"You Have the Words of Eternal Life" -- John 6:60-71

The Twenty-Fourth in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

When Jesus declared that he was “the living bread who came down from heaven,” many of those assembled in the synagogue in Capernaum began grumbling.  When Jesus went on to say “truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,” a heated argument broke out.  After Jesus finished speaking, John says, many of those present complained about his hard sayings, and from that time on “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”  There can be little doubt that Jesus is driving away the multitudes now following him through these difficult sayings which reveal his identity as the Son of God and Israel’s Messiah, as well as the true nature of his mission–which is not to attract a large number of followers and lead an insurrection against Rome, but to obey his Father’s will, even if that meant giving his flesh on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.  This is why Bob Godfrey very aptly calls the “bread of life” discourse in John 6, “Jesus’ church shrinkage seminar.”  When Jesus is finishing giving his “bread of life” discourse in the synagogue in Capernaum, many disciples walked away and no longer followed him.

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John, and we wrap our time in John 6 and our study of Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse.  We have looked at the setting for the sermon (Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5000, and Jesus walking across the Sea of Galilee), and we have considered the details of the discourse and the difficult sayings we find within it.  We now consider the outcome of Jesus’ discourse–which is that many who had been following him, no longer did so.  By this point in his messianic mission huge crowds were following him everywhere he went, but for all the wrong reasons.  When Jesus fed the people in the wilderness they called him a prophet and wanted to make him king.  Messianic expectations reached a fever pitch.  But people quickly lose interest in Jesus whenever he reveals the true purpose of his mission.

The time had now come for Jesus to drive away the “looky loos” (the consumers) who are following him out of self-interest, and not because they are looking for someone who will deal with the guilt and power of sin.  Given the usual image of Jesus–meek and mild–it can come as a bit of a shock we when consider that the Jesus who is revealed in the gospels is anything but meek and mild.  His tender compassion and love for sinners is found throughout.  But so is the disconcerting way Jesus speaks of himself (his claims to deity), and the way in which he dramatically confronts the religious leaders of his day with their self righteousness and misunderstanding of the Old Testament.  In the “bread of life” discourse, Jesus says things which good Jewish boys would never say.  Unless he is truly who he claims to be (the Son of God and Israel’s Messiah) then his words are positively revolutionary–even dangerous.  

Before we consider the consequences of Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse (vv. 60-71), it is important to set out a brief outline of those events recorded in John 6 which took place in the Galilee region about the time of the Jewish Passover (the second during Jesus’ public ministry).  What actually happened in the twenty-fours hours before and during the time Jesus gave this discourse?  Why does Jesus get such a negative reaction from those who heard him in the synagogue?  To answer these questions and to understand our text, we will briefly review these events in summary form.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"Whoever Feeds on This Bread Will Live Forever" -- John 6:49-59

The Twenty-Third in a Series of Sermons of the Gospel of John

In 112 AD, the Roman governor of the province of Bythinia in Asia Minor–a man named Pliny the Younger (the son of the famous historian)–wrote to the Roman emperor Trajan, asking for instructions about what to do about a growing problem.  Roman authorities, it seems, were quite worried about a new and increasingly popular religious sect.  To the Romans, this new sect (called “The Christians” or “The Way”) was thought to be atheistic because they would not worship either the Roman gods or the Emperor.  Christians worshiped their own God (a man they claimed rose from the dead), and who was in some way related to the Jewish God.  There were also disturbing reports of cannibalistic practices among them, because these Christians gathered together in secret to eat flesh of their God, and then to drink his blood.  The latter concern arises largely from the language in our text, containing Jesus’ statement in John 6:54, “whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”

We have spent a number of weeks going through Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse which is found in the 6th chapter of John’s Gospel.  As we have seen, this is one of the most remarkable passages in all of the New Testament because of the important (if not shocking) things which Jesus declared to the Jews who packed into the synagogue in Capernaum to hear him teach.  

In the “bread of life” discourse, Jesus speaks of himself as living bread from heaven.  He speaks of himself as one with YHWH (in some way), he claims that he is the source of all spiritual life, and that he will raise the dead.  Then when the assembled crowd begins to complain and grumble about his statement that he is the “bread from heaven who gives life to the world” Jesus tells these Jews who considered themselves God’s chosen people, that they cannot come to him (in faith) unless and until they have been drawn to Jesus by the Father.  As we will see in our text this morning, John 6:49-59, Jesus was not finished making difficult statements.  He will now speak of the necessity of feeding upon his flesh and drinking his blood, and when he is finished with this discourse, many of those who had been following him, did so no more.  Those who have been following Jesus from purely self-interest, walked away.

The context for the “bread of life” discourse is very important, so I will review it again briefly this morning.  In John 6:1-15, John recounts how Jesus miraculously fed over five thousand people in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee.  Large crowds were now following Jesus everywhere he went.  People were bringing their sick and suffering to him so that Jesus might heal them–even out into the wilderness.  The scene is one of “biblical proportions” in which Jesus acts as a new Moses, leading the people of God in a new Exodus from the wilderness of this present evil age into a glorious age of salvation in which the Messiah restores Israel, and then sets his people free from the guilt and power of sin.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"The Bread of Life" -- John 6:33-48

The Twenty-Second in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

It must have been an amazing scene that day in the synagogue in Capernaum.  The people want to make Jesus king because he gave them bread to eat in the wilderness–just like Moses gave the Israelites manna in the desert.  But Jesus is now speaking of a living bread which endures to eternal life.  The crowds who have been following him relentlessly want that bread that does not spoil.  Jesus speaks of himself as though he were YHWH, declaring “I am the bread of life.”  Yet, when Jesus speaks of striving for this bread, the people want to know what work it is that God requires of them so that Jesus will give them more of this bread.  When Jesus tells the people this bread is received by faith alone, they demand more of this bread to eat.  When Jesus corrects them, and tells them again that he is the living bread who has come down from heaven, those who wanted to make him king, now begin to grumble and complain about his words.  What is Jesus’ response to their lack of faith?  He begins teach about total inability, irresistible grace, and predestination.

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John, and we are currently going through Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse in John 6.  As I mentioned several weeks ago, ideally, we should go through this entire chapter in one sermon because there is a logical progression of events, and the theological points Jesus makes build one upon the other.  Unfortunately, this would take us a couple of hours to do so, especially if we wish to do the passage justice, so, I’ve broken up the chapter into six sermons.  Again I ask that you read through the entire chapter several times during this series so as not to miss the forest for the trees.

To summarize the ground we have covered so far, recall that the chapter opens (vv. 1-15) with Jesus miraculously feeding over five thousand people in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus’ actions clearly demonstrate that he is a New Moses who can feed the people of God in the wilderness.  After withdrawing because the crowds wanted to make Jesus king (vv. 16-25), he then walked across the Sea in the midst of a storm, and then calmed the Sea, before proceeding with his disciples by boat to Capernaum.  The next morning, the crowds (who had been searching for Jesus all night), were quite surprised to find Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum, where he gives the “bread of life” discourse in response to the questions put to him about how it was that he made his way to Capernaum so quickly, and without anyone seeing him.  Jesus knows the people’s hearts, and he knows they are seeking him from self-centered and short-sighted motives, far more indicative of unbelief and superstition than of true faith.

The so-called “bread of life” discourse which is found in verses 26-58, is one of the most significant teaching discourses in all of the New Testament.  Jesus tells those gathered in the synagogue who want to make him king that they are only following him because their bellies are full.  Lacking faith, the large number of people present (which includes his own disciples) do not look beyond the signs (the loaves and the fish) to see the reality–Jesus is a New Moses who is leading the people in a New Exodus from the wilderness of this present evil age, to an age of eternal life and deliverance from the guilt and power of sin.  The people are awed by the fact that Jesus is a miracle worker who can cast out demons and heal the sick, and whom, they have just learned, can feed them in the wilderness just as God did the Israelites.  Many of them believe that Jesus might be the prophet foretold by Moses.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"This Is the Work of God" -- John 6:22-35

The Twenty-First in a Series of Sermons on the Gospel of John

Using five small barely loaves and two dried fish, Jesus miraculously fed over five thousand people in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee.  Later that same night when a sudden storm blew in on the Sea, Jesus walked across the water and joined his frightened disciples in their boat, and immediately calmed the storm.  These two miracles reveal that Jesus is a new Moses who is leading his people in a New Exodus.  Just as YHWH fed the Israelites in the wilderness of the Sinai, so too, Jesus has fed the people in a wilderness in Galilee.  And just as the Psalmist spoke of YHWH as Lord of sea and storm, so too Jesus walked across the water and commanded the winds.  These two miracles reveal much about who Jesus is, and together they serve as the backdrop for Jesus to tell us more about who he is and the nature of his mission, which he does in the so-called “bread of life” discourse recorded in John 6:26-58.  One of the most profound sections of our Lord’s teaching in the entire New Testament, the “bread of life” discourse is also one of the most difficult for Jesus’ audience to accept–not because they do not understand Jesus, but rather, because they do.  The things Jesus has to say in this discourse are so difficult to accept, that many among the crowds who have been following Jesus do so no more, and even his most trusted disciples are tempted to walk away.

As we resume our series on the Gospel of John, and we are working our way through John 6.  On the last two Lord’s Days, we have covered each of the two miracles (vv. 1-21), which set the stage for the teaching discourse which follows the next day.  According to John’s account, huge crowds have been following Jesus wherever he goes throughout the Galilee region, many following Jesus out into the wilderness east of the sea of Galilee without food, and where Jesus miraculously fed over five thousand people.  Jesus left the area after night fell, because he knew that those in the crowds who had identified him as the prophet predicted by Moses, now desired to make him king–even by force, should he refuse.  The disciples got back into their boat, and headed west across the sea of Galilee so as to return to Capernaum, only to be caught in a storm.  They were frightened, John says, when they saw someone walking across the water toward them.  They were greatly comforted when they realized it was Jesus, who then joined them in their boat.

Meanwhile, the crowds who had been out in the wilderness spent the night searching for Jesus and are quite surprised to find him the next morning in the synagogue in Capernaum.  How did Jesus get there so fast, since it was obvious (or so they thought) that the disciples had left the east side of the sea without Jesus?  With people searching everywhere for him throughout the night, how did he get to Capernaum without anyone knowing?  The chaotic scene is described in verses 22-25, “on the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.  Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.  So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid" -- John 6:16-27

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

Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding in Cana.  He cleansed the Jerusalem temple of the merchants and money-changers who profaned it.  He healed a nobleman’s son, and then while in Jerusalem to celebrate a feast of the Jews, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  In all of these miracles, Jesus has demonstrated that he is the word made flesh and the Son of God who has come into the world to grant eternal life, raise those dead in sin, and create faith (trust) that he is the redeemer and Messiah promised throughout the Old Testament.  When a large crowd followed Jesus out into a barren wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus miraculously turned five barley loaves and two small fish into a meal which fed well over five thousand people.  In this dramatic miracle, Jesus shows himself to be a new Moses leading the people of God in a New Exodus.  And then later that same night, Jesus will miraculously walk across the Sea of Galilee in the midst of a storm and join his disciples.  Jesus is not only the New Moses, he is Lord of the sea.  He feeds the multitudes and calms the storm.  The one who tells us “it is I, do not be afraid,” is continuing to reveal just who he is and what he has come to do.

As we continue our series on the Gospel of John, we are working our way through the 6th chapter of John, one of the richest and most theologically profound passages in all the Bible.  Since the chapter is packed with important doctrines, it would not be good to rush through the entire chapter in one sermon–after all chapter 6 has 71 verses.  To most effectively cover this ground, I have broken the passage into six small sections.  Last time, we covered the first fifteen verses of John 6–the account of Jesus miraculously feeding well over five thousand people out in the wilderness east of the Sea of Galilee.  This is the fifth of seven miraculous signs in John’s Gospel which confirm Jesus’ identity as the word made flesh and the Son of God.  In this sermon, we will be looking at the second miracle recorded in John 6 (Jesus walking on the water as the disciples attempt to cross the Sea of Galilee by boat), and which, like the feeding of the five thousand, helps set the stage for the lengthy discourse which follows.

Next time, Lord willing, we will take up the first part of the so-called “bread of life” discourse which runs from John 6:22-58 (although we will touch briefly on the introductory portion of the discourse this time).  We will spend three Sundays going through the details of the discourse, before we look at the consequence of Jesus’ teaching–our Lord says a number of things in this passage which were so difficult for the crowds to accept that many of his followers turned their back on Jesus and walked away (vv. 59-71).  Throughout this chapter (in both miracles, as well as in the details of the discourse) Jesus repeatedly places himself at the center of Israel’s history, and either alludes to, or directly identifies himself with the great turning points in Israel’s history.  The passage is remarkable and well worth our time and attention.

As we saw last time, in John 6:1, the scene shifts from Jerusalem back to the region of the Galilee.  By this point in his ministry, Jesus is attracting larger and larger crowds who are now following him everywhere he goes.  Many people see in Jesus a miracle-worker who can help them with their most desperate needs–they seek healing for themselves or for their loved ones, or deliverance from demonic oppression.  But others see in Jesus’ miracle working power and willingness to confront the Jewish religious leadership someone fit to lead an insurrection against the hated Romans who occupied the Jewish homeland.  Now, wherever Jesus goes, word about his arrival spreads, and as we see in John 6, Jesus is unable to shake these large crowds, or find solitude to rest and to pray.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here

"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.”

To read the rest of this sermon,  Click Here

"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

"Those Who Hear Will Live" -- John 5:19-29

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

You knew it was bound to happen–sooner or later in our series on the Gospel of John we would come to eschatology.  As we will see in our text (John 5:19-29), eschatology is a very important theme in John’s Gospel.  Through his signs and wonders, Jesus has identified and proven himself to be the redeemer promised throughout the Old Testament.  The redemption to be brought about by our Lord extends beyond the salvation of our souls to include the redemption of our bodies.  Jesus has clearly identified himself as Israel’s Messiah who has come to do the will of his Father so as to fulfill all righteousness.  This is why Jesus works on the Sabbath, because his Father works on the Sabbath.  And what the Father does, Jesus does.  Now we learn that the Father has given Jesus the power to give new life and raise the dead.  And the resurrection of the dead, of course, is at the very heart of Christian eschatology.   

As we saw in the first 18 verses of John 5 (our text last time), at some point Jesus left the Galilee region and returned to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.  While in Jerusalem and passing by the pools of Bethesda, Jesus instantaneously and miraculously healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  Sadly, the former invalid showed no gratitude whatsoever at what Jesus had done for him.  When the man stood up and carried his bedroll as Jesus commanded him to do, the man was accused of being a law-breaker by the Jewish authorities because he dared to carry his bedroll on the Sabbath.  While such an act was not a violation of the biblical commandment to keep the Sabbath as a day of rest unto the Lord, it was a violation of Jewish tradition which identified thirty-nine specific types of work which were supposedly a violation of the Sabbath commandment.  Apparently, moving a bedroll on the Sabbath was one of them.

When confronted about his supposed violation of the Sabbath commandment, the former invalid, in turn, directed the Jewish leaders to Jesus.  According to John 5:15 and following, “the man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.  And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.”  John does not give us any specifics, but based upon the fact that the Jews, apparently, had been persecuting Jesus for some time because he “worked” on the Sabbath, at the very least this implies that the incident reported in the first 18 verses of John 5 was only the latest in a string of heated encounters between Jesus and the Jews over proper Sabbath observance.  

We don’t know what the Jews said to Jesus, only what Jesus said to them.  We read in verse 17, “but Jesus answered them, `My Father is working until now, and I am working.’” According to the creation account God created for six days and rested on the seventh.  The Jews of Jesus’ day understood full well that God worked on the Sabbath because as creator of all things, God also sustained all things.  God did not take Saturday off.  The work of providence continues 24/7.  The Jews understood this point, and this was not even an issue.  But in the minds of the Jewish leaders, Jesus was a Sabbath-breaker because he “worked” on the Sabbath in a way which was forbidden according to their tradition.  Despite the fact that a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years was healed and his life restored to him, the Jews angrily declared of this healing, “it is not lawful.”  We read not of a word of praise unto the Lord.

To read the rest of this sermon: Click Here

"My Father Is Still Working" -- John 5:1-18

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

You would imagine that if someone who had been lame (and an invalid) for thirty-eight years was miraculously healed, there would be great rejoicing.  You might also imagine that the man who was healed, as well as those who witnessed the healing, would be praising God for his mercy and compassion.  Yet when Jesus heals such a man in Jerusalem, the man directs those persecuting Jesus (the Jewish religious leadership) where to find him, and says not a word in gratitude or thanksgiving for all that God had done.  And then those who witness their own Messiah healing the sick as a sign that the long-expected messianic age was now underway, accuse Jesus of being a law-breaker for healing this man on the Sabbath.  But such a sad state of affairs is what we find in our text.  Human sin is not only the root cause of all our sickness and suffering, but such sin blinds us to the grace of God and causes us to hold fast to our own humanly devised traditions and self-righteous judgments.  Here we begin to see what Jesus meant when he said people love darkness rather than light because our deeds are evil.

We are continuing our series on the Gospel of John and we have made our way as far as John 5.  The scene now shifts from Galilee back to Jerusalem when Jesus returns the city to celebrate a feast of the Jews.  Although Jesus was not truly honored by the Galileans while in Galilee (they did not truly understand who he was, nor what he came to do) nevertheless, they gladly welcomed back the miracle-worker who had created such a stir through his signs and wonders in Jerusalem and in Galilee.  Jesus was Israel’s Messiah who came to usher in a new age of salvation from the guilt and power of sin–the signs and wonders were proof.  But the Jews throughout Judea and Galilee, it seems, were not concerned with the question as to whether or not Jesus might be the long-expected Messiah.  As we have seen, to this point in John’s Gospel, the Jews do not seem very concerned with the reality that human sin was the reason for the diseases and demons which plagued them.  They cannot see beyond the effect to the cause.

As the knowledge of Jesus’ miracles spread throughout both the Galilee and Judea, so too did the size of the crowds who followed him, as well as the scrutiny of his ministry by the Jewish religious leadership.  This becomes clear as we look at the structure of these early chapters of John, where we see two important things beginning to emerge.  The first thing to notice is that Jesus performs signs and wonders to confirm his identity as Israel’s Messiah and the Son of God, who, as his miracles attest, is that one promised throughout the Old Testament.  Jesus does not perform signs and wonders to create faith or attract crowds–although, we have seen, large numbers of people begin following Jesus for all the wrong reasons.  The miracles confirm faith and the truth of the word our Lord preaches.  Yet, those who are in need seek Jesus because they are desperate, not because they care about Jesus’ true identity.

Although Jesus has performed many miracles which are not reported, John has recounted three of these miraculous signs so far, two in Galilee (Jesus turning water into wine in Cana, and Jesus healing the Galilean official’s son) and one in Jerusalem (when Jesus cleansed the temple).  In John 5, John recounts a fourth sign–the healing of a lame man in Jerusalem.  All told, there will be seven of these signs in John’s Gospel, symbolic of Jesus’ entire messianic mission and only representative of the large number of miracles which Jesus performed, and which John says cannot be counted.

To read the rest of this sermon:  Click Here

"The Man Believed the Word" -- John 4:43-54

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

It was not all that long ago (the 1980-90's) when many Christian leaders told us that in order for Christianity to survive in the modern world, it must be presented as a religion of signs and wonders.  In an age of science and skepticism, these Christians argued, the best way to overcome secularism and unbelief is to do what the early church did, perform signs and wonders to prove that Christianity is worthy of consideration.  In fact, we worship not far from the church (the Anaheim Vineyard) where the modern signs and wonders movement was launched (the “third wave”).  Why mention this?  At the end of John 4 (vv. 43-54) we discover that Jesus performed signs and wonders to confirm his messianic mission and to demonstrate that he was the Son of God who was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy.  But, as we will see, Jesus did not perform miracles to attract followers and large crowds.  He did not perform signs and wonders to create faith.  Whenever people flock to Jesus because they think he is a miracle-worker who can help them, his miracles actually become an obstacle to genuine faith in God’s word of promise spoken by Jesus.

As we continue our series on the Gospel of John we come to the final section of John 4, and the account of Jesus returning to Galilee when he heals an unnamed Galilean official’s son.  Before we turn to the details of the passage and the healing which took place, there is one matter we need to address.  Since this account sounds very much like the healing of the centurion’s servant as recounted in Matthew 8:5-13, critical scholars claim that what follows in John 4 is a reference to the same event.  Critical scholars assume that John’s Gospel was not written by John (the disciple) and therefore does not contain eyewitness testimony.  So, in their view, the author of John read or was familiar with the healing of the centurion in Matthew’s account, took it as his own and modified it (garbling it in the process), and then sticks it here in John’s Gospel to make a theological point.

When I speak of critical scholars I am referring to those who assume that miracles are impossible, and that the gospels do not describe factual events and really do not need to.  The Gospels are essentially a group of “Jesus stories,” which reflect more of what the author of John thought and believed about Jesus, than what actually happened in Galilee when Jesus arrived there after returning from Jerusalem.  To the critical mind what matters is the point of the story and the experience we derive from retelling it, not whether the events described therein actually happened.  So, if you have two miracle stories in the New Testament which sound alike, critical scholars jump to the conclusion that you have two versions of the same story–the version in John’s Gospel may get the details wrong, but is inserted at this point in the Gospel to beef up the narrative and create drama as the story takes Jesus back into the Galilee region.

What critical scholars refuse to consider is that everything we have read in John so far has the ring of truth about it (the places John mentions are real places which can be located on both ancient and modern maps, the historical events fit at the right time and place as John recounts them, etc.).  John himself tells us in the last two verses of his Gospel that “this is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.  Now there are also many other things that Jesus did.  Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”  Critical scholars act as though such declarations are not important, or even that someone else (who was not an eyewitness) can write this gospel in John’s name and falsely make the claims we have just read, and supposedly such practice was commonplace.

To read the rest of this sermon, Click Here