Hide and Seek

 

^{John 7:32-39}

^{Hide and Seek}

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. ³³ Then Jesus said ^[f]to them, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. ³⁴ You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come.”

Jesus is attending the weeklong Feast of Tabernacles, a festival that celebrates God’s provision while Israel was in the wilderness. Jesus came up later after His family to celebrate. He knew the leadership there was seeking to kill Him and it was not yet His time.

Jesus had an opportunity to speak in synagogue and took it. We always see Jesus taking the chance to proclaim the gospel where to 1 or to thousands. As they always do, the people responded. The leadership wanted nothing to do with Jesus or the Gospel. They attempted to discredit his qualifications, then they questioned where he was from and to whom He was born. Yet, there were other people there that heard the gospel, responded, and believed! We take comfort in this.

Here people are hearing the Gospel from Jesus Christ! The living embodiment of Truth and they rejected it. We should not feel bad when in our human effort and power people reject us, after all Jesus set the example for us. People also believed though! We have no idea how the gospel will affect people in the long run.

The Pharisees upset by all this send officers to arrest Jesus to no avail! Until the time was right, no one could lay a hand on Jesus. There would come a time when Jesus would say that His hour had come, yet until that hour no one could touch Jesus! I realize this is the nerd in me, but this is how I picture this going down.

The officers go to arrest Jesus and Jesus pulls the original Jedi mind trick! “I shall be with you a little longer” then they go back to the pharisees and repeat “He shall be with us a little longer!” Jesus keeps repeating that it is not His time and soon He will go back to the Father. This concept is rather key to understanding John so file that away for now.  

³⁵ Then the Jews said among themselves, “Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What is this thing that He said, ‘You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’?”

Where are you going? You cannot hide from the Pharisees in Jerusalem! It is like trying to keep a secret in person county. You know how three people keep a secret in person county? Two of them are dead!

Is Jesus going to go out into the Greek world? Maybe He can go teach the Greeks! This is a major insult. Teaching in a synagogue in Jerusalem was the Ivy League. To go teach Greeks outside of Israel was a considered the equivalent of one of those sketchy community colleges you hear about on the news, like Harfurd or princeington.  I can picture Paul being in this crowd and Jesus laughing on the inside knowing that Paul would one day be the Apostle to the Gentiles.   

³⁷ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those ^[g]believing in Him would receive; for the ^[h]Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The Feast of Tabernacles lasted eight days. All through the first seven days water from the Pool of Siloam was carried in a golden pitcher and poured out at the altar to remind everyone of the water God miraculously provided for a thirsty Israel in the wilderness. It seems that on the eighth day there was no pouring of water – only prayers for water – to remind them that they came into the Promised Land. This was the last feast-time Jesus would spend in Jerusalem before the Passover of His death. This was the last day of the last feast; the last time He would speak to many of them before His crucifixion.

Jesus had something important to say Important because of where He said it (standing in the temple courts, right outside the temple itself). · Important because of when He said it (at the last day of Tabernacles, after water had been poured out on the previous days). · Important because of how He said it (crying out, even shouting – in contrast to the general tone of His ministry, according to Isaiah 42:2: He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street).

 If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink: The celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles emphasized how God provided water to Israel in the wilderness on their way to Canaan. Jesus boldly called people to Himself to drink and satisfy their deepest thirst, their spiritual thirst.

 The invitation was broad because it said, if anyone. Intelligence, race, class, nationality, or political party does not limit it. Everyone is equal at the foot of the cross. The invitation was narrow because it said, if anyone thirsts. One must see their need. Thirst is not anything in itself; it is a lack of something. It is an emptiness, a crying need.

 

There is dispute among commentators as to if Jesus said this as water was being poured out, or if He did it on the day when no water was poured out. It is perhaps impossible to be certain, but John’s emphasis on the last day probably indicates that Jesus meant to show a contrast. “There’s no more water at the temple and in the rituals we love. I have the water you’re looking for.”

Jesus then alludes to the giving of the Holy Spirit that we see in Acts at Pentecost. This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive: This outflowing life and abundance comes in and through the presence of the Spirit in the life of the believer. This speaks of an experience that belongs to those believing in Him. The nature of that experience may differ among believers, but there is some aspect of it that is promised to all who will receive it by faith. We will dive into much greater detail concerning the Holy Spirit when we get to John 15 & 16.

 

Hard to Kill

 

John 7:25-31

Hard to Kill

One of the many great things about the 90s was the action movies. Typically featuring the talents of Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, or Arnold! Let’s not forget Jean Claude van Damme and Steven Segal for those that enjoyed the direct to video market. 6^th grade me was enamored with Steven Segal! I cannot tell you how many times I saw Hard to Kill. I even had a bootleg VHS copy of it 6 months before it came out to purchase! This was back when those required more effort than downloading them from the internet. Hard to Kill successfully describes pretty much every Segal movie ever (except Executive Decision which I maintain is a Kurt Russell movie). No matter what the bad guys tried they never could kill Segal’s character. Tonight, the pharisees start to discover that Jesus is also rather hard to kill.

²⁵ Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? ²⁶ But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is ^[d]truly the Christ? ²⁷ However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.”

Everyone is in Judea celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus has been teaching at the synagogue. Can you imagine hearing a sermon from Jesus? We talk constantly about the power of the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 “^For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for ^[c]instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

1 Peter 1:24-25 “The grass withers, And its flower falls away, ²⁵ But the ^[o]word of the Lord endures forever.”

Can you imagine hearing the Word of God in person from the living Word of God? One of my talents is public speaking. I can look back at my life and see how God prepared me for a life of public speaking. I took speech therapy classes for most of elementary school. My dad would take me to county commissioner meetings so I could observe him speaking in front of people.

I discovered in middle school that if I volunteered to be the speaker of the group project I didn’t have to do anything else. My classmates would spend all week on the work and I just had to stand in front of the class and read what they did for roughly 3 minutes. Then they thanked me for it! I even taught public speaking as part of the home schoolers co-op for the previous 3 years until current events happened and prevented me from continuing to do so. I’ve been speaking in public in some form of another for most of my life. Yet, I have a love/hate relationship with rewatching my sermons on YouTube. I watch and see what I messed up and what I can improve on. Tone, Volume, pacing, mannerisms, oops that was the wrong verse! What I said there was not even a word.

Jesus sermon here is perfect. His delivery of it is perfect as well. It is no wonder they marveled at His words!

The crowd sees the negative reaction by their religious leaders. Then they put two and two together. Wait, a minute! Isn’t this the guy they are plotting to kill? He is right there! He is right there in front of them. If you knew someone intended, you harm and had the capability to do so you would avoid that person. You certainly would not show up at their place of work and draw a crowd.  The boldness of our Lord in proclaiming The Gospel at every opportunity He had.

I have heard pastors say that the church lacks boldness. That is not the case. Our boldness is misplaced. We have been bold in the last year when it comes to expressing our opinions! Opinions about elections, protests, masks and conspiracy theories. Yet, where is that same boldness when it comes to the Word of God? When it comes to loving our neighbor as our self? When it comes to acknowledging our own sins and seeking forgiveness? It is nowhere to be found.

Convicted by the Word of God they had but 2 choices. Respond and change or find a reason to ignore it. As heart breaking as this is I also take comfort in it. If people responded this way to a sermon from Jesus, I shouldn’t be surprised when people reject me when I speak either. They found a reason to ignore it. We don’t know who this guys really is or where He is from. They might as well have asked for his birth certificate. Also, if you thought questioning where someone was born was a relatively new political concept you are wrong. There is nothing new under the son.

²⁸ Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ^29 [e]But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.”

For years when I read “Jesus cried out” I just assumed He was yelling out of frustration. We can all relate. We have all lost our temper and raised our voice before.  Yet, that’s not what is going on here. Cried out can be translated two ways. 1) To cry out of vengeance or 2) to speak with a loud voice. Seeing as no one fell to the ground when He did so (which is not always the case in John) it is the second one. The crowd is murmuring amongst itself and Jesus raises His voice to be heard. 

I know the Father and I am from the Father. The crowds were perhaps confused about where the Messiah would come from, but Jesus knew exactly where He came from. Jesus was not a confused man, wondering if He was really the Son of God. His words were clear and powerful. Jesus is the Son of God.

³⁰ Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. ³¹ And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

The pharisees and sadduccess understood exactly what Jesus was saying. It is why they sought to take Him. Yet, no one laid a hand on him because His time had not yet come. I am always curious what the actual logistics of a thing look like. They sought to take him. Were they just planning on different ways to do it? Did they try and they were stopped? Did they all get struck with brain fog? I mean he was right there! Surely, they had a way to remove someone from the stage that had gotten out of hand. Whatever it looked like they were powerless. One would think that combined with His words would be enough to convince them, but an unrepentant heart is a stubborn thing. What is the end though result? People believe! As many people as may walk away every time the gospel is preached let us not forget the people that are saved when The Gospel is preached! People like you and me.

Love it or hate it, today marks the beginning of a new era. This era demands clear-sighted action and relentless hope, which is only found in Jesus Christ It demands that we distinguish between reality and propaganda, between conviction and orthodoxy, between living peacefully with all people and violent extremism. The Gospel demands that we speak honestly about sin, suffering and hate and that we work daily to dismantle it in our lives. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. When we cast out fear we will cast out hate as well.

We must begin to hold ourselves to the standards set forth in the Bible: to be loving, to be forgiving, to be just, honest, and compassionate.  I would say every one of us, regardless of opinion or ideology would prefer to live in a world like that.    

 

 Hebrews 6:19-20 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰ where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

 

Ports were not dredged like they are now. It was a very difficult thing to bring a ship into port with out wrecking it. They would take the anchor and put it into a very small boat and send that boat out, with the anchor in it, ahead of the ship. This small boat was called a forerunner. Once that boat arrived into the port it would tie that anchor to one of the huge rocks secured there at the port. Keep in mind the ship was still out at sea but its anchor was already in the port, secured. Once the anchor was secured the men in the ship would wait until the tides were right then they would use the anchor rope to pull the ship into the port safely, and securely. 

 

You see Christ is our forerunner. His death, burial and resurrection takes the anchor of hope beyond the veil for us. What was behind the veil? The Holiest of Holies where only the high priest dared to tread and even then only once a year. If the High Priest was not right with God when he went in then He was struck dead and dragged back out by a rope attached to him.  You see behind the veil was the very presence of God. Christ secured our hope for us, it’s nothing we need to, or even can do on our own. No amount of fanciful prayer, scripture quotations, or Ascetic lifestyle could ever achieve this.Christ made a way for us to enter into the presence of God safely and securely with no fear of condemnation. For there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. The Anchor of hope is secured by The Rock of Ages. 

 

Though the winds blow, The Anchor holds. Though the waves crash, The Anchor holds. The storms will come, the planks will crack, the sails will tear and the mast snap in half, The Anchor holds safely, securely, guiding us into the safety of the harbor, bringing us safely into the presence of God. 

 

 

 

Higher Education

 

John 7:14-24

Higher Education

In the last year a good majority of us have had a crash course in remote learning. In the last year I’ve had anywhere from 5-9 kids in my house the majority of whom were actively doing school from home and by that I mean on laptops at my kitchen table. Trying to make sure everyone’s laptops were working, on the Wi-Fi and everyone was attending their meeting at the scheduled time has been interesting to say the least. It’s made a lot of us appreciate all the hard work that goes into teaching our children and the value we should be placing on education.

Education holds value through the world and human history. Today people have access to more educational opportunities than ever before. My grandparents viewed a high school diploma as a luxury and now my children have seemingly limitless higher education opportunities.

In Jesus time, the ability to read and write, something a lot of us learn in Kindergarten, was considered a luxury. We see that play out in tonight’s message “Higher Education”  

¹⁴ Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. ¹⁵ And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”

John Ch 7 starts a few months after the events of John 6. Jesus is at home being mocked by his brothers on his alleged failure in ministry after so many thousands walked away after being offended by the gospel. Make no mistake brethren, the gospel is offensive. In fact, if you are sharing the gospel consistently and people aren’t offended then you are doing something wrong. In John 15 Jesus refers to the Father as the vinedresser who prunes away the unfruitful vines. Sometimes a little is pruned, sometimes a lot.

His brothers go to Judea to celebrate the Feasts of Tabernacles. Jesus decides to come up later in secret because He knows the people who sought His life are there and will be looking for Him. Jesus gets there and soon is in the temple teaching/preaching The Gospel. Though Jesus avoided a grand entrance, when He came to Jerusalem in His Father’s timing, He taught boldly. He never shrank back from proclaiming the truth.

We too should take the chance to proclaim the truth whenever we get the chance. Whether we are sharing the gospel to 1 person or 1 million. What matters is not the size of the audience just that we are preaching the truth in love to God’s glory.

Jesus is teaching. How do the pharisees respond? This man has no education! The implication is “ignore everything he says because he didn’t go to seminary.” Convicted by His words, unable to refute them, they challenged His qualifications.

Jesus is two years into His ministry. He has already preached the sermon on the mount. The people acknowledge that He teaches as one with authority and not like the scribes. He’s done multiple miracles, none of which have been refuted because they witnessed them firsthand. He’s fed multitudes, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed storms. Yet, the thing they want to point out is that He doesn’t have a degree.

Do you understand how patently ridiculous this statement is?!?!?!

John 1 starts with proclaiming Jesus as the Logos. The living embodiment of truth!  In Col 1 we learn that “¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

And they want to say He’s never studied?

^16 [c]Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷ If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. ¹⁸ He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. ¹⁹ Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” ²⁰ The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”

Once again not taking the bait, He tells them He is simply sharing the word of God. He then says if you have an issue with what is written take it up with the author! Then you can see whether I am proclaiming the Word of God or in human authority. Jesus doesn’t seek His own glory but God’s.

He also calls them out. You don’t keep the law and you are seeking to kill me. They try to play it off like He’s crazy. You must be possessed, no one is trying to kill you.  They couldn’t say He was a liar. They couldn’t say He was God. All that was left is that He was crazy. The same goes for us. Is Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or our Lord?

²¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. ²² Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

You can’t judge a book by its cover. I’m guilty of this. I have been humbled many a time in this regard. Have you ever had to interview someone for a job? I’ve had to do that a decent number of times in my life. You really have no idea what you are getting when you hire someone. That’s why a personal recommendation is so helpful.

When CCB was being bought by SunTrust my department got permission to hire contract workers to help with the merger. I was put in charge of the interviews and then make recommendations to my boss. She would interview them and then make a final decision.  I went 3 for 3 on the first three people I recommended for working at the bank. They all worked out fantastically. They fulfilled their entire contracts, showed up on time, followed orders and did good work.

I didn’t do so great on the second wave of hiring’s. The first guy I recommended was an hour late to his interview with my boss.  The second guy took a phone call in the middle of his interview. The third guy we hired! He did great his first day, was 2 hours late his second day and no showed his third day.

I judged according to appearance. We all do. We judge according to appearance, opinion and gut feeling. Then, we go to the Bible using a keyword search to try and find a single verse out of context to justify our decision.  The Pharisees are doing the same thing.

The claims of Jesus were astonishing.  They were shocking.  They were beyond bold.  They were really outrageous claims. Jesus said that he had come down from heaven, that he had eternally existed, that he had been sent into the world by the Father.  He claimed to be the savior of the world and the only savior of the world.  He claimed to be the determiner of everyone's eternal destiny.  The claimed to be the source of everlasting life, and the only source.  He claimed to be the only way to God. 

he man Jesus was indistinguishable from any other Galilean man.  He most likely had a Galilean accent and his deity was completely invisible.  What was visible was his humanity.  There was no way to see him any different than you would see any other man.

They had spent their whole life judging on appearance.  Its what hypocrites do.  That's what they sell.  That's what they produce.  That's the nature of hypocrisy.  Stop, Jesus said, doing that.  Judge righteously.

How do we judge people? Most recently it’s been how they vote. Are you on the left or the right? The liberal or the conservative? Republican or Democrat? Are you with us or against us? When we do that. We aren’t on the side of good either way. We aren’t going about the Father’s will we are about Satan’s will. Satan’s will is to divide, destroy and kill.

Who has the qualifications to lead us? To tell us what to do? God. God’s will is perfect. Jesus is our Lord, a good Lord a loving master who will lead us to blessing and eternal life

 

 

John 6:67-71 Jonah

 

John 6:67-71

Jonah

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the story of Jonah. Along with Noah’s Ark, David & Goliath it’s one of the first stories we learn about the Bible as children. Anyone we’ve ever met named Jonah we’ve said “Hey! Jonah, how’s your whale?” or something similar. If you’ve been here long enough you just thought “Well technically it’s big fish not necessarily a whale”.

A story in the Old Testament; Jonah was an Israelite whom God had called to be a prophet but who refused to accept his divine mission and left on a sea voyage instead. God then raised a great storm as a sign of his anger with Jonah. The sailors, realizing that Jonah's disobedience had caused the storm, threw him overboard in an attempt to save their ship. Jonah was saved from drowning when he was swallowed by a “great fish.” He lived for three days inside the creature, after which the fish “vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” Thankful that his life had been spared, Jonah took up his prophetic mission.

The story is about our attempts to run away from God when we find His will to hard to follow. That’s been a theme of the last several wed nights. It continues tonight as we finish chapter 6.

⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ Also we have come to believe and know that You are the ^[a]Christ, the Son of the living God.”

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

Jesus fed the multitudes, and everyone rejoiced! Jesus calmed the storm, and everyone rejoiced. In fact, they loved Him so much they wanted to make Him King! Whether He wan ted to be King or not. Things are going great! Then not so much. Everyone turns on Him once He no longer gives them what they want. Last time we ended with John 6:66 “From that time many of His disciples went [a]back and walked with Him no more.” We pick up tonight immediately after that.

Jesus said to the twelve, the disciples as we know them, “Do you also want to go away?” The disciples are being given an out. Everyone else, the crowd, the religious folk, the other disciples not included in the twelve. They have all left and the implication is that they left never to return. It’s easy to follow the crowd.

In a series of famous experiments conducted during the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch demonstrated that people would give the wrong answer on a test in order to fit in with the rest of the group. In Asch's famous conformity experiments, people were shown a line and then asked to select the line of a matching length from a group of three. Asch also placed confederates in the group who would intentionally select the wrong lines. The results revealed that when other people picked the wrong line, participants were likely to conform and give the same answers as the rest of the group.

Jesus is given them the option to leave as well. I can hear the heartache in his voice. However, I hear it differently these days than when I heard it when I was younger. I’ve always heard the pain and loneliness in His voice when He said it. Now I also hear the pain is deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced. He doesn’t just feel abandoned. He knows their futures. He knows all of them individually as He made them. He knows every trial and tribulation that they will face for the rest of their lives. He also knows that He won’t be there to comfort them in the midst of it because they have chosen to walk with Him no more. Hell isn’t hell because of the flames, the lake of fire, or demons and torture. It’s Hell because it is eternal separation from God.

We spend a lot of time in prayer specifically requesting for changes to external circumstances. I support this. I think we should be pray about all things without ceasing. We typically pray for external circumstances to change in our favor, to make our lives easier. Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn’t. How often though, do we pray for hearts to change? For our hearts to change? How often do we truly say “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done?” Seeking God as a means to an end, with that end being our own personal happiness, will always lead to disappointment.

The disciples choose wisely! I related to Peter! Always ready with an answer. Sometimes he’s right sometimes he’s wrong but always speaking up! Peter has the most beautiful response “to Whom shall we go?” It is not where but whom.  

It’s easy to call out Idols of wood and stone, material possessions. Just as frequent as when we make Idols out of people. The people that left where did they go? Whom did they turn to next? Maybe friends, family, politicians. Based on the last reported results about half of us are happy with the election and half not so much. Anyone that places all their hope in a human being is going to be disappointed though.

⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ Also we have come to believe and know that You are the ^[a]Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Speaking for the twelve, Simon Peter gave a wonderful statement of faith. He recognize Jesus as Lord. He recognizes Jesus as worthy regardless of the difficulties it will cause. He recognized the value of the Kingdom of God and spiritual things over the temporary desires of this life. Most importantly he recognized Jesus as Messiah. He recognized Jesus as the Son of the living God. This of course isn’t the same Peter who would right so eloquently of the Lordship of Christ in 1 & 2 Peter. However, this is a profound pronouncement of faith none the less.

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” ⁷¹ He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

Weird answer honestly. Why not say? Thanks so much! I love you guys! I appreciate you sticking around. He says “one of you is a devil.” None of them had a clue which one it was at this point. Keep in mind it’s unlikely Judas had decided to betray Jesus at this point since Jesus was only halfway through His earthly ministry.

When the crowd turns on you it’s one thing. When it’s people close to you it’s another. You twelve. So small a number. Out of such a multitude as follow for the loaves and fishes, it is to be expected there should be apostates; but when the number is so small, chosen in such a manner, then it becomes every one, however confident we may be we must be vigilant that we not give way to the schemes of the devil. When we run away from God like Jonah we give place to Satan. It is wise, as well as necessary, to beseech God continually to strengthen what He has worked in us. Failure to do so finds many Christians blaming themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit that arise from unbelief - Spurgeon

 

 

John 6:60-66 Tragic verses in The Bible

John 6:60-66

Tragic verses in the Bible.

There are many joyful verses in the Bible, yet there are many tragic ones as well. Genesis 3 and the fall of man. The flood of Noah in Genesis 6. The crucifixion Psalm 22.  Judas betrayal of Jesus in The Gospels. The oppression and persecution of the church in Acts and countless multitudes whose names were not found in the Lamb’s book of life in Revelation. Tonight, we are going to discuss a tragic and often overlooked verse in John.

⁶⁰ Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a ^[a]hard saying; who can understand it?”

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples ^[b]complained about this, He said to them, “Does this ^[c]offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

⁶⁶ From that time many of His disciples went ^[d]back and walked with Him no more.

We are nearing the end of John Chapter 6! I told you this would take a few months when we started back in September! Jesus fed the multitudes, and everyone rejoiced! Jesus calmed the storm, and everyone rejoiced. In fact, they loved Him so much they wanted to make Him King! Whether He wanted to be King or not. Things are going great!

Then the next day not so much. Jesus didn’t want to be a temporary earthly king. Jesus wasn’t here to just saw temporary recurring problems. In fact He wasn’t here for our physical needs at all. He went out of His way to tell them this repeatedly.

Matthew 6:31-33 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

The crowd objected to this and complained. The synagogue objected to this and complained. Last time Jesus finishes speaking in Synagogue trying to explain to them the eternal while they were still focused on the temporary.

Verse 60 picks up shortly after all this with a third group of people. It’s important to note who these people are described as in the scriptures. Disciples. It’s the same word throughout all the gospels used to describe the disciples. Now the word here does not exclusively refer to the 12.  The word means leaner or follower.

This is not the crowd, the bandwagon fans that were happy as long as the bread and healing as flowing but were done when it stopped. They wanted the blessings but not the blesser. This is not referring to the religious folk either. Those that were offended in the synagogue. These were like what we would refer to “good people” that went to church, kept the law, said their prayers and took their vitamins. There are many people in the church that know about God but don’t know God.

These are disciples, followers, believers! They openly and outwardly identified with Christ. They hear Jesus teaching on communion, on the crucifixion and they are offended. Jesus was trying to get everyone, especially His followers, to look beyond the physical aspects of life and ministry and to focus on the spiritual, the eternal. They were murmuring and complaining among themselves just as everyone else had been. They had been swayed by the crowd. Negativity is powerful and infectious. It is our default setting. A rotten apple spoils the entire bunch.

Jesus tells them are you offended by me? Pastor Dave mentioned Sunday if you haven’t offended someone with the gospel then are you presenting it correctly? In fact, if you haven’t personally been offended by Jesus then how much have you studied the gospels? The gospel is offensive, and the cross is hard to believe.

Jesus understood the offence many of His listeners took at His teaching, yet He didn’t change the teaching or feel it was His fault. Jesus didn’t preach just to please His audience. If that was His concern, He would have instantly taken back what was just said, seeing His audience was offended. Jesus didn’t take it back. He challenged and confronted them even more.

He says if you are offended by this? What will you do on judgment day? Jesus claims the title Son of Man here. This is a messianic title. He’s declared Himself the bread of life, that His blood grants eternal life, and here He is claiming to be the Son of Man, the right hand of God. The one that executes final judgment on that day. If you can’t handle what I’m saying now. What will you do when you come before Me in my glory. When you have to answer to me in judgment.

The flesh profits nothing. The things of this life are temporary. I’ve experienced many wonderful moments and many tragic ones. They all had one thing in common. They were temporary.

Luke 12:16-21

¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

The flesh profits nothing but The Spirit gives life. Once again Jesus is trying to get people to understand that life is more than our temporary circumstances. Those that seek eternal life will find it, but only in Jesus Christ.  

In verse 64 we see how Jesus as the God-Man knew the hearts. He knew who believed and who didn’t. He also knew who would betray Him. It’s likely at this point in His ministry that Judas himself didn’t know he would betray Christ. That was still a year to a year and a half down the road. He then says another offensive, controversial statement.

And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

Beloved, we could spend years on this verse alone. We could go way into the weeds here. We could study election, pre-destination vs. free will, the total depravity of man and the perseverance of the saints. I personally, think that would be fun. However, we are divided on enough things right now no need adding fuel to the fire.

Any good minister will tell you only two things change people’s hearts. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. In that sense yes no one comes to the Jesus except those that were granted to Him by the Father. Does this mean that God just looks as us and goes Yes, no, yes, no, definitely no, yes, yes, maybe. Does this mean that God gave us Scripture and unleashed the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in that sense we come to Jesus via the ways that The Father gave us access to? I don’t know.

What do I know? That I was saved by Grace through Faith not of works, lest any man should boast. Don’t get to stuck in the weeds on this. Just be grateful for the grace God shows in our lives daily.

These disciples, they are stuck in the weeds. They cannot get past it. They walk away. They made the final decision to walk away from Christ.  This chapter then is the story of the disciples who were following Jesus and then abandoned him.  Keep in mind this is after a lengthy ministry in Galilee in which He has done miracles on a daily basis, and in which He has taught the principles concerning the kingdom of heaven, which He has vindicated all of His claims by His work and His words, and their final decision is to walk away, and it’s not a few.  It’s the many.

There is an aspect of this that I find more tragic than anything I mentioned at the beginning of this message. I know how miserable these people were the rest of their lives. There is no more miserable person in the world than the one that once walked with Christ and no longer does. To much of the world to be happy in Jesus, to much of Jesus to be happy in the world. I know of countless people in that situation across the last 22 years. I see the conflict in their face every time they look at me.

Hebrews 6:4-6

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ^6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

The reactions of the crowds who came to hear Christ teach show that His life and actions had gripped them. Whether they were responded with belief or disbelief they all responded. No person hears the Gospel and remains the same.

At the crucifixion most had abandoned Him. Even those closest to Him Why did so few follow? Because we naturally want to earn praise through our works. Christ’s invitation is a stumbling block to our pride and stubbornness. Scripture calls us to give ourselves up and follow Christ faithfully and completely. This is what we must do, not in our own strength but His!

 

John 6:41-59 Complaining to myself

 

John 6:41-59

Complaining to myself.

I haven’t wrestled with preaching a Chapter of scripture like I have wrestled with John 6. I think this sermon had about 4 different titles. It also had a fully typed out intro that fit at first but as I continue to dig into the text, I decided to delete it. Finally, I just have this rambling opening about how hard a time I’ve had with this chapter. I spent a lot of time just staring at my laptop hoping the words would appear! Alas, that was not the case. I had no one to complain to but myself and then thus came tonight’s title. Complaining to myself.

The Jews then ^[g]complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” ⁴² And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

 Last time Jesus refused to feed people a second time. They got mad. Then they left. Verse 41 starts with some time passed between verses as best we can tell. We know this from Verse 59. It tells us that verses 41-59 happen in the Synagogue at Capernaum.

It starts with a verse that could have been pulled straight from the headlines “Then they complained about Him.” We complain about everything these days don’t we? Pastor Dave called us all out Sunday with our tendency to just look for a reason to complain. I can guarantee you In the next two months there will be at least one news story about someone being offended because someone told them Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays and another where someone got upset because they were told Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. If you find yourself doing either know that becoming upset because someone wished, you well is a terrible way to witness. Show some love and grace to other especially now in a year that is devoid of both.

Why do we complain? First, we want attention. The squeaky wheel gets the great!  Second, it gives us a certain moment of power. Part of the appeal of the cancel movement is that normal everyday people like us can get someone important fired. For a brief moment we can feel like we are in control and have power. Thirdly, it allows us to remove responsibility for our actions. I don’t have the time, it’s impossible to do that, someone else got in the way, etc.

Social Media has been designed with all of this in mind. It easily and quickly allows you to do all three of these. The more you complain, the more you’ll click and the more you click the more you’ll complain. There’s nothing new about this.

What is the crowd mad about? That Jesus did not give them a humongous free meal for a second time! Imagine someone staying late at your house one evening because you were going out of your way to help them with something. It gets late so you offer them dinner. Then they go on about their way. The next day while you are out at work they show up and go Hey, I’m hungry. Cook me something. When you like any reasonable person says “No. I’m at work” They flip out and insult you. The next week you here a whole crowd of people complaining and insulting you at church.

This is essentially the situation Jesus finds Himself in. What would your response be? What will be His?

⁴³ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ^[h]“Do not murmur among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who ^[i]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. ⁴⁶ Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes ^[j]in Me has everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

No matter how they set Him up, Jesus never takes the bait! Can you imagine the patience and mercy on display here! Literally every breathe they take is an act of mercy from Jesus. He created them, knows them better than they know themselves, He loves them! Yet, He gets nothing in return but scorn and hatred. His response? Grace!

Stop complaining among yourselves! Your still upset you didn’t get a second free meal. Stop thinking about your stomachs! Stop thinking about yourselves. Before you is what really matters. What you all need and have been waiting for. Yet, you refuse to see it.

There is a lot of shock about that, but I just want you to notice they understood exactly what He was saying.  The Jews are grumbling because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”  In verse 42, they are wondering how this man whose parents they know can say, “I have come down out of heaven.”

Verse 46, again says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God.”  He has come down out of heaven.  Verse 50, “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven.”  Verse 51, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven.”  Verse 58, “This is the bread which came down out of heaven.”  Every time you see that, and it’s repeated again and again, you are hearing a statement affirming the incarnation of a preexistent person.  He didn’t come into existence.  He came down out of heaven.  Anyone who claims that falsely is a lunatic or a deceiver, who would have a hard time convincing people.

Over and over and over Jesus speaks of His preexistence.  John began his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” the Word meaning Christ.  Therefore, Christ was there preexistent with God, coexistent with God, self-existent with God eternally.  You cannot ever reduce Jesus to a created being.  Yes, His body was prepared by God for Him, but as a person He is the eternal Son of God.  He existed everlastingly in the presence of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  He is God of very God.  That’s why John 1:14 says, “We beheld His glory and it was the same glory as the Father.” 

Despite the way they are treating Him, talking about Him, He is still offering them eternal life.

⁵² The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is ^[k]food indeed, and My blood is ^[l]drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Yet, they still do not get it. In fact, they look for a reason to be offended! The find it easily. For the Jews to even touch blood was an unclean and disgusting thing. Jesus is not advocating cannibalism or vampirism here. This is the context of the Passover seder, this is in the context of what would soon be instituted as the Lord’s Supper.

You have to be able to eat His flesh in the sense that you take Him as the one who nourishes the soul.  And you have to be willing to drink His blood in the sense that you accept his sacrificial death.  This is all way too much, way too much for the people to handle, and you can see their reaction later in the chapter. 

Jesus tells us that He is the bread of life who fully satisfies our hunger and thirst (John 6:35). He does this through our faith in Him, for He says that we gain eternal life only as we look on Him and believe in Him.  We receive grace and strength to help us persevere as we believe that Jesus endured the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood for us. Our souls are sustained unto eternal life as we affirm that Jesus will never cast us out if we come to Him in faith and repentance (v. 37). At our conversion, we make a decisive break with sin and come into the safety of Christ’s fold. Still, there is a sense in which we must continue to come to Him every moment of our lives. As we actively believe in the gospel each day, we are sustained unto eternal life. One way we tangibly confirm and express our belief in Jesus is through the Lord’s Supper, and we can come to Him for all our needs by faith alone.