Believe The Words and Works of Jesus
Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 35:00
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· 7 viewsSummary: Jesus confronts unbelief, exposes it for what it is, and challenges unbelievers to believe on him. His word and works combined make the decisive claim that He is GOD!
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Key Texts:
REFLECTION: Revelation 15:3-4
3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
SERMON READING: John 10:22-30
MEMORY: Matthew 6:29-30
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
BENEDICTION / CLOSING: Romans 15:5-6
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
INTRODUCTION:
1 out of every 9 people you interview on the street would deny that man ever walked on the moon. Despite evidence to the contrary.
My great-grandmother was one of those people…she said, “psstshh - you can’t walk on no light like that!”
Some people just will NOT accept the truth.
TRANSITION:
Jesus here encounters some ardent unbelievers who will deny their own senses, pure logic, and the very Word of God…they have to dismiss Jesus off-hand.
My goal this morning is to encourage you…in a couple of areas.
I believe the text this morning shows us that
We can fully trust the WORD of GOD!
We can fully trust the WORK of God!
We can pray for our friends and keep sharing with them so they will get “there”, too.
As we come to our text this morning, we can remember where we finished last week:
Jesus declared himself to be the GOOD SHEPHERD!
the one who gathers, who guards, and who will give His very life for the sheep.
He contrasted himself from the false shepherds that scatter, expose, and make sure they look after their own interests.
Look at verse 19 with me:
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus causes division. Truth causes division. Shepherding causes division.
We see division as a bad thing, but here it was clearly the will of God.
Then, we pick up in verse 22 today.
It’s worth noting that about 2 months have passed between verses 21 and 22. It’s time for another great feast!
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
This Feast took place on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Chislev (the same month as our December).
However, I would NOT suggest you read this passage when your family asks you to read the Christmas text this year at your family gatherings.
Jesus is walking in the Temple and the Jewish people gather around Him and ask, “HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP US IN SUSPENSE?”
IF YOU REALLY ARE THE CHRIST - THE MESSIAH…TELL US PLAINLY!
BELIEVE GOD’S WORD!
BELIEVE GOD’S WORD!
John 10:25-30
I’ve already told you.
I’ve already shown you, too!
The Father in Heaven has already shown you as well.
(v26) BUT YOU DO NOT BELIEVE…YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE…Because you CANNOT believe.
Then comes a familiar refrain:
(27) My sheep hear my voice
I know my sheep
My sheep follow me.
(28) My sheep have ETERNAL LIFE
they will NEVER PERISH
NO ONE can TAKE THEM FROM ME!
Notice just how secure the people of God are...
We safe in the hands of Jesus
(29) …His hands are wrapped by the FATHER’S hands
Then the clear claim of deity again.
30 I and the Father are one.”
Jesus has already said much of this.
In fact, when they asked in verse 24, “how long will you keep us in suspense?…tell us right now if you are the Anointed One from God!”
I wonder if he had a flashback to how Mark recorded his response to some forgetful folks...
18 Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?
These men are so wrapped up in religion; they have so squinted their eyes to distort God, they ARE MISSING THE GLORY OF THE SON OF GOD RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM.
Remember, this is a people under siege by Roman occupation.
They want a political solution.
They want a superior morality to show that they are on top and others are beneath
They don’t want Love with Flesh On
They don’t want the Word of God with feet and hands walking toward and reaching out to those outside of their people group
They don’t want God’s plan
NO - what they want is for GOD to do THE PART OF HIS PLAN THAT THEY LIKE BEST!
They want a deliverer from their TROUBLED REALITY! NOT THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD TO CONFRONT THEIR SINFUL SELFISH DESIRES.
They want JUDGMENT to come ON EVERYONE ELSE...
The Apostle Peter would write...
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
So as Jesus reminds them of the truth…that He has declared the truth. And then gives them the very thing they’re asking for…BUT HE DOESN’T DO IT THE WAY THEY THINK HE SHOULD: Look at verse 30 again...
30 I and the Father are one.”
How do they respond?
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
Jesus’s response will take us to our second point this morning...
(write down)
BELIEVE GOD’S WORK!
BELIEVE GOD’S WORK!
John 10:32-38
Jesus gets right to it. Let’s read together.
32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
What were some of those works that we’ve seen in John? (Matt Carter summarizes them this way.)
Chapter 2—Jesus turned water into wine. After that, he went into Jerusalem and kicked the extortionists out of the temple, embodying the OT prophecies regarding the Messiah’s zeal for the temple.
Chapter 3—John the Baptist testified that Jesus is the Messiah, and John’s ministry is simply to point others to him. “He must increase,” John said, “but I must decrease” (v. 30).
Chapter 4—Jesus healed the son of a royal official without ever taking a step in the direction of the child, who was sick and dying in another town.
Chapter 5—Jesus healed a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years.
He also called God his Father
and called himself the Son of God and the Son of Man, (that’s a title for the Messiah from the book of Daniel).
Chapter 6—Jesus miraculously feeds 5,000 men plus women and children.
He then miraculously crossed a sea.
He calls himself the bread of life and the Son of Man.
Chapter 7—Jesus stood up at the Festival of Shelters and applied a Isaiah 55 to himself.
He begs the watching crowds to come to him and receive the gift of the Spirit—a gift only the Messiah could give.
Chapter 8— AsJesus continued to preach to those at the Festival, he applied Isaiah 4’s prophecy about the Messiah to himself, promising the light of life to all those who walk in darkness.
He also called God his Father and referred to himself as the Son of Man and I AM—the name of deity.
Chapter 9—Jesus healed a man born blind.
Chapter 10—Jesus applied the messianic promises about the coming of a good shepherd to himself, making clear that he fulfills them.
Jesus knows that people love miracles. He knows that people love when someone’s suffering is abated or their life begins to move in a positive direction.
He also knows that people are naturally bent AGAINST the very Word of God.
He knows that humanity wants to filter the works of God as well.
He knows WHO is genuinely being drawn to Him by the Father…and who is playing games.
Their question, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” is preceded by a phrase of posture.
Look at verse 24 with me again:
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
The word that is translated “gathered around” (ESV, NIV, NASB) is the word (pr) “kee-kloh-oh”.
The CSB renders it a little better as “surrounded”.
It means to encircle, surround. The feel of the word is one of entrapment; not a small group gathering for some teaching.
The reason they want him to state his identity plainly is NOT so they can believe but to have grounds to condemn him.
They surround Jesus and want him to publicly declare he’s the Messiah so they can string him up for blasphemy.
33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
Jesus has graciously exposed their unbelief.
He’s the promised Messiah, sent by God to redeem his people.
There’s no denying the miracles of Jesus, and they serve as an unmistakable sign that he’s sent by God.
Yet the Jews persist in their unbelief.
37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Remember, their problem is NOT INTELLECTUAL IGNORANCE - it is SPIRITUAL ignorance.
They are spiritually blind.
They know what He said…they know what He did.
They are UNWILLING to embrace the truth about Jesus!
Listen to me, unless someone is drawn to Jesus by the Father, they can bait you into all manner of arguments...
Ashlie and I have been known to ask some of our lost friends as they were asking “tough” text questions. “If I answer this perfectly, and you see it clearly, will you trust Jesus as Savior? Is this the only thing keeping you from being a Christian?”
We’ve saved ourselves a lot of time with that. They’ll tend to reveal the heart of the matter rather quickly.
THEY WILL NOT SUBMIT!
ANYONE LOOKING FOR AN EXCUSE TO IGNORE JESUS WILL FIND ONE!
And yet, Jesus clearly did the work of the one sent by the Father - His only begotten Son - to fulfill the mission of the promised Messiah!
Jesus was calling these stiff-necked people to LOOK AT HIS WORKS - BELIEVE THE WORK OF GOD!
He even reminds them of Psalm 82 where human judges were sometimes called gods - as representatives of God’s righteous justice. He says, you’re okay with that and they’re sinners? I’ve done nothing wrong, and you won’t tolerate my claim as Son of God?
They would have NONE of it!
39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
----
This final point might seem like a complete shift in thought - BECAUSE IT IS.
Jesus leaves where He is - with this hostile crowd of UNREPENTANT JEWS - and moves to a familiar place.
BURDENED FOR UNBELIEVERS
BURDENED FOR UNBELIEVERS
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.
He left the Festival and went “THERE”!
across the Jordan
near where John had been baptizing
A crowd of people arrive - “came to him”. Not encircled to entrap, not surrounded to subdue. They came to Jesus.
They BELIEVED THE WORD OF GOD through John.
They BELIEVED THE WORK OF GOD in and through JESUS.
(This means they were drawn to Jesus by the Father).
When we believe God…when we say YES to JESUS…when we claim to be followers of CHRIST -
WE ARE ACCEPTING, AFFIRMING, AND by God’s Help and Our Obedience, APPLYING GOD’S WORD AND WORK TO OUR LIVES!
This is who we are...
CLOSING ENCOURAGEMENT
We can trust God’s WORD!
IT IS THE VERY WORD OF GOD!
What we have a in The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses.
Those eyewitnesses report supernatural events that took place in the fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.”
(This is Voddie Baucham’s summary on why he believes the Bible.)
The Bible is made up of 66 different books
written on three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe)
in three languages (Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic)
by more than 40 authors, most of whom never met one another because they wrote
over a period of about 1,500 years.
The accuracy of historical events presented in the Bible is supported by the findings of more than 23,000 archeological digs.
But if there were NO digs, we can TRUST THE BIBLE - Because it is God’s revelation of Himself to humanity in the language of humanity. God’s Word is TRUTH.
We can trust GOD’S WORK!
We can trust ALL of it, but the greatest work in particular we’ll draw our attention to this morning: the work of the cross.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God loves the world he created, and he loves us. He didn’t leave us to suffer the consequences of our rebellion. He sent his own divine Son into the world to save us: the man Jesus Christ.
Unlike us, Jesus didn’t rebel against God. He always lived under God’s rule, giving honor and thanks to him, and obeying him in everything. He didn’t deserve God’s judgment in any way. He didn’t deserve to die.
Yet Jesus did die. Although he had the power of God to heal the sick and even raise the dead, Jesus allowed himself to be executed on a Roman cross. Why?
The extraordinary news is that Jesus died as a substitute for rebels like us. He took upon himself the judgment and punishment that we deserved, by dying on the cross in our place. Death is the punishment for rebellion, and he died our death.
All this is completely undeserved by us. We rejected God, but because of his great love, God sent his Son to die for us.
THIS WORK STARTED WITH GOD, TRANSFORMS US, AND CONTINUES WITH US GLORIFYING GOD AS HIS AMBASSADORS HERE ON EARTH.
Finally this morning, think back to the two crowds mentioned.
The ones in Jerusalem - who had some knowledge…but never came to the truth. THEY WERE UNWILLING TO BELIEVE THE WORD AND WORKS OF JESUS!
Then there was the crowd near the Jordan…where many believed.
I know so many of us have friends in that Jerusalem crowd…that we’d LOVE to see get to the Jordan crowd with Jesus.
Let me remind you of the very WORD and WORK of Jesus:
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
They are so lost that they need saving, but they are also so lost that they need seeking.
- Charles Spurgeon
There is NO PLAN B. You and I must continue to pray for them, that God would soften their hearts, show them their sin and rebellion, and give them ears to hear HIS VOICE!
Keep sharing the WORD!
Keep doing the WORK!
Don’t lose your burden for those who don’t believe!
WE ARE THE MEANS by which the GOSPEL is proclaimed to the crowd that’s hanging back at Jerusalem.
They’re not “THERE” yet…but let’s pray, believe, and work together to do all we can to help them get there.