Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.17UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.1UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.48UNLIKELY
Sadness
0.58LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.7LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.47UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.78LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.91LIKELY
Extraversion
0.18UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.82LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.76LIKELY

Tone of specific sentences

Tones
Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Language
Analytical
Confident
Tentative
Social Tendencies
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Emotional Range
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Sunday, April 20, 2008
*Celebrity, criminal or the Christ?*
John 11:53-57
/56 //They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think?
Isn’t He coming to the Feast at all?” 57 //But// the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, He should report it so that they might arrest Him.            /John 11:56-57 NIV
*-----------*
If I were to ask you *what is the central story of John chapter 11*, it is *likely you would answer*, “The raising of Lazarus.”
Chapter 11 began with *Mary and Martha sending an urgent request to Jesus* to come to Bethany because their *brother, Lazarus*, whom He loved, *was sick*.
Jesus made *an intentional decision to delay* in going to Bethany because He *understood the larger purpose* for His life.
You see, *there were some emergencies* that, quite honestly, would only be *distractions to His God-given assignment*.
From the *perspective of Martha and Mary*, they couldn’t understand why *their emergency* didn’t become *top priority on Jesus’ schedule*.
They were *expecting Him to drop everything* and meet their need.
But, Jesus was *responding from a different perspective* where He could see that *His most loving action* would be to *delay*.
When we are *on the receiving end of delay*, it can be very *difficult to accept* and even *more difficult to understand*.
As chapter 11 unfolds, we *see the larger picture *that brings together the *needs of Mary and Martha* with the *purposes God has for His Son*, Jesus Christ.
*As painful as it was* for his sisters, Lazarus *died*, but his death provided the *opportunity for God to could show the glory of His Son* and declare resoundingly that one day *there will be a resurrection* of the dead.
But this *display of Christ’s glory* by raising Lazarus *did not make believers* out of everyone.
Or, maybe more accurately, it *didn’t translate into* everyone becoming *obedient followers*.
Many believed and followed.
But *some determined all the more to resist Jesus* and oppose Him.
Sadly, it was the *religious leaders* who were *foremost* in leading the *opposition*.
Here’s a portion of our *text from last week*.
*John 11:47-50 (NIV)*
/47 //Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
/
/“What are we accomplishing?” they asked.
“Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.
48 //If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
/
/49 //Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 //You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
/
*This morning*, we take up the story at verse 53.
These *final* *verses* from John chapter 11 serve as *a transition* from a large section of John that dis*played Christ’s role in the Jewish festivals*, including the *Sabbath* and *Passover*, that coincidently *stirred up opposition* that we now see coming to a *climax*.
Follow with me, if you would, as I read *our text* for today.
*John 11:53-57 (NIV)*
/53 //So from that day on they plotted to take His life.
/
/54 //Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews.
Instead He withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.
/
/55 //When it was almost time// for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to //Jerusalem// for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.
//56 //They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think?
Isn’t He coming to the Feast at all?” //57 //But// the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest Him.// /
I would like to address *three themes* from this text.
*Retreat, Countdown* and *Decision*.
First, *Retreat*.
/53 //So from that day on they plotted to take His life.
/
/54 //Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews.
Instead He withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.
/
*Jesus withdrew* from the public spotlight.
Can anyone of us *blame Him* for this?
It isn’t hard for anyone of us to *identify with His predicament*.
And, I would suspect, we would *all support His decision* to retreat.
Unless, however, we are the ones with an emergency to which *we needed Him to fix for us*.
But, would we not say that *it is wise to get away periodically *from the hubbub and pressures of life for rest, relaxation and renewal?
Even for us who live with a *multitude of time-saving devices* need to carve out times to retreat so we can *be replenished* in our *bodies* and our *souls*.
This idea of retreats is really *nothing new for Jesus*.
He practiced them *routinely*.
Mark tells us that *He would go off to a solitary place* early in the morning.
Most likely this was a *daily* (*time alone with God*) discipline of His to be alone with His Father in prayer.
*Mark 1:35 (NIV) */35 //Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.
/
Mark also tells us that He would *retreat with His disciples* to have *undistracted time with them*.
*Mark 4:33-34 (NIV)*
/33 //With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.
34 //He did not say anything to them without using a parable.
But when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything.
/
Luke records that *Jesus regularly set aside time* to honor the *Sabbath day* and spent that day *with fellow worshipers* feeding on the *Word of God* and *fellowshipping*.
*Luke **4:16** (NIV)*
/16 //He went to //Nazareth//, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, *as was His custom*.
And He stood up to read.
/
Mark helps us see that *when the schedule got overwhelming* that Jesus initiated *periodic & extended retreats* from the stress in order to get some *rest*, to be quiet and *be renewed in the presence of God*.
*Mark 6:30-32 (NIV)*
/30 //The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught.
31 //Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
/
/32 //So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
/
Therefore, *it doesn’t surprise us* that we would read in our text for today that Jesus would *retreat to a secluded place* at this particular time and do it *with His* *disciples*.
/54 //Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews.
Instead He withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples.
/
So there we have three different types of retreat.
*One*, *a* *daily retreat to be alone with God* to *listen* to Him and to *speak* with Him.
We see Jesus carving out that time *early in the morning*.
A time when the *distractions were few*.
The *phone* was *not ringing*.
The *solicitors* were *not approaching*.
And most were *still sleeping*.
A daily retreat to be *alone with God*.
Jesus considered it *a necessity for His life*.
The *second* type of retreat *Jesus consistently engaged in* was *the weekly Sabbath rest*.
It was a day spent *with fellow worshipers* praising God, hearing *God’s Word* and in *fellowship together*.
Even as *Lord of the Sabbath*, Jesus honored that day as a *time of spiritual renewal* and *mutual encouragement* with those who understood that *God is worthy to be worshiped*.
Thus, He *reserved the Sabbath day* as the Lord’s Day, a time for *worship and fellowship* with others who loved God.
It was a *weekly retreat*.
The *third* type of retreat we see Jesus employ in His life was *a periodic or episodic retreat* in response to the *excess burdens and pressures* that life was laying on Him These retreats were *for* the purpose of *spiritual and physical rest and renewal*.
Clearly, these were *in addition* to His *daily* and *weekly* retreats.
They appear to *often be extended in time*; like the one *in our text for today* where He took His disciples to Ephraim.
*This retreat* could have been *several days* and possibly even as long as *a couple of weeks*.
So, here we see in our text that *Jesus valued and practiced retreat* as a significant part of *maintaining His strength*, His *vibrancy* and His *focus*.
The *second theme* that rises out of our text is what I am calling *Countdown*.
Countdown is the *honest recognition* that we are *all finite beings* while residing *on planet earth*.
There is *appointed* for each of us *a time to die*.
We read in *Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV)*
/27 //Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 //so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
/
*Jesus understood better than anyone around Him* that His earthly life was *rapidly coming to a close*.
He knew that He was the *supreme Passover Lamb* and that that Lamb was going *to be sacrificed* at this *upcoming Passover celebration*, now only days away.
Jesus understood the *Countdown*.
He understood that it was *integral to His purpose* for being here.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9