have a relationship with the Father with direct access to the Creator and Source of all life, light, and love. We’ll see next week in his prayer that this is Jesus’ deepest desire — that his disciples would experience the joyful love and unity he always experienced with the Father. It’s in this new kind of relationship with God that comes by faith that Jesus says, “…your joy will be complete.” What an incredible promise! Think about some of the things Jesus has been talking about for the last few chapters of John’s gospel. When the disciples stay connected to the life-giving, fruit-bearing, and nourishing power of the Vine, they won’t merely survive; their joy will be complete. When the disciples humbly serve and love one another, showing themselves to be disciples of Jesus, they won’t merely survive; their joy will be complete. When the disciples learn obedience to the word of God, when they are saved and sanctified by the word of God, they won’t merely survive; their joy will be complete. When the disciples receive the gift of the Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, they won’t simply survive; their joy will be complete. As God promised through Isaiah some 700 years earlier, when they would see this salvation unfold in Jesus, their hearts would rejoice, and they would flourish. However, this doesn’t mean that after the resurrection, all the troubles of the world would disappear. Not at all. The disciples would still be in this broken world; there would still be trouble. Jesus addresses this, starting with v. 29.
John 16:29-33 (NIV), “29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This is God’s word. Ok! So the disciples think they finally get it, but Jesus knows they don’t. The fact that Jesus knew what they had wanted to ask him made them believe that he had come from God. This, even though Jesus had said and done many more impressive things before which should have utterly convinced them that he had come from God. Commentator C.F. Dodd writes, “It is part of the character and genius of the Church that its foundation members [meaning, the apostles] were discredited men; it [the church] owed its existence not to their faith, courage, or virtue, but to what Christ had done with them; and this they could never forget.” (PNTC, p. 549). Still, Jesus is so patient with them and helpful to them, even in the fragility of their faith, even in their lack of understanding of what God was doing, and even though they were about to be scattered. Jesus can be this way for them because he is completely secure in his relationship with his Father. “You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.” This is all Jesus needs. But this stability, this security, is what Jesus is trying to give his disciples. “I have told you these things,” probably referring not just to this passage but to all of John 13-16, “so that in me you may have peace.” “In me” is a key phrase here. Our faith in and our love for Jesus unites us so closely to him that we can be described as now being in Christ as much as his Spirit is within us. The Apostle Paul picked up this language of being found “in Christ” and all its expansive meaning in his letters. We could spend the rest of our lives contemplating what it means to be “in Christ” and not run out of riches to discover. So, in his death and resurrection and the gift of the Spirit, Jesus was about to launch the final age of this world. But this isn’t the new heavens and the new earth. And despite the promise of joy, disciples of Jesus are still in this broken world. “In this world you will have trouble,” promises Jesus. “But take heart!” have courage; do not be afraid. Why? Because Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.” His death conquered our sins. His resurrection conquered our death. In Him, we are forgiven and freed from our sins. In Him, we have life — real life, eternal life.
At this point on that night of nights, Jesus turns from teaching to prayer, which we’ll see next week. But for now, how might we apply this teaching to our lives? What does this mean for us today? Well, I have three thoughts. First, I love how realistic Christianity is. We live in a world of trouble. No amount of faith in God changes that reality. It’s part of the reason why we needed a Savior. So, we shouldn’t deny this trouble and pretend everything is perfect when it’s clearly not. But neither should the trouble of the world cause us to cower in fear or fall into despair. Because Jesus has overcome! So, we who are in Christ can have joy in the midst of sometimes very difficult circumstances because the source of our joy lies far above our circumstances. Just as Jesus was prepared to be abandoned by his friends when he arguably needed them the most, he could face that sad circumstance because he knew he wasn’t alone. His Father was with him and loved him, and that was all he needed. His joy wasn’t dependent on his circumstances. The author of Hebrews writes, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross,” (Heb 12:2). Even the horrors of the cross couldn’t shake his joy. Second, the joy that Jesus is talking about here doesn’t have to be passive joy. This joy must work itself out actively in life if it’s truly the joy of Jesus. Here’s the truth: even if it feels like it sometimes, we are not powerless in the face of all this trouble. We can put our joy to work, and, just like Jesus, our joy ought to motivate our work. Christians can joyfully work today to fix what is broken — in our work, home, cities, nation, or wherever it’s needed. Christians can bring justice to bear on what is evil, we can love our neighbor, and we can and should do all kinds of things to make life better. This is what Jesus meant by calling us to be salt and light in the world. This is what Paul meant by writing, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10). The joy we have in Jesus is joy that motivates our work in the world. Third, again, this isn’t about mere survival. Followers of Jesus don’t have to simply endure while the world rages around us. We can have real joy today — the joy of Jesus himself, the very joy of heaven, a joy that comes from the reality of the resurrection. Jesus says our joy will be worth it, worth the pain of grief. And our joy can’t be stolen by anyone because our joy is rooted in the new relationship we have with the Father, which is only enhanced through prayer in Jesus’ name. So, in Christ, we can have joy in a world of trouble. And this joy drives our loving work in this world of trouble. Because the source of our joy is the loving communion of God going on forever and ever. So today, may we be people whose lives are marked by this deep and abiding joy. And may this church be a place where all people might come and experience this joy as we lift up the name of Jesus. Let us pray.
The Spirit of Truth: The way of Jesus is the best way to live. But the uncomfortable truth is that life doesn’t automatically get easier when you become a Christian. How can this be? And how might we endure when mild difficulties become outright (or even violent) persecution? We need the Spirit of truth. Recorded on Mar 3, 2024, on John 15:18-16:15 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, as we finish John 15 and work into chapter 16, we’ll consider the uncomfortable truth that life doesn’t automatically get easier when you become a Christian. I’m sure you’ve seen examples of this on social media or in the news, but have you ever experienced this? Have you ever lost a friendship or family relationship because you were a Christian? I have. I know the pain and confusion this can bring. Or have you ever had someone call you out for your beliefs as a Christian in school, at work, or somewhere else? It can be so hard to know what to say in those moments. Thankfully, we don’t often experience violent persecution in our country today. Of course, that’s not true for Christians everywhere in the world. There are places where you would be killed for your faith in Jesus. We do believe that following Jesus is the best way to live. He is the way, the truth, and the life. So why is it that life doesn’t automatically get easier when we follow his way? In fact, sometimes, it gets way more difficult. Does Jesus have anything to say about this? He does. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 15:18.
John 15:18–25 (NIV), “18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’” Ok, let’s pause here. So the minutes are ticking away and before long Jesus would be falsely arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified. So, in the shadow of the violence and humiliation of the cross, Jesus says to his disciples, essentially, “If they do this to me, don’t be surprised if they do this to you.” He says, “A servant is not greater than his master.” repeating what he said to them back in chapter 13. This is a consistent theme in John’s gospel. Back in chapter 7, Jesus said that the world “hates me because I testify that its works are evil.” (Jn 7:7). Later, as we’ll see in chapter 17, Jesus will pray for his disciples, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world,” and then prays that God would protect them from the devil and that he would sanctify them by the word of God. But here, Jesus tells the disciples why they will experience these hardships: because in his saving work, Jesus chose/delivered his disciples out of the world. Remember, last week, we saw Jesus say, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last…” (v. 16). They are still in the world but no longer belong to the world. So, disciples of Jesus will no longer be loved by the world. And our beliefs will not be welcomed/promoted/celebrated by the world because our beliefs come from Jesus. The reason is (and I can’t emphasize this enough) because it is Jesus the world has rejected. v. 21 is the key to understanding why the world responds to Christians with hostility. “They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” He says that during his earthly ministry, the world heard his words, and they saw his works, but they responded with hatred and not with love because they don’t know God. They have no excuse because he didn’t say/do these things in secret. But sadly, by rejecting the Son, they have rejected the Father as well. You can’t believe in God and not believe in Jesus. However, none of this was a surprise for Jesus or the Father. In v. 25, Jesus quoted Psalm 69, indicating that this psalm was about him. The rejection of Jesus by some of the people who saw and heard him fulfilled Psalm 69. But if God knew this would happen to his Son, and by extension to the followers of his Son, did he promise anything to help us endure this hatred? The wonderful answer is, yes, God promised to send the best resource possible. Let’s continue with v. 26.
John 15:26-27 (NIV), “26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” Let’s pause again. We’ll see a pattern in this passage. First, a teaching on persecution, then a teaching on the Holy Spirit. This pattern is repeated twice in our text. But we see that God’s answer to the persecution and opposition he knew his people would face in this broken world because of the name of Jesus was to send his own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, God’s own personal power and presence to be with us. Jesus had a longer teaching on the Spirit back in chapter 14, here again in chapter 15, and as we’ll see, on into chapter 16. This was one of the most important things the disciples of Jesus needed to hear the night before the cross. Again, Jesus refers to the Spirit as the Advocate or counselor, helper, or comforter, as it says in different Bible translations. As we saw two weeks ago, the underlying Greek for the Advocate combines the ideas of coming alongside and calling out. The Holy Spirit comes alongside the disciples of Jesus and calls us forward to follow him. Here, Jesus promises that the Father will send the Spirit and, being the Spirit of truth, he will testify about Jesus — not the lies the world believes about Jesus, but the truth about the person and work of Jesus. For the disciples, who were all Jewish at this time, what Jesus was saying about the Holy Spirit shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The Hebrew Bible, what we call the OT today, is full of passages where God promised to send his Spirit as part of a new age that he would establish. Let’s look at just one of these passages. Ezekiel 36:24–28 (NIV), “24 “ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Now, think about everything God promises here. God promises his people would be in the world but no longer belong to the world (being gathered from the nations). We see that God would provide cleansing for sin, a new and living heart, the gift of the Spirit to know and obey God’s word, and a new relationship with God. Does any of this sound familiar? This is pretty much the whole gospel found almost 600 years before Jesus. The only detail missing was how God would accomplish all this. Jesus says everything that was promised in Ezekiel 36 is about to come to pass. The disciples of Jesus are about to live through a change in the ages. In the first section, Jesus teaches why life can sometimes get more difficult when you become a Christian, followed by a reminder of the gift of the Spirit. The second section on persecution, starting with chapter 16, will focus on how we can endure this opposition.
John 16:1-6 (NIV), “1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” Let’s pause one more time. Ok, so Jesus says that as much as they have been harassed and threatened by the religious leaders in Jerusalem, things will actually get worse. And the disciples will not have Jesus physically present with them to protect them or guide them in the same way they have enjoyed him for the last three years or so. We know that after the resurrection and the Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, a great persecution broke out against the early Christian church in Jerusalem. In Acts 8, the believers were scattered by an effort led by Saul of Tarsus who later became the Apostle Paul. But here, Jesus warns his disciples of these things yet to come so they will not be surprised, so they will not lose faith, but so that they will endure. Now, one difficult aspect of this text to interpret is that Jesus says that none of them are asking him where he is going. However, we know that during this last supper, Peter and Thomas had already asked him where he was going. There are several theories about this, but perhaps what Jesus was saying is that though they had both asked about his departure, neither of them was really concerned about where Jesus was going — only that they were scared and filled with grief about what would happen to them. This would explain why, to combat this fear/grief, starting with v. 7, Jesus reminds them a second time of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7-15 (NIV), “7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” This is God’s word. So again, Jesus reassures his disciples in their fear, confusion, and grief, that it is for their good that he is going away because then the Spirit will come. Now, it’s not that Jesus and the Spirit are like Clark Kent and Superman, like neither of them can be in the room at the same time. This relates to the start of this new age God had promised, which is dependent on, first, the exaltation of the risen Jesus and then the gift of the Spirit. Jesus promises to send the Spirit, which might seem strange because he just said that the Spirit goes out from the Father. But this is just a function of the unique relationship between the Father and Son that is a major theme of John’s gospel. Jesus says the Spirit will prove the world wrong about three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment. Remember, two weeks ago, I said that the work of the Spirit, the Counselor, is sometimes like a defense attorney, reminding us of what’s true about ourselves, about who God is, and what he has done for us in Jesus to strengthen our faith when we are weak. At other times, he’s like a prosecuting attorney, reminding us of what’s true to provide needed conviction or correction. But the work of the Spirit, and also through the lives of Christians who are filled with the Spirit, will prove just how wrong the world is. Sin and righteousness refer to what the world believes to be right and wrong. This is why the world so often believes that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right. Why? Because they don’t believe in Jesus. They don’t believe/heed God’s word. They aren’t humbly submitting their lives in joyful obedience to God or sacrificially loving one another. They believe they can do whatever makes them happy and, therefore, are justified in doing whatever they want. As a result, they don’t see their own condemnation, their own need for a savior, or that their way is darkness and not light. The ways of the world don’t lead to more life, love, joy, and peace. They lead only to dysfunction, destruction, and death. But they judge themselves to be in the right. But for the believer, the Holy Spirit will guide us, protect us, empower us, and reveal to us in greater depths who Jesus is, how great his love is for us, and what will come to pass in him. Because of the person and work of Jesus and because of the gift of the Spirit, we have all the resources of heaven to help us endure, to hold fast to our faith, and to overcome.
Of course, this is just as true for us today as it was for the disciples all those years ago. On this side of the resurrection, the ascension of Jesus back into heaven, and the day of Pentecost, we’re living in the last days, the age of the Holy Spirit. And yes, sometimes, when you become a Christian, it might seem as if life gets harder. But the alternative isn’t any better. Commentator Don Carson writes, “Following Jesus costs something…and may cost life itself. Yet not following Jesus means one is siding with a lost and hateful world.” (PNTC, p. 524). Now, one of the implications of this teaching ought to be the death of the thinking that if only we could just be cool enough or smart enough or accomplished enough or whatever enough, then the world would love/accept us. If we bear the name of Jesus, and if we represent him and his kingdom as ambassadors for Christ, even if we aren’t overtly persecuted (though there might be times when we are), then to some degree, we’ll always be on the outside in this world. But we have the gospel. We have the promises of God. We have the Spirit of Truth. We have the example of the saints who have gone before us. And we have each other here in the church. And some of the people who belong to this broken world will hear and believe the gospel and be saved out of it. This is why we’re here. This is our great purpose. And this is why we must endure/overcome. If Jesus was willing to endure for us, through the cross and the grave, then we can endure a difficult conversation or a lose of friendship or even losing our own life for others in his name. May this be true of us and for this church until the Lord finally calls us to our true home to be with him. Let us pray.
Jesus, the Vine: Jesus told his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” This was the perfect analogy for the Christian life. Staying connected to Jesus means staying connected to the very life and love of God. This life consists of joyful obedience, fruitful work, and friendship with Jesus. What could be better than that? Recorded on Feb 25, 2024, on John 15:1-17 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, as we start John chapter 15, we’ll consider the seventh and final “I AM” statement of Jesus in John’s gospel. Jesus says, “I am the true vine.” This teaching has huge implications for the Christian life. Maybe there’s someone here who is wondering what it would mean for them to become a Christian. What would that be like? What would have to change? Or maybe there’s someone who’s been a Christian for some time and is wondering, is this it? Should I be doing something more? Well, if you want to know what it looks like to do life with Jesus — if you want to know how it would transform you, or what would be required of you, then you need to understand what it means that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 15:1. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.
John 15:1–4 (NIV), “1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” Ok, let’s pause here. So, again, this is the night before the cross of Christ. And Jesus is telling the Twelve, minus Judas, some very important things to help them not only get through the next few traumatic days, but to equip them for the whole of the Christian life. And there are few other passages as important for us today in understanding what life looks like with Jesus. Now, Jesus is a brilliant teacher. And he uses the analogy of the vine and the branches to teach us something about himself, about us, and about the work that God is doing in our lives when we are connected to him. As I said, this is the seventh “I AM” statement of Jesus in John’s gospel. There are seven signs and seven statements that point to Jesus being God. “I AM” refers to the divine name of God in the OT. But also, these “I AM” statements reveal something about Jesus’ mission/purpose. Here, he says, “I am the true vine,” which means that he is the source of life for the branches. If there’s a branch that fails to produce fruit, it’s cut off. But every branch that does bear fruit is pruned by God the Father so that it will be even more fruitful. Jesus says, “Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” What does all this mean? And what kind of fruit is Jesus talking about? Let’s keep going and see if it becomes more clear. (v. 5)
John 15:5-8 (NIV), “5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Let’s pause once more. So, Jesus gets a little clearer with the vine analogy. He’s the vine, and we (his disciples) are the branches. We are the ones who must remain/abide in or stay connected to the life and nourishment of Jesus (the vine). But if we do, then we will bear much fruit! Our lives will be productive. The life-giving power of Jesus will produce certain things in and through us. But apart from the vine, Jesus says, we can do nothing. The shocking thing is that it’s not that you will be less effective. It’s not that you would be wise to stay connected to Jesus. Apart from him, you can do nothing! Why? Because branches that are not connected to the vine are dead. For plants, as soon as the connection to the source of life is severed, it might not look too bad at first. Cut flowers still look alive for a few days. But they’re really dead. And Jesus says that dead branches get picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. This is likely a reference to the Day of Judgment at the end of this age. Because the OT is full of vine imagery for ancient Israel, especially in the prophets, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea. Commentator Don Carson writes, “Most remarkable is the fact that whenever historic Israel is referred to under this figure it is the vine’s failure to produce good fruit that is emphasized, along with the corresponding threat of God’s judgment on the nation.” (PNTC, p. 513). This is the fire. One of the most interesting examples of vine imagery in the OT is from Psalm 80. In Psalm 80, the psalmist repeatedly calls for God to restore the vine that he had planted, again, the people of Israel. But the vine had been cut down and burned in judgment, as the prophets warned. However, the psalmist mentions a son that God would raise up for himself, a Son of Man (that’s interesting language) who would have the favor of God and a position of authority at his right hand. Well, who would this Son of Man be? And when would God raise him up to restore his people? So it is here, against the backdrop of Israel and all the vine imagery of the OT, that Jesus reveals that he is the true vine, his Father is the gardener, and his disciples are the branches. This is huge. This means that Psalm 80 finds its fulfillment; in fact, the whole purpose of Israel finds its fulfillment in none other than Jesus Christ. Israel failed to be the vine on its own, generation after generation. While Jesus is the true vine. He is the son of man who, in just a few short days, God would raise up in the resurrection, and eventually, he would be raised up to the highest place to be seated at his right hand in glory. But the key for us, the key for our ability to stay connected to the vine, to be pruned, and to bear much fruit revolves around the word. In the first eight verses, Jesus refers to his word or his words twice. In v. 3, Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” This is a play on words with what Jesus said about his Father pruning the disciples in v. 2. The root words for prune and clean are the same in Greek. But then, in v. 7, he says that if his disciples remain/abide in the vine by letting his words remain in them, they will bear much fruit. One example he gives here is in prayer. If you have my word within you, then ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Of course, when we’re filled with the word of God, our desires will conform to God’s will/way, so we will be able to pray better prayers, prayers more in alignment with God’s word, prayers that will be answered. In these two brief verses, we see that we are both saved and sanctified by the word. We’re connected to the vine when we hear and believe the word. As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 10:17 (NIV), “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” So, we’re saved by the word, but we’re also sanctified by the word. As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:26 (NIV), Christ works “to make her [the church] holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,” Or, using the vine imagery, as branches, we’re pruned by continuing to hear and believe the word in deeper and richer ways. I love to garden and have two big garden boxes in my backyard. And as a gardener, I know that pruning is almost never adding something to a branch but stripping something away from a branch. This isn’t done to hurt the branch but to help the branch become more healthy/fruitful. This is the perfect analogy for the work of sanctification. Sanctification is the work that God the Father is doing in the lives of his children, transforming us more and more into the image of Christ. Salvation can happen in an instant. But sanctification is a process that happens slowly over time as we let God’s word shape us by the power of the Spirit. Usually, having something stripped out of your heart or life is painful. But we must remember that we have a good Father who loves us and does this pruning work in our lives for our good. Nothing that God removes from our lives is without a purpose. Even tragedies can be used for good. In v. 8, Jesus says the purpose of this pruning work is three-fold. First, we are pruned so that we would bear even more fruit. This is the normal reason for pruning in a garden. But in the Christian life, this work is done to remove things from our lives that prevent us from growing to be more like Jesus. Second, we are pruned so that others would know that we are disciples of Jesus. Both the fruit of our lives and our ability to grow in fruitfulness over time serve as a testimony to others that we are indeed connected to the vine. Third, and most importantly, we are pruned so that our lives would glorify God. As we often say, God loves us exactly as we are today, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are, wallowing in our sins and struggles. As he does his pruning work, and as we are able to bear even more fruit as a result, our lives become more and more aligned with and directed towards the glory of God. But still, I’m not sure we have a clear picture yet of what kind of fruit Jesus is saying our lives will produce if we remain connected to him. And this is vital to understand because this, Jesus says, is the very work that God is doing in our lives. Let’s finish this passage starting with v. 9 and see if there are any clues.
John 15:9-17 (NIV), “9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.” This is God’s word. Ok! There are lots of clues as to what kind of fruit Jesus wants to bear in our lives. He uses the same language of remaining/abiding, but this time, he refers to his love. If you remain in me, if my words remain in you, then remain in my love. Surely, this is the fruit that Jesus is talking about. But what does this kind of love look like? Jesus says that it looks like obedience. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. Now, this doesn’t mean that God’s love is conditional on our obedience. That’s Santa Claus; that’s karma, that’s not the gospel. God’s love is unconditional. It isn’t dependent on us. If it were up to me to earn God’s love, I’d lose it immediately, I’m sure. Rather, Jesus is saying that love and obedience go hand in hand because this is how the dynamic relationship between the Father and the Son works. Now, if this sounds boring or dull, to focus on obedience to God’s word, you’re missing the joy at the heart of the relationship between the Father and the Son. Jesus doesn’t obey the Father begrudgingly while muttering complaints under his breath. The Son loves to obey the Father, just as the Father loves the Son. Jesus says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” So being connected to the vine is a life of love and obedience, sure, but it’s a life of pure joy as well! A joy that is sustained no matter what is happening around us. This is the joy we have access to in Jesus. It’s just one part of the very life of God, the life of the Father, Son, and Spirit, we’re invited into when we’re connected to the vine. It’s a life of mutual giving, serving, and love for one another governed by God’s word. It’s a life of joy. It’s a life that bears fruit. And what kind of fruit? Joyful works of love. We see this in v. 12 where Jesus repeats the command he gave back in chapter 13: “Love each other as I have loved you.” In case we think Jesus is talking about a sentimental, Hallmark Channel type of love, he gives us the definition of what kind of love he means here. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus spoke these words, knowing that not even 24 hours later, he would face the pain and the shame of the cross. He would pay the ransom price for the sins of the world and die so that we might have life through faith in him. But Jesus is saying that this costly, sacrificial action is the kind of love that he commands. This is a tough kind of love, in the sense of needing courage, action, and being willing to pay the price. But if we open ourselves up to the life/nourishment of being connected to Jesus the Vine, and if we love one another as Jesus has loved us, with this courageous and cross-shaped kind of love, then Jesus says we have a new status, a new identity, that is, as a friend of Jesus. Now, if Jesus is the King of all creation, then he could command us, and we’d have to obey him whether we wanted to or not. Jesus is the King of all creation (he proved this through his resurrection from the dead), but he considers us, his disciples, his followers, to be his friends and not just his servants. This, too, is huge! A servant doesn’t know his master’s business. But everything Jesus learned (lit. heard) from his Father he revealed to us, his disciples. And this revelation raises our status all the way up into the throne room of heaven. When we are connected to the vine, when we remain in the word and the love of God, and when we joyfully obey his commands by doing the works of love that he modeled for us, we become friends with Jesus. In fact, these elements all characterize what friendship with Jesus looks like. But in case we are tempted to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, Jesus reminds us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”
So, what does this mean for us today? Well, the offer to be connected to Jesus the Vine, to become a friend of Jesus, is still available to us today. Anyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus is spiritually connected to the source of all life/love/joy that is found in friendship with Christ. Anyone connected to Jesus in this way will bear fruit, and they will be pruned by the Father to be even more fruitful in obedience to Christ. This can be seen in our prayers and our works of love for one another. And this is what the Christian life is all about. This is what it looks like to follow Jesus. And this is what our mission and vision as a church are all about. We are sharing good news as our mission because we believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ will transform the people of the city in every way. We believe that we are saved and sanctified by his word. We believe that this is what God is doing in the world. He is multiplying his life/love/joy out to the ends of the earth because Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Let us pray.
The Gift of the Spirit: On the night before the cross, Jesus knew he was leaving his disciples, but he promised not to leave them alone. He would send another advocate or counselor, the Spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit would come alongside the disciples and call them forward in the way of Jesus. Even today, believers have been given the Spirit of the living God — what an incredible gift! Recorded on Feb 18, 2024, on John 14:15-31 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
This year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, in John chapter 14, we’ll consider the gift of the Holy Spirit. When I was in first grade, I had the worst day of my short life up until that point. I got in trouble in school for something I didn’t do. I had to sit up next to the teacher, and Mrs. Meusson was very disappointed in me. What injustice. A few other inconveniences happened, and when I was telling my mom about my terrible day after school, I slammed the car door in frustration. But the door hit my other hand so hard that the nail turned black and fell off. I see now that that one was on me. But I felt so bad about my day because it felt like the whole world was conspiring against my six-year-old self, and I didn’t have anyone to be my advocate, someone to prove to Mrs. Meusson that I wasn’t to blame, someone to help me. Of course, the older I got, the higher the stakes became. If you have a bad day at six, it’s a pretty quick recovery time. Everything wrong could be fixed by a snack. If you have a bad day at sixteen, it’s definitely going to be worse. A bad day for me today, in my forties, could require a whole vacation to recover. Sometimes, I feel I may never recover. (Is that too dramatic?) Well, in our passage today, Jesus promised to send a helper, an advocate, so that we would not have to stumble through this broken world alone—someone who would be with us and help us find his peace, even through the bad days. This same advocate, the Holy Spirit, is available to us today, and he makes all the difference. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 14:15. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.
John 14:15–21 (NIV), “15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Ok, let’s pause here. For John, vertical love is always linked to horizontal love; love for God is always linked to our love for one another. Of course, he didn’t make this up. He got this idea from Jesus himself. Here, Jesus is saying if you love me, then you will keep my commands. And what is the new command that Jesus had just given them at this very meal? Back in chapter 13 we saw that it was to love one another just as he had loved them. Jesus says the same thing in two different ways here. In v. 15, he says if you love me, then you will love one another just as I have loved you. And then later, in v. 21, whoever loves one another is the one who loves me. If the church is the body of Christ, of which he is the head, then you can’t love the head without loving the body, and vice versa. That would make no sense. But between these statements of Jesus on the love that his disciples were to have for him, his Father, and one another, he mentions another who would serve as the power source for all this love: another advocate, the Spirit of truth. Now, Jesus has much to say about him in chapters 14-16 in John’s gospel. But here, to start, Jesus says three things about the Spirit. First, he refers to the Spirit as another advocate. Who was the first advocate for the disciples? It was Jesus. Jesus himself had already served as the disciples’ advocate. But he is about to depart, in death and later in his ascension back into heaven. However, Jesus promised not to leave them as orphans. What a wonderful promise. He would not leave them alone to grope about in the darkness or wander as a sheep wanders from the flock. He would send them another. In this, it’s important for us to see the work of the Spirit as a continuation of the work of Jesus. Just as we saw last week, in the relationship between God the Father and the Son, so closely linked are the Son and Spirit that Jesus can say in the coming of the Holy Spirit, “I will come to you.” Or elsewhere, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28:20). The Spirit is another advocate. One final note about this is now that Jesus has ascended back into heaven, and is seated in power and glory as the Lord of all, his advocacy for us hasn’t stopped. It continues even today as Jesus intercedes on our behalf. Another incredible thought. So, between the Son and Spirit, we have advocates in heaven and on earth, in the throne room of God and within our own hearts and lives. Second, John uses a compound word translated here as advocate or in other Bible translations as helper, comforter, or counselor. The two Greek words involved are para, meaning to come alongside, and kaleo, which means to call or call out. As we’ll see over the next few weeks, the Spirit comes alongside the disciples of Jesus and speaks what is true. Now, the truth could be encouraging/strengthening words or correcting/convicting words, depending on what is needed. If we need help, the Spirit works like a legal counselor, in this case like a defense attorney, advocating for us, defending us, and reminding us what is true. But if we need correction, the Spirit works more like a prosecuting attorney, providing conviction within our spirit, again, about what is true. He is ever by our side, calling us forward in following Jesus. This leads us to the third thing that Jesus says about the Spirit, that he is the Spirit of truth. He will not deceive us. He will not trick us or lead us astray. In a world of darkness, in a world of deceit and manipulation and deep fakes and disinformation, we can rely on him. We can rest in him. The Spirit, just like the Son, will be our advocate, coming alongside us, even living within us, uniting us in a relationship with God, helping us experience the love of God, and calling us to see/believe/live according to what is true. But as incredible as this promise is and all the implications it will have for their future, the disciples can’t help but focus on the context of this promise: that Jesus is about to leave them. Jesus said, “Before long, the world will not see me anymore,” and then he said he would only show himself to his disciples. This was still hard for his disciples to understand because, again, before the resurrection, the idea of Jesus dying or leaving them was incomprehensible to them. No one had ever done anything like this before. We see this confusion in their response to him. Let’s continue with v. 22.
John 14:22-26 (NIV), “22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Let’s pause here one more time. Ok, so first, imagine being the other Judas among the Twelve! “Hi, I’m Judas (not that Judas!).” Judas was a popular name then because it was the Greek version of the Hebrew name Judah, and Judah was one of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel. At any rate, this Judas, also called Judas son of James, asks Jesus, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” And this is not a bad question. The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the chosen one sent by God to rescue/liberate his people. So, it didn’t make sense to him that Jesus would do this remotely or in some hidden way. In other words, Judas asked Jesus how he could be the Messiah and not show himself to the world. But I love that Jesus just keeps going. He doesn’t answer the question. And why does he do this? Does he not like the other Judas as much as the others? Not at all. Jesus knew that Judas would understand eventually because he knew that Judas would have the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would teach him all things and remind him of everything he had said to them. And this is so helpful for us today. We may not understand everything that is happening around us in life. We may not understand what God is doing, either, like Judas. But Jesus responds to this confusion by saying essentially, just do what you know is true. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching, and they will experience the love of God and the indwelling and illuminating presence of the Spirit of God. When you understand what is going on in life, follow Jesus in the power of the Spirit. When you don’t understand what is going on in life, follow Jesus in the power of the Spirit. It’s not that complicated. It’s not easy, of course, but if this is true, we’re not doing this alone, either. This ought to be a great comfort to the believer. Jesus emphasizes this comforting role of the Spirit and the peace he offers the disciples, starting with v. 27.
John 14:27–31 (NIV), “27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.” This is God’s word. So, it is the Holy Spirit who helps us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Pro 3:5). We do not have to blindly trust in the Lord with all the strength/faith we manage to drum up. We have the Spirit. He will help us. He will not leave or forsake us. To see this and experience this brings us peace, the very peace of God, given by the Prince of Peace. And he does not give us peace the way the world gives. The world constantly promises peace but never delivers. In contrast, Jesus gives the Spirit without limit, and his peace passes all understanding. When our hearts are troubled, we do not have to be afraid. When the unexpected comes, when we don’t understand what is going on, in the middle of the storm, in the middle of our worst day ever in first grade, the Spirit will be with us and remind us of what is true, and we can abide/rest in the peace of God. Parents, this is such a helpful thing to teach your kids. God not only loves you and cares for you, but he is really with you when you are scared or lonely or upset. For the remaining Eleven disciples Jesus was speaking to, he said that he told them about these things ahead of time so that when it all happens, they will trust him, they will believe in him and be comforted. When what all happens? When the prince of this world, the devil, comes with Judas Iscariot’s betrayal and all the terrible events happen leading up to his death on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus doesn’t want his disciples to lose faith through all this. But he goes beyond simply preparing them for the shock of the cross, saying that his departure is actually for their good. You don’t need to be troubled/afraid when I speak about leaving. If you understood what would happen, you would be glad “that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Over the years, many have wrestled with what Jesus meant by this last phrase: “For the Father is greater than I.” Some have taken it, against the mountain of evidence we’ve already seen in John’s gospel, that Jesus meant by this that he wasn’t co-equal or co-eternal with the Father. This is what the ancient heresy of Arianism taught or what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe today: that Jesus is the Son of God but is not equal to the Father. But the seven signs and the seven “I AM” statements alone, not to mention very clear teachings of Jesus such as “I and the Father are one.” testify that Jesus, the Son, is God. John starts his gospel by saying, “In the beginning was [Jesus] the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Last week, we considered the unique unity that the Father and Son enjoy and that no one is like Jesus. The answer of orthodox Christianity for the last 2,000 years, based on the full witness of the Scriptures, is that the Father is not greater than the Son because they are different in nature or in power/glory but because when Jesus said this, the Father was in the fullness of his glory in heaven, while the Son was still in the world. During the incarnation, the Father sent the Son, and the Son went; the Father commanded, and the Son obeyed; the Son died in humility, and the Father exalted him in glory. To what degree this hierarchy between the Father and Son existed before the incarnation is debated. But Jesus says here that if the disciples truly loved him, they would be thrilled he was going back to the Father and not troubled at his leaving — they would have peace about it. The final sentence of our text has proved difficult for many to interpret. Because Jesus says, “Come now; let us leave.” but then continues to teach for three more chapters. In the end, it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference to what Jesus says after this. Whether he says this, but then they continue to talk after the dinner has ended is one possibility. Or whether chapters 15-17 are happening as they walk through Jerusalem on their way back to the Mount of Olives is another. Either way, as we’ll see, Jesus has a lot more to say on this final night before the cross. Now, normally, I would turn from what the text says to how we might apply this to our lives today. But today, we’ve had application throughout this whole message. Because what Jesus promised to his disciples is true for us today. After his death and resurrection and ascension back into heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. So today, we live in the age of the Spirit. This age was prophesied in the OT and accomplished in the fullness of time. So, in the same way, we have an advocate, a helper, who is God himself. We have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who comes alongside us and calls us forward in the way of following Jesus. No matter whether we are having a good day or the worst day ever, we have not been left as orphans. We have the very personal power and presence of God in our hearts, and he makes all the difference. There is so much more to say about this, but Jesus isn’t done. But just imagine if we, as a church, believed this to be true. What could shake us? What in all the world, even the work of the devil himself, could steal our peace? We have the Spirit of the living God. Let us pray.
The Only Way: Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But how can Jesus be the only way? Many people wrestle with the exclusivity of Christianity. This claim rests on the totally unique identity and work of Jesus — there is no one is like him. But once you see that the Christian faith is a real relationship with a real person, how could it be any other way? Recorded on Feb 11, 2024, on John 14:1-14 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
Well, all year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, we’ll be working on John chapter 14 if you’d like to start heading there in your Bibles/apps, and we’ll consider the exclusivity of the Christian faith. In his sixth of seven “I AM” statements, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But how can this be, and does this still work? In 2024? To claim that there is only one way to God? Because, we live in a pluralistic society with many different people claiming many different ways as the right way. I know a number of people who would look at this exclusive claim of Jesus as being narrow-minded at best and hateful at worst. There’s a modern phrase that captures this desire to be fully inclusive: “You do you.” This phrase means that any way you want to follow is good if it’s good for you as defined by you. And on the surface level, this sounds like wisdom. But is it true? Does it work? It doesn’t seem to work at all. In many ways, we’re more liberated from traditional rules/norms today than ever before. And this has led to some good things. But do we now have peace, individually or as a society? Not at all. We seem to have only ever-increasing anxiety, division, and conflict. And this is all very discouraging and depressing. The so-called progress of our progressive culture seems to be doing more harm than good. Now, I’m not saying we need to bring back all the traditional rules/norms. But there must be a better way. Well, according to the Bible, there is a way that God has made that is openly offered to all, no matter your background, ethnicity, morality, or class. Young and old, rich and poor, all are invited. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 14:1. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.
John 14:1–5 (NIV), “1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Ok, let’s pause here. If you’ve been with us for the last few weeks, you’ll know that this teaching of Jesus is happening on the night before the cross of Christ. This is the Last Supper, which began with Jesus washing his disciples’ feet to demonstrate humble service. Then Judas left to betray Jesus, while Jesus gave the remaining eleven the new command to love one another just as he had loved them. But at the end of chapter 13, Jesus started talking about his departure, saying, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” (Jn 13:36). This bothered the disciples because they didn’t understand that Jesus had to die and rise again from the dead. Our text for today starts out with Jesus comforting his disciples. Even though the weight of the world was on his heart/mind, and even though Jesus would utterly change the world in the next three days, he still is not thinking only of himself and what he would endure. Jesus loved his disciples and deeply cared for them. So here, he’s comforting them, saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Don’t worry. It’ll all work out in the end. But you have to trust me. “You believe in God; believe also in me.” Put your faith and trust in me, and you’ll see what I’ll do. Jesus goes on to talk about where he’s going and that he will return and bring them to a place he will prepare for them. He talks about this as his Father’s house. An older translation said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” But the word translated as rooms here in the NIV simply means dwelling place. The context is not the Father’s city but the Father’s house. This is why the NIV used the word “rooms” instead. Now, it’s not like the disciples of Jesus got a downgrade from mansion to room, like times have been hard in heaven. In the book of Revelation, the image of a new heavenly city is used to describe this place, the new Jerusalem. But here, Jesus is using the language of the Father’s house not to emphasize the size or the quality of the dwelling place, but our relationship with the Father through the preparing work of the true Son. Let’s think about it: who lives in a family home? Well, usually, only the members of the family! So Jesus is saying here that he, the true Son, is going to prepare a place in his Father’s house for us. And that through faith in the Son, we can become adopted sons and daughters of God, children of God, with a rightful place in the Father’s house. This is far better than some heavenly mansion. Because it means that as children of the Father, we get a relationship with, we get personal access to, the only source of life, light, and love in the universe, forever. We get a new inheritance in the Kingdom of God, the kingdom where Jesus is King. And every single disciple of Jesus, no matter how great or how small you are in this world, is welcome and has a place prepared for you. But Thomas speaks up and reveals that the disciples still aren’t sure what Jesus is talking about. “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus responds in v. 6.
John 14:6-7 (NIV), “6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Let’s pause here one more time. This is huge. Thomas said he needed to know the destination so he could figure out the way. But Jesus said that’s not how it works. All you need, Thomas, is to trust me. You don’t need to figure out the way because I am the way! This is such a big claim. Every other prophet, every other religion, claims to reveal the way. The way to God or the way to avoid punishment for evil or the way to transcend suffering. But only Jesus claims to be the way. And this is the sixth of the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus in John’s gospel. We’ve had I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, and so on. And we’ve seen that these “I AM” statements point to the divinity of Jesus, that Jesus was fully man but was also fully God. And the different statements point to his character or his work in the world, to who he is and what he does. What this means is something like this: Do you want to know the true answers to all the biggest existential questions? Why are we here? Where did everything come from? What is wrong with the world, and what can be done about it? Where is all this headed? Then, look to Jesus. Listen to Jesus. Because he is the truth. It’s not just that he reveals, he illuminates. Any good teacher would do the same. It’s that he is the very word of God made flesh, a living embodiment of the truth. In fact, Jesus says, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” We’ll come back to this point but Jesus reveals the truth about who God is. But also, do you want to know how to find the life that every single one of us longs for? Do you want to know how we ought to live? And what can be done when there is evil or injustice in the world or in our own lives? Do you want to know how to find life that lasts even beyond death? Then, look to Jesus. Listen to Jesus. He is the truth but he is also the life. He doesn’t only heal and restore. Any good doctor would do the same. He doesn’t only model a better way to live. Any good leader would do the same. It’s that Jesus has the life of God within him because he is God. And he will share his life with you. Even in the face of death, he is the resurrection and offers life beyond the grave. But if Jesus is the truth and is the life, and not just one truth or one life among many options, then it only makes sense that he would be the only way. Now, Thomas asked about where they were going, but Jesus said this was the wrong question. To whom are we going is the right question. And Jesus is the only way to the Father in heaven. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” No one can have a place in the Father’s house, and no one can become a child of God unless they follow the way found by faith in Jesus. But if you do not come to the Father, if you are not accepted into the Father’s house, then you remain condemned already. You are choosing to stay separated/alienated from the only true source of light, life, and love in all creation going on forever. That, in the Bible, is what the hell is. It’s darkness. It’s fire. It’s bitter cold. It’s to remain a cosmic orphan when there’s a seat at the Father’s table and a place in the Father’s family for you. What a terrible condition. But the way to the Father is open to all. The gospel is good news for everybody. The Apostle Paul writes that God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Ti 2:3–4). The Apostle Peter writes that the Lord “is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2Pe 3:9). Will the disciples understand? To be fair, it would’ve been so hard for them before the resurrection, before the gift of the Holy Spirit, to understand these things. Nothing like this had ever happened before. And, as we’ll see from the last section, there is no one like Jesus.
John 14:8-14 (NIV), “8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” This is God’s word. From the prologue of John’s gospel on, the relationship between the Father and the Son has been one of the major themes. And certainly the most contentious claim of Jesus. Over and over, the Son talks about who his Father is and about the unity they’ve enjoyed from before the creation of the world. As Jesus says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” Jesus, the one and only Son, says that no one has seen the Father except for him. Therefore, no one can reveal the Father as he can. But they are so united that if you’ve seen the Son, you’ve seen the Father. When the Son works, whether creating/saving/judging/healing/leading/feeding, the Son does the works of the Father. When the Son speaks, he speaks the words of the Father. When the Son saves, he saves the ones that his Father has given to him but also the ones he has chosen. When the Son comes into the world, it’s because he was sent by his Father, and those who receive the Son receive the Father. When the Son is glorified, the Father is glorified, but the Father also glorifies the Son. In the coming few chapters, especially in chapter 17 and the high priestly prayer of Jesus, we’ll continue to see this theme. Of course, the rest of the NT is shaped by this doctrine, as well. Colossians 1 says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God…” Hebrews 1 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…” The stunning conclusion to all this is that there has never been anyone like Jesus. There is no one like Jesus. There’s no one who knows God the Father and makes him known like the Son. So it’s only natural that in the wisdom of God, the only way to get to the Father would be through the person and work of the Son. If Jesus is who he claimed to be, how could it be any other way? “You believe in God; believe also in me.” Now, as we’ll see next week, God is not only a unity between the Father and Son. God is a tri-unity or a trinity of three equal persons: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the departure of the Son will usher in the final days, our current age, with the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is much more to say about all this, but Jesus is far from done teaching here at the Last Supper. For now, Jesus is emphasizing his relationship not with the Spirit but with his Father. All this comes from Philip’s request for Jesus to show them the Father. And this wasn’t a bad request! It reminds us of Moses’ request to see the fullness of God’s glory at Mount Sinai. Philip wants to know God and see God. But you can almost hear the hurt in Jesus’ response. “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time…How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Ouch. Jesus says, in effect, “If you don’t believe in me, at least believe in the evidence of my works and my words. Do they seem like the works and words of God to you or not?” But if you do, then it will change everything. It will change your works/words/identity/prayers, and so much more. And the Father will be glorified in the greater works and the faith-filled prayers that are accomplished by his children in the power of the name of the resurrected and exalted Son.
So, what does this mean for us today? Well, an easy application would be to respond to the open invitation to believe in Jesus. Receive him, trust in him, and learn to follow his way. It is a way of truth and a way that leads to real/eternal life. And if it’s true, then everybody needs to hear about this. Everyone needs to receive this invitation. But secondly, how might we think about the exclusivity of Christianity? At the end of the day, again, if this is true, then there is only one way. Over the years, it’s been helpful to me to remember that this is a function of the relational aspect of Christianity. Sure, the gospel provides a way to be forgiven and freed from the power of sin, but sin is only a problem because sin separates us from a relationship with God. If Christian salvation was based on our moral performance or our religious devotion, then the way could be a law. If Christian salvation was based on adopting a new perspective/mindset, then the way could be a new philosophy. But Christian salvation is based on a real relationship with a real person. Our relationship with this person does affect how we think and act, but it is first a relationship. And the only way to have a relationship with a real person is by dealing directly with that person. I can’t merely talk about my wife, Holly, or think about Holly, or tell others about Holly and call that a relationship. If I don’t deal directly with Holly, if we don’t talk and spend time together, if I never let her have input in my life, which affects how I think and act, then I will not have a real relationship with her. But as wonderful as my relationship is with Holly, how much greater is it that our Creator, our Father in heaven, wants a relationship with us? And if we want to receive that precious and life-giving gift, then there is only one way. And his name is Jesus. No one is like him. His way is a better way. And if we as a church truly believe this, then it will utterly transform our works/words/identities/prayers, and so much more. All are welcome. Let us pray.
The Love of Christ: On the night before the cross, Jesus gave his disciples a new command that would change everything: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Despite all the things that threaten to divide us, the cross-shaped, costly love of Jesus was to be the defining marker of his church. Recorded on Feb 4, 2024, on John 13:18-38 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
So, all year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. It wasn’t long ago that I was really having a hard time in my life. And I wasn’t handling it very well. And no one could see it more clearly than my wife, Holly. Now, Holly and I were married when we were pretty young. So we’ve had to do a lot of growing up together, and it hasn’t always been pretty. In fact, it never is. Immaturity is always painful. But when I was deep down in this dark valley and feeling pretty bad for myself, she could’ve responded to me with judgment and condemnation (or at least a cold shoulder). But instead, she told me, “It’s ok. I’m not going anywhere. And we’ll figure this out.” It was her grace; it was her love for me in that moment that made me want to run up out of the valley. Now, not everyone is called to be married, and I know that not everyone who gets married stays married for various reasons. But this kind of love is what every single one of us was created to enjoy with God and within the church. Today, we’re finishing John chapter 13, considering the love of Christ and his calling for us, his people, to love one another just as he has loved us. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 13:18. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.
John 13:18–21 (NIV), “18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’ 19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” 21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” Ok, let’s pause here. So, last week, we started a long section in John’s gospel focusing on the events and teachings of the night before the cross of Christ. This includes the story last week of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, demonstrating the humble service that Jesus called his disciples to do for one another. But this night also includes the Last Supper, one of the longest sections of the teaching of Jesus known as the Upper Room Discourse, and the sad story here of the betrayal of Jesus by one of his friends and followers. But Jesus knows this will happen. He isn’t surprised by this betrayal, but it still hurts. John says that he was troubled in spirit. If you knew one of your friends, someone you spent years of your life with, would sell you to your enemies, how would you feel? But Jesus says that this tragic choice was all part of the plan. He says this was to fulfill a verse from Psalm 41. This was a psalm of the ancient King David. And one where some sort of illness had threatened David’s life while his enemies prowled around him, celebrating his impending death. Even one of David’s close friends, one who had shared his bread, had turned against him. But David was confident that God would raise him up and he would enjoy life in God’s presence forevermore. Jesus says this psalm and this event in David’s life was a sign pointing forward a thousand years to Jesus and his enemies who prowled around him, hoping to celebrate his impending death and one of his close friends who would turn against him. Jesus tells the Twelve why he is telling them this. He says, “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.” In the shock and disorientation of the death of Jesus, he warns them ahead of time so that they will not completely lose faith. As we said last week, even though Jesus was about to face the ultimate pain and shame of the cross the very next day, and even though his death and resurrection would forever change the course of the history of all of creation, Jesus was not only thinking about himself and what he would do — he was still thinking about his disciples. He was still looking out for them and helping prepare them for what they would face in the next 72 hours and beyond. This is why Jesus says “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” He starts to move to what they will need to remember after his death and resurrection when he will send them out to be his witnesses, bearing the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Much of the Upper Room Discourse will focus on this as well. But imagine if you saw Jesus become troubled in spirit and then heard that one of you would betray him. What did this even mean? Who? How? Was there something they should be doing? We see this in the response of the disciples in the next section. Let’s continue with v. 22.
John 13:22–30 (NIV), “22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 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, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.” John’s final statement was probably a memory (that it was night) but also a theological judgment. Judas was lost. The light of the world was sitting next to him, but he was in the dark. But upon hearing that one of them would betray Jesus, they started looking at each other, and Peter motioned to John to ask him who he meant. John must’ve been next to Jesus as they reclined around a low table, which would’ve been common in their day for special occasions like the Passover meal. So John asks Jesus, and Jesus must’ve answered quietly since later, some of the disciples were confused about where Judas was going. Now, we don’t know for sure, but the fact that Jesus gave Judas the piece of bread means he might’ve been sitting right next to Jesus on the other side — John, the beloved disciples, on one side, and Judas, the betrayer, on the other. The fact that Jesus offered this choice piece of bread to Judas himself when Judas was perhaps sitting in a place of honor next to Jesus is as remarkable as the fact that Jesus had just washed Judas’ feet, knowing he would betray him. Again, Jesus didn’t just tell us to love our enemies; he modeled it. He lived out Proverbs 25:21, which says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.” Commentator Don Carson writes, “Judas received the [bread] but not the love. Instead of breaking him and urging him to contrition, it hardened his resolve.” (PNTC, p. 475). It is here that Judas fully gives himself over to the darkness. John wrote earlier in chapter 13 that Judas was tempted by the devil, but here he is embodied by Satan himself, the Adversary. What a tragedy. It was Judas who would share the bread of Jesus but would turn against him. It was Judas who would go out, not to serve the poor, but to serve himself at the cost of his friend’s life. Now that Judas was gone, Jesus would give the remaining faithful Eleven what they needed to hear on the night before the cross. Let’s continue with v. 31.
John 13:31–38 (NIV), “31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 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. 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 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.” 37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” This is God’s word. Well, it’s here, after Judas departed, that the Upper Room Discourse begins and runs through the end of chapter 17. But here, Jesus says that he will be glorified immediately, at once, and that God would be glorified in him as well. How would this be? Because where Jesus is going — in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension back into heaven — his disciples will not be able to follow. So, to prepare for his departure, King Jesus gives us a new command. But is this really a new command? In one sense, it’s nothing new. The command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself was already firmly on the books. Love was widely understood by devout Jewish men and women as the greatest commandment and the highest calling for people created by a loving God. But the kind of love that Jesus was commanding was new. In fact, it was radically new. Why? Because it was based on him. If you take notes in your Bibles, I want you to underline v. 34. Underline “Love one another.” But then circle, “As I have loved you.” In this simple statement, Jesus changes everything. His disciples/followers/servants/friends are called to love one another “as I have loved you.” And how did Jesus love his disciples? We know how Jesus loved! We’re called to love one another just as Jesus washed his disciples’ feet in humble service on the night before his own death (including Judas!). We’re called to love one another just as he offered Judas the bread and one more chance to repent and believe. To love just as Jesus would give up his life on the cross for the sins of the world. To love just as Jesus spent years of his life selflessly working/teaching/healing/mentoring/leading/giving. To love just as Jesus was patient and kind but truthful with Peter when he knew that Peter would deny him three times in just a few short hours. To love just as Jesus was willing to forgive and restore Peter after his resurrection. And on and on. We could find 10,000 examples of the love of Jesus to serve as a model for the love we are to have for one another. But more, this type of cross-shaped love wasn’t only what we are called to do. It was to become the defining marker of his disciples. Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Nothing is more important to Jesus regarding his people/church than our love for one another. Nothing. The Apostle Paul would later famously write, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1Co 13:1-3). As a church, it doesn’t matter how good our preaching is, how nice our facilities are, how powerful our worship is, or how many ministries we might offer — it would all be worthless if we fail to love one another as Jesus has loved us. But cross-shaped love is not easy; it’s a costly love. It’s a sacrificial love. It’s a love that puts the needs of others ahead of our own rights, opinions, and preferences. It’s a love that is faithful even when life or relationships are hard. It’s a love that has the courage to speak the truth, even when it’s unpopular.
So, how might we apply this to our lives today? Well, since the command of Jesus is so clear, and since he modeled this costly, cross-shaped love so evidently, I’m not sure we need much help in understanding what Jesus means by this. Instead, I’d like to help you think through what prevents us from doing this, from obeying this command. I’ve said it for years: loving people is the hardest thing in all the world to do. Of course, it’s the best thing. But love can be so difficult, even for the mature believer. So, what are the barriers that make it difficult to love one another just as Jesus has loved us? I’ll just give you just two today. The first barrier is sin. The closer you get to another imperfect person, the more evidence you have to hold against them (and they have against you!). The more time you spend with people on this side of eternity, the more opportunities they have, like Judas or Peter, to sin against you. This is the natural way of this broken world, but this is also sadly true within the church. Time plus sinful people equals hurt, and I know that some of you have been hurt by other Christians very deeply. I’m so sorry, and I believe it grieves God’s heart when his children hurt one another. But also, this is why Jesus spent so much time talking about repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. As Christians, we know that God has forgiven all of our sins because of his forgiving love and the power of the cross of Christ. If we believe this, then we must be people who repent/forgive. But if we have the faith and courage to do this, then our repentance/forgiveness can often build back a bridge of love. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1Pe 4:8). The second barrier to love is the fact that people have all kinds of different personalities/experiences/biases and, therefore, see the world very differently than you. And when two opposing perspectives come together, it’s natural to see the other as ignorant or even as your enemy. But fighting with each other in the church — whether it be over politics, ministry preferences, doctrinal issues, cultural hot topics, or something else — will convince no one that we are disciples of Jesus. Of course, it’s appropriate to have discussions and even disagreements over big, important things, especially when there might be multiple right answers. But we cannot, under any circumstances, withdraw our love for one another, even if we have significant disagreements with one another. We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable. Of course, if this all sounds hard, you’re starting to get it. It is. But it’s the only way that is good/right/beautiful. It’s the only way of Jesus. Remember that John began chapter 13 with this beautiful statement, “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” As individuals, and as a church, may we follow him, and may we love like this. May our love for one another be the defining marker of this church. And so bring glory and honor to our King. Let us pray.
Jesus, the Servant: The night before the cross, when he washed the feet of his disciples, Jesus modeled the type of humble service he called his followers to do. As the Son of God, Jesus was the greatest — but he wasn’t afraid to become the least to meet our greatest spiritual need. Ever since, humility has been one of the highest virtues for the followers of Jesus. Recorded on Jan 28, 2024, on John 13:1-17 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, in John chapter 13, we’re considering the humility of Jesus. And this aspect of Jesus’s character (maybe more than anything) is so compelling to modern people. We love it when someone who’s rich or powerful or famous is humble. One of my favorite bands is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Maybe 6-7 years ago, I was able to see them play, and the way Tom Petty thanked us for coming out and told us what an honor it was to be able to entertain us, even for just a few hours, demonstrated a level of humility that was so impressive. Now, I don’t know if he was that humble or if it was just part of the act, but it really made an impression on me. Humility is a powerful thing. But to be honest, humility is also a tricky thing to work on. Because as soon as you think about it, as soon as you notice it, it disappears. You might do something or say something and then think, “Wow, that was really humble of me to respond in that way or to do that thing for that person, and I don’t even like them!” but then, poof! The humility’s gone; it disappeared! Pride is still pride, even (or maybe especially) if it’s generated by your own humility. But this is a broken world, and we are sinful people, so pride/ego/self-centeredness, these things are the default mode of the human heart. I’ve noticed that it’s become popular on social media to talk about narcissists. But narcissism is nothing new. It’s just selfish pride. And it doesn’t take too much observation to see some narcissistic tendencies in our own lives. Am I the only one who looks at myself first in a group photo to see if the group photo is good? Or maybe I’m the only one who struggles with this? If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 13:1. We’ll unpack this as we go.
John 13:1–5 (NIV), “1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 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; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 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.” Let’s pause here briefly. So, everything in John’s gospel has built up to this point. John has been alluding to the hour of Jesus since chapter two, but even before that, Jesus was described by John the Baptist as the sacrificial lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And now, that time had finally come. For the past several weeks, we’ve been working through the events of the week leading up to the cross, starting with his anointing by Mary in Bethany, then being welcomed into Jerusalem as a king, and last week, we saw at the end of his public teaching ministry the difficulty of faith. Now, here, and for the next four chapters of John’s gospel, we’ll cover the Last Supper and all the events leading up to the arrest of Jesus. So, understandably, Jesus had a lot on his mind here. He knew his hour had come. Knowing or understanding is mentioned six times in this passage. John says that he knew his hour had come, the hour of his suffering and death on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power (lit. He knew the Father put all things into his hands). He knew he had come from the Father as the one and only Son of God, and he would return to his Father in heaven after his resurrection from the dead. But despite the fact that Jesus was about to sacrifice himself to be the savior of the world, despite the fact that his actions in the next few days would change the course of human history, Jesus wasn’t only thinking about himself and what he would accomplish. He was thinking about his disciples, too. John says Jesus knew that he had loved them and would continue to love them to the end, even though one of his disciples was going to betray him. John says the devil prompted, or had put it on Judas’ heart, to betray his friend, Jesus. The idea of selling out Jesus, a man who had never sinned and who here only continued to love and serve Judas — to betray Jesus to his enemies for only thirty pieces of silver, was literally satanic. Of course, this is almost always how the devil works: by planting the seed of an idea that is terribly destructive but wrapped in a lie to make it seem right. I’m sure Judas felt justified in betraying Jesus even though it was pure evil. And God took that evil betrayal and turned it into the greatest good thing anyone could ever imagine. But still, if I were Jesus, at the very least, I wouldn’t have washed Judas’ feet. But Jesus was humble. And he didn’t just tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us; this was his way of life. He loved Judas and served Judas, despite the fact that Judas would reject his love and his service for the sake of money. At any rate, knowing all this, what would Jesus do? John says that knowing all this, and with all the weight of the world on his shoulders, Jesus did something totally unexpected. He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, probably a cloak, so it wouldn’t get dirty, wrapped a towel around his waist like a servant, and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel around his waist. Can you imagine being there? What would you have thought if you saw Jesus start to do this? Would you have felt uncomfortable? Why was he doing this? Was he not the Messiah, the promised one sent by God to save his people? Was he not the King of the Kingdom of God sent to reign and to rule over all the earth? Why was he acting like a common servant? We see the confused response of Simon Peter starting in v. 6. Let’s continue.
John 13:6-12 (NIV), “6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 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.” Ok, let’s pause here one more time. So, clearly, at least Peter doesn’t understand what Jesus has done for him, but none of the other disciples speak up either, so we can assume they probably missed the point, too. But let’s dig into Peter’s response. At first, he seems horrified at the thought of Jesus washing his feet. “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” How many of you would feel that way? No way am I letting anyone touch my feet, much less you, Lord! Especially in the hot, dusty Middle Eastern climate of the city of Jerusalem, no one would have clean feet. But Jesus, again, despite having the weight of the world on his heart/mind, is so patient with Peter. “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Doesn’t that sound like a parent? You’ll thank me later. But Peter only escalates, saying, “No,” to Jesus. Have you ever told Jesus no? It’s never a good idea. If Jesus is who he claimed to be, then he was/is both infinitely wise and perfectly good. So, it would never be a good idea to say no to something he wants to do in your life or something he wants you to do for him, right? But Peter says no. “…you shall never wash my feet.” But Jesus gently rebukes him, saying, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” And watch how quickly Peter changes direction. “Then, Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” I love Peter. He was quick to speak, quick to get in trouble, and quick to repent even if he still didn’t understand what Jesus was doing. I resonate with Peter. Jesus responds that Peter doesn’t need a bath, which implies that none of this is really about personal cleanliness; this is symbolic. But if it wasn’t really about clean feet for dinner, then what was Jesus doing? What was the lesson? Jesus explains himself starting with v. 13.
John 13:13-17 (NIV), “13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” This is God’s word. So I love that Jesus starts his explanation by saying, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.” I am your rabbi/teacher. You follow me, and I show you the way. You listen to me, and I teach you what is true. But I’m also your King/Lord. I command, and you must obey. And what am I teaching/commanding here? Well, “now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” And the amazing thing is that Jesus didn’t simply tell them to do this (which he could have done); he modeled this behavior for them. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus never commands something he wouldn’t do himself. He goes first. He models the behavior and way of life that he calls us into when we put our faith/trust in him. But again, he isn’t teaching a lesson in hygiene here, so what’s the lesson? What Jesus models is like a little picture of the cross. It’s humbly serving the needs of others. It’s humility almost to the point of humiliation, but Jesus didn’t care. This was his way. In Mark’s gospel, he says, “For even [Jesus] the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45). If Jesus was the King with all the authority in heaven and on earth, then no one would deserve to be glorified/honored/respected, no one would deserve to be served more than him. But that’s not why Jesus came. Just the opposite. He came to give his life to meet our greatest needs. And this is so radical, so different. How could anyone make this up? Before Jesus, nobody valued humility. No one talked about servant leadership like it was a good and noble thing. The fact that servant leadership is a value in our secular culture today is a testimony to the remaining influence of Jesus. None of the ancient lists of virtues included humility. Ancient Greeks/Romans valued wisdom, courage, self-control, and justice (which are great virtues, too) — but they never included humility as something for individuals or a whole society of people to aspire to. Humility was something servants or slaves had to have because of their humble position in life. So no one would choose to be humble, would they? “Very truly I tell you,” says Jesus. And remember this phrase was his way of saying what I’m about to say is important, so pay attention. “…no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.” In this scenario, Jesus is the master and we are the servants; he is the one who sends and we are the ones sent with a message. And if Jesus is ok with humble service, then we must be ok with it, too. If the Son of God wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, then who are we to think we’re above this sort of thing? In a sermon on the humility of Jesus, Tim Keller said, “Most of us feel inferior and act superior to compensate for it. And Jesus Christ knew he was superior and acts the inferior. He puts all of his power and glory under the interests of other people.” And Jesus did know it, didn’t he? John makes that clear in this passage. As I said, knowing is a major theme of this passage. Six times, John refers to what Jesus knew or understood compared to what the disciples did not yet know or understand. Jesus didn’t wash his disciples’ feet because he was confused about his status or identity. And yet, Jesus teaches that it isn’t only about what you know. The blessing is found in doing what you know is true. Growing as a disciple of Jesus isn’t just about learning more and more information. It’s about transformation. It’s about repenting from your old way and turning to a new way of life lived in alignment with the gospel. And one of the main themes of the gospel is humble service. The greatest becomes the least. The master of all becomes the servant of all. This is why Jesus told Peter that if he refused to let Jesus serve him, he would have no part with him. The message of the gospel is not steps to make yourself a better person. The gospel says there’s nothing you can do to save yourself. You need a savior. You need the humble service of Jesus. And if you refuse to receive the gospel as a gift of God’s grace to you, then you’ve missed it completely. So, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
So how do we do these things? How can we apply the example of Christ to our lives and grow in our humility? First, we must see that the problem is not just out there but that it’s in here. We are all way too focused on ourselves and our opinions and our preferences and getting our way. Of course, our culture doesn’t help. But wherever we might live or whenever in history, this has always been a problem. Followers of Jesus must regularly repent of the sin of pride. But then, in repentance, we must turn from our way and turn to the way of Jesus. The Apostle Peter says (1 Peter 5:5), “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. [this could apply to kids to their parents or to younger people in general to those who are older here in the church] All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” The Apostle Paul says (Philippians 2:3–4), “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Why? Not to prove how spiritual you are. That would be spiritual pride. But because this is the way of Jesus. And humility is just one of the things that the gospel produces in the life of a believer. We love because he first loved us. And we humbly serve the needs of others because he humbly served our greatest needs first. But what a countercultural place this would be if we all, as a church, committed ourselves to be humble toward one another, like Jesus. What a blessing. Let us pray.
The Difficulty of Faith: At the end of his public ministry, people were still divided over who Jesus was. Some believed in him, while others did not. Even some of the people who saw Jesus do things that only God could do struggled to believe. How could this be? Because faith is a battle. But Jesus didn’t punish or shame people who struggled with their faith. He continued to invite them into the life, light, and love of a relationship with him. Recorded on Jan 21, 2024, on John 12:37-50 by Pastor David Parks.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
Sermon Transcript
Well, today, we’re continuing to work through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. We’ll be finishing John chapter 12, considering the end of the public ministry of Jesus and the difficulty of faith. If you’re new to the Christian faith, you might assume that having faith in God is easy because you (what?) just believe. That doesn’t sound hard, right? It’s not what you do that saves you; salvation is a gift of God’s grace we receive by faith in Jesus Christ. But if you’ve been a Christian for a little longer, if you’ve really tried to follow the way of Jesus, then you probably quickly saw how difficult faith can be — faith is a battle. I’ve been a pastor for almost 13 years now, but I’ve been a Christian pretty much my whole life. But for years now, do you know what has had to stay at the top of my daily to-do list? It just says, “Pray.” Do you know why? Because otherwise, I forget to pray! I’ve had some incredibly powerful times in prayer. I’ve had God dramatically answer my prayers. I’m definitely the best version of myself when I consistently spend time with God in prayer. So why on earth would I forget to do something that is so helpful and powerful for me? Because of the difficulty of faith. It doesn’t come easy. Even after all these years, even with everything I know about who God is, I still get distracted, tempted, confused, anxious, or afraid. What’s going on? Have you ever wondered why faith is a battle? In our passage for today, we see the difficulty of faith, but we also see the beautiful and gracious response of Jesus. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 12:37. Let’s work through this together.
John 12:37–41 (NIV), “37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 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?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.” Ok, let’s pause here. If you’ve been with us for the past few weeks, you’ll know that we are in the week leading up to the cross. Jesus was anointed in Bethany by his friend and follower, Mary. Then, we had the triumphal entry of Jesus when he was welcomed as a king coming into the city of Jerusalem. Then last week, Justun preached on Jesus’ favorite title for himself, Son of Man. And we saw that the Son of Man title pointed to both the kingship of Jesus as the promised king of the kingdom of God and also his identity as the suffering servant of Isaiah. Next week, with the start of John chapter 13, we have the Last Supper and all the teachings and events that happened on the night before the cross. So here, we have the end of his public ministry. And John summarizes the whole middle section of his gospel by saying that even though Jesus had performed so many signs in the presence of so many people, they still would not believe in him. We’ve seen this for several months now. Jesus would do something amazing, saying/doing something that only God could say/do. But the response has consistently been mixed. Some believe, while others do not. The people were divided over who Jesus was. But this wasn’t an accident. John says in v. 38 that this was to fulfill God’s word in Isaiah. And then he gives us two different quotes from Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 6. Chapter 53 talks about the work of this suffering servant, that he would take our sins, he would suffer and die, but he would see the light of life and be satisfied, providing justification for many. But Isaiah wondered, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? This is a reference to seeing the miraculous signs of God’s power/work in the world. And this is an important point. Because I think it’s tempting for us to think that if we were there, if we had seen God part the sea or feed the thousands or walk on water, then our faith would be unshakable. But, not every ancient Israelite who lived through the many signs and wonders that God performed during the time of the Exodus had perfect faith after seeing all of that. And the disciples’ faith seemed to come and go fairly easily even after seeing Jesus do incredible things. Both then and during the time of Jesus and today, miraculous signs can help your faith, but they never guarantee your faith. Seeing isn’t always believing. Someone who is firmly stuck in their unbelief will believe all manner of things, sometimes preposterous things, so they don’t have to change their a priori beliefs. Some people call this confirmation bias. I call it foolish pride. Their eyes are blind, and their hearts are hard. These are metaphors for being closed to repentance/faith/God. John contrasts these people to the prophet Isaiah, a man whose eyes were open, whose heart was soft, and who saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. Some 700 years before this time, John says that the vision from Isaiah chapter 6, of seeing the throne room of God and seeing God high and lifted up, was actually a vision of Jesus in glory before the incarnation. Despite this glorious heavenly experience, when God commissioned Isaiah as his prophet, he said that Isaiah’s ministry would not be obviously fruitful. Many people would continue to be blind and hard-hearted, no matter what he might say. If you read Isaiah, it’s such an impressive piece of work. If it weren’t in the bible, it would be studied on its own as one of the great literary works of history. Isaiah was brilliant, but his genius didn’t guarantee that everyone who heard him would believe. John uses these references to remind us that the difficulty of faith didn’t start with Jesus. In many ways, it was the story of God’s relationship with Israel. And yet…there was always a remnant of people who did believe. Not perfect, but faithful men and women. We see that in v. 42 back in our text.
John 12:42-43 (NIV), “42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.” So some saw the signs but didn’t believe. Others believed in Jesus, including (interestingly) even some of the Jewish leaders at this point, but they were afraid to admit it because they loved human praise more than praise from God. This is what John said back in chapter 7, that “…no one would say anything publicly about [Jesus] for fear of the leaders.” (Jn 7:13). Or you might remember that the parents of the man who was born blind who was healed by Jesus were afraid of being put out of the synagogue. (Jn 9:22). And this was no small threat. Being excommunicated from the synagogue meant being cut off from all your friends, from your whole social network, from your reputation as a good person, possibly from your ability to do business with your neighbors, and from your ability to worship God with the people of God. But can you be a Christian and still be a coward? Can you have authentic faith and give in to your fears? Yes, you can. Now, I wouldn’t recommend it. Fear is often presented by Jesus as the opposite of faith, and faith the antidote to fear. But, thank God, our salvation doesn’t depend on the strength of our courage. It only ever depends on the courageous work of Christ. However, here, at the end of almost three years of public ministry, of Jesus preaching and teaching, healing and casting out demons, performing many signs and wonders, and sharing his life with his disciples, John says the outcome, like Isaiah’s ministry, was, at this point, not obviously fruitful. How would Jesus respond? Would he lash out in anger? “How dare you people reject me? The King of kings and the Lord of lords? Or would he turn inward and have a crisis of faith himself? Am I the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God?” No. That isn’t Jesus. We see his response in v. 44.
John 12:44-46 (NIV), “44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” So Jesus doesn’t get angry. And he doesn’t question his identity. He responds to this fairly unimpressive display of faith with a broad invitation: “Whoever believes in me [anyone who believes in me, both then and now] does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.” And “no one who believes in me [will] stay in darkness.” This is so great! When you believe in Jesus, you are believing in God the Father in heaven, and vice versa. Jesus will tell us more about this union that he enjoys with the Father. But here, he promises light for those who believe, and light typically refers to truth and glory in John’s gospel. Now, if I were Jesus, I would’ve been so frustrated with these people. “Have you not been paying attention to what I’ve been doing? Have you not been listening to what I’ve been saying?” I would’ve wanted to smack people with the light of truth and punish them. And yet, Jesus is not frustrated at the difficulty of their faith. He doesn’t berate them, shame them, or write them off as hopeless idiots. Jesus isn’t threatened by their fears, doubts, or questions. He just continues to speak/minister to them. He continues to invite them deeper into a relationship with him, to see him more truly and believe in him more fully. He continues to offer light to those living in the land of darkness (which may be a third reference to Isaiah 9). He continues to offer a way to those who do not know the way and life to those who are dying. According to Jesus, all this comes by faith, by believing and trusting in him. But with such a simple way to receive Jesus and with a subsequent faith that might seem fragile at best, how can we know that we are truly saved? How can we know we are truly his and are not false disciples like Judas? Jesus ends his public teaching by giving us a simple way to test our faith. Let’s finish our passage with v. 47.
John 12:47-50 (NIV), “47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” This is God’s word. So, the simple way to test our fragile faith is this: if we obey the words/commands of Jesus. Jesus said elsewhere that you can know a tree by its fruit. The fruit of faith, no matter how fragile, will be a commitment to do what Jesus says. Bible study is one of the key behaviors of mature Christians. But Bible study is only as helpful as it produces real change/transformation in your life. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Now, this test of obedience doesn’t deny the difficulty of faith. Because Christians are not yet made perfect. We are in the process of being made holy, so neither our faith, our knowledge of the truth, nor our obedience will yet be perfect. However, for true believers, there will be a commitment to put the words of Jesus into practice as best they can, to repent when they realize they’ve failed to do so in some area of life, and to continue on in faith once again knowing they are forgiven in Christ. This is the Christian life. Now, as promised, Jesus also tells us more about the union he enjoys with his Father in heaven. He goes on from saying that if you believe in him, you believe in the Father who sent him, and if you see him, you are seeing his Father, to if you listen to Jesus, you are listening to the words of the Father. They are one. This is why Jesus is the complete revelation of God; he is the living embodiment of the word of God; he is God’s word made flesh. So, if you fail to see/listen to/believe in him, you fail to see/listen to/believe in God. Thus, the same words that bring hope/healing/life to those who believe are words that reveal the condemnation of those who do not believe. Now, someone might think, wait, this isn’t fair, is it? Why doesn’t Jesus save everyone? But you have to remember the message of the whole Bible: Jesus didn’t come into a good world to make it better. He came into a dying world in rebellion against God and deserving of complete condemnation, and he won forgiveness and life through his own sacrificial death and his resurrection from the dead. The Christian gospel is not first a life improvement plan, although if you follow Jesus, you will find that his way is the best way to live. The gospel is, first and foremost, a rescue mission. And it was one that required the death of the Son of God to make it work. So the grace of God, given freely to us, though it was costly to Christ, is never fair. It is never something we earn or deserve. It’s a gift. But it’s a gift that leads to eternal life in Jesus’ name. Now, one day, on the other side of eternity, we will be made new. Jesus will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away. Then, in that day, we will not have to live by faith alone, for we will see him face to face. But for today, on this side of eternity, between the first resurrection of Jesus and the final resurrection of the dead, we have to walk by faith and not sight. And so we have to learn to live with the difficulty of faith. In many ways, this is what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus. It’s a life-long lesson that we can trust the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and not have to lean on our own understanding.
So, what does this mean for us today? How might we apply this to our lives? Well, I’d like to close with two brief thoughts: first, how this relates to others when they struggle to believe, and second, how we might persevere in our faith. First, how this relates to others. I hope that seeing the difficulty of faith of people who saw Jesus with their own eyes and experienced first-hand the incredible things that he did gives you empathy for your friends or family members who might struggle with their faith today. Faith is hard. Even when you do believe, it takes the whole rest of your life to grow and mature in your faith and be transformed in the likeness of Christ. Let’s refuse to give into frustration, to berate or shame those who are struggling in their faith. Jesus didn’t do this, and neither should we. We must remain faithful and hopeful and continue to offer the broad invitation of the gospel to all into the light of the truth and glory of Jesus. Second, how might we persevere in our faith? We must understand we are not seeking to follow Jesus in a neutral environment; this is a spiritual battlefield. So we must fight the good fight, fighting against the temptation of our own flesh, against the spiritual confusion/idolatry of the world, and against the spiritual forces of darkness looking to divide/distract/destroy the people of God. We must live with intention and purpose. No one drifts into the way of Jesus. We must continue to pray, continue to meditate on God’s word, and continue to be obedient to the commands of Christ. We must continue to meet together and encourage/spur one another on in worship, love, and good deeds. We must continue to repent and believe the good news of the gospel. We must cry out for more of the Spirit, more light, more truth, more knowledge, and more of an experience of the love of Christ within us. This is how we persevere. This is how we struggle/fight against the difficulty of faith in a broken world. But my hope and my prayer for you and I, is that at the end of our lives, we could say, as the Apostle Paul said at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2Ti 4:7). And that Jesus would welcome us into his kingdom, saying, well done, my good and faithful servant, not because of the strength or perfection of our faith, but because of his faithfulness to us. Let us pray.
Jesus, the Son of Man: Self-sacrifice (not self-serving) is the way of Jesus — who came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. But let’s face it: a life of sacrifice sounds hard, painful even. How can we joyfully follow this difficult path? By surrendering to God and submitting to all his ways. Recorded on Jan 14, 2024, on John 12:20-36 by Justun Hart.
Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.
