22.02.09 John 5:19-30 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 5:19-30
Going Deeper: Study Guide
'Like Father, Like Son' - Equal Authority
As most of you know - I am originally from Toronto - and as I usually do when I visit Toronto I get a haircut. It is not that the haircutting is better in Toronto, but it is that I get my hair cut free. On this occasion and like on many other occasions during my haircut, the topic of discussion would lead to comparisons between me to my father. Sometimes the hair cutter would say that I think like my father - sometimes she would say regarding my appearance… that I look younger than my age, just like my father. Likewise most of us have been approached by another person at one or more times in our life and most likely it is by friends of your parents, or even relatives…and they say the same kind of thing….you sound like your father…or that you are like your father or like your mother in such and such a way. We are being compared to our parents. That is why we have such expressions as ‘Like father, like son,’ ‘your a chip off the old block.’ These expressions are really saying that you remind me so much of your father. Whether we are young or older, I think that sometimes we do not like to be compared to someone else. When someone says this kind of thing we may not take it as a compliment - and perhaps when we were kids or teenagers we took it as an insult. The reason for this is that we all like to maintain our own individuality.
But today we find that when it comes to Jesus - the saying ‘like father, like son’ becomes very important for us to understand. Last time when we finished with chapter 5:1-18, towards the end of the passage it became evident by verse 16 that there was clear and open OPPOSITION to Jesus by the Jews. In context of this chapter, OPPOSITION erupted when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. Jesus doesn’t distance Himself from any comparisons between Himself and God, but rather He emphasizes the unique relationship He has with the Father - ‘like Father, like Son.’ Jesus by healing the man, was clearly asserting his authority to do so as the Son of God through claiming a direct EQUAL relationship with God. The Jews immediately picked up on the clear assertion of Jesus’ response. In the corrupt minds of the Jews - in their erroneous assessment - not only was Jesus a repeat offender for Sabbath day violations - but He also was a blasphemer by calling God His own Father! The outcome of this verbal exchange was that … the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him.
What we have in the next section of chapter 5 is Jesus’ own claims to His EQUAL AUTHORITY to the Father. These claims should lead each one of us to a response to Jesus. I guess two possible questions that we should ask our self at the end of this sermon is: How am I going to respond to who Jesus is? What things in my life need to be impacted/be changed because of Jesus' identity?
In today’s passage we will find 2 realities: THE AUTHORITY which Jesus intrinsically possesses; and second - THE IMPACT OF THE AUTHORITY.
Let us turn to our passage and as we read it we will see...
1. THE AUTHORITY
19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless [it is] something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. 20 "For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and [the Father] will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel. 21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. 22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
2. THE IMPACT OF THE AUTHORITY
25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is [the] Son of Man. 28 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good [deeds] to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil [deeds] to a resurrection of judgment. 30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
Today we are going to look at Jesus’ claim to His identity. We can know who Jesus is by looking to the statements that He has made in chapter 5. In short, Jesus is asserting to the Jews, and us the reader that He possess EQUAL AUTHORITY with God the Father. Jesus already starts His case in verse 18, which set the stage for what we are to examine through this Scripture - and we could even go back throughout the first 5 chapters of this gospel and pick up on the individual puzzle pieces which will form the whole picture, by the end of the Gospel of John. As we continue in this gospel a complete picture will emerge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (Jn. 20:31).
In our passage, through 4 areas, we see Jesus making claim to:
EQUAL AUTHORITY (v.19-24)
a) Dependence Upon The Father’s Will
v.19 As we begin our passage we have Jesus answering the Jews. He begins His statement with - ‘Truly, truly, I say to you’ - and if you remember that in this gospel it signifies that something important is to follow. What Jesus is going to say is an important affirmation of His authority. We discover that Jesus can do nothing by Himself - He is fully dependent upon the Father in doing things. Whatever Jesus does, He is copying the will of the Father - that is why Jesus healed the man by the pool, mentioned just in the prior verses. In other words, Jesus in healing on the Sabbath was doing what the Father, who is full of compassion and mercy, had willed to do. The Jews charged Jesus with making the assertion that He was making Himself equal with God - in verse 18 - therefore here in our passage - Jesus doesn’t reject that charge, but fearlessly builds upon the reality of the assertion by the Jews, that He is indeed equal to God. Jesus is telling the Jews that what they believe He is stating is indeed true that - Jesus does what the Father does because He is as great as the Father.
b) The Father’s Love For The Son
v.20 The relationship that Jesus has with the Father is based upon the Father’s continual and ongoing love for the Son. Likewise, alongside the relationship, is an uninterrupted revelation from the Father, to Jesus. God the Father, desires and shows Jesus the Son everything - anything that God is doing is made known to Jesus. In fact Jesus is going to demonstrate the power He has as - [the Father] will show Him greater works than these - than what they have already witnessed to this point.
c) Divine Right To Impart Life
v.21 Continuing, Jesus, explains in greater detail about His authority. Jesus like the Father, whom raises the dead and gives them life - Jesus is the One who imparts life to those whom He chooses. In the Jew’s mind and understanding they would clearly understand that the One who gives life is God. Perhaps in their minds they would be thinking back to the Pentateuch in Deuteronomy 32:39 where God declares - ‘See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.’ So with OT knowledge of God’s Word, the Jews would be having serious trouble with what Jesus is declaring. Jesus makes a claim to ultimate EQUAL AUTHORITY, on the level of God, because Jesus gives life to whom He wishes. Jesus is claiming for Himself authority which is solely a Divine right. If we think back to John chapter 1 verse 4 we recall the Statement that the Apostle John makes about Jesus - In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
d) The Power To Judge People
v.22-23 To add injury to insult - in the minds of the Jews anyway - Jesus goes even further in His assertion to authority. Jesus clearly states that any judgement upon men by God comes through Jesus - Jesus has [been] given all judgment powers. Jesus is saying that not even the Father need to judge anyone because it may be accomplished through Him. This is what it says about Christ’s power and authority in regards to judgment in Matthew 25:31-33: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
All judgement has been given to Jesus for the very purpose of bringing glory to God - as it states in verse 23 - so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. In making this statement Jesus fearlessly deals with the Jews accusations that Jesus is a blasphemer. The purpose of why Jesus is given the authority to judge, is that Jesus can be honored at the same level as God - because He is God. The word ‘honor’ used in verse 23, means ‘to value.’ So Jesus’ rebuttal is that if the Jews or anyone else for that matter does not value Jesus, then they don’t value (or reverence) God. This is true because, since they do not accept Jesus as the Son of God, they are not accepting God as He has revealed Himself to man - and this is blasphemy - it is a sin that leads to death (Matt. 12:31). If people don’t have a proper view of Jesus then it goes without saying that they don’t have a right view of God.
Having given the basis of His authority, Jesus moves to reveal:
THE IMPACT OF THE AUTHORITY (v.25-30)
Who are the most powerful people in the world? Some might now list the person who visited Canada this week - Barrack Obama as the most powerful politician since he really has world wide admiration and support. In the business world some people would say that the most powerful person is Bill Gates who gave billions of dollars to noteworthy charities in the past decade. What about in Canada? Who is the most powerful person? It is argued that Stephen Harper is the most powerful man. But it seems that power is equated more to business than politics. Arguably before retirement, Paul Desmairis is Canada’s most powerful man - even the corporation that he built would attest to that - his company is named Power Corporation. He had such influence that Prime Ministers seek his counsel and he has major political clout. More recently in the news was Conrad Black, but he got himself into some hot water over some business dealings. And Conrad Black had to answer to those who seem to really hold the power - which are the judges. Through judges all matters are decided and disputes settled. Even the right to life is decided through judges. The Supreme Court of Canada makes the ultimate decisions that will affect and bind all Canadians. Yet above the Supreme Court there is a power which is greater than any human court - I am speaking about Jesus. Jesus has been given the right to dispense life and also is One who will judge life in power and in righteousness.
Jesus has established His AUTHORITY up to verse 24 and now we find THE IMPACT OF THE AUTHORITY which Jesus possesses…
v.24 Once again Jesus frames His words with Truly, truly, I say to you…so something important follows. This time and into the next few verses Jesus expands on the extent of authority that He has. Now Jesus begins delineating His authority in 3 critical areas a) He gives life and; b) that He delivers judgement; c) that He is God.
a) He Gives Life
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. So what Jesus is saying is that the person who receives His message and receives God who sent Jesus to earth….that person will have eternal life. In order for a person to be ‘born again’ (Jn. 3:3) - that person must hear and believe the gospel. The hearing and believing can be equated to the mark of a genuine Christian - in the sense that one who is born again will inevitably submit to God’s Word and walk in a life of obedience to it - this is true belief. This eternal life that Jesus speaks about and that He offers, begins in a person’s life right away. The person who receives Christ as Lord and Saviour enjoys the blessings of being saved and will not come into judgment - that is that he/she will not be condemned - a guilty charge will never be brought against you again for sin. Eternal life is a change in being and state - as it states in this verse - but has passed out of death into life.
When Christ saves you from your sins, you leave the state of spiritual death - and eternal judgement - and you enter into the blessed reality of spiritual life - forever, for eternity, there will be no end of God’s blessing in His presence and in Christ’s presence in heaven, when we pass away from this world. Imbedded in this verse is an implied reality - that reality is the promise of the assurance of eternal security in Christ, for those who come to a true belief in Christ and the One who sent Him. If we are truly born again we could say that we will never cross over from life to death - or revert from new life in Christ to eternal death apart from God - it just can’t happen.
v.25 Something important is to be stated again which presses the ultimate point that Jesus is making - that He has EQUAL AUTHORITY to God because Jesus is God. Jesus makes a double level reference to time. The first reference is to the future - an hour is coming; and following reference is one which deals with the present - and now is. Yet the tension that exists in this dual reference, both deal with the dead. What Christ is drawing attention to is the resurrection of the dead.
The first reference is the end times resurrection - one which will be physical. The second time reference is to the current state of man - that as in Ephesians 2:1 states that the person who is not born again is spiritually dead. We could also express this reference in this way - that those who hear the voice of the Son of God - that is that they are born again… are spiritually alive or resurrected. Yet in the future, believers will also undergo a physical resurrection. Christ has the authority to call unbelievers to Himself and those who hear will live - in other words Jesus has the authority to grant a spiritual resurrection in those He is pleased to give it to (v.21) - those whom Jesus chooses.
v.26-27 The basis of what Jesus has stated is grounded on the character and nature of God. That in God is life in Himself which speaks to the self existent nature of God. This brings us back to chapter 1 once again - to the first four verses. If you remember we spent a lot of time in the prologue - the first 18 verses of chapter 1 - because the prologue really sets the stage for what is to follow - such as our passage today. Please turn to chapter 1 and follow along, as I read to you the first 4 verses:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Just as God is pre and self existent, and just as the Father has life in Himself - the same is true of Jesus - the Son also [has] life in Himself. So here we have a definitive statement that Jesus has EQUAL AUTHORITY because He is God, and He grants this life to us.
b) Jesus Delivers Judgement
Those who reject Jesus, Jesus has the authority to execute judgment, because He is [the] Son of Man (v.27). The expression Son of Man is a self-appointed name for Jesus, and Jesus refers to Himself in this way 94 time in the New Testament. The Jews who heard this expression would have been familiar with it from the book of Daniel in the OT - chapter 7. This is what it says there, and is a fitting image of who Jesus is… 13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
When we really take to heart what our passage is teaching us we should be full of praise. As Christians we are on Jesus’ side because God has adopted us as His children through Jesus.
We don’t need to live in fear since we have been granted favour with Christ. We don’t need to panic when things around us go bezerk….Jesus is in full control of life and our lives.
v.28-29 The fear of judgement has been permanently removed for those who have eternal life in Christ - those who are born again. The judgement that Jesus speaks of will take place in the future - "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good [deeds] to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil [deeds] to a resurrection of judgment. Everyone who is alive and those who have died - all will be resurrected. The righteous will be resurrected and so will the wicked. The righteous will rise to live - they will have eternal life in God’s presence - and the evil will be resurrected and face condemnation.
We should note that verse 29 is not teaching salvation by works. The good that is done is produced in the new nature received when a person is saved. These are the good works which are spoken of in James and Ephesians - works done in response to -and as a result of our salvation. These good works evidence saving faith in Christ, they don’t effect or merit saving faith. Those who do evil are unbelievers, those who reject Jesus, and as a result will do evil deeds. So whether a person is saved or unsaved, all people will be resurrected.
c) Jesus is God
v.30 Our passage closes off with Jesus emphasizing His Oneness with the Father. Jesus now gets to the point of this discourse of His EQUAL AUTHORITY with the Father, by making it clear that ‘the Son’ references are references to Himself. Jesus switches from the indirect to the direct - by using the first person - ‘I.’ And what Jesus is saying is that everything that He does is dependent upon the Father, and what He reveals. The judgement that Jesus dispenses is just - it is fair - it is right, because it is in full accord with the will of the Father. Jesus is One with the Father -‘Like Father, Like Son.’
Jesus reveals to us that He is God veiled in human flesh, through the EQUAL AUTHORITY which is an intrinsic part of His nature. In our passage Jesus clearly asserts to the Jews what they knew He was claiming….yet the Jews could not accept as being a reality - because they were spiritually dead. They may have been religious, but they had no life because they rejected the Christ. What the Jews missed was the fact that they didn’t need religion, but they needed a relationship with the Messiah. The Jews were greatly offended by Jesus’ statements. The truth was that Jesus was sent by the Father (v.23), acted in full obedience to the Father (v.30), and brings complete glory to the Father (v.23). Jesus exhibits EQUAL AUTHORITY to the Father through: Dependence Upon The Father’s Will; evidenced by: The Father’s Love For The Son,
The Divine Right To Impart Life, and The Power To Judge People.
Going back to verse 18 of chapter 5 - we see that Jesus also was equal to God in His nature. Jesus has EQUAL AUTHORITY to the Father because Jesus is God the Son. For the Jews they had the opportunity to examine the claims of Jesus. The Jews addressed, were the religious establishment and they dismissed the serious and immense implications of believing the claims of Jesus. As a result they were not committed to Christ and headed for judgement. When you honour God in Christ then you can have the personal assurance from God’s Word that you have been snatched out from just condemnation for your sins - for in Christ you have eternal life. You and I have the reality that we who are in Christ, have been and will be resurrected to life - and we can be supremely thankful that we will not be resurrected unto judgement. The life that we live and the works that result will be an indicator of faith in the Christ we possess… or the Christ that we reject. Both opposition to Jesus and acceptance of Jesus have its rightful implications. Each of us are given an opportunity to hear Jesus’ voice through His Word. Each of us are given the opportunity to respond to Jesus….this is a wake up call to us today….that we need to respond to the claims of Jesus.
If you repent of your sin, and rightly respond and honour Jesus - who is the granter of eternal life and judge, you will be able to please God in everything that you do. Yet for the unbeliever, this is a hard thing to do because we all want to be individuals - we want to be autonomous, and we don’t want to be that ‘chip off the old block.’ Even as believer’s sometimes we find that we don’t want to be told what is right or wrong - we especially don’t want to be told that we are sinning - even if it comes right off the pages of Scripture.
But the identity of Jesus, forces our hand…it leads us to make a decision…to follow Him as your Lord and Saviour of everything - or not to follow Him - or even worse to follow Him half heartedly. As a pastor the most difficult thing in ministry is to see half hearted Christians.
If we faithfully follow Jesus we are going to offend people…we are going to be persecuted - isn’t that what Jesus faced for being uncompromising about the truth - in chapter 5? The alternative is - if we choose not to follow Christ faithfully we will fall into worldliness - people will likely accept us because we have the kind of truth that all can accept…. but wins no one.
Brother and sisters - let us be reminded that Jesus has EQUAL AUTHORITY with the Father, because He is God the Son. Jesus grants life and He rightly judges life too.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
JOHN 5:1-18 MIRACLE TO MURDER
15.02.09 JOHN 5:1-18 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 5:1-18
Going Deeper: Study Guide
MIRACLE TO MURDER
Today we are going to start unfolding Chapter 5 which begins a new division in the gospel. In review, from chapter 1 verses 1 to 18 we have what is known as the Prologue. It is our introduction setting the tone for the rest of the gospel. In it we have a profound revelation of who Jesus Christ is - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn.1:1).
The prologue clearly lays out to the reader the nature of Christ and that can be summed up with the word INCARNATION. Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnate - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).
In the next major section following the prologue we can sum it up with one word - PRESENTATION. From John 1:19 to the end of chapter 4, Jesus Christ is presented to the people of Israel and Israel’s religious leaders through John the Baptist. John the Baptist says this of Jesus - Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29 - NASB). In addition Jesus’ disciples are presented - as is Jesus Himself in Galilee, Judea, and Samaria (The fuller description of these major sections can found at the end of this blog page).
From chapter 5 to the end of chapter 12 the overall theme could be described with one word - and that word is OPPOSITION. This OPPOSITION comes as a result of the deepest seeded UNBELIEF a person can possess. This OPPOSITION could already be seen brewing in the background in the first four chapters - but now it comes to a head - and the full blown - outright rejection of Christ, becomes overwhelmingly present.
So let us now begin the 5th chapter of the Gospel of John as we examine Jesus’ 3rd sign - what is the commonly referred to account of the healing of the paralytic. Allow me to read to you from JOHN 5:1-18. From this passage we divide it into three sections which will reveal to us the OPPOSITION to Jesus. The OPPOSITION to Jesus is developed through three stages:
CONDUCTING A MIRACLE (v.1-9)
CONDEMNED FOR MERCY (v.10-15)
CONTEMPLATION OF MURDER (v. 16-18)
John 5:1-18 states: After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep [gate] a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted]. 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying [there], and knew that he had already been a long time [in that condition], He ^said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" 7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." 8 Jesus ^said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and [began] to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." 11 But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, `Pick up your pallet and walk.' " 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, `Pick up [your pallet] and walk'?" 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in [that] place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
1. CONDUCTING A MIRACLE (v.1-9)
v.1 Once again we see John following the footsteps of Jesus as He traveled throughout Israel. The last time that Jesus was engaged in His ministry, we found Him at Cana of Galilee (4:46). So Jesus had an extensive ministry not being bound by any particular geographical location. On this occasion Jesus traveled back south After these things and headed up to Jerusalem. If you remember to a previous sermon, I spoke about the physical geography of Israel. When the Bible speaks about travel to Jerusalem, it often uses the phrase went up - because Jerusalem is built on top of a mountain. The reason that Jesus went up to Jerusalem is to attend a feast of the Jews. We are not certain which feast this was - it could have been Rosh Hashanah, Passover, or Pentecost - but the bottom line is that we don’t know. The focus of the passage is not the occasion, but what happens at this feast, therefore Scripture doesn’t reveal the occasion.
v.2-4 The city of Jerusalem is a fortified walled city, and there are quite a few entrances. The entrance that is mentioned in the text is named the sheep [gate]. If you have a study Bible it would help if you look at the maps of the city to get your bearings. This gate is located in the north wall of the city near the east corner, close to the temple. In this area was a pool - some call it the ‘Sheep Pool.’ The purpose of this pool was to wash the sheep that were brought into the temple for sacrifices. So sheep were cleaned in this pool and then transported over to the temple. The pool as it states in our text was called Bethesda, which is Aramaic, the common language of the day, meaning - ‘house of MERCY’ or ‘house of outpouring.’ The ‘Pool of Bethesda’ was so referred to because of the healings that would take place there - of the disabled - those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered. This pool was surrounded by five porticoes (covered colonnades). It was in this area that lay a multitude of disabled people - as they waited and took refuge. Through archaeological digs in the past, there is a pool that matches this description.
If you use the NIV you may have noticed - as we read the passage, that from verse three the NIV skips to verse 5, whereas the NASB includes them in brackets. If you are in the habit of looking at the footnotes, and I encourage you to get into this habit, then you would have known that verse 3 in some manuscripts continues and states - and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.
These words are debated as to whether these words are included in the original autograph or not - despite this, I can say that we do know that God is a merciful God, and that throughout Scripture He willfully purposes to heal people. There are good arguments on both sides of the fence, but this is where I am going to leave the debate to the academics.
v.5-6 We are now introduced to a very sad scene - there is an unnamed man - a man who we are told by John is stricken - he is ill. He had been in this condition for thirty-eight years. So for almost 40 years or nearly 4 decades people knew that this guy was genuinely ill. The amount of years that this man suffered, underscores the magnitude of his debilitating disease. But…. things for this man were going to change, and his hopes are going to be finally realized. It all begins when Jesus saw him lying there among all the other disabled people. In the historical setting of this account, we must not overlook some revealing yet - between the lines details. It is interesting to note that most people who were religious and physically well would probably avoid this area. They would do so because of the uncomfortable unease one would experience by seeing this kind of human suffering - as one commentator describes it as the place where - ‘the helpless dregs of society lay in a pathetic state’ (G. Borchert). Wouldn’t it be true for most of us too. We see it in this city where the unfortunate titles of ‘scum of the earth’ - ‘the low lifes’ are used. I am referring to a place like Vancouver’s skid row - Hastings and Main - Canada’s most deplorable postal code. How many of you have been down there lately? One time when I was down in the area, I made this discovery - that it is pretty easy to find a parking spot along Hastings in that part of the city - but as you drive even a couple of blocks out of the area - you have to circle quite a few time before finding a spot to park. The point I am highlighting in our passage is this - What was Jesus doing down there? Why was He at the ‘Hastings and Main’ of Jerusalem? The other historical backdrop I want to point out is this - most Jews (and Jesus was a Jew) would not want to be down in that area so they could avoid ritual impurity. The text doesn’t give us an answer to why Jesus was there, but it underscores the character of Christ as He is about to CONDUCT A MIRACLE - that Jesus is the compassionate and merciful God-Man. What a scene it must have been - a sea of bodies hovering around a pool of water - waters of MERCY as they were known. Among all the sick, blind, lame, and withered - lay this man -and Jesus picks him out of the crowd - this guy gets singled out. Jesus knew that he had already been a long time [in that condition]. This poor soul had been confined by his condition for years and years - and now his life was about to change through an act of mercy - a MIRACLE.
We have already seen a couple of times the revealing of Jesus’ omniscience (1:47; 2:24-25) - that He knew all things - and once again it appears that Jesus knew of this man through supernatural knowledge. There are so many people present - all suffering - but God for His sovereign purposes chose and singled out this man. Jesus asks him - Do you wish to get well? If you were in this man’s state how would you answer? - it is obvious that the answer would be yes. Yet Jesus perhaps asks this question to prepare the man to respond to His loving command. The man doesn’t give the most obvious and simple answer - if we look down at the text we can read how he replies - he says to Jesus in verse 7 - Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. A sad reality can be drawn out from this guys answer. From this guys perspective his hope was based upon the claimed supernatural ability of the waters. The people of that time evidently believed in the myth that on occasion the waters of the pool would be miraculously stirred up - and that the first person who was able to jump in was going to get healed. For this invalid, this was his hope - but because of his condition it really touched upon his hopelessness. The man couldn’t get to the water on his own fast enough - and there was no man to help him. What he said in response to Jesus’ simple question, revealed how he understood how God worked. His hope was in the waters of the pool, but if there is any irony in all this - THE HEALER was standing right in front of his face, and ready to heal him directly and personally.
Some of you might be wondering - so what is this ‘stirring up of the water’ that actually takes place mentioned in verse 7 and even in the questioned verses of 3b and 4? It appears that this pool of water as with many others in the Jerusalem area were spring fed. It appears that at high water times, the pools waters became stirred up, as the pressure from the high water table levels forced the infusion of spring water into the pool. Well we all know that there is no such thing in this world of water that has miraculous healing properties.
The man’s answer continues - but while I am coming, another steps down before me. Once again it reveals his concept of God and healing and how He works - in his mind God always honours the one who jumps in first - that person is the King of the castle….and he is always a dirty rascal. When you think about it - this guy must be pretty frustrated. Who knows how many years this guy has been lying by the side of the pool. This kind of thing has probably happened to you - you spot an open check out stand and your clearly heading for it, and what?...someone else buds in line. Isn’t this how we sometimes look at God and how He works? We think that in order for God to notice us we need to push our way up to the front of the line….otherwise He is not going to dispense His grace to us. It is easy to fall into this trap….often it happens to me…in the feebleness of my faith….I have do something to get God to notice me… but this is not faith but works….this kind of thinking is worldliness. Thankfully God is bigger than we are…a lot bigger.
v.8 Let’s see how Jesus responds. Jesus doesn’t just heal the man on the spot….instead Jesus commands the man to do the seemingly impossible. Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." Don’t forget, that this man had been ill for thirty-eight years (v.5), so he wasn’t able to get around too quickly, you know. At best he could possibly hobble to the pool and cast himself in. Yet Jesus commands the man to obey Him. The man needs to submit himself solely upon Jesus’ word.
It was through the power of the Word that God spoke all things into being, and it is through the power of the Word that this man was going to be healed. He had to be utterly dependent upon God’s Word. This is a reminder to us, that when we are pressed to the limit, boxed in - whether in ministry or in our home, or workplace - and there seems that there is no possible way out - isn’t that the time that God reminds us - depend upon Me. And when we do that, when we humble our self before the Lord by applying His Word - God works His perfect will.
v.9 In verse 9 we find out what happens? Immediately the man became well - the man is instantaneously cured by the power of God’s Word, and he gets up and goes his way - he [began] to walk - in obedience to Christ’s command. We can discern from the original text that this was a complete and permanent healing - since the tense of the word walk could be translated as ‘continue on walking.’ What was impossible, God made possible as He also provided the gracious means to accomplish this - and He did right in front of those who sought ‘miraculous water’ in a pool, instead of the author of miracles.
In CONDUCTING A MIRACLE, Jesus chose that which was weak, to demonstrate His awesome power, compassion, grace, mercy, and glory. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah, and this miracle authenticates Him to be who He claims to be. The verse ends with this note - Now it was the Sabbath on that day. This is significant because since the healing took place on a Sabbath, now we will be able to see the religious Jew’s heart condition. In CONDUCTING A MIRACLE - the Jews don’t give praise to God, but instead Jesus becomes a target - being:
2. CONDEMNED FOR MERCY (v.10-15)
v.10-11 Jesus healed the man on a Sabbath. The Sabbath by the time that this healing took place, had been distorted and corrupted. Originally God gave man the Sabbath rule as a time for rest. People were to get recharged physically and spiritually, and to specifically set a time apart to worship and enjoy fellowship with God. Instead, the Jews by Jesus’ time, turned the simplicity of the Sabbath into a series of rules and regulations. The Rabbis turned the Sabbath into a heavy burden. It went so far that only certain medicines were allowed to be used on a Sabbath and only by certain individuals. In terms of working, the Rabbis developed and specified that there are 39 classes of labour which are forbidden on the Sabbath. So you can see the historical background festering behind the scenes - and Jesus’ miracle and mercy becomes - NOT the focus of praise, but the center of controversy. Remember back to verse 8, Jesus commanded the man to Get up, pick up your pallet and walk., so this is what this guy is doing. As a result of walking around going where he was going, the Jews spot him and confront him and say to him - It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet. Even with the myriad of rules and regulations that the Jews had, there was no specific law stating that a person could not carry a mat (pallet) on a Sabbath. Though the Jews may have considered what the healed man was doing was thought to be as carrying a burden (cf. Jer. 17:21). The bottom line, which is the sad part - the ‘dark side’ of this account, is that the Jews could of cared less about the wonderful and miraculous event that just took place in this man’s life. All they cared about was carrying out ‘the letter of the law’ and not the original intent of the law. So they totally missed out on God’s purpose for the Sabbath. In fact they may have been gearing up for a stoning - since stoning was the punishment to be received by one who carries a burden on the Sabbath.
In light of Jesus’ mercy there was no mercy by the Jews. Isn’t that how we are sometimes? We get so wrapped up in the rules and traditions of men that we have no mercy on the people who need mercy. The well being of people are pushed aside, without a bat of the eye. Traditions of this kind and in these situations clearly violate, and stand above the authoritative mandates of Scripture. Tradition first then God - Jesus in the other gospels condemns the religious leaders for this kind of practice. Isn’t this what is happening here? Isn’t this a lesson we can learn from the perverted motives of the Jews in this account?
The man’s response to the accusations was simple - He who made me well was the one who said to me, `Pick up your pallet and walk. In other words the Man who healed him told him to do so. It seems by a surface reading of the answer that the healed man gave - that the logic behind the answer was that because of the healing power Jesus possessed - the healer must be someone he should listen to - so he did. Yet in reality through the force of the original text - we can understand that the man was blame shifting - placing the focus off himself and onto Jesus. Literally the verse should read like this - He who made me well--that one !!! said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’ Or in other words - hey don’t harass me, you should blame the guy who told me to do this.
v.12-13 So now the Jews want to find out who this guy is. But the healed man did not know who it was. We discover through this exchange that the healed man had no care to know who healed him - despite the fact that Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in [that] place. The healed man was happy to go his own way, still focused on himself and even worse blaming Jesus to get the heat off himself. As for the Jews, even though they had been given testimony of a miracle, they too did not care. They weren’t awestruck by the obvious reality of the miracle - they didn’t rejoice and praise God - instead they focused on their pitiful and trivial laws. Once again we see an underlying rejection of mercy - and from all parties. Are you shocked by these responses? Well we shouldn’t be - because not all will love the Lord the way that they should - but it is a great disappointment when it comes from those who are regarded as the religious leaders.
v.14 In verse 14 there is some time that has elapsed, for it was Afterward that Jesus found the healed man. We should note who initiates the contact - once again it is Christ. So Jesus goes and finds this guy, and He finds Him in the temple. It is safe to say that this man had not set foot in the temple for 38 years, since he would have been considered as ceremonially unclean. What he was doing there is unclear from the text. In light of the attitude of this man through out our passage today - maybe he was enjoying the privilege of being able to be in that place and was checking out the rights that others had freely enjoyed. It is interesting to see what Jesus says to him - Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you. Isn’t this a strange thing to say? Remember this - that this guy is already healed - Behold, you have become well, and Jesus still is addressing his what? What Jesus is addressing is this man’s sin - which is currently in progress. In the context of these two statements by Jesus - the man was continuing in his sin which had originally caused him to be in sickness. Knowing that this man is continuing in the pattern of sin that originally caused his condition - Jesus commands the man to stop sinning.
Jesus’ command was a warning that if he continued in his sin then something more severe was going to happen. So it is true that many (not all though) of our sicknesses are directly related to sin, it is a result of sin. We find this Biblical reality in 1 Corinthians 11:30 it is clear that some of the weakness, sickness, and even death are directly to present sin. It is quite possible that this is why Jesus singles out this guy at the beginning of our passage out of all those around the Pool of Bethesda - so that He could highlight this reality. There are physical consequences to sin. Yet it is very important that we balance what is being taught here with other parts of Scripture. It is also clear that not all sickness is related to sin as Jesus also makes clear in John 9:1-3. Another prime example is the OT figure - Job.
v.15 After the man went away - what does he do? He goes to the Jews and he rats on Jesus. The healed man reveals his character and attitude - he is thankless. He goes to the Jews and says to them…hey you know….about that guy you were asking me about earlier….the guy who had made [me] well… I figured out who He is….He is Jesus. Nice guy huh?? All he was thinking was about himself. He wanted to shift blame to Jesus and therefore avoid any charges of violating the Sabbath…which could result in being stoned to death…..therefore he was trying to save his own neck.
Well there is very little righteous response from anyone in this section to God’s mercy. It seems that no one cares. Instead in contrast to the clear and obvious MIRACLE, there are unrighteous and ungrateful responses. How do you respond to mercy granted to you? How do you respond to cries of mercy from others? Jesus is CONDEMNED FOR MERCY. It doesn’t stop here, it gets worse…as we finish off with the….
3. CONTEMPLATION OF MURDER (v.16-18)
v.16 As a result of the healed man ratting on Jesus, the Jews were persecuting Jesus. This Sabbath healing was not the last time that Jesus did this, but through the gospels and even later in John - we know that it became a pattern for Jesus to heal on this day that the Lord had made. The Jews were in effect saying - Hey…were going to keep an eye on you Jesus….you better watch out. The result was persecution. In fact the word persecuting, can be translated as ‘began to persecute.’ This means that the OPPOSITION had openly begun and it continues…it is ongoing through out the gospel - and fully expressed itself in the crucifixion of Christ - on the cross.
v.17-18 In verse 17 we have the foundation which Jesus asserts His authority (which we will discover the next Lord’s day) - and therefore Jesus makes the declaration of who He really is - that He is Deity, Jesus is God. In response to the open persecution Jesus gives them the truth, but the Jews can’t handle the truth. Don’t forget - in the minds of the Jews - they believed that the Sabbath law did NOT allow for this kind of act of kindness and compassion. And this is how Jesus addresses that error - My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working. What gets Jesus in trouble with the Jews is that - firstly Jesus claims God to be ‘My’ Father - ie: Jesus is claiming a direct intimate relationship with God (where the Jew would not make claim to such direct intimacy). Then next - God is working non stop to this moment, and so is Jesus. This implies that God works on the Sabbath and so does Jesus. Jesus clearly relates to the Jews, that God’s work and His work, is in harmony - it is on par with one another. Therefore through these statements Jesus implicitly declared - Himself equal with God; that He is God (taking us back to John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God). The Jews immediately picked up on the clear assertion of Jesus’ response - in the perverted minds of the Jews - not only was Jesus a continuous Sabbath day law breaker - but He also was a blasphemer because Jesus was calling God His own Father. For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him. From MIRACLE TO MURDER….
As we meditate upon these events and apply these principles of Christ in action - Are you open to the truth? Are you willing to fight for the truth - even in the face of religious opposition? Are you willing to die for the truth. These are tough questions - and we need to deal seriously with the answer to these questions. Jesus sets the pattern for us in the face of OPPOSITION - we are to be God pleasers and not man pleasers. Faithfulness that is Christ-like demands the answer YES.
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OVERVIEW OF MAJOR DIVISIONS TO DATE
From chapter 1 verses 1 to 18 we have what is known as the Prologue. It is the introduction setting the tone for the rest of the gospel. The Gospel was written in the most simple Greek in the NT, yet through this simplicity we have the most profound truths being revealed. In this short section we have the introduction to most of the major themes that the Apostle John hits upon. In addition we have a profound revelation of who Jesus Christ is - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn.1:1).
The prologue clearly lays out to the reader the nature of Christ and that can be summed up with the word INCARNATION. Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnate - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14). Through the first 18 verses of John we see Jesus’ eternality, pre-incarnate work - we are introduced to his forerunner - John the Baptist, we witness Christ’s rejection, we witness His acceptance by those who believe, and finally - we are able to understand that Jesus Christ is no ordinary man, but is God veiled in human flesh - so we see the Deity of Christ. These key opening verses of the prologue - focus us upon the key theme of the Gospel of John. The key theme is found in John 20:31 - But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
In the next major section following the prologue we can sum it up with one word - PRESENTATION. From John 1:19 to the end of chapter 4, Jesus Christ is presented to the people of Israel and Israel’s religious leaders through John the Baptist. John the Baptist says this of Jesus - Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29 - NASB). In this section we also got a glimpse of Jesus being presented for baptism. The Baptist then presents Jesus to his own disciples and as a result - Jesus calls Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael to be His first disciples. Following this we see Jesus being presented in Galilee through His first sign - the turning of water into wine. Next Jesus is presented in Judea. Jesus makes a great impact upon the religious scene during the Passover - as He cleanses the Jerusalem temple of some of its corruption. In chapter 3 we examined Jesus’ interview with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a well established teacher of the Law, yet he had no regeneration of the heart. Jesus reveals His plan of salvation - that one must be born again - and this is through Jesus Christ - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). Near the end of John the Baptist’s ministry we see him continuing faithfully in fulfilling his ministry, by pointing people to the Messiah. In chapter 4 we have Jesus being presented in Samaria first to the woman at the well. As a result of this divine encounter, many of the Samaritans are saved. Parallel to these events, Jesus continues revealing Himself to his disciples and underscores the importance of reaching the lost.
Then finally we see Jesus’ PRESENTATION back once again in Galilee. This time Jesus is received by the people, albeit mostly for the wrong reasons. As we close off chapter 4 we witness Jesus’ second sign in this gospel - the healing of the royal official’s son who lay at the point of death. We see Jesus being presented as the One who could heal the young boy solely by the power of His spoken word (and on top of that from another city). Through all these events those whom God has drawn to faith, come to receive and believe in Christ. John the Baptist believed, and his disciples believed too. Then there were those present in Jerusalem during the Passover who believed. In Nicodemus we see growing belief. Added to this list is the Samaritan woman, and then many of her towns people believed. And finally see true saving belief in the royal official along with his household. All these real people serve to draw our attention to Christ - that in Him is the only source of true spiritual life - eternal life.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Audio Sermon File: John 5:1-18
Going Deeper: Study Guide
MIRACLE TO MURDER
Today we are going to start unfolding Chapter 5 which begins a new division in the gospel. In review, from chapter 1 verses 1 to 18 we have what is known as the Prologue. It is our introduction setting the tone for the rest of the gospel. In it we have a profound revelation of who Jesus Christ is - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn.1:1).
The prologue clearly lays out to the reader the nature of Christ and that can be summed up with the word INCARNATION. Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnate - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).
In the next major section following the prologue we can sum it up with one word - PRESENTATION. From John 1:19 to the end of chapter 4, Jesus Christ is presented to the people of Israel and Israel’s religious leaders through John the Baptist. John the Baptist says this of Jesus - Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29 - NASB). In addition Jesus’ disciples are presented - as is Jesus Himself in Galilee, Judea, and Samaria (The fuller description of these major sections can found at the end of this blog page).
From chapter 5 to the end of chapter 12 the overall theme could be described with one word - and that word is OPPOSITION. This OPPOSITION comes as a result of the deepest seeded UNBELIEF a person can possess. This OPPOSITION could already be seen brewing in the background in the first four chapters - but now it comes to a head - and the full blown - outright rejection of Christ, becomes overwhelmingly present.
So let us now begin the 5th chapter of the Gospel of John as we examine Jesus’ 3rd sign - what is the commonly referred to account of the healing of the paralytic. Allow me to read to you from JOHN 5:1-18. From this passage we divide it into three sections which will reveal to us the OPPOSITION to Jesus. The OPPOSITION to Jesus is developed through three stages:
CONDUCTING A MIRACLE (v.1-9)
CONDEMNED FOR MERCY (v.10-15)
CONTEMPLATION OF MURDER (v. 16-18)
John 5:1-18 states: After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep [gate] a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted]. 5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying [there], and knew that he had already been a long time [in that condition], He ^said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" 7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." 8 Jesus ^said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and [began] to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." 11 But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, `Pick up your pallet and walk.' " 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, `Pick up [your pallet] and walk'?" 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in [that] place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." 15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." 18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
1. CONDUCTING A MIRACLE (v.1-9)
v.1 Once again we see John following the footsteps of Jesus as He traveled throughout Israel. The last time that Jesus was engaged in His ministry, we found Him at Cana of Galilee (4:46). So Jesus had an extensive ministry not being bound by any particular geographical location. On this occasion Jesus traveled back south After these things and headed up to Jerusalem. If you remember to a previous sermon, I spoke about the physical geography of Israel. When the Bible speaks about travel to Jerusalem, it often uses the phrase went up - because Jerusalem is built on top of a mountain. The reason that Jesus went up to Jerusalem is to attend a feast of the Jews. We are not certain which feast this was - it could have been Rosh Hashanah, Passover, or Pentecost - but the bottom line is that we don’t know. The focus of the passage is not the occasion, but what happens at this feast, therefore Scripture doesn’t reveal the occasion.
v.2-4 The city of Jerusalem is a fortified walled city, and there are quite a few entrances. The entrance that is mentioned in the text is named the sheep [gate]. If you have a study Bible it would help if you look at the maps of the city to get your bearings. This gate is located in the north wall of the city near the east corner, close to the temple. In this area was a pool - some call it the ‘Sheep Pool.’ The purpose of this pool was to wash the sheep that were brought into the temple for sacrifices. So sheep were cleaned in this pool and then transported over to the temple. The pool as it states in our text was called Bethesda, which is Aramaic, the common language of the day, meaning - ‘house of MERCY’ or ‘house of outpouring.’ The ‘Pool of Bethesda’ was so referred to because of the healings that would take place there - of the disabled - those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered. This pool was surrounded by five porticoes (covered colonnades). It was in this area that lay a multitude of disabled people - as they waited and took refuge. Through archaeological digs in the past, there is a pool that matches this description.
If you use the NIV you may have noticed - as we read the passage, that from verse three the NIV skips to verse 5, whereas the NASB includes them in brackets. If you are in the habit of looking at the footnotes, and I encourage you to get into this habit, then you would have known that verse 3 in some manuscripts continues and states - and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had.
These words are debated as to whether these words are included in the original autograph or not - despite this, I can say that we do know that God is a merciful God, and that throughout Scripture He willfully purposes to heal people. There are good arguments on both sides of the fence, but this is where I am going to leave the debate to the academics.
v.5-6 We are now introduced to a very sad scene - there is an unnamed man - a man who we are told by John is stricken - he is ill. He had been in this condition for thirty-eight years. So for almost 40 years or nearly 4 decades people knew that this guy was genuinely ill. The amount of years that this man suffered, underscores the magnitude of his debilitating disease. But…. things for this man were going to change, and his hopes are going to be finally realized. It all begins when Jesus saw him lying there among all the other disabled people. In the historical setting of this account, we must not overlook some revealing yet - between the lines details. It is interesting to note that most people who were religious and physically well would probably avoid this area. They would do so because of the uncomfortable unease one would experience by seeing this kind of human suffering - as one commentator describes it as the place where - ‘the helpless dregs of society lay in a pathetic state’ (G. Borchert). Wouldn’t it be true for most of us too. We see it in this city where the unfortunate titles of ‘scum of the earth’ - ‘the low lifes’ are used. I am referring to a place like Vancouver’s skid row - Hastings and Main - Canada’s most deplorable postal code. How many of you have been down there lately? One time when I was down in the area, I made this discovery - that it is pretty easy to find a parking spot along Hastings in that part of the city - but as you drive even a couple of blocks out of the area - you have to circle quite a few time before finding a spot to park. The point I am highlighting in our passage is this - What was Jesus doing down there? Why was He at the ‘Hastings and Main’ of Jerusalem? The other historical backdrop I want to point out is this - most Jews (and Jesus was a Jew) would not want to be down in that area so they could avoid ritual impurity. The text doesn’t give us an answer to why Jesus was there, but it underscores the character of Christ as He is about to CONDUCT A MIRACLE - that Jesus is the compassionate and merciful God-Man. What a scene it must have been - a sea of bodies hovering around a pool of water - waters of MERCY as they were known. Among all the sick, blind, lame, and withered - lay this man -and Jesus picks him out of the crowd - this guy gets singled out. Jesus knew that he had already been a long time [in that condition]. This poor soul had been confined by his condition for years and years - and now his life was about to change through an act of mercy - a MIRACLE.
We have already seen a couple of times the revealing of Jesus’ omniscience (1:47; 2:24-25) - that He knew all things - and once again it appears that Jesus knew of this man through supernatural knowledge. There are so many people present - all suffering - but God for His sovereign purposes chose and singled out this man. Jesus asks him - Do you wish to get well? If you were in this man’s state how would you answer? - it is obvious that the answer would be yes. Yet Jesus perhaps asks this question to prepare the man to respond to His loving command. The man doesn’t give the most obvious and simple answer - if we look down at the text we can read how he replies - he says to Jesus in verse 7 - Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. A sad reality can be drawn out from this guys answer. From this guys perspective his hope was based upon the claimed supernatural ability of the waters. The people of that time evidently believed in the myth that on occasion the waters of the pool would be miraculously stirred up - and that the first person who was able to jump in was going to get healed. For this invalid, this was his hope - but because of his condition it really touched upon his hopelessness. The man couldn’t get to the water on his own fast enough - and there was no man to help him. What he said in response to Jesus’ simple question, revealed how he understood how God worked. His hope was in the waters of the pool, but if there is any irony in all this - THE HEALER was standing right in front of his face, and ready to heal him directly and personally.
Some of you might be wondering - so what is this ‘stirring up of the water’ that actually takes place mentioned in verse 7 and even in the questioned verses of 3b and 4? It appears that this pool of water as with many others in the Jerusalem area were spring fed. It appears that at high water times, the pools waters became stirred up, as the pressure from the high water table levels forced the infusion of spring water into the pool. Well we all know that there is no such thing in this world of water that has miraculous healing properties.
The man’s answer continues - but while I am coming, another steps down before me. Once again it reveals his concept of God and healing and how He works - in his mind God always honours the one who jumps in first - that person is the King of the castle….and he is always a dirty rascal. When you think about it - this guy must be pretty frustrated. Who knows how many years this guy has been lying by the side of the pool. This kind of thing has probably happened to you - you spot an open check out stand and your clearly heading for it, and what?...someone else buds in line. Isn’t this how we sometimes look at God and how He works? We think that in order for God to notice us we need to push our way up to the front of the line….otherwise He is not going to dispense His grace to us. It is easy to fall into this trap….often it happens to me…in the feebleness of my faith….I have do something to get God to notice me… but this is not faith but works….this kind of thinking is worldliness. Thankfully God is bigger than we are…a lot bigger.
v.8 Let’s see how Jesus responds. Jesus doesn’t just heal the man on the spot….instead Jesus commands the man to do the seemingly impossible. Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." Don’t forget, that this man had been ill for thirty-eight years (v.5), so he wasn’t able to get around too quickly, you know. At best he could possibly hobble to the pool and cast himself in. Yet Jesus commands the man to obey Him. The man needs to submit himself solely upon Jesus’ word.
It was through the power of the Word that God spoke all things into being, and it is through the power of the Word that this man was going to be healed. He had to be utterly dependent upon God’s Word. This is a reminder to us, that when we are pressed to the limit, boxed in - whether in ministry or in our home, or workplace - and there seems that there is no possible way out - isn’t that the time that God reminds us - depend upon Me. And when we do that, when we humble our self before the Lord by applying His Word - God works His perfect will.
v.9 In verse 9 we find out what happens? Immediately the man became well - the man is instantaneously cured by the power of God’s Word, and he gets up and goes his way - he [began] to walk - in obedience to Christ’s command. We can discern from the original text that this was a complete and permanent healing - since the tense of the word walk could be translated as ‘continue on walking.’ What was impossible, God made possible as He also provided the gracious means to accomplish this - and He did right in front of those who sought ‘miraculous water’ in a pool, instead of the author of miracles.
In CONDUCTING A MIRACLE, Jesus chose that which was weak, to demonstrate His awesome power, compassion, grace, mercy, and glory. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah, and this miracle authenticates Him to be who He claims to be. The verse ends with this note - Now it was the Sabbath on that day. This is significant because since the healing took place on a Sabbath, now we will be able to see the religious Jew’s heart condition. In CONDUCTING A MIRACLE - the Jews don’t give praise to God, but instead Jesus becomes a target - being:
2. CONDEMNED FOR MERCY (v.10-15)
v.10-11 Jesus healed the man on a Sabbath. The Sabbath by the time that this healing took place, had been distorted and corrupted. Originally God gave man the Sabbath rule as a time for rest. People were to get recharged physically and spiritually, and to specifically set a time apart to worship and enjoy fellowship with God. Instead, the Jews by Jesus’ time, turned the simplicity of the Sabbath into a series of rules and regulations. The Rabbis turned the Sabbath into a heavy burden. It went so far that only certain medicines were allowed to be used on a Sabbath and only by certain individuals. In terms of working, the Rabbis developed and specified that there are 39 classes of labour which are forbidden on the Sabbath. So you can see the historical background festering behind the scenes - and Jesus’ miracle and mercy becomes - NOT the focus of praise, but the center of controversy. Remember back to verse 8, Jesus commanded the man to Get up, pick up your pallet and walk., so this is what this guy is doing. As a result of walking around going where he was going, the Jews spot him and confront him and say to him - It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet. Even with the myriad of rules and regulations that the Jews had, there was no specific law stating that a person could not carry a mat (pallet) on a Sabbath. Though the Jews may have considered what the healed man was doing was thought to be as carrying a burden (cf. Jer. 17:21). The bottom line, which is the sad part - the ‘dark side’ of this account, is that the Jews could of cared less about the wonderful and miraculous event that just took place in this man’s life. All they cared about was carrying out ‘the letter of the law’ and not the original intent of the law. So they totally missed out on God’s purpose for the Sabbath. In fact they may have been gearing up for a stoning - since stoning was the punishment to be received by one who carries a burden on the Sabbath.
In light of Jesus’ mercy there was no mercy by the Jews. Isn’t that how we are sometimes? We get so wrapped up in the rules and traditions of men that we have no mercy on the people who need mercy. The well being of people are pushed aside, without a bat of the eye. Traditions of this kind and in these situations clearly violate, and stand above the authoritative mandates of Scripture. Tradition first then God - Jesus in the other gospels condemns the religious leaders for this kind of practice. Isn’t this what is happening here? Isn’t this a lesson we can learn from the perverted motives of the Jews in this account?
The man’s response to the accusations was simple - He who made me well was the one who said to me, `Pick up your pallet and walk. In other words the Man who healed him told him to do so. It seems by a surface reading of the answer that the healed man gave - that the logic behind the answer was that because of the healing power Jesus possessed - the healer must be someone he should listen to - so he did. Yet in reality through the force of the original text - we can understand that the man was blame shifting - placing the focus off himself and onto Jesus. Literally the verse should read like this - He who made me well--that one !!! said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’ Or in other words - hey don’t harass me, you should blame the guy who told me to do this.
v.12-13 So now the Jews want to find out who this guy is. But the healed man did not know who it was. We discover through this exchange that the healed man had no care to know who healed him - despite the fact that Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in [that] place. The healed man was happy to go his own way, still focused on himself and even worse blaming Jesus to get the heat off himself. As for the Jews, even though they had been given testimony of a miracle, they too did not care. They weren’t awestruck by the obvious reality of the miracle - they didn’t rejoice and praise God - instead they focused on their pitiful and trivial laws. Once again we see an underlying rejection of mercy - and from all parties. Are you shocked by these responses? Well we shouldn’t be - because not all will love the Lord the way that they should - but it is a great disappointment when it comes from those who are regarded as the religious leaders.
v.14 In verse 14 there is some time that has elapsed, for it was Afterward that Jesus found the healed man. We should note who initiates the contact - once again it is Christ. So Jesus goes and finds this guy, and He finds Him in the temple. It is safe to say that this man had not set foot in the temple for 38 years, since he would have been considered as ceremonially unclean. What he was doing there is unclear from the text. In light of the attitude of this man through out our passage today - maybe he was enjoying the privilege of being able to be in that place and was checking out the rights that others had freely enjoyed. It is interesting to see what Jesus says to him - Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you. Isn’t this a strange thing to say? Remember this - that this guy is already healed - Behold, you have become well, and Jesus still is addressing his what? What Jesus is addressing is this man’s sin - which is currently in progress. In the context of these two statements by Jesus - the man was continuing in his sin which had originally caused him to be in sickness. Knowing that this man is continuing in the pattern of sin that originally caused his condition - Jesus commands the man to stop sinning.
Jesus’ command was a warning that if he continued in his sin then something more severe was going to happen. So it is true that many (not all though) of our sicknesses are directly related to sin, it is a result of sin. We find this Biblical reality in 1 Corinthians 11:30 it is clear that some of the weakness, sickness, and even death are directly to present sin. It is quite possible that this is why Jesus singles out this guy at the beginning of our passage out of all those around the Pool of Bethesda - so that He could highlight this reality. There are physical consequences to sin. Yet it is very important that we balance what is being taught here with other parts of Scripture. It is also clear that not all sickness is related to sin as Jesus also makes clear in John 9:1-3. Another prime example is the OT figure - Job.
v.15 After the man went away - what does he do? He goes to the Jews and he rats on Jesus. The healed man reveals his character and attitude - he is thankless. He goes to the Jews and says to them…hey you know….about that guy you were asking me about earlier….the guy who had made [me] well… I figured out who He is….He is Jesus. Nice guy huh?? All he was thinking was about himself. He wanted to shift blame to Jesus and therefore avoid any charges of violating the Sabbath…which could result in being stoned to death…..therefore he was trying to save his own neck.
Well there is very little righteous response from anyone in this section to God’s mercy. It seems that no one cares. Instead in contrast to the clear and obvious MIRACLE, there are unrighteous and ungrateful responses. How do you respond to mercy granted to you? How do you respond to cries of mercy from others? Jesus is CONDEMNED FOR MERCY. It doesn’t stop here, it gets worse…as we finish off with the….
3. CONTEMPLATION OF MURDER (v.16-18)
v.16 As a result of the healed man ratting on Jesus, the Jews were persecuting Jesus. This Sabbath healing was not the last time that Jesus did this, but through the gospels and even later in John - we know that it became a pattern for Jesus to heal on this day that the Lord had made. The Jews were in effect saying - Hey…were going to keep an eye on you Jesus….you better watch out. The result was persecution. In fact the word persecuting, can be translated as ‘began to persecute.’ This means that the OPPOSITION had openly begun and it continues…it is ongoing through out the gospel - and fully expressed itself in the crucifixion of Christ - on the cross.
v.17-18 In verse 17 we have the foundation which Jesus asserts His authority (which we will discover the next Lord’s day) - and therefore Jesus makes the declaration of who He really is - that He is Deity, Jesus is God. In response to the open persecution Jesus gives them the truth, but the Jews can’t handle the truth. Don’t forget - in the minds of the Jews - they believed that the Sabbath law did NOT allow for this kind of act of kindness and compassion. And this is how Jesus addresses that error - My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working. What gets Jesus in trouble with the Jews is that - firstly Jesus claims God to be ‘My’ Father - ie: Jesus is claiming a direct intimate relationship with God (where the Jew would not make claim to such direct intimacy). Then next - God is working non stop to this moment, and so is Jesus. This implies that God works on the Sabbath and so does Jesus. Jesus clearly relates to the Jews, that God’s work and His work, is in harmony - it is on par with one another. Therefore through these statements Jesus implicitly declared - Himself equal with God; that He is God (taking us back to John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God). The Jews immediately picked up on the clear assertion of Jesus’ response - in the perverted minds of the Jews - not only was Jesus a continuous Sabbath day law breaker - but He also was a blasphemer because Jesus was calling God His own Father. For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him. From MIRACLE TO MURDER….
As we meditate upon these events and apply these principles of Christ in action - Are you open to the truth? Are you willing to fight for the truth - even in the face of religious opposition? Are you willing to die for the truth. These are tough questions - and we need to deal seriously with the answer to these questions. Jesus sets the pattern for us in the face of OPPOSITION - we are to be God pleasers and not man pleasers. Faithfulness that is Christ-like demands the answer YES.
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OVERVIEW OF MAJOR DIVISIONS TO DATE
From chapter 1 verses 1 to 18 we have what is known as the Prologue. It is the introduction setting the tone for the rest of the gospel. The Gospel was written in the most simple Greek in the NT, yet through this simplicity we have the most profound truths being revealed. In this short section we have the introduction to most of the major themes that the Apostle John hits upon. In addition we have a profound revelation of who Jesus Christ is - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn.1:1).
The prologue clearly lays out to the reader the nature of Christ and that can be summed up with the word INCARNATION. Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnate - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14). Through the first 18 verses of John we see Jesus’ eternality, pre-incarnate work - we are introduced to his forerunner - John the Baptist, we witness Christ’s rejection, we witness His acceptance by those who believe, and finally - we are able to understand that Jesus Christ is no ordinary man, but is God veiled in human flesh - so we see the Deity of Christ. These key opening verses of the prologue - focus us upon the key theme of the Gospel of John. The key theme is found in John 20:31 - But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
In the next major section following the prologue we can sum it up with one word - PRESENTATION. From John 1:19 to the end of chapter 4, Jesus Christ is presented to the people of Israel and Israel’s religious leaders through John the Baptist. John the Baptist says this of Jesus - Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29 - NASB). In this section we also got a glimpse of Jesus being presented for baptism. The Baptist then presents Jesus to his own disciples and as a result - Jesus calls Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael to be His first disciples. Following this we see Jesus being presented in Galilee through His first sign - the turning of water into wine. Next Jesus is presented in Judea. Jesus makes a great impact upon the religious scene during the Passover - as He cleanses the Jerusalem temple of some of its corruption. In chapter 3 we examined Jesus’ interview with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a well established teacher of the Law, yet he had no regeneration of the heart. Jesus reveals His plan of salvation - that one must be born again - and this is through Jesus Christ - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). Near the end of John the Baptist’s ministry we see him continuing faithfully in fulfilling his ministry, by pointing people to the Messiah. In chapter 4 we have Jesus being presented in Samaria first to the woman at the well. As a result of this divine encounter, many of the Samaritans are saved. Parallel to these events, Jesus continues revealing Himself to his disciples and underscores the importance of reaching the lost.
Then finally we see Jesus’ PRESENTATION back once again in Galilee. This time Jesus is received by the people, albeit mostly for the wrong reasons. As we close off chapter 4 we witness Jesus’ second sign in this gospel - the healing of the royal official’s son who lay at the point of death. We see Jesus being presented as the One who could heal the young boy solely by the power of His spoken word (and on top of that from another city). Through all these events those whom God has drawn to faith, come to receive and believe in Christ. John the Baptist believed, and his disciples believed too. Then there were those present in Jerusalem during the Passover who believed. In Nicodemus we see growing belief. Added to this list is the Samaritan woman, and then many of her towns people believed. And finally see true saving belief in the royal official along with his household. All these real people serve to draw our attention to Christ - that in Him is the only source of true spiritual life - eternal life.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sunday, February 8, 2009
John 4:43-54 True Life Saving Faith
08.02.09 John 4:43-54 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 4:43-54
Going Deeper: Study Guide
True Life Saving Faith
In light of Jesus’ public ministry we have been able to witness, over the past few sermons, Jesus’ growing harvest. In chapter 3 - TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH is offered and received by well known religious leader - Nicodemus. Then as we examined over the last 3 sermons it was offered to a woman with a past. Salvation was not only offered to her but also to her towns people - Samaritans - the enemies of the Jews. And today the changing of hearts takes place in the life and family of someone else. Our text reveals:
43 After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. 46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." 49 The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
Today we will discover in our passage the theme of ‘Unbelief and Belief.’ It is evident in the people of Galilee, as well - and certainly more defined - in a royal official and his family. The underlying witness that the Apostle John presents to us is this - Jesus’ true identity establishes that life comes through the Son of God, and believing on Him brings eternal life. TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH comes only from our wonderful Lord - Jesus Christ. TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH in our Scripture passage is developed through 3 phases of interaction:
THE LIFE THREATENING REQUEST (made by the royal official) v.43-47
THE LIFE CHALLENGING RESPONSE (posed by Jesus) v.48-50
THE LIFE GIVING RESULT (granted by Jesus) v.51-54
In this recount, through the REQUEST, RESPONSE, and RESULT - we see Jesus leading the royal official from unbelief to TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH through a dilemma of faith..
1. THE LIFE THREATENING REQUEST
(by the official) v.43-47
v.43 After spending two days with the Samaritans, Jesus packs up and gets back onto His original travel itinerary, that was to go to Galilee as He purposed back in verse 3.
v.44 In relation to the direct context of verse 44, that is Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritans, the Apostle John makes note of a proverb that Jesus Himself had stated - which is - a prophet has no honor in his own country. This proverb contrasts the belief of 2 people groups. The first is the Samaritans and the second is Jesus’ own people - the Jews. Jesus had a successful ministry in Samaria with those whom the Jews despised. But to His own people - the Jews, He was certainly met with opposition. The Samaritans characteristically responded with belief - and in contrast the Jews characteristically demonstrated unbelief. The Jews were rejecting Jesus in reluctance to believe due to the hardness of their hearts. So this statement sets the overall tone of what is to come in the following passages.
v.45 As Jesus sets foot into the Galilean region, He is received enthusiastically - the people received Him. Jesus was no stranger to these people and this also included His disciples. All of Jesus’ disciples had come from Galilee, with the possible exception of Judas Iscariot. So people were familiar with them. Those who had welcomed Jesus into Galilee, as the text states were even there in Jerusalem at the Feast - and as a result had seen what Jesus did. We the readers are already aware what Jesus did at the Passover Feast - which is recorded back in chapter 2:23 - He did many signs. Not only this, but Jesus also cleansed the temple of the crooked animal merchants and money changers. So because of all these things the people welcomed Him - but the nature and motives of the welcome is going to be revealed to us - later in this passage.
v.46 If you remember back to the events of chapter 2 of the gospel, Galilee was the geographical backdrop, and more specifically the town of Cana. This was where Jesus began His public ministry. At Cana Jesus performed His first sign - turning water into wine. And here in our passage Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee. At this same time, a royal official is introduced. This royal official was probably stationed at Capernaum, as a servant, under the authority of King Herod Antipas. King Herod ruled Galilee during this time, a reign which begun in 4 BC and ending in AD 39. Herod was the King that had been foolishly trapped into beheading John the Baptist - and displaying the Baptist’s head on a platter for all his guests to see. Now, this official, in our passage had his home in Capernaum, which was about 18-20 miles north east of Cana. This is slightly greater than the distance of walking from UBC to SFU. The town of Capernaum was located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The text tells us that the official had a son who was sick at Capernaum.
v.47 It is apparent that the news that Jesus was back in town caused some stir - and the news of Jesus’ arrival rapidly spread into the region. As a result the news in turn reached this royal official. Being an official of the royal court this man was well off and had some status in town. He probably was also well connected because of his position, so it could have been that he had tried every resource to have his son physically restored. It is clear, however in the text, that nothing sought out, worked for him as his son… was at the point of death.
Desperate times require desperate measures. As an outcome of Jesus’ arrival in Cana, the official went to [Jesus] and was imploring [Him] to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Now the original text makes it clear by the tense of the words that this official went at once to Jesus (ingressive aorist indicative). The situation was quite desperate - death was imminent - and he didn’t have to think twice about searching out Jesus’ help. I believe that those of you who are parents would appreciate and really understand the circumstances. Of course he didn’t have a car back then, so the trek from Capernaum to Cana was not something one would do casually. When he got to Jesus the man begged Jesus. Once again from the Greek tense used it is clear that this was not a simple request or plea (imperfect active) - but the picture is of this desperate official repeatedly, and persistently making his request to Jesus again and again….please Jesus come down and heal my son….please Jesus…I beg you - my son is at the point of death…he is dying and I need you to come to Capernaum….please.
The official comes to Jesus with a sense of unbelief, but is so desperate that there is a glimmer of true faith - and makes his plea. Jesus draws the official to a genuine belief by issuing ….
2. THE LIFE CHALLENGING RESPONSE
(posed by Jesus) v.48-50
v.48 Do you remember this little ditty? - ‘Jesus meek and mild.’ I am not even sure where it comes from but for some reason it has stuck in my head. I guess from all the years being in church - at some point these simple words of a song have been locked into my brain. Jesus meek and mild - well it is probably our expectation that Jesus, who is known for His compassion, would immediately accept the man’s pleas. But Jesus’ answer may shock you. In fact it is a RESPONSE of rejection - Jesus harshly replies - "Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe." Jesus speaks directly to the official, but His response is directed at all the people. What Jesus is saying is that all the people, and in particular the Jews, is that all they want are signs and wonders.
The phrase signs and wonders, is not two kinds of different acts, but it emphasizes the event - in other words signs and wonders could be expressed as ‘marvelous signs’ or ‘wonderful signs.’ So Jesus confronts the people point blank - all you want is signs and wonders otherwise you are never ever going to believe. If you don’t see a miracle then you will feel that there is no reason to have faith in Me. The people were so hard hearted that they needed to justify why they should believe. Jesus knew that all the people wanted from Him was a show - they saw Him as some kind of entertainer - maybe even some kind of magician - pull another rabbit out of the hat Jesus…show me another new trick Jesus...the bottom line that Jesus was driving at was that the people were not interested in a TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH. The heart of the issue was that the Galilean’s attitude reflected the deepest state of unbelief one could possess. There was a self centered focus on the need for constant wonderful signs, and a total disregard for the person of Christ.
One time I met a man who said he willing went to church many years ago, when he was young, but now has long rejected any reality that there is a God. At this point of his life He has placed his Bible on the shelf for many years to collect dust as an antiquity - and he has brushed aside the necessity for faith. I had quite a lengthy conversation with him. The bottom of the line for him was that he did what he could do, to the best of his ability and that was sufficient. He rejected the notion that God exists, but did express that the only thing that could convince him of the existence of this so called all powerful compassionate God, was if there was something so spectacular that it would instill faith in him. In short he wanted evidence. No evidence… no God was his formula for faith. I did offer to him evidence - since he hit on that theme so much - I did not offer to him empirical evidence, but called him to the powerful testimony of Scripture. The bottom line was that this man rejected the true knowledge of God and replaced it with lies and worship of self as the authority (Rom. 1:28). He stated the same kind of thing that Jesus directly confronts in our passage - that people want great displays of supernatural acts, but have no interest in personally knowing the One who performed them. In response to the testimony of Scripture, he relegated it to mere opinion - he did not want to accept the truth.
In verse 49 we see the royal official’s response. The official’s response comes in the form of an order - after all he was a royal official and therefore he had legal authority over Jesus - but we know that he did not have ultimate authority - for only God has that authority over His creation. The official commands Jesus to go with him - back to Capernaum. If you look down at your Bibles at verse 49 you will see the words - come down. Jesus wasn’t standing on something and was being asked to step down - but it refers to the geographical location of Capernaum which was a downhill trip, right to the north western shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is like saying let’s go down to the Fraser River, because our church is on a higher elevation than the Fraser. So the official, commands Jesus to make a LIFE SAVING trip to his hometown to save his son - before his child dies. Up to this point we know that the official has a son, but we are not made aware of the age of this son. We now find out that this was a child, a little boy, imminently facing death. We see here - not only a royal official, but we see that he is a loving father - a father’s who love is so real that he makes this trip long trip to seek out a cure for his little son.
We see a father who’s hopes in Jesus, even after being rebuked along with the people for seeking out signs and wonders - perseveres. This father had been tested and challenged to a deeper - true - faith by Jesus - and he arose to the moment. The father had to wrestle with his own faith - whether he was to place it upon receiving a supernatural demonstration - or rather would he place it solely upon Jesus and His Word?
v.50 This is how Jesus replies - He responds to the officials command by countering with His own command - and the original language gives us the force of what is being said. What Jesus commands here is ‘GO’ …your way. Why? Because Jesus has made a TRUE LIFE SAVING declaration. If you use the NIV - a weakness of the translation is shown here - it states - Your son will live - as if Jesus was only announcing the outcome of this little boy, down the road as he gets well from his illness. Why do I highlight this point? I do this because it is important to understand at this juncture, what Jesus is saying - because Jesus is not making some prediction, due to some foreknowledge of the outcome for this child. BUT - Jesus has at that moment - saved that little boys life - your son lives. Jesus demonstrates who He is - the Son of God - He performs a miracle - by the power of His Word.
Jesus in His infinite wisdom, performs the miracle at a distance so that no one present in the crowd who wanted to be entertained, by a supernatural marvelous sign, could be satisfied, by their requests. Instead the result was that the official had to wrestle with his unbelief and belief.
In the circumstance at hand there is presented to the official a dilemma of faith. Jesus commands the official to go back home because his son lives. But here is the dilemma - if the man does not take Jesus’ words seriously - by going back home - the official would have to continue begging Jesus to return with him to Capernaum. Then the begging would be an indication of the lack of trust in Jesus’ Words. With the lack of trust in Jesus so obvious, the official could view that as an insult toward Jesus - and therefore could conclude that he would not be rewarded with the restoration of his son’s health.
Yet if the official does obey Jesus, then he could face the possibility of going home only to find that the boy’s life is still in jeopardy - and if that happens there may be no time to spare - because he had to make the 18 mile trip back to Cana - look for Jesus - and then to beg Jesus once again - and then take Jesus back to Capernaum to perform a miracle in person - another 18 miles.
The first scenario calls for the demand for evidence that his son is restored - this would not be faith, but is a lack of trust in the claim of Jesus. The second scenario means that the official needs to exercise faith without any tangible evidence. Which in the officials mind could spell disastrous consequences upon his beloved little boy. So he was backed into a corner, but out of necessity - as the clock is ticking away - he has to exercise faith - and he chooses the better way - a faith exercised that offers no proof.
The critical question is - Do I believe solely upon Jesus by faith alone, or not? As it states in our passage - The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off . The man grew into belief by the supernatural drawing of Christ, and demonstrated that reality, by heading on the long journey back home. The official had true saving belief and responded to the Lord with obedience - he departed.
This is the kind of faith which we read about in Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Jesus calls the official to a genuine faith based on the person of Christ. Likewise it call us to a faith which is not based upon evidence, but solely upon the solid conviction of a future reality. True faith is not based upon something that can be measurable or experienced - but true faith rests upon divine assurance, which in itself is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8).
Jesus gives the official a serious life transforming challenge - faith or faithlessness. Through the Holy Spirit’s drawing, this man was given true faith, thus we now see…
3. THE LIFE GIVING RESULT
(granted by Jesus) v.51-54
v.51-52 On the way home the officials slaves met him. They reported to the official the great news - that this little child was living. It is most likely that the official thought back to the moment Jesus stated that his son lives. In doing so he inquired about the hour when he began to get better to his servants. His servants revealed to him that his little child’s fever left him at the seventh hour, which would be 1:00 pm the previous day - according to Jewish time keeping. This bit of information underscores the distance and large amount of time it took to get from Cana to Capernaum.
v.53 Discovering this fact, the official realized that [it was] at that hour - he recognized that this was the exact time when Jesus issued the decree that His child was healed. He also comprehends that this miracle took place without Jesus’ physical presence as the official had originally desired. This was a long distance, absentee miracle - which really demonstrated the beauty and power of Jesus’ majesty. The little child received his physical life back, but not only this, he responded to God, with TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH. The miracle gave life to the child and helped to strengthen the officials new found faith. As an overflow of grace that this father experienced, his witness became the catalyst which lead his family into TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH as well - and he himself believed and his whole household. Once again the echoes of a ripe harvest - in this chapter remind us of the crop around us.
v.54 Our account wraps up with a note from the Apostle John - This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. This was not Jesus’ second overall miracle in His ministry, but it was the second that He had done in Galilee - the first being the time He turned water into wine here at Cana.
If we step back for a moment - and look at the overall events of this chapter - we begin with an unbelieving crowd. A crowd where many had seen the miracles of Jesus while they were at the Passover - yet they still had no faith. But as the people spoke of these miracles of Jesus - and the news spread around - we meet a unbelieving man…a certain royal official. A man who became keenly aware that in Jesus, there may be a solution to his heart wrenching circumstances. His son lay at home with a fever - a life threatening event - and in hearing about the signs and wonders that Jesus was able to perform - he demonstrated some belief - yet wrestling with the presence of unbelief. Then as the official in desperation, came to Jesus and personally interacted with Him, he received faith - not in what could be seen - but in what he could not yet see. And as it was later established, through his servants, that his son was healed - his faith was confirmed. But his faith did not stop there - it overflowed into a testimony to his own family, and they were saved. From unbelief to overflowing belief - which is found only in Jesus Christ - Jesus gives life. Take your pencils and circle these words v.50 - lives; v.51 - living; and v.53 - lives. These words emphasize that Jesus gives life - not solely physical life as the little boy had received, but most importantly - spiritual life as this household rejoiced in.
The challenges of this passage are great, and the personal applications God calls us to are even greater. Aren’t we like the people in this account sometimes? We say - Lord show me something - show me a sign - and then I will believe You….do something tangible so then is it that I can respond in faith and obedience. But God draws us to the fact that it is the Hebrews 11 kind of faith that He is looking to reward - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (11:1).
Audio Sermon File: John 4:43-54
Going Deeper: Study Guide
True Life Saving Faith
In light of Jesus’ public ministry we have been able to witness, over the past few sermons, Jesus’ growing harvest. In chapter 3 - TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH is offered and received by well known religious leader - Nicodemus. Then as we examined over the last 3 sermons it was offered to a woman with a past. Salvation was not only offered to her but also to her towns people - Samaritans - the enemies of the Jews. And today the changing of hearts takes place in the life and family of someone else. Our text reveals:
43 After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast. 46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." 49 The royal official said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." 50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off. 51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living. 52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." 53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives"; and he himself believed and his whole household. 54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
Today we will discover in our passage the theme of ‘Unbelief and Belief.’ It is evident in the people of Galilee, as well - and certainly more defined - in a royal official and his family. The underlying witness that the Apostle John presents to us is this - Jesus’ true identity establishes that life comes through the Son of God, and believing on Him brings eternal life. TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH comes only from our wonderful Lord - Jesus Christ. TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH in our Scripture passage is developed through 3 phases of interaction:
THE LIFE THREATENING REQUEST (made by the royal official) v.43-47
THE LIFE CHALLENGING RESPONSE (posed by Jesus) v.48-50
THE LIFE GIVING RESULT (granted by Jesus) v.51-54
In this recount, through the REQUEST, RESPONSE, and RESULT - we see Jesus leading the royal official from unbelief to TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH through a dilemma of faith..
1. THE LIFE THREATENING REQUEST
(by the official) v.43-47
v.43 After spending two days with the Samaritans, Jesus packs up and gets back onto His original travel itinerary, that was to go to Galilee as He purposed back in verse 3.
v.44 In relation to the direct context of verse 44, that is Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritans, the Apostle John makes note of a proverb that Jesus Himself had stated - which is - a prophet has no honor in his own country. This proverb contrasts the belief of 2 people groups. The first is the Samaritans and the second is Jesus’ own people - the Jews. Jesus had a successful ministry in Samaria with those whom the Jews despised. But to His own people - the Jews, He was certainly met with opposition. The Samaritans characteristically responded with belief - and in contrast the Jews characteristically demonstrated unbelief. The Jews were rejecting Jesus in reluctance to believe due to the hardness of their hearts. So this statement sets the overall tone of what is to come in the following passages.
v.45 As Jesus sets foot into the Galilean region, He is received enthusiastically - the people received Him. Jesus was no stranger to these people and this also included His disciples. All of Jesus’ disciples had come from Galilee, with the possible exception of Judas Iscariot. So people were familiar with them. Those who had welcomed Jesus into Galilee, as the text states were even there in Jerusalem at the Feast - and as a result had seen what Jesus did. We the readers are already aware what Jesus did at the Passover Feast - which is recorded back in chapter 2:23 - He did many signs. Not only this, but Jesus also cleansed the temple of the crooked animal merchants and money changers. So because of all these things the people welcomed Him - but the nature and motives of the welcome is going to be revealed to us - later in this passage.
v.46 If you remember back to the events of chapter 2 of the gospel, Galilee was the geographical backdrop, and more specifically the town of Cana. This was where Jesus began His public ministry. At Cana Jesus performed His first sign - turning water into wine. And here in our passage Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee. At this same time, a royal official is introduced. This royal official was probably stationed at Capernaum, as a servant, under the authority of King Herod Antipas. King Herod ruled Galilee during this time, a reign which begun in 4 BC and ending in AD 39. Herod was the King that had been foolishly trapped into beheading John the Baptist - and displaying the Baptist’s head on a platter for all his guests to see. Now, this official, in our passage had his home in Capernaum, which was about 18-20 miles north east of Cana. This is slightly greater than the distance of walking from UBC to SFU. The town of Capernaum was located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The text tells us that the official had a son who was sick at Capernaum.
v.47 It is apparent that the news that Jesus was back in town caused some stir - and the news of Jesus’ arrival rapidly spread into the region. As a result the news in turn reached this royal official. Being an official of the royal court this man was well off and had some status in town. He probably was also well connected because of his position, so it could have been that he had tried every resource to have his son physically restored. It is clear, however in the text, that nothing sought out, worked for him as his son… was at the point of death.
Desperate times require desperate measures. As an outcome of Jesus’ arrival in Cana, the official went to [Jesus] and was imploring [Him] to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Now the original text makes it clear by the tense of the words that this official went at once to Jesus (ingressive aorist indicative). The situation was quite desperate - death was imminent - and he didn’t have to think twice about searching out Jesus’ help. I believe that those of you who are parents would appreciate and really understand the circumstances. Of course he didn’t have a car back then, so the trek from Capernaum to Cana was not something one would do casually. When he got to Jesus the man begged Jesus. Once again from the Greek tense used it is clear that this was not a simple request or plea (imperfect active) - but the picture is of this desperate official repeatedly, and persistently making his request to Jesus again and again….please Jesus come down and heal my son….please Jesus…I beg you - my son is at the point of death…he is dying and I need you to come to Capernaum….please.
The official comes to Jesus with a sense of unbelief, but is so desperate that there is a glimmer of true faith - and makes his plea. Jesus draws the official to a genuine belief by issuing ….
2. THE LIFE CHALLENGING RESPONSE
(posed by Jesus) v.48-50
v.48 Do you remember this little ditty? - ‘Jesus meek and mild.’ I am not even sure where it comes from but for some reason it has stuck in my head. I guess from all the years being in church - at some point these simple words of a song have been locked into my brain. Jesus meek and mild - well it is probably our expectation that Jesus, who is known for His compassion, would immediately accept the man’s pleas. But Jesus’ answer may shock you. In fact it is a RESPONSE of rejection - Jesus harshly replies - "Unless you [people] see signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe." Jesus speaks directly to the official, but His response is directed at all the people. What Jesus is saying is that all the people, and in particular the Jews, is that all they want are signs and wonders.
The phrase signs and wonders, is not two kinds of different acts, but it emphasizes the event - in other words signs and wonders could be expressed as ‘marvelous signs’ or ‘wonderful signs.’ So Jesus confronts the people point blank - all you want is signs and wonders otherwise you are never ever going to believe. If you don’t see a miracle then you will feel that there is no reason to have faith in Me. The people were so hard hearted that they needed to justify why they should believe. Jesus knew that all the people wanted from Him was a show - they saw Him as some kind of entertainer - maybe even some kind of magician - pull another rabbit out of the hat Jesus…show me another new trick Jesus...the bottom line that Jesus was driving at was that the people were not interested in a TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH. The heart of the issue was that the Galilean’s attitude reflected the deepest state of unbelief one could possess. There was a self centered focus on the need for constant wonderful signs, and a total disregard for the person of Christ.
One time I met a man who said he willing went to church many years ago, when he was young, but now has long rejected any reality that there is a God. At this point of his life He has placed his Bible on the shelf for many years to collect dust as an antiquity - and he has brushed aside the necessity for faith. I had quite a lengthy conversation with him. The bottom of the line for him was that he did what he could do, to the best of his ability and that was sufficient. He rejected the notion that God exists, but did express that the only thing that could convince him of the existence of this so called all powerful compassionate God, was if there was something so spectacular that it would instill faith in him. In short he wanted evidence. No evidence… no God was his formula for faith. I did offer to him evidence - since he hit on that theme so much - I did not offer to him empirical evidence, but called him to the powerful testimony of Scripture. The bottom line was that this man rejected the true knowledge of God and replaced it with lies and worship of self as the authority (Rom. 1:28). He stated the same kind of thing that Jesus directly confronts in our passage - that people want great displays of supernatural acts, but have no interest in personally knowing the One who performed them. In response to the testimony of Scripture, he relegated it to mere opinion - he did not want to accept the truth.
In verse 49 we see the royal official’s response. The official’s response comes in the form of an order - after all he was a royal official and therefore he had legal authority over Jesus - but we know that he did not have ultimate authority - for only God has that authority over His creation. The official commands Jesus to go with him - back to Capernaum. If you look down at your Bibles at verse 49 you will see the words - come down. Jesus wasn’t standing on something and was being asked to step down - but it refers to the geographical location of Capernaum which was a downhill trip, right to the north western shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is like saying let’s go down to the Fraser River, because our church is on a higher elevation than the Fraser. So the official, commands Jesus to make a LIFE SAVING trip to his hometown to save his son - before his child dies. Up to this point we know that the official has a son, but we are not made aware of the age of this son. We now find out that this was a child, a little boy, imminently facing death. We see here - not only a royal official, but we see that he is a loving father - a father’s who love is so real that he makes this trip long trip to seek out a cure for his little son.
We see a father who’s hopes in Jesus, even after being rebuked along with the people for seeking out signs and wonders - perseveres. This father had been tested and challenged to a deeper - true - faith by Jesus - and he arose to the moment. The father had to wrestle with his own faith - whether he was to place it upon receiving a supernatural demonstration - or rather would he place it solely upon Jesus and His Word?
v.50 This is how Jesus replies - He responds to the officials command by countering with His own command - and the original language gives us the force of what is being said. What Jesus commands here is ‘GO’ …your way. Why? Because Jesus has made a TRUE LIFE SAVING declaration. If you use the NIV - a weakness of the translation is shown here - it states - Your son will live - as if Jesus was only announcing the outcome of this little boy, down the road as he gets well from his illness. Why do I highlight this point? I do this because it is important to understand at this juncture, what Jesus is saying - because Jesus is not making some prediction, due to some foreknowledge of the outcome for this child. BUT - Jesus has at that moment - saved that little boys life - your son lives. Jesus demonstrates who He is - the Son of God - He performs a miracle - by the power of His Word.
Jesus in His infinite wisdom, performs the miracle at a distance so that no one present in the crowd who wanted to be entertained, by a supernatural marvelous sign, could be satisfied, by their requests. Instead the result was that the official had to wrestle with his unbelief and belief.
In the circumstance at hand there is presented to the official a dilemma of faith. Jesus commands the official to go back home because his son lives. But here is the dilemma - if the man does not take Jesus’ words seriously - by going back home - the official would have to continue begging Jesus to return with him to Capernaum. Then the begging would be an indication of the lack of trust in Jesus’ Words. With the lack of trust in Jesus so obvious, the official could view that as an insult toward Jesus - and therefore could conclude that he would not be rewarded with the restoration of his son’s health.
Yet if the official does obey Jesus, then he could face the possibility of going home only to find that the boy’s life is still in jeopardy - and if that happens there may be no time to spare - because he had to make the 18 mile trip back to Cana - look for Jesus - and then to beg Jesus once again - and then take Jesus back to Capernaum to perform a miracle in person - another 18 miles.
The first scenario calls for the demand for evidence that his son is restored - this would not be faith, but is a lack of trust in the claim of Jesus. The second scenario means that the official needs to exercise faith without any tangible evidence. Which in the officials mind could spell disastrous consequences upon his beloved little boy. So he was backed into a corner, but out of necessity - as the clock is ticking away - he has to exercise faith - and he chooses the better way - a faith exercised that offers no proof.
The critical question is - Do I believe solely upon Jesus by faith alone, or not? As it states in our passage - The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off . The man grew into belief by the supernatural drawing of Christ, and demonstrated that reality, by heading on the long journey back home. The official had true saving belief and responded to the Lord with obedience - he departed.
This is the kind of faith which we read about in Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Jesus calls the official to a genuine faith based on the person of Christ. Likewise it call us to a faith which is not based upon evidence, but solely upon the solid conviction of a future reality. True faith is not based upon something that can be measurable or experienced - but true faith rests upon divine assurance, which in itself is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8).
Jesus gives the official a serious life transforming challenge - faith or faithlessness. Through the Holy Spirit’s drawing, this man was given true faith, thus we now see…
3. THE LIFE GIVING RESULT
(granted by Jesus) v.51-54
v.51-52 On the way home the officials slaves met him. They reported to the official the great news - that this little child was living. It is most likely that the official thought back to the moment Jesus stated that his son lives. In doing so he inquired about the hour when he began to get better to his servants. His servants revealed to him that his little child’s fever left him at the seventh hour, which would be 1:00 pm the previous day - according to Jewish time keeping. This bit of information underscores the distance and large amount of time it took to get from Cana to Capernaum.
v.53 Discovering this fact, the official realized that [it was] at that hour - he recognized that this was the exact time when Jesus issued the decree that His child was healed. He also comprehends that this miracle took place without Jesus’ physical presence as the official had originally desired. This was a long distance, absentee miracle - which really demonstrated the beauty and power of Jesus’ majesty. The little child received his physical life back, but not only this, he responded to God, with TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH. The miracle gave life to the child and helped to strengthen the officials new found faith. As an overflow of grace that this father experienced, his witness became the catalyst which lead his family into TRUE LIFE SAVING FAITH as well - and he himself believed and his whole household. Once again the echoes of a ripe harvest - in this chapter remind us of the crop around us.
v.54 Our account wraps up with a note from the Apostle John - This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. This was not Jesus’ second overall miracle in His ministry, but it was the second that He had done in Galilee - the first being the time He turned water into wine here at Cana.
If we step back for a moment - and look at the overall events of this chapter - we begin with an unbelieving crowd. A crowd where many had seen the miracles of Jesus while they were at the Passover - yet they still had no faith. But as the people spoke of these miracles of Jesus - and the news spread around - we meet a unbelieving man…a certain royal official. A man who became keenly aware that in Jesus, there may be a solution to his heart wrenching circumstances. His son lay at home with a fever - a life threatening event - and in hearing about the signs and wonders that Jesus was able to perform - he demonstrated some belief - yet wrestling with the presence of unbelief. Then as the official in desperation, came to Jesus and personally interacted with Him, he received faith - not in what could be seen - but in what he could not yet see. And as it was later established, through his servants, that his son was healed - his faith was confirmed. But his faith did not stop there - it overflowed into a testimony to his own family, and they were saved. From unbelief to overflowing belief - which is found only in Jesus Christ - Jesus gives life. Take your pencils and circle these words v.50 - lives; v.51 - living; and v.53 - lives. These words emphasize that Jesus gives life - not solely physical life as the little boy had received, but most importantly - spiritual life as this household rejoiced in.
The challenges of this passage are great, and the personal applications God calls us to are even greater. Aren’t we like the people in this account sometimes? We say - Lord show me something - show me a sign - and then I will believe You….do something tangible so then is it that I can respond in faith and obedience. But God draws us to the fact that it is the Hebrews 11 kind of faith that He is looking to reward - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (11:1).
Sunday, February 1, 2009
John 4:27-42 Lesson From The Harvest Field - Part 2
01.02.09 John 4:27-42 (NASB)
Sermon Audio File: John 4:27-42 (Part 2)
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Lesson From The Harvest Field - Part 2
Today we continue from where we left off in the Gospel of John, chapter 4 - and our sermon titled a ‘LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD.’ Jesus is telling His disciples that they need to be aware of the harvest of souls that are right before their very eyes. Jesus brings this important lesson to us through three aspects:
The Harvest Sown
The Harvest Ripens
The Harvest Reaped
I have already covered the first two aspects - THE HARVEST SOWN, and THE HARVEST RIPENS, in 4:27-38. In part of two of this sermon, today, I will cover the final aspect of the LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD, which is the HARVEST REAPED v.39-42, which will be a challenge to us to get involved with the Great Commission. Our passage reveals this to us:
27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?" 28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and ^said to the men, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I [have] done; this is not the Christ, is it?" 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him [anything] to eat, did he?" 34 Jesus ^said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35 "Do you not say, `There are yet four months, and [then] comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 "For in this [case] the saying is true, `One sows and another reaps.' 38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor." 39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I [have] done." 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."
Allow me to review what we learned last time as we looked at - The Harvest Sown in verses 27-29. As we ended our last sermon, we were at Jacob’s well. Jesus and the Samaritan woman finished their conversation as Jesus reveals His identity to her - as a result THE HARVEST IS SOWN. The woman leaves her water jar at the well - and then she takes off back into town - another ½ mile journey in the height of the daytime heat with her discovery. Jesus’ disciples then arrive back from their shopping trip in town with food to eat. As the disciples approach the well, they are amazed that to find that Jesus had been speaking with a woman.
The history between these 2 people groups influenced the thinking of the disciples, and as a result they were surprised. But none of the disciples asked Jesus about what he wanted from this woman, or dared to ask, Why do You speak with her? I believe that the disciples past experiences with Jesus told them that Jesus always has a right purpose in all that He did. The woman arrives back in Sychar. This woman begins telling people, that a total stranger at Jacob’s well, told her details of her life which He could not have known about. As a result her townspeople are interested to find out more about this stranger. The people’s hopes are stirred-up because there is a great likelihood that this stranger - Jesus - was the long awaited Messiah. The outcome of the woman’s testimony was that further seeds of the harvest are sown. The townspeople ablaze with interest make their way out to the well to see Jesus for themselves as THE HARVEST RIPENS.
v.31-33 - As all of this is taking place, Jesus gives the disciples an important lesson. The lesson focused upon the reality that the disciples minds were still focused on earthly things. They were not thinking in a heavenly perspective. They were only thinking about the food that they had gone so far to get and their lengthy return trip in the afternoon heat. In speaking with His disciples, Jesus replies with very convicting words - My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Jesus takes the ordinary object - food, and He uses it for a spiritual lesson. Jesus wasn’t saying that food was not important, but that His mission was as important as the necessity of food. Jesus’ mission was to do the will of God. The disciples earthly perspective caused them to focus on themselves, therefore they lost sight of Christ and His mission. The disciples became self centered and looked unto ‘circumstances’ instead - upon what God’s will was. THE LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD is that we need to focus on the RIPENED HARVEST in our midst. Therefore we are called to personal evangelism. If we commit our self to Christ and His church - to have that heavenly perspective - then evangelism will become an important part of our Christian growth and regular practice - because we want to glorify Christ by seeing it being built up with new believers. Jesus calls His dsciples to focus their eyes on the harvest field. God’s will, to save many of these Samaritans of Sychar, was Jesus’ primary task - Jesus wanted to accomplish [God’s] work. Food was important to Jesus, but to accomplish God’s work - took precedence - to see the ripening harvest was the priority - the Samaritan woman and her countrymen needed the saving grace of God in their lives. The disciples needed to be able to see the multitude of townspeople coming out through the fields to meet Jesus. And when they have a heavenly perspective - Jesus will use them as His instrument to proclaim the Gospel because there are always many around who are white for harvest. These people are the direct object of the heavenly lesson - the LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD.
We, just as the disciples, have the responsibility to harvest the souls of the spiritual crop - through evangelism. Just as the earthly crop and harvest gives physical nourishment, Jesus points out that the heavenly/spiritual crop yields spiritual nourishment - that is life eternal for those individuals who would place their lives in the hands of Christ for salvation from their sins. The result of the harvest is that both the sower - Jesus, and the reapers - the disciples - are able to rejoice together.
The point is made by Jesus and now the application is also stated - in verses 37 and 38. It reads For in this [case] the saying is true, `One sows and another reaps.' 38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor. These verses in light of the near context of chapter 4 bring us back to the parallel reality that it is true that One sows and another reaps. It was John the Baptist who, earlier in this gospel, sowed many seeds in pointing people to the need for repentance in preparation of the coming Messiah.
In the greater context, we have the OT prophets, that God sent to point people to the coming Saviour. These are the ones that have labored - have done the hard work. They are the ones that tilled the soil and have loosened up the ground and planted the seed. These are the believers who were not focusing upon having their needs met, but instead they focused upon their commitment to Christ and served Him in the harvest field. Some of us here today are being called to do the hard labour too, as evangelists. The balance of the us may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but we are to plant the seed of the gospel in this community; and also in the spheres of influence which God has placed you in. We need to be actively sharing the gospel with others. We need to be constantly assessing, through prayer, the HARVEST FIELD which is RIPE. Jesus is now telling the disciples that they are the ones that are now to prepare to reap the benefits of those who labored before them. The disciples are the ones that will carry forth the Gospel. And we too have been called to do the same - some as sowers and some as reapers - to carry the torch of the saving grace of the gospel - into the HARVEST FIELD. Our study of John 4:27-42 - LESSONS FROM THE HARVEST FIELD - finishes off with:
3. The Harvest Reaped - v.39-42
v.39-41 - The scene shifts back to the approaching crowd of townspeople marching towards Jacob’s Well where Jesus and His disciples are. The seeds were already sown and now the crop is ripe for harvesting. It is true that if we plant seeds we can expect fruit. As a result of the Samaritan woman who testified - about Jesus, many people from her city - Sychar, believed in Him. Her testimony was simple - He told me all the things that I [have] done. The woman went to her neighbours despite the reputation that she had, and she openly confessed and expressed the rebuke that Jesus gave her. This demonstrates her humility and I believe that she came to accept Jesus as her Messiah - which is the implication of the text . She must have been beaming with excitement and conviction as she told others of her encounter with the living God - the living water she received from Jesus. Her openness and demeanor must have been compelling. She also took part in bringing a crop to harvest to Christ and His disciples. There is a simple but powerful principle contained in verse 39 - the principle is that it is often the simple testimony of another person, like yourself, that the Lord uses to draw and save people. It is awesome to think that God uses simple plain old people like us - to bring the message of salvation to others. All we need to do is be faithful, take a step out in faith, have a compassion for the lost, demonstrate Christ’s love to others, initiate a conversation, draw the conversation into the spiritual realm, present the gospel using God’s Word - and allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will. We as believers are people with a testimony - so we cannot ignore the necessity to be active in evangelism.
The harvest was so plentiful, and the response of the Samaritan people so joyous, because of the forgiveness of their sins and the receipt of the undeserved gift of eternal life - what do the people do? - they asked Jesus to stay….and Jesus stayed there two days. This is remarkable, because if you remember there was great animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. Jesus sets the example that our evangelism should reach beyond any man made barriers like - tradition, history, culture, and societal.
The expression of the people’s new found hope manifested itself in - self complacency? No. It resulted in further evangelism. Isn’t that true for most people - think back to the time that you were saved. It is most likely in that time period, that you told someone else about your salvation, and in doing so you gave testimony of God’s saving grace. But think about now. Do you still have that burning fire within? Or is has it been dimmed by living a complacent Christian life? It is like in the game of monopoly - you’ve got your get out of jail free card - and you say - Hey I’m saved, I’m going to heaven, so who cares - life is too busy to fit in some evangelism - besides someone else will do it.
At Sychar, the result was that because of Jesus’ further teaching and preaching ministry - many more believed because of His word. A spiritual revival took place in that town - would you like to see that happen at this church? I believe that it can…do you? We too need that kind of spiritual awakening here in this place - so… we must submit ourselves to Christ, in full obedience to His Commission - go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We must align ourselves to God’s Word.
V.42 - The passage ends with this compelling testimony from the people regarding who Jesus is - the people say to the woman - It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world. The seeds of testimony were sown by what the woman at the well said before her own townspeople; and the people were drawn to the well to check this Jesus guy out - and made the discovery too. At first with all the excitement it was probably was quite noisy at the well, but as Jesus spoke - I imagine that perhaps you could hear a needle drop to the ground - as Jesus offered the people living water - by God’s grace those who believed, were saved. The people heard for themselves the words of Christ. They knew, by personal interaction and experience, who this stranger was - before them was their Creator, the Lord of Heaven and Earth - the Savior of the world. Isn’t that amazing…that Jesus is the Savior of the world…His saving grace is offered on a universal basis…first the gospel came to the elect through the Jews….it came to the Samaritans….it came to us….and now…it is available to those around us whom God has chosen….and through you as His human instrument of His grace. What are you waiting for? As in this text the disciples were the next generation of gospel bearers. And for us today - we are the next generation of believers who have been entrusted with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
As we think about our passage we need to think about this - How is the necessity of sowing and reaping the harvest going to move from your heads to your feet? We all know that we should be evangelizing - carrying out the Great Commission - but how are we to put this into practice.
Before I went into seminary a very wise and godly friend gave me this advice: When you’re in seminary don’t focus on your strengths, but focus and work on what your weak at in ministry. One area of weakness I had was evangelism. So I set out to work on this area. I looked for ministry opportunities to make disciples with unbelievers. I began to get involved in individual and small group discipleship at the church that I was serving in. What boosted my effectiveness was to have a Biblical picture of what a God centered approach to evangelism was - and that came from an apologetics and evangelism course. This is one example of what I learned about being more God centered in my approach. If you are involved in evangelism or are familiar with some of the ‘techniques’ that are used we may have come across this opener in talking with an unbeliever - ‘God has a wonderful plan for your life.’ Think about this statement….it sounds good doesn’t it? It is pleasant, it offers something attractive and certain - but is it Biblical? The statement is an example of a man centered approach - because if we compare what the Bible says - we know that not everyone is going to be saved - this means that God does not have a wonderful plan for every unbeliever. If we use this opener then we may be misleading that person - we could be lying to that person. Think about the opener in this way - Is God’s plan for that person so wonderful if the person is going to hell, because he will continue to reject Christ?
The bottom line of moving the command to evangelize from the head to the feet - to move it from merely thinking about it to actually doing it is - to submit yourself to the command of Christ in Matthew 28 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and surely, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. To put this act of righteousness on, it does mean that we are to get out of our self complacency and get into action by obeying Christ - get out and practice it. I can almost guarantee you that it is going to be uncomfortable and difficult. It may even cost you something - as Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 16:24 - "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.’ Are you ready to do that?
When I was still in seminary, a long time childhood friend of Carmen, came to visit us in LA. Over the years Carmen had kept in contact with this friend and they would even visit each other and email. It was upon our hearts that she would come to know Jesus Christ. We began praying that we would be able to share the gospel with her while she was with us. She stayed with us for several days. I was looking for a right moment each time we had opportunity to chat with her and catch up. If I remember correctly she even came to church with us - which was not the thing that she would normally do. There were probably several times that I could have brought up the gospel, but - to be honest - I was really afraid to, and let the opportunity go by each time. The days were running out and then finally I mustered up enough courage to say something…on the last day…and literally at the last moment….just before her flight back home. We sat down at our dinner table, and I systematically went through many Bible verses with her - on her face was an intense look of which I could not discern the reason. My face was probably looked just as intense as hers, since I was pretty nervous. I told her that we were concerned about her spiritual well being. At the end of the conversation she was polite to us and thanked me, but she had her own beliefs. Off she went back home. During my seminary years, we would send out an update newsletter about what we were up to with family and seminary, etc. We would always include her in our emailings. As the opportunity arose at Christmas and Easter we would always include a gospel message appropriate to the occassion. After a few of these emails - one time we heard from our friend. And what she wrote in that email was surprised us. Did she accept Christ? No. In fact she sent us a nasty email telling us to never to contact her again. Our emails to her were quote unquote ‘offensive’ to her. We had tried to contact her but we never have gotten any response - for the sake of the Gospel we lost a close friend.
Are you willing to deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Christ in the Great Commission? It is going to be rough, and there will be many more losses than victories….but we MUST follow Christ and maintain a heavenly perspective. We must learn a LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD and be prepared to reap according to the Lord’s will.
The question for some of us is not - should I get involved in the Great Commission, but it is why am I not obeying Christ’s command?
So how can you get started? I suggest you to do this - first is that I invite any of you to come out to our monthly outreach - and to knock on doors. Scripture says - Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up (Eccl. 4:9-10a). This will help you build up your boldness, and may open your eyes to see if you have the gift of evangelism. Another way to learn and prepare for this most important task is through reading - I have a recommended book in last week’s bulletin and this week - that is about God centered evangelism.
How great are the opportunities in this community? The statistic for unbelievers in Vancouver is approximately 97%. In c3’s postal code alone - V6P, there are 5,910 houses, and 5,680 apartments. Let’s do some math - there is a total of 11,770 residences. If we conservatively assume that there are 2 people per home on average, that is 23,540 people. Take 97% of that and we have about 22,834 people who need to know Jesus Christ and are not born again. And out of this number their are some people who have never - that is right never - heard the gospel before - or even have read the Bible. From another perspective in this large mass of neighbours, there is a large sum of people that are going to spend an eternity in hell, if they are apart from the saving grace of Christ. To put this in personal terms - these people could include your sister, brother, parents, friends, co-workers. So is there an urgency to proclaim the gospel….absolutely. How are you going to be a part of the sowing and harvesting? How is this church going to be faithful to the crop that will be ripe for harvest? I believe that God strategically has put us into this neighbourhood and church, as part of that very purpose. God has given us plentiful resources to be able to do this work - now the question is - are you willing? ...are you prepared? Are you willing and prepared to do this demanding but great spiritual work?
If you don’t feel that you are equipped to do so then get equipped, get out and get going. That is what I did - I stopped sinning in this area, and started to obey what God called me to do - did you catch that? If we are not doing what God commands then we are sinning - have you ever considered it from this perspective? I am actively engaged in evangelism not because I am a pastor - but because I desire to follow Christ, I am convicted by His Word, I am committed to Christ, and I am committed to this local church. In all this talk about evangelism, do you think that I am an evangelist? We’ll I certainly don’t feel that I am. The thing about all of this for me is that I do not believe that I have the gift of evangelism. So it isn’t easy for me to disciple someone - it isn’t always easy to knock on a strangers door - a lot of the times I don’t know how to respond to some of the things that people say to me. Sometimes when I get to a door I fail to do what I have been called to do - I get flustered, sometimes I leave a house and I think to myself, I lost an opportunity to try to let that person know about the gospel - sometimes I am quite happy that nobody was home so I could just leave a flyer in the mailbox - there are times when I try to make excuses to myself not to go out - it’s raining, it’s too hot, I’m too busy with other ministry work, nobody is going to listen - but I learn and I grow. Why do I do this? I do it because I am committed to Christ - I do it because Scripture calls believers to do the work of an evangelist (it doesn’t say in 2 Tim. 4:5 that we have to have the gift of evangelism, but it does say that we are to do it - do the work of an evangelist, and so does Matthew 28 - make disciples). So what does that mean? It means that I get uncomfortable and allow Christ to work through me and in me.
I think you have gathered from what I have said that evangelism is not going to be easy, but if God has given you the gift of evangelism, then your impact for this church and His kingdom is going to be extensive. If we are gifted in this area or not - when we are faithful to God, there is a positive side to our labour - we will be rewarded - there will be wages - eternal joy and as v.36 states - that we will rejoice together.
Allow Christ to work through you - I believe that some of you may have the gift of evangelism, but you do not realize it because you have not exercised and fanned this gift into flames. Whether we have the gift of evangelism or not, let us seriously consider the command of the Great Commission - so that we are found faithful, and that we may sow and reap and rejoice together - as we gather a harvest of righteousness in Christ, the Savior of the world. The LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD is this - Jesus came to this world to save people, He calls His disciples to participate and be co-labourers. Evangelism is our necessary response to our salvation in Christ. Evangelism is the way we do the will of God. Evangelism is an act of worship to our most precious Lord and Saviour, who deserves our utmost obedience, and our highest praises, honour, and glory.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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Sermon Audio File: John 4:27-42 (Part 2)
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Lesson From The Harvest Field - Part 2
Today we continue from where we left off in the Gospel of John, chapter 4 - and our sermon titled a ‘LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD.’ Jesus is telling His disciples that they need to be aware of the harvest of souls that are right before their very eyes. Jesus brings this important lesson to us through three aspects:
The Harvest Sown
The Harvest Ripens
The Harvest Reaped
I have already covered the first two aspects - THE HARVEST SOWN, and THE HARVEST RIPENS, in 4:27-38. In part of two of this sermon, today, I will cover the final aspect of the LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD, which is the HARVEST REAPED v.39-42, which will be a challenge to us to get involved with the Great Commission. Our passage reveals this to us:
27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why do You speak with her?" 28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and ^said to the men, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I [have] done; this is not the Christ, is it?" 30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33 So the disciples were saying to one another, "No one brought Him [anything] to eat, did he?" 34 Jesus ^said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35 "Do you not say, `There are yet four months, and [then] comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 "For in this [case] the saying is true, `One sows and another reaps.' 38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor." 39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all the things that I [have] done." 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of His word; 42 and they were saying to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world."
Allow me to review what we learned last time as we looked at - The Harvest Sown in verses 27-29. As we ended our last sermon, we were at Jacob’s well. Jesus and the Samaritan woman finished their conversation as Jesus reveals His identity to her - as a result THE HARVEST IS SOWN. The woman leaves her water jar at the well - and then she takes off back into town - another ½ mile journey in the height of the daytime heat with her discovery. Jesus’ disciples then arrive back from their shopping trip in town with food to eat. As the disciples approach the well, they are amazed that to find that Jesus had been speaking with a woman.
The history between these 2 people groups influenced the thinking of the disciples, and as a result they were surprised. But none of the disciples asked Jesus about what he wanted from this woman, or dared to ask, Why do You speak with her? I believe that the disciples past experiences with Jesus told them that Jesus always has a right purpose in all that He did. The woman arrives back in Sychar. This woman begins telling people, that a total stranger at Jacob’s well, told her details of her life which He could not have known about. As a result her townspeople are interested to find out more about this stranger. The people’s hopes are stirred-up because there is a great likelihood that this stranger - Jesus - was the long awaited Messiah. The outcome of the woman’s testimony was that further seeds of the harvest are sown. The townspeople ablaze with interest make their way out to the well to see Jesus for themselves as THE HARVEST RIPENS.
v.31-33 - As all of this is taking place, Jesus gives the disciples an important lesson. The lesson focused upon the reality that the disciples minds were still focused on earthly things. They were not thinking in a heavenly perspective. They were only thinking about the food that they had gone so far to get and their lengthy return trip in the afternoon heat. In speaking with His disciples, Jesus replies with very convicting words - My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Jesus takes the ordinary object - food, and He uses it for a spiritual lesson. Jesus wasn’t saying that food was not important, but that His mission was as important as the necessity of food. Jesus’ mission was to do the will of God. The disciples earthly perspective caused them to focus on themselves, therefore they lost sight of Christ and His mission. The disciples became self centered and looked unto ‘circumstances’ instead - upon what God’s will was. THE LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD is that we need to focus on the RIPENED HARVEST in our midst. Therefore we are called to personal evangelism. If we commit our self to Christ and His church - to have that heavenly perspective - then evangelism will become an important part of our Christian growth and regular practice - because we want to glorify Christ by seeing it being built up with new believers. Jesus calls His dsciples to focus their eyes on the harvest field. God’s will, to save many of these Samaritans of Sychar, was Jesus’ primary task - Jesus wanted to accomplish [God’s] work. Food was important to Jesus, but to accomplish God’s work - took precedence - to see the ripening harvest was the priority - the Samaritan woman and her countrymen needed the saving grace of God in their lives. The disciples needed to be able to see the multitude of townspeople coming out through the fields to meet Jesus. And when they have a heavenly perspective - Jesus will use them as His instrument to proclaim the Gospel because there are always many around who are white for harvest. These people are the direct object of the heavenly lesson - the LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD.
We, just as the disciples, have the responsibility to harvest the souls of the spiritual crop - through evangelism. Just as the earthly crop and harvest gives physical nourishment, Jesus points out that the heavenly/spiritual crop yields spiritual nourishment - that is life eternal for those individuals who would place their lives in the hands of Christ for salvation from their sins. The result of the harvest is that both the sower - Jesus, and the reapers - the disciples - are able to rejoice together.
The point is made by Jesus and now the application is also stated - in verses 37 and 38. It reads For in this [case] the saying is true, `One sows and another reaps.' 38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor. These verses in light of the near context of chapter 4 bring us back to the parallel reality that it is true that One sows and another reaps. It was John the Baptist who, earlier in this gospel, sowed many seeds in pointing people to the need for repentance in preparation of the coming Messiah.
In the greater context, we have the OT prophets, that God sent to point people to the coming Saviour. These are the ones that have labored - have done the hard work. They are the ones that tilled the soil and have loosened up the ground and planted the seed. These are the believers who were not focusing upon having their needs met, but instead they focused upon their commitment to Christ and served Him in the harvest field. Some of us here today are being called to do the hard labour too, as evangelists. The balance of the us may not have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but we are to plant the seed of the gospel in this community; and also in the spheres of influence which God has placed you in. We need to be actively sharing the gospel with others. We need to be constantly assessing, through prayer, the HARVEST FIELD which is RIPE. Jesus is now telling the disciples that they are the ones that are now to prepare to reap the benefits of those who labored before them. The disciples are the ones that will carry forth the Gospel. And we too have been called to do the same - some as sowers and some as reapers - to carry the torch of the saving grace of the gospel - into the HARVEST FIELD. Our study of John 4:27-42 - LESSONS FROM THE HARVEST FIELD - finishes off with:
3. The Harvest Reaped - v.39-42
v.39-41 - The scene shifts back to the approaching crowd of townspeople marching towards Jacob’s Well where Jesus and His disciples are. The seeds were already sown and now the crop is ripe for harvesting. It is true that if we plant seeds we can expect fruit. As a result of the Samaritan woman who testified - about Jesus, many people from her city - Sychar, believed in Him. Her testimony was simple - He told me all the things that I [have] done. The woman went to her neighbours despite the reputation that she had, and she openly confessed and expressed the rebuke that Jesus gave her. This demonstrates her humility and I believe that she came to accept Jesus as her Messiah - which is the implication of the text . She must have been beaming with excitement and conviction as she told others of her encounter with the living God - the living water she received from Jesus. Her openness and demeanor must have been compelling. She also took part in bringing a crop to harvest to Christ and His disciples. There is a simple but powerful principle contained in verse 39 - the principle is that it is often the simple testimony of another person, like yourself, that the Lord uses to draw and save people. It is awesome to think that God uses simple plain old people like us - to bring the message of salvation to others. All we need to do is be faithful, take a step out in faith, have a compassion for the lost, demonstrate Christ’s love to others, initiate a conversation, draw the conversation into the spiritual realm, present the gospel using God’s Word - and allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish His will. We as believers are people with a testimony - so we cannot ignore the necessity to be active in evangelism.
The harvest was so plentiful, and the response of the Samaritan people so joyous, because of the forgiveness of their sins and the receipt of the undeserved gift of eternal life - what do the people do? - they asked Jesus to stay….and Jesus stayed there two days. This is remarkable, because if you remember there was great animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. Jesus sets the example that our evangelism should reach beyond any man made barriers like - tradition, history, culture, and societal.
The expression of the people’s new found hope manifested itself in - self complacency? No. It resulted in further evangelism. Isn’t that true for most people - think back to the time that you were saved. It is most likely in that time period, that you told someone else about your salvation, and in doing so you gave testimony of God’s saving grace. But think about now. Do you still have that burning fire within? Or is has it been dimmed by living a complacent Christian life? It is like in the game of monopoly - you’ve got your get out of jail free card - and you say - Hey I’m saved, I’m going to heaven, so who cares - life is too busy to fit in some evangelism - besides someone else will do it.
At Sychar, the result was that because of Jesus’ further teaching and preaching ministry - many more believed because of His word. A spiritual revival took place in that town - would you like to see that happen at this church? I believe that it can…do you? We too need that kind of spiritual awakening here in this place - so… we must submit ourselves to Christ, in full obedience to His Commission - go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. We must align ourselves to God’s Word.
V.42 - The passage ends with this compelling testimony from the people regarding who Jesus is - the people say to the woman - It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world. The seeds of testimony were sown by what the woman at the well said before her own townspeople; and the people were drawn to the well to check this Jesus guy out - and made the discovery too. At first with all the excitement it was probably was quite noisy at the well, but as Jesus spoke - I imagine that perhaps you could hear a needle drop to the ground - as Jesus offered the people living water - by God’s grace those who believed, were saved. The people heard for themselves the words of Christ. They knew, by personal interaction and experience, who this stranger was - before them was their Creator, the Lord of Heaven and Earth - the Savior of the world. Isn’t that amazing…that Jesus is the Savior of the world…His saving grace is offered on a universal basis…first the gospel came to the elect through the Jews….it came to the Samaritans….it came to us….and now…it is available to those around us whom God has chosen….and through you as His human instrument of His grace. What are you waiting for? As in this text the disciples were the next generation of gospel bearers. And for us today - we are the next generation of believers who have been entrusted with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
As we think about our passage we need to think about this - How is the necessity of sowing and reaping the harvest going to move from your heads to your feet? We all know that we should be evangelizing - carrying out the Great Commission - but how are we to put this into practice.
Before I went into seminary a very wise and godly friend gave me this advice: When you’re in seminary don’t focus on your strengths, but focus and work on what your weak at in ministry. One area of weakness I had was evangelism. So I set out to work on this area. I looked for ministry opportunities to make disciples with unbelievers. I began to get involved in individual and small group discipleship at the church that I was serving in. What boosted my effectiveness was to have a Biblical picture of what a God centered approach to evangelism was - and that came from an apologetics and evangelism course. This is one example of what I learned about being more God centered in my approach. If you are involved in evangelism or are familiar with some of the ‘techniques’ that are used we may have come across this opener in talking with an unbeliever - ‘God has a wonderful plan for your life.’ Think about this statement….it sounds good doesn’t it? It is pleasant, it offers something attractive and certain - but is it Biblical? The statement is an example of a man centered approach - because if we compare what the Bible says - we know that not everyone is going to be saved - this means that God does not have a wonderful plan for every unbeliever. If we use this opener then we may be misleading that person - we could be lying to that person. Think about the opener in this way - Is God’s plan for that person so wonderful if the person is going to hell, because he will continue to reject Christ?
The bottom line of moving the command to evangelize from the head to the feet - to move it from merely thinking about it to actually doing it is - to submit yourself to the command of Christ in Matthew 28 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and surely, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. To put this act of righteousness on, it does mean that we are to get out of our self complacency and get into action by obeying Christ - get out and practice it. I can almost guarantee you that it is going to be uncomfortable and difficult. It may even cost you something - as Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 16:24 - "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.’ Are you ready to do that?
When I was still in seminary, a long time childhood friend of Carmen, came to visit us in LA. Over the years Carmen had kept in contact with this friend and they would even visit each other and email. It was upon our hearts that she would come to know Jesus Christ. We began praying that we would be able to share the gospel with her while she was with us. She stayed with us for several days. I was looking for a right moment each time we had opportunity to chat with her and catch up. If I remember correctly she even came to church with us - which was not the thing that she would normally do. There were probably several times that I could have brought up the gospel, but - to be honest - I was really afraid to, and let the opportunity go by each time. The days were running out and then finally I mustered up enough courage to say something…on the last day…and literally at the last moment….just before her flight back home. We sat down at our dinner table, and I systematically went through many Bible verses with her - on her face was an intense look of which I could not discern the reason. My face was probably looked just as intense as hers, since I was pretty nervous. I told her that we were concerned about her spiritual well being. At the end of the conversation she was polite to us and thanked me, but she had her own beliefs. Off she went back home. During my seminary years, we would send out an update newsletter about what we were up to with family and seminary, etc. We would always include her in our emailings. As the opportunity arose at Christmas and Easter we would always include a gospel message appropriate to the occassion. After a few of these emails - one time we heard from our friend. And what she wrote in that email was surprised us. Did she accept Christ? No. In fact she sent us a nasty email telling us to never to contact her again. Our emails to her were quote unquote ‘offensive’ to her. We had tried to contact her but we never have gotten any response - for the sake of the Gospel we lost a close friend.
Are you willing to deny yourself, take up the cross, and follow Christ in the Great Commission? It is going to be rough, and there will be many more losses than victories….but we MUST follow Christ and maintain a heavenly perspective. We must learn a LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD and be prepared to reap according to the Lord’s will.
The question for some of us is not - should I get involved in the Great Commission, but it is why am I not obeying Christ’s command?
So how can you get started? I suggest you to do this - first is that I invite any of you to come out to our monthly outreach - and to knock on doors. Scripture says - Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up (Eccl. 4:9-10a). This will help you build up your boldness, and may open your eyes to see if you have the gift of evangelism. Another way to learn and prepare for this most important task is through reading - I have a recommended book in last week’s bulletin and this week - that is about God centered evangelism.
How great are the opportunities in this community? The statistic for unbelievers in Vancouver is approximately 97%. In c3’s postal code alone - V6P, there are 5,910 houses, and 5,680 apartments. Let’s do some math - there is a total of 11,770 residences. If we conservatively assume that there are 2 people per home on average, that is 23,540 people. Take 97% of that and we have about 22,834 people who need to know Jesus Christ and are not born again. And out of this number their are some people who have never - that is right never - heard the gospel before - or even have read the Bible. From another perspective in this large mass of neighbours, there is a large sum of people that are going to spend an eternity in hell, if they are apart from the saving grace of Christ. To put this in personal terms - these people could include your sister, brother, parents, friends, co-workers. So is there an urgency to proclaim the gospel….absolutely. How are you going to be a part of the sowing and harvesting? How is this church going to be faithful to the crop that will be ripe for harvest? I believe that God strategically has put us into this neighbourhood and church, as part of that very purpose. God has given us plentiful resources to be able to do this work - now the question is - are you willing? ...are you prepared? Are you willing and prepared to do this demanding but great spiritual work?
If you don’t feel that you are equipped to do so then get equipped, get out and get going. That is what I did - I stopped sinning in this area, and started to obey what God called me to do - did you catch that? If we are not doing what God commands then we are sinning - have you ever considered it from this perspective? I am actively engaged in evangelism not because I am a pastor - but because I desire to follow Christ, I am convicted by His Word, I am committed to Christ, and I am committed to this local church. In all this talk about evangelism, do you think that I am an evangelist? We’ll I certainly don’t feel that I am. The thing about all of this for me is that I do not believe that I have the gift of evangelism. So it isn’t easy for me to disciple someone - it isn’t always easy to knock on a strangers door - a lot of the times I don’t know how to respond to some of the things that people say to me. Sometimes when I get to a door I fail to do what I have been called to do - I get flustered, sometimes I leave a house and I think to myself, I lost an opportunity to try to let that person know about the gospel - sometimes I am quite happy that nobody was home so I could just leave a flyer in the mailbox - there are times when I try to make excuses to myself not to go out - it’s raining, it’s too hot, I’m too busy with other ministry work, nobody is going to listen - but I learn and I grow. Why do I do this? I do it because I am committed to Christ - I do it because Scripture calls believers to do the work of an evangelist (it doesn’t say in 2 Tim. 4:5 that we have to have the gift of evangelism, but it does say that we are to do it - do the work of an evangelist, and so does Matthew 28 - make disciples). So what does that mean? It means that I get uncomfortable and allow Christ to work through me and in me.
I think you have gathered from what I have said that evangelism is not going to be easy, but if God has given you the gift of evangelism, then your impact for this church and His kingdom is going to be extensive. If we are gifted in this area or not - when we are faithful to God, there is a positive side to our labour - we will be rewarded - there will be wages - eternal joy and as v.36 states - that we will rejoice together.
Allow Christ to work through you - I believe that some of you may have the gift of evangelism, but you do not realize it because you have not exercised and fanned this gift into flames. Whether we have the gift of evangelism or not, let us seriously consider the command of the Great Commission - so that we are found faithful, and that we may sow and reap and rejoice together - as we gather a harvest of righteousness in Christ, the Savior of the world. The LESSON FROM THE HARVEST FIELD is this - Jesus came to this world to save people, He calls His disciples to participate and be co-labourers. Evangelism is our necessary response to our salvation in Christ. Evangelism is the way we do the will of God. Evangelism is an act of worship to our most precious Lord and Saviour, who deserves our utmost obedience, and our highest praises, honour, and glory.
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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