Old Testament Reading: Genesis 12:1–3

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” (Genesis 12:1–3, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 12:20-36a

“Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’  Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’” (John 12:20–36a, ESV)

Introduction 

We should really begin our study of this passage by remembering what has just happened in the Gospel of John. Jesus, not long before this episode, rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Thousands welcomed him as the Messiah, the King of Israel, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13, ESV)

It would be difficult to exaggerate the significance of that moment. It was a huge moment. Keep in mind that the people of God had been anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, their Savior-King, from shortly after the fall of Adam. God, in response to the rebellion of man, immediately promised to send a Savior who would defeat the evil one who brought sin and evil into the world. This promise, which is found in Genesis 3:15, was like a seed which would eventually sprout forth, growing in size and complexity as history progressed.

Abram (later called Abraham) was chosen. The nation of Israel was chosen. King David was chosen. Covenants were made with these.  And though each of these covenants differed somewhat in substance, the thing which bound them together – the thing they all had in common – was the promise of God. When God, shortly after the fall, promised to crush the head of the serpent, it was as if he planted a seed. And that that seed began to grow. The promise, which was at first small, and rather unspecific, grew to affect more and more people – it grew in size, we might say. And it grew in complexity and clarity with the making of each new covenant.

The end result of these covenants and promises was that every Jew living in Jesus’ day lived with an expectation that the Messiah would come. I think it is safe to say that virtually all Jews expected the Messiah, or Christ, to appear. They were waiting for the Promised one – the Anointed one, who is the Christ, or Messiah. They were waiting for the King who would come from David’s loins to bring salvation.

And so this was no insignificant moment when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to shouts of praise from Psalm118 (which is a Messianic Psalm), and in fulfillment to Zechariah 9 (which is a prophesy concerning the coming the / Savior-King of Israel). The people were saying, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus was their Messiah – he was their long awaited King. Without a doubt they expected that the Kingdom of God would be established by him. And notice that Jesus did not rebuke them concerning their opinion. He received their praise.

But a question is left somewhat unanswered. And the question is this: What kind of Messiah would Jesus be? What kind of King would he be? And what would be the nature, or character, of his kingdom? Though most all expected the Christ to appear, there were certainly a diversity of opinions concerning these questions.

It seems to me that the passage that we are looking at today serves to answer the questions that the previous passage left unanswered. The previous passage made it clear that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the King of Israel. This one seems to clarify what kind of King he would be.

Notice three things:

Jesus Came as King, Not Only of the Jews, but Also the Greeks

First of all, notice that Jesus came as King, not only of the Jews, but also the Greeks.

Up to this point in his ministry Jesus had insisted that his hour had not yet come. Now finally he says in verse 23, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” And what prompted this declaration? It was the arrival of a group of Greeks who wanted to see Jesus.

These Greeks, we are told in verse 20, had come up to Jerusalem to “worship at the feast.” They were, what we would call, “God-fearers”. They were Gentiles who sought to worship the God of Israel.

And we are told in verse 21 that these God-fearing Greeks, approached one of Jesus’ disciples named Philip and said, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Many have wondered why they approached Philip, of all people. Perhaps it was coincidence? Or perhaps it was because Philip had a Greek name? Or perhaps it was because Philip was born and raised in a region near where these men were from? I tend to think that this last view carries some weight given that John emphasizes in verse 21, that “Philip…was from Bethsaida in Galilee.” I suppose it does not matter in the end. The important thing to notice is that the Greeks came to Philip, and Philip went to Andrew, and the two of them together went to Jesus to tell him the news.

It was upon hearing the news that Greeks were seeking him that Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

This is significant. It is significant because it marks a turning point in Jesus’ ministry – “my hour has not yet come” has now turned into “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

But I think it is even more important to notice the way that this event brings a major theme contained in John’s Gospel to the forefront. Jesus came to save, not the Jews only, but also the Greeks! John the Baptist announced the arrival of Jesus the Christ, saying “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, ESV). John, the Apostle, and author of this Gospel, interjected this word after telling of the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) In chapter 4 the people of the Samaritan village repented, saying, “we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this [Jesus] is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42, ESV) And in 6:51 Jesus spoke of himself this way, saying, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51, ESV) John’s Gospel, from beginning to end, is concerned to stress the fact that the Jesus is not only the Messiah and King of the Jews, but also the Greeks. God’s love for the world is demonstrated in this way, that he gave his unique Son, for the purpose that all who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.

And please know that this is not only a central theme in John, but of the whole of scripture. Tell me church, to whom was the promise of the gospel first given? Was it not given first of all to Adam? God promised within the hearing of Adam that one would come who would crush the head of the serpent. And who was Adam the Father of? He was the Father of the human race! The promise of the gospel was that God would provide salvation, not only for the Jews, but also the Gentiles. This was the plan from the beginning.

And when God reissued that promise through the covenant made with Abraham, what did he say? He promised to give him a land, it is true. And he promised to bring a great nation from his loins. But was the scope of God’s saving purposes limited to one sliver of land and to one nation out of many? No! God made a promise, even to Abraham saying, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3, ESV)

The Old Testament prophets were certainly aware of this. Take for example the prophesy of Joel 2:28 which says, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” (Joel 2:28, ESV) It is the phrase “all flesh” that is pertinent to the topic at hand. The Messiah would usher in an age marked by the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon “all flesh”, meaning all the peoples of the earth, or all nations. 

I do wish that you would learn to read your Bibles with this progression in mind. We live 2,000 years after the Christ has come. We live 2,000 years after the giving of the Great Commission and the Pentecost event. And so we have perhaps grown accustom to seeing God’s activities amongst the Gentiles. But we must remember and not forget that from the day of Abraham to the day of Pentecost the Kingdom of God, and the saving activities of God, were largely limited to the nation of Israel and to the Jewish people. The Spirt was most active, in a saving way, amongst the Jews. There were exceptions, of course, but they were rare. Those instances under the Old Covenant where Gentiles came to the proper worship of God served as a foretaste of what would be the norm under the New Covenant.

This brief point of application will probably resonate more with those who are in the Eschatology class right now, but I’m sure many others will pick up on the significance of what I’m about to say: Any theological system that has at it is core that idea that the gospel going to the Gentiles was God’s plan B due to the fact that Israel rejected her King, is flawed to the core. It is unbiblical. And connected to that (and I will speak more gently here), any theological system that presses the idea that it is ethnic Israel who is at the heart of God’s redemptive purposes seems to me to have overlooked some very important teachings in the Holy Scriptures. It is true that ethnic Israel held a prominent place in redemptive history. Through them the prophets spoke! Through them the law was given! And through them the Messiah came! But the Messiah came, that is the point! And he is the Savior of the world! Old Covenant Israel was a conduit. They were the means through which the Christ came into the world. Certainly we should pray for ethnic Israel. Certainly we should, like our brother Paul, long to see the Jews recognize Jesus as their Messiah. But let us not miss the fact that he came to be the Savior and King of the world – Jew and Greek alike.

Jesus Would be Glorified as King of the World Through Suffering and Death

Secondly, notice that Jesus would be glorified as King of the world through suffering and by his death.

Notice verse 24. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Later in verse 32 Jesus would say, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”  And in verse 33 we see that  John understood that “He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” (John 12:33, ESV)

This is not the normal way for a King to be glorified, is it? The Kings of this world receive glory through triumph. But Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would be glorified by passing through the gates of suffering and death. That is not to say that there was no triumph in his first coming – we will come back to this in a moment – but that the triumph and glory that he did earn was earned through suffering and death. He was the grain of wheat that would fall into the earth to die and, in turn, bear much fruit.

You understand this metaphor, I’m sure. We can understand it even though most of us have little to do with agriculture. How much more would the people to whom Jesus was originally speaking understand this metaphor! They understood that they could reap a harvest only if they were willing to sacrifice some of their grain as seed. The seed would be put into the earth and it would be lost for a time, but it would eventually produce a harvest.

This was how our salvation was earned. This was how the Christ won the decisive victory. He would suffer and die, he would go into the grave, and from there he would rise, having in his hand victory over sin and Satan and death. Jesus would indeed be glorified as King of the world, but through suffering and death.

This is of course true of Jesus, but it should be noticed how this way to glory, or this way to life is set forth by Christ as a model, or pattern, for the Christian. Jesus would lay ahold of glory and life by passing through the gates of suffering and death, and we are urged to follow the same pattern.

Verse 25: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:25–26, ESV)

Do you want to have life? Then Jesus says that you must die. Of course Jesus is not necessarily calling us to die physically (though it may involve that). He would suffer and die physically, and in so doing defeat sin and death and earn life for all who believe in him. But he calls out to us to die in spiritual sense. If we want to have life then we must let go of our life. We must surrender to Christ and make him Lord. We must submit to God and to his ways for us. We must live, not for self, but for the God who made us, trusting in him for the forgiveness of our sins. This is where true life is found.  Most chase after abundant life by living for their own pleasures. Christ calls us to lay ahold of abundant life by taking pleasure in the God who made us, seeking his glory above all else. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25, ESV)

I do wish that you would take some time to think upon this paradox. It at first seems unreasonable, even absurd, to say that the way to life is through surfing and death. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” seems backwards to the natural man. But this is the way of our Lord. This is how he earned life for all who believe.

You cannot benefit from Christ’s work on the cross unless you come to him in this way. Christ will benefit you nothing if you come to him saying, I will live my for my pleasure, according to my rules, trusting in my own strength. That is the way of death! But Christ will benefit you to all eternity when you come to him saying, I lay it all down. I will live, not for my pleasure, but for yours, O God. I will live, not according to my rules, but yours, trusting, not in my self, but in you alone. This is how we must approach Christ if he is to help us. This is the way of life – the way of the Christian.

Furthermore, we would be foolish to assume that this way of life only pertains to the beginning of the Christian life and to the reception of salvation. No! It is the way of Christ, and the way of the Christian from beginning to end! The whole of our life is to be characterized by this way! Brother, you are to die to self daily! Sister, put to death the desires of the flesh and your self-serving, self-protecting,  self-exalting ways! Loose your life and see if you don’t begin to even now taste more and more of the fullness of the life that is ours in Christ Jesus.

Husband, do you want a blessed marriage? Do you want a marriage filled with life and every good thing? Then lay down your life. Serve your wife. Consider her needs as more important than your own. Wife, do you want a blessed marriage? Do you want a marriage filled with every good thing? Then lay down your life. Submit to your husband, considering his needs as more important than your own. See if your marriage is not filled to the brim and overflowing with life and happiness as you  live in this way. The way to life is found through dying to self daily.

Children, can I reason with you for a moment? Do you want to be happy? Do want to have joy? Do you want to have peace? It is never to early to learn this lesson, that you will be most happy, most joyous, most at peace when you are living in the way that we are describing. Don’t be selfish. Don’t live for your own self. Obey God’s commands. Honor your parents. Share with others. Serve others. Do good to your siblings and your friends. Speak kind and encouraging words, seeking to build others up. Don’t live for yourselves! Live for God and others. This is where the best kind of life is found! You are never to young (or old) to start learning this.

You say, Joe, I am neither a husband or wife, nor a child. What about me? I think it is clear that this principle can be applied be anyone, and in any circumstance of life. Jesus said in another place, “whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38–39, ESV)

Jesus would be glorified as King of the world through suffering and death. Let us follow in his way.

King Jesus Would Win the Decisive Victory Through His Death

Thirdly, notice that King Jesus would win the decisive victory through his death.

This needs to be said given the emphasis upon Jesus’ death in this passage. If we are not carful we might misunderstand, thinking that Jesus would be defeated through his death. Not so! The opposite is true! Jesus, through his death, would win the victory!

Notice these five simple things:

One, Jesus speaks of the hour of his death as the hour of his glory. He would be “lifted up” from the earth. This, of course, is a reference to the cross. But it is symbolic of his being glorified, or exalted. He would, as we know, also raise from the dead and be exalted to the right hand of the Father. But that is not mentioned here. His hour of death was, in itself, his hour of glory because of what was accomplished there.

Two, notice that the Father would also be glorified through the death of the Son. In verse 27 Jesus says, “Now is my soul troubled.“ Jesus, in his humanity, was troubled at the thought of the suffering that lay ahead of him, and understandably so. Having acknowledged this, he posed a question: “And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? [His response to his own question? By no means!] But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Jesus submitted fully to the will of the Father. His prayer was that the Father would be glorified in and through his death. And the Father responded in a miraculous way, saying, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:27–28, ESV) Jesus would bring glory to the Father through his death.

Three, notice that it was through his death that the world would be judged. The word “now” is significant. Verse 31: “Now is the judgment of this world…” It appeared as if the world were judging Christ when they beat him and hung him on that tree. But with God things are not always as they appear.  The truth of the matter is that Jesus was beginning his judgment of the world even then. We tend to think of the judgment as a future thing, for so it is. But it is also true that the judgment of Christ began at his first coming as men and women decided for or against Christ. Their acceptance or rejection of him has the effect of putting them into one of two camps. Judgment, in some respects, has already begun.

Four, notice that the ruler of this world was cast out at the death of Christ. Again, the word “now” is significant. The second part of verse 31 says, “now will the ruler of this world be cast out.”

This verse should be of special interest to those of you taking the eschatology class. One of the main questions we are asking in that class is when is Satan bound, and when does the millennial reign of Christ begin, as described in Revelation 20? The predominant view in our day is that Satan will be bound, and the millennial reign of Christ will begin in the future. But I am of the opinion that Satan was in fact bound (from deceiving the nations) and that Christ began to reign at his first coming.  A proper interpretation of Revelation 20 should lead us to this conclusion. And so should a careful consideration of other New Testament texts, including this one.

Jesus said, in John 12:31, “now will the ruler of this world [Satan] be cast out.”

In John16:8-11 Jesus speaks of the promised Holy Spirit saying, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” The ruler of the world [Satan] has been judged at Christ’s first coming.

In Mark 3:27 Jesus says, “But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.” The implication is clear. Jesus was claiming to be doing that very thing – binding Satan, the strong man, so that he might plunder is his house. This he accomplished at his first coming. This he accomplished through his death and resurrection.

This is why he could say, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:18–19, ESV)

Jesus won the decisive victory through his death, and one of the things he accomplished was the casting out, or binding, of the evil one. Satan is still active, it’s true. But he cannot accuse you before God as he did in the days of Job. Furthermore, he has been rendered powerless from hindering the advancement the gospel and the establishment of the Kingdom of God to the ends of the earth. From this he has been bound by the death and resurrection of Christ.

Five, notice that Christ won the victory through his death in that from that day forward he would effectively draw all people to himself. That is what 12:32 says: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Jesus is not claiming that all people – that is, each and every person who has lived – will be drawn to him. That is not what “all” means. Clearly “all” is referring to all the peoples of the earth – all nations – Jews and Greeks alike. The context makes this abundantly clear.

And so, though it would appear that Jesus was defeated in his death, the truth of the matter is that he was victorious. He glorified himself and the Father who sent him. His judgment of the world began there. He cast out the ruler of the world so that he might draw all peoples to himself. 

Our Lord was not a victim but the victor. He won the decisive victory through his death and resurrection.

Conclusion 

We should remember Jesus’ audience as we move towards the conclusion. Thousands had greeted Jesus as the King of Israel not long before he spoke these words. They were right to call him King, but these words of Christ prove difficult to them. He shook their understanding of what kind of King he would be.

Look at how the crowd responded to him in verse 34: “So the crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” (John 12:34, ESV)

They were confused. They were right to confess that Jesus was the Christ – the Messiah – but they expected that the Christ, when he came, would remain forever – that he would not go away. But here Jesus spoke of his death. They didn’t know what to make of that. They didn’t have a category for that in their understanding of things.

Here is what some of them thought: The Messiah will come – the King of Israel will arrive – and he will save us from our enemies and establish the nation of Israel once more, remaining forever and ever. But Jesus was not interested in being this kind of Messiah. He came to defeat, not Rome, but Satan, sin and death. He came to establish, not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one, saying “my kingdom is not of this world.” He came, not to rule and reign as that kings of this earth do, but to, through suffering and death, establish an eternal kingdom, to the glory of God the Father and for our good.

Jesus was indeed the Christ – the Jews were right about that. And they were also right to think that when the Christ came that he would remain forever. But they were wrong to assume that he would remain to reign on earth. No, his rule and reign would be far more significant that that. His kingdom would be inaugurated at his first coming after his death and resurrection. From there he would ascend to the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning from where? From heaven! And from there he will return to finish that which which he started at his first coming.

Brothers and sisters, you serve a victorious King. He was crucified, it’s true. But do not be fooled by the appearance of things. It was through the suffering of the cross that he won the victory for you and me and for all who look forward to his return.

Let us serve him boldly to his glory honor and praise.

Old Testament Reading: Zechariah 9:9–10, ESV

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9–10, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 12:9-19

“When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’ His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.’” (John 12:9–19, ESV)

Introduction 

There are three things that I would like to draw your attention to in this story. The first has to do with a change in Jesus’ method. The second has to do with manner in which Jesus approaches this change. And the third has to do with motive.

Consider Jesus’ Method

Let us first consider the change that we see in Jesus’ method.

As you have noticed how, up to this point in his ministry, Jesus would engage with the people – he would engage with the leaders of Israel, he would do some great act, or deliver some teaching, and when his popularity would increase – and then he would retreat. The pattern, up to this point, has been one of withdrawal. The motto has been, “my hour has not yet come.”

Take, for example, Jesus’ response to the multitude who followed him into the wilderness. Having been miraculously fed with bread and fish they wanted to make him King. So, “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” (John 6:15, ESV)

And do you remember how Jesus’ siblings were urging him to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths? They wanted him to go up in a public way, making himself known to the people of Israel, so that he might rule in power. His response? “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.” (John 7:6, ESV) So he did not go with them publicly, “But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up…but in private.” (John 7:10, ESV)

And just recently we were told how, after Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, “[He] therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from [Bethany] to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.” (John 11:54, ESV)

Many more examples could be provided, but the point is this: Jesus had labored to avoid public recognition; he had worked to remain relatively private; he had resisted the impulses of the people to make much of him. Now all of that seems to change. Now Jesus takes a different approach – the opposite approach. He employs a different method as he now goes up to Jerusalem in the most public of ways.

According to John there is great excitement surrounding Jesus again. Crowds of people come to Bethany to see him. Crowds of people are in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and they are wondering, will Jesus make an appearance? 

We don’t know how many traveled from Jerusalem to Bethany to see Jesus (it was only a couple of miles away). The text simply says that it was “a large crowd.”  And we don’t know exactly how many lined the streets to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem on the following day. Certainly this crowd was much larger than the other one given that it was a portion of those who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Understand that the population of Jerusalem would have swelled significantly as thousands upon thousands of Jews would have made the pilgrimage to the Holy City to celebrate this great feast. It was a portion of that population that welcomed Jesus into the city on, what we now call, palm Sunday. We don’t know how many, but I picture in my mind thousands of people – perhaps tens of thousands.

We might ask why it was that Jesus’ popularity had grown in such drastic way? I suppose we could say that it had been consistently growing throughout his ministry. I’m sure there is some truth to that. With each miracle, and with each teaching, Jesus, no doubt, caught the attention of more and more people. But John tells us that this recent surge in popularity was due to the great miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. People wanted to see Jesus because of it, but they also wanted to see Lazarus!

So powerful was this miracle (or sign) that “the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.” (John 12:10–11, ESV)

It never ceases to amaze me how the leaders of the Jews, instead of believing upon the Jesus on account of this great miracle, determine to put Jesus to death. And not only Jesus, but Lazarus too! But this reminds me that such is our condition apart form the life giving work of the Holy Spirit. Apart from the work of Christ our spiritual eyes are so accustom to darkness that when light shines in upon us we recoil – we resist – we throw the blinds shut so that we might return back to our comfortable and sleepy state. So it was with the unbelieving Jews. The light was not welcome. It was an annoyance to them. Their solution was to exterminate to the source of it. They made plans to blot out the radiance of the sun and to draw the shades on the reflective splendor of the moon by putting both Jesus and Lazarus to death.

I would like to pause here for just a moment to make a bit of a side point. You have probably noticed in John’s Gospel how the phrase, “the Jews”, is often used in a negative way. It is often used to describe those who do not believe. And it is often used to describe those who were enemies of Christ. It is true that many of the Jews were enemies of the Christ. And it is certainly true that the Jews played a large role in the crucifixion of Christ. But it would be a terrible mistake to assume that the Gospel of John is somehow against the Jews. No! Jesus himself was Jewish. John was Jewish. The Apostles were Jewish. And, as you can see in the text before us, the first to believe in Christ – the first to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ in faith – were Jews. The Gospel of John is not against the Jews. It is against unbelief! That is the point! In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, but all are one by faith in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. By the time that John wrote his Gospel in the late 80’s AD there were certainly tensions that existed between the Christian Church and the Jewish Synagogue. The Jews were persecuting the Christians at this point in history.  But the Gospel of John was written, not to condemn the Jewish race, but to confront their unbelief. His purpose in writing was to persuade Jew and Gentile alike to believe, or trust, in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Our objective should be the same today as we labor to make disciples of all nations.

Notice that many of the Jews continued in unbelief, but not all were of the same opinion. Some saw the sign of the raising of Lazarus for what it was. Many went out to see Jesus and Lazarus. Many more would welcome Jesus into Jerusalem on the following day.  So numerous were they that the unbelieving “Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.’” (John 12:19, ESV)

This is a significant statement. The word “world” is obviously used here, as it often is in John’s Gospel, not in reference to every person without exception (to take it that way would be absurd), but in reference to a great number of people. The Pharisees were lamenting that fact that thousands seemed to be following Christ. And the context should also lead us to recognize that the word “world” here has more to it than just a reference to a great number of people – it also is used in reference to a great diversity of people – not only Jews, but also Gentiles were flocking to Jesus. Look at the heading above 12:20. Mine says, “Some Greeks Seek Jesus”. When we come to that passage we will learn that it was the Greeks seeking Jesus which prompted him finally to say, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23, ESV) And so the Pharisees are bothered by the fact that many people – mainly Jews, but also Gentiles – were flocking to the Christ because of what he had done with Lazarus.

The point is this: Jesus has changed is method. Whereas before he would have retreated to the mountain, or gone up to Jerusalem in secret, or moved with his disciples to a rural place – now he moves forward publicly. He is ready to receive the accolades of the people, and to be received by them.

And what is the meaning of this? We are to recognize that God was in control of the situation. Jesus was in control. Jesus’ life progressed on God’s timetable. From a human perspective we might say that Jesus owed his successes and, so-called, failures to other men. He was made great because men wanted to make him great, and he was brought low because men wanted to bring him low.  But John wants us to see that God was in control – Jesus was in control. He chose when to go up. And when he went up, he went up in full control of the situation. This principle has already been stated in 10:17, where Jesus says,

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:17–18, ESV)

So first of all, it is clear that Jesus has changed his method.

Consider Jesus’ Manner 

Secondly, notice the manner in which Jesus implements this new method. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem to be received as King, but he goes humbly, and in fulfillment to Old Testament prophesy.

Look with me at verse 12 and see that the people received Jesus as King of Israel:

“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’” (John 12:12–13, ESV)

It is cleat that the people had a very particular view of Jesus. They thought him to be the Messiah, the long awaited King that was promised to David. Whether their expectations of him were correct is a conversation for another time. For now it should be noted that they thought him to be the King of Israel, their Savior.

This is clear for there reasons:

One, the people greeted him with palm branches. This might have little significance to you and I but, “From about two centuries earlier, palm branches had already become a national symbol. When Simon the Maccabee drove the Syrian forces out of the Jerusalem citadel he was fêted with music and the waving of palm branches (cf. 1 Macc. 13:51, 141 BC).” This was a customary way to greet a great king, or savior.

Two, the people cried out saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord…!” (John 12:13, ESV) Hosanna means “save us”. This is an allusion to Psalm 118 which says in verse 25, “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:25–26, ESV) A quick read of Psalm 118 makes it clear that it is about the coming Messiah. The people sung it to Jesus because they thought him to be the Messiah, their Savior King.

Three, notice that the people explicitly call Jesus the King of Israel at the end of verse 13 saying, “even the King of Israel”

Notice that Jesus did not rebuke them. He received their praise. And he was willing to receive it because he thought of himself as the King of Israel, the Messiah, the Savior. They were right to call him King.

But notice the manner in which Jesus entered into Jerusalem – notice the way he went about it. He entered Jerusalem ridding upon a young donkey. His manner said a lot about Jesus and the kind of King that he would be.

Were he interested in exerting political or military power we would expect him to ride into Jerusalem siting atop a mighty war horse. But no, he entered Jerusalem humbly, not as a political or military figure, but as a lowly servant King. The reason for this is obvious. The Kingdom that he came to inaugurate was not an earthly or political Kingdom. It was spiritual in nature. This Kingdom would advance, not by the sword, but by Spirit and truth.

Christ’s first coming was marked my meekness, humility, and gentleness. He did not come to judge, but to save. But tell me church, will Christ be riding upon the foal of a donkey at his second coming? No! Revelation 19:11:

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:11–13, ESV)

How different the first and second comings of Christ are! Christ came the first time in meekness and humility to bring salvation to the elect. He will come again in great power and splendor, and to judge.

Notice that Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey was also in fulfillment to prophesy. Hosea 9:9 was written some 500 years before the Christ was born. The prophet declared,

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9–10, ESV)

Christ fulfilled this at his first coming, according to John. He was the long awaited King of Israel, the Messiah. He brought salvation. He came humbly. And notice also that he did indeed “cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem” along with the “battle bow”. Some read that and say, how did Christ fulfill that? Aren’t there wars all around us? The point is this: Old Covenant Israel prefigured the Kingdom of God and it advanced by way of horse and chariot, bow and sword. Read the Old Testament and see that it is true. But under the New Covenant, now that the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated, the true Israel, consisting of all who believe in Christ – Jew and Gentile – advances, not by the sword, but by the power of the Spirit and by truth. The day will come when peace will fill the earth, but not until Christ returns in power and in judgment.

Christ has, at his first coming, “cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow [has been] cut off” – John tells us that Jesus rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of this prophesy. And he has also spoken “peace to the nations”! “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19, ESV) And his “rule [is] from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth”! Tell me church, is Jesus Savior of the Jews only? No! He is the Savior of the world!

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the manner that he did – “humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” – he was doing more than claiming to have a humble disposition. No, more than that, he was claiming to be the fulfillment of all that Zachariah had prophesied over 500 years earlier.

Consider Jesus’ Motive

We have considered Jesus’ method and his manner. Let us now consider (for a brief moment) his motive.

Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem as he did? What were his hopes? What were his intentions? Did he hope that it would all go well for him? Did he think that he would win over his opponents and that all would come to love him in the end? No. Jesus, he went to die for those who would believe.

This has been made clear from the moment Jesus was introduced to us in John’s Gospel. He was introduced by the baptist. And how did John introduce him? “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, ESV) Jesus is our sacrificial lamb. He came to die.

And so as we imaging Jesus ridding into Jerusalem on, what we now call Palm Sunday, we should think of a focused, clear minded, and driven individual. Jesus, though he was willing to receive the praise of the people because the words were true, was not fooled by them into thinking that maybe an earthly kingdom – a political one – could possibly work out. No, his sights were set on the cross (this will become more clear later in chapter 12). His sights were set on the cross. He came to die. He came to establish a spiritual Kingdom. He came to defeat, not Rome, but sin and death and Satan.

And he did this being motivated by the glory of God, and for the good of you and I and all who ever have and ever will set their hope in the Messiah, from the beginning of the world, to this day, and on to end of time.

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 15:7–11

“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:7–11, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 12:1-8

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.’” (John 12:1–8, ESV)

Introduction 

The thing that I want you to notice in the text before us today is that a contrast is made between two figures. Two people take center stage in this story: one is good, the other bad; one is a child of the light, the other a child of darkness. One’s name is Mary, the other Judas. Mary is to be commended, her ways imitated. Judas is to be condemned, his ways forsaken.

This story plays an important role in John’s Gospel. I think it is interesting to note that all four Gospels – Matthew, Mark Luke, and John – contain a story about a woman anointing Jesus with costly perfume. The story found in Luke 7:36–38 is very much unlike the one found in Mathew, Mark, and John. Though there are some similarities, a close comparison of Luke’s story with the other three make it abundantly clear that Luke is telling of a different incident.

But when we compare Matthew 26:6–13 and Mark 14:3–9 with John 12:1-8 it becomes clear that these three have the same event in mind. They are all telling of the story of the anointing of Jesus by Mary, the sister of Lazarus, within a week of the crucifixion of Christ.

The similarities between Matthew, Mark, and John’s account of the story are clear enough. I’m more interested in how they are different. Notice five things;

One, Matthew and Mark place this event after Jesus’ triumphal entry, into Jerusalem, whereas John says it happened just before it. Remember though, that it was not uncommon for the Gospel writers (especially Matthew and Mark) to organize their material according to theme, and not chronologically. That is the case here. Notice that John explicitly says that this anointing of Jesus happened “six days before the passover”, and a day before the triumphal entry (that is, a day according the Jewish way of marking the beginning and end of days). Matthew and Mark do not introduce their story with a specific chronological marker. They simply say, “Now when Jesus was at Bethany…”, and  they continue from there. John presents the actual chronology; Matthew and Mark are organized thematically when it comes to the story of Mary’s anointing of Jesus.

Secondly, notice that Matthew and Mark provide us with more information concerning where this anointing happened. John tells us that it happened at Bethany. But Matthew and Mark are more specific, telling us that it happened in the home of “Simon the leper.” We do not know who this man was. Simon was a very common name in Jesus’ day. We do know that this man had leprosy at one point, for that was his nickname – Simon the leper. Whether he recovered naturally or was cured by Jesus, we don’t know. At any rate, he was the host. It seems that this was a celebration which involved a great many from the village of Bethany. They were without a doubt giving honor to Jesus. Certainly this celebration had a lot to do with what had happened just a few weeks earlier with the raising of Lazarus from the grave. Lazarus, we are told, was “reclining at table” with Jesus. Ponder that for moment! Think of the power of that testimony!

Thirdly, it is interesting that Matthew and Mark do not mention Mary by name. In their telling of the story Mary is simply referred to as “a woman”. She remains anonymous in Matthew and Mark.

Someone asked me last week why it is that Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not contain the story of the raising of Lazarus. You would thinking that all four Gospels would tell the story given the power of it, and the significant role it plays in John’s Gospel. Why would they pass on telling the story? Many have wondered about this, and we can only speculate. But it should be acknowledged that there are good reasons to not tell a story, even if it is a good one. One possible reason to refrain is to guard against distracting from another more important point being made. I would imaging that Lazarus was rather famous after all of this. I would imagine that people looked in upon him with much curiosity – will he age? Will he die again? What was it like, Lazarus? You can imagine how interested people must have been in him and his two sisters. Perhaps Matthew, Mark, and Luke, having been written much earlier than John – much more close to the event itself – decided to downplay the story of the raising of Lazarus so as to highlight in a more pronounced way the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which was of much greater significance in the end. It is possible that by the time John wrote things had settled down for Lazarus and his sisters. Or perhaps they had passed. Or maybe John felt compelled to record it in writing, knowing that the other Gospel writers had omitted it.

Here we see evidence of this way of thinking in Matthew and Mark. They are telling the same story as John concerning the anointing of Jesus, but they decide to let Mary remain anonymous, calling her “a woman” instead of by her name.

Fourthly, note that Matthew and Mark tell us that the woman anointed Jesus’ head, whereas as John tells us that she used her hair to anoint his feet. Some see this as a blatant contradiction. In fact it is not a contradiction, but a paradox (our Jr. high youth know the difference between a contradiction and a paradox, don’t you?). A paradox is something that at first appears to be contradiction, but proves not to be upon closer examination. It is true that Matthew and Mark tell us that the woman anointed Jesus’ head, but afterwards Jesus says that, “In pouring this ointment on my body, [the woman] has done it to prepare me for burial.” (Matthew 26:12, ESV) This pound of costly ointment was evidently used to anoint Jesus head to toe. Matthew and Mark emphasized the anointing of Jesus’ head, whereas John emphasized the fact that Mary used her hair to anoint his feet.

Now let’s stop for a moment, lest you begin to think that I am doing nothing more than preparing you for a game of Bible trivia. Why did Matthew and Mark emphasize the anointing of Jesus’ head, and John the anointing of his feet? That is the question. Think of this – to anoint the head is a symbol of power and honor, and that is what Matthew and Mark were desiring to communicate – Jesus is King! But John was desiring to emphasize something else. The image of Mary, the friend of Jesus, bowing at his feet and using her precious hair to catch the excess oil so that all it might serve her master, is an incredibly moving image of humble, extravagant, and authentic worship. That is the image that John wanted to highlight because it supported the theme that he was developing in his Gospel.

Turn over a page to John chapter 13. What does the heading say above that chapter? Mine says, “Jesus washes the disciples feet.” Do you see the trajectory of John’s Gospel? Do you understand the point that he is making? Be like Mary! Mimic her! Fall humbly before Jesus in worship! Serve him, and serve others. Forsake the love of the world and the pride of life.

This leads to the fifth and last observation concerning the difference between Matthew and Mark, when compared to John. Matthew and Mark do not single out Judas, whereas John does. In Matthew and Mark it is the disciples in general who are said to be indignant about the pouring out of such a costly perfume. John speaks more specifically though, revealing that it was Judas in particular who complained.

All of these observations are important, but especially the last three, for it is Mary and Judas who John introduces in order to contrast the one against the other. One is good, the other bad; one is a child of the light, the other a child of darkness. Mary is to be commended, her ways imitated. Judas is to be condemned, his ways forsaken.

Having considered Mary’s example, let us worship the Lord in humility, being fully aware of his significance, and without reservation. 

So let us consider Mary for moment. [SLIDE] And having considered her example let us be moved to worship the Lord in humility, being fully aware of his significance, and without reservation.

Humility

That Mary approached Jesus in a spirit of humility is hard to miss. She fell at his feet; she anointed his feet. She took the position of a humble servant. More than that, she used her own hair to anoint the feet of Jesus. She was completely invested in this act – completely involved.

Her humble act certainly sprung from a sense of gratitude. She was clearly grateful for what Jesus had done. Many were grateful. Many from the town of Bethany were involved in throwing this party for Jesus. Lazarus was grateful as he reclined at table with Jesus.

Notice that Mary’s sister Martha was there too. She expressed her humble gratitude in a way that was consistent with her character – she served Jesus. We know from Luke 10 that Martha was bent in that direction. She enjoyed serving. She was a doer. Mary, on the other hand, was more bent towards relationships. In Luke 10 Mary is the one who sat at the feet of Jesus while Martha worked. Here Mary anoints the feet of Jesus while Martha serves. Serving is good. Being a doer is good. But in both stories Mary is commended for choosing the better thing. In Luke 10 Jesus explicitly says that she choose the better thing; here it is implied by the fact that here act of humble adoration takes center stage in the story. The meaning is this: it is good to serve Jesus, but we ought not to neglect knowing him and worshipping him. Serve him, yes! But not to the neglect of worship.

Our gratitude for what Christ has done for us ought to lead us to humble adoration. It is true that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but he has done something even greater for us. He has given us eternal life.

“God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:4–6, ESV)

How could we not fall before our Savior with in spirit of humility considering all that he has done for us?

Also, I’m sure that Mary bowed before Jesus in humility because she was more aware than ever of her smallness before him. That Jesus was great – that Jesus was the Christ – she had long confessed. But her understanding of what that meant was undoubtably altered when she saw Jesus call her brother out of the grave. Her thoughts towards him increased. Certainly she had spent the few weeks that had passed between the raising the anointing pondering the greatness of her friend. She prepared for his arrival. She thought of what she should do. And when he came, her heart was humble before his greatness.

You say, but Pastor, I have pride in my heart. I could never fall before Christ in the way that Mary did. I could never bring myself to worship in such a public and self-effacing way. Brothers and sisters, humility is cultivated within the heart – pride is driven out – when we think of God, and the Christ whom he sent, as we ought to think of him. Humility grows with our hearts when our thoughts concerning God are high and true. And once we have begun to think of God as we ought, it is then that we are adequately prepared to begin to think of ourselves. For it is only in the light of his glory that we are able to accurately assess our own worth. Mary had seen the glory of God demonstrated before her very eyes in the raising of her brother. She was more aware of her smallness before Jesus then ever before. Her heart was prepared to worship in a spirit of utter humility.

Fully aware of the significance of Jesus

Notice also that Mary seems to be fully aware – or at least more aware than others – concerning the significance of Jesus, and the importance of the moment. Why did she anoint Jesus? She anointed him in preparation for his death. When Jesus rebuked Judas he said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” (John 12:7, ESV) This is a notoriously difficult phrase to translate, but it seems to mean, Judas, do not take this moment away from her. She has done this in preparation for my death. Let her keep it. Let her do what she has done. Do not hinder her.

Jesus commends Mary for her act. He verified that it was indeed good that Mary understood the significance of the moment. She knew that his death was near. She was attuned to the purposes of God.

The Gospel of John has been preparing us for this moment. We were told from the beginning that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Christ consistently alluded to the fact that he came to die – he was sent by the Father to suffer and die, to pay for the sins of his sheep. But up to this point, his hour had not yet come (2:4). There was still daylight, and so Jesus still walked in the open, fulfilling his public ministry (12:35). But notice that chapter 12 records the last of Jesus’ public ministry. From chapter 13 onward Jesus will speak mainly to his disciples. And look ahead to 12:23. It is after some of the greeks seek Jesus that he utters the words, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Mary understand this while others (some or all of the disciples) seem to be oblivious to it. She understood that Jesus came to die. She understood that suffering was in his future. She seemed to be very much aware of the significance of Jesus, and the mission that he came to accomplish.

Without reservation

Notice, lastly, that Mary worshipped without reservation.

The ointment that she used to anoint Jesus for burial was of great value. Verse 3 tells us that, “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus…” (John 12:3, ESV) Judas estimated that the value of the ointment was 300 denarii, which was the equivalent of a years wage for a common worker. That’s a great deal of money!

It may be that Mary and Martha were wealthy and could afford such a thing. It may be that this ointment was a family heirloom that Mary chose to use for this occasion. We simply do not know. But what is clear is that Mary worshipped Christ without reservation. She was fully invested. She spared no expense. She knew the significance of the man and the moment, and she poured herself out before the Lord.

The result was that Christ was adequately honored, he was prepared for burial ahead of time, and the whole house was filled with the fragrance – others were blessed by the extravagance of her worship.

Brothers and sisters, Mary is to be commended, her ways imitated. Let us worship the Lord in humility, being fully aware of his significance, and without reservation.

Having considered Judas’ failure, let us forsake our love for the things of this world, set our eyes upon Christ’s eternal kingdom, and confess Jesus as Lord.

Let us now take a moment to consider Judas.  And having considered Judas’ failure let us forsake our love for the things of this world, set our eyes upon Christ’s eternal kingdom, and confess Jesus as Lord.

John tells us that it was Judas who complained, saying, “‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:5–6, ESV)

Judas is contrasted with Mary. While Mary is consumed with the desire to worship, Judas is consumed with a desire for things of this world.

Judas was one of the twelve disciples, but John’s Gospel makes it clear that he was corrupt from the beginning. He was a disciple of Christ, but not from the heart. He belonged to Christ externally, but not inwardly. He appeared to be a follower of Christ, but he was a false disciple – a temporary believer.

The other disciples did not know this at the time, but Jesus did. In John 6:70 Jesus says, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” In the upper room Jesus will identify his betrayer. All of this is revealed to us so that we might understand that Jesus did not loose any whom the Father had given him. Judas never belonged to Christ. Judas never believed. He was a member of the band of disciples outwardly, but not inwardly. He was a devil.

John, as he wrote is Gospel decades after the death and resurrection of Christ, remembered the comment that Judas made concerning Mary. His comment probably sounded reasonable and altruistic at the time. “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” Some of the other disciples were probably thinking the same thing! And perhaps we too would have had the same thought if we were there! A years salary poured out in one moment! Couldn’t this have been put to better use? 

But consider these two things:

One, this circumstance was utterly unique. Mary was anointing the Christ for burial. That would happen only once in the history of the world. The utterly unique moment called for an extravagant act.

That being said, notice this principle: the churches care for the poor is to take place within the context of, and under the umbrella of, the extravagant worship of Jesus. I am not saying that we ought to spend a great deal of money in our worship of Jesus. I’m simply pointing out that Mary’s act of extravagant worship was declared to be good by Jesus. There is a tendency within the modern church to emphasize mercy ministry so much so, and in such a way,  that the proper worship of God takes back seat. Should the church be concerned for the poor? Absolutely! But we are to do so while giving priority to proper worship. Our mission is make disciples. We are proclaim the gospel, plant churches, appoint Elders and Deacons, and administer the sacraments, teaching all that Christ commanded. And we are to care for the poor as we worship God in the way that he has prescribed. Worship seems to be given the priority here in this passage. Jesus alludes to Deuteronomy  15, saying “the poor you will always have with you.” The implication is that we are to care for the poor, but that the extravagant worship of Jesus should not take a back seat to it.

I appreciate the way that D.A. Carson makes the point in his commentary, saying, “If self-righteous piety sometimes snuffs out genuine compassion, it must also be admitted, with shame, that social activism, even that which meets real needs, sometimes masks a spirit that knows nothing of worship and adoration.”

We should admit that Judas’ concern is understandable. We ought to be good stewards of what God has given us. That that was a part of the ethos of the apostles is clear from this passage. But the circumstances made this act appropriate.

Furthermore we should not that John, putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, and seeing with the clarity of hindsight, clarifies that Judas was not really concerned for the poor. He was more concerned with building up the bank account so that he might steal from it.

Notice that Mary was humble. She was aware of the significance of the Christ and the nature of his kingdom – she knew that the way forward involved suffering and death. She was therefore extravagant in her worship. Judas, on the other hand, was worldly. He was in love with the world, obsessed with the things of this earth, obsessed with money. This will prove true when he betrays the Lord for a measly 30 pieces of silver!

Do you see the role that Judas plays in the narrative? John is saying, don’t be that guy! 

Jesus feed thousands in the wilderness with physical bread and fish. They followed him until he instead that they turn their attention from the physical bread to feasting upon the spiritual bread, who is the Christ. Those who were in love with the things of this earth turned back.

The Jewish leaders claimed that it would be best for the people if one man die instead of the whole nation suffer. But in fact they were concerned about their place and their position. They loved this world and the things of this world so much so that they were blind to the things of God which were being demonstrated right before their eyes.

And Judas would betray Jesus because his heart was consumed with love for the things of this earth. When he realized that Jesus wasn’t interested in establishing an earthly kingdom, and making the disciple powerful and rich, he would abandon ship, seeking his fame and fortune in another place.

Christian, do you see how the love of money leads to destruction? Paul warned Timothy saying, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:10, ESV) The writer to the Hebrews warns, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5, ESV)

We wonder, how could Judas do such a horrific thing in betraying Jesus?  The answer is that he never loved him from the heart. He was in love with the things of this world from the beginning. His desire was to have power in this world. He did not see the significance of Christ’s eternal kingdom, therefore, never did he have Christ as Lord. May it never be said of us.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, do you see that the contrast that is to exist between the way of the Christian and the way of the worldly man? Look at Mary and look at Judas. See that Judas had his eyes fixed upon this world, and he could not bring himself to worship the Christ. But notice that Mary had her eyes fixed upon the glory of God. She, by contrast, could not help but worship humbly, in gratitude, and without reservation. Let us mimic her.

 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5

“The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2:1–5, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 11:45-57

“Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.’ He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?’ Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.’” (John 11:45–57, ESV)

Introduction 

As we considered the story of the rising of Lazarus last week I made the point that this is one of those places in scripture where we are given a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a trial, or difficult circumstance. Typically we are not able to see how God is working in the trials of life. We are often left to speculate concerning God’s purposes. But the story of the raising of Lazarus demonstrates that, though it is true that God is control of all things and is able to act, he does allow trials of various kinds to enter our lives for his glory and our good. But the story also demonstrates that Jesus truly loves those who belong to him, though he may allow a variety of trials for a time. We saw that Jesus wept. All of this was demonstrated before our eyes as we considered the story of the rising of Lazarus last week.

Notice that something else is demonstrated in the passage that is before us today. Instead of a demonstration of the love that Christ has for his sheep, we have here a demonstration of the depth of man’s depravity. John 11:45-57 is a demonstration of just how blind and wicked the heart of man is apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

While it is certainly more enjoyable to set our eyes upon the image of Christ weeping for his friends, it is necessary that we also ponder this less pleasant thing. There are lessons to be learned here. Though it is true that we have believed upon Christ and are not like these who persist in stubborn unbelief, there is something to be learned from the sin of those who persisted in their unbelief. The sin that these men committed is the same sin that tempts us. May we learn to run from it!

Remember that Jesus raised a man from the grave who had been dead for four days. Tell me, if you had never heard this story before, what would you expect the result of this miracle to be? Would you not expect all who were present – all who were eye witness to this miracle – to believe in Jesus? How could anyone remain in a state of unbelief after witnessing a miracle of this magnitude? How could anyone reject such a magnificent sign? We would expect everyone who was there, and many more who would hear their testimony to believe!

And yet what do we read? Verse 45: “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.” (John 11:45–46, ESV)

The Unbelief of the Jews Demonstrates the Blindness of Man’s Heart to the Things of God Apart from the Regenerating Work of the Holy Spirit

The first thing I want you to notice in this passage is how the unbelief of the Jews serves to demonstrate the blindness of man’s heart to the things of God apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

It is true that verse 45 starts by informing us that many of the Jews believed in Christ after witnessing the miracle of the raising of Lazarus. This is the result that we would expect – belief in Christ. The fact that many believed is not surprising to us. How could they not after seeing such a thing?

The surprising thing is that not all believed! We would expect that all who witnessed such a great miracle would walk away believing in Jesus. But the text only says “many”. And it also reveals something more surprising. Some of the eyewitnesses to this miracle actually took it upon themselves to go to the Pharisees to tell of all that Jesus had done.

Now please do not misunderstand their intentions. I suppose that you could read verse 46 thinking that these people went to the Pharisees because they were excited and proud of what Jesus had done. It is possible to think that these went to the Pharisees as disciples of Christ – his evangelists and missionaries. But no. The ones who went to the Pharisees are contrasted with those who believed. They went to Pharisees in unbelief. They went in order to accuse Jesus. They went to tattle on him. Isn’t that something!

This all becomes clear as the story unfolds. For when the chief priests and the Pharisees hear about what Jesus had done they do not rejoice; they do not respond by repenting, or by falling to their knees in faith. No, they call a counsel and ask the question, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (John 11:47–48, ESV)

Notice that these are the chief priests and the Pharisees who are talking this way. These are the men who are supposed to lead the people to God, and yet here they are found conspiring against God, and seeking to hinder the people from seeing what is true. They come together, not in humble submission to the Word of God, but in order to oppose him.

I cannot help but see here a vivid demonstration of the blindness of man’s heart to the things of God. Jesus called a man back to life from four days in the grave. Many people saw it with their physical eyes, but only some perceived the significance of it with their spiritual eyes. Others were blind to it.

Does this episode not demonstrate what has already been revealed in John’s Gospel concerning what is needed in order for someone to believe in Jesus? Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44, ESV) “Jesus answered [Nicodemous], ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3, ESV)

We know that the Spirit of God must work if someone is to believe – John’s Gospel has made that clear. We know that God must call, or woo, or draw a sinner to himself if he is to believe. We know that Christ must heal our blindness – just as he physically healed the man who was blind from birth, so too much he provide a remedy to our spiritual blindness. We know these things because the Gospel of John has told us so. But I cannot think of a more potent and vivid demonstration of these truths than the text that is before us. If anything were to get the attention of natural man wouldn’t it be this? And yet so many persisted in their unbelief.

I’m reminded of the story that Jesus told about a rich man and man named Lazarus (not the same Lazarus as in this passage). This story is found in Luke 16 and goes something like this: Lazarus – a poor man died and wend to Abraham’s bosom. A rich man also died and was in torment in Hades – there is much to be said about this story but he point I am making is this – he made this request of Abraham, saying “‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’” (Luke 16:27–28, ESV) And what was Abraham’s response in this story? Luke 16:29:

“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:29–31, ESV)

Such is the depth of our depravity! Such is our blindness apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit. Even if a man is raised, be it Lazarus of Bethany, or Jesus of Nazareth himself, the natural man will not believe.

I’m also reminded of what Paul had to say about man’s natural condition apart from the regenerating work of Christ. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:14, saying, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they [that is, the things of God] are spiritually discerned [judged, evaluated, understood.]” (1 Corinthians 2:14, ESV)

When Jesus rose Lazarus from the grave, the Spirit of God used that miracle to prepare some men and women for faith. The Spirit also used the miracle to confirm those who already believed in the faith – their faith was made stronger. But those with whom the Spirit was not at work, as surprising as it to us, remained in their unbelief, even though they saw this miracle with their own eyes. Their unbelief demonstrates the blindness of man’s heart to the things of God apart from the work of the Spirit.

The Unbelief of the Jews Demonstrates the Self-Centeredness of Man’s Heart Apart from the Regenerating Work of the Holy Spirit

The second thing that I want you to see in this text how the unbelief of the Jews demonstrates the self-centeredness of man’s heart apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

It has been said that sin at its essence is love turned inward. I think this can be easily demonstrated by looking at Genesis 3 and the account of the fall. Adam and Eve had all that they needed. They lived in paradise. They enjoyed perfection. The pinnacle of their paradise existence was their intimate and unbroken relationship with the God who made them. But when the serpent came he brought temptation with him. And what was the essence of the temptation except the suggestion that perhaps God was holding out on them? Perhaps there was more to be had than what God had provided. Perhaps life would be even better if they ate of the forbidden fruit. Perhaps they could elevate themselves even higher by casing off the restraints that God had laid upon them.

Adam and Eve fell because they began to love themselves more than they loved God. They should have loved God supremely, obeying his word forever. But they listened to the voice of the tempter instead, and they began to turn the love that was once so perfectly directed towards God, inward. Believing the lie, they began to love themselves. And being more concerned about themselves they began to act according to that world, satanic, counterfeit wisdom which.The end was destruction and death.

Notice that chief priests and Pharisees are possessed by the same spirit of self-love  and the same desire for self-exultation.

They received word that Jesus had raised a man from the dead. And instead of believing, as you would expect, they began to reason amongst themselves. They called a counsel. They began to converse with one another (if we have learned anything from our past it is that bad things happen when humans get together to reason with one another, disregarding the Word of God).

And what is their concern? Verse 47: “So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’” (John 11:47–48, ESV)

That he preformed many signs, they could not deny. And the fact that those signs were genuine and true, leading many to believe, they had to admit. But if they allowed him to continue unchecked, “everyone would believe in him”, they said. Instead of believing in Christ they were more concerned that the Romans might get word of all of this and come and take away their place and their nation.

The Romans did not like movements like the one that was brewing around Jesus. Movements like this were viewed as a threat to national security. And so the Jews were right. If things got out of hand they might suffer at the hands of the Romans. It was possible that the temple be destroyed, and the nation overthrown. The leaders claim to be concerned with the wellbeing of the nation, but what do you think they were really concerned with? They were concerned about loosing their prestigious position. They we concerned that following Jesus would mean that they themselves be humbled. It is true that the Romans posed a threat, but that what all hypothetical. The real threat to them was Jesus himself. To believe in Jesus would require that these men bow before him. To believe in Jesus would require that they humbly submit to him. Faith in Christ would have demanded that these men, in one way or another, be humbled from their place of high standing.

This is what they were concerned about. And this, folks, was simply to much to ask. These powerful men were far to concerned with maintaining their prestigious position than to bother paying attention to insignificant things such as a man being raised to life after four days in the grave.

Self-centeredness, self-protection, self-love has a way of blinding us to the most obvious of things. Love is like a flashlight, it only illuminates our path when it is pointed outwards – first towards he one true God, and then towards others. When love is turned inward it has the opposite effect. It blinds us to the truth instead of making it visible to us. Even obvious things become impossible to see.

And yet this is our natural condition. We are born into this world lovers of self. And so instead of saying, what is truth? I will do whatever it takes to live according to the truth. I’ll even even lay down my life! We say, how can get ahead? How can I be comfortable? How can I profit in the here and now? To heck with the truth so long as damage is not done to my little kingdom. This is the way of the natural, unregenerate man. The unbelief of the Jews in this story demonstrates the self-centeredness of man’s heart apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

The Unbelief of the Jews Demonstrates the Callousness of Man’s Heart Towards God Apart from the Regenerating Work of the Holy Spirit

The third thing that I would like you to see in this text is how the unbelief of the Jews demonstrates the callousness of man’s heart towards God apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

These men not only remained in their unbelief, they actually conspired to put Jesus to death. This is the depth of their depravity – this is how hard their hearts were.  They respond to Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead with a death sentence – a death sentence for Jesus and, as we will see in chapter 12, a death sentence for Lazarus! His testimony was to strong.

Most astonishingly, it was the high priest himself who initiated the plan. Verse 49: “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.’” (John 11:49–50, ESV)

Caiaphas was a skilled politician. He waited until the right time, he spoke boldly, he spoke persuasively, he spoke with clarity, giving the counsel direction. And what was his advice? It would be better to murder one innocent man than for the whole nation to suffer under Rome, should things get out of hand.      

Remember, this was the high priest of Israel! This was the one who was to mediate between God and the people! This was the one who was to walk in purity and uprightness, teaching the people the ways of God. Instead he behaves like a tyrant.

Interestingly, John points out how the high priest’s words turned out to be prophetic. Of course Caiphas meant one thing with these words, but there was irony in them. His words would be fulfilled by Jesus in a way that Caiphas would never have expected. Jesus would indeed die for the nation! He would died for the sins of all his sheep from among the Jewish nation. And “not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” Christ would die, not only for the sins of Jews, but also for the sins of gentiles. His sheep from both would be united into one body, one church, one family of God.

The point to be noticed is this: God was in control. He was in control even of Caiphas’ words, directing him in his moment of wickedness to speak prophetically concerning the will of God. Jesus would not be killed unwillingly. He came to lay down his life for the sheep. And not only for the sheep of the fold of Israel, but for the sheep of the fold of the gentiles as well.

Isn’t it astonishing, though, the way that God accomplishes his purposes even by and through men with unregenerate hearts?  The purposes of God simply march on. He is not hindered in the least. His will is accomplished, not only by and through the righteous, but by and through the blind, self-centered, and calloused of this world. This is the God that we serve. He is Lord of all. Take comfort in that fact, Christian, as you live in this world.

Conclusion

So how does all of this apply?

Some might be thinking, what does all of this have to do with us? We are believing in Christ? We have confessed him as Lord! We are not like these unbelieving ones!

But that would assume that all who are here today are in fact believing in Christ. It may be that are some who have not believed in Christ. If that is you, I would say consider the works of Christ. Consider all that he did in his life as a demonstration of his power from on high. Consider this work – the raising of Lazarus – and the way that it serves as a precursor to the even greater work of his own death and resurrection. In these works Christ is demonstrating that he indeed has power over the grave. He has the power to give life eternal.

See the works, die to self, and give glory to God. Stop trying to hold on to your life as the unbelieving Jews did. For in holding on to it, you will loose it, whereas in letting it go, you will find it. Repent and believe upon Jesus who is the Christ, the Savior of the world. That is the application for the unbeliever.

But the passage is also applicable to the Christian. It is true that you are numbered among the many Jews who went away believing in Christ. But the sin of the unbelieving Jews serves to warn us of the propensity of the remaining corruptions within us.

Are we not still tempted, even in Christ, to turn a blind eye to the truths of God? Are we not tempted to neglect and doubt his word? Are we not tempted to go at it alone, relying upon our own human wisdom to deal with the demands of life? I know that you are tempted in this way. I have been tempted in this way.

But may it never be! May we forever live with eyes fixed upon the Word of God. May we forever give attention to the truth that God has revealed to us. May we look squarely upon it, receive it by faith, and live according to it all the days of our life. The Spirit of God has blessed us with the ability to see with spiritual clarity. He has cured our blindness so that we might see his face. How tragic and wasteful it is to squander the gift of spiritual sight by fixing our eyes upon the garbage of this world when we could gaze perpetually upon our Savior, the eternal Word of God. He has opened our eyes! Let us fix them upon him, the author and finisher of our faith.

And are we not also tempted to turn away from Christ, our bridegroom, the lover of our souls.?We are tempted to turn back to old lovers. The most seductive of them all is named self.  The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life – these are the things that keep many from ever turning to Christ.  But they even call out to those who are in Christ, tempting the bride of Christ to turn back.

May it never be of us. May we never forget that the love of the world and the love of self leads only to death and destruction. May we never forget how good it is to know Christ and to walk in his ways. It is a satisfaction that never grows stale, but increases with the passing of time, and will increase on into eternity, as we walk with him. Die to self and live to Christ.

Brothers and sisters, if you have turned your eyes from Christ, and have directed your love towards other things, why are you surprised that your heart has grown calloused towards God and toward your neighbor? It is a love for God and his word which make makes our heart soft towards his.

Let me close with this warning from Hebrews 3:12-14:

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. [Run to him today] …that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:12–14, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 11:1-44

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’

After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.

Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’  When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’

So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”

Introduction 

Chapter 11 is a very significant chapter in John’s gospel. Notice that in chapter 12 we will enter into what is known as the passion week of Jesus’ life. Chapters 12 through 19 will tell us about things that happened in the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Think about that for a moment. Chapters 1 through 11 tell us about Jesus’ earthly ministry, which lasted about 3 years. And yet 8 chapters (12 through 19) are devoted to the one week leading up to Jesus’ death. The significance is this: the death of Jesus was very important to John. Jesus came to die. His mission from the Father was to lay down his life for the sheep that he might take it up again. Chapter 11 is significant in that it serves as the conclusion to the first half of John’s gospel, which focused upon the earthly ministry of Jesus in general. We will, once we move on from here, give attention to last week of Jesus’ life.

But this chapter is also significant in that it contains the last miracle of Jesus recorded in John’s Gospel (besides Jesus’ own resurrection). The miracles of Jesus play a very important role in John’s Gospel. The pattern is this: there will be some claim made concerning Jesus – some teaching concerning his person or his work – and then John will tell us about a miracle that Jesus preformed, which serves to illustrate, or demonstrate, that what has been said of Jesus is in fact true. The miracles of Jesus are called signs, in John’s Gospel. They are called signs because they point to the fact that what was said by Jesus, or about him, was in fact true. Jesus, for example, claimed to be the light of the world in chapter 8 – in chapter 9 we read about him healing a man who was blind from birth. The man lived his whole life in darkness but Jesus, who is the light of the world, gave him light. This is how miracles function in John’s Gospel – they signify things that are true of Jesus – they demonstrate truths about Jesus.  This miracle is no different.

I think you would probably agree that this miracle is really spectacular. It is the last of Jesus’ miracles as recorded by John, but is also the biggest, if you will. I suppose it could be said that a miracle is a miracle – it doesn’t matter if it involves turning water to wine, healing a man lame or blind from birth, or raising up a dead man – a miracle is a miracle. And there is a certain degree of truth to that. But I think you would agree that this is big. Consider that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were well known. Also, this miracle was preformed in a very public way so that it would have been very hard to deny.  Also consider that the man Lazarus was in the grave for four days. He was obviously dead, and everyone new it. And lastly, consider what it was that Jesus overcame. He overcame the power of death – our most formidable foe. This was the climax of Jesus’ miracles as presented to us in John’s Gospel.

But what was the significance of it? What did Jesus demonstrate when he called Lazarus out of that grave?

Let us consider three things:

In the Raising of Lazarus, Jesus Demonstrates that He is the Son of God

First of all, in the raising of Lazarus Jesus demonstrated that he was in fact the Son of God, as he had claimed.

We should not to quickly forget the preceding passage. The Jew’s had picked up stones to stone Jesus because he claimed to be equal with God. To them this was blasphemous! And it would have been blasphemy if indeed Jesus were only a man making himself out to be God. But Jesus continued to insist that he was in fact the eternal Son of God, come in human flesh.

After reasoning from Psalm 82 with the unbelieving Jews, he said in 10:37, “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:37–38, ESV)

Jesus understood that the things he was claiming concerning himself were incredible and hard to believe from a human perspective. And so he exhorted the Jews to look at the works that he had preformed. Look at the works, he said. So you don’t believe my words, that I am from the Father? At least look at the works! Look at the miracles that I have preformed! These are clearly from the Father! And once you see that the works that I preform are from the Father, then you must see that I am from the Father, and believe in my name.  That was his reasoning.

It is after these words that John tells of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. If we still had doubts concerning Jesus’ divine origins – if we were still struggling to accept his claims – then surly this would get our attention (or so you would think). The raising of Lazarus from the grave demonstrated that Jesus was in fact the eternal Son of God, come in human flesh, as he claimed.

In the Raising of Lazarus, Jesus Demonstrates that He is the Resurrection and the Life

Secondly, notice how in the act of raising Lazarus from the grave Jesus demonstrates that he is the resurrection and the life. This, I think, is at the heart of this passage. We are shown that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

You probably noticed how Martha and Mary take center stage in this story. They are the ones who send for Jesus when their bother falls ill. They are the ones whom the Jews from Jerusalem come to console (indicating that they were prominent and well respected women). And they are the ones who come out to meet with Jesus once he arrives in Bethany – first Martha, and then Mary. Both sisters are understandably filled with sorrow.

Look at how Jesus consoles them. Verse 23:  “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’” As a pastor this is exactly how I would comfort a Christian who is grieving the loss of a loved one in the Lord. I would say, You will see him again, or, you will see her again in the resurrection. They have not died – they have merely passed from this life to the next. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And your loved one will rise again. This is probably how the Jews who came from Jerusalem were consoling Mary and Martha. Most of the Jews believed in the resurrection at the end of the age, and so they were likely encouraging the sisters, saying, “your brother will rise again.”

Martha’s response:  “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:24, ESV)

She knew these things. She was probably taught this from childhood. Jesus probably taught her these things too. But look at how Jesus responds to her. He says in verse 25, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

This is quite a claim. It is yet another “I am” saying of Jesus –  “I am the bread of life”; “I am the light of the world”; “I am the door”; “I am the good shepherd”. Here it is, “I am the resurrection and the life”. The resurrection and the life that the Jews were looking forward to – the resurrection and the life that the Jews were comforting the sisters with – the resurrection and the life that Martha was hoping in is found in Jesus! He is the resurrection and the life.

He goes on to say in verse 25, “…Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

Notice three simple things:

One, it is those who believe in Jesus who benefit from the resurrection power and life that is in him. Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Belief, or faith, is the instrument, or conduit, which brings the benefit of Jesus’ resurrection power to us. We must believe in him – trust in him – follow him, if we are to live in the way that he has described.

Two, notice that those who believe in Jesus who die according to the flesh, in fact go on living. You say, how can that be? The answer is simple: though followers of Christ still face physical death, they have passed from death to life according to the spirit.  The body will die, but the soul of the Christian goes on living.  Paul puts it this way, saying, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8, ESV)

Three, notice that those who are living according to the flesh will never die according to the spirit. Jesus put the same truth another way in John 5, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24, ESV) The one who believes in Jesus has passed from death to life. He or she existed in a state of death – spiritual death, that is – but in the moment they believed they were made alive in the spirit. They moved from a state of death to life.

This is the power that Jesus has within him.

The question posed to Martha – and to you and I by way of extension – is, “do you believe this?” Her response is the model response. Verse 27:  “She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” Why did John write this Gospel? He tells us in John 20:30-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” And what did Martha confess? “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:27, ESV) She is a model for us. We ought to confess what she confessed.

How could it be that Jesus has this resurrection power? How could he have the ability to give life? He could give it because he was and is the Christ, the Son of God. He has the power to give life because of who he is.

The raising of Lazarus from the grave was a demonstration of the fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He claimed to have power over death. He claimed to have within him the ability to give eternal life. He claimed to be the one who would bring about the bodily resurrection at the end of the age. But those are just claims. Anyone can say these things. The miracle that Jesus preformed in raising Lazarus from the grave was a demonstration of the life giving resurrection power that he has within himself. He is the resurrection and the life, and he proved it in accomplishing this work.

In the Raising of Lazarus Jesus Demonstrates the Great Love that He has for His Friends

Thirdly, see that in the the raising of Lazarus Jesus demonstrates the great love that he has for his friends.

Notice that there is a tension that permeates this story from beginning to end – I’m sure you noticed it as it was read. The tension is created by these two realities:

On the one hand we are told time and again how much Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Did you notice the repetition? Verse 3: “So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’” Verse 5: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” And so we are told from the outset that Jesus loved these three.

But on the other hand we observe Jesus behaving in such a strange way. After Jesus received word of Lazarus’ illness, and after we are reminded of how much Jesus loves these three, we read in verse 6, “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” This is an odd way for any person to behave who’s loved one is ill. It is especially strange for Jesus to respond in this way, given that he had the power to do something about Lazarus’ sickness.

The sisters noticed this. The first thing that Martha said to Jesus was, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21, ESV) Mary complains in the same way saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32, ESV) The Jew’s who were there consoling Mary and Martha also took notice, saying, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:37, ESV)

The tension in the story is so thick that you can cut it with a knife. Jesus claims to love these three, and yet he deliberately left them alone in their moment of need. He withheld his presence. He did not come in answer to their heartfelt plea. There is a tension that exists between the claim that Jesus loves these three and what we know that Jesus allowed them to suffer.

That same tension exists in the life of God’s people still today, doesn’t it? We are told that Jesus loves us. We are his sheep; he is the good shepherd. We are told that the Father cares for us. We are his beloved children in Christ Jesus. And we know that God is able to do anything he pleases! Nothing is impossible for him! And so we pray to him. We cry out to him. We say, Lord, come and do this or that. Lord, would you heal? Lord, would you take away this suffering? Lord, would you heal this sorrow? Lord, would you save? And often there is no answer. It seems as if God is distant. It seems as if God is withdrawn. That he could act, we all know to be true! But what are we to think when he determines to withhold?

These scenarios create tension in our lives. We might start to wonder if God is able. We say to ourselves, perhaps he has not answered my prayer because he is unable to act? Or we reason, perhaps he is able, but he does not care. And so we are left with this tension in our lives.

This passage is immensely helpful in that it provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of one of these scenarios. When you and I experience trouble in life and wrestle with the reality of unanswered prayer, rarely, if ever, are we able to see the answer to the question, why? Why, Lord? Why have you allowed this in my life? Rarely are the answers revealed to us fully in this life. Sometimes we are given a glimpse of the answer to the question why? after the trial has passed. But often times we are left to wonder. But Christian, don’t you see that God’s word reveals why. God’s word lays bare the answer to the question, why? 

This is one of those places in scripture where we are given a glimpse into the inner workings of a trail. The book of Job also comes to mind. Job, a righteous man, suffered much. He pleaded with the Lord to take away the suffering, but there was no answer – not for a long time. The story of Joseph also comes to mind. Again, a righteous man who suffered long and hard, who’s prayers seemed to go unheard for a time. So too, Mary and Martha and Lazarus – friends of Jesus – people loved by Jesus – and yet Jesus stood back and allowed them to experience suffering and sorrow for a time.

Why does God do this? Certainly we will not understand it fully until we see him face to face in eternity, but the scriptures do point us in the right direction. All of these stories reveal that the sufferings we experience in this life are for the glory of God and our ultimate good.

Notice that Jesus is primarily driven by the impulse to obey the Father and to glorify his name.

Look at 11:4: “But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” (John 11:4, ESV) Also, listen to how Jesus spoke to Martha before raising Lazarus up:  “Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40, ESV)

The suffering that Mary, Martha and Lazarus endured was used to glorify God in such a tremendous way as they continued to trust in Jesus. Did they have questions for Jesus? Yes. Did they experience authentic sorrow in their hearts? Yes. But notice that they went on believing in Jesus, and in the process of time Jesus used it all for his glory by raising Lazarus from the dead.

The non-believer hears all of this and says, if this is what it means to follow Jesus, then I’m out! But the one called by God considers all of this and says, I’m in! For what can be better than to be used by God to bring glory to his name?

The Christian understands that all things happen in order to ultimately bring glory to God, but they also understand this: “…that for those who love God all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28, ESV) When we read that all things work together for good we are to think, not only of those things that we would consider good but even those things which seem to us to be pure evil.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, ESV)

“In this [your salvation] you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6–7, ESV)

After Jesus announced to his disciples that Lazarus had died he said, “…and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.” (John 11:15, ESV)

I’m not saying that this information makes enduring suffering easy. But I am saying that this information is vital if you are to bear up under the pressures of life, maintaining a deep love for God and others. You must understand that God is real and powerful and sovereign, and that he sometimes allows suffering to come into our lives and to remain, but it is not without purpose. It is for a reason. It is for his glory and our ultimate good. And the last thing that you must be assured of is that, if you are in Christ Jesus – if he has called you friend – he does indeed love you. He loves you deeply, authentically, and from the heart. This is true even if the circumstances of your life seem to point in the other direction.

If anything is clear in this passage it is that Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, through he clearly allowed them to suffer for a time. Verse 32:

“Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” (John 11:32–36, ESV)

Is it true that Jesus delayed in order to accomplish the will of God? Indeed it is true! But that does not mean that Jesus’ heart was cold and indifferent towards his friends! This emotion that we read of was genuine emotion. Jesus was “deeply moved”. He was “greatly troubled”. He was filled with a righteous anger concerning the suffering and death experienced by his friends. The scriptures tell us that “Jesus wept”. It has been pointed out by some that this is the shortest verse in the Bible. But how important it is! When we begin to consider the unavoidable truth that God almighty sometimes allows his people, the people whom he loves, to suffer tribulation for a time, it is easy to think that perhaps his heart is cold towards us. No. Look at Jesus. Jesus weeps with us. He is troubled by the troubles we encounter. He sympathizes with his people. Hebrews 4:15:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15–16, ESV)

Conclusion

When you are in the midst of a trial, big or small, remember that God is in sovereign – powerful – in control. Remember also that he sometimes allows trials and tribulations, but those are for a purpose. They are for his glory and our good. And if you are in Christ never forget that Jesus loves you. Hold the image of him troubled and moved and weeping close to you heart knowing that he, as the only mediator between God and man, has suffered with us and for his. He sympathizes with us in our weaknesses.

Cling to Jesus. He is the Son of God. He is the resurrection and life. He is our only hope for life now, and life eternal.

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 82

“God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: ‘How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’ They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.’ Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!” (Psalm 82:1–8, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 10:30-42

Jesus said to them… “‘I and the Father are one. ‘The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’ Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, ‘John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.’ And many believed in him there.” (John 10:30–42, ESV)

Introduction

Jesus is important to us.  We worship him. We pray in his name. We trust in him,  and we proclaim him. We even take his name when we call ourselves Christians, which means “little Christ’s”. It is not to much to say that Jesus Christ is the central figure of our faith. It’s true that we live to give glory to God the Father, but we do it through the Son, and by the Spirit. Without Jesus we would be hopelessly lost. Jesus is everything to us. He is our greatest love, and our only hope for eternal life.

We talk about Jesus often, but do we know who he is? Do we understand him? Do we grasp the significance of his person to the point that we would be able to explain to others why it is that he is so important to us – so central to our faith?

You’ve noticed that John’s Gospel is very much concerned to answer the question, who is Jesus? And there is good reason for this. For the way that you answer this question reveals whether or not you are in fact a follower of Christ. The one who receives Jesus’ revelation covering himself is a follower of Christ; the one who rejects Jesus’ revelation covering himself is not a follower of Christ.

And so John’s Gospel is largely devoted to the task of answering the question, who is Jesus? 

Notice that this question can actually be referring to two things. First of all, we could ask who is he? in respect to the significance of his person. What did he come to do? What did he accomplish? What role did he play in human history? What was his task? But we can ask the question in another way. The question, who is he? can also be seeking answers to questions pertaining to his nature, or “what-ness”. What is he? What was and is his nature like? Who is he in his essence?

We can actually speak this way concerning any person. The answer to the question, who is she? could be, she is a mother, or teacher, or wife. Or the answer could begin with the reply, she is a human. When we say, she is human, we are speaking of her essential nature. When we say, she is a mother, we are referring to her role, or position, in life.

I say this because it is helpful to keep this distinction in mind as we seek to properly understand John’s Gospel. Sometimes the text is concerned to reveal to us what Jesus was and is; and at other times the text is concerned to reveal to us who he was and is – the position he held, or the role he played within God’s eternal plan. 

I’d like to ease into our text for today by considering what the Gospel of John as a whole has to say in response to the question, who is Jesus?

Jesus of Nazareth Was and Is Divine

First of all, we must confess that Jesus of Nazareth was and is divine. This, of course, has to do with his essential nature, or substance. You and I are human – that is all that can be said. But with Jesus of Nazareth the scriptures compel us to say that he was and is divine. He is God. He is made up of the stuff of deity, to speak in a rather rough and fleshy way.

Remember that his was name was Immanuel, which means, God with us, according to Matthew 1:23.

Listen to the way that Paul speaks concerning Jesus, saying, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily…” (Colossians 2:9, ESV)

Notice that John’s Gospel begins and ends with powerful statements concerning the deity of Christ.

The opening words say this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It is in 1:14 that we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” So the Word existed in the begging. The Word, we are told, was with God. More than that, the Word was God. The meaning is this – the word was and is divine; what God was, the Word was. And it was the Word – the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity – that took on human flesh and came to us in the person of Jesus Christ. This is how John’s Gospel begins.

Also, consider how it ends. At the conclusion of the Gospel we encounter this confession from the lips of doubting Thomas: “Thomas answered [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28, ESV)

And so from beginning to end, John’s Gospel reveals that Jesus of Nazareth was divine. When we answer the question who is Jesus one of things that we must say is, he was God come in the flesh.

This is precisely what our confession of faith articulates so beautifully in 8.2:

“The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, of one substance and equal with him who made the world, who upholdeth and governeth all things he hath made did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon him man’s nature…”

To deny the full deity of Christ is to reject Jesus’ revelation concerning himself.

Jesus of Nazareth Was and Is Human

Secondly, when we speak of Jesus of Nazareth, we must confess that he was and is human. This too has to do with his essential nature. That he is divine is clear. But we must not forget that he was and is also fully man.

Paul puts it this way in Galatians 4:4: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4–5, ESV)

And again, in 1 Timothy 2:5 Paul says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV)

Here is how John puts it in 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, ESV)

Listen to the language of our confession on this point. Picking up where we left off in 8.2:

“The Son of God…did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin; being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her: and the power of the Most High overshadowing her; and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David according to the Scriptures; so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion; which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. (John 1:14; Galatians 4;4; Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:14, 16, 17; Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 1:22, 23; Luke 1:27, 31, 35; Romans 9:5; 1 Timothy 2:5)

The language is technical, I know. It’s technical because it is seeking to be precise. Jesus, in his essential nature, was and is fully divine, and he was and is fully human. These two natures are inseparably joined in one person – Jesus of Nazareth. But notice that the confession says that these two natures were joined in one person without conversion, composition, or confusion. This is important. This is a wonderful summery of the teaching of scripture. These words – without conversion, composition, or confusion – guard against the error of thinking that Jesus was somehow a mixture of God and man. It is tempting, when we consider the Biblical teaching that Jesus possessed both a divine and human nature, to imagine that the two natures were somehow thrown together in Jesus and stirred up, making him into some new thing. If this were the case – if the divine nature and the human nature were mixed up within Jesus, then we would have to consider him to be neither God nor man, but a third thing. He would be less than God and more than man. He would be something like the superheroes we read about in comic books and watch on the big screen. No, these two natures – the divine and human – were united in the person of Jesus without conversion (change), composition (mixture), or confusion (unsureness). The end result is that we must confess that Jesus is both fully God and fully man, in one person forever.  Though difficult to comprehend, this is the clear teaching of scripture.

To deny the full humanity of Jesus is to reject the scripture’s revelation concerning him.

Jesus of Nazareth Was and Is The Only Mediator Between God And Man 

Thirdly, when we think of Jesus of Nazareth, we are to think of the only mediator between God and man.

Noticed that I have now transitioned from talking about Jesus’ essence (his “what-ness”, if you will), to speaking of who he is in regard to his position, or role, or function. When it comes to his essence we must confess that he is the eternal Son of God come in human flesh – God incarnate. But when it comes to his role or function as it pertains to the plan of God for salvation we must say that he is the only mediator between God and man.

When I say that he is the only mediator I mean that he is the middleman; he is the go-between; he is the one through whom we must go to get to God, and to have eternal life.

Paul puts it this way in 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5–6, ESV)

The same truth is communicated in John’s Gospel: “So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.’” (John 10:7, ESV) Again “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

Jesus Christ, as the God-man, is the only mediator between God and man. He is the only way to the Father. He alone can reconcile us to God. It is through faith in him alone that we can enter into life eternal.

Notice a few things about Jesus as our mediator:

One, it is because of who Jesus is in his essence that he is able to fulfill the role or function of mediator between God and man. Another way to say it is that the accomplishment of the salvation of sinful men required the incarnation. On the one hand, only God himself could live a sinless life, bear the sins of the human beings, and have the power to rise from the dead, conquering sin and Satan and death forever. Only God – that is, something other than a human – could accomplish these things. No mere man could do it! But on the other hand, the Savior had to be a man. He had to be the second Adam. He had keep the law for us and in our place. He rose from the dead, not only as God, but as a man, making a way for you and I to have eternal life. Immanuel, God with us, had the right stuff to get this utterly unique job done. His unique essence made it possible for him to fulfill his unique role.

Think of it this way: One of  the most fundamental prerequisites for fulling the role of Pastor is that a person be human.  It takes a human to fulfill the role of Pastor. A dog cannot be a Pastor. It does not have the right stuff to get the job done. A dog cannot reason or speak or empathize. A human can. A Pastor must first be human. In the same way it was necessary that Jesus be both God and man in order for him to fulfill the role of savior, redeemer, mediator between God and man.

Two, notice this about Jesus as our mediator: though Jesus of Nazareth (the God-man) did not exist prior to his birth to the virgin Mary some 2,000 years ago, the decision to save a particular people in this way – through the mediation of the Christ – was made by the Triune God in eternity past, that is, before creation. Theologians call this decision made by the Triune God in eternity past the Intra-Trinitarian Covenant of Redemption. The word Intra-Trinitarian is used to communicate the idea that this decision was made within (intra) the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is called a covenant in order to communicate the truth that an agreement was made between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father determined to send the Son, the Son agreed to go in obedience to the Father, and the Son would send the Spirit to empower the work that he had accomplished. The word redemption is used to rightly communicate that this covenant had as it’s mission the redemption or salvation of a particular people. The point here is that the decision to save, or redeem, sinners in this way was made by the Triune God before the world was created. John’s Gospel is abundantly clear on this point. I will not read it again, but this truth is obviously present in John 17 in Jesus’ high priestly prayer.

Three, notice that when Jesus of Nazareth was born of a virgin some 2,000 years ago, and having lived and died and rose again, it was the culmination, the execution, the final accomplishment of that plan made by God in eternity past. The covenant of redemption was made within the Triune God before creation. After the fall this plan of salvation was announced in human history to Adam and Eve by way of promise (Genesis 3:15). The promise of God to redeem was reiterated and clarified and developed throughout Old Testament times. The promise was given to and through Abraham, Moses, and David. The prophets spoke often of this promise. This promise to save had the cross of Christ in view from the beginning. The plan was made in eternity past by the Triune God. The plan was executed in human history by the giving of a promise, the making of covenants, and ultimately through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, the only mediator between God and man.

Listen again to our confession on this point. LBC 8:1:

“It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be the mediator between God and man; the prophet, priest, and king; head and saviour of the church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world; unto whom he did from all eternity give a people to be his seed [his sheep, the elect] and to be by him in time [in human history] redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.” (Isaiah 42:1; 1 Peter 1:19, 20; Acts 3:22; Hebrews 5:5, 6; Psalms 2:6; Luke 1:33; Ephesians 1:22, 23; Hebrews 1:2; Acts 17:31; Isaiah 53:10; John 17:6; Romans 8:30)

So tell me Church (and be careful how you answer this): has Jesus of Nazareth always existed? In other words, was Jesus of Nazareth with God in the beginning, before the universe was created? The answer is no! Jesus the Christ was born of a virgin some 2,000 years ago.

Now answer me this: Has the Word of God – the Son of God – the second person of the Trinity always existed? In other words, was the Word with God in the beginning before the universe was created? The answer is certainly yes! John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,14, ESV)

The eternal Son of God became man for the purpose of redeeming us – saving us – from sin and death as the only possible mediator between God and man. When we think of Jesus of Nazareth we must think of him as the only possible mediator between God and man. He is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

Jesus of Nazareth Was and Is One With The Father

And this brings us to our last point, and to the sermon text for today (don’t worry, this will be brief).  When we think of Jesus of Nazareth we must think of one who was and is one with the Father.

In verse 30 Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30, ESV) I mentioned last week that Christians often use this verse as proof that Jesus was divine – of one essence with the Father. I think this it is a mistake to interpret this particular verse in that way. That Jesus is divine is abundantly clear in other passage of scripture. But here the point seems to be that Jesus and the Father are united in purpose – that they have the same mind. The rest of the passage doesn’t make much sense if we see it the other way.

Notice in verse 31 that the Jews “picked up stones again to stone him.” The word “again” is significant because it reminds us that this wasn’t the first time they tried to kill him. They wanted to stone him to death in 8:59. We’re told that they sought to kill him in 5:18. In each instance they wanted to kill him because he claimed to be God.

Listen to their accusation here in 10:33: “The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’” (John 10:33, ESV)

Notice three things: One, they rightly understood that Jesus was claiming to be God. They heard him say, for example, in 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” They knew what he was claiming, and so they picked up stones to stone him. They rightly understood that he was claiming to be God – that he was claiming to be divine. Two, they only considered him to be a man. Verse 33: “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” They understood his claims, but they rejected them, thinking of Jesus as only a man. Three, notice that they, therefore, thought that Jesus was making himself God. In other words, this was something that Jesus fabricated. It was something that he made up. He was only a man, but he was making himself divine.

It is at this point that Jesus quoted from Psalm 82 in order to defend himself.

Look at verse 34:

“Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34–36, ESV)

This passage can be very confusing to Christians. It becomes almost impossible to understand if we approach it with the idea that what Jesus meant in 10:30 when he said, “I and the Father are one”, was that he and the Father were one in essence. But when we rightly understand that Jesus was speaking here of he and the Father being one in purpose – on the same page, if you will – then this quotation of Psalm 82 makes perfect sense.

I read Psalm 82 at the beginning of the sermon. The Psalm is all about God holding judgment over unjust judges or kings. These human judges or kings are reprimanded by God: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?” (Psalm 82:2, ESV) They are exhorted by God: “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” (Psalm 82:3, ESV) And they are warned by God:  “…like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” (Psalm 82:7, ESV) Psalm 82 is a vision of God rebuking unjust human rulers and kings.

The interesting thing is that these human rulers are called “gods”. God himself calls them “gods”. 82:6: God says to them, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you…” (Psalm 82:6, ESV) Why does God call them “gods”? Is he saying that these kings or judges were divine? Certainly not! He immediately warns that they will die like men! But they were call gods, or Sons of the Most High, for these reasons. One, they were given, or entrusted with, the word of God. And two, they were given, as kings and judges, the authority to judge as God judges. They were entrusted with the word of God and were appointed as kings and judges to represent God’s justice on earth. They were rebuked and threatened by God because they were arrogant – they disregarded God and his holy word – they forsook justice – they abused the weak and neglected the needy.

Here is the reasoning that Jesus uses: If it was right for God himself to call men “gods” in Psalm 82 due to the fact that they had received the word of God and were given a position of authority on earth that they might serve as God’s just representatives (think Romans 13), how much more appropriate is it for Jesus, who is the Word, who is God come in the flesh, who is the one true mediator between God and man, consecrated by God and sent into the world, to claim to be the Son of God.

The argument seems complex to us, but is sound. Jesus is reasoning with the unbelieving Jews, urging them to not jump to conclusions the moment they they here Jesus say, “I am the Son of God”, or “Before Abraham was I Am”, or “I and the Father are One”. He’s urging them to slow down and to consider these things carefully. If the scriptures (the scriptures which they loved) could use this language of mere men – sinful, fallen and unjust men – how much more appropriate is it for Jesus to call himself the Son of God given his true identity.

He again points to the works that he has been preforming as evidence concerning his claims. Verse 37: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:37–38, ESV)

Conclusion

These are difficult teachings, I know. I’m not quite sure what else to do with a passage like this except teach through it. And I think it is of great importance that these things are taught. We say we love Jesus above all else, but do we know him? Do we know who he was and is?

He is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh. He is the mediator between God and man. He was more than man, but not less. He did not make himself God, but was in fact divine. He was not claiming to be a God separate from, and in competition with the Father – he and the Father are one. They are of one purpose, one mission, one mind. The Father sent the Son, the Son came in perfect obedience to the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin and to help those who are in Christ.

The end result of understanding these things is that we ought love Jesus all the more! We should be all the more eager to worship him, to pray to him, and to proclaim him, because truly “…there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, ESV)

 

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:22-31

“I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 34:22–31, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 10:22-30

“At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’” (John 10:22–30, ESV)

Introduction

That Jesus was and is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh is something that all Christians believe. And that he came to deal with the problem of sin and death is also something that all Christians agree upon – he lived his life in full and perfect obedience to the law of God, and yet he died the death of a sinner in order to pay the price for sins – he atoned for sin – he appeased the wrath of God – he defeated sin and death for us. All true Christians believe these things.

But there exists is a significant disagreement over the question, who did Jesus come to save, exactly? Who did he come to rescue? Who’s sins did he come to die for?

Some see it this way: Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to make salvation possible for all. He lived and died and rose again for all people. When he paid the price for sins, he paid for all sins – every sin that has ever been committed in the history of the world. When he bore the wrath of God, he stood in everyones place. But it is only those who choose to believe who benefit from the redemption accomplished by Christ for all people everywhere.

In this view, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt had every person who has lived in mind when the Christ was sent to hang on that cross. Jesus took upon himself the sins of all people without exception, and paid for them in full, saying, “It is finished”.  And now God, having accomplished salvation for all through the cross of Christ, applies the benefits of that salvation to the ones who choose to believe in the Son. This is how many Christians in our day picture salvation working.

But there is, as you know, another way of seeing things. There are others who believe that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came to accomplish salvation for some. He did not merely make salvation possible. He actually accomplished it – he earned it, completed it, and finished it.  And he did not do it for all – leaving it ultimately up to the individual to believe or disbelieve – he came to accomplish salvation for a particular people in order to give those particular people eternal life.

In this view God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt had particular people in mind when the Christ was sent to hang on that cross. Jesus took upon himself the sins of those people, and paid for them in full, saying, “It is finished”. And now God, having accomplished salvation for them through the cross of Christ, is active in bringing those particular people to salvation through faith in Christ, by the proclamation of the gospel, and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

This second view is our view.

I hold to this second view (what has come to be known as the Reformed position, or the Calvinistic position) because I believe it is what the scriptures clearly teach. I would not hold this view if unaided human reason were my final authority for truth. And I would not hold this view if my emotions were my final authority for truth. It is because the Holy Scriptures are my final authority for truth (and I believe that they abundantly clear on this point) that I am moved to view Christ’s atoning work in this way.

Jesus came in order to save those who are his. He came to save those who were given to him by the Father in eternity past. These were chosen, elected, predestined by God the Father and they were given to the Son so that he would save them by dying for their sins. They were chosen, mind you, not because of anything deserving in them – not because of any good or redeeming quality foreseen by God within them – but by pure unconditional, unmerited, undeserved grace. These are the ones that the Good Shepherd has laid down is his life for.

Truthfully, there are very many passages of scripture that we could point to to prove these things. But I really cannot think of a book in the Bible that presents these truths more consistently, more clearly, and more powerfully than the Gospel of John. And it here in chapter 10 that these truths are brought to the forefront.

The Gospel of John reveals that some people have been given to the Son by the Father from before creation.

First of all, notice how the Gospel of John reveals, time and again, that some people have been given to the Son by the Father from before creation.

This is most clear in the prayer of Jesus found in John 17.

Verses 1-3:

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:1–3, ESV)

In verse 6 Jesus says,  “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.” (John 17:6, ESV)

In verse 9 Jesus says, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:9, ESV)

This same truth – the truth that some have been given to the Son by the Father from before creation – is also clearly articulated here in John 10. Jesus uses the image of a sheepfold to communicate this truth to us. He is the Good Shepherd, and he is also the door of the sheep. The sheepfold contains many sheep – at first we are only told of one sheepfold which represents all of the people of Israel – later we are told of another sheepfold, representing all of the peoples of the earth. Both sheepfolds house sheep – some who belong to the Good Shepherd, and some who do not. Jesus the Good Shepherd knows his sheep and they know him. He calls them by name and they recognize his voice and follow him. All of this was clearly set forth in verses 1-21of chapter 10.

The teaching is clear. A distinction is made between sheep and sheep – some belong to the Good Shepherd and others do not. The sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd represent the elect. They represent those who were given to the Son by the Father in eternity past. These sheep represent the same people that Jesus would later pray for in his high priestly prayer, saying, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:9, ESV)

This is the doctrine of unconditional election.

The Gospel of John reveals that those not given to the Son by the Father are unable to believe. 

Secondly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those not given to the Son by the Father are unable to believe.

This truth is stated in a number of places in John, but we will limit our attention to the passage before us here in John 10:22-30, since it is at the heart of the text.

Notice that we have now experienced a change of scenery in John’s Gospel. From the beginning of chapter 7 all the way to 10:21 we hear about Jesus’ activities in and around the temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths. Now we read in verse 22, “At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.” (John 10:22–23, ESV)

The Feast of Dedication was not a feast instituted by God and recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. It began in 167 B.C. The Syrian leader Antiochus Epiphanes had overrun Jerusalem. He had polluted the temple by setting up a pagan altar to displace the altar of Israel’s God. Israel suffered for a time under the oppression of Antiochus until many of the Jews began to revolt. They eventually developed the fine art of guerrilla warfare and grew strong enough to overthrow their oppressor. This all happened under the leadership of Judas Maccabaeus (Judas the Hammer). They eventually recaptured the temple and reconsecrated it to God on 25 Kislev (the lunar month that approximately coincides with December), 164 B.C. The people celebrated the rededication of the temple for eight days, and it was decreed that a similar eight-day Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) should be held every year, beginning on 25 Kislev (cf. 1 Macc. 4:36–59; 2 Macc. 1:9, 18; 10:1–8).

Jesus was in Jerusalem for this feast and was walking in the colonnade of Solomon (also called Solomon’s Porch), which was a covered patio located to the east of the temple serving as boundary to the temple platform. Interestingly we hear of this place again in the book of Acts because the early Christians would gather there to preach the gospel. Peter and John would heal a man in this same location.

But it was here under the colonnade of Solomon that (verse 24)  the “Jews gathered around [Jesus] and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’” (John 10:24, ESV)

It is interesting that Jesus rarely, if ever, spoke before the religious leaders of the Jews in an explicate or direct way concerning his being the Christ – the Messiah of Israel. He spoke with the woman at the well directly, saying, “I who speak to you am he”(John 4:26, ESV), but his answers were always less direct – more elaborate and involved – when he spoke with the Jews in general, and especially with the religious leaders. The reason is simple. People had in their minds all kinds of expectations concerning what the Messiah would be like. If when asked, are you the Christ?, Jesus simply said, yes!, he would have been saying yes to all that was in their minds, and not necessarily the truth. So although he never said yes, in a direct or explicit way, he had already said yes dozens of times before in other ways.

They wanted a simple yes or no. But Jesus responds to them saying,  “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me…” (John 10:25, ESV) I’ve already told you, he says. I’ve told you in word, and I’ve shown you by my deeds. Jesus was always pointing to the miracles that the he preformed as proof that he was indeed the Christ. But they did not believe.

But I want you to notice something very significant. Jesus reveals here in verse 26 why it was that these men did not believe. He said to them, “you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.” (John 10:26, ESV) The Arminian, or the anti-Calvinist – whatever you want to call them – turns this statement on its head. They insist that a person is free to believe if he so choose; and that a person is made into one of Christ’s sheep because they choose to believe. But Jesus says exactly the opposite. You do not become a sheep of the Good Shepherd’s the moment that you believe. No, you believe because you are one of Christ’s sheep. Those who are not Christ’s sheep – not one of the elect – are not able to believe. Christ does not know them, and they do not know Christ They do not hear his voice. They do not follow his voice. Why? Because they were not among those given by the Father to the Son in eternity past. “You do not believe because you are not among my sheep”, Jesus says.

This is the doctrine of total depravity, or total inability.

The Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will certainly believe.

Thirdly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will certainly believe.

Listen to John 6:35:

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.’” (John 6:35–37, ESV)

Notice the same teaching in 10:27 when Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” This is in contrast to what Jesus said to the non-believing Jews. They did not believe because they were not Christ’s sheep, but those who are Christ’s sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd; he knows them; and they follow him.

This is the doctrine of irresistible grace, or effectual calling.

The Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will never be lost.

Fourthly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father will never be lost.

In verse 27 Jesus says,

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27–29, ESV)

I cannot think of a more clear statement in scripture concerning the security of the believer.  There are other clear statements indeed, but this is rather powerful. The teaching is this: If a person has been set apart by the electing purposes of God Father, and that persons sins have been paid for by the death of the Son, and if that person has been brought to faith in the Son through the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit, then that person cannot be lost. He cannot be lost because he has been saved, not on the basis of something within himself, but by God. God has saved him through Christ and by the Spirit. Christ holds his sheep in his hand. More than that, the Father holds those who are his in his hand. Who could possibly snatch them away?

Christians struggle with this concept because they have seen some who profess to believe in Christ for a time and then walk away from Christ in the end. It can be difficult to know how to explain that phenomenon. The Biblical way to talk about that is to say that though they claimed to know Christ, they in fact never knew him. This is what John himself says in his epistle: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19, ESV)

What we see here in John10:27-29 is the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. Those who truly belong to Christ will persevere to the end. Better yet, they will be preserved until the end, being kept by the Father and the Son.

The Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father are the ones for whom Christ died.

Fifthly, notice how the Gospel of John reveals that those given to the Son by the Father are the ones for whom Christ died.

Let us look back into chapter 10 for a moment. Jesus says in verse 11,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11, ESV) Also look at verse 14: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14–15, ESV)

So for whom did Christ die, according to John? He died for his sheep. He died for the ones given to him by the Father. These are the ones that he laid his life down for. He payed for their sins and gives them eternal life.

Look also at 10:30. Jesus concluded this entire conversation with the unbelieving Jews by saying,  “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30, ESV) We will look more closely at this well known and often quoted text next week as we pick up with verse 30 and move on. This verse is most often used as a proof that Jesus was divine. “I and the Father are one” is taken to mean, I am divine just as the Father is divine. Truthfully, I do not think that this is the most accurate understanding of Jesus words here. There are other texts in scripture – other texts in John – that clearly refer to Jesus’ deity. The context here seems to be more about the unity of purpose that the Son has with the Father. I’m not saying that this verse has nothing to do with Jesus deity. I’m only saying that the statement, “I and the Father are one” has more to do with the unity of purpose, or the unity of mission shared between the Father and Son. There will be more on that next week.

What I want you to see today is that Jesus claimed to be one with the Father. He was perfectly in sync with the Father. They were about the same purpose – the same mission. The Father decreed in eternity past to send the Son into the world to save the elect, and it was the elect that Jesus came to save. He knows his sheep and he calls his sheep. He died for his sheep in order to give his sheep eternal life. He gives them eternal life and he holds on to them. Jesus keeps his sheep by holding them in his hand. And the Father also holds them in his hand, the end result being that no one is able to snatch them away.

This oneness that exists between the Father and Son supports the doctrine of limited atonement.

Not only do the scriptures explicitly say that Jesus came to lay down his life for the sheep, they also say that there exists a unity between the Father and Son. The Father’s purposes are the Son’s purposes. The Father’s mission, is the Son’s mission. If the Father sent the Son into the world to save those whom he had given to the Son (the elect), then it should be no surprise to us that the Son came to lay down his life for them. He came to pay for their sins. He came to earn salvation for them. And is it they that he draws to himself by calling them by name. They are at the ones who follow the Good Shepherd because they are his, having been set apart from all eternity.

Application 

Have you ever wondered why it is that God has chosen to reveal these difficult things to us in his word. He could have left it unstated. He could have relegated this to the realm of mystery. But he did not. He speaks plainly concerning these things in his word. Why?

The reason is that these truths, when rightly understood, have a significant impact upon the people of God. These truths transform.

First of all, these truths are the ground out which true humility springs. If I were to ask you, why are you in Christ? Why are you a part of his flock? Why is he your shepherd? The answer must ultimately be, because God has been gracious to me.

Secondly, these truths are the firm foundation of our assurance in Christ. If you Christ’s then you you will be Christ’s to the end because he holds on to you! This does not do away with the need for exhortation or effort. It is good for us to say to one another, hold on to Christ until the end! But we hold on to Christ – we strive after him, and labor in our obedience to him – knowing that he is the one who holds on to us!

Thirdly, these truths provide a firm footing that we might have confidence in evangelism. It is because of these truths that we are able to confidently proclaim, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV) We offer the gospel freely to all who will hear knowing that the Good Shepherd will draw his sheep to himself in his time and in his way.

Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-24

“For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. As for you, my flock,’ thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?’ Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: ‘Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.’” (Ezekiel 34:11–24, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 10:1-21

“‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.’ There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, ‘He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?’ Others said, ‘These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’” (John 10:1–21, ESV)

Introduction

It would be good for us to start by noticing – or for those who were here last Sunday,  remembering – that there are two “I am” sayings of Jesus found in this text.

In the first Jesus reveals himself as the door, saying,  in verse 7, “I am the door of the sheep”. This is the image that we fixed our attention upon last week. Jesus is the door. He is the only way to salvation. True shepherds enter by the door and lead the sheep through the door, who is Christ. False shepherds are identifiable by the fact that they refuse to enter by the door themselves. They climb into the sheepfold by some other way; they lead the sheep by some other way. They care nothing for the sheep. They are only concerned to benefit from their wool and meat and fat. All of this (and more) we considered last week.

Today we will turn our attention to the second “I am” saying of Jesus found within this figure of speech. Jesus not only identifies himself as the door of the sheep, he also identifies himself with the shepherd of the sheep, saying in verse 11, “I am the good shepherd”.  This is certainly a most comforting thought to the people of God – Christ Jesus is our good shepherd. The question we will eventually ask is, what makes the good shepherd so good?

But before we do that I think it would be wise for us to look in upon a theme that runs in the background of this text. It’s true that Jesus Christ is the main focus of this text – he is the door and the good shepherd – this whole saying is meant to reveal truth concerning who Jesus is. But notice that something is revealed concerning who we are. We are likened to sheep.

The image is a powerful one, isn’t it? The image is used in other portions of scripture too. When we, as the people of God, are compared to sheep the implication is that we are needy creatures. Of all the beasts of the field sheep seem to me to be the most needy. They need a shepherd. They need a shepherd to guide them, to lead them, and to feed them. They need a shepherd to protect them from harm. They need a shepherd to train and discipline them, and to bind up their wounds. Sheep are needy animals. They need a shepherd; they need the flock.

As it is with sheep, so it is with us. We like to think that we are independent, and self-sufficient – fine on our own. But the scriptures reveal time and again that we were designed to live in community, in the midst of a flock. More than that, we were created to live under the perpetual care of our creator, the shepherd of our souls.

Christ Jesus is the good shepherd. When he called himself that he was claiming to be the fulfillment of what was promised in Ezekiel 34:15, which say,

“‘I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down,’ declares the Lord God. ‘I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.’” (Ezekiel 34:15–16, ESV)

Jesus is the fulfillment of these promises of God. He is the good shepherd.

But the question may be asked, what makes the good shepherd so good? Certainly many things could be said about the goodness of our Savior, but I see I four examples of his goodness in this passage.

I. Christ is the good shepherd because he leads his sheep in the way of truth.

First of all, see that Christ is the good shepherd because he leads his sheep in the way of truth.

This is a bit of a reiteration of what was said last week, but it needs to be said again as we focus in upon Christ as the good shepherd. The test for whether a shepherd of God’s people is good or bad, true or false, is this: do they lead the sheep through the door, who represents Christ? Do they lead the people in the way of truth?

This test could be applied to the shepherds of Israel under the Old Covenant – the prophets, priests, and kings. There is a reason why David is considered the greatest of all the kings of Israel. He, as Israel’s shepherd king, led the people to God through Christ. There is reason why, when we think of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel we think of men who shepherded the people of God well. They faithfully lead Israel to God through the Christ. And their is a reason why when we think of Melchizedek we think of a faithful priest. He mediated between the people of God and the Most High through the Christ.

You may be thinking to yourself, this is a really strange way to talk about David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Melchizedek given that all of these men lived before Christ came! Perhaps your thinking, how can you say these led people to God through the Christ when the Christ had not yet come! 

Brothers and sisters, if this is your thought then may I encourage you to read your Bibles more often and more carefully! Read the Old Testament and see the way that Adam and Abraham, Melchizedek and Moses, David and Isaiah approached God with the confidence fixed – not in themselves, not in the law – but in the Christ – the Messiah –  who would one day come. Read the Pentateuch and see Christ there. Read the Psalms and behold the Christ. Read the prophets and see the Christ faithful proclaimed. The Old Covenant saints were saved by grace alone through faith alone just as we are. They were made righteous before God as they trusted in the finished work of the Christ. They looked forward to his coming – we look back upon it. The good shepherds who labored under the Old Covenant entered through Christ, the door of the sheepfold, themselves, and they faithfully led the people of God through the door. They are therefore rightly considered to have been good and faithful shepherds.

The same standard should apply today. When we judge the goodness of one of Christ’s under shepherds – those pastors and elders who serve in Christ’s church – the first question that should be asked is does the man know Christ? And does he faithfully lead the people to Christ, proclaiming all of his words? A good and faithful shepherd will always be found leading the flock of God through the one door of the sheepfold, who is Christ.

The fascinating thing about this figure of speech is that Jesus is both the door of the sheep and he is the good shepherd. And what is it that makes him good? Well, for one, he leads his flock, as the chief shepherd, through the door of sheepfold, who is in fact himself. Jesus Christ was and is the good shepherd because he faithfully leads the people of God to God, through the Messiah, the Savior. And he is the Messiah. He is “the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [him].” (John 14:6, ESV) He is “the light of the world. Whoever follows [him] will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, ESV)

We are to call Christ the good shepherd because he leads his sheep in the way of truth.

And life is so good when we walk according to the truth. Have you noticed this? Have you noticed how good and joyous and full life is when we walk according to the truth of Christ? Or perhaps you have learned this same principle, but in a negative way. Perhaps you have you learned of how good God’s ways are by walking away from him for a time. You, like the prodigal son, have been reminded of the goodness of God by wandering away from the Lord. And having wandered far from God, you have discovered the emptiness of the things of this world and you have been reminded of the goodness of God.

It is so good to have Christ. It is so good to follow him and to walk in his paths. It is so good to see believe in him, to see the world as he sees it, and to live in obedience to his commands. When we walk with Christ we experience, what Jesus here calls, abundant life – a life that is rich and full and overflowing. We feast upon green pastures (vs. 9)

Christ is the good shepherd because he leads his sheep in the way of truth.

II. Christ is the good shepherd because he protects his sheep from harm, even to the point of death.

Secondly, see that Christ is the good shepherd because he protects his sheep from harm, even to the point of death.
Notice the recurring theme in verses 11-18.

Verse 11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

A shepherd that is good will certainly be willing to suffer harm, even death, if that is what it takes to protect the sheep.

Verses 12 & 13: “He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

I think we would all admit that it would take a good deal of resolve, courage, and gumption to see a bear or a pack of wolves coming towards the flock and to run towards the threat instead of away from it. If a person does not own the flock – if he has no vested interest in the flock – if he does not love the sheep of the flock, nor the owner of the flock – he will not stand against the threat. A hired hand tends the sheep for a daily wage. He is interested only in the money. He does not care for the sheep. And so it is no wonder that he flees from anything that threatens his life. He has nothing motivating him to stay.

But Christ is the good shepherd. He is ready and willing to lay down his life for his sheep.

But there is something that separates Jesus from common shepherds of sheep. Shepherds of sheep may be willing to die for their flock, but they intend to stay alive, don’t they? In fact it is in the flocks best interest that they do stay alive! For who will protect them if the shepherd is overcome? Not so with Christ. He came in order to die for his flock. To die was the purpose for which he came. And his death would be for the greatest good of his flock. For in the moment he died and rose again the threat of the enemy would be neutralized. The enemy would not be left to ravage the sheep because the Christ had died. Quite the opposite! The evil one would be defeated through the death of the good shepherd.

This is what verses 17 – 19 speak of:

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father…”

The Father sent the Son to die for his flock;  and the Son came to willingly laid down his life for his flock. It may sound strange for Christ to say, “No one takes [my life] from me.” As we consider the rest of John it will seem as if people took Jesus’ life from him. But the point is that all that happened to Jesus – the false accusations, the false trial, the brutal treatment, and ultimately his crucifixion – was according to the will of the Father and the Son. In other words, things were not out of control. Jesus maintained his authority through it all.

We are to call Christ the good shepherd because he protects his sheep from harm, even to the point of death. He has earned salvation for his sheep through his death and resurrection.

III. Christ is the good shepherd because he knows and loves his sheep, and his sheep know and love him.

Thirdly, see that Christ is the good shepherd because he knows and loves his sheep, and his sheep know and love him.

Verse 14: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…”

Remember what has already been said earlier in this passage. There are many sheep in the sheepfold. Some belong to the good shepherd, some do not. Those who belong to the good shepherd know the voice of the good shepherd and follow him. This distinction between sheep and sheep represents the distinction between the elect and non-elect. He were are simply told that the good shepherd knows his own, and his own know him. The good shepherd knows particular sheep and those particular sheep know him.

But what is the nature of this knowledge? Does Christ simply know about his own? No, far from it! Verse 15 reveals to us the kind of knowledge that he has of his particular sheep, and the knowledge they have of him.  Verse 15 says, “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…”

In other words, the good shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him in the same way that the Father knows the Son and the Son the Father. This is more than mere informational knowledge. It is intimate knowledge – relational knowledge.

Think of the love that exists in the Godhead. Think of the love that exists in the one true God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we say that God is love, we are, first of all, saying that he is love to the fullest – he is love in the most pure and perfect sense. We are mistaken when take the truth that God is love to mean that he is somehow obligated to show mercy and grace all equally and without exception. No! God is love in and of himself. His perfect love is perfectly contained and perfectly displayed within the Godhead himself – Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

The Father knows the Son, and the Son knows the Father.  The principle being communicated here is that Jesus, the good shepherd, knows those people who belong to him – the elect – in the same way that Father knows the Son, and the Son knows the Father.  He knows them and love them with a saving love. Those who are united to Christ by faith have come to share in the perfect love that exists eternally between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Notice verse 16: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Up to this point all of the sheep of the sheepfold seem to represent all of the people of Israel. Not all who are of Israel belong to the good shepherd – that seems to be the point. There were and are elect and non-elect peoples from amongst the Jewish people. Now Jesus refers to other sheep not of this fold. This is a clear reference to the elect from amongst the gentiles. So there are two sheepfolds. One represents Israel, the other the gentiles. And there are some from within each – the Jews and gentiles – who belong to Christ, the good shepherd. He calls them by name, they here his voice, and follow him. He knows them just as the Father knows the Son.

The end result is that there is “one flock, one shepherd.”  The text is clear. There is one people of God – they are the elect from all the peoples of the earth. There is also one shepherd – there is only one way of salvation for all people in all times. All who have ever been saved, or who will ever be saved, will be saved by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus the Christ, the good shepherd, the door of the sheep.

When I consider all that is said here in John 10 I can’t help but think of Jesus’ prayer in John 17. What is taught here in this text through this figure of speech is communicated again in the form of a heart felt prayer in John 17. Please listen to it. Jesus prayed,

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17, ESV)

Conclusion

Do you see the love of the good shepherd for you? Do you love the good shepherd? Would you draw near to him that he might lead you and feed you, protect you, and that you might know him more dearly?