Dec. 15, 2019 - The 'Fear Not' of God
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As we’re closing in on the middle of chapter 12 of this Gospel of John...
…we’ve been reading about, sensing and feeling this BUILD UP of momentum...
SO far in this book - Jesus had SAID and DONE enough things to - FORCE people to have to DEAL WITH HIM...
Healing the lame
Raising the dead
Preaching His own Supremacy / Divinity
And AS this continues to go on…MOMENTUM continues to rise....BUILDING UP...
· And it was doing the same for the Jewish leaders…
· They saw their INFLUENCE – decreasing – moment by moment – as the people began to FOLLOW Jesus…
· And BECAUSE they viewed this all as an ATTACK on their power…
· They decided it was best if Jesus die…
o And not only Jesus, but LAZARUS as well…why?
o Because Lazarus, being alive…after having been dead…
o Was now EVIDENCE of the TRUTH of Jesus Christ
· And so in our text today – we’ll come to the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem…
· The beginning of the week – leading up to the crucifixion…
Let’s get to our text…
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness.
18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
· As a whole, it’s pretty easy to comprehend what’s happening here…
o The people had heard that Jesus – the guy that rose Lazarus from the dead – was coming to town…
o OF COURSE the people wanted to come check him out...
o SO they come…
o The Jews were EXCITED…and you could HEAR their excitement as Jesus made His way into the city…
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
The people were excited!
In THEIR MINDS - it was finally happening!
They would have at least heard of the prophecies of the coming Messiah...
NOT FULLY understanding all of them, clearly....but they would have looked forward to His coming!
The Messiah Would Be a Prophet Like Moses
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
The Messiah Would Be Greater Than David
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The Messiah Would Be Preceded By a Messenger
1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
The Messiah Would Do Life-Affirming Redemptive Deeds
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
So in the minds of the people - The Messiah was going to come - SHAKE things up...
TAKE OVER - and rule in power!
And so the PEOPLE WERE READY!!
And so HERE COMES JESUS - riding into Jerusalem on a donkey...
Which was one of the prophecies we see in Zechariah 9 - WHICH - is also quoted in our text today!
· AND IT’S THIS OT prophecy in Zechariah that discusses the Entry into Jerusalem…that i want to FOCUS ON today!
Let’s look at the prophecy in Zechariah
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
· It’s this prophecy that I want to focus in on today…
· It’s this prophecy that is quoted in our passage today in John…
And what I’d like to do is look at each prophecy at the same time…
SLIDE: Prophecy and Quote
· Do you see a difference?
· Yes – some of the prophecy wasn’t written in John…
· But is there something that WAS COPIED over – but DIFFERENTLY?
Yes – the first line…
· In the prophecy… we read [read 9]
· But in the QUOTE of it….we read [read 15]
*If I have something set up for my kids and they DON’T KNOW what it is…
- but I preface it by saying – OKAY….GET EXCITED!!
- How will they respond?
- They will – GET EXCITED!!
But what if I preface it by saying – ok, now don’t be afraid
- Different response?
- Absolutely!!
**How many of you are REALLY good at – you having things planned for the day…but then SOMETHING happens that WIPES out ALL of those plans
- How good are you at – going with the flow?
- And NOT getting upset, or frustrated, or anxious!?
· I WANT to get better at that!
· I would think a LOT OF US struggle with this…
· Do you think it would be helpful if – BEFORE those things happen that DERAIL your day, your plans…
· …you LITERALLY heard an audible voice from heaven that said – “Don’t Be Afraid!” (and then it happened)
· Would that help? I think it would!
· But as you know – that doesn’t happen…
But in this case – in our text - it did!
Why do you think John 12:15, in quoting a prophecy that HAD said- REJOICE…your KING is COMING…
· Instead said – Fear NOT…Your King is coming!...??
Could it have to do with WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN – TO THAT KING…
Could it be pointing to the reality that King Jesus was going to come - and CHOOSE to DIE
· And could it have to do with the EXPECTATIONS the people had FOR THAT KING?
**Jewish Expectations of the Messiah (all the things we just read)
· They were expecting Physical freedom…
· A new Kingdom…
· Regained STATUS…prominence
· HOSANNA!! Save us now!!
· FREE us NOW!!
The people were REJOICING...
These people welcomed Him out of a desire for a deliverer...
...someone who would lead them in a revolt against Rome.
BUT - Their actions later that week would prove that they weren't "rejoicing" in their Savior....
..they were "rejoicing" in what they thought might happen.
THEY were rejoicing in what they THOUGHT was to come...
but Christ Himself wept at the reality of what was to come...
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Christ looks at the city, knowing within a generation, the city would be destroyed.
They couldn't see Jesus for who He really was.
All they could think of was how Christ would come and bring them glory.
But as John MacArthur said:
"But there couldn't be any glory until there was a cross. There couldn't be a Kingdom until there was a sacrifice for sin."
SO - EXPECTATIONS didn’t line up!
Jesus wasn’t interested in the people’s AGENDA!
He had HIS OWN agenda!
AND BECAUSE of the REALITY of what was to come....
what was ABOUT to happen to the PEOPLE’S EXPECTATIONS...
Because their EXPECTATIONS were about to get CRUSHED...
God says...
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
In GREAT MERCY…tenderness - and ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY - God looks down and says - FEAR NOT...
Don’t let the circumstances that are about to play themselves out - cause you to LOSE HEART!!
This FEAR NOT - is directed to - who...
to BELIEVERS…to children of God...
DON’T FEAR - the King is coming....but He’s coming to LAY DOWN HIS LIFE...
So that you might find - ETERNAL LIFE in Him!!
SLIDE: The Fear Not of God: Anchors Our Trust in Jesus
Fear Not
Fear Not
As Christians - we need to SEEK for the “FEAR NOT” of God!
We see people all throughout the Scriptures PROCLAIMING this - FEAR NOT…in relation to God
*(there’s plenty of people in this world who are FEARLESS…yet it has NOTHING to do with God)...
it’s a RECKLESS fearlessness!
What we’re talking about hear is the - FEAR NOT - OF GOD!
2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
Isaiah wrote these words...
Isaiah lived during the decline of Israel in the shadow of Assyria...
And so it might have seemed that God’s PURPOSES were under attack by the sin of Judah!
Isaiah’s message is that:
Although God must PURIFY His people through judgment...
His OVERRULING purpose of GRACE will result in ENDLESS JOY!
Therefore BELIEVERS - FEAR NOT!!
We must seek the FEAR NOT - of God!
And someone who actually SOUGHT out this FEAR NOT of God was John the Baptist...
John the Baptist gets put in prison, for doing what Jesus told him to do...
And so John send word to Jesus - ARE YOU THE ONE? Because this is going bad for me!
Jesus sends word back and to John and says TELL HIM:
And then Jesus begins to quote ISAIAH...
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
So Jesus starts pulling from ISAIAH…and quotes these things back to John...
John’s afraid in prison - He wants to know - Is Jesus REALLY the one??
4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:
5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
Did you notice what part of ISAIAH Jesus left off?
In Isaiah it said - the PRISONERS will be set free!
But Jesus doesn’t pass along that part of the message!
Jesus - is saying - YES John - I AM the one…and you’re going to DIE in prison - beheaded
THOUGH - FEAR NOT - your KING is with you!
We must SEEK the FEAR NOT of God...
Last example...
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
THIS FEARLESSNESS is a clear sign…to your opponents of their destruction...
BUT of your SALVATION! and that salvation - from God!!
Do you see here how this FEARLESSNESS is attacked - IN COMMUNITY!?
Do you see how - the STRIVING side-by-side - attacks the FEAR of MAN...
and ELEVATES the “FEAR NOT” of God!!?
When we stay ISOLATED...
when we DO NOT engage each other…as a fellowship...
When we choose NOT to live life - TOGETHER...
Because some of you have chosen to isolate yourselves...
You’re not living life among the flock…you don’t engage outside of Sunday mornings...
When that is our STANCE in the fellowship - we are PRONE to bowing to the FEAR of MAN!
This is our NATURAL BENT!
to bow to the fear of man!
That’s why PAUL encourages us to STRIVE side-by-side for the faith of the gospel
SLIDE:
Christians in community are more fearless for God
And WHY is this true?
SLIDE: The Fear Not of God: Is Anchored in the Coming Glory of God
The Fear Not of God
The Fear Not of God
And we see a clear picture of this in Romans...
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Persecution
Reviling
Ridicule
Hatred
Loss
ALL of these things that come our way ON ACCOUNT of Jesus...
CANNOT compare to THE GLORY that’s COMING - THEREFORE - Fear Not!!
For the JOY set before Him - He endured the:
ridicule
shunning
persecution
lies
false accusations
pain
His own execution
ALL of it - because the FEAR NOT of God - in ANCHORED ITSELF - in the coming Glory of God...
And so WHAT have we seen today?
SUMMARY:
The Fear Not of God
Anchors Our Trust in Jesus
Is Anchored in the Glory of God
My Fear Doesn’t STAND A CHANCE when I stand In His Love...
Let’s pray