Who is Jesus? (Part 2)

The Gospel According to John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  38:37
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Man is a dead, wretched thing in his sinfulness; we are so spiritually and morally blinded, we can’t even recognize true goodness. There is no way man is able to overcome his situation on his own. But there is a Way. Jesus. He will make us new. Jesus is our hope.

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Introduction

John 1:6–13 (ESV)
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Last week, we looked at the first five opening verses of The Gospel According to John and discovered some key aspects pertaining to who Jesus is.
He is God, He is Creator, He is Life.
Not only that, but we discovered something about ourselves. John called us into a dream, reminiscing of the past, of eternity, of light, life, and our ancestral seed.
Our true, divine heritage in Jesus.
Likewise, this morning we’re going to look at John 1:6-13, where I believe we will find out how our divine heritage ties into our lives today.
John 1:6–13 ESV
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jesus is our Subject (vv. 6-8)

Our greatness is found in our humbleness before Christ. (v. 6)
The Apostle makes an abrupt break here: “There was a man”.
Up to this point, in verses 1 through 5, we’ve been talking about the uncreated One, the eternal One, who in the beginning existed already, who was with God, distinct from God and yet was God.
He is the One who created everything that exists, and nothing has come into existence that He didn’t create.
He is life itself and freely gives that life, and He is Light.
After unloading that tremendous revelation onto us, the Apostle states simply, “There was a man”.
Whaaaa???
It’s like John is waking us from our dream of the eternal splendor of Jesus with a bucket of cold water!
Now, sneak preview, John is going to show us a lot in his Gospel that give testimony to Christ.
He will give us the testimony of the Father, the testimony of Jesus, the testimony of the Holy Spirit, the testimony of eye-witnesses, and the testimony of his disciples.
But he begins by pointing us to the testimony of this man named John.
John 1:6 ESV
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Matthew 11:11
The Apostle isn’t talking about himself, though, he is talking about John the Baptist. Jesus says in Matthew 11:11 that John the Baptist is the greatest man who lived up to this time:
Matthew 11:11 ESV
Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Why? Was he smarter? No.
Was he the most powerful? No.
He’s the greatest man who ever lived up to that point because no man has ever had a greater responsibility.
He introduced the world to the Messiah. He was bold, pointed, and resolute with his preaching; and yet he was humble.
Matthew 14:1-12
Matthew 14 tells us that he was so faithful to his mission that it cost him his head.
All true Christian ministry is Christ centered. Speak about who you know. (v. 7)
But in verse 7 he is introduced not in terms of his accomplishments, but in very simple terms:
John 1:7 ESV
He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
This one verse encompasses the entire model for gospel ministry, the good news. The Apostle lays this foundation for us at the beginning, in the introduction to his Gospel.
The mission of every true believer is to cause people to believe that Jesus is the Christ and, by believing, they have life in His name.
So this bold, resolute, humble, effective prophet comes along. But he is a man, and that’s the contrast here.
The Lord Jesus was from all eternity; John came into being in time.
Jesus is the eternal Creator; John is His creation.
The Lord Jesus is God; John is sent by God.
The Lord Jesus is the Light; John testifies about the Light.
He comes in verse 7 “as a witness”. He came as a man with a message for the world, “about the light”.
Gospel ministry is about shining light into the darkness, it’s about Christ.
The Apostle establishes here that all true Christian ministry is Christ centered.
1 Corinthians 2:2
This is the same foundation on which Paul built his ministry; according to his own words in 1 Corinthians 2:2:
1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Acts 1:8
But How? What if I don’t know what to say? Jesus answers in Acts 1:8:
Acts 1:8 ESV
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus doesn’t say anything about being knowledgeable or an eloquent speaker; just witness the light, just speak, the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest.
Speak about the personal Savior you know in Jesus Christ.
Your testimony is about exhalting Christ, not yourself. (v. 8)
Christ is our subject, there is no other subject. And just to ensure there is no confusion, John adds in verse 8:
John 1:8 ESV
He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
That’s what true believers do. We testify about the Light.
This verse has great continuing relevance for the church because of the temptation for Christians to assume a status of being more than witnesses and to pretend to speak personally with the authority of Christ. In such times Christians need to hear the warning that they are not the Light but are merely humble witnesses to the Light.

Jesus is our Light (vv. 9-11)

Everyone who sees the Light understands the need for salvation (v. 9)
So then, our mission is to witness, to testify about the light. However, moving on to verse 9, Jesus is the true light:
John 1:9 ESV
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
True”....”The true light”, the greek is alēthinŏs (al-ay-thee-nos´), genuine, real, legitimate light.
The Old testament is full of symbols for Christ. To many of the prophets, God gives a shadow of His power so they can perfom His will.
But Jesus is the true, genuine, real deal light; as opposed to mere shadows of power and symbols of glory.
The glory of God shines in Him fully and consequently it gives light to everyone.
What does John mean, “which gives light to everyone”? Everyone who understands salvation and Jesus’ role as Savior, everyone who truly sees Christ, understands because they see Him for who he is.
John 8:12
You can’t be saved apart from Christ; He says in John 8:12:
John 8:12 ESV
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The only light the world has is Christ. He is the only light that can enlighten anyone and everyone. His light is the only sufficient light.
Jesus shows His Light to the world, but they don’t understand it. (v. 10)
How do we see His light? verse 10 tells us:
John 1:10 ESV
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
He was in the world, the very world that He made. He was present in His creation. Yet they “did not know Him”.
They didn’t understand Him, His purpose was not perceived by them.
For thirty years in Nazareth, He was their carpenter, their neighbor, their friend;
the first time he came back to preach, they tried to kill Him.
For three years, He ministered in the land of Israel, banished illness, banished demons, demonstrated His power over nature;
they eagerly accepted His miracles, but outright rejected His testimony.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him”; Jesus demonstrated His creative power,
He gave people limbs, gave people eyes and ears.
He gave life to the dead, controlled storms with His voice, and walked on water.
He put Himself on display by being in this world.
Love of sin (darkness) causes the world to reject the Light of Christ. (v. 11)
But that wasn’t His true purpose, it was just the proof of who He was. Christ coming into the world was the Light that illuminated the true nature of sinners.
Verse 11 says:
John 1:11 ESV
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Hmmmm.......
We understand that men are sinners. The idea that man’s heart is deceitful and wicked is not new. This is Old Testament stuff.
We understand the fall in Genesis 3, we realize that man put himself under a curse.
We understand that God had to drown the entire human race, save for Noah and his family, very early in our history because of the depth of evil in humanity.
We understand the wretchedness of the world.
It’s one thing to reject the law, it’s another thing to reject God’s prophets, it’s another thing to reject God’s written revelation of Himself in the Old Testament; but it’s a far more flagrant wretchedness to reject the Living God Himself.
And it even goes beyond that. “He came to His own”, His own place, His own people, His own nation, His own town, “and His own people did not receive Him.
It wasn’t just the world that didn’t know Him, the Gentiles, the outside world, it was the very people who claimed to believe in the true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It was the most religious people on the planet who “did not receive Him.
Take note of that fact Christians.
He came to His own people, those who by their very own statements were His people, and yet they rejected Him in their hearts.
John 3:19-20
John 3:19–20 ESV
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
There is plenty of evidence of human sin, plenty of evidence of the depth of human depravity, but never is it more ominous than when people know about Christ,
have the truth in their hands,
and reject Him.......because the Light has never shone in such glorious brilliance, and the people plunge deeper into darkness, demonstrating the sinfulness of humanity.
The world rejects Christ. If you are following Christ what should you expect from the world?
Matthew 16:24
Praise, prosperity, exhaltation, acceptance? Jesus says in Matthew 16:24:
Matthew 16:24 ESV
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
The cross, the ultimate symbol of salvation and, at the same time, the ultimate symbol of rejection.
If you are following Him, the world will embarrass you, persecute you, knock you down and mock you; the world will reject you.
1 Corinthians 15:19
Pauls says in 1 Corinthians 15:19:
1 Corinthians 15:19 ESV
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
If you come to Christ in hope that He is going to make you prosperous, famous, rich, powerful, influential, accepted by this world; you are to be pitied most of all, because you just don’t get it, you haven’t received Him.

Jesus is our Savior (vv. 12-13)

But”, returning to John 1:12, “But” it’s not all doom and gloom, affliction and self-pity; remember, Jesus is light: goodness, wisdom, life; we just have a twisted idea of what these things truly are:
Jesus, through His power to give life, re-creates you as a new, spiritual being: a child of God. (v. 12)
John 1:12 ESV
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
But”, John says, there is a flip-side to all this, there is hope. The eternal divine plan is not twarted by the world’s rejection.
Moreover, the light of Jesus illuminates the true nature of believers:
John 1:12 ESV
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
What does it mean to receive Him? To believe in His name. They are parrallel, synonymous.
What does it mean to believe in His name?
There was and still is the world-wide understanding that the name of an object, man, or higher being is more than a mere label.
A name is an intregal part of the person.
A name is essentially linked to the one who bears it, it is a representation of all that the one who bears it is. It discloses one’s nature to the world.
Therefore, to believe in Jesus’ name is not the aquisition of mental knowledge, it is to believe, truly in your heart, that He is who He says He is.
John 14:6
God, Light, Truth, LORD, Savior, Life, The Only Way.
John 14:6 ESV
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
To believe in His name is to accept his truth and submit yourself wholly to Him because of who He is. That’s what John means it is to “receive Him”.
Because we received Christ and believed Him, we know the truth, we trust in the truth, and we put our destiny in the hands of the One in whom we believe.
We believe in His name and we get “to become”, the Greek is ginŏmai (ghin´-om-ahee) - “to be born”, “children of God.”
This isn’t a reshaping of something or taking something old and restoring it.
This is an act of creating something that didn’t exist before. A second act of creation; the light of Jesus pours out more life from Himself into us.
We were created physically, and as believers in Him, we have become children, we have been created as spiritual children.
That’s why it’s called “the new birth” or being “born again or being “born from above”.
So the true nature of a believer - not just a follower in the sense of a student, not just a religious person, or someone who practices a moral code; but a true believer is a new creation, a child of God.
John 3:4
Now Nicodemus asks in John 3:4:
John 3:4 ESV
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
The miracle of salvation is only possible through Jesus. (v. 13)
How can we possibly be born again? How can it happen? John tells us in verse 13:
John 1:13 ESV
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Not of blood” - it’s doesn’t come down from your ancestors. You don’t posses a free pass to heaven because your dad is a preacher or one of your ancestors was saved, that’s not how it happens.
Nor of the will of the flesh” - Not because of personal moral effort, personal spiritual effort, or personal religious activity. God doesn’t overlook your sin because you aren’t as “bad” as others, that’s not how it happens.
Nor of the will of man” - not by good works, or practicing every sacrament, or any other religious system. You can’t Hail Mary, Our Father, and Lord’s Supper your way into heaven, that’s not how it happens.
You’re not going to become a child of God by family. You’re not going to become a child of God by personal effort. You’re not going to become a child of God by some manmade system - all impossible.
Only God can do this miracle. And here, we are introduced to the true nature of God with regard to the Gospel, “but of God”.
Jesus is by His very nature a Life-giving Savior.

Conclusion

Jesus. The True Light. God our Savior. It’s in His heart to give life to dead sinners.
This is what we need to know as the foundation; the bedrock essentials for Christians.
It’s the message of the Gospel.
Man is a dead, wretched thing in his sinfulness; we are so spiritually and morally blinded, we can’t even recognize true goodness. There is no way man is able to overcome his situation on his own.
But there is a Way. Jesus. He will make you new. Jesus is our hope.

Prayer

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