Gentle Restoration

John 21:1-25

Good morning! Today we finish our more-than-year-long journey through the book of John. We began back in January 2012. We haven’t gone through John non-stop; we have had a series on love and relationships, a short series called Broken and Made Whole (on the cross and on the resurrection), a series on Law and Grace (looking at the Mosaic Law and on the book of Galatians), a series on Titus, and a short Christmas series. Together these other series might have taken roughly 6 months, but the remaining 9 months or so have been in John.

You could rightly call the first chapter of John a prolog to the book. It lays out the major themes. Recall: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-4

Everything Changes

John 20:1-31

I said it earlier, I will say it again.  He is risen.  (He is risen, indeed.)  Yes, indeed.  What a glorious thought to consider.  It was not that our lives were bought in exchange for Jesus’ existence.  Yes, He suffered and He died.  He experienced the excruciating physical pain.  Even more painful, He experienced separation from the Father.  But because He was the pure and spotless, holy sacrifice, He overcame death.  He is not in the tomb.  He is not there.  He is no longer dead.  He has risen just as He said.

And now, everything changes. 

When God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to Daniel, he praised God saying,

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons …”  Daniel 2:20-21

The Worst Day

John 19:17-42 

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him… John 19:17-18 

I admit that when Carl asked me to preach on this passage, I was dismayed. This is one of the most familiar stories in the whole Bible – what is there to say about it that all of you would not have already heard? The gospel writers are very terse, really. John spends just 26 verses here describing the pivotal event in the history of the world. We sing about the blood of Jesus. We might wear a cross about our necks. It is all very familiar and well-worn. It is easy to gloss over the reality of what was happening that day. The soldiers took charge of Jesus, and they crucified him. Yes, I know it is what saved me, but let’s just move on to the resurrection and happier parts of the story.

Jesus’ death has become too familiar. In history recently we were reading accounts of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror when thousands of people were publicly executed by the guillotine. It became a spectacle, an entertainment, for the crowd which came to watch. We read about the tricoteuses, the women who would bring their knitting and socialize during the executions. It became so commonplace that the spectators’ emotions were dulled, and they probably thought little of what was actually happening.

Trials

John 18:28-19:16

We are continuing our series on the Book of John and today I am speaking on the trials that Jesus was subjected to as described in the passages from John 18:28 thru John 19:16. 

Last week Carl shared some very insightful information on the high priest Annas and how he and his family were connected with the lucrative business of exchanging money and selling the sacrifice animals at the temple.  This made even more sense of why they were looking for ways to kill Jesus as described in the verses in Mark 11:17 and 11:18 just after Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers and drove them out of the temple.

And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.--Mark 11:17 -18

Affirmations and Denials

John 18:1-27

Good morning! Today we continue our series on the Book of John, taking up the first part of Chapter 18. Over the past several weeks we have gone through Jesus’ lengthy discourse to the disciples, preparing them for what was to come – He would be leaving them, He would be returning, the Holy Spirit would come – and He also spent time encouraging them, challenging them, and praying for them. At the beginning of Jesus’ discourse, Jesus had sent Judas away, who during this time was betraying Jesus, informing the Jewish authorities where Jesus would be. With today’s passage, we move beyond this discourse to the rapid unfolding of events that would lead in a short amount of time to Jesus’ death on a cross.

When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and He and His disciples went into it. – John 18:1

I’ve got so much I want to share with you – I could literally spend the entire message on this verse. I’m going to cover as much as I can, but I am going to move quickly, so hold onto your hats.

Sanctification

John 17:1-26

Our message today is a continuation of a study through the book of John.  We've been working through the book of John for several months interspersed with other topics.  However, we have reached the final chapters of John and even the final hours before Jesus' crucifixion.  Today, we will pick up in chapter 17.

In this chapter, we are drawing toward the close of a meal Jesus and His disciples are sharing together, the meal that has come to be called the last supper. As a bit of background, in the days leading up to this meal Jesus had been speaking increasingly about His death, the necessity of it, and He had indicated that it would happen soon. During the meal, Jesus had already dismissed Judas, yet the remaining disciples did not recognize that Judas would betray Jesus. 

Testifying in Persecution

John 15:18-John 16:16

Good morning, it is a real joy to be able to share from God’s word with you today. I say that for 3 reasons: 1) I can do it in English, which even after all these years is so much easier for me than Nepali; 2) y’all are so much like family to us now – and I want to thank you again for the warm welcome that you have given us into this fellowship; and 3) God’s word is living and relevant and powerful, and I am always blessed and humbled whenever I dig into it.

The subject of today’s passage from John is “Testifying in Persecution,” as we finish up chapter 15 and look at the first half of chapter 16. As Carl mentioned last week, this is all part of the long discourse that Jesus gave His disciples between the time of the Last Supper and His arrest, much of which, though faithfully recorded by John, probably didn’t make much sense to the disciples until after Jesus had left them and returned to heaven – and they faced the task of living out the Christian life without His physical presence, but with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was preparing them for that new way of relating to Him and the Father. Last week we considered Jesus as the True Vine and the need for the believer to abide in Him in order to bear fruit. I appreciated Carl’s reminder that that fruit can take many different forms, including the love that God can give us for other people.

The True Vine

John 15:1-17

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. – Isaiah 5:1-2

Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. – Isaiah 5:3-5

I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it. The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. – Isaiah 5:6-7

The Way

John 14:1-31

Welcome! Today we continue our series into the Book of John, focusing on Chapter 14. As a brief recap of what is going on, we are in Jesus’ final days, even final hours, before His crucifixion. Jesus and His disciples are in Jerusalem. They have come from a nearby village where Lazarus had earlier been raised from the dead, and where, a short time ago, Mary had poured a huge amount of very pungent, very expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet. Most likely the odor is still with Him. At the time, when Judas criticized the act as a waste of money, Jesus defended Mary, saying, it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of His funeral. The passage does not record what the disciples thought of that statement, but I bet they were pretty bewildered.

Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and was given a victor’s welcome, even a king’s welcome, with shouts of “Hosanna” and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” and “Blessed is the king of Israel.” Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and instead of a victory or acceptance speech, said that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. He also said that when He would be lifted up (speaking of how He would die), He would draw all men to Himself. The crowds were disappointed at this and even became hostile. What about the disciples? Again, I suspect they were lost and confused.

The Full Extent of His Love

John 12:37-13:17 

Good morning, we will pick up today at the end of chapter 12 in the book of John.  Two weeks ago, we heard about Jesus’ return to Bethany.  He had been in hiding because the Jews were plotting to kill him after He had raised Lazarus from the dead.  Six days before Passover, there was a dinner given in Jesus’ honor.  At this dinner, Mary comes and anoints Jesus’ feet with a pint of purest perfume.  Everyone is shocked and even a bit embarrassed at this intimate display of love and some are indignant at this perceived “waste” of money.   Jesus rejects their complaint saying, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.”  Carl pointed out that the strength of this perfume absorbed into Jesus’ skin would have lingered for days even until the crucifixion.

And things continue to accelerate toward that pinnacle event.  Last week, we heard about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus arrives riding on a donkey as the people wave palm branches and lay them down before Him.  The crowds call out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel!”  In the midst of this celebration, Jesus replies to the crowd, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Do you ever watch political speeches, perhaps, the State of the Union address?  Sometimes there’s so much clapping, you wonder if they will ever get through the speech.  The crowds are likely shouting out “Hurrahs!” and “Hosannas!” at the top of their lungs.  They are ready to crown a king.  But perhaps the crowds are silenced or at least begin muttering among themselves as Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.”  And they are surely silenced as he goes on to talk about how a man who loves his own life will lose it, but the one who loses his life will keep it.

Father, Glorify Your Name

John 12:12-36

Welcome! Today we continue our exploration into the book of John, focusing on the middle of Chapter 12. Last week we read about how Jesus and His disciples had spent an extended time away from Jerusalem in a remote village on the edge of the desert called Ephraim because the Jewish leaders were actively plotting to kill Him. But at long last, just about a week before the Passover, Jesus and His disciples left Ephraim and went towards Jerusalem, stopping at a nearby town called Bethany. Bethany was the location where, earlier, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus came into Bethany, everyone recognized Him, and a meal was prepared in His honor.

Sometime during the meal, Mary came up to Jesus with about a pint of an extremely expensive perfume and poured it all on Jesus’ feet, wiping His feet with her hair. This perfume, made of pure nard, had an extremely strong smell; even a few drops were potent. A jar of it had to be overwhelming. A speaker at the recent Faithwalkers conference suggested that Jesus probably smelled of this perfume even at the crucifixion, and I think he was probably correct. Judas complained about the extravagance, saying that it could have been used for the poor, but Jesus defended Mary, saying “Leave her alone. It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of My burial.”

Extravagant Perfume

John 11:45-12:11

Welcome! This is a welcome forward, to 2013. But it is also in a sense a welcome back, back to the incredible book of John. We began going into the book of John back in January of 2012, in which we spent a month looking at John Chapter 1. We took some time with other series after looking at John 1, but in April and May we went up through John 5, and from August until October, we continued in John up through most of John 11.

Today I want to begin by pointing out some recurring themes we have seen in the book of John so far. Starting from the very beginning of John: 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood [overcome] it. – John 1:1-5