"This Is Indeed the Prophet Who Is to Come Into the World" -- John 6:1-15

The Nineteenth in Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Everywhere he went Jesus was followed by larger and larger crowds.  John the Baptist’s ministry had come to an end, yet the messianic fervor sweeping throughout Israel did not die down.  It only increased.  Jesus had shown himself to be greater than the Baptist–not only in the power of his preaching, but also in the amazing signs and wonders he performed which proved that God was with him.  While many were following Jesus out of desperation (because of disease or demon possession), others saw in Jesus a potential king who could lead Israel to victory over Rome.  Although Jesus is Israel’s king, and God’s final prophet, and even though he shows great compassion upon those sick and suffering, it will become clear in John 6, that the vast majority of Jesus’ followers badly misjudged who he was, and were following him for all the wrong reasons.  This will begin to become clear in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee.

We return to our series on the Gospel of John and we now come to John 6, surely one of the most interesting and theologically-loaded chapters in all the Bible.  In this passage (which Bob Godfrey has aptly called “Jesus’ church shrinkage seminar”) we find two important miracles; the feeding of the five-thousand–the fifth miraculous sign which Jesus performed, followed by the account of Jesus walking on water.  These two miracles are, in turn, followed by a lengthy discourse in which Jesus says of number of things so difficult to accept that many of his disciples walked away and no longer followed him.  

And then in the discourse which makes up the bulk of the chapter (vv. 22-58), Jesus places himself at the very center of Israel’s redemptive history.  Jesus makes a number of striking allusions to key Old Testament events–all of which, he implies, are fulfilled in his messianic mission.  Jesus speaks directly about the doctrine of election, and tells the crowds that they cannot come to him unless they are drawn to him by the Father.  Jesus speaks of the true nature of faith, he speaks of the spiritual eating of his flesh because he is the living bread come down from heaven, and he lays important groundwork for his institution of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper later on.  As you can see, there is much in this passage for us to consider.

Ideally, we should go through this entire passage in one sitting–but that would take several hours to do it justice.  So, what I will do is break the passage down into a number of smaller units so we can go through the whole discourse in some detail.  But while we are in John 6, I ask you to read through the entire chapter several times so that we don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees.  First, we will look at each of the two miracles which provide the setting and the context for the discourse which follows.  Then, we will divide our study of the discourse into three parts, before we wrap up with the outcome of the discourse (vv. 59-71) when many of Jesus’ disciples walk away because of our Lord’s difficult sayings.  

In the first 15 verses of John 6, Jesus miraculously feeds well over five thousand people.  This is the only miracle found in all four gospels (other than the account of the resurrection), yet the only mention by John of the lengthy Galilean phase of Jesus’ ministry which figures so prominently in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).  The first thing we should notice when we come to John 6 is that the scene has shifted from Jerusalem (in John 5) back to the Galilee region.  John informs us in verse 1, “after this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.”

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This Week at Christ Reformed Church (February 9-15)

Sunday Morning (February 15):  We are ordaining and installing new elders and deacons.  Our texts for Sunday are 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Exodus 18:13-27; and article 30 of the Belgic Confession.  Our Lord's Day worship service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Afternoon:  I am continuing my series on the Canons of Dort, and this Lord's Day we are working our way through the Fifth Head of Doctrine (articles 9-11).  We will discuss the cultivation of the Christian's assurance of salvation.  Our  catechism service begins @ 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study (February 11):  This week we begin our "run through the letters of Paul," starting with the Book of Galatians.  Great time to join us!

The Academy (February 13):  We are continuing our study of Michael Horton's The Christian Faith.  We will be discussing the doctrine of the Trinity in modern theology (pp. 294-302).

For more information and directions, check out the Christ Reformed website:  Christ Reformed Church

"It Would Have Been Better" -- 2 Peter 2:10b-22

Here's the audio from this morning's sermon:  Click Here

This Week's White Horse Inn

This Week's White Horse Inn

This week on the White Horse Inn we begin part five of our series on the Book of Hebrews, focusing on chapter eight. We are joined by special guest Nancy Guthrie. Nancy is a teacher and the author of several books including Holding On to Hope: A Pathway through Suffering to the Heart of God, Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God's Purpose and Provision in Suffering, and a five-volume series entitled Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament.

On this episode we will look at the superiority of the new covenant. Why did the Lord find fault in the old covenant? What were its deficiencies? How did Christ’s work usher in the new covenant? What benefit is there in having Christ ascended on high and seated at the right hand of God? How was the new covenant hinted at in the writings of the Old Testament prophets? How is Christ’s work for the church connected to the new covenant? Join us as we continue to look at the superiority of the new covenant in Christ’s blood from the Book of Hebrews on the White Horse Inn.

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Friday Feature -- The Lock Box

Political parody at its best!

"Would You Like Fries to Go With That Burger?"

Real Clear Religion recently ran a column on Ugly Clerical Vestments.  This was my pick.  Can't tell if it is a burger or a "Sloppy Joe."

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

This is a home movie from Wrigley in 1938 (although the opening slide says 1937).  You can almost smell the beer, cigars, hot dogs and freshly mowed grass!  (s.t. John Siston)

More Sad Fruit of the "Moses Model" of Church Ministry

The Phoenix Preacher reveals the annual (and not public) budget of an unnamed Calvary Chapel.

The figures are pretty staggering.  The pastor's annual salary is 320K, plus 30K annual vacation allowance, a 50K annual retirement contribution, $550 monthly auto allowance, a 750K life insurance policy, plus stuff like auto maintenance, cell phones, book royalties, etc.  The weekly church attendence is about 3,000 (Calvary Chapel's do not have church membership) and they have substantial revenues.

What a church pays its pastor is that church's business.  The problem is the budget is not approved by the church--the members do not even see an annual budget, nor do the people know what the pastor is being paid.  The budget was approved by a "board" of the pastor's choosing (personal friends who live far away, and who conduct church business meetings over the phone, and do things like approve budgets, etc.)

Caveat emptor!  If you go to a church like this, and don't vote with your feet, well then, you get exactly that for which you ask.

Since many pastors are tempted to so the same (if they could), God places us in a biblical (Presbyterian) form of church government so that the pastors are accountable to the elders (consistory or session) for their life and doctrine, and so that all things are done decently and in good (i.e., biblical) order.

Meanwhile, like most Reformed and Presbyterian churches, Christ Reformed Church will hold an annual congregational meeting (ironically, ours is this coming Sunday).  We will elect elders and deacons from among the congregation, men who do things like prepare an annual budget (including my annual salary and benefits) which is, in turn, presented to the congregation for their approval.  This is a very public activity conducted by the church and its members.

If you are in a church where the "Moses Model" rules the day, don't be surprised by what happens in the shadows.  Ask that all things be done in the open, so that there are no secret budgets or "board members" who are not members of the church.  There is a reason why Presbyterian and Reformed church government has well-defined church orders (constitutions) and well-tested rules of procedure.  We are all sinners who need checks and balances, pastors included.

Under the "Moses Model," pastors and their boards operate in the dark and do as they please--including the passing of budgets like the one described above.

"The Scriptures Bear Witness About Me" -- John 5:30-47

The Eighteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Apparently, the Jews were demanding witnesses to confirm that Jesus is who he claims to be.  They have accused Jesus of being a Sabbath-breaker and a blasphemer.  The three greatest figures in the Judaism of Jesus’s day were Moses, Abraham, and David.  Jacob and Joshua were not far behind in terms of status.  If the Jews want witnesses, ironically, Jesus can adduce all five of Israel’s greatest historical figures as witnesses who will testify that Jesus is the coming one and redeemer of Israel.  In John 5, Jesus ends a lengthy discourse by telling his accusers that he is that one of whom Moses had been speaking when referring to the great prophet yet to come.  Jesus has told the Jews that he cannot break the Sabbath commandment because God works on the Sabbath.  He also told them that he cannot blaspheme God because he speaks only the words the Father gives him.  Now, at the end of this exchange, says Jesus, it is the testimony of Moses which ultimately condemns those accusing Jesus of all sorts of sins which were in Israel at the time capital crimes.  Moses condemns Jesus’ accusers because they do not believe the very Scriptures they cite in response to Jesus’ miracles and teaching.  If you want witnesses, well then consider Moses, Abraham, David, Jacob, and Joshua who all testify on Jesus’ behalf.  The Jews of Jesus’ day have not learned one of life’s most important lessons: “be careful what you ask for.”  

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John, and we are in the process of working our way through John chapter 5, in which Jesus has returned to Jerusalem from the Galilee region for a feast of the Jews.  The chapter recounts the miraculous healing of a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years and the lengthy discourse which follows between Jesus and those Jews who had been accusing him of breaking the Sabbath and claiming to be God.  Although, the chapter recounts one event and the dialogue which follows, I have broken the chapter into three sections so as not to hurry through and skip the important details we find in the text.  In this chapter, Jesus reveals a great deal about his divine identity, as well as important details about the nature of his messianic mission.  

Two Sundays ago, we covered Jesus’ miraculous healing of the invalid at the Pools of Bethesda (vv. 1-18), who without offering so much as a word of gratitude pointed out Jesus to the Jewish leaders who, in turn, promptly accused our Lord of breaking the Sabbath and speaking blasphemies.  Last week, we took up the first part of Jesus’ response to the Jews (vv. 19-29), wherein Jesus made four specific declarations about his deity and his divine authority in response to these accusations.   In verse 19, Jesus tells his accusers that he does only that which is his Father’s will, and in fact, that he can do nothing apart from his Father’s will–this is a major theme in the latter portion of the dialogue we are covering.  Jesus also speaks of how he is the object of the Father’s love–pointing to an intimate and eternal inter-Trinitarian relationship between the Father and the Son.  This relationship also implies Jesus’ deity.  

Jesus goes on to tell the Jews that even now he raises the dead through his word (regeneration) because the authority to do so has been given him by the Father.  There is indeed a bodily resurrection of the dead at the end of the age, and whether or not people rise to eternal blessing or curse depends upon whether or not Jesus gives them life.  Declaring himself to be the Son of Man, who, in Daniel 7:13-14, enters into the presence of the Ancient of Days (YHWH), Jesus goes on to tell those questioning him, that all authority to judge all people and nations has been given by the Father to Jesus.  It is Jesus who gives life to the dead bones in Ezekiel’s vision, which in the vision is a task YHWH ascribes to himself.  It is Jesus who will raise the dead (both the righteous and the unrighteous) from their graves on the last day.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

It Snows in LA Too!

As our friends in the East get clobbered with yet another severe winter storm, we in the West, especially in California, are in the midst of a severe drought.

But it does snow here too--just in small amounts and every twenty-five years or so.  LA got two inches of snow in 1932 (the record).  The local mountains get a decent amount of snow, but it is rare in the LA basin.  Snow in Los Angeles

Orange County has had small amounts of snow (flurries, really) in isolated areas the last couple of winters--with quite a bit up in the foothills in December.  But we've seen nothing like the winter of 1947 when it snowed for three consecutive days!

Meanwhile, it is in the mid-70's as I write this.  If we don't get a whole bunch of rain before the end of March, we are gonna have a miserable hot and dry summer of fires and state-wide mandatory water rationing.  No watering of lawns, dirty cars, and two minute showers.