Sermon Tone Analysis

*Like Father, Like Son*

Jesus came into the world to be a light to men.

Jesus came to illuminate life, to reveal truth and to bring the very words of God to the ears of men.

Ultimately he came to heal the broken relationship between man and God by dying on a cross and taking our sins, failures, and evil upon himself as he died so that by faith we might receive grace instead of justice.

Love instead of punishment.

Mercy instead of destruction.

John illustrates it over and over again clearly that Jesus was indeed sent by God into the world on a mission:  To fill men with the light of life.

But we read early in John’s gospel that he came to that which was his own but his own did not receive him.

We also read Jesus declare that “Men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil.”

Can you imagine what kind of response Jesus would receive today if he were to show up and say, “I have come to be the light of the world!”  “I have come so you might know the truth.”

“I have come to declare to you the very words of God.”

How do you think men might respond to him?

“Who are you to tell me how I am supposed to live?”  “What makes you so special as to think you know the truth beyond anyone else?”  “What arrogance to suggest that you are right and everyone else is wrong!”  “Just who do you think you are anyways?”

A concerned husband goes to see the family doctor: "I think my wife is deaf.

She never hears me the first time I say something.

In fact, I often have to repeat things over and over again."

"Well," the doctor replies, "go home tonight, stand about 15 feet from her, and say something.

If she doesn't reply, move about five feet closer and say it again.

Keep doing this so we can get an idea of the severity of her deafness."

Sure enough, the husband goes home, and he does exactly as instructed.

He stands about 15 feet from his wife, who is standing in the kitchen, chopping some vegetables.

"Honey, what's for dinner?"

He gets no response, so he moves about five feet closer and asks again.

"Honey, what's for dinner?"

No reply.

He moves five feet closer, and still no reply.

He gets fed up and moves right behind her—about an inch away—and asks one final time, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

She replies, "For the fourth time, vegetable stew!"

/Submitted by Aaron Goerner, Utica, New York/

We are so prideful aren’t we?  Isn’t that just like human nature to suppose that if there is a problem it is because of someone else.

If there is an error, it is likely to be on their end, not mine.

If someone is deaf, its them, not me.

If someone is blind, it must be you cause it certainly isn’t me!

If someone is misinformed, it them.

How often do we stop and consider the very real possibility that we may be the problem or contributing to the problem?

The man with three huts on the deserted island.

It’s always someone else to blame.

Someone else’s fault.

We have it right and they have it wrong.

It’s those people, that job, this situation..etc.

We do not like someone telling us the truth.

Because 99.9% of the time we feel we are the best barometer for truth.

How objectionable it is to us when someone says to us that they will inform us of truth because we got it all wrong.

Especially today.

In our society no one likes to be told they are wrong.

There is always pressure on the educational system to relax its grading scales to build up the esteem of kids.

Feeling is trumping truth for many.

Author and law professor Stephen Carter writes:

My date book contains cartoons first published in /The New Yorker/.

One shows a young boy in front of his class, doing arithmetic at the blackboard.

He has just written "7 x 5 = 75" and says to his astonished teacher, "It may be wrong, but it's how I feel."

Although comical when viewed in areas of mathematics, it is a very real mindset for many in the areas of morality and knowing God.

So think about Jesus preaching today in our schools, universities and even in our churches.

Declaring, “I am the light of the world!”

How would we respond?

If Jesus were to show up today he would hear, “What gives you the right?

Just who do you think you are anyways?”

Amazingly enough he heard the same thing then.

Take up your mat and walk?

Just who do you think you are?

 

Context of healing the man.

TEXT

 

Just who does Jesus think he is?

Jesus’ argument of why he can tell this man to take up his mat and walk on the Sabbath day.

*1.

** The Son of God*

a.       Defense of the divinity of Christ.

He never corrected the Pharisees.

Under trial, his only response is that he is the Son of God.

                                                              i.

My discussion with a friend, “We are all sons of God.”

b.      Son of God = Title and not birth or mortality focus.

Monogenos – Mono – one; genos – kind, type, offspring.

c.

Immanuel-God with us.

d.      Publishing house of Gossitan, Dunlap.

Brought together a panel of 28 educators and historians and asked them to select the 100 most significant events of history and list them in importance.

Some months of work. 

1) Discovery of America

2) Invention of movable type by Gueutenberg

3) 11 events

4) 5 events tied 1) The writing of constitution, 2) development of ether, 3) development of x-ray, 4) development of airplane and 5) life of Jesus of Nazarath.

Euodese – Whether Hercules was a God, “I knew because he conquered in everything he did.”

e.

Those who claim Jesus as just a teacher have either not read the Gospels or simply reject most of what is written as quotations from Christ.

Lets look at some of those claims here.

*2.

**(Amen, Amen) The Work of God*

 

a.

Four “for” statements

b.

For whatever the Father does the Son also does

                                                              i.

Col.

1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

c.

For God “reveals” to Jesus all he does

Genesis 18 :17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?

d.

For as God gives life, so Jesus gives life.

Lord of life.

The Mystery of life, Jesus holds life in his hand.