Who are you? I really wanna know!

John 1:19-28  Who are you?

Tonight’s message is entitled Who are you? Show of hands of how many of you just said to yourselves “I really wanna know?” Yeah because of the song! The Who released in 1978 one of their most popular songs “Who are you?” About the lead singers frustrations with life, executives and police officers. The non radio edit of the song has an extra verse in which the singer is struggling with his own identity.

Part of the reason the song still resonates today is most of us don’t know who we are. Who we really are. Let’s see how that plays out in tonight’s passage John 1:19-28

¹⁹ Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” ²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

We talked last time about how Jesus, the Logos, creator and sustainer of all things, took on human flesh. This not like us putting on a custome and pretending to be someone else for a while. This is the Hypostatic Union! The great mystery, that Jesus was both fully God and fully Human. Now we have John The Baptist on the scene.

We take for granted knowing who John the Baptist is. We’ve heard sermons and stories all about him. At the bare minimum most of us know he baptized people, and upset the religious and political leaders of his day by calling out their hypocrisy. We know from the previous verses in John 1 that he came not so much to baptize but as a witness! Who is he a witness for? The Logos!

At this point in his ministry he is drawing a crowd, and nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. Also, as a fun thing to do after service, ask David about that crowd we wandered into in Baltimore that time. He loves that story.

The Pharisees see that John is starting to draw a huge crowd. They don’t like being called out on their hypocrisy so the go up to John and go who are you?

Now typically when someone asks who are you?  Particularly in a situation such as this one, we respond with our name and title. Identification and authority. This is not how John choses to respond. He starts with who he isn’t. He is not the Christ. This seems odd but it only seems odd because it’s so convicting.

John told the Jewish leaders who he was not. He did not come to focus attention on himself, because he was not the Messiah. His job was to point to the Messiah. We have the same job, to point to the Messiah.

This is tough! We love ourselves. It’s why Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself! We all love ourselves. We’re very concerned about our own welfare, our own comfort, safety, interests, health, etc. We have a hope we want to realize it. We have a desire we want to fulfill it. We have a need we see to it that it gets met.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan does a bit entitled myself “I want to look at myself while I work on myself. I should make a recording of myself so I can listen to myself while I work on myself while I look at myself. Maybe I can read a self magazine and read about how I can improve myself. I’m going to go on Facebook and look at pictures of myself while I read what myself wrote about myself”  Here’s the thing beloved, if you think a lot about yourself or a little about yourself do you know what you are thinking about? Your self!

John knew what was up. It was not, nor was it ever, nor would it ever be, about him. It’s about Jesus.

²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” ²⁴ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who, coming after me, ^[i]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” ²⁸ These things were done in ^[j]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

They essentially say well if you aren’t the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor Prophet, then you are a nobody and nobodies don’t get to baptize people. John gives them an answer. He quotes Isaiah and says he is the voice crying in the wilderness.

 Isa 40:3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.”

The King is coming, and He is the king’s herald.

A herald had two main purposes in ancient times. He was to announce the arrival of the king. The other was for them and the servants sent along with them to prepare the road for the king. Think of this crew of servants as an ancient DOT.

The gospel of Matthew gives us some insight into John’s appearance on the scene. It says that he arrived preaching. The greek word is the same word you would use for to speak of the arrival of an official. John was the official herald announcing the arrival of a king and what was his message? Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It was imminent, the next thing.

Then Matthew also references Isa 40:3 “Prepare the way of the Lord” He was calling the people to work on the path, to get it ready for the King to arrive. He wasn’t asking people to fix a dirt road, he was asking them to repentant of their sins, to prepare the road in their hearts that they king might enter. That was his purpose and that is the purpose of all true preaching.

His message in essence was repent, repent. Why was it important to repent prior to the arrival of the king? We can’t worship until we deal with our sin. You don’t feel like coming to church, studying the word, praying, fellowshipping? It’s time to check your heart.

That was also the point of baptism. John's baptism was a one-time, one-shot deal; and Jews never did that.  What? Being Baptists, we don’t think baptisms are unusual. They are events to be celebrated! The whole family comes out.

The reasons it stands out so much here, is that the Jews didn’t baptize. The only expection was when a gentile wanted to convert to Judaism. He would submit himself to the baptism that John is performing. The gentle was saying “I am an outsider seeking entrance into the people of God” yet for the Jews the thought process was I was born into the family of God. The kingdom of God was a birthright for them not a choice. They forgot who they were.

For all those times tomorrow, Friday and the next day that we forget who we are I give you this reminder from Ephesians 1.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He ^[a]made us accepted in the Beloved.

⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and ^[b]prudence, ⁹ having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, ¹⁰ that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, ^[c]both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. ¹¹ In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, ¹² that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

¹³ In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who^[d] is the ^[e]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

 

 

 

Hypostatic Union

John 1:14-18  


Hypostatic Union


Hypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis, or individual existence. The most basic explanation for the hypostatic union is Jesus Christ being both God and man. 


The Chalcedonian Creed is a creed which was made during the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451. It stressed 4 key points concerning the Hypostatic Union. 

Without confusion: The Lord Jesus Christ is not what you get when you mix blue and yellow together and end up with green. He’s not a tertium quid (a third thing), the result of mixing a divine and human nature.

Without change: In assuming human flesh, the Logos did not cease to be what he had always been. The incarnation affected no substantial change in the divine Son.

Without division: The two natures of Christ do not represent a split in the divine Person. Jesus Christ is not half God and half man.

Without separation: The union of the human and divine in the person of Jesus Christ is a real, organic union, not simply a moral sympathy or relational partnership.

 ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵ John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ^[f]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

^16 [g]And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten ^[h]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Last time we talked about the importance of recognizing God. How he came into his own and they did not recognize him. We also frequenly fail to recognize God when He doesn’t appear the way we think He should. Yet, we have to recognize that He is God and we are not. 


John refers to Jesus as the Word. The Greek here is Logos. This is really important for our understanding of these verses but the Gospel of John as a whole as well. The word Logos had specific meaning for first century philosophy and religion. Both the Greeks and the Jews used the word but it had different connotations for them. 


For the Greeks the word referred to the logical and rational force that governed the affairs of humanity and nature. For the Jews it referred to the one true God. The creator and sustainer of all things. John in referring to Jesus as Logos says to the Greeks, “Hey, this is the guy in charge of everything!” To the Jews He says “Hey, this is your God! The one true God! 


Col 1:16-17 “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or ^[e]principalities or ^[f]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist”


John goes out of his way in the first 13 verses of John 1 to stress the deity of Christ. He says in the beginning was the Word! Then He says the Word was with God and was God. The fact that Jesus is on equal footing with the Father before creation established that they had a face to face, peer relationship which was an important concept for ancient people. They knew that Jesus wasn’t some lesser God (Of which Greek mythology is full of) but that the Son and the Father were one and the same. 


Then John writes something truly scandalous, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What?!?!?! 


Most of us have a favorite celebrity. It could be an Athlete, Writer, Movie star, etc. Now imagine getting to meet them. Not at an official celebrity appearance but just bumping into them in your regular day to day. In line at the coffee shop or going down the same aisle in the grocery store. In 2004, in a Seattle Denny’s I ran into one of my favorite writers, Jerry Holkins, author of Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings and Attack of the Bacon Robots. My friends were to nervous to approach him but he hadn’t gotten his food yet so I took a moment to tell him I was a fan and I enjoyed his work. He thanked me, introduced me to his wife, chatted for a moment and then I went on my way. I still talk about this 3 minute window of my life 16 years later! 


Here John says “The Word, The Logos! The Creator and Sustainer of all things. Took on flesh, took to himself flesh, the physical nature of humans! Greek mythology was full of the gods taking on the appearance of human but they weren’t actually human, they were playing dress up. In Christ, God became fully human while remaining fully God. The fancy seminary word for this is Hypostatic Union. 


J.I. Packer has said, “Here are two mysteries for the price of one — the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. . . . Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.”


Then John says and He dwelt among us! It’s one thing to take on being fully human, it’s quite another that he dwelt among us! There’s a whole section of the internet that is devoted to people meeting Shaquille O’Neal at Walmart and taking their photo with him. Here’s a man worth 3-400 million shopping at Walmart! He could literally buy the entire store if he wanted with what is essentially lose change to him. He could have whatever he want delivered pretty much whenever he wants but he choses to go and shop himself. 


John says that Jesus dwelt among us! He didn’t have to! He certainly didn’t have to be a poor carpenter 2000 years ago. He could have had comfort, luxury, wealth and privilege but he chose not to. Every single day, He chose to dwell among us. Imagine if you could snap your fingers and make things happen. *Snap* I’ve got an 8 figure bank account. *Snap* All my loved ones are healthy *Snap* I’m taller, skinnier and have 9 pack abs. *Snap* Turn these stones into bread. That’s not just a temptation He dealt with in the wilderness, but every day of his life.

The question then is why? Why do this? So, we could behold His glory and see that it was full of grace and truth! John The Baptist Witness testified of this pointing to Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. When we start to receive Jesus in His fullness we also receive grace and then more grace. Grace for grace sounds like a NT concept, maybe something Paul wrote about it. No! It’s actually from Exodus chapters 32-34. Moses and the people had received grace, yet they were in tremendous need of more grace, and more grace after that. Just like us.  


When I was still in the youth, David gave us all a playing card. Then he had us write on the playing card and place it in our wallets. He said whenever you are having a bad day, a tough time and you think “No one understands” I want you to take out this card, look up the verse and be encouraged. What’s the verse? 


Hebrews 4:14-16  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.


That is the blessing of the Hypostatic Union. That God understands us at a level like no one else. One of our great fears is that the more people get to know us the less that they will like us. Yet, this is not the case with Christ. Fully God, Fully Human, Fully knows us and Fully loves us. A Hypostatic Union of Grace.

You better recognize!

John 1:10-13

You better recognize!


Listening to Pastor Dave’s sermon the other  Sunday I was inspired! Specifically, I was inspired to change my intro. Pastor Dave’s use of All up in the koo-aid and don’t even know the flavor, made me think of lots of fun 90s phrases that aren’t in the common vernacular anymore. 


All that and a bag of chips, which was a compliment, kinda. The person or thing being described is everything one could possibly hope for, and they come with a side dish. Because who doesn't want a snack for later?


Talk to the hand! Which was when you were done listening to someone’s nonsense.

As If, made famous by the cult classic, Clueless, the phrase “As if” was used as an alternative to “Whatever” and/or No way!” depending on the context. 


Props! meant you were giving proper acknowledgment to someone for doing something impressive. Mad Props if you were very impressed. 


Then, there’s the title for tonight’s sermon, you better recognize!  the phrase you said when you felt someone needed to acknowledge your proficiency or authority regarding a particular matter. Turn to John 1:10-13 and you better recognize!

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His ^[c]own, and His ^[d]own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the ^[e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.


Last time we talked about John The Baptist aka John The Witness. Who was he a witness to? Everyone! Who was he a witness for? The Light! Specifically the light of the world, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 


He was in the world, and the word was made through him, but the world did not know him. He was here and walked among us. Lived among us for 33 years!  What’s the biggest compliment we say after meeting a celebrity? Oh they were the most down to earth person. Where do you think that phrase comes from? Right here! In which God came down to earth!

The same God in which it is written in Psalm 113:6 “Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?” actually took on human form! He dwelt among us!


A mere glance downward is an act of humility for our God! Yet, we, His children, stink so much of pride we allow it to destroy all our relationships. 


We didn’t know him. We didn’t receive him! We didn’t recognize! 


For the majority us music is as important aspect of our life from the mid-teens through the early 20s. During that time for me I had an intense concert going phase. I saw in excess of 100 different bands across a span of roughly 5 years. I have some permanent hearing damage in my left ear that was totally worth it! I went to concerts all over NC & VA. I went to ones where there were 20,000+ people that required me selling a kidney to afford the ticket. I went to some where it was free for the 20 of us in attendance. One of the things I liked about it was when I met new people there it was easy to strike up a conversation since we both enjoyed this particular band. I met all manner of people from all over the world. I met a guy named Bruce, I think, that saw Stryper on the original To Hell With The Devil tour! 


In the fall of 1998 Me and two of my friends got tickets to see a Christian Rock Band named Bleach. We were fans. We owned both albums, knew all the songs by heart, seen the music videos! We got to the concert early and Jared was with us. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get Jared somewhere early? To this day I’m not sure how we did it! While we were waiting around we got to chatting with some of the other concert goes and met a super cool guy named Dave. We made small talk and went on our way. Later that night, after both opening bands were done, Bleach took the stage! Guess who the lead singer was? Our friend Dave! 


We had met and talked with the lead singer of one our favorite bands and we had no idea! We were so stunned! He didn’t look the way we thought he would look based on videos and album covers. He didn’t talk the way we thought he would talk based on musical albums. Had we only known! Had we only recognized him!


This is exactly what John is talking about! All of Israel since Genesis 3 had been hoping for, praying for, studying about, teaching about, looking for the messiah! Then He shows up! Not for quick small talk but lived among them for 33 years! Openly teaching, preaching and working miracles for the last three yet so many people did not recognize Him! 


We sit there and think. How silly! How stupid! How could they possibly be that dense! Yet, are we any different? You said we weren’t there. We didn’t meet Him. We didn’t see the miracles. Malarky! Most of you have a miracle in your hands right now! 


“The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in the fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.”


That the Bible got written is a miracle! That the Bible exists is a miracle! This one book contains everything you need to know about Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior! I know many of your testimonies and a lot of them involve ignoring God, running from God and avoiding God. All of us had a point where God stopped us, got right in our face and said “Child! You better recognize!” Then by the grace of God we did recognize! We knew Him for who He was. We knew Him as Master, Savior, Sustainer, Creator, the one who has authority to speak into every aspect of our lives. In that moment beloved, we were born again! 


who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.


We ride that Jesus high for a few weeks or months but slowly slip back into the old ways of doing things. To the old masters, back into the darkness. We start to think that these things happened as an act of human will, as perhaps emotional decision making but the reality is it’s not our will but His! 

John MacArthur says the following “ How? You were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Only God can do this miracle. And here, we are introduced to the true nature of God with regard to the gospel. God is by nature a Savior. He is a Savior whose mighty power causes us to receive His Son and to believe in His name. He will have much more to say about this later on in the gospel, but at the very foundation we need to know that in this ministry of evangelism and gospel presentation and giving testimony and witness to Christ, God will work to give life to dead sinners. It is His heart to do that.

God our Savior, God our Savior, said the apostle Paul again and again and again. God, who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. He is a saving God. “Who is a pardoning God like you?” Read Ezekiel 36 and 37. God presents the New Covenant of salvation. Read Jeremiah 31. God is by nature a Savior. It’s in His heart to give life to dead sinners. This is what we need to know as the foundation, the bedrock essentials for Christians. We need to know that God by nature is a saving God who gives life to dead sinners.” 

As Christians we must daily recognize whose God and whose us.